Skin Care

Skin Dewi Organic Skincare Workshop – Connecting The Dots

I can’t tell you enough there were butterflies in my stomach that Wednesday morning. It oddly reminded me of day one at a new school. These little jitters. New environment. Meeting new faces. I kept telling myself “you’ll be fine, you’ll be alright”. One thing for sure though, I can’t wait for the class to start.

It’s worth noting that I intentionally didn’t read the Skin Dewi workshop module beforehand. I didn’t know the details of what we’re going to do in the next 3 days. All I knew that it’s going to be about organic skincare formulation. It was a deliberate and wise decision on my end because I wanted to start with a clean slate. No prejudgments. I didn’t want to fill my head with certain expectations or assumptions. Coming in with an open mind had indeed served me well throughout the course.

I am actually conflicted whether or not I should tell you what we did in the workshop. I feel like I might be giving you too many spoilers. But I’ll throw breadcrumbs here and there ;)

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Skin Dewi Organic Skincare Workshop – The Before

Not too long ago, I was beginning to feel that my routine (in general) has started to get stagnant and it tickles me slowly but sure. Work is consuming my mental health more than ever (FYI, The Fruit Compote is my channel to de-stress). Beauty world-wise, I’m, as always, ecstatic that I’m discovering more and more new brands with different perspectives and approaches coming into the market. I’m delighted that even more local brands are popping out one after another, though I have some reservations about the redundancy in terms of product offerings. Regardless, full support here for the effort. But some days, it seemingly feels like it’s just another day at work, so to say.

It’s not that I’m not thankful or excited of the launches. Believe me I do, most likely more than ordinary consumers. I would still have lemmings and wishlist here and there. But I don’t think I can escape this little knock in my consciousness, not for longer. In the back of my mind, it started to dawn on me that no matter what it is, the level of suspense is more less the same. Some highs and some lows. And that’s pretty much it. I almost have seen it before. However, let me get this straight. It’s not the offerings, it’s me.

I need a refreshment. A change.

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Dancing in Waters – Beloved Combo

This combo that I cheekily named Dancing in Water was quite a favorite of mine in 2016 and it was discovered by surprise. I received each of the products at a different time. I had used them separately and suddenly had an inkling to layer them together. Then the magic happens.

The major keyword in this post will be hydration. The two products in the spotlight are TATCHA Overnight Memory Serum Concentrate and Sunday Riley Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream. I will individually review them and hopefully it’ll explain why the combo got its name ;)

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Yoshimomo Alpha Beta Toner – Low Key

Here’s another hidden gem in the form of exfoliating toner, though I never really talk about it often. Perhaps because I enjoyed it a little too much that I don’t want to share it, just yet *smirk*

Yoshimomo Alpha Beta AHA + BHA Toner.

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Leahlani Masks – Even Ants Love Them!

So, this is the review that so many people have been waiting for.

I first came across Leahlani Skincare through Nic from Organic Obsessions. sometime last year. She’s always praising (and wearing) Mermaid Mask and from there on I get to know more about Leah and her work. I knew something is very special here. I have to try it for myself and boy, I certainly get more than just a skincare.

Leahlani Skincare is a mix of organic botanicals and clays, delicious tropical fruits, and pure organic Hawaiian nectars blended in intimate, aloha-infused batches on the lush north shore of Kauai.

There is a reason why it took very long for me to write the review. I have used her products for a year now and I enjoy it very much. Maybe too much that I don’t feel I have the capability on describing the way they make my skin look and the whole experience. I want to express and do her products justice. Somehow I didn’t feel I was able to. It’s like I am out of the league here.

But let me just try.

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The Reformulated Shiseido White Lucent Series

Years ago, when I first started my skincare journey, one of the first things I wanted to tackle was hyperpigmentation. I developed these dark spots during my younger days not wearing sunscreen and found out I am prone to it anyway thanks to my dad’s genes. I am also aware that they don’t go easily so I never hoped for anything miraculous. It’s a long term journey and I’m up for it.

The first skincare products that I tried that specifically target this issue is Shiseido White Lucent, the old one with the white and pale pink packaging. I used three products: the lotion, serum and emulsion. I used this set in the morning until I finished my second bottle of the serum. Not many knows but I don’t play much with my morning skincare routine. I usually stick with the same products over and over again with very few rotations. I keep the big guns at night, that’s why. But having a brightening set was something I always try to have in the routine and morning time is the perfect allocation for it. So after the old Shiseido White Lucent, I moved on to a different brand but with similar functions. Then after seeing results I figured I’d lay off and try the usual mash of different brands à la Kae.

Then suddenly, Shiseido revamped the whole thing.

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More Lip Balm Loves

You know, lip balms are those easy things to buy (and try) and yet, they can be trivial. Their purpose is to moisturize the lips and sometimes, more often than not, they do the opposite. I can see why this can be frustrating. When I found the one that I really love (NUXE Rêve de Miel Lip Balm), there’s no doubt I would use it until the last dip. However, it took a really long time and I started to get the itch to try new ones.

This is a problem for beauty junkies. But if we don’t try new products every now and then, we’ll never know where they could take us. We’ll wonder and I can’t handle it.

In this post, I’m going to share some of the lip balms in my repertoire that I’ve been enjoying in the past few months.

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