The Good and The Forbidden
After Pa+G, Odacité Bl + C (Black Cumin + Cajeput) is my second pick from its Serum Concentrate line. I specifically wanted this because God knows I suffer breakout once in a while and I need to be prepared.
It was a little bit tricky at first but I found the leeway into it.
Odacité Bl + C Serum Concentrate.
In the continuation of DECIEM‘s office visit in Toronto, I was also able to do an interview with none other than Brandon Truaxe, the company’s founder. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see him in person as he is very busy (obviously!). So no selfies here 🙁 But, email is the next best thing.
Let me be honest. Compiling the questions were easy. Sure. I had a lot to ask. Editing and sorting them out however, is a whole other story. After reading different interviews and articles, including his informative replies on Caroline Hirons‘ blog post, I knew the man is a genius. He is very different (hence, the “abnormal” reference) and that is a breath of fresh air in the beauty industry that can get a little too dictating, confining and repetitive at times. At least that’s how I feel more than a few times lately.
I just want to know his opinions and insights on almost everything! But, I can’t ask him to spend the entire day answering my questions, right? Hopefully, the ones I picked will feed your curiosity too, at least some.
Let’s get to it!
If it wasn’t for Puche, I wouldn’t have known DECIEM in the first place. Thanks to her, I got to know one of the brands under its umbrella, NIOD, sometime last year and eventually the marvelous work of Brandon Truaxe, the company’s founder. From there on, my curiosities peaked and found out that DECIEM is from Canada. What’s even better, it’s from Toronto no less; the city where I went to college and a witness to some of the most important events in my life.
It truly is wondrous how the universe works. I knew DECIEM just opened their first retail store in Toronto sometime ago and at the time I had already purchased a flight ticket to the city for my brother’s wedding. I was really excited to finally get to see the products in real life. I have every intention to visit the store and this is where it gets even more interesting.
A completely harmless conversation occurred:
B (Bro) : You know, I have a friend who works in a skincare lab. If you want, I can introduce you to her so you can check it out.
K (me) : (hearing the word “lab”, I instantly asked) DECIEM?!?!?!?!
The rest is history, written on this post. Through this friend, I was able take a tour inside DECIEM‘s spacious headquarter and really, living the dream like a child in a candy store. This is to me, like watching How It’s Made live, without the LCD screen.
Warning, this is a picture-heavy post.
As soon as I saw the building, my heart palpitated.
It looks intimidating. It’s BLACK for goodness sake. Sometimes I wonder why I do this but I felt very challenged back then. I really wanted to try this black stuff.
I did wait a while before I finally did. Within a week of use, this product has shot right up into one of my favorite face cleansers.
Yoshimomo Black Magic Bamboo Charcoal Cleanser.
If you’ve been following me for some time, you’d know that I’m all about customizing my skincare routine. It gives me room and a lot of freedom to deal with specific issues depending on my skin condition that changes from time to time. I’m also a firm believer that there is no such thing as a one miracle, do-it-all product. No matter how perfect a product is, it needs others to create one harmonious unity. Hence, the customized routine.
Odacité has a line called Serum Concentrate where each of the serums contains highly concentrated dose of actives and formulated to target a specific skin issue. With numerous ways in incorporating it into the routine, this line excites me A LOT!
With 18 serums to choose from, it can be quite a task. But being the girl who struggles with hyperpigmentation, naturally, I opt for Odacité Pa+G as my first (out of three).
Over the past year, I’ve been lucky enough to be given several eye treatment products from various brands for me to try. I don’t usually go out and buy different ones because A, they are mostly expensive. B, my experience in the past isn’t exactly a swell as my eyes often felt stung or got watery when I wore them. So when I found the ones that work for me, I stick to them (e.g. Sunday Riley Start Over and Kahina Eye Serum).
Thank goodness these three that I’m about to share happen to be friendly on my eyes (and skin). I have no trouble using them on a daily basis.
As always, eye treatments are always a hit and miss with people. I can’t promise you anything other than my honest opinion based on my own experience.
Yet another cheesy title. I know. It will all make sense in a bit.
Say hello to Antipodes Apostle Skin-Brightening Serum, another product from the New Zealand brand that I came to really enjoy using. I didn’t love it from the get go. I needed some time to adjust and get used to it.
This serum was the first on my wishlist, simply because it has the skin-brightening words on it. When I hear stuff like that, naturally I got curious because I have a lot of hyperpigmentation from post-acne spots that I would love to get rid off. But mostly, my skin can get really uneven in tone, blotchy and it’s something that I need to tackle pretty much on a daily basis.
Let’s dissect this serum.
