Japan Beauty Haul 2017

I did few posts on my Instagram for my Japan beauty haul, but since I received lots on enquiries regarding the haul, I thought I’ll sum up everything here. It’s been months since I last post on the blog. Most days, I just did a #deszellminireview on the blog. But I figure, in terms of searching information and categorising, blog is still much easier. So if I don’t have the time to do a lengthy review, I’ll just repost the mini review on the blog.

This picture basically sum up my haul.

Here’s a question I get  alot: where do I usually purchase all the beauty products?

1. Department store. Walk into a department store, whatever it is, and find their beauty floor. If I want to find a specific brand, I will visit their website and go to their store directory and find one near where I’m staying or the area I will be visiting that day. Otherwise, I will just randomly go into the beauty floor and see what caught my interest.
2. Drugstore. There’s a number of drugstore in Japan, the well know one is Matsumoto Kiyoshi. But if you see a store that have beauty products and sheet masks in front of it and looks like they’re selling beauty products, just go inside and see what they have in store.
3. Natural products specialty store. Sometimes you will see one like this either inside a department store or free standing store. I will just go inside and see what they have in store.

The Battle of the Cleansing Oils: DHC Vs. Fancl

I’m not a big fan of cleansing oil, so there are very little cleansing oil in the market that I’ve tried. The reason is because I find cleansing balm and cream much more comforting to use on my dry skin. But I must admit cleansing oil is the easiest to use to remove makeup, especially if you’re using waterproof eye makeup such as eyeliner and mascara that are fibre-based and made in Japan. God, they’re really hard to remove!

Anyway, eventhough cleansing oil melt away all makeup in one swipe, never forget to emulsify it first. If you haven’t already know how to use cleansing oil properly, read this article on all about cleansers (unfortunately written in Bahasa Indonesia).

From my recent trip to Japan, I picked up two renowned cleansing oil from brands that I’ve trusted. They are the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil and Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil.

Here’s what you need to know first about both cleansing oil: their ingredient list is pretty short (although I can’t really tell what’s inside Fancl since it’s in Japanese) and they’re free from mineral oil. I have no problem with cleansers that use mineral oil, but I know most people out there mind.

We’ll start with the famous DHC Deep Cleansing Oil.

SK-II take on Hyaluronic Acid serum: Facial Treatment Repair C

Nowadays Hyaluronic Acid (HA) serum isn’t foreign anymore. But back in the days, hydration serum is almost unheard of. What people want is a mattifying cream or serum. So where does that leave us the dry-skin group? The benefit of HA serum doesn’t only favour those with dry skin but also those with oilier skin. Because whether you have dry or oily skin, it’s only a matter of oil production. When we’re talking about dehydration, we’re talking about the skin’s water level. That’s where HA serum comes to the rescue.

Anyway, like I said, back in the days the concept of HA isn’t so widely known. Except of course to the Japanese which has been using it for years – whether in their toner or essences. So it’s not a surprise my first encounter with HA serum came from Japanese brand SK-II.

When I first handed Facial Treatment Repair C more than a decade ago when I’m having troubled skin because of dehydration, I never knew that my skin could be so supple and hydrated. It’s been so parched and dry all my life, especially with all the changes in my life, that I believe the state of my skin is unrepairable.

Why Menard Lisciare Cleansing Cream worth the splurge?

As I’ve previously mentioned practically everywhere, Menard is one brand that I truly love and that is not without reason. I love Japanese skincare and I love a Japanese skincare product that truly delivers.

I’ve previously reviewed the Tsukika cleansing cream, which is their starter line and I must say quite affordable as everything is priced between IDR 300,000 – 480,000. Now meet the older sister Lisciare, which tackles problem of skin elasticity and it opts to increase the water density of the skin so your skin looks more supple and bouncy, skin elasticity and firmness improves.

The price of Lisciare is double the price of Tsukika. Take for example the cleansing cream, Tsukika is priced at IDR 300,000 whereas Lisciare is priced at IDR 660,000. So why bother picking up Lisciare when you have Tsukika at half the price?

Alternatif Exfoliating Toner dari SK-II

Ingin tahu topik atau produk yang sering ditanyakan ke saya? Selain acid toning, produk-produk SK-II dan cara mengombinasikan adalah salah satu pertanyaan yang sering saya dapatkan. Jadi saya pikir karena topik acid toning lagi hangat-hangatnya dan juga kebetulan minggu ini adalah minggu terakhir kontes blog review SK-II dengan Female Daily, why not combine the two topics together?

Seperti yang saya singgung pada tulisan saya mengenai acid toner, clear lotion versi skincare Korea dan Jepang adalah alternatif yang bagus sekali untuk mereka yang ingin memulai memakai exfoliating toner tapi ingin sesuatu yang mild. Apalagi kalau memang cocok dengan menggunakan produk-produk keluaran Jepang atau Korea. Menurut saya tidak ada salahnya untuk mulai dari clear lotion. Karena banyak juga saya temui mereka yang terbiasa menggunakan produk-produk keluaran Jepang dan Korea malah tidak cocok menggunakan produk merek Barat.

Kalau dari SK-II sendiri Clear Lotion ada dua jenisnya yaitu SK-II Whitening Source Clear Lotion dan SK-II Facial Treatment Clear Lotion.

SK-II Whitening Source Clear Lotion Rp 707,000

If you want to try Menard & Don’t know where to start

My Instagram followers know well that if there’s one brand that I love head over heels that would be Menard. I’ve just realised that I have very few Menard products reviewed yet. Except for the exception of the few posts that I’ve written for Female Daily, which for the purpose of sponsored review. Even my favourite go to line for hydration, Lisciare, I don’t have any single review yet on this.

As such, it will be my mission to get through the list of reviewing Menard products. Starting with Menard Tsukika cleansing cream!

Let me start with brief explanation on the Tsukika range. It’s the most basic range from Menard and product pricing starts from IDR 300,000 (cleansing cream) – IDR 480,000 (cream). I was shocked at first knowing that Menard actually have a line that’s quite affordable considering they have IDR 15 mil cream as well!

This range is perfect for those who just starting to use skincare and don’t know where to start as this offers basic maintenance for your skin. It’s also perfect if  you don’t have any problem with your skin and want to try Menard for the first time. Especially if you’re under 25. But if you’re somewhere above 28 and starting to feel the need to add more juice to your skincare I would suggest to opt for Liscare instead.

The star ingredient in this range is Selenicereus flower extract or Bunga Wijaya Kusuma which only blooms on midnight. The scent of the whole line resembles closely with this flower and it is a delightful faint floral scent.

Now onto the review.

On the wishlist: SK-II Facial Treatment Oil

Produk-produk SK-II adalah produk yang otomatis langsung saya lirik terutama Facial Treatment Essence. Produk terbaru mereka yaitu SK-II Facial Treatment Oil wajib masuk dalam daftar belanjaan skincare di akan datang. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence yang banyak disebut sebagai miracle water telah banyak mengubah keadaan kulit banyak wanita , jadi begitu mendengar SK-II mengeluarkan face oil saya langsung memasukannya ke dalam daftar belanjaan skincare saya. Could this be THE miracle oil?

Walaupun produknya sudah ada di website SK-II Indonesia tapi sepertinya produk ini belum resmi diluncurkan di Indonesia dan belum hadir di toko. Saya sudah benar-benar tidak sabar mencobanya sendiri di konter SK-II dan ingin tahu bagaimana sih teksturnya? Kalau dari deskripsinya ini adalah bi-phase product di mana terdapat campuran air dan minyak. Bagian air adalah Pitera atau yang biasa kita pakai di Facial Treatment Essence sedangkan bagian minyak berisi Nourishing Oil Complex. Walaupun saya tidak menemukan dengan jelas kandungan dari minyaknya tapi dari blog The RAEviewer saya mendapatkan informasi bahwa produk ini menggunakan campuran minyak zaitun dari Mediterania, minyak jojoba dari Amerika Latin, minyak alpukat dari Afrika Selatan, Ricetol Ester dan minyak bekatul dari Jepang, serta squalene. Bagian air mendominasi dua pertiga dari keseluruhan produk sedangkan sisanya adalah minyak.

Kenapa saya tahu saya akan menyukai produk ini. Biasanya kalau saya memakai produk face oil saya akan mencampurnya terlebih dahulu dengan thermal water sehingga lebih mudah terserap ke dalam kulit dan juga terasa lebih ringan. Saya sempat, sih, memakai produk bi-phase yang mirip seperti ini dan saya sangat menyukainya. Karena mudah terserap maka kulit saya langsung terlihat glowing.

Produk ini dibanderol seharga Rp 1,930,000 untuk 50ml. Mahal, ya? But I guess when it comes to SK-II, when you love it, you know you need to have it.

Affordable skin mist: Freshel Skin Freshener

It’s not a secret anymore that Freshel, from Kanebo, is one of skincare brands that I’m deeply in love with. One they have a really effective lineup that works. Two they’re super duper affordable. Unfortunately, they’re not available in Indonesia. No surprise there.

One of the few things that my friend got me when she visited Japan was this Freshel Skin Freshener. Lately, I’ve been hoarding face mist because they’re simple and really refreshing on the skin. But I want something with more weight so that it doesn’t get all soaked up by the skin immediately but able to retain the hydration. I used to have Freshel lotion essence and it works great and even better than the Hada Labo lotion. So I trust that this product will work for my skin.