Kiehl's Rare Earth Daily Pore Cleanser: Scrubbing Never Felt This Good

WARNING: Those who has problem with blackheads, whiteheads and the gigantic pores overall, you must like this product from Kiehls.

Trust me, I have experienced the messiness of having blackheads since I was in junior high school. Unluckily I inherit the super oily & acne-prone skin from my Dad, because my Mom has a quite dry-sensitive skin for the rest of her life. Oily skin gives a lot of trouble; discoloration, large pores, especially the appearance of acne that comes almost everytime or when we are too lazy to clean up and rinse off make up and dirt from our face. Needless to say that going to bed with extra clean face is mandatory.

So, is cleaning our face just with facial foam is enough?

It depends on what you wear for daily. As I never going out from home without base (can be foundation,, TM or BB cream), of course it isn't. My cleaning routine starts from milk cleanser, though milk cleanser is not supposed to be given to oily face, but in my case, milk cleanser is only the first step. Afterwards, I still rinse off its residue with light facial foam and toner. That's the toner which works for the oily skin most, because it will balance out the sebum secretion and the moisture level of the skin. But, for some people, toner which usually contains alcohol, is too harsh.

Well, a daily scrub then can be an alternative.

But what kind of scrub do we need actually?

I've been trying the daily scrubs outhere and many of them feel irritating and not safe to use twice or once a day. Moreover, it also will worsen the growing acnes, that's why dermatologist never recommend using scrub to blemished skin.

Until one day, a friend of mine introduced me to this product. Meanwhile, I also have heard that this is one of the winners from Kiehl's. I went to Kiehl's after trying out this product as my friend gave me sample in the small plastic jar. When I first tried this, I was in love.

This scrub has a creamy texture and subtle scrub. I mean, the scrub, you will not notice because it's barely there. But once you applied to your face, after rubbing your palm with a little water, you will feel that the scrub is working. Rinse it off with lukewarm water and it left your face soft and supple. Not dehydrated like most scrub give you as finish. Only a soft, supple and balanced skin.

Kiehls describes this as:

Exfoliates and detoxifies. Formulated specifically for normal to oily skin types to purify and thoroughly cleanse, this non-stripping foaming formula contains Amazonian white clay particles to gently remove surface debris, toxins and oils which can enlarge the appearance of pores. With ingredients sourced from the Marajo Island at the mouth of the Amazon River, this unique formula is rich in minerals and helps detoxify by eliminating surface toxins from the skin. Deeply cleanses to help reduce the appearance of enlarged pores for fresh and healthy-looking skin. 

Is it safe to use daily?

• If my skin is breaking out like crazy, I will only apply this to my nose, the area where I found most of the blackheads and whiteheads. I apply in circle motion gently, for around 5 minutes, and wipe off with tissue first before rinse with water. I love to see that the blackheads successfully come out in a clean white tissue. It's 2 times more effective than using pore pack. And it feels 3 times cleaner! 
• However, in good condition, I used to apply this twice a day -- morning and night-- to replace my regular facial foam (I am still religiously using The Body Shop Tea Tree facial wash). 
• If you have sensitive skin, you are recommended to use 2 times in a week.

Overall, I give this score 4.2/5.0

For a product that deserves a thumb up, the downside is always be the price. It's quite costly at IDR 285,000. But since the tube contains of a lot of product (150ml), it can last for 6 months. For me, this is the best scrub product in the market. It also has a subtle nice clay smell which I love.

Since using this, I could say farewell to my clogged pores. My T-zone area, though yes it's still oily especially in these hot humid days, I now can feel it's well exfoliated. ~xoxo~

Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum; So Long, Blackheads!

As long holiday's coming (read: less work in office), I am now super busy working on my new beauty blog (like, posting something daily? oh, get a life, LOL :D)

So, it's been a week since the blog was launched, and I have hit 519 pageviews. Not so bad. I don't have any particular mission by having a beauty blog. I am doing it for fun :) Moreover, I am not a high school or college students anymore with bunch of friends to be asked as followers. At my age, being a beauty junkie is totally an option (moreover because we need to earn money by ourselves, not just using my Dad's credit card like I used to do several years ago, hehehe) and a good make up is not cheap.

One day in office toilet, a friend with similar age as mine, said: " I think we need to invest more in skin care, you know, there are fine lines that are already visible on my late 20s skin, so I'm using Olay day and night."

I stopped coming regularly to aesthetics and dermatologist since a few years ago, and I realized that I haven't spent much on skincare but cosmetics. After taking bath, I stood a little bit closer to the mirror and DANG, suddenly I saw some fine lines in my under eye area, and how dull my face looks overall.

Using Olay, or any drugstore skin care products, is the last thing on my mind. First, my skin is acne-prone, quite sensitive towards a 'new' skin care products (but luckily my skin is OK using almost all cosmetics). Secondly, I tried Olay White Radiance Serum sometimes ago, but after finishing 75% of bottle (in a religious way), i found no difference at all. Even the price wasn't that cheap (around IDR 130,000). Not only I didn't see any visible difference, but I also didn't feel my skin smoother from within :(

My other friend introduced me to http://cosme-de.com. I used to shop at www.strawberrynet.com before, but seems like the price hikes up a lot after the Rupiah was weakened. At this new online shop, I decided to try SKII collections, a four-pieces travel kit for USD 44. Sadly, it turned out that SKII is not for me. I had  severe breakouts after using it for 2 days (thanks God I managed to sell the travel kit to my friend, with 20% less price. She is SKII's regular customer and the products fit her skin well).

At my most desperate point because of tiny bumps here and there that created by World's No.1 High Selling Skincare, another friend told me that she has been using Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum and it works well for her. Her skin became softer day by day and brighter. I bought it right away, from Korean Noona, because they had it in a travel size bottle of 30ml. The price is not more than IDR 70,000 include the shipping cost. Good deal!

This photo belongs to www.skinfood.sg

Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum is the new innovation in Skinfood's Black Sugar Cleansing Range. Previously, it is well known as cleansing product that effectively removes dirt and dead skin cells. This serum claims to deliver similar benefit as in the cleansing range, it contains the sucrose from Brazilian Organic Black Sugar which deeply hydrate and keep its natural moisture. It is also enriched by multivitamins and minerals to bring goodness to skin.

The travel-sized serum, with 3 pieces of cotton pads

It has a runny texture, more like a toner. If it is a serum, it's usually much more thick and more concentrated. The smell is fine, it reminds me of Tonymoly Egg Pore Pack but a bit more subtle. Quite similar to the scent of candy, maybe because it contains sucrose in it :)

My take on the product.


Well, my friend is telling me no lie. After read some reviews and recommendation to use it with its original cotton pads, I feel that my skin is much more clean. The cotton pads itself is very unique. It has two sides, the one is to exfoliate/cleanse, and the other one is to gently penetrate the serum onto skin. After using cleansing milk, wash my face with lukewarm water, I was surprised that the cotton pads could be like this:

Heck?! How come I always sleep with these dirts make-up residue on my face? Since then, I have been using this serum regularly, but more on cleansing purpose because it doesn't dry out my skin like regular alcoholic toner, instead giving me a smooth and soft feeling, like applying a cleansing oil without giving me an oily finish. Even it is safe to apply this in the morning, before applying BB cream or foundation, because it will be absorbed quickly on skin and giving a smooth canvas for you to create your make up. After using it day and night for 1 week, I notice that my nose area becomes better. I used to have a rough surface on my nose because of the blackheads and whiteheads, yet now I find that the blackheads are gradually gone and it becomes softer. Now I can tell that its claim to remove the dead skin cells is true!

I recommend this to everyone who has problematic skin because it did not break me out.

I am rating this product 4.1/5.0

The smell, texture, formula, are OK. But I haven't seen any brightening effect until 1 week of using. I would  give it 4.5 if it deliver this advantage (then I realize I become so picky in skin care products but not in make up :D).

My face is clean and moisturized at the same time after using Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum. Now I can sleep with no worry. Don't you feel to try? ~xoxo~

UPDATE: After 2 weeks using, I found that my face is brighter! But unfortunately I had some new zits, too. So, now I am thinking twice whether I should repurchase, or not.