Product Review : Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub

Hello Domokies! So... I've reviewed a chocolatey face mask, a delightful shower gel and a yummylicious shampoo. Now here's a review of something you can actually EAT. Kind of ish. I don't really mean for you to gobble the entire product down though. I'm going to be reviewing for all you lovelies today, a tasty lip scrub!

SLIGHT OT HERE. Because I've entered a singing competition, will you lovelies help show a little support by voting for me here?

https://apps.facebook.com/likeperformingsonysg/contests/294794/voteable_entries/60875588

I know it isn't the best singing ever and admittedly I let my nerves get to me as I was alone and the only one singing in Mandarin. Give a little vote for my courage as I went there on a whim! Every vote means a lot to me (Yes I know this isn't the president elections) but because you need to be within the top 15 voted entries to have a shot at the finals, gimme a lil help!

Back to the yummy treat for your lips!

It's the Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub!

Comes in a little glass pot that I personally find to be adorable. Still convenient to carry out due to its size.

Why is it tasty? Because the main ingredient is Castor Sugar. Plus the Vanilla Extract and Peppermint Oil, this really does smell like Mint Choco(Non existent chips)!

Here's how you use it. Now before I purchased this, I actually read online that some people actually scoop out a ton of product to use on their lips. I find that I have no need for that. I'll tell you how I do it later. In the mean time, here's what the product looks like.

It's slightly yellowish and looks packed with sugar. Guess what? It is! But it isn't all just that, you can feel the slip in it so it's actually easy to pick up the product without the sugar falling all over the place due to all the oils in it.

Just gently press your finger(s) on the product and you'll be able to pick up some!

Imagine the back of my hand is your lips okay. You basically just smear it all over.

Lush SG says :

"Our fabulous lip scrubs are here to keep your kissers sweet. When you use Mint Julips, you’ll find yourself craving a bowl of mint-chocolate chip ice cream. It’s made with refreshing peppermint oil, which will make your lips feel soothed and tingly, and sweet vanilla extract to lock in moisture and protect your lips. Simply rub it over your lips when they’re feeling the need for some sugar." - Taken from Lush SG Website HERE.

So for this, I don't immediately start scrubbin at my lips after getting some product on my finger. What I do is that I usually smear till my entire lip is coated in it and let the oils soften my lips a lil bit. Then I place a tissue near my chin to catch the sugar fall outs. You can skip this step if you're doing it in the shower. After the tissue step, I start to gently rub in circular motions from the outer corner of my lips to the center. After the circular motions "massage", I just slide my fingers left and right on my lips for one last scrub. Then you can eat it off. Yes it's edible, it tastes sweet. The SA at Lush told me to eat it off too so basically this product will come in handy when you're out as you don't have to wash it off. Just scrub, lick and eat.

BUT. I am sorta OCD about not eating ANY lip products. I love the looks of lip glosses and lip sticks on my lip but I am super careful about not eating them by accident. I never ever lick my lips when I've a lip product on. Same goes with this product. Plus I'm not so keen about eating my own lip flakes, even if they're sweet. So I wash it off. I know that most people are fine with eating this product though so no worries for you as long as you're not like me!

This product helps if your lips are not extremely/severely chapped. It'll get rid of those tiny lip flakes but not the major ones. So to conclude, it'll help on the slightly bad lip days. It also plumps up your lips a little after using and I suspect that is due to the Peppermint oil. Lips feel soft and moisturized after the scrubbing session but I must warn that your lips will dry out if you do not follow up with a lip balm. It's the same with exfoliating your face. After removing the dead skin, you must protect the "fresh/raw" skin! Okay bad example but idk what else to call it.

Moisturizing factor : ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Helps plump and moisturize but only lasts awhile w/o a lip balm.)

Scent : ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (Can you tell? I LOVE MINT CHOCO!)

Effectiveness : ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (Works but not for severely chapped lips.)

Overall : ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (I quite like this product, but I know that you can DIY such a product yourself just in the kitchen so it isn't a must have.)

A little pot will last you for a  long while, despite that fact that it only has 25g worth of product! It isn't a must to own, but I'm a sucker for nice smelling stuff. A 25g pot will cost you £5.25 in the UK and 20SGD in Singapore retail outlets. Once again... The price increment is... I would say acceptable for this product but wait till you see the shampoos/conditioners.

TBH, many people consider Lush to be already expensive in the UK, as seen in most blogger reviews, UNLESS, sponsored by Lush. However, consumers aren't usually sponsored are they? So in SG... It's even more expensive :/ But then again Lush products are more of luxury products that you can do without so I am assuming that the people purchasing are usually okay with indulging.

Love,
Domo

Disclaimer : I bought this with my own $$$! (Yes I'm one of those who tend to have impulse purchases T^T But not always okay!)

Product Review : Lush Cupcake Fresh Face Mask

Hi :D I actually did this review on the same day as the Shunji Matsuo Hair Treatment and scheduled it for today because I'd be working. See... I'm slowly getting hardworking right? Gradually... Turtle-ishly...

SO. During the period of time that we were MIA, my skin turned really bad. I confess that most of the reasons were due to my own laziness though. And usually when I'm home, I don't wear any sort of make up on my face. Contrary to popular beliefs that wearing make up causes your skin to grow lotsa zits, I actually grow more zits without make up. When I have make up on, I do not touch my face at all. Also my powder helps to control the sebum secretion.

Thus when I keep going without make up, I'd touch my face here and there, poke it when I'm bored and pat it too. My sebum secretion is also crazy and makes my T-zone reflective.

So here's what I got to save myself from the oiliness!

The key selling point for me is the CHOCOLATE! I pretty much love a chocolate anything so this was practically screaming my name.

Here is the ingredients list for the sensitive skin peeps. It's a little blurry though T_T So you might want to refer to the Lush website HERE!

With the main ingredient being Rhassoul mud and cacao powder, you must have expected the mask to be of such color. Looks more accurate in the picture below though.

The texture is a little chunky as you can see, probably because of all the mud it contains.

Here it is on my face! Just a thin layer all over will do. Leave it on for 10-15minutes till the mask is dry. Then when you wash it off, don't simply splash water all over. Wet your hands and rub gently in circular motions. I feel like the little chunky bits help to exfoliate a little.

You'll get this! Ok, I'm not referring to the huge eye bags, the crooked nose and the strangely twisted face shape. I think the camera made it weird. LOOK AT THE SKIN! Just focus on the skin will do please :)

Lush SG says :
"Chocolate heaven for oily and teenage skin. Its action removes excess oil and calms breakouts. Rhassoul mud cleans and soothes, linseed, cocoa butter and cocoa powder soften the skin. Balancing peppermint, spearmint and sandalwood oils complete this effective and delicious experience. Apply to clean skin, avoiding the eye area. Leave for five to ten minutes, and then rinse away with warm water. Keep chilled." - As taken from the Lush SG website.

My say :
It's actually not as chocolatey or cupcakey as I expected it to be when I took a whiff of it in the store. It smells really sweet, somewhat overwhelming actually so it may not be for everyone. There's actually a more floral note to it than candy sweets. It's strong in the pot, strong while on the face but lingers around lightly after washing off. I like the washed off scent the most.

The mask itself is actually really creamy in texture. However when you use it straight out from the fridge, it gets a little lumpy and hard to spread around the face. Thus I recommend for all users to let it melt a tiny bit before spreading it all over.

What I've noticed with this mask is that it does suck the oilies out, but not those more stubborn blackheads. For those you'll still have to use those peel off strips or something that works the same way. Despite what it does, it's actually not drying on the face. I have combination oily skin and after using this, my cheeks felt comfortable even without anything on. My skin felt cleaner and softer at the same time. My zits were also less red so I guess it works for the calming breakout part!

To conclude, it's good if you can stand the smell and the price. If you're living in the UK, hooray for you because you can get it at £5.95/75g. This converts to around $12 or so. But because fresh face masks are made without preservatives, you can only buy it in the Singapore Lush which sells this at a whopping $25/75g. It's like double the price. Personally, I will not repurchase as this $25 tub will only last you for a month before it expires. I will stick to my other clay/mud masks >___< (IF IF IF, I'm from the UK, I would repurchase. Not for SG because the price is not worth it.)

Texture : ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (Creamy but lumpy when fresh out from the fridge.)

Effectiveness : ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (It does what it says AND doesn't dry my skin.)

Scent : ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Not really my favorite scent but still bearable.)

Overall : ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (Stars off for the texture, scent and how it's super OP in SG~~)

Cheers,
Domo

Product Review : Dentiste' Plus White Night-Time Toothpaste

Have been MIA-ing for pretty long! Like really MIA because even Ringo hardly sees me > o < Busy busy, I finally got a second shot at my dream job! I'll make it known once I succeed =/

Today, I'm going to review something that's not commonly reviewed on Domokie!

Yes omg, it's tooth paste!

This Dentiste' Plus White Night-Time Toothpaste is supposed to be quick, effective and safe in doing da stuff you see above.

That's the description.

So why is this night time toothpaste so special? Why can't we just stick to regular toothpaste we see all around us?

Well, it's just like how we have day cream vs night cream. Not the same way but a similar theory. If you realize, when you brush in the morning, you shouldn't have much of a bad breath problem at all throughout the day. However, even if we brush right before we sleep, we usually still wake up to BAD BREATH. I'm not sure if you guys do, but I do. And I don't like to say it out in public because I still brush in the day!

So having the opportunity to try this toothpaste, I was super excited to know that there's salvation for morning bad breath!

"What is Dentiste’?

• The only effective Night-Time Toothpaste
• Control oral bacteria effectively to give you a fresh morning breath. It also leads to a good oral and body health. Bad morning breath is a symptom of oral disease.
• Uses natural ingredients and effective packaging technology from Germany. Quality can sustain a longer period

Who should use Dentiste ?

Whilst Dentiste is suitable for people suffering from bad morning breath, it is also for people who want to get healthier since oral bacteria causing bad smell can easily induce other diseases.

• People with bad morning breath, insufficient sleep, and stressful working environment
• People who travel a lot and PREGNANT WOMEN
• Brain, oral, cardiovascular, lung, kidney, spinal cord, and diabetic patients"

Extracted from Confirm Trading's Website.

So erm, unlike your regular white and creamy toothpaste, this one's blue, gel-ish and still creamy! It also has glittery bits in it :D I find it a joy to use simply because I'm weirdly attracted to pretty blue with glitters.

Worry not however, for you will not get a glitter bomb smile or a blue one after using this toothpaste. In fact, you should be glad for this blue toothpaste. Similarly to how a blue eyeliner will make your eye whites look whiter, a blue toothpaste will whiten your teeth! Of course you'll have to brush at least twice a day for that to happen. I know of people who don't brush at least twice a day and I'm like ━━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━━!!!

Also, I noted that with prolonged usage of this toothpaste, morning bad breath really is reduced. I wouldn't say it's completely gone but it's definitely reduced. This toothpaste also "taste fresher" than my regular toothpaste. It's very minty yet it doesn't give me the choking / stinging feeling. It's a pretty refreshing burst of mint in your mouth.

I can't really remember how much this cost but you can check it out at your nearest Watsons or ask Confirm Trading on their FB page. Also, I can't really rate this as per usual because this is a toothpaste. If I had to give it an overall, it'd prolly be a 4/5 stars. And really seriously, I'm going to repurchase this when mine runs out. Blue tooth paste is AWESOME.


Love,
Chiharu ❤

Disclaimer : This product was sent to me for reviewing purposes by Confirm Trading. It does not affect the honesty of my review in any way.

Product Review : Queen Helene The Original Mint Julep Masque

I wasn't intending to review this product so soon, but it would seem like many of you are interested in knowing more about this product. So once requested, we'll try our very best to do it :D

After a grueling day at work, I came home, scarfed down my dinner and took these pictures + edited them immediately! (Watching TV as I go along so it's delayed somewhat)

Proudly presenting...

My two tubes of Queen Helene The Original Mint Julep Masque! Just to show how much I love it, can you see that the tube on the right is almost completely flattened? The white part is yellowing from old age too :( I've had it for nearly two years already so I'm going to trash that and start on the tube beside!

Simple green and white packaging.

The main purpose? Dries up those irritating zits, rinse away your blackheads and shrinks your pores! By that, I have to once again clarify that it only does so for the appearance. For the explanation, please refer to THIS ARTICLE.

The ingredients list for all those who're worried about the contents! Also, I was presented with a question that I did not reply in detail, here it is along with the answer!

"Parabens, harmful on the skin and in the body?"

This is a question that has been raised over and over, not only on Domokie, but on other beauty blogs and basically, everywhere! I'm only answering with regards to Methylparaben here. Methylparaben is actually produced naturally. In fact, they're found in the fruits we consume! Of course, I don't think most of us know that because fruits don't really come along with an ingredients list. The purpose of the Methylparaben is to help kill the unwanted dirties in your skincare / food. Examples of the dirties can be fungi, bacteria and all the unseen things you can think of.

There has been tons of arguments and research done on this ingredient and contradicting results have been found. There are those who will NEVER touch this and describe this as a potential health hazard. There are those who think that this is harmless. Results from different studies have shown that indeed, Methylparaben can possibly cause damage to the skin yet it is still declared safe to use by the FDA. Perhaps that is because the negative impact(s) caused by Methylparaben isn't backed up sufficiently with enough research / results to be known as a fact? However, Methylparaben, if ingested, will be passed out as urine instead of accumulating in our bodies.

The fact about Methylparaben would be that it is actually a non-irritating ingredient that's great for sensitive skin. People who experience adverse skin reactions to this ingredient is because they are allergic to it. According to Wikipedia, this ingredient is "not carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic or embryotoxic; additionally, it is negative in the uterotrophic assay." To know what an uterotrophic assay means, kindly google for yourself as I do not want to lengthen this answer any further! In short, I probably will not be avoiding products that contain Methylparaben like a plague.

The full description of the mask.

Here's what it looks like! A strange, green and grey clay!

This mask is a dream for those zits that have the white pus on the surface! It really shrinks them well and kicks the pus out of them. For those angry red ones, I am apologetic to say that this mask will only soothe the redness instead of purging the entire thing. To use this as an acne treatment, put a nice blob on your zits, like you would do with a spot treatment, leave this overnight and wash off the next morning. xteeener, one of my favorite youtube gurus adores this product as well!

Personally, I feel that this mask only works for extracting very light blackheads. By light blackheads, I'm referring to those that have yet to harden and become a solid form. Those can be sucked out easily with this mask. If your blackheads belong to the hard and stubborn category, a pore strip or a peeling mask would be more advisable. Kindly refer to the article on Pore Problems for more information. To remove blackheads with this mask, apply this over the affected pore areas for about 15-20 minutes to let it dry.

Apply a nice thick layer such as this.

And it should look like this when it starts drying up. It should start looking all crackled and wrinkly. The lightest whitish green is the area that is completely dried.

Really, at the end of the mask, your skin will feel smooth and tight in the good way. This mask has a nice minty scent at the beginning but the smell turns a little wonky as it starts to dry up. You will also feel a slight cooling sensation upon the application of this mask. It will go away in a few minutes as the mask starts to "tighten" your skin while drying up!

Sadly, despite how good it sounds, it is NOT readily available in Singapore. There may be little beauty shops that sell these but at a marked up price. There's one store that sells this in the Yishun Shopping Mall near where I stay. Please note that Yishun Shopping Mall =/= Northpoint! Alternatively, you can spree these in from Drugstore.com.

Scent: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (From mint to wonky, not really my kinda thing~)
Effectiveness: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (Wonderful wonderful product! Cleans my pores really well and kills those zits!)
Overall : ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (One star off simply due to the scent, nothing else to penalize!)

Nothing much to judge on hence there're only 3 factors!

Also, remember to submit your entry for our GIVEAWAY HERE by 23.59 TODAY if you haven't already!

Cheers,
Chiharu ❤

Disclaimer : I bought both tubes with my own money!