MIA Apologies!! And some stuff about Salicylic Acid.

Hi again! Didja miss me? (^^;;;;) Sorry I've been gone for....a little over a month now ahahaha~ Some little developments have me all in a tizzy in more ways than one really. And with all most situations, I have a very good excuse.

And here it is.

Get it? Get it?!?

Yep, 100% natural in the traditional way. LOL

I have to say it wasn't expected but I guess it's about that time in life before I get much ahem older. The Husband's a lot more excited than I am. I guess it's hard to get excited when you feel pretty bleh and slightly motion sick so often throughout the day m(=____=)m yep, that's my life now...constantly clutching a bottle (sometimes 2) of medicated oil. I tell people the kid might have a hearing problem at the rate The Husband keeps yelling into my belly button like it's the Grand Canyon lol Just joking of course, about the hearing problem, not the yelling. That part's true unfortunately XP

Looking forward to including some new topics into the blog with this development and thought I'd start with a small piece that I was checking up this week.

This is especially important if you intend to breastfeed.

In a nutshell, topical use is considered safe as long as it's within 2% (if it's near the bottom of your product's ingredients list you should be fine.). The general opinion is that toners are ok because you do a quick swipe instead of 'soaking' your skin in the stuff but it's safer if you know the concentration of your product. Peels are totally out of the question. ALWAYS check with your gynae if this is a big concern of course.

Oral forms of salicylic acid are a big no-no because the chemical in oral form gives rise to higher risks for miscarriage, heart defects, heart & lung problems for the baby as well as bleeding issues for both mother and baby. These are the same reasons for not taking aspirins during pregnancy.

Sidenote about painkillers: My gynae tells me Panadol (the regular type, not Max or Cold/Flu etc) is fine if not taken often and just 1 tab.

My DHC Salicylic Acid Acne Toner has Salicylic Acid listed fairly high up on the ingredients list, 3rd to be exact, but a check on the website (DHCCare) states 2% Salicylic Acid so I'm slightly relieved. I have just a few drops left in my current bottle so I'll probably down the usage to once a day till it finishes and hunt for a more natural toner option for my combination skin.

All in all, anything that's too concentrated is potentially harmful to your new little best friend. So if your hormones aren't doing kamikaze somersaults and creating absolute havoc on your skin, it's best to go as natural and minimalistic as possible with the skincare routine during pregnancy just to be absolutely safe. OR you can bombard your gynae with a list of products and ask their opinion~ Fortunately my skin isn't breaking out or anything so far...hopefully it'll stay nice and calm for the next 7 months!

Now to stock up on my Konjac sponges again~

Nuxe Aroma-Perfection Purifying Cleansing Gel, Hello!

I'm not sure if you guys remember but I stopped using cleansers when I rediscovered the awesome cleansing and skin-balancing properties of the konjac sponge in Nov 2012. I really feel that not using cleansers 90% of the time helped my skin to regain its natural balance and got my skin back to a..how shall I say...neutral ground? Like I got a fresh look at my real skin type y'know? =P I hope I'm making sense here.

It's been almost a year since I had a regular facial cleanser into my routine so I figured it was time to reintroduce one to my routine. Since there was some salicylic acid in the ingredients mix, I settled on the Purifying Cleansing Gel from the Nuxe Aroma-Perfection range~

S$42/200ml at the usual drugstores/pharmacies/dept stores

Although its just a tad pricey, Nuxe is quite often on 20% off during sales so that brings the price down by almost S$10! *thumbs up*

Here's a look at the back of the bottle and ingredients list:

'Clears pores and eliminates excess sebum while respecting the skin (soap-free, mild surfactants). Morning or night, work into a lather on damp skin then rinse off. Avoid contact with eyes.

Without paraben.'

After switching toners from Legere to DHC, my sebum clog-prone jawline was still experiencing the occasional clog so I was hoping that a cleanser would complete the job. The Nuxe Purifying Cleansing Gel comes in a regular pump dispenser that's abit on the stiff side so it travels safely without leakage.

I usually use about 1 to 1 1/2 pumps....this is the amount you get from 1 pump:

The instructions say to work into a lather on damp skin. For awhile I couldn't figure out how to foam it...applying it to a damp face only resulted in a thinned out gel with zero foam. Then I realized that I need to foam it in my palm first~ Just rub the gel and a little water semi-violently around the palm of your hand with a couple of fingers and you should get a thin foam that looks like this:

Conventional knowledge will tell you that gel cleansers are better for combination oily skin types but I was skeptical as I'd previously tried the Perfect Gel cleanser (Kose) and didn't like it because it seemed to leave an invisible layer of something on my face and didn't do anything for the sebum production...

But Nuxe totally did it for me. The lather washes off great and doesn't leave any dry or tight feeling. My jawline was completely clear within 2 weeks of usage and I use it maybe 4 days of the week to prevent overcleansing~ I'm about 2 months into the bottle and my jawline is PRISTINE. Not a single, tiny clog, I swear. I also notice an overall less oily complexion =)

So basically, the Nuxe Purifying Cleansing Gel:

• at S$42, is on the slightly higher price end of drugstore products but there's always drugstore sales to take advantage of
• 200ml bottle should last 3 to 4 months (I'm about 2 months into my bottle and have about 1/2 left)
• clean-looking white plastic pump dispenser bottle; doesn't over-dispense and easy to travel with
• soap-free, paraben-free, mild surfactants, contains salicylic acid & zinc.
• thin lather washes off well and leaves no dry or tight afterfeel.
• worked well in sebum control and delivered fairly quick results with regular use
• results: zero sebum clogs on my clog-prone jawline and an overall less oily complexion

So glad that I didn't have to go through a few different cleansers before settling on this one! It was really a lucky on-a-whim purchase! (^_^)

Dipping into DHC - Salicylic Acne Toner

If you've been reading Cottonball Crusade for awhile, you'll realize that I've been using the L'egere ice toner (Initial + followup review HERE) for quite long now and am quite a fan. However I've become increasingly irritated at the lack of stock in shops here! John Little and BHG don't seem to be restocking the Ice toners at all~~~~ ( T_T ) I stocked up a few bottles whenever there was a sale but because 1 bottle only lasts me about 1 1/2 mths, I felt it best to find an alternative.

After some misses with other brands like Suisai (Tightening Lotion) and Bioessence (Tanaka White) I decided to give DHC a whirl.

Retails for S$32 exclusively @ Watsons

This is my first product from DHC by the way, never really knew what to make of their products before ^_^;;

Back of the box info:

Overall, I don't really have acne prone skin but the DHC Salicylic Acne Toner, like the L'egere Ice Toner, contains Salicylic acid so I thought that might be the active ingredient for controlling my clog/spot-prone jawline. Also, it states that it'd suit combination, normal or oily skin types so I reckoned it wouldn't be too harsh.

Here's a look at the ingredients:

 I am slightly comforted by the various natural extracts towards the end of the list. Just slightly. =P

It's your basic twist off cap with a nozzle dispenser:

The nozzle controls product quite well so you don't need to be worried about product spillage as long as you're not swinging the bottle around =P

Even though it's the same product weight as L'egere, the DHC toner definitely lasts longer because of it's liquid form~ Because of that, the slightly higher price doesn't bother me much.

I've been using the DHC toner for almost a month now so the effect has stabilized enough for me to review it properly =)

1st week
I felt my skin become a lot softer. And I mean ALOT. Since stopping the L'egere toner, several (but not many) clogs reappeared along my jawline plus ONE zit. I suppose the fact that it was that time of the month for me played a part?

2nd week
Clogs start to fade away SLOWLY. Skin feels super smooth and soft *hearts* Oil control, whilst not as immediate or mattifying as L'egere, is effective. Skin has a healthy sheen without looking or feeling oily.

4th week
Still experience the occasional clog or 2 but very rare. Skin remains super smooth and soft to the touch *omg love* My complexion has also developed a sort of radiant sheen!

In short, the DHC Salicylic Acne Toner:

• is quite affordable and easily available at Watsons, occasional sales on DHC items will get you 20 - 25% discount
• 160ml of product should last abt 2 to 3 months by my current estimation
• suitable for combination, normal and oily skin types - I have combination skin (oily base, slightly dehydrated surface) with no adverse reactions ^_^
• Leaves a very very slight tacky feel that fades quickly (this doesn't really matter cos moisturiser's going over it anyway)
• Doesn't have the mattifying effect of L'egere but nevertheless has good oil and sebum control
• Has a slightly antiseptic & leafy smell, not unpleasant really and it dissipates in seconds
• Produced the promised softening and smoothening effect within 2 weeks of regular twice a day usage, effect is lasting and very very nice!

Basically, I'm SOLD. Bye bye L'egere, Hello DHC~

Revisiting: L'egere Pure Aqua Pore Tightening Ice Toner

You might recall that I purchased this sherbet-y toner from L'egere during the BHG sale awhile back:

S$27.90 from BHG

( You can read my initial review HERE )

I didn't really think much of it initially and even ventured as far as to say that it might not be worth a repeat purchase especially since it didn't seem to be doing anything for my pores. But I did enjoy the cooling feeling and the fun of spraying this sherbet-y substance into a cotton pad everyday so I bought a 2nd bottle.

2 months on, I'm close to finishing the 2nd bottle (with 2 more bottles in my drawer) and feel that my initial assessment needs some tweaking.

The L'egere Pure Aqua Pore Tightening Ice Toner:

• still has not done much for my pores, though they have not worsened either =( I am resigned to my crater face fate.
• BUT has (after its addition to my daily routine) helped to COMPLETELY eradicate the irritating clogs along my jawline! Yes the very ones that have been terrorising me for a good 8 months! And this is why I've continued purchasing~
• mattifying effect remains the same i.e decent enough for my combination skin
• product near the spray nozzle turns yellowish if left unused for more than a day or 2 (you'll see it when you spray it), but seems harmless. No side effects on me.
• unfortunately 1 bottle doesn't last very long, only about a 1 1/2 months? So keep a look out for sales if you intend to stockpile this! =)

I have to say, I'm elated that my cloggy jawline is now cleared T_T You have no idea how much I've anguished over it~ If anyone is interested, my current skincare product lineup is:

• Konjac sponge for cleansing (cleansing foam used only if I've had makeup on)
• L'egere Pure Aqua Pore Tightening Ice Toner
• Laneige Light Balancing Emulsion

These 3 are the basis of my routine these days, with a serum or eye cream here and there plus my beauty supplements, it seems to be working out pretty well~ Yayyyy~~~ =D

The down side is, after finding products that have worked so well for me, it's hard to justify trying/buying other brands or products out of curiousity... >_<

Do you continue trying/purchasing other brands or products after you've found your HG product? Does the search ever really end? (._.)

A quick look @ L'egere Pure Aqua Pore Tightening Ice Toner~

As you've probably seen from the BHG sale loot some posts back, I bought the L'egere Pure Aqua Pore Tightening Ice Toner (what a mouthful, try saying that 10 times quickly =P) after some raving from a girlfriend. As I've only just started using it for about a week, it hasn't yielded the desired results (i.e small small smallerrrrr pores, which is quickly becoming something of an urban legend to me) yet but it's enjoyable enough for me to want to share a quick peek!

Product in question:

S$27.90 from BHG's aLT beauty corner

Labelled 'Suitable for all skin types', this product is designed to:

• sooth, heal and hydrate tired skin with the rich mineral and vitamin content of pure Alaskan glacial water
• tighten pores and control sebum secretion with the patented P-Refinyl Pore Tightening formula 
• reduce redness & swelling, unblock clogged pores and kill acne-causing bacteria with salicylic acid

Used before makeup, it's supposed to keep the shinies in check and help your makeup stay put. For me, the shine control and cooling effect was very attractive given the hot weather in Singapore~

As you'll see in abit, Legere's not kidding about the 'ice cooling' bit.