2012 Best Finds - Top 8

In a few hours, 2013 will be upon us! A New Year: new beauty finds, new fashions, new foods, new friends (maybe) =P At my age, one doesn't make friends easily. But I digress.

 

Here's a look back on my favourite finds this year! Almost all the items have repeat purchases so you know I really like them~ Just click on the product names for the respective reviews!

(Note: Item listing is in no particular order.)

1 - The Konjac Sponge *click*

For replacing unneccesary cleansers in my routine and starting my skin on the route to recovery and balance, clog-free!! And so cheap!

 

2 - Biore SaraSara Powder Sheets *click*

The best wet tissue with a fragrant powdery finish for muggy days, post-workout or for a quick freshen up before stepping out!

3 - Mentholatum Organic Certified lipbalm *clickity click*

After trying to many different brands and methods, finally a lipbalm that keeps my lips moisturised and chap-free in all climates, even the -20degree winter~ Best part is it's organic too!

 

Check out the other 5 candidates after the cut! ^__^

COTTONBALL CRUSADE'S FIRST GIVEAWAY! (●⌒∇⌒●)

 ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ ==( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ== ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ== ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ== ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ ==( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ== ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ ==( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

It's been a little over a month since the first Cottonball Crusade post and I thought I might celebrate and say thank you for the support with a little giveaway for my Singaporean readers~

M.A.C Eyebrow Service voucher x 2 (S$30 value)
+ 1 Konjac Sponge (Tomato for Anti-oxidants) from Sasa (S$6.90 value)

For ONE lucky reader:

There are 2 Eyebrow Service @ M.A.C Raffles City Robinsons vouchers valid till 31 Dec 2012 and 1 Konjac Care tomato konjac sponge from Sasa~ The konjac sponge as you may know, is one of my favourite cleansing tools EVER. You can read my review HERE if you haven't seen it yet (tsk tsk). =P

How to win this?

Simple! Just follow the steps below~

• 'Like' the Cottonball Crusade on Facebook
• Leave a comment on this post (just show some love!)
• Sign off with your Facebook name

Contest ends at 23:59hrs GMT +8 on 24 November 2012. A winner will be randomly picked and notified through Facebook! =)

Note: This giveaway is only applicable to readers in Singapore as the vouchers can only be used in Singapore.

I'll have other giveaways in future that overseas readers can participate in as well so stay with me people!!

Same Same But Different?

Remember when I said that the Konjac sponges might come in different densities? Well, I'd just like to illustrate that with the 2 sponges from 2 different brands.

From Left: Dry Charcoal Konjac Sponge (Pink Package from Watsons)
& a moist Aloe Konjac Sponge (Konjac Care; Star King from SaSa)

The Charcoal Sponge is completely dried up like a prune in the above photo, but when moist it will expand to the same size as the Star King Aloe Sponge and look like this:



From Left: Moist Charcoal Konjac Sponge & moist Aloe Konjac Sponge

 

If you can tell, the Charcoal Sponge is slightly more porous than the Aloe Sponge. I'm not sure if it's because of the additional 'ingredients' that make the Aloe Sponge feel firmer and more spongy. It also doesn't give the 'omg so clean but so hydrated' feeling that the Charcoal Sponge imparts. Visually, it looks like the net-like structure of the konjac fibers is more concentrated on the Aloe Sponge thus the less 'contour-friendly' feeling.

 

I haven't opened the other sponges yet but I believe that the ones with additives (tomato, cucumber etc) from Star King are all of the firmer variety. Personally, the softer Charcoal Konjac sponge appeals to me more for the texture and the cleaner, more hydrated feeling. Just a little comparison for your reference~ =)

If you noticed, I received 2 Yamamoto Farm Konjac Sponges at the Watsons sale from my Collagen box sets, very lucky 'cos I was about to buy them online~ The sponges I have been using are made in China but I've been looking to get the Japanese ones for comparison. ^^

Have you tried the Konjac sponges from different countries yet? How do they measure up against each other?

One Great Thing in a Little Squishy Package~

Ever thought that you could actually get by WITHOUT cleansers? No more foaming soaps, gels, milks or creams? As it turns out, you can. Well, almost anyway. If you wear makeup regularly, you'll still need your usual makeup removers + cleansers to completely clean up but in all other situations, this sponge will do the trick!

Konjac Sponge Specimen A - Looks like a rock but cleanses oh so gently~

This is~~~ A Konjac Sponge~

You may have heard of Konjac sponges some time ago (maybe a year or two?) when it first swept through the beauty market but the hype died down quite soon and I've not heard much of it since. This is very common in Japan (and I'm sure in Korea and China as well) and retails for a few hundred yen at Matsumoto Kiyoshi. I regret not picking this up when it was always in my face. I'd put it down as pure hype then, an unfortunate characteristic of many Japanese beauty products.