Category: Kikay

Sunscreen haul

Lupus & melasma means (1) using only mineral / physical sunscreen (2) that has a high SPF bec of photosensitivity, (3) that doesn’t cling to your dry patches caused by your medications, and (4) doesn’t make your tinted moisturizer or foundation pill.

My latest sunscreen haul includes:

 

 

Goodbye Korean skincare

As I get to know my skin, I slowly veer away (unconsciously) from Korean skin care products. When I look at my shelf, it’s now mostly Taiwanese, Japanese, Western & prescription products.

I’m grateful though for the entire K-Beauty industry as it was pivotal in opening the doors for me in getting to know more about skin care.

But having said that, I’ve been so far disappointed with the formulation of K products when compared to the likes of Japanese or Taiwanese skin care products. Possibly because K products seem more diluted, seem to have more fragrance than necessary, and seem to be more particular about packaging than anything else.

But another possible theory is that maybe my skin is just not yet ready for Korean skin care. Maybe they are really geared towards those with very few skin problems to begin with.

And I’m definitely not normal:

  • Melasma (a result of my Lupus medications, and further compounded by my pregnancy)
  • Extremely dry (with all the flakes and everything)
  • Sensitive
  • Wrinkled

But it’s not totally goodbye:

  • I still have Banila Co. Clean It Zero (although I’m just trying to finish it up)
  • I plan to try out Mizon’s peptide serum
  • I still love Tony Moly’s cute packaging (although I only buy them so that my toddler can play with them)
  • Trying out their Konjac sponge (but it’s too early to tell if it’s better than __)
    Currently loving their Espoire silicon sponge

Even if my workhorse skincare products is not anymore Korean, I still am one of its biggest fans.

Review of MAC Face & Body Foundation

Make Up Forever and MAC Face & Body Foundation

The best foundation for me has always been a water-based liquid foundation. Powder or cream based foundation just look cakey on me — which is ironic considering I have oily skin.

My go-to has always been Make Up Forever Face & Body Foundation (Shade 34), applied using MAC’s stippling brush. But nowadays, it’s pretty hard to find stores which sell Make Up Forever here in Metro Manila, so I needed an alternative which will provide at least the same feel and finish.

I got the MAC Face & Body Foundation (Shade C3) hoping that it would be “it.” Although I loved the packaging (Make Up Forever’s pump wastes a bit of product), I didn’t like it at first. For one thing, it doesn’t seem to play nice using any of my go to foundation brushes.

Application was great, however, when I used my bare fingers. I am not yet too comfortable with this because I hate messing up my hands when applying makeup. Plus, I do not want to inadvertently “scrub out” my moisturizer and SPF.

Brushes

I also noticed that I need to use 50% more of the product than Make Up Forever (which provides more then enough coverage with just 3 to 4 pumps).

One good thing about MAC though is that everyone seem to love it on me. I’ve been getting a lot of compliments on how my skin looks brighter and smoother. So despite everything I hate about it, I might end up using this more in the long run.