Pink and Undecided: hand cream

Body-Tale 06 : Missha Moist 24 Hand Cream Manuka Honey

Hellow!

How's your Saturday night, peeps? Ours is pleasant although relatively calm. The guys had their monthly hair cut by Mr. Ndaru, i got my bangs trimmed and #Undecided got her hair shortened. Then we (four of us + Baby Boy and the nanny) went for dinner at the new-ish restaurant, The Champion. It was pretty nice, but lots of mosquitos @___@, we'll be blogging all about it later! Anyway, i feel like i haven't been posting enough review this month and i am preparing my last of our Hong Kong trip right now so in the meantime i think it's the perfect time to slip in one review from my hoarded drafts *LOL*... Let's start!

As a body lotion junkie, it might seems weird that i don't really use their little cousin : hand cream, all that much. I don't really suffer from dry hands normally (recently i find out whenever i'm using shower gels/creams that aren't moisturizing enough for me i'd get a strange, uncomfortable feeling on my palms, but as long as i use a good shower gel *or the ones that are suitable for me, since every body has a different skin condition and reacts differently to products* then i won't feel it) and i always slather on body lotion/cream/whatever i'm currently using generously all over my limbs (yeah, i don't really like putting them on any other body parts, maybe that's weird but i just don't feel comfortable doing it. I do live in a tropical country, if it's any explanation) and i know it's not, but i feel like my hands already got their portion from this regimen.

However, i do realize that even if you treat your face with total care and you might look 10 years younger than you really are, your hands would betray you with signs of aging (one of the dead giveaway to a person's age is their mottled, dried hands right...) and i SO do not want that! That's why i made a pact to start treating my hands a little better and invest on some hand lotions. I still fare BADLY (i struggle to finish a tiny, travel sized one within half a year *sigh*) because i keep on forgetting or too lazy to use them, but i am trying!!!

This is the first time ever i'm reviewing a hand cream (i was also quite confused on which series i should feature it and if i should start a new series for hand creams but that sounds very ambitious, i might have like... two or three reviews on them per year tops! So in the end i decided to feature it in my Body-Tale series since hands are part of your body, right!) and it's not something i purchased, i received it as a bonus from intenscorner.com when i bought some products from them.

Missha Moist 24 Hand Cream Manuka Honey

Please let me talk a bit about the brand first. I first got to know Missha many years ago when i was still studying in Singapore. It opened some stores in Singapore and what i noticed about them at the beginning (back then Korean products were still not very well-known like right now, i'm talking about more than 10 years ago okay...) was how CHEAP everything was! Later around the same year i went to Korea on a trip and saw Missha everywhere, and i learned that back then Missha was like Korean's version of Viva (one of the most affordable but and well-known Indonesian brand), they are everywhere and super cheap. If i'm not mistaken, they also started to arrive in Indonesia around this time frame and they were also very cheap here.

Fast forward to a few years later, suddenly Missha disappeared both in Singapore and Indonesia and reappeared a few years later with different concept. I was starting to like Korean brands (Etude House... You're the culprit) and was shocked when i checked out Missha's prices, they seems to evolved to a higher end kind of brand unlike last time. Their prices also became quite expensive compared to most easily accessible Korean brands (like EH, Tony Moly, The Face Shop, Skin Food, etc). This is my own experience with Missha okay so don't be annoyed if i get the facts wrong or whatever!

Anyway, i was pretty stoked when i saw this Missha hand cream (i got it in a travel size, sadly no indication about how much product it contained. It was about the size of my clenched palm, pretty decent) amongst my ordered stuffs and tried it on immediately (i have finished it by now).

The travel/sample size comes with a small, cute creme tube with simple and elegant flower (manuka!) design

With a twist off top

The texture surprised me a bit, other than this the only hand cream i used to own (the list kinda grew now, i have a few more. Not much, but definitely more than 3) was this Bath and Body Works one that my mum gave to me (i tried a few other hand creams here and there, not mine but my mum's or my sister's) and i was expecting it to have the same texture with any other hand creams i've ever tried (which were rich, very creamy and quite greasy) because this Missha one was a lot lighter, with slightly transparent white color.

Now, i heard about manuka honey all the time but never really paid any attention so i googled for a little bit and found their Wiki . Apparently they are supposed to have an anti-bacterial property so that's good for a hand cream, yeah? I am also a HUGE fan of honey (to consume and in products both)+LOVE their scent (i know not everybody's fond of honey's scent though!) so i was pretty excited to try this out. I was hoping that it'd smell like honey, but... No, it actually smelt very soft and a bit floral (maybe the manuka flower's scent? I dunno since i have no idea how manuka smells like) and not a lot of trace of honey scent. I don't hate the smell, but i am not a big fan either.

This is the description stated in Missha's website : Containing Moist 24, an extract of Imperata Cylindrical Root, this hand cream provides long lasting moisturizing effects for 24 hours.

I have no idea what imperata cylindrical root was and the wiki didn't say anything about long lasting moisturizing effects but for me personally... I don't really find it all that moisturizing at all. Now, don't get me wrong, i read some reviews on this hand cream while writing this and seems like a lot of people like this hand cream and found it very moisturizing, i just do not get the same effect as they do, maybe my skin's weird (like me. It is part of me afterall...).

Maybe it's got to do with the texture and how i am not used to this kind of lighter type (i do like rich, creamy ones that instantly sooth my palms whenever its feeling exceptionally dry BUT i recently am using L'Occitane's that has a similar texture to this with very different, BETTER, effects) that does spread out easily and absorb fast but left a weird sticky (not greasy, sticky!) feeling on my hands, but i am not a fan. I also do not feel that it's moisturizing enough for me, it never really succeeded in completely eliminating the dry feeling on my palms.

I brought this on my make up pouch in hope that i'd remember to use it whenever i'm reaching for something inside it, but i dislike the feeling they gave me so that hope was totally in vain *LOL*. I also brought this hand cream to my trips to Europe, SG and Taiwan. I was especially worried about cold weather in Europe might dry my skin out (it didn't. I notice no difference in my skin condition over there except maybe my facial skin's slightly less oily. Very slight difference though!) and kept on using it in Europe at least. Well, it does help prevent my skin from going dry but for me it's not THAT moisturizing, and it definitely didn't leave a 24 hours effect.

In short, this hand cream is not for me. I would recommend this for people who are looking for a light weight, non greasy hand cream with soft scent.

Not recommending this for those who are looking for a more dramatic result or a very moisturizing one.

Again, this was completely my own experience and in no way i am implying that this is not a good product, it's just doesn't really work on ME. If you're interested in this product, don't let this review stop you since this product actually works on others, you can read a more success story with it here for example.

And no, i won't purchase this in full size, i will keep on trying other hand creams and look for others that works better for me :).

Toodles!

#Pink

11:18:00 PM
2 Comments

What's Inside My Make Up Pouch

concealer

Hi my dearies!

How's it going? I'm pretty stoked because... i just booked a flight for another trip, just hunny, Baby Boy and i-a first! Right right, most of you probably grumble, another vacation really? In my defense it's local (to Bali) and we're using the voucher my family won from Mercure! It expires on December, so we're going on late November (early November's A's due date, i definitely don't want to miss the arrival of Baby no 2 in our little group!).

But i just realized that flights to Bali, even on promo, is like as expensive as tickets to Malaysia or something *grumble grumble*, no wonder Indonesian seems to prefer holidaying overseas, the tickets are so cheap! Now we just need to book another hotel for the next two nights (coz i'm not spending almost 2 mill on tickets and stays for only four days, no way!) and our next trip's all set!

Okay, enough about that. Now getting on what this entry is all about. You must've seen this kind of entries on any beauty blog around, and am for one is a huge fan of entries like that. Yes, like so many of my peers, i LOVE to nose around on other girls' pouches and admire what kind of things she has and tote around on her go to make up pouch. I've always wanted to do this kind of post too, but always forgot to take pictures until a few days ago i finally did! Then i saw Nancy's video of HER pouch and i instantly want to write this entry like RIGHT NOW. So here it is haha.

Warning in advance, i don't really care about make up pouches (or wallet, my wallet's fugly and cheapo, and yes i do wear designer branded bags with them and i don't care!!!), i already mentioned it in the past-that i don't really buy pouches much, i just use whatever i have-which 90% was freebies (from buying other things) or something someone gave to me/my family members who in turn, passed them to me and i'd wear them to death. And my current pouch is, just like that, fugly and crumbling hahahaha.

I do have other prettier pouches, but i think one should be honest on what one really is using at the moment for this kind of entry to be fun! I don't want to change anything about it to make it prettier, it'd be no fun at all if it's staged like that! Okay, wanna see?

Heheheh. It's Hello Kitty but made of a very thin tissue like material. It's from Daiso, but i didn't buy it, one of my mum's friends bought this for her as a gift from Malaysia or something (but i think it's available in Indonesian Daiso as well). Been using it a while and due to its material, it's fugly and falling apart already. The Kitty picture also started to fall off haha.

What's inside?

Woah... Yeah, so many things. The pouch's quite small, mind you, it's like a pencil case's size but it can definitely house a LOT of things right! And normally i really don't bring that much stuffs! Honest to God! I usually limited my lippies up to three only, lately i've been changing lippies colors and i was too lazy to bring out the other ones inside the pouch, that explains the number of lippies in this pic!

Let see them by categories :

Wow 8 lippies WTH *___*

5 Lip colors

Helena Rubinstein Ritual Rouge & Ritual Rouge Brilliant

Isn't it the cutest lippies samples ever? I don't really like lippies samples that looks like little books with tiny plastic covers on them *you know what i mean right?* coz it gets messy really easily, also the tiny normal shaped ones because it's so hard to close without nicking the lippies itself or breaking it when you apply them-even softly! Love this cute matchstick looking samples. You can see it's smudgin' a little bit on the case, it's probably squished inside my bag or the heat melted the lippies a little, but not as bad as other types of samples.

Oriflame lippies in Sparkling Ruby, Spices (Thai brand) in Flirt with Pink, Estee Lauder Pure Color Long Lasting Lipstick in 116 Candy, SilkyGirl Soda Pop in Strawberry

Yes, dominated by pink obviously because that's the color that i have the most, but also because my current gel polish is glittering mermaid blue so i wear mostly blue dresses, in turns my make up plays around that hue as well which i think looks perfect with pink lips!

And that's my Soda Pop, finally making an appearance in this blog! So crazy about this see-through *too bad you can't really see it clearly here* lippies that i've used it non-stop in Taiwan (#Undecided can testify how many times in one day i flip it out and began slicking it on my lips hahaha) and after-that i think i've used half already. LOL. You'll see plenty more of this lippies since the JB/SG haul is not posted *or written* yet, and i am ready to make a review of it too!

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Shine City, L'Cheap (dunno what brand this is, my mum bought it for me in HK) Lip Oil, Guardian House Brand Lip Moisturizer in Natural Flavor

A lip balm is a MUST for me, and this Guardian Lip Moisturizer works as both lip balm and lip gloss so i didn't need anything else in this pic haha but i usually always bring one clear (or colored, depends) lip gloss because i cannot live without juicy, glossy lips. Recently opened the L'Cheap to bring to A's lil sis' wedding (entry coming up, as soon as i can make #Undecided blog), that's why it's here!

Random Pearly White Eye Crayon, Oriflame Dual Black&White Eyeliner

Another must have (other than lip balm) on my make up pouch, eyeliner pencil! The crayon and the white one's not a must lah, the black one is *for my waterline*-it just happens that the white one's attached to the black one hahaha. My current eyeliner that i wear almost every time i go out *i tend to use one eyeliner/mascara at a time unlike the other decorative make up*, this eyeliner also became my savior when i completely forgot to bring my liquid one to Europe, i used this everyday on my upper lid as well (i normally always use liquid eyeliner on my upper lid)! It's not the best (it smudges) or whatever but i does a decent job, and it stayed on my lids the whole day (not on waterline, obvi).

Clean&Clear Oil Control Film

Now this is the #1 must have in my pouch! If i forgot anything else i can still roll with it, but not this one! I am an oil mine so i have to use this religiously every few hours! I use Clean&Clear's the most because it's the easiest to find anywhere, but i don't really care about the brand as long as it's a FILM, i don't really care about oil papers (coz i'd need like, 5 of them at one go, where with oil films i can stop after 2 sheets. Yes, i am THAT oily but you won't notice IRL, people thinks i do dewy make up perfectly when it's just my natural oil *GROSS* hahaha).

I stock them like crazy, i need to have like, a dozen of them in my stash so that i'd feel safe. I have this brand the most because they go on sale the most, like +1000 get 2 in Guardian, then i'd buy as much as possible because it'd be so cheap. But i really love trying other brands as well. Whenever i see other brands/variants that isn't available in Indonesia, i'd buy them even though it's much more expensive than this one. Can't help it, it's a disease.

L'Occitane Pivione Flora Hand Cream and Missha Moist 24 Hand Cream

It's only recently that i began using hand-creams and i still struggle to discipline myself on using them. Right now my usage frequency of hand creams'... Whenever i went out... sometimes. LOL. Yes, i'm that bad. But i'm finishing up the Missha one (it's a freebie from Inten's Corner) that's why i got that L'Occitane (that one is from one of those Beauty Boxes, yeah i very rarely purchase them, i have like maybe two that i purchased myself because of the packaging) on the ready, it's never been used yet.

Anna Sui Inspired Hand Mirror and Tiny Comb

Okay, those two are another MUST. I can't go out without a reflecting surface on the ready! I think flip it out like every few hours, Ashley (the lovely lady that accompanied us for one full day in Taipei, travel entry to be expected) even commented once "No wonder you always look so good, you always bring out your mirror and check out yourself and see if everything's still good". Hahahaha, yes, you're right Ashley, i am attached to that thing!

I don't really comb my hair other than after i wash them, then why the tiny comb? That's for my bangs, silly! Our (#Undecided's and mine) bangs are the type that wouldn't look good if it's parted so we're forever obsessing over them, especially when we take pictures! That's when this little one come in handy!

I told you once that these Anna Sui inspired things caused me a little argument with L's stupid friend when she thought this was original Anna Sui and when i innocently corrected her, she was like insulting and downgrading me. Don't worry, i put her in her place, you picked the wrong b***h to mess with, woman! Just because i refuse to spend millions of tiny things i only throw around casually doesn't mean you can insult me, okay! MYOB!

Eyelash curler and cotton swab

I don't usually bring my eyelash curler out, but when i took this pictures i was having a bad eyelashes day *that means my stupid mascara won't hold the curl zzzz* so i was self-conscious and had to bring this in my pouch, in case my eyelashes decided to drop. It's my fave one, the disgustingly cheap one from Stroberi. Sorry! I bought a more decent one from The Body Shop but it's a total crap!!! I hate it! The cotton swap's for fixing my eye makeup if anything smudges or leaks *sometimes the corner of my eyes would leak, and once it started leaking-it won't stop for the rest of the day. A total pain in the BEEP!*

Oriflame Stick Concealer

Hahaha, i cut our the tip of my stick concealer and keep it in this little jar (so fugly already even though i hardly touch this, all those rubbing and squishing inside the pouch does that) for emergencies. I very rarely touch it because it's also super rare *like maybe once or twice a year* that i got a spot bad enough that i need re-touching throughout the day.

Britney Spears' Radiance Perfume Sample

Also another thing i don't normally bring out (unless i'm traveling, then i'd definitely bring my fragrances to spritz on throughout the day), but this one i also brought to A's sis' wedding and it's so tiny (another thing it got from those Beauty Boxes, i got two actually-from different boxes) that i just decided to chuck it in, in case i need a boost. Needn't have to bother though because the staying power's superb! I could still find traces of the fragrance the morning after!

Last but not least

A hair clip

This i also always bring in my pouch, for emergency whenever my bangs got too long and get in the way, i can always pin it to the side! Especially handy when i', traveling coz i don't usually bother with my hair so i won't remember to bring any clip if it's not already inside the pouch!

Hhmm, i just realized that something's missing (after watching Nancy's video haha)! I usually always bring my tiny retractable lip brush around! Must've left it in my other pouch and forgot to move it into this one!

And that's all the items inside my current make up pouch! After i'm done writing this i'm taking out all but one lipstick out because i definitely don't need 5 in one go, i only got two *although quite generously sized* lips you know! Ended up to be super long winded as usual hahaha. I had sooo much fun writing this, i will do this kind of entries more often then!

Hope you had as much fun reading this and if you have a similar entry, i'd love to read it so please leave me a link to your entry! Tagging everybody!

Thanks a heaps!