Pink and Undecided: konjac sponge

Clean-O-Matter 04 : Belle Madame Natural Cleansing Konjac Sponge

Hi y'all!

How is it weekend again already? I'm sure those of you who works on 9 to 5 jobs might disagree with me *LOL*, but seriously... Days are passing by in a blur nowadays! I just got back after spending Saturday night with my family at CW *with a little retail therapy thrown in, of course* and will celebrate A's belated birthday (her birthday was on March 25th) tomorrow... So, it should be fun! I hope y'all are having a great weekend as well! I have a little review for you today...

If you're a beauty junkie i'm pretty sure you've heard of konjac sponge before (i tried to find a definition of konjac sponge via google but couldn't find any, there's one of konjac, which i'm sure is the main ingredient to make the sponge, but not for the sponge itself. I found an article in a blog that explains in detail about konjac sponge here, in case you want to learn more about it). I heard about it quite some time before i actually went and try it myself (mainly because i wasn't sure where i can buy it and somehow i wasn't THAT interested to try to find it online).

The konjac sponge that i am about to review right now is actually our second konjac sponge. Our very first one was from Nicole's Natural which we randomly stumbled upon in Paris Van Java Mall while holidaying in Bandung (which blog post's actually one of the top entry in our blog of all time. So bizzare), hunny saw the sponge and was intrigued by it so we decided to buy it (even though it was pretty pricey for a sponge. Bought it around IDR 76.000? But i checked in their website and it's only IDR 55.000! Did they reduce the price or something???) and ended up LOVING it!

As the sponge's made from all natural ingredients, it naturally dissolves (you'll get to see pictures of the dissolving sponge latter, stay with me!) after around 4 month (much longer than the BA predicted. She said it's good for 40+ usage, while we used it everyday for about 4 months which more or less comes up to 240 times!) so we were frantically looking for a replacement (coz his skin loves it so much, we can't afford to go back to konjac sponge-less days!) and luckily we found this Belle Madame Natural Cleansing Konjac Sponge in Sasa, again while holidaying (in Taiwan).

Belle Madame Natural Cleansing Konjac Sponge (Round Shape) in white

We actually bought two more konjac sponges, this white one's mainly for hunny (because according to Joe who helped us translate, the white one's targeted for dry skin while the black one's for oily and acne prone skin).

I have no idea whatsoever where this brand's originates from and where it was made, but all of the actual writing's Japanese

Got it for NTD 59, which is around IDR 17.700 (the rate when i went to Taiwan)

Since our very first konjac sponge was from Nicole's Natural, i cannot help but compare everything to it :p. First up : Price wise. It's crazy cheap!!! Even with the price Nicole Natural post in their website (IDR 55.000), we can easily get 3 of these after adding just a bit more money. I was a bit skeptical for this reason, why is it so cheap? It must not be as good as Nicole's! But i was very wrong! They are actually almost identical *LOL*.

Freshly opened from the packaging

Size wise, it was a lot smaller than our Nicole Natural's (probably one of the reason why it was so cheap? LOL) but that could also be because we got it in different shapes. Our old Nicole Natural's konjac sponge (may she rest in pieces :p) was tear drop shaped, but apparently they also have ones that's in the same half ball shape as this one.

Since it is half ball shaped, the other side was flat

The dried, brand new sponge was really really small, but as soon as you soak it in water, it expanded twice its original size. Nicole's Natural sponge was packed in half soaked condition so it was a bit fascinating for me seeing the dried up state of this sponge :p.

There's just no way in hell i can describe the texture of a konjac sponge to someone who never touches it in their lives! It's super springy, gummy and yummy! LOL. And the feeling of rubbing it on my face... God, it's like... heaven! Super addicting that whenever i am using konjac sponge i would spend more than twice the time i usually do to wash my face, because i simply cannot stop rubbing it against my face, it feels so good! Am i weird? Please tell me i am not the only one! It's so soothing, but don't expect it to be completely 100% soft. Its porous surface actually creates a subtly scrubbing feeling, very soft unlike how a facial scrub/brush would feel like, and that's what's so addicting about it!

The feeling that this Belle Madame sponge gave me when i use it is exactly the same as Nicole Natural's, the only difference was the gripping comfort. Nicole Natural's tear drop shape's so much more grip-friendly than this small half ball, but other than that i see no other difference.

Here's a little description of this sponge that i found :

Belle Madame Konjac Washing Sponge (round-shape) is made of natural Konjac fiber and is especially for sensitive skin and skin with acne. It can keep 97% moisture and moisturize the skin. Its 3D design helps generate rich lather, deeply clean the make-up, dirt and impurities in pores in order to deter the appearance of acne and blackhead. Konjac can also smoothen the skin..
How to use : Clean it before use. Tap it into water and make it expand and softer. Then, massage over the skin in circular motion. Use water to clean it again after use and place it at the dry area.

Source : here (how crazy's the price there though?)

Konjac sponge can be used with and without additional facial cleanser, and that's how we always use it (because i'm severely OCD, and i feel like i'd be defeating the purpose of this sponge if i use facial cleansers with it). Hunny's been using konjac sponges to clean his face since June last year (Nicole's Natural and followed with this) without any additional facial cleanser and his skin's a lot suppler, moisturized and softer than ever! Once in a while he'd forget to use the sponge (because he puts it on top of the sink and whenever he wash his face in the shower he'd be too lazy to get it) and his skin would not be as healthy as whenever he's using the sponge alone!

As for me, i did used the Nicole's Natural sponge religiously for a few months but once i realized i couldn't find the replacement in Surabaya (UPDATE : Now i know where to find them, in Century drugstores!) i stopped using it (since my skin's good enough to deal with normal cleansers) so it can have a prolonged life for hunny to use. I also used this Belle Madame for a few weeks to test it out so i can review it properly and they have the same effect.

As in cleansing power, i always triple cleanse whenever i'm wearing even the tiniest amount of make up. I'd be using eye & lip remover, followed by oil/milk/water/balm cleanser then wash everything off with a facial cleanser-and sometimes even after all those steps, i'd still find traces of make up when i use toner on my face! When i was using konjac sponge, i also never use any additional facial cleanser, but i never found any traces of make up after! So the cleansing power's really good. The porous surface also makes the circular motion has a light exfoliating effect, hence the super soft, deeply cleaned result! I'd say they delivered everything they claimed to do!

All of the konjac sponges we've had have a thin string attached to them, supposedly for us to hang it after usage. But the BA in Nicole's Natural told us the best way to store a konjac sponge is in half-soaked condition, sealed in a zip-locked bag. And to keep it from ruining, refrain from wringing it, ever! To reduce the water in it, gently press it down instead. Very easy to maintain, and as long as you follow those rules your konjac sponge should last around 4 months like ours does.

I never took pictures of the Nicole Natural's konjac sponge in its glory because hunny immediately tore off the packaging and began using it before i could so... I just didn't feel like reviewing it without the proper pictures. But i did snap a few pictures of the disintegrating sponge before i chucked it in the bin!

Here's how a "dying" konjac sponge looks like, it will start tearing off and falling into bits. That's the sign for you to replace'em

I'm very highly recommending konjac sponge (both from Nicole's Natural and Belle Madame, whichever's easier for you to access) for everybody with any skin type and woes! It does wonder to my hunny's super dry and sensitive skin while working super well on my super oily skin as well (even though i'm using the variant that's not specifically targeted for my skin type). I'd say get the cheapest brand you can get (as long as it's real natural konjac sponge and not some dish washing sponge hahaha) because both brands that i tried works equally well despite their very different price ranges.

Will i repurchase? Hell yeah! The Belle Madame one's also disintegrating by now and we're using a new one that we bought in Century. It's good too, just not as cheap *LOL*. I truly regret that i totally forgot to find this sponge while we were in Hong Kong! Totally didn't cross my mind! ZZZ. Must stock it like crazy next time i bump into them.

Have you ever tried konjac sponges? Did you like it?

#Pink

12:15:00 AM
4 Comments

Unboxing : September Beauty Treats Little Black Box

bath and body cares

Heylooowww everybody!

I just told my friends that i'm having a stressful September *sigh*... it's stressful already, then i probably got a "turning-30-blues" syndrome, if there is such a thing hahaha. But i reminded myself that i don't actually have all that much problems, the ones that i do have are minor and nothing compared to what lots of other people face daily, so yeah... I'm dusting myself off *yes, i figuratively had been sulking on the dusty floor, feeling sorry for myself for a few days* and moving on! (if you're a busybody like me and wondered why i was so stressed out, worry not-it's really not that serious, it's really superficial and it resulted in a wordy blog entry that i will publish not very long from now hahaha)

Anyway! I saw Shasha twitpic-ing her September BTI and i was like, OMG where's mine??? And then LL also BBM-ed me telling me that her errr...weird sis in law again send her BTI box (es) to her because she didn't want them (why bother signing up then???), and the lucky B actually got two boxes even though the sis in law only subscribed to one!!! Wow. Logistic problem? Well, that's not LL's problem, that's just her luck! Lucky lucky her! I remember some other member received a double package as well in the past (dunno what beauty box service though), now i'm wondering if that kind of fortune would ever befall me? LOL. Unlikely.

So, i was very anxiously waiting for my own BTI, and first thing i did in the morning was BBM-ing my employee asking if my BTI had arrived in the office and she said, YES! YAYYY!!! Here's a peek into the very first (yes, another new concept) Little Black Box :

I did had a peek into others' BTI the night before, and i must admit i was really concerned because... looked kinda bare, wasn't it? LOL. Read on to know if i am disappointed by this box (no, i'm not haha)!

That's the little booklet containing the list of products featured in this little black box

When i took out the little black box i was pretty shocked at how light the box was! It was the lightest beauty box i've ever received so far hahaha...

Underneath the box, i found Optik Seis' catalog and a free Cita Cinta magazine

I do not read magazine anymore *i got over that stage when i was much younger, i hoarded magazine like crazy since i was very little up until a few years ago, now i don't read magazine more than ever since i prefer to read blogs and added almost a hundred blogs on my reading list!* and this magazine was some... July issues? LOL. I'll take a look *maybe next year LOL* when i feel like it and re-use it for... wrapping my feminine napkins? HAHAHAHA sorry sorry*.

Anyway, my eyes popped out when i scanned through the list of product *hint, the Optik Seis' flyer*, read on to know why!

First thing that popped into my head : wah, why the obsession with purple this month? (because this month's Lola Box also came with purple nuance)

I was like "Oh, they've done this box before", and one beauty blogger pointed out that it was reminiscence of their first box ever. I guess they're going to stick to this kind of box from now on, judging from what they are calling their beauty box now? Good, i can start using it to wrap gifts for other people *i feel obliged to hoard at least one box in every design...*

Funny thing : The ribbon wasn't actually tied around the wrapping paper (like how it's normally done) but it's just glued to the sides of the box! So when i pulled it, it just broke off from the box LOLOLOL WTF

First glance

First glance : after being re-arranged hahaha

So, here's the first my favorite item in this box :

This piece of paper

No laaaa, it's actually a voucher to exchange with a pair of FresKon Mosaic contact lenses! I know it might be inconvenient for some (especially if you live in a smaller cities with no Optik Seis branch nearby, i hope nobody's that unlucky since this IS the best item in this box IMO) since you have to bring the voucher to any Optik Seis branch, but for me... Well, Optik Seis branches are everywhere in Surabaya, we always go to GM (almost) every weekend, plus if they actually featured the contact lenses physically in this box it'd be horrible for people with myopia like me! We need specific prescription ones right-so i think it's a great move, putting the voucher in so we can get them ourselves and choose the right size and even the color!

I will be exchanging the voucher tomorrow (today, as when i am posting this entry) and will let you know if there's any problem (i always worry about this kind of things when i have to get the stuffs using vouchers. I am often faced with non-cooperative BAs. I was worried if they might go "Oh, you can't get the one with prescription". So i anticipated by tweeting Optik Seis beforehand and asked right out, they replied immediately with "No problem at all" so i have the proof if the BA's pulling some sh** when i exchange them) with the exchange or whatever.

The contact lenses are said to be priced IDR 185.000, which is whoppingly more expensive than how much the box itself actually costs (IDR 125.000 for a month subscription, i paid a lot less because i subscribed for 6 months for their no longer exist Gold box that was around IDR 110.000?) and immediately made this box totally worth it (NOT worthed please, there's no such word as worthed, trust me)! And as an avid contact lens user (i am practically blind without my contacts/glasses), this is a fantastic product to be found in a beauty box!

But yeah, the rest of the stuffs were pretty meh for me... See the other stuffs below and you'll know why the box was as light as feathers haha.

Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum (3ml) and Essential Firming Cream (3ml) both came in sachets

I HATE SACHET SAMPLES!!!! Okay, now that i got that out of the way. I've always wanted to try Sulwhasoo, which is one of the high end brands in Korea, BUT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IF IT WORKS OR NOT WITH ONE TIME USAGE???? Okay okay, calming down now. No, i really do want to try out Sulwhasoo, so much that i am contemplating on getting the travel size kit available on online shops. But i do still have plenty of skin care samples from beauty boxes to finish out *currently using Clarins', review will be available sometime in the future*, so maybe later. Still not very happy with this sad looking sachet samples. Gimmie at least five each and i'd say it's almost okay. This is not okay.

Koji Konjac Sponge

My second favorite item in this box! We've (hunny and i) began using konjac sponge (without added facial cleansers) since July (we tried out the brand Nicole's Natural we found in Bandung. Too bad he tore off the package and all before i took pictures so i didn't feel like reviewing it hahaha), and we're both super hooked ever since. I LOVE using konjac sponge on my face, so much i almost didn't want to stop rubbing it on my face every time. But since i still have a lot of facial cleansers and since hunny's skin's been loving Nicole's Natural's konjac sponge so much (it softens and made his skin less dry and more supple!)-i stopped using it and let him use it (so it'll last longer since Nicole's Natural's isn't available in Surabaya or Jakarta and we very rarely go to Bandung) by himself.

Then when we went to Taiwan we hunted down for more konjac sponges (and took home three, yes you know the drill, they'll appear in my Taiwan haul post!), now that i think about it-all three seems to be the same brand as this one haha. But still, this is a very welcome addition to our stash! Konjac sponges lives seems to not go past three months so, it's great to have back ups! (it stated to priced IDR 39.900-49.900, i think it was cheaper in Taiwan).

Crabtree & Evelyn samples

Crabtree & Evelyn is another brand that i'd love to try out, they seems to be very nice as well (and prestigious), but... again... the sample size it definitely not DELUXE (even though until now i also dunno what deluxe means, but i'm hoping it's something like at least travel size stuffs) in any way pfffftttt. It's just so so so... tiny.

(PS : I found this definition of deluxe sample in Ipsy website : In general, a "deluxe-sized" sample is one that delivers multiple uses of the same high-quality product. I wasn't wrong then!)

Crabtree & Evelyn Wisteria Body Lotion (5ml)

Yep, it'll be finished in one application. One application will never be enough to prompt me to buy the full sized product, no matter how nice it is on the first touch. Period. I think companies really should re-think of their purposes to join forces with beauty boxes, i believe they do so that customers can get familiarized with their products and hopefully, will be interested in getting a full sized one. This i don't think will ever be achieved with sachet samples..

Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Eau de Toilette (0.5 ml)

Yes, 0.5 ml. Probably less than half the usual vial samples. You know i love perfumes and i always enjoy getting perfume samples, but 0.5 is quite.... pointless. LOL. The normal vial samples, i always finish within two usage (yes, i like to douse myself in fragrances, i hate not being able to always smell it on myself. If i can't smell it, other people definitely not going to either), and this... i hope this will be at least enough to use once.

I love getting Crabtree & Evelyn stuffs in my beauty boxes, i just hope they'd be a little bit more generous.

Last item :

Sleek Kohl Pencil Eyeliner in #127 Glitter Dark Blue

I love love love getting make up stuffs in my beauty boxes, but i've been receiving way too many eyeliners lately! I mean... When it comes to more color decorative make up stuffs (eyeshadow, blush on, lippie) at least they come in lots of varieties, but pencil eyeliner.... I have way too much of them than i am comfortable with right now (one rare thing that i didn't usually stock up are eyeliners because it takes me AGES to finish one).

Well, at least it's a kohl eyeliner-something that i don't think i have yet, and it's in glitter dark blue and not the usual black/brown. And it's Sleek (priced at IDR 75.000 according to BTI's list), i always wanted to try out Sleek stuffs and within three months i got three full sized Sleek items, all thanks to beauty boxes (can you give us more eyeshadow/blush on/lipstick/lipbalm/liptint/lipgloss or even liquid eyeliner please, beauty boxes? I have enough pencil liner for now. Thank you). So this is my third fave item in the box. The sachet samples didn't even make the cut. As far as i'm concerned there are three full sized items in this box and nothing else *LOL*.

But as i stated before, i do love this box if purely because of the contact lenses and the konjac sponge! Especially the contact lenses lah, that's really a first in beauty boxes and totally a nice surprise for me! Wouldn't mind receiving more in the future *til i do not need to buy lenses no more like fake lashes*! How did BTI fare compared to Lola Box this month? For me it's a tie! Lola came up with more varieties of samples and full sized items (only one brand came with two tiny sachet samples) while BTI, well i'm gonna be a broken record and say BTI gave me free freakin FresKon contacts! LOL. I am very happy with the contacts as you can see, a very easy customer!

In short, both beauty boxes delivered for me this month, now i am waiting anxiously for my last beauty box, (and first ever) First Blush! I hope their first public edition would be as nice as the exclusive ones i've been seeing a lot popping up in the beauty bloggers community! Especially considering their pricing to be more on the more expensive side! (if not i'm totally going back to VT).

How about you, did you like your BTI? Or if you haven't join in the fun and compelled to do so after reading this post, please join via my referral, just click on the link below! :

http://beautytreats.co.id/?id=62

That's all for now, have a great weekend!

#Pink

PS : I will remind you this everyday lah hahaha... Since it's weekend already and most of you should have free time right, do come and join my birthday giveaway and win yourself all of these below!