Belated Favourites of 2011

Although it is slightly late, I still have to entry this blog entry, as seems a year didn't complete perfectly without the list of my favourites of the year. And therefore, here they are:

Cleanser
As I made my own herbal infused olive oil to remove my makeup, there is no specific cleanser that I really have to mention, well, other than Origins Modern Fiction, I think.

Toner
To me, toner is just a basic form of moisturising water, so as long as they are not concentrated with alcohol, cheap toner will do for me, as I have used high end toner as well as those flower hydrolat, there is not much significant difference for me....

Skincare

Clockwise from the front:

• The Body Shop Lip Butter - i love them so much that i have purchased the whole collection. It's smoothing and i love the buttery texture.
• DHC Lash Tonic - since i realised that my lashes were falling off, i grabbed this quickly and started using it since. There was a noticable growth, but somehow it could irriate my eyes sometimes. 
• Za True White Sunscreen - as most of the sunscreen can irriate my skin, this is one of the rare one that won't and that it is not expensive
• Gariner Eye Roll - love the rolling ball and it's my 2nd one already, though i have already decided to get something else once this is done.
• Olay Total Effect Touch of Foundation - this is my quick touch up if I am just going to the veg market or around the corner to local shops, as seems nowadays, i cant leave the house without any foundation and this is one of the best way for a quick touch up.
• L'oreal Youth Code Serum - it has been a great hit on the net last year and that I have enjoyed the effect of the serum, which the only fatal fault is that i felt that my skin could be burn very easily after using this serum, so if your skin can be tanned as easily as mine does, then remember to put on extra layer of sunscreen after you use this serum at night.

Perfume

Clockwise from the front:

• L'occitane Cherie Solid Perfume - i have a newly found obsession of solid perfume, for which i have already collected 4 extra and for that this is my favourite as i love the smell of orange blossom.
• L'eau Par Kenzo por homme EDT - i love most of the perfume by Kenzo and that the person who gave this perfume to me is sort of part of the reason that i love it. However, the main reason that i like this as i love the scent that japanese combined. i love the citrus smell of yuzu, as well as the use of rosewood. 
• L'occitane The Vert Green Tea Solid Perfume - i used to use Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea EDT, but this scent of green tea is better than that and that i love stronger scent perfume.
• The Body Shop Moroccan Rose EDT - i think every woman should have a bottle of rose based perfume and that for this one, it is not strongly scent, which is the exception for me as i normally like strong perfume. This soft fragrant of rose is suitable for young girls or people like me, who much perfer a unisex or men's perfume.
• The Body Shop Dreams Unlimited EDP - i love the combination of cedarwood and white flower, which are the key essential scent. i love the musky scent, and that i love the shape of the bottle. 
• L'occitane Calanques EDT - this is similar to Dreams Unlimited, but this is more mediterranen style, a more subtle and soft smell, which remind me of the mediterranen sea.

Base/ Foundation

Clockwise from the front:

• Cargo OneBase Concealer + Foundation In One 01 - this is my most frequent use concealer, and that i sometimes use it as a foundation when i was travelling. it is light weighted and that it is not too pink toned.
• e.l.f. Tinted Moisturiser SPF 20 Procelain - i love this tinted moisturiser as the colour fitted my skin well, and it is yellow based rather than pink based. also this is really cheap, its only £3.50 for 25ml!
• Bourjois 10 hour sleep effect foundation - as titled, it is so light-weighted that i have been complimented when i was wearing this foundation, most people, even ladies thought it was my bare skin! so impressed by it to the fact that i have purchased a second bottle already!!
• Za Skin Beauty 2 Way Foundation - this is my favourite compact, though it's slightly darker to my taste, as in hk, they did not have the lightest shade, which is shade 20. Nonetheless, i love the formula that it's alright to have a slightly darker face.
• e.l.f. Mineral Booster, Sheer - i love this powder very much, as with Bourjois 10 hours sleep effect foundation, they were so light weighted to the fact that people thought i was wearing no foundation, while they actually covered my faults. also this powder gives a subtle, soft matt finish. 

T.B.C.

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

The reason that I start to use DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is that my mum uses this at home, so when I start to put make up on, quite obviously that I will end up using this. The concept of cleansing oil start from Shu Uemura, but then, the price tag was quite high in HK, unless you buy this in Taiwan around 10 years ago (my source for this is my mum, a housewife, who carefully compare the prices). So when DHC launched in HK, my mum bought this to have a try out and I think we have already used at least 5 bottles in total (since I have used almost 2 bottle and got 1 bottle in the cupboard in UK)

So did I tried the other cleansing oil?

Yes, actually... 

I tried Shu Uemura's white recovery brightening cleansing oil when my mum brought a small sample when she visited my place in London last year and I tired Neutrogena Deep Clean Cleansing Oil sample that came with a Taiwan magazine that I bought in HK airport.

Compare with these 2, I like the texture of DHC more as it is less viscous, which is easier for me to 'rub' around my face to remove the makeup. Also, I found that DHC is more 'powerful' as the make up can be removed very easily while the others, I need more time to work on. Furthermore, Neutrogena one irritates my eyes, so I don't think I will purchase that at all, but do note that, even it is the same product, I am not sure the formula will be the same or not, as it depends on the manufacturing origin. (I said that as since I have home here in UK and home in HK, or my relatives' place in the States, even if it's the same brand, same product, e.g. Pantene shampoo, they are different depends on where you purchased @.@) 

Also, one thing that I will rate the product is the packaging. I have samples for these 3 cleansing oil, I like DHC packaging the best. This is because the bottle is a stretched oval shape which is much easier to handle when you have one palm full of oil. Of course, Shu's design is not bad too, for their cleansing oil, there're lots of choices depends on your skin type/ need. However, the packaging of Neutrogena is the worst, as it simple come in a bottle and a screw cap, nothing else, (I am not sure what's the word that is called for the plastic cap that has a hole to control the liquid, so that it come out drop by drop @.@ please tell me if you know what I meant, thanks), so I just accidently pour out 1/2 of the bottle into the sink as it slipped out of my hand when I used that for the 1st time @.@

Conclusion

I still wonder whether I will repurchase or not, as I am quite tempted to try to make my own cleansing oil that I saw online... Also, I am quite tempted to try Ponds' or Biore's new cleansing oil as I saw the comments in HK forums and that the price is cheaper. (as these are the Japanese editions, seems every multinational company like to produce a set of 'western' edition and a 'Japanese/ Asia' edition for the cosmetics/skincare lines) However, other than these uncertainities, I think I am going to continue to use this as a bottle does last me around 1 year even though I used almost every single day. So for £16 (just checked out on DHC official site), it's not a bad price, is it?

Score

80/100

Where to purchase?
For anyone who is not living in Asia (as they have stores in HK, Japan, Taiwan, etc), DHC has their own website in UK and US

DHC UK

DHC US

Kyanvi.

p.s. thanks for everyone that have entered my giveaway, I didn't expect I will have response this quick!