My Personal Unsung Hero Product: Pixi Glow Tonic

For all the testing I do, I realize I've never talked much about glycolic acid toners. Which is odd because I consider them an essential step at least 2-3 times a week to slough dead cells, reduce clogs, and enhance other skincare products if you want to keep your skin glowing and smooth and younger-looking.

For me, they are a superior replacement for physical scrubs and all those expensive sonic devices which tend to break my somewhat-dry, occasionally-sensitive skin out. And Pixi's cult-favorite Glow Tonic is what ushered me (and several family members including mom) into the world of glycolic acid toners last year. 

If you've never used it before though, don't just splash a ton of cash and go ham on it because using it the wrong way can backfire. Which is why I thought Pixi's Glow Tonic was a god-send because with its ginseng and aloe extracts, it's gentle enough for beginners and those with slightly sensitive skins, but at 5% glycolic acid content, it's works.

Plus, it's very, very reasonably priced, and easily available from retailers like Sephora.sg, iHerb.com etc if you're in Singapore. I've repurchased this a couple of times already, and have a backup 250ml bottle plus the pre-soaked toning pads which are handy for traveling. But I've not yet spoken about it online, so I was NOT expecting a surprise gift from the Pixi team.

A jumbo bottle of Glow Tonic with a separate pump dispenser AND my name on it.

My own jumbo bottle of Glow Tonic!

Like any skincare junkie, I have to say I'm possibly more excited by the size of the bottle (it's not available in this format at Sephora or iHerb) than the fact that there's my name printed on it. 

Aerin Fragrances: A Quick Review

Aerin Lauder's luxurious fragrance line is now available in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands. There are 9 eau de parfums currently available as 8ml rollerballs ($45), 50ml sprays ($182), 100ml sprays ($260), as well as matching body creams ($91).

The first time I sniffed a few Aerin fragrances in their minimalist resin-capped bottles, I immediately thought of a more grown-up and elegant Jo Malone. They share a rather similar aesthetic, from the thematic focus around key scent ingredients (e.g. Rose, Gardenia, or Amber), to the effortless luxury of the heavy squared glass bottles, and the cologne-like airiness and sense of "translucency" for most of the scents.

Each box is patterned after a specific fabric or print with personal meaning to Aerin herself, making them collectible as well. All the scents are impeccably-tasteful, lady-like, and never too loud. Perfect for the majority of East Asian consumers, pretty much.

Out of the nine, I have four key faves (the first four reviewed below) but I would say try them all out for yourself since scent is so personal to each person. And definitely wear your top picks on your skin before making a final decision, because like picking a partner, the things that impress us on first sniff don't always turn out to be the best for us.

I'll list all the notes and my personal experience with each below.

LANEIGE Two Tone Matte Lip Bars

LANEIGE's popular Two Tone Lip Bars are now available in a matte formulation!

I'm a fan of both the original satin/creme formula, as well as the more balmy and glossy Tint formula, because both boast intensely vibrant colors in a fun format for creating ombre lips. But I'm obviously excited about the launch of a matte series since this is by far my favorite texture.

The Two Tone Matte Bars come in gorgeous pink matte-chrome tubes but the lipsticks themselves have the same slanted cut as the original Two Tone Lip Bars.

Shade Obsession: MAC Viva Glam Sia

I decided to put on my tube of MAC Viva Glam Sia one morning and straight out of the tube, this matte scarlet looks VERY much like a creamier Ruby Woo, although it's a regular Matte, not a Retro Matte. It's also just a hair warmer than Ruby Woo, which has a hint of cool undertones although I still consider mostly a true red. The undertone difference may not be noticeable to a lot of people.

The difference comes when you press your lips together and wear it out in the daytime. The warmth in the undertone comes out more in daylight, and you may - like me - suddenly notice all those tiny little flecks of gold hidden in the matte red formula.

The sparkles are not really noticeable to someone standing in front of you, unless they come really close and squint. But it does give the formula a tiny hint of luminosity, the way velvet sometimes catches the light at certain angles.

L'Oreal x Balmain Color Riche Lip Collection

L'Oreal Paris has launched the very edgy special-edition Balmain Color Riche Lip Collection, available first on Zalora.sg. The collection of 12 matte couture shades was designed by Olivier Rousteing, themed to embody the 3 facets of the Balmain woman (or man): Glamazone, Rock, and Couture.

These lipsticks are available in singles at S$28 or in themed sets of 4 at $99.

The Rock series features blue marbled tubes trimmed in gold, and the colors are muted Winter tones. Perhaps the most outstanding shade here is the royal blue, 901 Rebellion, which is exactly the color of the outer tube.

Like many other blue lipsticks, the color will go on more translucent and not as dark as it looks in the tube, but I'm happy to report that it wears quite evenly on the lips, and is actually a touch more wearable than you might think!

L'Oreal x Balmain 901 Rebellion lip swatch

LUSH Gorilla Perfumes - My Obsession and Collection

Gorilla scents (a play on the phrase "Guerrilla warfare") were borne of Lush's rebellion against the stale, formulaic fragrance industry where consumers are fed copycat after copycat of uninspiring synthetic scents, and more money and effort goes into advertising and packaging than it does formulas. 

While I have nothing against the cupcake-y synthetics and love a lot of them, I do consider natural perfumery an art form because of how much more complicated and expensive it is working with natural essences and extracts. Like fine wine, there are differences between batches due to variances in the harvest. And like fine wine, many perfumes that contain natural extracts "age" and develop into richer, smoother versions of themselves with time.

My on-off love affair with Gorilla perfumes began maybe around 2012 during a trip to NYC. I still recall the rather uninspiring perfume display with a somewhat random selection of identical, anonymous little black bottles and tubes with alarmingly high price-tags. But the moment I picked up that tester bottle of Lust and sprayed, I swooned, and fell instantly, passionately in love with the radiant, candy-sweet, gloriously-rich jasmine scent that you can never find with mainstream perfumes created using synthetic notes. 

Lush Lust in the new spray bottle (center) vs original Gorilla bottle and stick

I skipped a few "generations" of Gorilla perfumes and only recently rekindled my love affair after looking into the Volume IV scents. Today's perfumes come in nice squared apothecary bottles with clean white labels. Unlike the old black bottles, I can see how much perfume I have left, and what I'm actually picking up. (Plus, I love how the glass bottles look all lined up together.)

Besides 30ml and 100ml bottles, they are also available in Solid perfume pots and innovative soapy Wash Cards. I personally find the biodegradable fruit pulp Wash Cards a fun way to sample (or share) new scents in the shower. However at $5 per card, they are rather expensive and I don't find the scent stays or projects on the skin. Eco-friendly yes, eco-nomical no.