Estée Lauder Nutritious Vitality8™ Collection

Estee Lauder's Nutritious Vitality8™ Collection is inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is focused on achieving beauty through balance and equilibrium. By fighting free radicals, maintaining moisture levels, and calming/soothing the skin, the objective is to free skin up to perform all its natural repair and regeneration processes at peak levels.

The "8" in the name comes from 8 key things designed to help promote more radiance:

• Pomegranate
• Soapberry
• Mangosteen
• Berries
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Antioxidant booster
• Mineral water

The original Nutritious line contains Pomegranate extract, which is concentrated in antioxidants and other nutrition. I remember purchasing their very first product, an Energy Lotion which you splash on as a pre-serum to help your skincare work better.

The upgraded collection will include an Overnight Detox Concentrate serum, a Moisture Creme, and two new products that are really interesting:

The first is the new Radiant Dual-Phase Emulsion, a dual-phase liquid and creme that you have to shake up and pat on like a very light lotion. This is great for oilier skins, and also for a quick refresher if you don't want to weigh your skin down.

There's also the new Overnight Creme/Mask, whichis like the sleeping packs and sleeping masks we are so used to here in Asia. You can apply this over your skincare or on its own (if you have oily skin) to help promote radiant skin in the morning. The texture looks quite thick and fluffy, but it sinks right in and doesn't feel greasy or heavy on the skin.

The Nutritious Vitality8™ Collection launches July 2015 in Singapore, and prices start at SGD92 for the Emulsion and Cream, to SGD106 for the Mask, and SGD116 for the concentrate.

LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask and Lip Sleeping Mask

LANEIGE'S cult favorite overnight hydration mask, the Water Sleeping Pack, is one of the brand's bestsellers, having sold 16 million units since 2002.

If you've never tried it before, it's a fresh gel moisturizer that you apply over regular skincare right before bed, it's designed to deliver continual non-greasy hydration to help perk up dull, tired skin. Technically, I don't think your skin is going to differentiate between moisturizer and a sleeping mask. This can be used as an extra boost over your existing products every other night, OR used in place of moisturizer if you have oily skin. (But that's just me.)

The concept of using sleeping masks is based around the skin's repair and detoxification cycle. At night is when skin regenerates itself and skincare has the biggest effect. However, it's also the time where your pores are open and you lose the most water. So sleeping masks are designed to help boost that repair cycle while minimizing moisture loss.

The Water Sleeping Pack formula has been updated this year, so it is now called the Water Sleeping Mask (SGD$42), and works in three ways:

1. Detoxify and repair with Hunza apricot extract and Evening Primrose Root. Both ingredients are antioxidants and also help the skin to discharge contaminants that accumulate during the day. According to a clinical study done by LANEIGE, the product supposedly reduces pore size and boosts radiance after a week's use. 
2. Hydrate without being heavy or occlusive, with a beta-glucan mineral complex. Apparently, tests showed that after a week of use, this had a more noticeable effect on those who had had a bad night's sleep. Not that you should be using a sleeping mask to replace sleep, but if you don't have a choice, then slap this on you won't look quite as bad as you usually do without rest.
3. Aromatherapy with natural orange flower, rose, ylang ylang, and sandalwood oils to prolong deep sleep by 36% (according to LANEIGE'S clinical data). Improving quality of sleep in turn strengthens your skin's natural regenerative abilities.

I can't in all honesty say that it's been a magical cure for my skin. I do enjoy applying the fresh texture; it absorbs instantly and feels cooling on the skin. And it's nice for a quick boost of moisture. But for people with dry skin or dry patches like me, this might not be sufficient to make a huge difference in terms of hydration levels. I can see this being great for oily to normal skins though.

I also am not 100% certain if it boosts sleep because the scent disappears after application, once it sinks into the skin. It does smell very pleasant though.

I haven't given it enough of a test to say if I see any noticeable differences in my skin but I think the biggest draw for me would be the detoxifying and antioxidant properties of some of the ingredients, and how it can complement your natural repair processes. 

Besides the face Sleeping Mask, LANEIGE has also launched another product which I am actually MUCH more excited about, lip balm junkie that I am.

The Lip Sleeping Mask (SGD$27) is a gorgeous, gorgeous pot of soft treatment butter for the lips. It contains a concentrated Berry Mix Complex including 8 berries (strawberry, blueberry, cranberry, gojiberry, soapberry, cloudberry, and coffee berry), and we all know berries contain a load of antioxidants and are great for the skin, both consumed and applied.

But it's really the sensorial experience that I love. This smells fruity and sweet, and just melts into the lips like you wouldn't believe. If you are a makeup artist, you might want to pick up a couple pots of this to condition your clients' lips before applying makeup because it smells SO good, feels SO good, and it actually smooths the lips quickly without being all waxy and thick.

The little silicone spatula is just darling too. But I just get in there with my fingers.

And I use it as a lip balm anytime of day. Not just before bed. And at $27 a 20g jar (a typical pot of Philosophy Kiss Me Goodnight lip balm has 9g of product), this is not a small pot! It will last a good long while, and do a lot more good for your lips than the typical wax 'n' oil lip balms around with much cheaper formulations.

(Too early to say but this might just creep into holy grail lip balm territory for me. All I can say is - I highly, highly recommend this if you have a chance to check it out.)

The LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask and Lip Sleeping Mask will be in stores in Singapore on 7 May 2015.

For those of you in the US, LANEIGE skincare is available at Target. I'm not entirely sure how soon these 2 products will be released, but the original Sleeping Pack is definitely being sold. Fingers crossed that the updated formula - and especially the Lip Sleeping Mask - will be on the shelves soon.

Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Mask Review and Giveaway

I must have some traces of dragon blood in my veins, because the moment I saw Peter Thomas Roth's 24K Gold Mask, my jaw dropped and I latched onto it and wouldn't let go. It's not just how hypnotic the swirly, bouncy, iridescent gold gel is to look at. It's also the curiosity about colloidal gold and whether this product would really firm and smooth.

Now face masks don't always get me excited. They're mostly a hassle to apply and take off, and I usually prefer to invest in serums or creams that will not be washed away. But I have used and enjoyed quite a number of Peter Thomas Roth's anti-aging products, including Instant FirmX for temporary fine-line reduction, and that gorgeous, gorgeous Oilless Oil, which just makes skin feel like silk. So of course, the 24K Gold Mask was just something I HAD to try.

Gold itself, as far as I know, does not actually do anything to make your skin act or look younger. How these metals actually work in colloidal (solution) form is they serve as delivery catalysts for other active ingredients, speeding up effectiveness.

In 24K Gold Mask, the 3 main ingredients I see are quite simple really. 

• Glycerin
• Caffeine
• Peridot (Magnesium)

Hyaluronic Acid and Glycerin are humectants, and they give this gel that sticky slippery texture, and that sensation of warmth when you rub it on. Humectant substances like glycerin and honey absorb and hold moisture, which also coincidentally traps heat. (As opposed to substances like alcohol, which vaporize and dehydrate, making the skin feel cool when applied.) Here, it helps to lock moisture into the top layers of the skin, smoothing and plumping.

Caffeine constricts blood vessels, which can quickly reduce redness and inflammation or the appearance of veins. It also is an effective diuretic, making cells shed excess water, so there is a temporary slimming and tightening effect. Recent research has also found that caffeine has antioxidant properties which can protect the skin from skin cancer. 

Peridot is a semi-precious gem which contains high concentrations of Magnesium, which is the 4th most prevalent mineral in our cells and necessary for DNA repair and other essential functions. It's effective at reducing inflammation and oxidation in the skin, and significantly reduces the rate of oxidation damage our cells suffer. 

So the colloidal gold in the formula, in my personal opinion, does nothing more than enhance the effectiveness of these three ingredients. 

At SGD$158 per tub at Sephora, this is no drugstore mask, and after using it for a couple of weeks, I have to say I really enjoy it personally. But you have to be clear what its main benefits are, so that you're not disappointed. This is not the typical hydrating or purifying face mask. 

1. The slightly sticky colloidal texture can be hard to rinse off if you live in a hardwater zone. You might want to use a cloth dampened in warm water to wipe it off.
2. This mask is not one of those fresh hydrating gel masks. It's a humectant mask and it almost feels warming on the skin. If you live in a warm climate or are using this in Summer, it will not feel "refreshing".
3. Remember this is a diuretic mask. Instead of applying it to typical problem areas like the T-zone, I actually would recommend applying this to the fleshier areas of the face, like the cheeks, down around the jaws and down the neck. These are the areas which can benefit most from the draining, tightening effect.

The very first time I used this, I stayed away from the press information or the ingredients so I could do a less biased review and observe the effects for myself without any pre-formed expectations. The first two things I noticed were how smooth and hydrated my skin felt after rinsing it away, and how it felt tighter.

Only after I read the ingredients did I realize it contained caffeine.

Now I use this as a regular "quick-fix" because it not only hydrates and smooths my dry skin, but also really helps to sculpt the face, especially around the jaw line. If you don't really need much firming or de-puffing, this mask probably won't benefit you that much. There are hydrating masks that cost less, and this is probably not for you.

As for the gold?

It doesn't really stay on the skin or impart any sheen or radiance that I noticed, so I'm not sure about the company's claim to "brighten". As far as I'm concerned, it's there to support the other ingredients. And for me to stare at.

And that's perfectly fine.

NOW - GIVEAWAY TIME!
Sephora Singapore is kindly sponsoring full-size tubs of the Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Mask for 2 Makeup Box readers. Simply be signed in with a valid Google account (so I can contact you for details) and comment below to name one of the key active ingredients that helps this mask to work, and say why you'd like to win it. Winners will be picked on 8 Mar Sunday.
Winners will need to be in Singapore to redeem the prize from Sephora Takashimaya between 11-17 March.