Review: Psalmstre NEW Placenta Herbal Beauty Soap With Goat's Milk

Review: Psalmstre NEW Placenta Herbal Beauty Soap With Goat's Milk

Hello lovelies do you smell the Christmas in the air? The ber months are once again fast approaching! The weather is warm and lovely again and clearly no signs of Christmas yet but the month is enough to get me excited! Last night I browsed online for possible gift ideas and found Zalora'sChristmas Gift Guide! Yay~ quickly spotted something I can give for my sister's debut this September. Hihi~ I also noticed that there is also a wide range of beauty products available and I think they would make great Christmas gifts for my friends too. 

Besides that I am so excited for the coming weeks because we will soon arrange our very own college convention kyaa~ and I still need to look for possible sponsors. By the way today, I'll talk about a soap I should have reviewed some weeks ago. Haha, :) One of my best buddies in skin whitening:

Photo credits goes to owner. Forgot to take photos.

Psalmstre NEW Placenta Herbal Beauty Soap With Goat's Milk says:
 

Now with double-acting anti-aging + goat's milk!

Psalmstre's New Placenta Soap with Goat's Milk is a highly effective, mild, skin-whitening cleansing bar. Thanks to the combined active ingredients such as virgin coconut oil, Vitamin E, Botanical Placenta Extract and with the added skin nutrients in Goat's Milk, this beauty bar is an excellent moisturizer, exfoliant, anti-oxidant, and antibacterial at the same time.

With the high content in skin nutrients and skin-defending manganese from Goat's Milk, your skin will surely be blemish-free, smoother, younger looking, glowing and fair...only with New Placenta Soap with Imported Goat's Milk

Psalmstre NEW Placenta Soap is a highly raved local soap in GT. It has been widely advertised on tv too. It also comes in two variants: classic orange papaya soap and the white one with goat's milk. I chose goat's milk since it's more popular than the first one. Gotta know what the fuzz is all about nae?~

Here is Psalmstre's website in case you are curious with their product range because they have other products besides whitening soaps.

The look:
I got the 135g. biggest size soap. Box is simple and it lets you see the white bar inside.

The scent:
This soap has no scent and it doesn't even lather well. Hoho~

The experience:
I used Psalmstre NEW Placenta Herbal Beauty Soap With Goat's Milk alone to see the full effect it can give. On my first 5 days I experienced dryness which followed by micro peeling. I have used my trustworthy Yoko salt scrub to easily get rid of dead skin cells.

I have dark spots left from insect bites and it has lightened gradually with my every usage. I usually wait for 5 minutes before I wash off, this makes the soap more effective IMO. Elbows, knees lightened as well which is awesome I didn't really expect much from a placenta soap. I am leaning to kojic acid soaps in terms of whitening so this is something different.

However I noticed that my skin became more sensitive after I finished the whole bar. Definitely dry and quite itchy. Yikes. I dunno if this was the rashes that the other sissies were talking about however I am guessing that this has something to do with the severe dryness effect of the soap. You can use highly moisturizing lotion to counter dryness.

I was brave enough to try it on my face too, no breakouts or whatsoever but not recommended because like I've said it is really drying. Skin feels tight after usage. For the face I have decided to stick with facial wash and whitening creams which is more on the safe side. :)

The price: 
Around 135g soap retails for about P130? Yay I forgot, I need to check. Product comes in 3 sizes (trial size anyone?)

What I love:

• It is effective in whitening
• No scent
• Doesn't melt easily 
• Lightens scars/ insect bites
• Affordable and worth the price
• Gives fast results

What I don't:

• Highly drying
• Doesn't lather much
• Whitening soap that is not meant for long term usage

Will I repurchase?
Yes but some other time after I use other whitening but moisturizing soaps.


TIPS:

• Wait for 5 minutes or so before washing off the soap lather this makes it more effective.
• Use scrub to remove dead skin, exfoliating will give you faster results.
• Always moisturize after usage.
• Use sunblock when going out. Skin tends to darken easily when we use whitening products.
• Recommended to be used twice a day but after finishing one bar stop and use other moisturizing soaps.
• Stop usage if you experienced severe dryness/rashes.

Overall~
Psalmstre NEW Placenta With Goat's Milk is a whitening soap worth the try. In my opinion though it should not be used for anti-aging. in terms of whitening though, this is perfect! Make sure to only use Psalmstre soap once in a while though.

***

Yay~ btw let me share our group's performance last Sunday as Nine Muses in Hallyu Wave Festival 2013 we got 8th place out of 30 groups who joined so hooray for that, haha. Everything was rushed actually but we'll do better next time:

Amika Curling Wand

In our last review we had a look at a single barrel curler, but now we are going to take a look at a something a bit more comprehensive. The Amika curling wand is a three piece set, and is aimed at creating a variety of styling needs. Does it manage to do this, and is it worth the price? Read our review below to find out more.

Product Features:Amika is a big name brand in the hair care industry, and generally their product lines are aimed more at professional users than home enthusiasts. This Amika hair wand is no exception, and it is aimed towards creating a multitude of styles and curls. First impressions of the wand are good, and the packaging is very stylish and eye catching. The wand itself is a very sleek black which seems to be something of a trend these days, but there is nothing wrong with that as it looks really good. Our curling wand comes with a silver plate around the buttons (as can be seen in the picture on the left), but I believe the new models are entirely black in this area. The set comes with three interchangeable barrel sizes of 19mm, 25mm and 32mm to help you make a large range of different styles. The barrels themselves are made out of tourmaline and infused with ceramic. Ceramic is a fantastic heat distribution agent, and tourmaline is a natural producer of negative ions which are beneficial to the health of your hair.
We had some fantastic results when we were testing out this unit, and hopefully this is due to the claimed benefits of the tourmaline/ceramic barrels. In other reviews we have been a bit skeptical about the practical benefits of these claims, but there could be some truth to it.

One thing that stands out on the Amika curling wand is the actual length of it, which we immediately noticed when it came out of the box. There is no mention of the larger size on the packaging, but given some of the advantages of this, there should be. The barrels themselves measure just over 6 1/2″ which is very long in comparison to normal curling wands. Most measure in the range of 5″, but that extra inch and a half really does make it easier to curl your hair if you have longer hair. In future reviews we may start measuring the length to compare against this one!
Each barrel has a little stand at the bottom of it, so you can leave the unit on without worrying about burning anything.
The unit itself is very lightweight to hold and handle. There is no mention of ergonomics, but it does have a “easy grip handle” which certainly lives up to the name! It is very comfortable to work with, and we didn’t notice any fatigue while using it at all. There are three buttons on the handle, one to switch it on/off and two to adjust the temperature. The good news is that these buttons recede into the handle, so there is no problem with accidentally changing the temperature or switching it off by accident when you are using it. There are also two buttons at the top and bottom of the handle that you use to swap the barrels. The temperature can be adjusted all the way to 410F, so even if you have super thick hair there shouldn’t be a problem curling it.  There is a small lcd above the temperature control buttons that displays the current temperature.

Something else worth mentioning about the Amika curling wand are two other features which aren’t immediately apparent. One of them is the built in swivel cord. These swivel cords would be standard on every curling wand if we had our way, but I understand that they cost a little more to implement than a ordinary connection.  They allow you to operate the wand without the cord getting in the way, which can be a major annoyance.
The other feature is dual voltage support. This seems to be a feature that is becoming more and more common on mid and higher end curling wands. It means it will work in any country without the need for a voltage converter of any kind.
Also included is a heat resistant glove for your protection. This is a pretty standard feature these days, but oddly enough this Amika glove seems to be a bit on the large size. It is a good fit, but the fingers are a bit longer than other gloves we have tested in the past. This isn’t really a problem at all, just worth a mention. After two or three goes with this you should have the hang of it anyway, and not need to use the glove anymore.

Pros:

• Comes with three barrels to create different styles
• Longer than standard barrels
• Lightweight and stylish
• Dual voltage
• Swivel cord

Cons:

• Pricey

Below we have 

Review: Gluta White and Firm Soap

Review: Gluta White and Firm Soap

How is everyone? Today was a busy day again as always. I hardly get any rest, oh yes I am a hard worker. Haha. Today I will be reviewing another soap in my to-review list. It has been about 3 weeks or so since I've started using Gluta White and Firm and I think I can give my opinion about it now.

I was in Puregold when me and my workmate this soap. It was on promo and I cannot remember the exact price. It was packaged as two 135g. soap with a free 90g. smaller soap. I remember reading somewhere that glutathione doesn't work unless taken orally so I was a bit hesitant to buy it. However after I read the promised benefits besides whitening, I gave in.

I am fair-skinned but just recently I had tan lines because of frequent exposure to the sun when going to my job. I am a big fan of whitening soaps because the result it gives is more visible rather than creams, lotions etc.
Gluta White and Firm has a complete line of whitening products the last time I've checked and they have lotions, facial wash, creams, deodorant and even face powders!  However if you just started out on road testing a whitening brand then I must say go for the soap! They are are almost always the star of the brand. :)

Gluta White and Firm Soap smells like a baby soap and it's super gentle to the skin. Unlike kojic soaps which I am used to, this soap is quite moisturizing. It's pretty bubbly for a whitening type of soap too, perfect to make an easy lather for massaging my skin for firming (which is included in the instruction).

Did Gluta White and Firm Soap stayed true to its promise?

* Progressively retexturizes skin for a fairer, firmer, well-toned look
 Maybe I still need a few bars to see a firmer look. I have stretch marks on my legs and I really want them to fade. This soap moisturizes (not the Olay/Dove type of moisture though) but it doesn't dry out my skin.

* Whitens in 2 weeks while preventing the development of freckles and age spots
I seriously don't have age spots yet but I'll keep in mind this soap when the time comes that I get some. I haven't seen visible changes in my skin tone but I figure out that this can be the soap I can use after kojic soaps for maintenance since the latter is too drying when used continuously.

How much? Less than P150 or P100 per 135 grams bar. (Please do comment if you know the exact price! I am yet to go in the supermarket to check the individual price per soap)

What I love:

• It's Affordable
• Product is accessible. You can find this soap in Watsons, Mercury Drug, Puregold and more.
• Gentle to the skin and moisturizing.
• Didn't broke me out.

What I don't:

• Doesn't make much difference with one bar

Will I buy again? 
Probably, I'd love to see results with Gluta White. Now I am curious on the effectiveness of other glutathione products in the market.


This is my first glutathione product  and I am looking forward into trying out more. What soap are you using now? Share in the comments below and I'll see you in my next post!

Review: Etta's Compact Skin Whitening Powder

Review: Etta's Compact Skin Whitening Powder

This post is long overdue. But anyway, since whitening is still all the rage now and I still can't find a review about Etta's then I'll publish this. :P

So what is Etta's?
Etta's Compact Skin Whitening Powder (also called Etta's bleaching powder) is:

A pre-mixed compact of skin beauty aids in a single white dry powder form. The effective skin whitening for dark skin or areas of dark skin - sunburn, thus preventing the formation of freckles, birthmarks, pimples and blackheads, prickly heat that gives baby skin results. No pre-washing needed. Economical and easy to apply.

I have high hopes with Etta's Bleaching Powder because of the raves I see in girltalk. How good can this powder really be? I gave in and ordered my Etta's online. It was not easily available in stores before. I also bought Etta's Mixing Solution for the mix sold separately. It is mentioned that we can use milk in place of the mixing solution though. Etta's Mixing Solution is 10 V Hydrogen Peroxide which can also used to lighten/bleach hair.

The product:

The bleaching powder is a finely milled plain white powder. It has no scent and the texture is the same with flour. One box contains 112 grams of product divided to 2 separate bags.

How to prepare?

1. Put (1 tablespoon for face/ 4 tablespoon for body) Etta's powder in a bowl.
2. Mix powder with the Hydrogen Peroxide until ice cream appearance is produced.
3. Apply on desired area. Wait until it dries and wash with plenty of water.
4. Apply moisturizer/ lotion after.

Recommended Schedule of Application for best results:

• Once for 7 consecutive days
• Twice for 1 week
• Once for 1 week
• Twice for 1 month
• Then once a month regularly

*This regimen works the same as White Henna and Soap Chips which is also quite popular way to body bleach.*

Results?
Upon application you will feel your skin tighten, somehow itchy but do not fret as this is normal. I used Etta's Bleaching Powder hoping that it will even out my skin tone. However I didn't noticed any changes. I followed the schedule as hard as I can but I still didn't seen effects.

PROS

• Cheap whitening regimen. It's only P180/ box and P30 for the Mixing Solution both available in Mercury Drug stores nationwide.

CONS

• Messy routine and not for busy people. You can't walk around when you use this product as the powder will fly around and you'll leave white mess on your floor.
• No ingredient list for the bleaching powder.

Final Verdict:
Despite the fact that I didn't noticed any effect, I still think that this product is still promising. Hydrogen Peroxide alone is already a wonder product. I am quite fair so I assume that bleaching powder is not enough to even out my skin tone. I will ask my sister to try this, who knows? It might work on her. After all, a lot of people already swears by this product. The effect of Etta's Bleaching powder varies so you need to try it out yourself to see if it works for you. *wink*

Review: Green Peeling Oil Set

Review: Green Peeling Oil Set

I am already annoyed on how my mama always say "parang uling ang kili kili mo ah..."

I still remember how it became discolored. One fine day my mama told me that calamansi is good for the underarms because it helps in preventing body odor. The good girl (which is me) followed her tip without knowledge of the whole process (yeah I know I'm such a dummy) I mistakenly left the calamansi on my skin longer than the recommended time which resulted into an acid burn. Nothing severe though, but it left my dreaded underarm dark.

This how my search for the effective underarm whitening solution started. I was introduced to green peeling oil because of the sudden raves it received in sulit. Ads about the green peeling oil is seen left and right and it got me curious. Back then I was a total newbie in ordering stuffs online so imagine my frustration back then. LOL.

One basic green peeling oil set consists of:
>Aluminum chloride -whitens the skin while preventing sweat at the same time. Serves as your deodorant while in the process of peeling.
>4 in one bleaching cream(also known as kliggman's cream) -cream effective in faster whitening of the skin. Night whitening cream for the underarm.
>Green peeling oil -the peeling agent. Feel is just like J&J's baby oil but scent is chemical-ish.
>Hydrocortisone cream -anti-itch cream. Use to endure itchiness of the skin.
^All of these for only of Php250. It was shipped almost instantly after my purchase, received the next day, no hassle.

I was so excited to find out if the hype was all true. There have been mixed reviews with the green peeling oil as this is actually a peeling agent and when used improperly may have unwanted result. I was being careful and I followed the instructions promptly.

Direction:
1. Apply the green peeling oil on the underarms, 3x a day for 3 days only. It can be applied at night 3X with 15 mins. interval. Let it dry and NO need to rinse
2. If itchiness or redness occurs, apply hydrocortisone cream
3. After 3 days of peeling GPO, rest the skin and wait until it peels-off. DO NOT RUB
4. When the skin has totally peeled-off, Use aluminum Chloride in the morning, and apply bleaching cream at night.

NOTE: 

• Use your fingers when applying the oil. Peeling starts 2-4 days after the last application of green peeling oil. Peeling lasts 3-7 days. --My underarm peeled on the 5th day. 
• To prevent the redness or itchiness, Apply hydrocortisone cream on the 2nd day after applying the green peeling oil. --I didn't feel any itchiness all throughout the process so I did not used my hydrocortisone cream.
• Do not use deodorant and avoid washing the underarms with soap during the peeling session. The green peeling will serve as your deo during peeling, it prevents sweating of underarms. --Arrrgh...I actually hate the fact that they instructed us not to wash with soap! In the forums they are even saying that its not allowed to wet the treated area. But still~ I have to follow. Bye bye for now hygiene...
• Waxing and shaving can be done with outmost care. --I recommend that you shave or wax the 1-2 days before. Better be safe than sorry, right?
• Place bleaching cream inside refrigerator --We don't have a refrigerator at that time so this is optional.
  - Peeling interval should be 3months before peeling the under arm --Yeap. follow this. You don't want a burnt skin, do you? 

(^Instructions above is from sulit)

I believe there were sellers online who sell different type of underarm whitening kits. I have seen one with an included bleaching soap in the set but of course it'll cost you more.

As what I have told you, my skin peeled after 5 days. That 5 whole days of no soap! Eeeewww~
But beauty needs sacrifice so I need to endure it. Skin was macro peeling for days. I cant remember for how long. But skin was renewed and my real skin has returned to what it was before...Goodbye burnt skin, hello baby skin! ~WOW!

The green peeling oil process was a gold find. I love it that the process was quick considering that I tried other whitening products before. Hope I had this earlier but I doubt that I would have this much courage to try a not-so-popular brand, BCP. More about this on my future posts.

Where to buy?
Online shops. There is a branch of BCP somewhere but I am not aware of their location. I heard BCP is sort of a generic brand for a Diana Stalder.

How much?
Php250 but it depends on the seller as well and what is included in the set.

PROS

• Fast effect on skin, peeling and whitening
• Easy to use with the instructions.
• Whitens right away when used and only good maintenance deodorant is needed.

CONS

• Can't use soap until the skin peels.
• Left dark edges because my peel is not equally done on the whole underarm area, but I dont care much.
• I'm yet to look for a new deodorant, but while on the process I will stick to the aluminum chloride first.

Review: ActiveWhite Bleaching Soap Review

Review: ActiveWhite Bleaching Soap Review

Wow Merry Christmas! Long time no update, yeah sorry I have been too focused on my on-the-job training. But it is all worth it, they've already asked me to become part of their company. *throws confetti*

Yay so a few updates, just been having a good time shopping and browsing online (Zalora, Eazyfashion, Sampleroom) since I have no time to stroll at the mall. I have also bought a 2nd hand phone from tipidcp.com (TIP: be extra cautious on how to deal with sellers, better transact with those who already have feedback). I bid goodbye to my old Myphone T23 Duo which has served me for three years. It is still working but I opt to upgrade to Myphone A888 for the sake of viewing better videos. Hooray! Now I enjoy playing with an Android game shared by my special someone: MyBoo, too bad that I can't update it over wifi due to an error. That was me, being all random again. So off to a review for today:

ActiveWhite Bleaching Soap Skin Whitener with Glutathione says: 

A great soap for dark and discolored skin. Target problem spots and combat hyperpigmentation with this special intense whitening soap that combines a bleaching formula with glutathione. Have smooth and fair skin that glows.

Ingredients: Coconut oil, Caustic Soda, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Silictae, Castor Oil, Cocomide DEA, Scent, Alpha Hyoroxyl Acid, Milk Extract, Phenoxythanol, L-Glutathione, Beta Arbutin, De-Ionized Water

I was checking out the available whitening soaps in Watsons and oh-well my mind was going in circles when I landed on a decision to purchase Active White Bleaching Soap. Did I made a right decision? Read on to find out.

Seriously, you can't get much info from the website of ActiveWhite here. Based from my research they have just changed their packaging, what I have posted above is the latest since it was just manufactured fresh from this month, Dec 2013 and expiration is far on Dec 2015. The old packaging indicates that it contains L-glutathione which is the selling point of the product. There are not much reviews on the web for ActiveWhite, I already bought the product even before I've read details about it.  I was just brave enough to venture out on using a product I was unfamiliar with.

The look:
I find the marbled look of this soap interesting. (Photo above) I don't know if they have this is other sizes but they currently offer three variants. All of them has the same ingredients except for their special content which differs them from each other: Beta carotene (Blue box - ActiveWhite Bleaching Soap), Rosehip (Orange box - ActiveWhite Rosehip Soap), Plain Glutathione (ActiveWhite Pink box - Glutathione Soap).

The scent:
It has a really faint scent which can be next to nothing. It is perfectly okay with me though, I do prefer unscented beauty products.

The experience:

At first I thought ActiveWhite Bleaching Soap is moisturizing because it is bubbly and it doesn't sting during the first 3 days that I have used it. Truth has to be revealed though, it is still a bleaching soap. I just suddenly experienced itchiness while I was in the office. I found my skin to have some bumps due to dryness, yikes! My skin showed the same reaction when I used bleaching lotion from BCP before. I can't help but become worried if I should continue or stop the usage of the product. My skin was next to being okay before I have used this soap and I kinda regret using it. Within 7 days my skin was micropeeling. Of course just like any bleaching product, skin became a bit darker than its normal color and somehow glossy (sign that skin will peel). It is continuously micro peeling but after a week, I felt like my skin has adjusted to the product. I refrain from using lotion though because I don't think it is fine to use two products at a time. I only apply hydrocortisone cream when my skin is itchy, err... sometimes Katinko because I like it as an itch-reliever too.


The price: Php 89/ 135g soap 

What I love:

• It lathers well
• Exfoliated my skin
  

What I don't:

• Highly drying
• Bad reaction of my skin to the soap
• Cannot use lotion, other products etc
• Melts fast. Two weeks for a 135 g product.

Will I repurchase?
No. I don't want to risk myself on another skin reaction. ActiveWhite Bleaching Soap is not for me, would not try the other variants lol. I might just purchase real moisturizing soaps next time instead. Boohoo for this misfortune. T^T

Overall~
Did I whiten? It melted even before I can make a valid conclusion, however since my skin is already well-exfoliated then I think whitening products will be more effective.

ActiveWhite  Bleaching Soap is not for me. But what doesn't work on me does not mean won't work on you, and vice versa. Always remember to stop usage if you experienced severe dryness/rashes.