Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Refining Essence & Ibuki Refining Moisturizer Review

               Hey guys! So I'm back with the review on the Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Refining Essence and the Ibuki Refining Moisturizer that I bought in my haul the other day. Lets get right to it!

❤ Shiseido Bio-performance Super Refining Essence

This is Shiseido's benefiance line serum. It has a slight fragrance, not too strong but those of you who are sensitive to fragrances may want to test before buying this. The constituency of this product is thick/oil-like (oily in a good way). After I apply a pea size (exact size shown in the picture) amount to my face, my skin quickly absorbs it all in so it doesn't leave an oily layer. I've tried thinner serums like Lancome and Dior which are also good alternatives but like I said they are much thinner and more like a moisturizer in constituency.

What Shiseido says about this product:

• Generates youthfully smooth, visibly radiant skin
• Reduces the appearance of dullness and wrinkles while replenishing moisture
• Promotes natural exfoliation

I do agree that my skin looks more radiant and more hydrated after about a weeks worth of use. I'm not too sure about the natural exfoliation since I use my Clarisonic Aria every night. I'm a combination skin girl and using this serum is not too oily for me at all but oily skin people would probably not like this too much. I usually switch this serum up with my Dior serum once in a while and I've seen great results!

❤ Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer

As I progressed through my teens, I noticed that my Shiseido Pureness moisturizing gel-cream is not sufficient for my skin anymore as it leaves my skin a bit dry during winter times and I notice more oil production overnights. Therefore, during my so called "facial" with Shiseido at The Bay the SA recommended/tried the Ibuki moisturizer on my skin and I must say I love it! It is not as thin as the pureness gel moisturizer but not extremely thick like the benefiance moisturizers.

I must say I cant stand moisturizers that are overly thick as it feels sticky in my hands and on my face when I apply it. The Ibuki moisturizer is milky and smooth on application. The smell is also just ABSOLUTELY WONDERRFULLL! I must say, one thing that really bothers me about cosmetic and skincare is the smell of it. I absolutely cannot and will not put something on my face if it smells absolutely horrid. However for those of you who are sensitive, once again you may want to test this out in stores (like Sephora) before buying it.

What Shiseido says:

• corrects the appearance of unevenness such as visible pores, breakouts and skin roughness
• Renews the skin's surface to reveal an incredibly smooth, uniform texture
• Reduce the appearance of fine lines caused by dryness and keeps skin hydrated all day

After I apply the Bio-performance refining essence, I usually apply the Ibuki moisturizer and my skin absorbs it all within a few minutes. My skin feels absolutely baby bottom smooth, hydrated and fresh, no residue whatsoever left lingering on my face. I have also tried Dior's Hydra sorbet moisturizer which I also like but I probably prefer the Shiseido Ibuki more. The Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer is perfect for normal-oily skin types and for you dry skin people out there they have a Refining Moisturizer Enriched version.

Update: I must make a correction, after using the Ibuki moisturizer for a month straight it has been irritating my skin and I am no longer able to use it. Though I personally love the scent it just isn't working out for me. I advise those that are interested to obtain a sample first before purchasing.

❤ Troubleshoot for those of you having problems with your skin being extremely oily:

• You may be using a bit too much product! Try decreasing the amount you are using, you really only need a little bit of this stuff. Smooth over between fingers and dab onto the skin and then massage it all in!
• Have you used toner before applying this serum? When you are applying your toner you can clearly see if you still have any dirt on your skin which may be inhibiting and directly affecting how well your skin is absorbing your skin care products! Toner also adjusts the pH of your skin so that your skin care will work better.

Side note: I do notice that using my Clarisonic to clean my skin is more effective than using my hands (may be because im cleaning it for 1 minute instead of just rubbing the cleanser on my face then rinsing). Thus my products absorb much better than before, however, for those that cannot afford the hefty price on the Clarisonic may have to result to other options such as the Olay alternative (I do not recommend it and I will include why in my Clarisonic review).

Note: I am not sponsored and all products in this post were purchased myself.

Did you enjoy my post? Found it helpful? Have questions for me? Please leave a comment below ^^

Skin Care Haul

        Hey guys! So today I bring you my recent beauty well actually skin care haul. Super excited to share these with you guys. I went to a Shiseido facial session which well... was alright. What they did was mostly massage products onto my skin and try to sell me it and as one of the many suckers out there...I was suckered into it.

From left to right we have:

Shiseido Bio-performance Super Refining Essence (1.8oz)
Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer (2.5 fl. oz)
Shiseido Softening Concentrate (2.5 fl. oz)
Pureness Balancing Softener (5 fl. oz)
Purifying Cleansing Foam (4.6 fl. oz)
Shiseido White Lucent Power Brightening Mask (6 pieces per box)

I'm not going to do a full review on all these items but I'll talk briefly about some in another post very soon ^^.

Cattle Cafe

          Ok so first things first... LOVE LOVE LOOOVVEEE cattle cafe. Its a nice little small hong kong style cafe that serves food and drinks (including bubble tea and bubble waffle). So I stopped by here for lunch with my mom and since I've been here SO many times I quickly knew what I wanted to order. The menu allows for you to build your own noodle soup with the various choices of soup base, noodle, and 2 toppings that come with a complimentary hot drink or a cold drink for an extra $1. If you don't want to choose that's alright as well since they offer set lunches or just small snacks if that's all you're looking for.

Top Left: I ordered Thai Tom Yum soup with vermicelli, stuffed fish ball and fish puff (build-a-noodle) and a hot lemon honey water. Thai tom yum is a soup and spicy soup base and is a soup base originated from Thailand.

Top Right: My mom ordered fish soup with rice noodle, beef brisket and fish puff.

I have also previously tried their satay soup base which is also yummilicious and laksa is a creamy curry like soup base which is also good.

The curry at Cattle Cafe is also rich in flavor and creamy (those on diet beware!)

Have you been here? What did you order? Leave a comment below ^^

My Beauty Diary - 10th Anniversary Limited Edition Masks Review

        Following the New Years, MBD released their 10th anniversary limited edition masks in my local area. After seeing this I immediately bought several packs. There are 5 different packs available each containing 5 masks depending on which pack you bought + 1 bonus black pearl whitening mask. I bought 4/5 available packs which I will go through in depth the differences and what they claim to do.

       For those who are unfamiliar with the MBD mask line, MBD is a Taiwanese brand that uses natural ingredients in their products. Thus MBD does not contain parabens, alcohol, and preservatives. MBD carries face masks and eye masks in their natural line, two-step line and luxury line and various other beauty products. You can check all this information out at http://www.beautydiary.com.tw/en/index.aspx

Each box contains 5 of the corresponding masks + 1 bonus black pearl mask as shown in the above picture, but since I used a few of them already >_< you only see 3/5 masks in the picture. I went to the store a couple of days ago to find a new clear box set that contains 10 masks (mix of the 5 different limited edition masks) for $11.99CAD.

I will briefly go over each of the 4 boxes of masks and I will be doing a more in depth review on the pore refining mask just because I have been using that mask over the past few weeks.

Pore Refining Mask:

The pore refining mask contains citrus extract, various plant extract, aloe, mushroom and natural yeast. The pore refining masks, as the name states, claims to refine your pores and rejuvenate your skin.

Intensive Brightening Mask:

The intensive brightening mask is basically the Japanese cherry blossom mask. It contains various flower extract and kiwi extract to provide brightening, soothing and regenerating effects.

Deep Hydrating Mask:

This mask is basically the Luffa mask. It contains luffa extract, beans extract, various plants and aloe extract to moisturize and hydrate.

Instant Soothing Mask:

The instant soothing mask contains coral powder, various fruit, aloe and flower extract to sooth irritated skin, stimulate skin repairing and provide deep skin hydration.

❤ My Beauty Diary - Pore Refining Mask Review

❤ Where can I buy this?

• My beauty diary masks can be purchase (if you live in Vancouver) at your local T&T Supermarket (metrotown has the largest quantity and various other brands). The regular (non limited edition) contains 10 masks/box and costs $11.99 when its on sale, regular priced at $14.99.

• If you live in the US these can be purchased at Fashion City and Walmart

• http://web1.sasa.com/SasaWeb/eng/sasa/home.jsp

• Ebay/Amazon

What the mask claims to do:

• Fruit extract will deeply penetrate the skin to provide hydration
• Mushroom and natural yeast absorbency provides hydration and protection for the skin from external/environmental damage to achieve a smooth constituency 
• Various natural plant extracts (licorice etc) refines pores and reawakens the skins radiance
• Aloe leaf juice restores the elasticity in the skin 

I've used this mask twice over the past two weeks and I have noticed a slight reduction in the size of my pores (or maybe its all in my head). However, I don't have large pores to begin with so that might be a reason.

My thoughts on this mask:

• Ok so smell is a big thing for me, if it smells bad I honestly can't imagine myself putting it on my face for longer than 10 minutes and these MBD masks smell WONDERFUL
• Slight pore size reduction
• Hydrates well and my skin still feels hydrated for the next couple of days
• Noticeable radiance in my skin as noted by others

This particular mask didn't wow or disappoint me in anyway since I didn't expect drastic results when I first bought it. Pore refining products claim to minimize pore size but honestly that's all it can do unless you get your pores treated at a beauty salon. From what I've seen, pore size is genetically inherited. My friend has little to NO pores and that applies to her whole family while I have a small little blackheads around my  T-zone as do some of my family members.

❤ The verdict:

Packaging: 5/5 - Beautiful packaging with the cute animation on each mask and on the box (its limited edition                           so its expected)

Smell:        5/5 - So like I mentioned, smell is a big thing for me. I wouldn't want to put fishy smelling                                       products on my face...ever....one exception may be the natto line from MBD.

Function:   3/5 - Slight reduction in pore size which may be just me imagining it over the last two weeks. I                              will continue to finish this box and a couple more over a longer period of time and see if I                              will see results.

❤ I do not recommend getting this unless you really want to try it for yourself to see if it works. All MBD limited edition masks have beautiful packaging and smell so the actual function of the mask is mostly what its down to. Like I have mentioned, its a great hydrating mask, it's cheap (cost me $6.00CAD for 1 box) but I didn't notice great results for what they claim the mask does.

I will be doing reviews for the other masks in the limited edition line and natural line shortly in another post since this review seems to have dragged on pretty long. I hope this review has helped you all and I will see you next time! ^^

Have any suggestions?
Have you tried these products and loved/hated it?
Have questions for me about these products?

Please leave a comment below and I will get back to you ASAP ❤

Hey everyone! Cecilia here and I finally have the blog up and running. Super excited to get started on commenting and reviewing on various beauty products including luxurious and of course drugstore cosmetics, skin care, entertainment, technology, food you name it!

Hopefully everything here is easy on the eyes of the viewers and you all enjoy your time here with me. If you have any suggestions, products you want me to review, or generally anything please leave me a comment below.