Hot Trend in the US and Europe: Mineral Foundation, why?

These years numerous US and European brands have released mineral foundations, loose powder and even blushes. Among the gimmicks of mineral collections, the most impressive is the natural translucent effect. With the recent craze for HIGH-DEF Technologies, mineral makeup that creates natural and light effect just hits the point. Kelly has got 2 samples of Cyber Colors HD Plus Mineral Loose Powder this time.



The question is, what makes mineral foundations different from the common or traditional ones?

1. Gentle to our skin, suits sensitive skin.
Mineral foundations have less oil ingredient, fragrance, colorants, compared to the traditional ones. They’re less irritating to skin. More suitable for sensitive, blemished or acne skin. Using mineral makeup reduces the possibility of allergy. Some mineral foundation powders don’t contain talc, avoiding irritation to respiratory system as well. (No more sneeze after makeup! :>)

2. Natural Sunblock
Many minerals have anti-inflammation and anti-allergy properties themselves. When they are used in mineral makeup, they minimize the chance of allergy. Take the loose powder from Cyber Colors as example, Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide protect you from UV rays.



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Try-it-out: How great mineral makeup is?

Here are Cyber Colors Cyber Colors HD Plus Mineral Loose Powder #02 beige and #03 honey. The beige one has a sheen of pink for healthy complexion. The honey one is yellowish and matches darker Asian skin.

[ Beige: a bit reddish. Great for a healthy look. ]

[ Honey: yellowish tone. I thought it was only for metallic look. It turns out to be lighter than my expectation. ]

What I like:
- It creates light, matt and very natural looking.
- You can adjust the usage of powder switching the silver ring. Convenient for retouch or first application.
- My face doesn’t look oily after wear of a few hours. Good in oil-controlling.
- The brush hair is very smooth. The brush size is small enough to reach nose wings and temples.
- Special tube design for easy brush storage, keeping bristles dense.

[ #02 Beige: tube design ]

[ #03 Honey: tube design ]

What I don’t like:
- Maybe it’s loose powder for matt finish. It doesn’t offer good coverage on for troubled skin. To cover freckles or other troubles, match with mineral foundation base or BB cream. You may try Dual Cover Spot & Point Concealer from Cyber Colors as well. Brush on the mineral loose powder after concealer. A healthy nude look.

[ Adjust the silver ring to control usage ]

[ To store the brush well. (It was a bit complicated at first.) ]

Best Antiperspirants and Usage Reminder

The stuffy hot summer in Hong Kong is beyond description. In a word, you will feel like being in a steaming pot for some time when you walk on the street. That’s why many of us are desperate for a good antiperspirant (deodorant).

You need to note some points when using antiperspirant. Or else problems appear: your skin may be allergic; Using too much antiperspirant can cause cancer; Or there are few ways for body to release heat.

There seems to be lots of potential harms but I can’t understand more the troubles of women who sweat a lot. Just think about the smelly sweat, the embarrassing moments and the stuffy heat. So how can we safely use antiperspirant? Learn it now!


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*** Antiperspirant Reminder 1: Don’t use too frequently.
Most antiperspirants contain ingredients to block sweat gland to reduce sweat. Yet the body needs an outlet to release heat and so antiperspirants can hardly completely stop sweating. If one re-apply coats of antiperspirant, his skin could get allergic. To lessen the burden on your dedicate skin, apply antiperspirant not more than thrice a day.



Kose SOFTYMO Powder Sheet (Unscented)
40 sheets full of antiperspirant powder in a pack. The packing is more convenient than a tube or spray. All you need is wiping the needing areas with one sheet. The touch is extra refreshing with mint ingredient!




*** Antiperspirant Reminder 2: “Antiperspirant” doesn’t mean “anti-hircismus”.
Antiperspirant (for female or for men) blocks sweat gland to stop sweat. But it doesn’t stop the strange smell due to Hircismus. Such condition results from germs. In this case you need anti-bacterial deodorant that kills germs. Just bare in mind stopping sweat is the main task for an antiperspirant.


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Deodorant Special: Multi-usage Deodorant

COSMED Anti-Perspirant DEO Roll-On (3 in 1 Whitening)
A whitening deodorant? What a great idea! It whitens dirty-looking underarms due to accumulation of melanin. A good buy for perfectionist ladies!

Clio Art Highlight & Art Shadow – Product Review

Time for colorful makeup! It’s exciting to get 3 samples of Clio Art Shadow and an Art Highlight. The colorful packings are very attractive!


Let me briefly introduce what Clio is. It’s a Korean cosmetics brand that Korea visitors should recognize or find familiar. Clio products can easily be found in Korea beauty stores. Currently the pretty actress Kim Ha Neu is the image girl for Clio. One point to note is Clio products are made in Italy. This can be a quality guarantee. There are lots of color choices on eye shadows and blushes. The colors are eye-catching enough for experienced makeup gals.


Clio Art Highlight #2 Soft Pink
It reminds me of the baked blushes from Bourjois Paris. True, it’s baked for 24 hours but it is for highlighting, instead of blushing. You can just dab some on T-zone, chin, cheek bone and temple for a 3D and translucent look.

[ Package in Pop Art style ]

[ Package highlight: MADE IN ITALY! ]

What I like:
- Pearly shimmery powder with a pink sheen. The pink color is not obvious and matt. Instead, you can only notice the pink sheen from certain angle.
- Compared with common pearly white highlight powder, this highlight creates a more natural and healthy complexion.
- Stylish matt powder case

[ powder case with clear and large mirror ]

[ flat and bent applicators to match the product ]

[ metallic pink sheen ]

What I don’t like:
- The attached applicator is a bit too large for cheek bone or specific areas. It takes some learning to use applicators in this shape well.


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Clio Art Shadow
Kelly has got 3 baked eye shadow colors: #210 mocha brown, #218 beige shine and #207 violet.

[ Clio Art Shadow group shot ]

What I like:
- Highly visible and pigmented! Just a few light dabs are visible enough. No wonder some gals said Clio products create similar effect as MAC’s!
- Very very shimmery color. I love the violet color the most. It’s a shimmery light purple tone that will not create puffy eyes. The other 2 colors are in friendly earth tone, which I find less attractive.
- Baked powder is much smoother than what I expected. Smooth and easy to dab.
- The shadows last long and do not fade easily. I pressed on my hand and little color was faded.

[ Very pigmented! ]

[ Pressed with tissue. Little color was faded. ]

What I don’t like:
- Well, it’s difficult to think of any negative points. I can just say the prices are not extremely LOVELY at first sight. Yet, think about the quality and effect. They are absolutely worth owning!

Do you need facial soap?

Beside the facial soaps from Clinique, Kelly has seen more and more facial soaps from various brands. One major reason is that natural and organic skincare is getting popular and consumers are paying more attention to ingredients. Soaps claimed to be gentle and in plant formula have become a hit topic.

If you have tried washing face with soap, probably you’ll a very strong cleanser. It’s much stronger than common face washes. At the moment just after washing with soap, your face feels clear of oil. No greasiness, no dirt. Yet except extra oily skin, people don’t need cleansing agents that strong and leaving no trace of oil to protect skin. And the alkalinity of soap can harm vulnerable skin in long term. So should you just throw away the soap in bathroom? You may not.

For ladies who love the refreshing cleanness with soap but prefer a gentler cleansing agent, try soaps made with vegetable oil! These natural soaps are made of natural oils like canola oil, olive oil, lard and butter. They are made through cold process and cause less harm on human body and the environment. Natural soaps are safer. With no mineral oil, they suit pregnant women and those with sensitive skin.

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This time I wanna show you some lovely soaps that you may have overlooked.

For very very vulnerable skin:
Cherub Rubs Organic Lavender & Mandarin Vegetable Oil Soap


Many organic skin care brands are from Australia. One of them is Cherub Rubs. Formulated for infants’ sensitive skin, the products are pure and organic. Mothers who care about the health of their child will need this soap. And so will the fans of lavender. The soap contains lavender to soothe and put you asleep. Mandarin keeps your skin elastic and vegetable oil is non-drying. The best point is that it maintains the skins natural pH balance, unlike traditional soap. It works for face and body, an ideal find for busy or lazy people. :>



For very oily skin or acne on back:
Lemon Myrtle Exfoliant Soap



Another Australian goody. Well, I prefer Australian brand when it comes to organic skincare. There are lots of natural brands and this probably has led to guaranteed quality. This soap smells GREAT and gives you a refreshing scrub.

The highlight is its strength in combating bacteria. Lemon Myrtle is a stronger anti-fungal agent than Tea Tree. (Familiar to people with acne, eh?) Hence this soap works better for people with oily skin than the Cherub Rubs one. Or send one for your man, and he can date you with a refreshed complexion.

A customer has mentioned in the product review that this soap helps clear the acne on the back. If you have the same concern, why not give this soap a try?

Get Cacao for Smooth Tasty Treatment.

For some time chocolate has been delinked from a snack that only makes us fat. Research has shown that chocolate is a gift for lonely people, resulting in pleasant feeling.

A recent study brings another piece of good news for chocolate lovers. Not only eating chocolate does you good, but also using it for skincare. The source for chocolate, Acticoa, richly contains flavonols, an anti-oxidant. This anti-oxidant is related to a boost of collagen, from 23% to 99%, and proteins that keep skin elastic and hydrated. Cacao in this way is similar to an anti-aging cream.

For best anti-aging results from cacao, it takes more than face creams that LOOK chocolate. It’s recommended to pick products using cacao as one of the main 4 ingredients. Hence there will be enough flavonols to act.

So what chocolate goodies are on Sasa.com? Kelly has selected a few ones from Korean brands for your reference:

Zamian Magic Black Cacao Soap
What a chocolate skincare brand! Zamian has released skincare from the basic care to BB cream that contains cacao. The product packages look delicious as well. This facial soap has a cute lollipop outlook with tasty smell. 2 soaps in one box. The smell reminds me of ube chocolate ice-cream! Soap is more natural than other types of cleansing products and so safer to sensitive skin.




Zamian Black Cacao Sugar Scrub
Another sweet treat with delicious outlook and scent. It contains 49.27% brown sugar and just smells like food. Did you notice many Korean brands have released scrubs with brown sugar? Coz Koreans love using brown sugar for a natural scrub, believing it is detoxifying, whitening and hydrating. This scrub from Zamian is just a perfect find to experience the power of brown sugar! The grain size fits young and vulnerable skin.



Elishacoy Cacao Green Tea Age Fitness Mask
Green tea is a famous anti-oxidant. This mask mixes it with cacao, caviar extract, hyaluronic acid at a budget price as around HKD 150! With a spatula for easy and hygienic use, the packing itself is luring enough.