Mikan's Sanctuary

After posting morning routine, it's only normal to follow that up with a night routine right right riiiiiggggght???

So I'll post that now while I still have a few MB quota left on my modem (CREYYYSSSS)

The same products for 1, 2, 3, and 6, and since I've reviewed the products I'll skipped that (.....) and jump to 4.

HAHAHA okay I'll just mention the name here.

1. Hada Labo Gokujyun Ultimate Moisturizing Cleansing Oil

2. Hada Labo Gokujyun Ultimate Moisturizing Face Wash

3. Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence

4. Tony Moly Timeless Series: Ferment Snail Toner and
5. Tony Moly Timeless Series: Ferment Snail Emulsion

I bought this in a bundle with the Emulsion, for ₩ 31,000. YES IT IS EXPENSIVE but I guess since it's a 2 bottles deal it's ₩15,000 for one and quite cheap??? (SELF-DEFENSE MODE: ON). It is said that it's made from the secretion of golden snails fed on Golden Tea plants (which, they claimed, is organic green tea plant sprinkled with pure gold colloid as fertilizer or some sort) It is claimed as anti-wrinkle, whitening, and moisturizing. Although I was indecisive on whether I'd use this for myself or gave it to my Mum, in the end, I gave it to my Mum because I haven't bought anything for her save for some mask sheet packs and I feel guilty (DON'T TELL HER PLEASE). Several days before, I got Prestige Creme D'escargot sample from It's Skin and I liked it so much because only one drop of cream can make my skin soft, smooth, dewy, brighter tone, and smaller scars and pores. Plus it protects my skin from the harsh winter wind. However, the price for the actual size is about ₩60,000-ish (SOOOBBBSSSS) and I can't afford that so I've been looking for cheaper alternative of snail treatment products.

My sister said not everyone is suitable for the snail treatment products. On the assumption that the It's Skin snail product is suitable for me (never EVER do this like EVER) I thought it would be suitable for my mother, too. But I didn't buy the It's Skin, instead, I bought Tony Moly because it's cheaper (LOL) and it has bundle promotion so I got the toner and emulsion.

But then my Mum said it's not suitable for her skin. She said first application made her skin soft and smooth, and it felt good, but over the course of a week, it gave burning-scar effect, especially on her forehead area. So it went to me again in the end lol. (emang udah nasibnya kudu buat gue kali yeee)

It's my fault I guess. I didn't pay close attention on whether it has exactly the same ingredients with It's Skin Creme D'Escargot. It's actually has 10-free formula so I think the effect on my Mum's skin isn't from paraben or something. My sister thought perhaps one of the ingredients contains AHA and my Mum's skin is sensitive to AHA. But then, over close inspection, this snail formula is fermented with white rice (...............) (WHY DID YOU JUST REALIZE THIS WHILE IT'S CLEARLY WRITTEN ON THE BOX, MIK????) I think my Mum can't stand fermented product.

I just starting to use this Toner and Emulsion for a week, though, so no result seen yet. So far I don't feel any flares or drying or burning sensation upon application. On the contrary, my skin feels dewy, tighten, and looks brighter the next morning. It's still too rich for day use, though, so I only use this for night. We'll see then.

6. Face Oil Mixture (Golden Jojoba Carrier Oil, Tea Tree Essential Oil, and Frankincense Essential Oil)
I use this after the essence, toner, and emulsion, because water-based products should be used below/before the oil-based products. Since I've written my review of this oil product, I'll skip it.

7. Neem Oil 

I just started using this for... two to three weeks (and not every night because it's smelly as fuck) and let me repeat that, THIS OIL SMELLS NASTY. I knew about Neem Oil's properties since I started learning about natural oils for skincare, but everyone claims the smell is unbearable so I kept rethinking over and over to purchase one and boy, they don't exaggerate the review. When the bottle is opened, the smell is only some kind of strong nutty almond-like smell and although it's really strong (notice how I repeat the word 'strong'?), I can still stand the smell. However, after it's applied to the skin, over the time, it gradually changes into a strong raw onion smell (YUUUUUCCCCKKKSSS) AND DID YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE RAW ONIONS???????? IT'S LIKE TEN KILOGRAMS OF RAW ONIONS SLICED AND HUNG UNDER MY NOSE. Even when I drink, I can taste the raw onion smell on my tongue :((

Tapi demi kulit yang lebih baik ya. Akan kujalani cobaan ini.

But the reviews don't lie on the effects, either. It does reduce the redness and size of my inflamed cystic acne, and then dries them. Only, since my acne's growing rate is so fast (I said this on the previous post, didn't I?) I have to apply it every night for a maximum effect and currently, I couldn't stand being tortured by the smell every night yet :(

So those are my night skincare routines. I usually put face mask sheet about once a week, and when I do, I skipped the Tony Moly Toner and Emulsion and sometimes skipped the Neem Oil, too. I've explained other masks that I use (clay masks, fermented oatmeal) on the previous posts about my homemade skincare here and here. I usually apply that once a week, too, alternating between clay mask and oatmeal. But since now I finished my oatmeal, I have to wait until I got my next month allowance to buy a new packet .___.

See you on the next entry!

I'll continue the previous post about homemade ingredients for skincare.

I think before I continue, I have to put some kind of disclaimer over my natural homemade skincare. Patience and routine is the key here. Don't expect to apply masks or such and get the instant result overnight--even the dermatologists' said 'magic cream' won't work overnight and in one application. You have stick to the routine schedule and do it without fail, and in several weeks, your skin will show some improvements. Hell, when I started using my face oil, I couldn't see any result until after several months after.

So yeah. Sometimes I have that stubborn breakouts, like, when the old ones are still halfway healed, the new ones attacked. When it happened, I either increase the homemade treatment intensity, or take a shortcut (cough) and applied Benzolac salve. It's bad in long term, though, since Benzolac made my skin as if the acne was burnt despite its speedy healing. So I only use it when I'm desperate enough. But in normal condition, I think the natural ingredients' properties are enough to heal and maintain your skin. Moreover, it won't give any side effect (except, well, if you have allergies to said ingredients, such as nut allergies or such). Just rotate the ingredients you are using every two or three weeks so as not to saturate the skin.

Now let's get back discussing the next ingredients.

• Honey

How amazing honey is? Go to Google and search 'honey for skin care' and you'll get enough article to get you busy reading for the whole day. Adding honey in my face mask mixture leave my skin supple and hydrated, and the antibacterial properties help fight acne and breakouts. My mother also use honey and lemon mixture for face mask for her age spot and she said it helps.

I usually use honey as the mixture for my face mask concoction, since using honey alone is quite messy and sticky and runny. You don't want that sweet liquid drops everywhere. Plus, honey is super rich and moisturizing. Having an acne-prone and super oily face I am, I sometimes wary of putting something too rich on my face because it can be easily turned into breakouts, so I always do the extra skincare step (face masks, scrubs, additional moisturizers or lotions or emulsion and such) at night before sleep, because during sleep, our skin will absorb all moisture more than during our waking hours.

• French Green Clay Mask

Clay mask is wonderful for healing troubled skin. Each type is for different type of skin, and the French Green Clay Mask specifically is for the oily and acne skin. I use this clay mask as the base for my face mask concoction. Add about one full teaspoon of clay mask powder and mix with other liquid (honey, lemon juice, essential oils, potato juice, etc). Clay mask helps to increase the skin's absorption rate of other mixed ingredients. However, many people use it wrongly. Keep in mind to let the mask sit until only the surface is dry while still a bit damp under, because if you wait until it totally dries and cracks, the mask will instead absorb the skin's moisture. We don't want that, do we?

Here's my usual clay mask recipe:

• About one teaspoon of clay mask powder
• A dash of cinnamon
• Little bit of honey
• Or potato juice 
• If I'm too lazy to grate potato, then, lemon juice
• Two or three drops of my face oil (I currently use Golden Jojoba Oil mixed with Frankincense essential oil)

...well, no set amount, as I normally add the liquid gradually until desired consistency (thin enough to smother generously on my face, thick enough not to drip when on my face). Since I always hate having leftover concoction, I only add small amount of each ingredients and add either honey, potato juice, or lemon juice (too much liquid = had to add more clay powder to thicken = too much leftover). Two or three drops (or one pump) of oil, a dash of honey, you get me. Apply generously to the face, let it sit for 15-20 minutes or until the surface doesn't stick to your finger anymore but still a bit damp. Wash with cold water.

I usually use this clay mask concoction interchangeably with the fermented oatmeal face scrub. It's important to rotate what you put in your face, so your skin won't be saturated with the same properties over and over again.

•  Potato

I've mentioned potato several times previously. This versatile vegetable is not only delicious however we cook it, it's also good for the skin. I notice my skin is brighter, fading black spots, smaller pores, and fading scars. It helps soothe the swelling acne, too.

How to use?

• Wash and peel one potato. Slice it paper-thin. Put on clean face as mask, cover all of your face (including the eyelid). Wait for 15-20 minutes (close your eyes, take a short nap, listen to music, thinking about the universe, whatever floats your boat. Just relax). Take it off. You can leave it as it is, lightly pat your skin to let the excess moisture absorbed, or wash your face. 
• Don't have the skill to slice it paper-thin with only knife? Grate the potato. You can either use the pulp and juice as the mask, or use the juice for your mask mixture. If you can only purchase the low quality potato that contains more water, you only need half, or 1/4 part. Plus, using the pulp may be too messy and annoying to apply, thus, just use the juice. Squeeze the grated pulp through fine mesh, sieve, or cheese cloth to drain the juice. If there is still too much water, wait for a moment until the condensed part is settled at the bottom. Carefully throw the top part of the liquid without disturbing the settled sediment, and use the juice with the sediment part.

• Cinnamon

The more you read, you perhaps wonder more and more whether I'm writing an entry for skincare or some bizarre cake recipe. You and me both, mate. But we have to admit that what's good as our food is also good to be applied topically. Cinnamon contains anti-inflammatory and anti bacterial, and it's good to reduce the acne swelling and redness, and if used regularly, can dries your acne. However, bear in mind. Never, EVER, apply the cinnamon powder as it is to your skin because it BURNS. Like, IT BURNS AS IF YOU'RE WALKING ON THE HOT FIRE EMBERS only the burnt one is your face instead of your feet AND THE BURNT FEELING STAYS. Even when you add it into your face mask mixture, don't add too much. Use sparingly. Like maybe a dash or as much as the tip of your spoon. Perhaps 1/5 part of your mixture, at max. Before I own french green clay mask, I mix 1 part of cinnamon with 4 parts of rice flour and honey until desired consistency.

• Green Tea

No, not that super bitter green powdery stuff used as mixture for just all kinds of food and beverages, but the leaves (or tea bags, for the cheapskates like me) that makes sheer light green liquid when brewed. I rarely use this for face mask mixture. Instead, I let the tea sit until cool, and put into spray bottle. I use this as face mist before putting my make up, or slip the bottle into my bag and spray whenever I feel tired, or hot, or greasy (from the amount of oil buildup in my face). However, I rarely do this anymore, since I have to change the tea water every two days. Plus, I don't have fridge anymore. It's just too troublesome. But if you can manage changing the tea for every two days and have fridge so you can put your bottle inside when not used, then go for it.

I think that's about it, all homemade remedies I've tried until now. There are actually more remedies if you search the internet, from the normal one like apple cider vinegar to a slightly unsettling one like banana skin (!!) to the bizarre one like toothpaste (.....) I just haven't had time and chance to try the rest (though personally I don't dare using toothpaste. That as much chemical as the prescribed spot treatment). I'll discuss about face oils in the future. Hope you like it! :3

YES I KNOW THE TITLE IS A BIT MOUTHFUL. THANK YOU.

Based on Miyu's request on twitter, I decided to share some of the home made face masks recipe I quite often use.

Before we start, I guess I should tell you my face skin condition.

• It's super duper oily, like it would be shiny only two or three hours after I wash my face from the oil build up as if I constantly smother it with a cup of oil;
• full of deep scars and black spots from years of acne;
• big pores, as if I perpetually stab my face with nails those witch hunters usually use;
• and still, breakouts here and there.

Have you ever heard that saying they usually said to cheer you up when you were an awkward early teenage with too much hormone excess and face like the surface of your favourite rice crispy chocolate bar? "It will be gone when you grow up". Yeah, no kidding. I'm 26 now, I've been fighting acne since I'm 11, and more than likely will still be.

Thankfully, I can still have the pleasure to enjoy the rare weeks of having clean skin. Usually it happens when I religiously (trust me this is not an exaggeration) treat my skin with all my might, clean my make up without fail, and when my hormones decide to be civil and not fucking me up. Those days are usually what lift my spirit and encourage me to keep up with my treatment during my low days.

I think, part of me was fed up with splurging my money on trying out different acne treatment products. Dermatologists are expensive as fuck and needs constant visits. The cheap drugstore products are either give no more particular effects or leave quite undesirable side effects. So then I switched to natural treatment since last year, starting from the face oils, and then move up to face wash, masks, and scrubs. Let's leave the face oils for next entry and we'll hit on the ingredients we could find in our kitchen (or, in any supermarket's aisle). Since I kinda forgot each ingredient's properties, I will only write the effects and such so apologize in advance (and anyway, you could find the explanation on each ingredient's properties all over the internet.)

So here we go. Some natural home remedies that I've tried.

• Lemon.

Yeah, lemon is quite expensive here. But if you have a fridge, you can put the leftover in an airtight box and keep it in the fridge. A wedge of lemon (1/16???) is enough for one time face treatment--be it the for the mixture of your mask, or use it as it is. Or you can utilize the rest for your lemon infused water, or mixture for your green smoothies. Lemon can help reduce the oil buildup, reduce the acne's swelling and redness, and brighten the skin. Just make sure that when you apply lemon as it is to your face, don't leave it more than 10 minutes and wash your face right after so it won't irritate your skin. Also, you might want to avoid using lemon right before you do your activity under the sun all day, because as all citron does, it can make your skin photosensitive.

How to use Lemon?

•  Standalone, as face scrub: Wash your face first and pat it dry. Scrub your face with a wedge of lemon (around 1/16 part). Squeeze a little to ensure the juice is coming out. Be careful not to pop it up when scrubbing on your breakouts as there will be a serious case of blood and pus splatter everywhere (also it stings. A lot). Let it sit for 10 minutes. Wash your face with warm water (or cold one, if you're a lazy ass like me and has no hot water tap, doesn't matter). Use once or twice a week.
• Face mask mixture: Before you put the liquid of your choice as a mixture of your face mask, add some drops of lemon juice (again, from about 1/16 part). Be careful to other ingredients' composition, though, because applying a too liquid face mask will be a mess.

• Oats

Ever heard that commercial gimmick about how oats can absorb the excess fat and cholesterol in your body and took it out? That's more or less like it when we use oats on our skin: we want to absorb the excess oil, dirt, bacteria, and a bunch more of other things out of our skin. Plus oats has some properties that I forgot what (I'm sure by now you started to raise your eyebrow and cursing about how trashy this piece of entry is) that is good for the skin but anyway oats is love, oats is life.

It's better to use the natural rolled oats, but if it's too expensive/difficult to find, the normal easy-to-cook oatmeal is fine. Some people claim of getting breakouts when they use the instant oats, some people are fine, so you might want to take that into consideration.

How to use oats?

•  As face wash: If you're wearing make up, please use your choice of make up remover first. Use this step to replace your regular face wash. Mix a teaspoon of oats (use your own estimation, after some times you will know how much is needed for your face) with water. Some people directly mix it on their palm. I prefer to mix it in a small bowl or dessert cup or something like that. Squeeze and crush a bit until the water is clouded and no longer clear. Take the oat pulp and use it as scrubs on your face until all pulps are used. Pour the oat water little by little to wash the pulp out of your face while you scrub and massage the water to the skin, until all is used. Some people prefer to leave it as it is, some people like to wash again with cold water, depends on your preferences. Because it's quite rich, I prefer to use oat face wash at night before sleep.
• As mask: Oats can be used as the base or thickener for your face mask. Mix 1 tablespoon of oats with all the liquid needed (honey, lemon juice, some carrier oils, essential oils, rose water, or potato juice) until desired consistency. Or you can just use oats and water. Spread evenly to your face. Wait for about 20 minutes, or until it doesn't stick to your finger anymore when you touch, but still quite damp. Splash water until the mask is damp enough, scrub for 2-5 minutes. Wash with cold water. Or you can wash with your face wash if it still feels sticky--especially if you use honey. Use 2-3 times a week at night before sleep.
• Fermented mask: I once read an entry about using yeast to ferment the mask before used. She compared it with the pitera stuff in SKII people all raged about (though my sister once ridiculed me about how pitera is from rice and oat is not rice, well) and I can tell you the skin feels cleaner and more supple when I use fermented oats instead of regular one. How to make: In a glass or ceramic bowl (never, EVER, use plastic bowl because the fermentation process won't be perfect), mix one or two tablespoon with water, just enough to make a porridge-like consistency. Add a dash of yeast (I use the regular Fermipan), like, as much as the tip of your spoon. Mix well. Cover with plastic or foil sheet, tie with rubber band, leave it for 2 hours. It will be stickier with that usual smell of tape. Spread evenly on your face, let it sit for about 20 minutes or until the surface is not sticky anymore but still quite damp. Splash some water, scrub it away for 2-5 minutes. Wash with water until there is no more oat bits on your face. You can use your face wash too, if it feels not clean enough. Use twice a week at max.

SHIT IT'S A LONG-ASS POST I'M SURE BY NOW YOU'RE THINKING THE WALL IS MORE INTERESTING THAN MY ENTRY. Okay let's stop here. We'll continue later.

Off and go.