Mikan's Sanctuary

Hi, there! I'm still buggered over the fact that the only camera I have is the crappy 3MP phone camera. I reeeally want to post some swatches and reviews about my make up, but how can I provide accurate information with a camera that couldn't even represent the right color, right?

At least for this post, I don't have to show the right swatch color /^0^/ So here it is:

Because I'm lazy as fuck, I use the same edited picture for my instagram and blog post.

And here's the list of the products plus my review and why I use this:

1. Hada Labo Gokujyun Ultimate Moisturizing Cleansing Oil I use this cleansing oil ever since Hada Labo released this in Indonesia. Compare to Korean Brands, and the natural oils for cleansing, this is way cheaper. One bottle for about IDR 60k. Since I'm broke af, I can't afford expensive face cleanser/face wash since it will be finished faster. Moreover, I've been using the face wash from Hada Labo longer and I like the result. This cleansing oil really wash down all my make up. I rub and massage the oil on my dry face, then rinse with water (supposedly lukewarm water but again, I'm a lazy ass), then proceed with face wash. And because it's so effective, I also use this as my eye make up remover (I use cotton to remove the make up) and brush cleanser. So versatile.

Btw, I usually only use cleansing oil to remove make up. But lately I've been using Neem Oil for my acne treatment before sleep, and it SMELL SO BAD and the smell stays long on my skin so now I also use this cleansing oil in the morning to clean the Neem Oil residue.

2. Hada Labo Gokujyun Ultimate Moisturizing Face Wash
I've been using this brand for... a year? More than a year? Can't remember. All I remember is that I've been using this since it's first released. AND I LIKE THE RESULT. Previously I kept changing facial foam. First was because the Pond's variant I used wasn't available in Malaysia, then I changed to Etude, but then that variant (I forgot what) was discontinued. Then I changed to Sebamed, and when I moved back here to Indonesia, turned out it's too expensive for me.

I love its smooth, supple, clean finish. It's tame enough for my troubled acne skin. It has sufficient foam, too (yes although I know that many claims non-foam facial wash with slippery finish is better for your skin, I don't like it).

3. Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence
 SKII dupe (lol) because I can't afford the SKII Essence. I bought that for about IDR 200k from Elevenia. Btw, during my trip to South Korea last January, I couldn't find any Secret Key shop. I guess just like BRTC, they only sell their products online and at some selected vendors like Watson and the like. I assume that's why they can sell way cheaper than SKII and the like. The reviews on the internet for this product is crazy, a lot better than Missha First Treatment Essence (₩42,000, they said it's half the SKII but still WAY TO EXPENSIVE). But... I don't know if it's because I don't use it everyday (there were days where I forgot to even wash my face lol) or I just didn't notice it, I've been using this for about 2 months but there is no considerable change on my skin.

Well smaller scar marks, more supple and dewy skin but that's all.

I guess it needs time lol. Or my acne is too many I couldn't notice any better improvement over other areas. (kreys)

4. It's Skin Clinical Solution AC Spot Essence
Bought this one during my Daejeon trip last January for.... can't remember. Somewhere around ₩ 7,000? or ₩10,000? I CAN'T REMEMBER HELP! But it's not overly expensive I guess, because I remember I need to think over back and forth many times if the products were more expensive than ₩10,000. It's really good, it has gel-like transparent formula, and absorbed fast so we can use it below the make up layer. It dries my acne without burning my skin like benozyl peroxide. Sometimes it's sting when I use it over large cystic acne or open cuts, though. Too bad the growing rate of my acne (I MAKE IT LIKE IT SOUNDS REALLY FANCY BUT ACTUALLY NO IT IS NOT COOL AT ALL) is faster than the healing rate of old ones (sobs). Previously I use this morning and night (minus several nights of overslept so I forgot to apply this lol), and since I use Neem Oil for my night acne treatment, I only use this in the morning. Not to mention it's almost finished, too, (sigh) and I don't know where to find It's Skin product here :(

5. Face Oil (Mixture of Golden Jojoba Carrier Oil, Frankincense Essential Oil and Tea Tree Essential Oil)
I've been using natural oil as face moisturizer/serum since December 2013. Although it's more like maintenance oil rather than healing one, over several months of using, I see many improvement on my skin. The surface isn't dry and scaly anymore (yes my skin is oily but the surface is dry) and I have less acne during my breakout period. I've been trying Chardonnay Grape Seed Oil, Passion Fruit Oil, and Golden Jojoba Oil. From my experience, you have to rotate the oil type for every 1 or 2 months for maximum effects so that your skin won't bee too saturated with the same content.

I guess because I stopped using face oil last year for about 3-4 months (because I have no extra money to buy the new one), my acne are all coming back again.

So Golden Jojoba Oil is good for combination and dehydrated (oily but dry on the surface) skin. So is Chardonnay and Passion Fruit, it's good for oily and acne-troubled skin. Frankincense EO is good to reduce scar marks and black spots, while Tea Tree EO has anti-bacterial properties that fight the acne.

Never, NEVER, EVER, put the essential oil directly to your skin because it's so strong it can burn your skin. Always dilute with carrier oil, 3-5 drops of EO/10 ml of carrier oil. Even Tea Tree and Lavender EO, in which people claims the only EO that can be applied directly as spot treatment for acne, is not for everyone. It's possible that some people is too sensitive to direct application of EO and can only adds more problems. So, always dilute, everyone.

So that's all for my morning routine! You might notice the absent of sunblock here. YES IT'S TRUE I DON'T HAVE SUNBLOCK BECAUSE I'M TOO POOR TO BUY ONE I console myself by saying that my BB Cream has SPF 40. I save other emulsions / creams with richer formula for night usage, because my skin is so oily, and putting anything too rich on my skin has breakout risk. Not to mention it will fasten the make up meltdown (lol) due to oil and sweat buildup.

Except during winter. My South Korea trip was during winter, and the air is so dry, so I put all creams that I have morning and night. Even then, I don't have oil buildup for the whole day. I guess that's the only perk of winter season for people with oily skin like me :))

See you on next post!

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.

So here's the thing.

After the make up shopping damages I did when I went to South Korea back in February, I reaaallyy want to start reviewing make up/skincare again. I did it in the past, like, once or twice in a blue moon whenever I got new make up hauls, but due to my limited allowance, I couldn't do it as often as I wanted to.

But I guess all my make ups and skin care regimes currently can make up quite a decent amount for a 'regular make up blog' lol. The thing is I only have my 3MP phone camera with me and it's TOTALLY crappy. The images always either darker than it should, unfocused, or showing a totally different colours. It's annoying. And how could you make a decent make up review entry if your pictures cannot even represent the right color? I mean isn't that what people are looking from a make up review entry--for some real swatches?

But eh. Devil may care. If I keep letting myself being held back by trivial things, I would never be able to make an actual step.

So that's that, then. I guess I'll post some make up reviews.

For teaser, I'll post my whole South Korea trip haul last February. Excuse the quality. Took the picture at night, and I can't replicate it again now because I gave my Mum's and sister's to them already, and I have used some of the mask sheets.

.... Yeah. That much. Exclude the samples lol. BUTBUTBUT I swear my friends bought more than me.

Top row is for my sister, mid row is for my Mum, and the rest are mine.

I'll list one by one later perhaps.

Break a leg.