All the way down: The last for 2012

This will probably my last post for 2012 (unless I can have a great shot of fireworks later).  I wanted to post a mask review and other samples but I ran out of time and I'm still going to clean my stuff and throw all empty containers of what I used up for the last two months which leads me to capture them and show them to you.

For two months here are the items that I emptied:

The Moisturizers

an aloe, shea nut, cranberry and an apple...well at least the lip balm is made of beeswax

You can find my reviews of the products here, here, here and here.  As for the lip balm, well it's already been a year or is it two???  Oh no signs of ageing!!! Anyway I have to already throw it.

For Feet and Legs

one fine, two so~so, three okay

Happy Heels is just fine for me and found something else that delivers the same benefit and feel at a very cheaper price (it's from Watsons and I already used it before).  Strip It didn't strip all my hair in my legs so it's going to the trash or I'll mix a tablespoon of apple cidar vinegar, 2 tablespoons water and 3 tablespoons of sugar with it to make a scrub.  As forTonyMoly well it worked okay and will continue using it's hair removal creams (I bought the for sensitive variant).  Posts for these three can be found here, here and here.

Bath Buddies

etude, snoe, the body shop, etude

Etude House, did you know your SA here are so confusing?  The SA who assisted me when I bought the Petit Bijou said it will be discontinued.  That was 6 months ago, but a month ago I saw sets in one of your store?  Anyways, did everything to empty the Happy Essential Foam because; due to mishandling, the smell of it turned a little funny so I have to consume it rapido!!! Here, here, here and here for the reviews.

That's a lot!!!  Hope that I will continue with this blog for 2012.  I have a lot of setbacks this 2012 even if I just started blogging.  There are times that I would just like to stop especially when my rating skyrockeeted to top 100 then fall six feet underground to 500 and do other interesting stuff but because of some nice comments and all the products that are just laying around all over my room I decided to continue.  I'll just stop when there's nothing more to review so 2013 be good to me!

Thanks to all my readers and hope that you will still continue to read and support The Certified Latebloomer!

Have a fun, safe and bonggang (outlandish/lavish/extravagant...just think extreme happiness) New Year!!!

Strip It!

So I'm supposed to post about this yesterday but unfortunately, I don't have enough strength and idea on how to present my review of this product because...I'm not liking it! Surprise, surprise!  Many are raving about this product so I thought it would also work its wonders on me.  *sigh* Anyway, I'll just lay out the necessary information and photos and at the end of this post, I'll put some of my notes.

Strip It Hair Removal Sugaring
Sugaring is also known as Eqyptian wax.  All natural & water-soluble, so it's safe to use on the face, body, bikini area, and even on sensitive skin.

the kit includes the sugar wax, the cloth, a paper with all the details and instructions and a wooden spatula

According to Strip It Facebook page:
"STRIP IT sugaring removes hair from the roots (epilating), thus hair is unseen from 2-4 weeks. With continued use, hair becomes sparser, softer, and finer. That is why it's preferable to shaving or using depilating. Since sugaring adheres tightly to the hair but not the skin as, so there is 50% less pain & discomfort than with other waxes.

Strip It will give you a clear, smooth & light skin. It also exfoliates by stripping off dead skin. It is laced with moisturizer making the skin soft. And the Calamansi lightens the skin!

Strip It is an all natural , water-soluble, and hypoallergenic COLD sugar wax. NO HEATING is required. Get the great benefits of waxing while saving time and money!"

and here's a close up look of the sugar wax

It reminds me of the local counter part of tootsie roll when I was a kid only this one is more on a liquidy side.  I suggest that you mix it first before applying the wax on the desired area. I remember that it's a little jellyish the first time I  used it and I really had a hard time spreading it. If you have low pain tolerance then you might try to spread the sugar wax in the opposite direction of the hair and pull the cloth as close to the skin as possible in the direction of the hair growth.  This technique is actually the opposite of what is in the instructions but I find it more effective and less painful.  Also (as instructed) make sure that the hair is at least 1/4 inch long but better if it's around 1/3 inch.  Don't panic if you see red bumps after waxing.  It's normal and should be gone after an hour.  After the waxing, I used my aloe gel and it somehow help in lessening the redness and swelling of my skin.

Now, reasons why it's not efficient and effective to me:
Two conditions should be meet before and while using this sugaring wax.  First is that the body part that should be wax remain dry for the whole session.  I'm a little sweaty person and I live in a small space so the places that I can have my wax done is in the bathroom and the living room, both of which are warm places even when the fan is on.  Second is you have to be really fast in applying the sugar wax (as the sugar tends to melt) and in pulling the strips of cloth.  As a newbie, I'm not fast enough so I wasted a lot of the product and time waxing the same area over and over again.

Next is that the cloth included in the kit is not durable enough for waxing.  I got really frustrated when I finally got the right technique in pulling the cloth but it can't take the force that I'm exerting and ended up tearing into half while in the middle of the pulling session.  Better to use a real cloth or an old handkerchief.

It can't remove thick hairs so I have to tweeze some and shave the rest.  Yeah, there are lots of stray hair that I ended up shaving my legs.

And lastly, after just 2 days, hair started to grow and ingrown is all over my legs (another *sigh*).

With all of these reasons, I think it's more convenient for me to use depilatory creams.  I'll go back to using TonyMoly's hair removal cream since it's easy and safe to use and I also noticed that the more I use it, the lesser the hair grows (and a bit finer too!).

Thanks for reading!  Till then.  Bye!

Mask of the Week + Random Haul

For this week's Mask of the Week I used Nature Republic's  Brightening Mask Sheet in which I already made a mini review here.  I think it's not for sale in stores and I just got the mask from my previous purchases when Nature Republic are still very generous with GWP.  Since I already did a review on this, I'm just going to share with you what I do with the excess essence from the masks that I've been using and my random mini hauls this week.

Aside from massaging it on the face and neck, I put the rest of the essence from the mask on my feet and legs and recently I store it in clean container like the picture below and use it as a regular daily essence.  Maximizing resources and cost cutting saving money at the same time, right?  Wondering where I got the cute container?  From Landmark at P15 for two (if I'm not mistaken)

excess essence good for one week

Still discovering the wonders of Snoe so I visited the nearest kiosk and got an oil and an s-rub.  Too bad, I didn't the free sample of their item of the month.  Better luck next time Arya!

let's see what these babies can do!

And thank goodness for Sesou, I finally got ahold of Strip it.  Cheers!!!!

hope this will not give me lots of ouchies

Also, I'm so excited to visit Tony Moly and Etude House this weekend for their 50% sale on selected items of course!  Check these facebook pages for the list of the sale items:  TM and EH.

Thanks for reading.  Enjoy Shopping.  Till then.  Bye!