Showing posts with label toner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toner. Show all posts

Sunday, April 27, 2008

PSA: Kiehl's on Chapel St

On Friday 18th April 2008, Khiel's first boutique in the state of Victoria opened up at South Yarra. With barely any fanfare or advertisements, I only happened to notice it when I was on my way for groceries one day.

So, on a gloomy Sunday afternoon, being completely sick of walking in the CBD, we took a quick walk around Chapel St. It was a typical Kiehl's standalone store. Clean, simple and nondescript lines. Bare decoration with jars and jars of the products on display on the shelves.

I've read a lot about Kiehl's products for sensitive skin and their all natural products so I was eager to test some out. To be honest, I wasn't too keen on wrecking my skin with the testing of new products so in the end, I settled on a very pretty gloss in Golden Berry. More a coloured balm than a gloss, it gives the my-lips-but-better effect. It's also non-sticky which is a huge plus for girls with long tresses. No more having pesky bits of hair sticking to your lips as you battle the chilly Melbourne winter winds.



Because it's so new, I was given a couple of samples together with my purchase. I was about to sign the credit card slip (yes, I'm spoilt that way. I swipe the plastic even if it's just a $10 bill because I don't like carrying cash with me) when I was asked what my skin type was. Combination at certain times, definitely sensitive, most of the time dry to normal. She then passed me 2 of the cutest sample containers I'd ever seen.


Cucumber Herbal Alcohol-Free Toner


Abyssine Cream


Kiehl's can be found at 450 Chapel Street, South Yarra and at Mecca Cosmetica Australia-wide.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

As Simple As ABC

I was squirting a generous amount of toner from my regular Dermalogica one when it gave out one last little puff weakly.

The usual choice would be to just make a purchase online on Strawberrynet. A couple of clicks and I'd have the bottle shipped out to me pronto. But, with Jen and I both working, chances are, I'd get carded by Mr. Postie. Then, I'd have to get Jen to pick it up from the post office.

Too much of a hassle in my mind.

So I did what any slacker beauty junkie would do!

I stepped into Priceline and grabbed a bottle from the Simple range. Simple Soothing Toner. I've always used their facial wipes to remove makeup and have had no reactions whatsoever to their products. I love it that their products are fragrance- and colour- free. Not to mention, it's alcohol-free as well!

Image from www.simpleskincare.co.nz

In my books, a toner is a toner. It's meant as a mediating product between the cleanser and the serum/moisturizer. Something to prep the skin, or rather, warn the skin of the heavy duty moisturizer it's about to receive. So, really, in my books, I don't think I need something expensive. I've tried multiple toners before. I've pinched my mom's Dior Whitening and hydrating toner. It made my skin very soft but as with most Dior products, it's heavily-scented. I've been using my Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner for years and well, it's a toner. How wrong can you get?

Which was why I'm pretty happy with my 8 bucks toner from Simple. It's a Simple so I don't think one can go very wrong with using their products.

Trawling through beauty forums and blogs, I've noticed it's very rare that a beauty junkie actually claims a reaction towards Simple products.

I'm still spending quite a fair bit on serums and moisturizers because these really do make a difference. Having been on the Simple toner for about 3 weeks now, I don't see my skin going any worse than when I was on the Dermalogica, so it's safe to say that it's a pretty good toner.

For something that's claimed to be fragrance-free, I find the smell quite unpleasant. However, thankfully, being a toner, you hardly notice it after you slap on the serum, the moisturizer and the sunscreen. And, by the time I walk out of the house, Kelly Caleche is wafting up, tingling my nose very prettily.

Being in the cold and dry climate, I find that I need to use quite a fair bit to ensure my skin is still pretty moist before I massage my serum over. It doesn't have to be that way but I find that my skin is softer and smoother if it's still moist before the serum goes on. Just a hint of moisture and not dripping wet.

Simple products can be found in almost any drugstore (Priceline, Terry White, Guardian, Watsons) and departmental stores. As its name suggest, it's simple, it's affordable but most of all, it does what it promises-nothing more, nothing less.

NB: Make no mistake about it. I don't believe toners are meant to remove the last traces of your cleanser or makeup. Water should remove the last traces of your cleanser and makeup should be removed thoroughly and properly with a good makeup remover.