Jade facial roller by Yuroll.

Image from cultbeauty.co.uk

My Chinese female ancestors had many secrets for smooth unlined skin -- dark, bitter herbal concoctions, pearl face cream, filial piety and jade adornments are just a few of them. Real jade supposedly absorbs skin oils if worn next to the body and becomes darker and glossier with time. Given how young and not-so-young women these days prefer to match jewellery to their outfits instead of wearing the same few pieces 24-7, this jade facial roller by Yuroll (yu is jade in Mandarin, pronounced 'euh' not 'yoo') is a nifty way to incorporate a tradition into their beauty routine. I imagine you'd get the same effect rubbing your Po-po's heirloom jade bracelet all over your face, but since the Yuroll is actually a beauty aid, it comes with a promise to do a bunch of things to your lymphatic system, blood flow, facial muscles and wrinkles.

The jade facial roller is available at the newly opened British online boutique Cult Beauty for thirty hefty, solid pounds.

Jojoba of all trades.

You're looking at my new eye makeup remover and oil cleanser. Unlike other plant-derived oils, jojoba (pronounced ho-HOH-ba) oil is actually polyunsaturated liquid wax obtained from the seed of the jojoba shrub. As jojoba oil is chemically similar to human sebum, it is a popular ingredient in skin care products and is a non-comedogenic alternative to facial moisturizers.

Jojoba has been used Native Americans for hundreds of years to treat cuts and burns and as hair restoraratives. And so can the yuppies and the trust-fund hippies, thanks to the proliferation of organic health and beauty stores throughout cities. I bought this 4oz. bottle at Trader Joe's for USD6.00, but it's just as easily purchased online.

Five uses for your humble, politically-correct (vegan, cruelty free, economical) bottle of jojoba oil.

1. As pre-cleanser. Wet your hands and face before applying 4-5 drops of jojoba oil to your face. Massage the oil into your face for a couple of minutes and remove the oil with a warm , wet washcloth or by rinsing with water. Follow with a gentle cleanser of choice.

2. As eye makeup remover. Saturate a cotton pad with several drops of jojoba oil. Press the cotton pad against your eyes and gently swipe downwards towards the end of your lashes. It should remove everything, including waterproof mascara. As an added plus, the oil acts as a lash conditioner.

3. As facial moisturizer. Gently massage 2-3 drops into your damp face after cleansing. Jojoba oil will sit on your skin for a while as it takes some time to absorb. You may combine a jojoba oil with regular moisturizer or with drop of tea-tree oil. Although jojoba oil is non-comedogenic and mimics human sebum, results will vary. Follow up your jojoba oil moisturizer with a zit cream if you're worried, and just stop using it if it seems to exacerbate the situation. There is no such thing as a panacea for your skin woes.

4. As hair conditioner and detangler. Dab a little onto the ends of freshly shampooed hair before blowdrying and styling. You can also apply jojoba oil to your hair (ends or scalp, depending on your hair type) before proceeding to shampoo and condition as usual.

5. As body moisturizer. Massage jojoba oil into your legs and elbows, or combine a couple of drops with your favourite body lotion. A word of caution if you're planning to try it as a shaving oil -- the residue will accumulate and gunk up your razor.

To learn more about jojoba oil, click here.

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.

Free miracles with $500 serum. Right.

You know how in certain action flicks the hero, after single-handedly dispatching armies of bad guys with his pinkie finger, makes his way into the inner sanctum of a temple, turns the wheel in the right combination, causing a cube to come floating out on a bed of dry-ice clouds and golden rays before it clicks and slides open to the sounds of a soprano-only heavenly chorus to reveal some holy grail-ish artefact that will save humankind from a Certain Fate? Judging from the picture, Amore Pacific's US$500 Time Response Skin Renewal Serum is one of those:

In paradisum deducant te Angeli...

At that price, I expect miracles to happen on my face, wine into water and all that jazz because this serum is meant to be used in conjunction with the Time Response Skin Renewal Creme (US$400) and Time Response Eye Creme (US$250). Yow. Makes my Chanel Sublimage stuff look like serfs.