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- Image courtesy of area

South Korea’s #1 duty-free retailer recently launched an SK-II counter over at their chain store in Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport!

amidst the sea of Korean beauties rests a not-so-secret key to their crystal-clear skin. with their hectic schedules traveling across the globe, both korean men and women heavily rely on sk-ii’s products, particularly the prized facial treatment essence, to keep their skin hydrated and nourished all day.

Backed by decades of clinical research, P&G’s treasured skincare brand SK-II is reputed for its premium products that delivers results. Often described as one of the most expensive beauty brands in the world since it’s founded 33 years ago, SK-II products are, to me, collectively a bang for your buck, as they’ve been educating old and new customers alike on how to achieve maximum skin clarity through the free professional skin consultations provided at their counters, which are all based on individual concerns.

SK-II’s 5 dimensions of crystal clear skin

- Image courtesy of The Pink Stilettos

The same goes to this new SK-II outlet: Informed and helpful consultants are also standing by this new counter perched at Soekarno-Hatta’s international terminal.

Exclusive to this counter, SK-II have also packaged their signature products into 11 different travel kits to make themselves more accessible for those traveling celebrities coming in and out of Jakarta. You can’t get these kits anywhere else, not even other Lotte Duty Free chains across Indonesia.

- Image courtesy of SK-II Indonesia via Facebook

As it can get real dry when you’re up in the air, consider yourself a celebrity for a moment and take a look at what combination of SK-II products are available:

1. SK-II Ageless Beauty Face & Wrinkle Special Set (US$217)



2. SK-II Facial Treatment Crystal Clear Mask Deluxe Set (US$190)



3. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence Deluxe Duo Set Travel (US$228)



4. SK-II Pitera™ Deluxe Set | Travel Exclusive (US$162)



5. SK-II Ageless Beauty Essence & Cream Set (US$193)



6. SK-II Whitening Spots Serum Duo | Travel Exclusive (US$291)



7. SK-II Pitera™ Deluxe Hydrating Set | Travel Exclusive (US$242)



8. SK-II Ageless Beauty Rich Cream & Eye Set (US$386)



9. SK-II Ageless Beauty Face & Eye Set | Travel Exclusive (US$206)



10. SK-II Cellumination Ex Brightening Essence & Lotion (US$321)



11. SK-II Facial Treatment & Cellumination Ex Essence Set (US$300)

If you happen to have the same thought as I did, don’t worry about TSA. Each SK-II travel kit you got from this store (without tax!) is signed with a premium seal that automatically admits you through security check without leaving behind your Facial Treatment Essence bottle, whether it’s the 150ml or the 300ml one (TSA limits carry-on liquids, gels, and aerosols to a volume of 100ml).

As a frequent flyer, local SK-II ambassador Susan Bachtiar finds the introduction of these travel kits extremely helpful, recalling those times she left her skincare signatures at home before flights. The products she carry depend largely on her destination: Susan relies on the Whitening Spots Serum Duo whenever she’s stepping onto tropical, UV rays-drenched places, whereas previously, during our media trip to Kobe, Japan, she shared to me that she used the Signs Eye Masks on top of double layers of the Signature Eye Cream to get that extra moisture, as her skin is naturally dry and the city’s teeth-grinding cold weather wasn’t really helping her looking her best.

As for me, ever since I’ve got that exclusive set of SK-II signatures from P&G over 2 weeks ago, I’ve seen a noticeable difference in my oily skin, even though I’ve only been using the Facial Treatment Essence out of the four products I was given with.
 

The multi award-winning product is suitable for all skin types and every age range. Find out why on the upcoming issue of HighEnd magazine

My daily regimen over the past 2 weeks now includes twice-a-day doses of Facial Treatment Essence – morning and night. I still produce the occasional blemishes, no doubt as I’m restless 24/7 catching up deadlines, lots of running, and keeping up with this blog. However, my T-zone shines and dry cheeks are looking balanced these days.

By the end of the day, I usually have super shiny forehead, nose, and chin, along with dry cheeks and apparent all-around open pores. Compared to 16 days ago, I now see a more balanced overall shine that leans more toward dewy rather than the usual oil-tanked face. Cheeks are no longer as dry, and forehead is no longer as shiny. Obviously my pores are still large and open, as the cold truth remains that pore size is determined by your genetics. Nevertheless, I’m giving Miracle Water a chance to perform its magic in due time – until whenever it is my pores appear smaller, whenever it is my skin tone is perfectly even, and whenever zits vow to never appear anywhere on my body ever again. (Will that day ever come?)

 
What about you? Have you tried any SK-II products?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

♥

Muchaluva,
Stace.

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GOING BEYOND SKIN-DEEP BEAUTY, GROOM & BLOOM IS A ROOM FOR GROWTH – A PLACE TO LEARN NOT ONLY CREATIVE WAYS TO DRESS UP AND HIGHLIGHT OUR BEST FEATURES, BUT ALSO A DISCUSSION ON GRACING THE NATURAL ASSETS EACH OF US ARE BORN AND BLESSED WITH.

My last exfoliator, which I got from my Christmas wish list, ended up hardly making any difference in my skin texture.

On the quest to seek out my soulmate-exfoliator, I decided to give Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub a try, a budget find I picked up off the shelf at a local pharmacy store.

INGREDIENTS: Water (Aqua), Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Glycerine Soja Oil (Soybean), Poloxamer 407, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Theobroma Cacao Extract (Cocoa), Polysorbate 80, Glycerin, Juglans Regia (Walnut) Shell Powder, Fragrance (parfum), Stearyl Alcohol, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Powder, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Shea Butter, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Powder, DMDM Hydantoin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Tocopheryl Acetate, Methylparaben, Hydrolyzed Milk Protein, Propylparaben, Tetrasodium EDTA, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Root Extract, Propylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzyl Benzoate, Butylphenyl Methlyproprional, A-Isomethyl Ionone, d-Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol

On the back of the package, it claims to deliver the following skin benefits:

• Cocoa & shea butters: deeply moisturize and nourish
• Micro-fine cocoa beans: buff away dead skin cells to brighten skin
• Vitamin E: powerful antioxidant
• Aloe vera: soothes and calms skin
• Milk proteins: helps improve skin’s texture and tone
• Evening primrose: soothes stressed skin

Now that I’ve been using this product for more than two months, I do see a difference. I still have plenty of whiteheads and the occasional tiny acne, but overall skin texture seems more even, and I think it has a deep cleansing effect that my acnes appear less frequent. What I love most is that even when I go gentle when massaging my face, with just a little slab of this scrub, I can already feel the fine beads penetrating deeply into my pores. Because the beads are so chunky, they work to remove the excess oil I always have by the end of the day, without drying off my skin or causing any rashes. Over time, say about three weeks of use, they start control shine throughout my day. For my oily/combination and sensitive skin, the rough, finely-crushed beads are perfect, though I suspect they might be quite harsh for other skin types.

It looks slimy, but this gob feels good on the skin.

My main concern? It contains parabens, the notorious chemical that may, to a certain degree, be toxic for your health.

Parabens are inexpensive preservatives widespread across cosmetic products, and their main job is to prevent bacteria growth during storage. It’s effective to prevent microbes from growing on the tubes, especially when you keep your products in moist, warm environments. Three most common types of parabens that keep appearing on the ingredients label of your products are butylparaben, propylparaben, and methylparaben, three of which are present in this exfoliator.

Since the early ’90s, researchers have speculated that parabens might be a culprit to the global rising rates of women developing breast cancer. Parabens mimic estrogen when in contact with the human body, and this effect disrupts the natural levels of the female hormone, a symptom linked to reproductive concerns and developmental defects.

In the scientific literature, long-term estrogen exposure has been linked to breast cancer development for decades. University of Reading researcher Philippa Darbre, Ph.D, made quite a stir in the beauty industry when one of her studies discovered that parabens are ubiquitous in malignant breast tumors. In response, cosmetic manufacturers start reproducing (and repackaging) their products and labelled them “paraben-free” due to consumers’ concern.

But the fact remains that Darbre’s study did not prove any causal effect of parabens on breast tumors, as she didn’t have samples of paraben levels in noncancerous tissue. It was merely shown that 19 out of 20 biopsies from breast tumors contain parabens.

Though researchers are still unsure whether the human skin can absorb and eventually store these chemicals through topical contact, plenty other contradicting studies found that parabens do mimic estrogen, but does so weakly.

With all these facts in mind, let me end with an affirmative note: I’m not going to go crazy about 100% paraben-free cosmetics, but I’m watching the ingredients label closer from now on, lest I harm my health when all I want is an even skin tone and texture.

Moving on to find my exfoliating miracle …
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

♥

Muchaluva,
Stace.

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Going beyond skin-deep beauty, Groom & Bloom is a room for growth – a place to learn not only creative ways to dress up and highlight our best features, but also a discussion on gracing the natural assets each of us are born and blessed with.

Among all skin types, mine is considered a combination of oily and sensitive skin. This fact alone screams a lot of trouble already.

Now that I spend most of my time out and about, I noticed my skin breaks out more easily, and my pores, those tiny hair follicles on the skin’s surface, always appear bigger amidst the hot, humid, and polluted Jakartan air. I try to get as much sleep as I can nightly in order to maximize the skin’s ability to renew itself and remove all the dead skin cells underneath those pores. With  excess oil and sebum on my skin, the end-result is a face full of clogged pores that trap dirt, debris, and other nasty things from the environment, thus making the skin even more sensitive to infection and irritation.

What pore-banishing products keep promising on their packages is a myth: Pore size is genetically determined, and you can’t make it any smaller than what you’re born with. Fortunately, you can still minimize the appearance of them, even if it’s just temporarily – and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.

Apple cider vinegar, a gem hidden in your kitchen, is an all-natural astringent with properties that act both as an antiseptic and an antibiotic to the exposed skin. When used mildly, as with a light brush on a cotton bud, the honey-golden tannins in apple cider vinegar causes skin tissues to contract, making your pores appear slightly minimized. Upon topical contact with this cider, skin proteins coagulate to make your skin feel as if it’s binding and tightening up, thanks to apple cider vinegar’s enzymatic compounds.

Note that these dry, hardening effects only last for a good hour or two, and therefore dabbing this kitchen staple topically should be part of your long-term project in the quest of drawing out all the pore-cloggers dwelling beneath your facial skin. Why? Because the astringency of apple cider vinegar naturally works against toxins to dissolve impurities, whereas the abundant acetic acid found in the liquid can potentially protect you from getting future breakouts.

Though I’ve never really used toners as part of my skincare regimen, I now smother a thin layer of apple cider vinegar on my face under my makeup and right after my daily facial wash, particularly at night before I go to sleep. Gotta be sure those dead skin cells are gone by next morning!

♥

Muchaluva,
Stace.