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Christmas beauty buys and gifts by Lancome, The Body Shop

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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.

 

I had fun a Christmas party last weekend. Every one of us exchanged gifts and are all smiles with what each gave and received.

Two weeks earlier, all of us wrote a wish list that includes three things we really want at the moment. I don’t exactly remember all three items, but I recall having two beauty products and a cookbook on my wish list.

After we’re done writing our three wishes down, they were collected in a box. Then each one of us  had to pull out a list from the randomized collection. The list I pulled out belongs to a girl who wished for a handful of beauty products like I did.

What’s more – one of the items on her list includes a product I really, really love: A Lancome mascara.

That makes everything a lot easier – I had a one-stop shopping spree at the local Lancome store to get the girl’s gift AND to restock my own mascara.

 
 

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Lancome mascaras - Virtuose Drama & Virtuose Precious Cells


 
 
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VIRTUOSE DRAMA INGREDIENTS: Aqua/Water, Styrene/Acrylates/Ammonium Methacrylate Copolymer, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Butter, Stereath-20, Cera Alba/Beeswax, Acacia Senegal/Acacia Senegal Gum, Copernicia Cerifera Cera/Carnauba Wax, Alcohol Denat, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Stereath-2, Paraffin, Sodium Laureth-12 Sulfate, Vp/Eicosene Copolymer, PEG/PPG-17/18 Dimethicone, Disodium EDTA, Rayon, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Caprylyl Gylcol, Trisdoium EDTA, Butylene Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Methylparaben, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben, [+/- May contain: CI 77481, CI 77492, CI 77499/Iron Oxides], (F.I.L. B45363/6)

Virtuose Drama mascara in Drama Black #01 by Lancome (USD 30.00). I confess: I’ve been using drugstore mascaras half my life – and have survived through each and every one of their three-month shell lives before they leave thick, sticky smudges all over my lashes. Though they’ve given me the extra volume I need for my Asian eyes, it’s getting annoying to find tiny black streaks falling down on my face every time I blink. Hours after application, my lashes become so dry they form big, black clumps that looks dramatic from afar, but hideous up close.

A couple of months ago, I decided to switch to using Lancome’s Virtuose Drama mascara. It became my saving grace from all the drugstore disasters I’ve been through in the past.

I even tweeted about the Virtuose Drama mascara upon my first application (on 22 October 2012), and I’ve loved it ever since.

Lancome claimed that the Virtuose Drama is their first invention that has a double-lifting lash effect. With its signature curved brush, the latest-generation mascara lifts from the roots of your lashes up to the tips. Note that the Virtuose Drama mascara is custom-developed for Asian lashes, which tends to be short and straight like mine.

The result? No goo. No clumps. No smudges. Somehow the Virtuose Drama is able to resist Jakarta’s humidity.

I see a curvier lift that lasts for the whole day, plus just enough volume to make me happy. My lashes don’t turn into black chunks like they used to. They remain clearly-defined throughout the day, just as how it is earlier when I’m just done applying the mascara.

Though results are not as dramatic as drugstore mascaras, you’re simply better off with this baby instead, because both curve and volume lasts for hours.

In addition to its long-lasting effects, I love that it’s super easy to remove. Just a couple of sweeps with my makeup remover and a light cotton pad, and the whole thing is gone.

 
 
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Back at the Lancome store, the lady at the counter offered me a little gift for purchasing two mascaras!

 
 
 
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Does anyone ever say ‘no’ to free stuff? :D :D

These are samples of the following Lancome products:

 

 
 
 

I like that the eye make-up remover easily wipes out my Virtuose Drama, and that it smells like rose. The label says it removes both waterproof and non-waterproof mascaras, so that’s a benefit even though I rarely use waterproof products myself. I haven’t tried the Hypnose Precious Cells mascara yet, and not planning to until I’m done with my Virtuose Drama. Sadly, I’m a lipgloss girl; not a lipstick one… I’ve always had naturally red lips (probably because I’m still young). God knows when I’ll be needing smears of Rouge In Love…

 
 

Sooooo guess what I got from my wish list?

 
 
 

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The Body Shop’s Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Facial Exfoliator!!


 
 
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INGREDIENTS: Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Olea Europaea Seed Powder, Acrylates Copolymer, Lauryl Betaine, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Pentylene Glycol, Phenethyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Parfum, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Luffa Cylindrica, Sodium Chloride, Fucus Vesiculosus Extract, Disodium EDTA, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylproplonal, Benzyl Salicylate, Tocopherol

I’m glad I got what I wished for, just like the girl who got her Virtuose Precious Cells mascara :)

I’ve been a TBS fan for years. I used to hate them in my teenage years when I tried every product from their Tea Tree line, which didn’t do anything to my blemish-prone skin except more redness and sensitivity.

It’s a different story now.

I’ve sticked with one TBS product (the Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream) throughout my college life. That translates to a five-year loving relationship with TBS. I put the cream on my face both day and night – under my makeup and before I go to sleep. Yep, that’s how much I love the product.

Then again in this post I’m reviewing the gift I received, not the night cream.

Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Facial Exfoliator by The Body Shop (USD 15.00). Now that my skin is blemish-free and hardly suffers from acne, a large part of my skincare routine is focused on maintaining the skin’s health and preventing skin conditions that are related to aging.

However, I still have open pores and excess oil on my T-zone, whereas my cheeks and chin are usually dry. In other words – my skin needs balance.

Aside from a weekly clay mask and daily face wash, I usually have an exfoliating scrub every once in a while. I recently ran out of it. I figured TBS’s seaweed line was the best choice for my dry/oily combination skin.

A full weekend’s use is not a good enough time to judge how well this scrub is doing on my skin, but I love that it has a cooling effect during and after I cleanse my face with this product. It feels fresh and rejuvenating to the skin.

The gentle beads help to allow my skin to breathe better as I scrub my T-zone, cheeks, and chin. The process encourages more blood to flow to my face. I recommend washing it all off using lukewarm water for the cooling after-wash effect to last longer.

I don’t know whether it’s because of this product or otherwise, but I noticed a more refined skin tone and texture. Typically I wash my face three times a day, and my skin produces a natural glow each time I wash my face with the mild and gentle Aloe Calming Facial Cleanser and scrub it with the seaweed exfoliator after that.

I suspect it’s because most of my skincare products are from TBS. Normally my skin becomes more sensitive when I introduce it to new products of a different brand rather than that from the same one. Nevertheless, I’m really happy with TBS so far.

 
 

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Now it’s your turn to share. How does your skincare regimen look like? More importantly – What’s on your wish list this Christmas?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

♥

Muchaluva,
Stace.

 

Recommended stay: Temple Hill Residence Villa in Bali

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Need a place to stay?

Look no further. Temple Hill has the coziest villas fit
for FAMILIES, FRIENDS, AND HONEYMOONERS ALIKE.

 

During my weekend getaway to Bali, I chose to stay at Temple Hill Residence Villa for its laid-back vibe and minimalist space. Located in the heart of Jimbaran, Temple Hill gives easy access to Bali’s vicinities. Not only does the place offers free Wi-Fi, spacious rooms, and a beautiful emerald pool, you can also opt to get delicious eggs and bacons ready on your breakfast table in the morning.
 


 
I stayed at Villa Segara, the two-bedroom unit of Temple Hill. We have cozy queen-sized beds on each room. There’s one bedroom across the pool and a master bedroom up on the second floor. Perimeters of the second floor has huge terraces overlooking the pool below. Master bedroom faces East to shower lovers with the morning glow.
 


 
Explore room layouts and find out complete information about the rates at www.templehillbali.com.
 
 
 

Temple Hill Residence Villa
Jimbaran
Jl. Wanagiri
Bali 80362
+62 361 704679
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

♥

Muchaluva,
Stace.

 

Update #3: NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner

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*UPDATED* I apologize for doing this review with the interference of my personal life. I’ve gotten rid of it – and now here’s a more comprehensive overview of NISIM’s products!

 

 

Please refer to this post, on 2 weeks after using NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner, and this one, 4 weeks after using the products.

Today is exactly 6 weeks since I started using the products.

Again, compare my photos from the beginning till the end.

 

Didn’t seem to grow that much, do they? :(

 

 

I gotta confess: For the past 2 weeks, I haven’t been doing as the instructions told me to do so (as I did on the previous 4 weeks). There were times within these last 2 weeks I was so busy I didn’t leave the conditioner even for a minute before I quickly washed it off. I also used the shampoo only once (when the instructions tell you to do twice) before you use the conditioner, whereas in the first 4 weeks I’ve been religiously following those instructions, in addition to good diet, great sleep, and using my leave-in conditioner. I also haven’t even been applying my leave-in conditioner for the past 2 weeks, except maybe once.

I haven’t had lots of sleep. In case you didn’t notice, I put on extra concealer under my eye to hide my black under eye circles. It’s more obvious on the second photo.

Just in the previous entries, these pictures are taken in the morning after I woke up. I believe on my first entry, my hair was a bit more than 9 inches. In the second entry it was almost 10 inches, and now it’s still almost 10 inches.

So that’s still a much longer hair growth than the average growth of half an inch per month.

It’s humanly impossible for hair to grow shorter, unless you’re losing hair. And if you do, I suggest you start thinking of getting biotin supplements, like the one that I’m taking now from GNC. I find that the biotin content, with the addition to eating enough protein everyday, helps your scalp to grow more voluminous hair. Also I have to give credits to NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner for having less to no hair falling out when I brush them now. I started taking GNC supplements long before I use these products from NISIM, and during that time, on a daily basis, I can see strands of my hair pulled out as I brush them, and they would fall miserably to the ground. Considering how much stress I’ve been lately, it’s amazing that I stop falling out my hair, and I can safely say my hair is at its strongest.

However, according to my picture this morning, I’m pretty much not growing any hair for the past 2 weeks :( On a side note, though, I guess this is just because your hair behaves differently every morning when you wake up.

Overall, I think NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner does help in hair growth, although if you’re not one of those people who wash their hair everyday like me, I do not promise whether it will work for you. The instructions specifically said that you must wash your hair everyday, therefore using both the shampoo and conditioner everyday. This is the instructions as I quote from their website:

 

 

Fast shampoo and condtioner works best when it is used daily. Shampoo: Wet hair, apply shampoo and work into a rich lather. Scrub entire scalp thoroughly and rinse with warm/hot water. Repeat. Conditioner: After shampooing apply the moisturizing conditioner onto hair and massage in thoroughly. Allow conditioner to permeate the hair for 1-2 minutes and rinse with warm/hot water. Style as usual.

 

 

 

Like I said, for the past 2 weeks I’ve only been using the shampoo once, and I did not wait for the conditioner to be absorbed into my scalp for a minute or two like I did during the first 4 weeks I’ve been using these products. Besides this factor, clearly the fact that my lack of sleep completely affects the hair-growing hormones I’ve been expecting and watching the results for those 4 consecutive weeks.

Now I learned that sleeping is a huge part of human hair growth, just because that’s when the human growth hormone levels, or better known as hGH levels, are at its peak the moment when your mind starts to relax and your body’s about to go into a deep sleep, i.e., REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. When you merely close your eyes for the night and wake up to the restroom every 2 hours, that doesn’t count as sleep. When your tinging head gives you headaches throughout the day and all you feel is anger, stress hormones (namely cortisol) affects the production of your body’s GH levels. (See: Growth hormone (Wikipedia)).

Even though I’ve been eating well everyday, diet isn’t as much a big factor as sleep is, because getting enough sleep means regulating a healthy metabolism. Even while still supplementing my diet with GNC products, it is proven here that nothing else will work if you don’t get your quality time of sleeping.

I would buy these products again and is recommending others who are desperate after a bad haircut to use NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner.

Periodically massaging your head with olive oil, coconut oil, and essential lavender oil helps stimulate your follicles to grow too, but do it only when you’re ready to go shower as your hair will become really greasy. On an important note, I conclude and strongly emphasize that if you want to grow your hair longer, faster, these are the most important things you must be doing: Do get your sleep, and when you do, sleep well. Minimize and cope with daily stress, and commit yourself to eating healthy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muchaluva,
Stace

Update #2: NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner

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Please refer to this post, exactly 2 weeks ago, on 2 weeks after using NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner.

Today is exactly 4 weeks after I started using the products.

Compare my photo from the straight-on picture with this morning’s picture, same angle with the same condition – just woke up and all messy.


 

 

Note: I cut my bangs (but I don’t think it’s obvious enough from these pictures, huh?). I cut them just until the corner of my eye. But other than my bangs, I did not cut or trim the ends of my hair.

This is a picture with my measurement:

 

 

 

 

The last time, the longest strands of my hair is a little bit more than 9 inches. Now, as you can see, is almost 10 inches already!!!

Thanks to NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner, GNC supplements, and the many beans I’ve included recently in my diet…  :) Beans are packed with protein and fiber, and very little fat. Although… beware with beans if you don’t like the gassy feeling in your stomach!!

I will be doing my last review update for NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner in another 2 weeks, which will fall on 2 August 2012. I also expected for my hair to grow to a little bit more than 9.5 inches on 5 August 2012, which is exactly one month after my last update on 5 July 2012. Yet right now it looks like it’s crossed that 9.5-inch line…

Again and again, I think sleep counts. Even napping – just to reduce stress hormones. A little exercise also helps reducing anxiety levels, allowing the roots of your scalp to grow as normal. My homemade leave-in conditioner, which has lavender oil in it, really calms me down after I wash my hair. At night, whenever I have troubles sleeping (because my apartment has a lot of noise -_-”), I rub lavender oil on my temples until I drift off to sleep.

Hope this review helps :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muchaluva,
Stace

Update #1: NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner

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This was my last post, exactly 2 weeks ago, on my first day using NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner.

OK. My many apologies – I didn’t think thoroughly about doing my review, and I took a picture of my hair while it’s still wet in that post, and now you can’t really see the change.

Let’s take a better look at pictures of my hair growth in my post on GNC supplements (which I’m still taking conccurently):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This was in early June (and now I realized it was on the 5th, and today is the 5th – so you can see the change in hair growth exactly one month later…) Like I said in my first post on NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner, I started using the products on 21 June 2012 – exactly 2 weeks ago.

I do everything on the instructions label, i.e. lathering shampoo and massage my whole head, rinse; repeat, then lather conditioner and massage deeply until it’s absorbed deep into my scalp. I usually leave the conditioner while I’m using my body soap to wash the rest of my body, so it’s right about 2 minutes.

My hair currently looks like this:

 

 

 

 

 

Note carefully that both pictures are taken from the same angle (a bit from below), so these pictures are valid for our comparison reasons.

However, I don’t think I’m able to tell the difference much on a daily basis (I see my hair everyday in the mirror – you see me once every 2 weeks! from pictures, even~), so I decided to see how long my hair actually is right now, and then we can compare the length in the next 2 weeks and 2 weeks later after that.

 

 

 

 

So right now it looks a little bit over 9 inches, and I’m expecting more than 0.5 inches to grow by August 5th, since the average person’s hair growth per month is half an inch. But we’ll see the wonders of NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner 2 weeks later on 19 July 2012.

As you can see from the early June photo and this morning’s photo, my bangs has grown a lot. Before, it sits at my cheeks. Now I always accidentally eat my bangs whenever it falls over my face.

Also to note: I had a little at-home trim some time before I used NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner (but after I took that early June picture). That’s why I can only judge by the bangs, because I didn’t trim them. I don’t plan to trim it anymore until some time next year.

Besides NISIM F.A.S.T. shampoo and conditioner, these are the following factors that I think affect my vast hair growth:

- my leave-in conditioner
-  my diet
-  my lots-of-sleep routine
- GNC supplements, with multivitamin too
- managing daily stress
- massaging my own head everyday

 

 

Hope my review helps :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muchaluva,
Stace