Brilliant Skin Rejuvinating Facial Set Review

I finally gave in and used the Brilliant Skin Rejuv Set I was gifted with. I didn't want to use this during summer because that would only result in darker skin. 

Frankly, I am not thrilled with rejuv sets when they started flooding the market. For me, they are nothing but repackaged, remarketed facial toners and creams loaded with hydroquinone and tretinoin (The packaging in the photo do not list these two as ingredients but I can smell them there. It's a smell you never forget.) which were the rage a decade or two ago. Dr Alvin and Brilliant Skin are today's Maxipeel and Extraderm. They position themselves as a cure-all and promise smooth, whiter skin, no more blemishes, acne, dark spots, pigmentation, blackheads, whiteheads, a happily ever after and a new car! 

I used both Maxipeel and Extraderm during my teenage years. I didn't think my already problematic skin could get worse. I got more pimples, more blemishes. My skin never lightened. It became oilier. They were very harsh on my face.  I sought the help of a dermatologist after dabbling with both.

On to Brilliant Skin Rejuvinating Facial Set. I'm using this because, eh, you're supposed to get glass skin (clap, clap to the marketman who coined this) with this said several influencers and youtubers.  Curious cat wants to know what's that. Also, it's a gift. 

Anyways, the sting comes from the kojic acid soap, especially if you don't wash it off immediately, and the brilliant rejuv topical solution or toner. Never ever have the toner touch broken skin. It's gonna hurt. That's my issue with this and Extraderm and Maxipeel. How the hell are you supposed to use them to address your acne when chances are, if you have acne, you are bound to have broken skin?! Most people who use these are those that have really bad breakouts. Just look at the pics and youTube videos of those supposedly using these.

When I wake up in the morning, my face is very oily, the pores very large. A week of usage and there's peeling. I remember these all too well. If it was promising what was drawn at the back of the box, then it gave me three of six. Except it was supposed to address those six. 

Frankly, those who claimed that this gave them great skin then posted before and then edited after pictures, or after pictures with different lighting, or blurred pics, are not doing the product any good. 

I didn't like how my face is starting to look and feel so I'm changing sets next week, after my third week. Maybe the lightening one is better. Sister says it does not sting. I may even try the Tomato. Walang kadala-dala.

Here's the thing, after using 2 rejuv sets sporadically, my sister's coworkers noticed that the tone of her face lightened. A lot told her so. When she stopped using the sets altogether, her skin tone went back to how it was. So, what does not work for me, still has a chance of working for you. 

If still getting this, cut kojic soap into smaller pieces to prevent its entirety from melting when wet. The accompanying spf cream won't  last for a month. Buy and use more sunscreen. 

Nature Beauty Collagen and Glutathione Perfect Magic Peeling Cream and Shady Seller Practices

Here's another product I got from a roving seller before lockdown.

I had been meaning to get my hands on a peeling gel/cream after trying out Sophie Martin Paris Tomato Natural Antioxidant Peeling. Since Nature Beauty Collagen and Glutathione Perfect Magic Peeling Cream works the same way (The seller applied some of the product on my arm and rubbed it in. Sure enough, clumps of debris began forming. Mind you, as I've explained extensively in the Sophie Martin Tomato Peeling post last January, peeling gels/cream that produce clumps are physical, like scrubs, not chemical exfoliants in spite of the torrent of extracts they spew at you. They're not magic. ), I got easily duped into buying a tube.

Milea All Organics Tea Tree and Aloe Vera Antibacterial Soap

Before lockdown, I purchased a lot of stuff from roving sellers. Not only was it convenient, but some sellers tend to offer free taste and freebies and unlike buying online, I get to see, smell and feel the actual product. In the new normal, I am not so sure roving sellers will be permitted into work premises as easily as before. Heck, I'm not so sure there will be roving sellers of beauty products anymore. But then, maybe a coworker who's into buy and sell will branch into beauty stuff.

Garnier Light Products

Currently, my weekday morning skincare routine involves Garnier Light Complete White Speed Brightening Foam, Garnier Light Complete White Speed Whitening Serum Cream with SPF19 and Garnier Light Brightening Eye Roll On. No toner, no extra sunscreen. No extra step. I've been going minimal so I have more time for stuff.

Garnier caught my attention when, upon arriving in the Philippines, they had this commercial showing a model holding over her face a strip of paper with varying skin tones, dark to light. One is supposed to become two shades fairer within several days of product use. At stores, their Light Complete Day Cream came with a similar strip. Suddenly, their competitors were adopting their marketing strategy.

Sophie Martin Paris Tomato Natural Antioxidant Peeling Review

When a seller who came by the workplace pointed to it as their most popular product when asked, even sharing anecdotes of return customers who swear that it's effective, I got me a quirky tomato-shaped container of Sophie Martin Paris Tomato Natural Antioxidant Peeling. During colder days I tend to get dry flaky patches around my lips and nose. I wanted to do some exfoliating before moisturizing. Get the flakes off rather than pick at it, which I often do, but shouldn't, absent-mindedly.

Do not confuse this with Tony Moly's Tomatox Magic White Massage Pack. It's not a substitute or a dupe. Their similarity ends with the containers. Sophie Martin Paris Tomato Natural Antioxidant Peeling works like a peeling gel (not a peeling mask ala Daiso Charcoal Mask). Tony Moly Tomatox Magic White Massage Pack is a rinse-off mask you massage unto your face. Sophie Martin's is a thin white cream with red beads whereas the Tony Moly's is thick and sticky.

Daiso Rich Coenzyme Q10 Moisture Lotion Review

Those looking for a review of Daiso Rich Coenzyme Q10 Moisture Lotion, here's one I have written years prior but has not had screen time because of things.

Daiso Rich Coenzyme Q10 Moisture Lotion is a moisture lotion with Coenzyme Q10. I got it to go with the other anti-aging skincare products I have been using because I have seen a couple of drugstore products that have Coenzyme Q10 as their key ingredient. Like the Nivea Visage Antiwrinkle Q10 plus line. Other ingredients in the lotion are water, butylene glycol, glycerin, dipropylene glycol, peg-60 hydrogenated castor oil, ubiquinone (this is the conezyme Q10), phellodendron amurense bark extract, citric acid, sodium citrate, disodium edta, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, ethylparaben.

Daiso ER White Medicated Cosmo Whitening Milk (Emulsion) and Essence Review

When I went off the grid about two years prior, a lot of stuff I have written for the blog didn't get posted. I decided to post this review since I have been seeing Daiso ER White Medicated Cosmo products being sold online.

Years ago whilst in SG, I ran out of facial care products and since I happened to be at Daiso IMM then, I decided to get some there instead of Watsons / Guardian. Before anyone freaks out about the thought of using a dollar store product on one's face, I have used a couple of Daiso products over the years and haven't had a problem with them. Also,  I trust Singapore to be stringent in regulating cosmetic products. Also, this is Daiso, not some store selling counterfeits. It was a good time to try facial care products I haven't tried before.

Skinfood Gold Kiwi Emulsion

I received a couple of sachets of Skinfood Gold Kiwi Emulsion with my purchase of a Skinfood product.The sachets have a papery feel when you slide your finger over them but when you snip one open, you'll find out that the inside is foil. A sachet is good for 1 to 2 applications.

I have no idea what the product would do for one's skin since the print on the sachets is in Korean. There is a link to Skinfood's  website however and that's where I got these deets on the product. Ingredients of each product could not be found on the website though.

Skinfood has newly discovered a substance found in the gold kiwi's skin, helps restore your sun-damaged skin from deep under.

Moisture rich skin whitening Gold Kiwi Emulsion restores and renews your skin from deep under using a substance found in gold kiwis.

Well, since my skin took a beating from this year's summer season, the samples got used immediately.

Instructions: After using the toner or the serum, put a portion of the emulsion onto your palm and rub it gently into your face.

There are 14 products included in Skinfood's Gold Kiwi line and since I only have the emulsion, I used the samples in place my moisturizer. Hence, my skincare routine went facial wash, toner, emulsion, plus sunblock at daytime. I did not place the emulsion on my palm but on my index fingertip. Note that I currently have combination skin (oily-dry).

The emulsion is a cloudy gel cream. It has a nice fruity floral smell which does not dissipate in an instant. I could not tell immediately if it gave me smooth, velvety skin as my skin felt sticky after application. After more or less an hour, I've noticed that dry spots on my face started to flake a bit. I'm wondering if this is the product's way of addressing skin's dullness as opposed to using reflectors. The Skinfood Gold Kiwi Emulsion samples may not be enough for me to draw a conclusion with regards to whitening but they were enough for me to notice that it did gave my glowing skin. This brightening effect was still evident when I woke up in the morning. My face did not look haggard with wide open pores. Which is not to say that it shrunk the pores on my face. It did not. They remained ever the same. Happily, the addition of this product to my routine did not cause my face to break out.

Visit Skinfood's website for more information on its products. Clickity click this link to get to Skinfood Philippines' new facebook page.