I wonder whether there will come a day that Clinique’s famous moisturiser – that even made its way to FD Best of Beauty Awards 2012 for Skincare, namely the Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion (DDML) will be tweaked and perfected to be an even better one. Its simplicity captures the heart of many and to date it’s still a powerhouse name when you’re talking about moisturiser. But I don’t think anyone would say no to see this favourite moisturiser get a facelift.

We can’t wait to welcome the reinvented DDML where it will be launched this summer – I expected much much later for Indonesia, but not too long. There’s going to be a lot of activities surrounding the launch which includes network and co-op TV, social media and heavy sampling. It’s going to be an exciting thing since the DDML has made a name of itself and let’s see whether the new one can beat the long-standing favourite best-selling moisturiser.

It’s often a hit and miss case when it comes to new formulation of a favourite product. It gets so iconic that people don’t know any other way to love the product except the one they already know. Unless it excels in many different ways, people are bound to hate it. But I have high hopes for this one because the reformulation of Clinique Clarifying Lotion that’s been done earlier is an excellent one and I think this will too.

Di Female Daily Network, setiap karyawan dianjurkan untuk ‘mengadopsi’ paling tidak satu thread di Female Daily forum. Karena memang sejak lama saya adalah pengguna SK-II dan lumayan khatam masalah produk tersebut, maka tidak heran kalau saya memilih ‘mengadopsi’ thread SK-II. Lagipula, sudah sejak lama saya lumayan sering menengok dan kalau sempat ikut berdiskusi di thread tersebut. Nah, karena niat  ’mengadopsi’ thread tersebut, maka belakangan ini saya sering sekali menelusuri thread ini dan akhirnya malah jadi keracunan sendiri. LOL, the trouble of getting too involved in the forum, pasti ada saja masanya keracunan!

Banyak yang menanyakan pada saya apa ritual SK-II saya–produk yang saya gunakan dan bagaimana menggunakannya. So, I think it’s about time that I do a SK-II special skincare arsenal. Beberapa waktu lalu saat di forum sedang heboh dengan Stempower moisturiser, saya juga langsung mencobanya. I love the result. Akan tetapi karena saya suka gemas memencet jerawat saya pada saat PMS maka jadi ada beberapa bekas jerawat muncul dan juga pada awal tahun saya sempat berpergian ke Bali pada saat cuaca panas sekali, sehingga menyebabkan kulit wajah saya menjadi agak gelap dari biasanya. Saya tahu hal tersebut, karena biasanya foundation saya yang warnanya tadinya cocok-cocok saja, kok, malah menjadi terlalu terang di wajah saya? Jadi akhirnya saya kembali menggunakan rangkaian produk whitening dari SK-II. Kalau sebelumnya saya hanya menggunakan SK-II Whitening Spots Specialist dan memasukannya ke dalam rutin perawatan wajah saya, kali ini saya mencoba satu rangkaian produknya.

So this is my SK-II whitening skincare regimen:

1. SK-II Whitening Clear Lotion – pagi dan malam

Dipakai setelah membersihkan wajah (pagi hanya mencuci muka dan malam double cleansing). Kemasannya adalah pump bottle, jadi memudahkan takaran produk, untuk seluruh wajah cukup satu pump saja dan diusap ke seluruh wajah dengan menggunakan kapas. Formulanya agak kental dari kebanyakan lotion/toner akan tetapi langsung menyerap ke wajah seperti produk lainnya. Saya perhatikan, produk tersebut terlihat terdapat sedikit shimmer tapi surprisingly tidak terlihat sama sekali di wajah. Malah wajah saya terlihat tampak cerah seketika. O, ya, kalau ada yang merasa kurang cocok dengan Facial Treatment Clear Lotion karena terasa agak kering di wajah, selain Cellumination Mask-in-Lotion, produk ini juga bisa jadi pilihan lotion Anda.

2. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence – pagi dan malam

Kalau produk ini, sih, tidak perlu penjelasan lebih lanjut lagi. Kegunaannya bisa dibaca lebih lanjut di artikel saya yang ini. Tapi yang paling saya suka dari produk tersebut adalah dia mampu membuat produk skincare yang saya gunakan selanjutnya bekerja secara maksimal. Beda sekali hasilnya kalau saya pakai suatu serum dengan di kombinasi Facial Treatment Essence dan tidak. Hasilnya akan lebih cepat tercapai kalau saya kombinasikan dengan produk ini. Walaupun banyak yang mengaplikasikannya langsung dengan menggunakan tangan, tapi saya lebih suka memakai kapas.

We all know that lip balm is the first aid for dry, chapped lips. But similar to any other addiction, lip balm addiction is actually not good for our lips!

First things first, let’s take a look at what does actually lip balm do. Lip balm itself is a wax-like substance which contains beeswax or carnauba wax, camphor, cetyl alcohol, lanolin, paraffin, and petrolatum as its basic ingredients. In addition to that, certain lip balms also contain dyes, flavor, fragrance, menthol, phenol, salicylic acid, and sunscreens (SPF). Lip balm provides an extra layer (also known as buffer layer) between the lips and the environment so that your lips will not be directly exposed to the environment. Why is this so important? Because lips only have thin surface layers of skin, which means that they’re more likely to dry out compared to the skin of the face, for instance. Which means, we can lose up to 10 times more moisture through the lips compared to other parts of the face and body. Certain conditions in the environment such as dry air, cold temperature, and wind can easily drain moisture away from the skin, including the body and lips, therefore can lead to dryness. In conclusion, our lips are very prone to dryness and dehydration. When the lips become dry and lose its moisture, the skin covering them can become tight and start to split, which makes your lips look chapped! (uhmm…not good!!!) In addition, when you have dry lips, dirt, bacteria or fungi will enter the cracks in the skin of the lips, therefore can cause…infection and your lips will be sore and inflamed (medical terms: cheilitis)! Okay, we know that big lips mean sexy, just look at Angelina Jolie! But when your lips are big due to inflammation plus it is painful as well, that is not sexy at all!

Let’s take a look at these pictures:

Normal lips vs. Chapped lips

Okay, it is obvious that we do not want to have chapped lips, right? In order to prevent that, we need an extra layer to keep the lips moist and does not dry out or lose moisture that fast. Let’s take a look to the anatomy of the lips:

Comparison between regular skin layers and lip skin layers. Notice the thickness and the arrangement of the layers

Look at the picture above. Regular skin layers have thicker epidermis which comprise of thick stratum corneum as the outermost protective layer, while the epidermis of the lips has the thinnest stratum corneum compared to elsewhere in the body and overall, epidermis is also thinner compared to the regular skin layer. In addition, lips do not possess sweat glands as the natural moisturizer of the skin, which makes them more prone to dryness.

When we wear lip balm, there will be an extra layer above our lips so that the moisture will be locked in and we can get extra hydration with the contents of the lip balm itself such as beneficial oils. The extra layer will also help to seal deep cracks and splits from infection and irritation, usually due to extreme weather condition. In addition, many lip balms nowadays contain SPF, which is good for protection against free radicals from the sun.

Here are the important ingredients of lip balm and its benefits:

• Hyaluronic acid, sodium PCA, and glycerin: ensure your lips to stay moist
• Petroleum, castor seed oil, shea butter, sunflower seed oil, and squalane: nourish cracked lips
• SPF: protect your lips from the sun

From those explanations, we can see that lip balm is very beneficial right? However, after searching about lip balm on Google, I stumbled upon Dr Oz’s video about lip balm addiction (click to see the video) and why lip balm addiction (like any other addiction) is not good! We know that it has lots of benefits, right? But on the other hand, it has some drawbacks as well. So before I proceed, here are the signs of lip balm addiction:

• Apply lip balm more than 3x a day
• Have more than 1 lip balm
• Keep lip balm in multiple places (e.g. purse, drawer, car, desk, etc.)

Why is lip balm addiction bad? Let’s go back to the thin layers of skin in the lips. Since the skin layer is very thin, the skin on the lips is designed to shed very quickly so that the new skin will come out and grow quickly as the old one shed away. If there is excessive extra layer above the lip, the old skin which is supposed to shed very quickly cannot be shed and the regeneration of the new skin is slowed down, therefore blocking the natural regeneration process of the lips. In the video, Dr. Oz described that if we apply lip balm rigorously, we are treating our lips like a croissant! If we cut a croissant in half, we can see that the inner portion of the croissant, which is crossing against each other. This is what happens if we block the natural regeneration process of the lips, the regeneration process will stop and the skin layers will look like the inside of a croissant cut in half. In addition, same as croissant, the outer layer will also become crusty and more chapped. Therefore, instead of protecting the lips, it can make our lips more chapped if we use it excessively!

So what should we do? Should we let our lips go nude without any protection against the environment? Of course not! We still have to nourish our lips to keep them moist and support their natural regeneration process. There are several things that we can do to prevent our lips from drying while still keeping the regeneration process intact.

• Use lip balm which is rich in natural ingredients such as shea butter, lanolin, and coconut oil. Those are the best moisturizers for our lips and they are natural as well! Coconut oil also acts as a natural sunscreen and it is non-irritating as well. It is also available in natural or raw form and you can apply it directly on your lips using cotton buds just like in Dr. Oz’s video. In addition, try to limit using lip balms with preservative, flavor, and fragrance since they contain more chemical or artificial-made substances which can induce allergic reactions.
• Do not bite your lips! This is a big no-no! I know for some people it’s a habit which is very difficult to erase and sometimes we do it automatically, but biting your lips will only make your lips drier! This will only make the lips bleed and heal more slowly. Normally, lips possess thin oily film on their surface that provides natural protection against moisture loss. However, due to excessive lip biting or licking habits, the thin oily film can be removed and cause the lips to become chapped. I know it’s very tempting to lick the lips when it is dry, but the saliva can easily evaporate thus making it drier. In addition, when the lips bleed because of excessive biting, it will leave the surface open and bacteria, virus, or fungi can easily enter the skin and will cause infection.
• Do not apply lip balm excessively to preserve the natural regeneration process. Once or twice daily is enough and if you are at home, try to keep it natural by not wearing lip balm at all to support its natural regeneration process.
• Drink more water! Again, water is very essential and since lips are prone to hydration loss, better to keep it hydrated. Rather than licking or biting your lips when they are dry, it is better to just drink water to hydrate your body in a whole.
• Avoid using lip balm in a pot! Using lip balm in a pot is more infectious since repeatedly dipping your finger into the balm can introduce bacteria, unless you know how to keep it clean all the time. It is better to use lip balm in sticks or if you are too comfortable with your lip balm which is only available in pot form, use applicator or cotton bud to apply it on your lips instead of using your finger.

So, how about you? Do you have lip balm addiction? Now that we all know the function of a lip balm and what to look in a lip balm, don’t forget to choose your lip balm wisely and use it properly to get healthy and beautiful lips!

Ada satu hal yang sangat saya senang lakukan pada saat akhir pekan, yaitu menggunakan masker wajah. Penggunaan masker wajah biasanya menyita waktu ekstra sekitar 15 menit kurang lebih. Oleh karena itu, hal tersebut sangat susah dilakukan pada hari-hari biasa. Inginnya kalau setelah kerja, kegiatan perawatan wajah seringkes mungkin. But come weekend, it’s time to pamper my skin. Tapi tetap saja, saya tetap memilih masker wajah yang bentuknya ringkes seperti tissue mask. Masker bentuk seperti ini biasanya sudah dipaketkan untuk sekali pakai. Dengan menggunakan konsentrat yang kaya dengan kandungan-kandungan untuk menutrisi kulit secara maksimal.

Disebut tissue mask karena konsentrat yang digunakan sebagai masker diserap oleh masker yang biasanya terbuat dari bahan semacam tisu namun jauh lebih tebal dari tisu biasa, malah beberapa masker memakai bahan yang sangat tebal sehingga maskernya bisa dipakai lebih lama lagi di wajah. Contohnya adalah masker SK-II, karena bahan tissue mask yang dipakai tebal sehingga mengandung cairan konsentrat lebih banyak dari kebanyakan tissue mask lainnya dan saya akan memakainya lebih lama dari anjuran – sekitar 20 – 25 menit sampai tissue mask terasa agak kering.

SK-II tissue mask adalah salah satu favorit saya, and it’s totally worth the splurge. Tiga masker dari SK-II yang saya sukai adalah:

1. SK-II Facial Treatment Mask: Instant nutrition and rejuvenation

Apabila Anda menyukai Facial Treatment Essence, maka Anda juga akan sangat menyukai masker tersebut. This is an intesive moisture-boosting mask. Dengan konsentrasi Pitera yang sangat tinggi, masker tersebut dapat menghidrasi kulit yang sangat kering sekalipun akan tetapi tidak terasa berat di wajah. Karena Pitera adalah kandungan yang sangat ‘pintar’ maka produk ini cocok digunakan untuk kulit kering maupun berminyak. Tapi yang sangat saya sukai dari produk tersebut adalah perubahaan yang saya rasakan pada saat memakainya kalau kulit saya sedang dalam keadaan tidak prima – bisa disebabkan oleh kecapaian, kurang tidur ataupun kekeringan – dan seketika terasa langsung lembap dan kenyal.