Review: Alterna Bamboo Luminous Shine Shampoo

Alterna Bamboo Luminous Shine Shampoo 250ml MYR  73.00

My quest for a shampoo of 'Holy Grail' status has been a tedious search. Just when I thought I have finally found 'The One', it starts to play havoc to my scalp and hair after 2 weeks.  Is it just me or everyone feels the same when it comes to finding the right shampoo? Personally, searching for the right shampoo seems more difficult than finding the right skincare. 

Anyhow, I've heard much about Alterna Bamboo through bloggers and I was so intrigued about it that I finally bought it when I was shopping at Sephora.

What it says?

This gentle sulfate-free cleanser combines strenghtening eco-certified Bamboo Extract & shine-amplifying Indian Gooseberry for healthy radiance. Freshly cleansed hair is left moisturized, shiny and brilliantly glossy. Formulated with Colour Hold technology. Safe for colour treated hair. Free of: Sulfates, Parabens, Gluten, Sodium Chloride, Phthalates and Synthetic Colour.

My Experience

Shampoo is of a clear gel and quite fragrantly fragranced, a bit too sweet for my liking though. The shampoo foams very minimally, which is a good indicator of minimal or zero harsh surfactants. 

During my first try, my hair was super oily at the scalp and I need to do a second wash, just to make sure that it is clear at the sebum. However, after rinsing, my hair feels awfully squeaky clean and straw-y. Not a nice feeling at all. My normal hair conditioner helped a bit to detangle my hair but I don't feel that my hair was nice to touch. Blow drying actually made my hair look and feel worse with this shampoo.

The second trial was a bit better. I skip the second wash and instead of using my normal conditioner, I proceed with my hair mask. And...it made a LOT of difference to my hair. Not only does my hair looked tamed, it gives me a nice body, volume and feel to it. 

After using this alternatively with another regular shampoo, I personally find that this shampoo helps to balance my hair and scalp. I experienced less flake and itchiness and ironically, it manages to control the oil secretion of my hair. Very weird indeed.

Overall

This shampoo is not suitable for everyday use, as it tends to make my hair squeaky and straw-y looking. Ironically, it worked fantastically well when paired with my hair mask and manages to control my oil secretion when used alternately with another regular shampoo. Funnily, this is the only shampoo that gives me a nice volume and body to my hair.

This item was purchased by me for my personal purposes. This review is based on my honest and personal experience with this product and is not influenced by any parties.

Review: Bioderma Crealine Solution Micellaire

Bioderma Crealine Solution Micellaire 500ml Euro 21.00 for 2 bottles

Yes, this is the famed cleansing water from Bioderma and I finally, I got to try out this product! In Asian countries, they go by the name of Bioderma Sensibo but in Europe, they call it Bioderma Crealine. I am not going to write much about the company's background, nor the product description as they are plenty introductions over the web over this product. I am just going straight to the ingredients and my experience.

Ingredients

Water, Peg-6 caprylic/capric glycerides, glycerin, polysorbate 20, peg-40 hydrogenated castor oil, ammonium lactate, plantago major leaf extract, mannitol, xylitol, rhamnose, frutooligo saccharides, propylene glycol, disodium edta, cetrimonium bromide.

My Experience

Bioderma Crealine is a micellaire solution or cleansing water, which is basically a face and eye make-up remover for sensitive skin. Using cleansing water as my first step of my double cleanse process is a norm for me. I was a longtime user of L'occitane's Fresh Face Water before Bioderma Crealine came into the picture.

Strong Cleansing Power

The solution is quite easy to use; just pour some unto your cotton pad and gently swipe across your face or eyes. And voila......everything is off! Simple as that. If I need to compare, Bioderma removes all dirt and makeup more powerfully than L'occitane's. 

Though Bioderma Crealine works exceptionally well in removing makeup from your face, I can't positively say it works well for the eyes. Yes, it works great, only if you are removing basic eyeshadows. For eyeliners and mascaras, it has its reservations. It works quite well on removing Clio and Kiss Me Heroine liquid eyeliners but did not budge at all on my Majolica Majorca Glamour On Mascara. Many have said that Majolica Majorca's mascara's are hard to remove but I find that it removes well only on oil based eye makeup removers.

Good for Sensitive Skin

I find that Bioderma is really good for those with sensitive skin as personally, I do not find it irritating or drying to my skin. It does not irritate my eyes either! In fact, I find my skin feeling comfortable and refreshed, after every use.

Overall

This quickly replaces my L'occitane Fresh Face Water as I find that not only the cleansing power is more superior,  it very economical to use too. I started using Bioderma since mid July and till now, my bottle is still 3/4 full! Plus, the price is more reasonable too. The only downside is that it is not available in Malaysia. Boo...So if anyone is going to France, don't ask them for the Eiffel Tower miniature, ask for this instead!  

This item was purchased by me for my personal purposes. This review is based on my honest and personal experience with this product and is not influenced by any parties.

Review: Ren F10 Smooth and Renew Mask

Ren F10 Smooth and Renew Mask 50ml GB Pounds18.00

I have always wanted to try Ren's products....but, the prices in Malaysia are pretty steep. However, if we order direct from Ren's UK website, the prices and discounts made it a reasonable purchase. Coincidentally, I had a relative visiting UK at that time, I had them send my orders to their hotel, just to take advantage of the free UK delivery.

Product Description

Formulated to gently exfoliate and detoxify, this gel mask will leave the complexion visibly vibrant, smooth and toned.

Ingredients

My Experience

I have heard great reviews of their Glycolatic Radiance Renewal Mask and was very eager to try that. But seeing that I have sensitive skin, I opted with this instead as this is the mild version of the Glycolatic mask. 

As pictured, this mask comes with a muslin cloth, which to be used to wipe off the mask. 

Well thought packaging

Ren's packaging has always been fascinating and I like that pliable plastic inside the plastic container which compresses out every product to minimise wastage. 

I particularly like that they provide a cap to close the little pump! This helps the product to retain its freshness.

Sticky Texture

The mask itself is very thick, smells and feels alike a texture of a "marmalade jam". It is rather sticky when applied and the pasty texture made it hard to apply on the skin evenly. You can either use your fingers but in my case, I use my trusty facial brush. Upon application, I was glad that I didn't experience any tingling or burning sensation. It actually feels comfortable.

Works as good as an exfoliator

The instructions given was to apply in generous amount, leave it for 10 minutes, pat and lift with fingertips and using the dampen muslin cloth to gently wipe off the mask. Lastly, rinse skin with warm water.

Honestly, the "pat and lift with fingertips" was a redundant move. I can't lift the mask using my fingertips because it is too sticky and thick. However, removing it with the dampen muslin cloth actually acts as an exfoliating process, which later, makes my face feels clean and very smooth to touch. This also makes my skin absorbs serums or facial oils readily well.  This mask is for brightening and skin renewal, and I do see some mild brightening on my skin. Though my skin feels very finely exfoliated, I do not feel that this mask gives me any extra hydration. 

Mild allergic reaction 

Despite making my face feels clean and smooth, and a little brighter, I don't think that I am able to use this frequently as I noticed I developed some very tiny bumps around my chin area 2 days after. Any bumps on my skin is usually a sign of allergy reaction and in this case, this is a mild one.

Overall

This is mainly an exfoliating and skin renewal mask and I would have liked it more if this mask provide some hydration action. Sadly, I am restricting the use of this mask to once every 2 weeks, due to the mild allergic reaction, which I got from this product.

This item was purchased by me for my personal purposes. This review is based on my honest and personal experience with this product and is not influenced by any parties.