Skin care: The Bodyshop Tea Tree Series (II) - Original vs New Tea Tree Oil Facial Exfoliator

Newer version:

Original older version

I bought the Tea Tree Oil Facial Exfoliator from The Body Shop ages ago and I loved it. It helped me get rid of blackheads and dead skin really well. (However, I add that this product is for people with OILY and NON SENSITIVE skin, it might be too harsh for those with sensitive skin.). I used it once or twice a week and it lasted me really long. So one day I decided to go get another tube since i was gonna run out of it soon. I didn't suspect anything so I just grabbed it and paid without looking at the tester... when I got home and opened it, I was really surprised in the bad way :(

As you can tell from my pictures, the older version had a lot more stuff in it. The never version is rather goopy and hardly contains any beads! :(

I would give the older version a 4.5/5, but the newer one a 1.5/5 cos it can't even do it's job well with so few beads :|

Skin care: The Bodyshop Tea Tree Series (I)

My skin is really oily cos my dad's is, and the fact that i live in ever so humid Singapore doesn't help. So years ago, The Body Shop launched their Tea Tree series which I was really excited to try, cos it claimed to be for blemished skin and it's supposed to remove impurities + tighten pores + reduce oil! So here's a review on the products I've been using from the series.

1. Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash

Pros: It cleans away impurities and skin feels refreshed and a little tingly.. :) And I'd like to believe the tea tree kills off pimple causing bacteria :P P.S i'm using the travel size bottle.

Cons: Does not help my face stay matte, doesn't lather well (refer: 3rd pic)

Rate: 3/5

 Does it's job, but there are better alternatives out  here! If you have REALLY oily skin like I do, I highly recommend Clean and Clear Deep Action Oil Free Facial Wash. (if your skin isn't like really really oily, don't use it cos it'll dry your skin instead.)

2. Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner

I'm on my 3rd bottle!! :) I love this product and I recommend it for daily use if your skin is oily and blemished. You have to shake the bottle btw! Then use about 3 drops on a cotton pad. I know it's not that clear (couldn't capture) but it removes extra impurities on my face that facial wash doesn't remove.

Pros: Removes impurities, leaves a clean feeling, reduces pore size (with daily use)

Cons: Doesn't keep face matte. But with daily use, I noticed that my face isn't as oily as it used to be!

Rate: 4/5

Love it! Will continue using. Though I'm gonna try their seaweed toner next to see if it works better.

3. Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion

I got this in the mini travel size too just to try out :)

Pros: Dries us blemishes, Keeps face matte, and kills bacteria too (i think!) cos there's the tingly sensation.

Cons: Matte effect lasts at the most 6-7 hours.

Rate: 3.5/5

I use this when I'm only going out for a short while, but not the whole day. Doubt I'll be buying more! I'll probably get the Tea Tree Oil instead cos I use this product mainly to dry up my blemishes!

Thanks for looking =)

Skin care: Amethystory Mineral Aqua Gel

I got this little sample of Amethystory's Mineral Aqua Gel from Hollyhoque (came with my purchase!) and this product claims to have amethyst based ingredients inside (hence the name Amethystory). It's an exfoliant gel which is supposed to remove dead/dry skin and hydrate it at the same time. So you just rub it onto your face (dry) and all the gunk supposedly comes out.

Little beads which are supposed to be the gel + your dead skin form when you rub your face.

Ok here's my take on it:

It's good for those with sensitive skin i.e can't use the normal exfoliating beads. But when you wash off the product from your face, there's this waxy layer which is really hard to get off.. So you can't use this alone, you have to use a facial wash to get it off completely. :/ And it's quite watery so its hard to control the amount of product you want to use. (i was having a hard time balancing that drop on my finger!)

Rate: 2/5

Does it's job (i think), but i hate the waxy layer which stays on. I'm currently using a similar product (from the same company: Ginvera Marvel Gel) which works way better.. :)

Nail Polish: OPI The It Colour

Swatch:
OPI The It Colour

 OPI's quality for yellow is by far the best I've tried - 2 coats without a white base and its opaque. But fussy me insists on 3 coats. No streaking, super easy application!

<3

Nail Polish: Funky Nails

Swatch:
Claire's True Blue + Faceshop White + Faceshop Red + O2 Teal + OPI The It Colour

Claire's True Blue (on my index finger). Its a bit darker in real, but still lively :} Application wise, its smooth but took 3 layers to get it opaque. The colour is about 2 shades darker than the bottle though!

<3

Nail Polish: OPI Mad As A Hatter

1 finger swatch of  OPI Mad As A Hatter.

And here's a close up..

Its absolutely gorgeous!
I was totally wowed, stared at it for like 20mins++? The glitters glisten at every angle showing the myriad of colours. I'm officially blown away. This is love. The pictures do it no justice at all.. You've got to see it in real! Did I mention how much I love the name of this polish?

<3

Nail Polish: OPI (chips), Candy nails

OPI Mad As A Hatter (chips)

One down side to MAAH, it chips :( But then again, it was like.. 7 coats?

1 Face shop Base coat
3 MAAH
3 Seche Vite Top coat

but then again it's a lot easier than removing them via remover lawlz

You can see all the pretty colours!! :)

SUPER MESSY I KNOW, was trying to catch the sun before it runs away ~('.'~)

Swatch:

Yellow: o2 skin- God knows how many coats, and I didn't add a white base
Mint: Face shop gr203
Pink: Claire's Hawaii

I got this bottle (claire's hawaii) when I was in US cos the bottle looked so cute and..

Marble nail polish? Interesting much! But after I tried it, no marble :( How is this supposed to work?!?  Maybe the pink is just too overwhelming. Its like a milky pink?

Here's a more accurate shot of the milky bright pink colour.. I know my finger looks damn brown and toasted here. I adjusted the lighting/colour of the picture to get an accurate shade of the pink!

I hate it. I don't know what to do with the bottle! I feel like pouring away all the pink HAHA cos the rest of the colours in the bottle seem cute. Well, a combi of the 3 colours acutally looks pretty fun.. Candyish?

taken indoors:

Conclusion: Claire's Marble polish = FAIL :(

<3

Nail Polish: Silver flowers on Navy

Swatch:
Faceshop BL604 + Konad Silver

I love this combination! And so do my friends.. :D

And!

New headband from Chomel! :P

<3

Nail Polish: Essie - Mesmerize

Swatch:

Essie Mesmerize

home

and under the sun.

I LOVE this colour, i even have back ups! it's like a milky vibrant blue. I wear this one very often :)
Application's great too, this is 2 coats!

Nail Polish: Sally Hansen Lagoon

Swatch:

Sally Hansen's Lagoon
from their Summer 2010

(sorry for the dirty bottle cap..)

Its a pretty blue/green duochrome which looks amazing in the bottle.. I love the wide brush! Formula was not too buttery or goopy, very nice! This took 2-3 coats. I love the colour, but I'm not a huge fan of metallic/pearl-ish shades :/ Hmm maybe I'll try mattifying it... And lastly, it takes forever to dry. Its supposed to be a base+colour+topcoat all in 1, but use a topcoat, or it'll never completely dry and harden. I'm actually not very sure if this polish suits me. Whaddyou think? But I'll like it, since my sis gave it to me =)

<3

Nail Polish: Matte Sally Hansen Lagoon + Konad

Swatch:
Sally Hansen Lagoon + Essie Matte About You

I like it better matte, but sis prefers it at its orginal (metallic+pearly).

And then I got a little bored so I tried Konad.. But I think I like it better plain :P

Faceshop mint + Konad M2

<3

Nail Polish: Faceshop, Canopus, OPI, Essie

Swatch:
 Faceshop BL604 + Canopus Geneva26 (which is some milky looking polish with small red-green flakies, bought at some random shop) + Faceshop topcoat.

The flakies are not very obvious, but I kinda like it..

(2nd last finger's colour is lighter cos its on ChG's Bermuda Breakaway instead.)

---------------------

Swatch:

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui + Faceshop 503 using Konad m64 + Essie Matte About You.

Its a bit smudged here and there (not really noticeable >5 cm away, heh.)

Swatch:

OPI Absolutely Alice

Densely packed blue + sprinkles of gold glitter. This is about 3 coats. Application was very smooth too. Love it for a pedicure!

Blush Review: EDM, POP Beauty Blush Cake, Loreal, Chanel

I sleep super late almost every night, so my complexion colour is usually uhh zombish and gross. Haha. And blushers are just so pretty anyway! =)

Swatch:
POP Beauty Blush Cake: Pretty in Pink
Loreal: Coral

I really like both! =)
Pretty in Pink, as its name suggests, has pinky and fresh feel to it. And you can choose to either use a few shades of the pink from the palette, or just swirl your brush around for a mix of everything :D

Loreal's Coral: I love the warm sunkissed colour! The only downside, is that the brush is really coarse.. Like scratchy actually :s And I just can't handle loose powders, cos I end up staining my top if I'm not careful.. -_- Oh did I mention the pretty shimmery glitter? =)

(pop beauty blush: 4.5/5
loreal's coral 3.5/5)
p.s i'm giving loreal a 3.5 only cos i can't handle loose powders well! Not because it's bad.

Swatch:

Chanel Irreelle Blush: Tea Rose

Its a really really sheer blush..  But I swear, its there! Compare it to the other side of my naked hand :) I had to layer is like a dozen times just to get the colour to show.. Methinks its a bit too pressed. Its long lasting, and the colour looks very natural and pretty! I use this one pretty much too. Oh yeah, nt a big problem, but the brush is very shitty. Not as coarse as Loreal's, but still shitty. I don't use it.

(4/5)

And lastly, my Everyday Minerals hauls!
Swatch:

Edm Pressed: All Smiles
Edm Pressed: Apples

Tthe downsides of these mega cute colours is that its really really pigmented, so just evenwith just a gentle swipe, the brush picks up quite a lot of powder. CHINADOLL FACE ALERT! So be careful! Be EXTRA EXTRA gentle! Other than that, love them! Apples makes me look like I have apple cheeks =) Yummy! And all smiles is a warm-coral like friendly colour. I can't comment on the wear, since I've yet to use them for  a day out.

(rate: 2.5/5)
because i really hate it being overly pigmented :/

Ohhh yes. If you're looking for brushes, GET EVERYDAY MINERALS BRUSHES! They're so super soft, you wouldn't wanna get them off your face. I'm serious! I like them better than my MAC ones! And they buff really well. Not to mention, THEY'RE REALLY CHEAP. About 15 sgd for one.. And you'll never need another =)

Let me show you one of my fav brushes! Its a EDM baby flat top kabuki :D Super small, so its perfect for travelling.

(rate: 5/5!!)

(P.s the photos are watermarked with another blog url cos i used to post reviews in my personal blog, but now i'm shifting out!)

:)