After living the last half decade in a river in Egypt called The Nile (DeNial, geddit?!), I've finally conceded to the fact that I: 1. will never be able to chop a chicken like they do at the Chinese restaurant; 2. still can't parallel park for shit; and 3. am getting old.
The latter being relevant to this post.
Oh sure, every now and then, blind liquor store cashiers will ask for my ID, and teenagers would ask for my phone number in the mall on a dare (for wot? babysitting services?), but there's no denying that the years are finally leaving their mark on me. One thing I've noticed as I've gotten older is that my under eye area has gotten extremely dry, so dry in fact that it prunes and I end up looking like the old lady in Insidious (why the heck did I watch that??!!).
A product I've found that really helps to hydrate and plump up the under eye area are Japanese styled toner lotions.
I've mentioned before that Western toners did nothing for me other than make me dry and greasy simultaneously, Japanese toners, on the other hand, are a whole new world, a dazzling place I never knew, but when I'm way up here...oops sorry too much Disney World, but let's just say that even my mum's given them the Asian mom stamp of approval previously awarded only to doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers and tall Asian men with stable finances.
It seems like ever since Hadalabo came out with their "a bottle sold every 4 seconds" hyaluronic acid lotion, every other Asian brand has been jumping on the lotion bandwagon. So just how do these other lotions compare with the Hadalabo?
From left: O'slee Rosehip Beauty Solution Advanced Beauty Formula III, Juju Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Collagen Moisture Toner, and finally Hadalabo GOKUJYUN Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion.
Ok, can I just ask, WHY ARE THEIR NAMES ALL SO FRIKKEN LONG??!!! By the time you finish saying their names, mosquitoes already asleep. For the n00bs, here are my previous reviews of the
Hadalabo Super Hyaluronic and the
Hadalabo Arbutin Whitening lotions.
First up is the O'slee blahblahblah Beauty Formula III (why III? was there a version I and II?).
Damage:
$14 for 100ml from SaSa.com
Ingredients:
Rosehip Extracts, 1,3-Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, L-Zinc-2-Hydroxy Propionate, Hydrumine Hamanelis Liquid, D-Pantothenyl Alcohol, Nicotinamide, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Tinocare Gl, Rose and Ylang Ylang Essential Oil, Diazolidinyl Urea/Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate.
Promises to:
"
7 Enhanced skin care benefits:
1. Extra Moisturizing : Increase and retain skin moisture. Regulate the balance of moisture and oil level of skin; 2. Extra Whitening: Reduce pigmentation, spots and make skin translucent white;
3. UV- Oxi Protection : Reduce skin oxidation by neutralizing free radicals produced by UV Rays;
4. Pore-Refining & Black Head Reducing: Promote skin revitalization and minimize pores. Purify residues and reduce the formation of blackheads;
5.Enhance Absorption Ability: Soften and remove corneous dead cells. Optimize skin absorption ability;
6. Multi-function - Soak a cotton pad with Rosehip Beauty Solution Advanced Formula III and gently place over the face or apply on the whole body after shower; and
7. Relaxing - Natural rose scent offers relaxing feeling."
Review:
Wikipedia tells me that rose hips are the fruits of the rose tree, it also tells me that they are high in Vitamin C and that Vitamin C is an essential nutrient which acts as an antioxidant. See, you learn something new every day.
The O'slee Beauty Solution is the most watery lotion I have tried to date and as a result is absorbed faster without any stickiness. Both the Hadalabo and the Juju Aquamoist lotions are more viscous, feel sticky on application and take longer to absorb.
After application, my skin is definitely softer and more moisturised, however, I feel that the hydration is not as pronounced as the results I get from the Hadalabo Hyaluronic Acid lotion. My skin also doesn't feel "bouncy" like it does after the Hadalabo lotion.
I can't speak to its whitening effects because I'm a pasty NC15 and cannot possibly go any whiter.
This lotion requires no slapping, merely soak a cotton pad and wipe.
I dislike the travel unfriendly heavy glass bottle and the finicky twist cap.
All in all, a good light lotion for the summer or perhaps for people who don't require as much hydration as this old pirate does.
p.s. it smells of roses.
Juju Aquamoist
Damage:
$13.10 for 180ml from Sasa.com
Ingredients:
Water, glycerol, ethanol, sugar-based trehalose, sodium hyaluronate, collagen, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, different sorbitan stearate, sodium citrate, hydroxyethyl cellulose, citric acid, BG, phenoxy ethanol, sugar, trehalose-based.
Promises to:
"...enhances the moisture content of skin for unbelievable suppleness and glow!
It contains small- moleculed Collagen that could deeply permeate into skin. Skin looks elastic and radiant.
It contains natural Hyaluronic Acid that enables instant hydrating and toning effect:
- Hydrating: It replenishes the moisture lost while cleansing. It also preps skin for the following skin care products.
- Toning: It helps firm up skin and remove the dead skin. Skin is of natural pH balance.
Hyaluronic Acid is the natural substance existing in human body to maintain pH balance. It does not adopt artificial Hyaluronic Acid. Weak-acidic. Free from oil, fragrance or mineral oil.
Review:
Collagen is apparently all the rage right now in Asia, people are drinking collagen drinks, eating collagen snacks and of course dunking themselves face first into collagen. My Asian mom said just drink more chicken feet and fish bladder soup wor.
The Juju lotion is not as viscous as the Hadalabo lotion but is much thicker than the O'slee. The instructions say to pat on with a cotton pad but I like to slap it on like I do with the Hadalabo. Like the Hadalabo, it feels slightly sticky when it goes on but the stickiness goes away once the lotion is fully absorbed.
I feel that the Juju Aquamoist hydrates much better than the O'slee Beauty Solution. The lines under my eyes are less visible when I use the Juju compared to when I use the O'slee. I also solely used this as my day moisturiser while I was down in Florida and it was enough to keep me moisturised without making me a greasy mess.
This is my mom's favourite lotion, she's stolen 2 bottles of it from me already, she said she likes it because it's less sticky but still moisturising.
I don't really think the added collagen does anything, aging is an irreversible and unavoidable process, the sooner you accept that, the better.
Photo time!! I had to think about the photos for the longest time because I only just realised that my left is actually the right, and my right is actually the left....or waitaminute....
Before lotion:
After lotion:
Left: Juju Aquamoist Collagen Lotion. Right: O'slee Beauty Solution
