The bottle is a bit funky looking because I’ve almost finished using it! *sorry!*
Hi guys! I’m finally back after such a long hiatus! If you’re curious about why I was gone for so long, let me just tell you that so many things happened in 2018 that my head was left spinning. I got a new job, got pregnant with my second child and gave birth, and I also bought a new house. *Eeeee* Anyway, now that I’m back, I’ve got a review of a facial oil that I’ve been using for almost 6 months or more. Read on to find out more!
Ok.. Maybe 2018 didn’t leave my head spinning to this extent.. Lol..
I’ve always somehow been aware of the natural skincare brand MUN. Although I don’t really recall how I got to know this brand, their most famous product – Aknari Brightening Youth Serum, was always under my radar for one of the skincare products that I need to try at least once. However, its luxury pricing has always put me off and I already have too many unopened skincare products in my cupboard. But as fate would have it, I saw this product sold online for a very good price and immediately grabbed it. *Sometimes I really wonder if the law of attraction is indeed true. I always seem to attract whatever that I’ve been thinking of the most.*
The Aknari Brightening Youth Serum contains just the 3 ingredients that I’ve listed below:
How does the MUN Skin Aknari Brightening Youth Serum fare?
MUN Skin’s Aknari Brightening Youth Serum claims to transform skin from lifeless to luminous. Prickly Pear Seed Oil is extremely rich in Linoleic Acid and super antioxidant Vitamin E. When combined with Argan Oil, the duo works wonders to smooth wrinkles, repair sun damage and lighten dark spots. Aknari Brightening Youth serum also soothes inflammation, brightens under-eye circles and stimulates collagen production. Rose Essential Oil is included to aid absorption and provide a heavenly scent. The synergy of these three elegant oils will leave your skin feeling soft and looking radiant.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’ve been using this oil for around 6 months and I’m almost at the end of it. From my deligent usage of this product, you might guess that I love it and you would be absolutely right! The thing is, I’ve got a very bad habit to confess… If I don’t like a product or find it pretty meh, I’ll not use it even if it is an expensive product. I know, I know.. You might be thinking that I’m such a money wasting person who doesn’t recognise the value of money but in my defense, I’m wasting my own money, ok guys?
Anyway, how do I love this oil? Let me count the ways…
1) The MUN Aknari oil is super duper hydrating. I know.. I was surprised to realise that despite it being an oil, it is really hydrating and totally not greasy at all.. In fact, this oil is slightly mattifying and even helps to prolong the freshness of my makeup. It just leaves my skin with a soft matte glow reminiscent of a makeup primer. I’m not exaggerating guys! It really does that despite it being a a facial oil with no silicones!
2) I love just how “inactive” it is. It is weird to say this but if you are a person like me who uses a lot of products with “actives” such as acids and retinol, sometimes you just want a simple product that works without further aggrevating your skin. If my skin is throwing a hissy fit or it is more reactive than usual, I know that this product will not make it worse. In fact, it will help to soothe and calm it down. It just works!
3) I love its musky rose scent. Now, don’t get me wrong, this product absolutely does not smell like perfume at all. In fact, it smells more of the earth that the roses were grown in (thanks to the inclusion of the prickly pear seed oil) than roses itself. But the smell has grown on me and I love it.
However, if you are expecting this product to lighten dark spots or eliminate wrinkles, I will be very honest and tell you that I didn’t experience any effects of that sort at all. To me, it is just a beautifully lightweight and hydrating facial oil that soothes and calms my skin. Sometimes, I guess that’s exactly what I need.
If you are wondering whether you need this product, I would say that if you don’t mind paying for a premium quality oil with all eco-certified organic ingredients, then go ahead and indulge. However, you can definitely get a good facial oil at a cheaper price. Just buy the best within your own budget.
It’s a beautiful lightweight oil that leaves your skin matte with a soft glow
Hey guys, I would like to introduce you to this brand that I’ve been really loving lately – Earthwise Beauty! Earthwise Beauty is a brand that I had discovered via Instagram in the skincare lineup of a few of my favourite beauty bloggers. Although the brand is new to me, Earthwise Beauty has been around for a decade and is founded by Ava Zhan. Ava, to me, is a skincare alchemist. The potions that she creates are unique, powerful and truly works.
Earthwise Beauty is a luxury organic skincare brand. Their formulas are made from unrefined, unprocessed fair-trade ingredients: unrefined botanical oils and butters, traditionally prepared herbs, and therapeutic-grade essential oils and absolutes. During the Black Friday sale, I picked up a few of their best-selling products to try and I’ve been impressed with all (yes, all!) of them. So I thought that I shouldn’t keep this exquisite secret to myself and that more people should experience the magic of Ava’s products.
The products that I’d purchased are as follows:
Nap in the Meadow Face Serum
Ambrosia del Cerrado Liquid Moisturizer and Toner
Carrot-a-day Face and Eye Serum
Tigress Face Balm
I’ve been using Nap in the Meadow and Ambrosia del Cerrado in the mornings and Carrot-a-day and Tigress Face Balm at night.
How does the Nap in the Meadow Face Serum fare?
Nap in the Meadow was the first product that drew me in when I saw it in the skincare lineup of my favourite beauty bloggers on Instagram. The spearmint colour of this serum as well as its beautifully poetic name attracted me to find out more about this brand. This product itself is an ultra-lightweight aloe-based serum that claims to offer a broad range of benefits in a single product: deep hydration, strong anti-inflammatory action, anti-oxidants, anti-aging benefits, refreshing effects, and even some acne reducing, tissue repairing, and sunburn and sun damage repair.
Nap in the Meadow Face Serum Ingredients
Cold-press aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, Sambucus nigra (elderberry) fruit extract, Curcuma longa (turmeric) root Supercritical CO2 Select* extract*, caprylyl capryl glucoside (naturally derived), Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil (* and †), Achillea millefolium (yarrow) oil*, Helichrysum italicum (Italian everlasting) oil†, Marticaria recutita (German blue chamomile) oil*, potassium sorbate (natural food-grade preservative), organic Pelargonium graveolens (geranium bourbon) oil, Pelargonium roseum (geranium rose) oil*, Copaifera officinalis (copaiba balsam) resin†, Ferula galbaniflua (galbanum) essential oil*, xanthan gum, ascorbic acid (vit. C), wildflower essences†. *Certified organic. †Responsibly wildcrafted. Aloe certified by the International Aloe Science Council (IASC) for purity and content.
Now, I’m not sure about its claims of skin tissue and sun damage repair but I can honestly say that this serum is one of the best anti-inflammatory skincare products that I’ve ever used. Even though it does not work quickly, I’ve noticed that ever since I’ve included this product in my skincare routine, my skin has been very very calm (unusually so!) and the slight redness that I usually get when I OD on my strong actives (acids and retinol) at night has been practically non-existent. I also find it hydrating enough for my skin such that I’ve often skipped using my hyaluronic acid serum in the mornings (without realising it!) since the hydrating effects of this serum are quite substantial.
I would also be remiss if I don’t mention the utterly beguiling scent of this product. To me, it smells of the most intoxicating fresh lavender mixed with the green scents of meadow wildflowers. It’s a very complex smell and sometimes I would take the bottle to sniff it even when I’m not applying it. That’s how obsessed I am with this scent! I’ve been using this product for around 1.5 months and I’m already half-way through a 1 fl oz bottle. I can foresee Nap in the Meadow becoming one of my staple products.
I imagine that the scent of Nap in the Meadow is akin to walking amongst these lavender fields!
How does the Ambrosia del Cerrado Liquid Moisturizer and Toner fare?
The main reason why I purchased the Ambrosia del Cerrado is very simple. In one of Ava’s Instagram posts, she had indicated that this product is the most best-selling amongst her range. This piqued my interest and I was sold when I saw the many glowing reviews of it on her website.
The Ambrosia del Cerrado is a cross between a hydrating toner and a moisturizer. This hybrid allows it to deliver lots of moisture without a waxy or overly emollient feel. Ingredients such as pequi fruit oil, buriti oil and moringa pod oil delivers Vitamin C, B1 and B2 as well as betacarotenes, selenium, and zinc to promote firm, supple, and even-toned skin.
Ingredients for Ambrosia del Cerrado Liquid Moisturizer and Toner:
Cold-press aloe barbadensis whole-leaf juice*, sustainably wildcrafted cold-press unrefined Caryocar braziliensis (pequi) fruit oil, sustainably wildcrafted cold-press unrefined Mauritia flexuosa (buriti) fruit oil, sustainably wildcrafted cold-press unrefined Moringa oleifera seed oil, polysorbate 20 (naturally derived), potassium sorbate (natural food-grade preservative), natural non-GMO tocopherol (vit. E from sunflowers), xanthan gum, ascorbic acid (vit. C), citric acid. *Certified organic. Aloe certified by the International Aloe Science Council (IASC) for purity and content.
Top: Ambrosia del Cerrado Bottom: Nap in the Meadow
Even from the first use of the Ambrosia, I could see why this product is the best-selling amongst all her other products. This is a very easy product to like or even love! The texture of this product is very light and it sinks in quickly into my skin without any fuss. Despite its light texture, this product also offers adequate hydrating powers. If you are a skincare minimalist with oily or combination skin, I suspect that applying this product alone would be enough. For my combination dry skin, I would usually need to top up with either a facial oil or a thicker moisturiser to retain the moisture in my skin whilst being in a drying air-conditioned office.
As with all Earthwise Beauty products, the Ambrosia has a delightful scent that’s reminiscent of ripe guavas in the sunlight. This scent is literally summer in a bottle! Although I’m not sure of the exact reasons why, I’ve also noticed that whenever I used this product in the mornings, my Shiseido Anessa sunscreen spreads incredibly well and sinks in faster than usual. I like this product a lot and would consider repurchasing it.
How does the Carrot-a-day Face and Eye Serum (Classic) fare?
The Carrot-a-day Face and Eye Serum is, surprisingly, my favourite out of all the 4 products that I’ve tried so far. I had originally expected Nap in the Meadow to be my favourite when I first started using the products but now I think that I can’t live without Carrot-a-day! It is an anti-aging serum with incredible youth-returning and brown-spot-reducing powers in an ultra-light fresh aloe gel format. The main active ingredient included is carrot seed essential oil, one of the most effective yet very gentle skin-tissue-regenerating ingredients, which also contains natural sun-blocking and sun-damage-preventing and correcting properties. Other anti-inflammatory ingredients such as German blue chamomile and helichrysum aid in skin healing, scar and other spot reduction as well as wrinkle reversal.
Carrot-a-Day Face and Eye Serum (Classic) Ingredients
*Certified organic. Aloe certified by the International Aloe Science Council (IASC) for purity and content.
This product is really a multi-tasking do-it-all! Over the past 6 weeks of using this product, I’ve noticed a much more even skin tone with some lightening of my old PIH scars (which even my dedicated Vitamin C serums cannot budge!). The most incredible effects of this serum has been in spot-reduction. Now, I don’t have very bad acne problem but I’ve noticed that this serum seems to keep my easily-congested pores relatively clear. When I had one irritatingly big pimple pop up on my cheek area, applying this product over it helps to soothe the pain and gently coax it to go away within 2 days.
Besides the above effects that I’ve seen from using this product, I must confess that the main reason why I’m so addicted to it is because of its scent. Due to the high concentration of carrot seed oil, it has a deeply earthy scent (you would know what I’m talking about if you’ve drank fresh carrot juice before) that just feels so grounding and soothing to me. The scent seems to speak to my soul even (it sounds so weird but it’s true!) and I feel protected and calm whenever I use this product. As with Nap in the Meadow, I can’t stop sniffing the bottle even when I’m not applying this product (ok, now I’m starting to sound like a crazy junkie!). I’m not sure if everybody would like this scent but to me, it’s everything.
How does the Tigress Face Balm fare?
The Tigress Face Balm is a product newly released in late 2017 from Earthwise Beauty. At that time, I was already following Ava on Instagram and so when this product was released, I was so hyped for it! The Tigress Face Balm is the very first facial balm created by Ava in response to her customers requesting a face balm for acne-prone skin. As indicated in their website, it is a lightweight (that is, lightweight for a balm, but not as light as a face oil or a moisturiser), healing, deeply penetrating balm that invigorates the skin tissue, heals acne breakouts, reduces acne and blackhead tendencies, balances excessive oil production, and firms skin in the long run. It protects from moisture loss and from the wind and cold.
The moment I received this balm, it was slathered all over my face that very night. The smell of this face balm was unlike any other that I’ve used. It has a smoky tobacco and curry leaves scent that fades into something that smells woodsy and comforting at the same time. At the time that I started using this balm, I was experiencing mild breakouts due to that time of the month. I knew that Ava had specially formulated this balm for acne-prone skin and somehow I trust Ava’s creations even though I had not used any of her products before. My gut instinct was right. Using this product consecutively for one week has helped to calm down my skin and eliminate the irritating breakouts. My face also looks very bright and calm the morning after. My only gripe for this product is that it has a slight orangey-brown tinge that I can’t use it on my skin in the daytime as I’m quite fair. Also, I’m based in Singapore (a tropical country that’s literally on the equator line) and this balm is a bit oily for me to use in the daytime in tropical weather. Having received my feedback, Ava had recommended for me to mix their Farizad’s Veil (which is a sunscreen in powder form) into this balm to lighten its colour as well as to reduce the feeling of oiliness.
After using this product nightly for around one month plus, I’ve been impressed by its nourishing and healing powers. I look forward to seeing its effects over a longer period of time.
In Conclusion…
Wow! Ok, that was a long review! Congrats if you’ve made it this far!
Using all these products from Earthwise Beauty has made me realised something quite surprising. You know, I’ve never really realised the power of strong anti-inflammatory ingredients in skincare until I’ve experienced it myself with these products. With skin inflammation kept to an all-time low, my overall skin health has improved with much better results achieved from my actives such as acids or retinol. I think I’ll need to keep this in mind as I stumble my way through all the dizzy and exciting new advances in skincare technology.
I’ve heard of MV Organic Skincare for a long time. However, the prices for their skincare are quite steep and it wasn’t easily available in Singapore. It wasn’t until Sep last year (2017) that I decided to treat myself to one of their best-selling moisturisers since it was my birthday month and I had received a 15% off coupon code from Cult Beauty. The product that I’m gonna review today is this – MV Organic Skincare Oxygen Moisturiser. MV Organic Skincare is a skincare brand from Australia that was founded by master facialist and holistic skin specialist Sharon McGlinchey. The MV line was originally developed for those plagued with skin sensitivities such as eczema and rosacea. Since then, it has gained loyal fans from health and beauty journalists, holistic GPs and naturopaths to internationally-renowned stars such as Nichola Joss, British supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whitely and actors Maggie Gyllenhaal, Melissa George and Emma Watson.
As usual, ingredients for the product are below for your reference.
How does the MV Organic Skincare Oxygen Moisturiser fare?
The MV Organic Skincare Oxygen Moisturiser claims to be energising and regenerative by protecting stressed, devitalized and sun-damaged skin against environmental aggressors. It is rich in antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C & E to soothe, elasticise and strengthen. Essential oils of bitter orange, frankincense, lavender, sandalwood, carrot seed and neroli works to enhance moisture retention, regulate sebum synthesis, restore radiance and kick-start cellular regeneration and repair.
The product itself comes in a cream form that looks rich but sinks in without leaving any greasiness into my skin. You only need a little bit to cover your whole face since it is pretty spreadable. Use too much and you’ll risk having a too-white face, although the cream does sink in eventually. You are then left with a well-nourished but matte looking face. To me, it’s pretty amazing that a cream with such a creamy texture leaves my face looking literally matte at the end. In fact, I suspect that this cream actually helped to control my oily T-zone. I’ve noticed that ever since I’ve incorporated it into my daytime routine, my mid-day T-zone shine has reduced by quite a lot. I guess its claims of helping to regulate sebum synthesis were not too far-fetched after all for a purely botanical product. My skin also feels well-protected against the drying air-conditioning in my office. Although I’ve bought the small 15ml sized product, it has lasted me around 2 whole months since I only need to use so little of it each time. I can’t say that this is my holy grail product but I do like it enough to repurchase it.
Where can you find it?
I bought the product from Cult Beauty Online. It retails at £24.00 (15ml sized) and £60 (70ml sized).
Engineering Beauty 