Review – Stratia Liquid Gold

Stratia Liquid Gold

I chanced upon Stratia’s Liquid Gold when I was looking for a moisturiser with ceramides which would help my skin to better resist the drying effects of the retinol treatments that I was using, especially after my disastrous experiment with Differin and Benzoyl Peroxide. I was looking for something which would repair and fortify my skin since I believe that my skin barrier was compromised due to that experiment. This post on Reddit on Asian Beauty convinced me that I need Stratia Liquid Gold in my life.

As usual, let’s check out its ingredients, shall we?

Ingredients

Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Ethoxydiglycol, Niacinamide, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Rosa Mosqueta (Rose) Hip Oil, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Seed Oil, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Fruit Oil, Panthenol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Squalane (olive-derived), Cetyl Alcohol, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA.

Stratia’s Liquid Gold contains 3 different types of ceramide which are namely Ceramide NP (Ceramide 3), Ceramide AP (Ceramide 6) and Ceramide EOP (Ceramide 9).

How did the Stratia Liquid Gold fare?

I’ll preface this review by informing you that this is a really small indie skincare brand. The products are literally made by the founder and owner herself, mixed from scratch. Therefore if you are leery of it, please look away now. However, if you want to give it a chance, please carry on.

Stratia claimed that their Liquid Gold is a lightweight but powerful moisturizer that fortifies your skin’s moisture barrier to help heal, hydrate, strengthen, and soothe. Liquid Gold is formulated with ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids to mimic and strengthen your natural moisture barrier. By healing your dehydration and replenishing that fatty mixture in your stratum corneum, you can address the symptoms of a damaged skin barrier and discover healthy, bouncy, resilient skin.

Now, when I first started on this moisturiser, my skin’s barrier was compromised due to my experiment with Differin and Benzoyl Peroxide. I had stopped all my actives in order to concentrate on repairing my skin. When I used this moisturiser the first night, I really liked its light texture and how it absorbed easily into my skin. Even though this moisturiser has a light texture, I find that it’s nourishing enough on its own. However, one method which I’ve been enjoying recently is to mix a few drops of my La Belle Lune Organic Skin face oil with it and apply it to my face. Finally, I would apply a layer of Jane Scrivner’s ‘OO’ cream over it to seal everything in. It didn’t break me out and I believe that this product is key for repairing my moisture barrier within just a week of using it. My skin looks and feels healthy after incorporating this product into my skincare regime. Another thing which surprised me about this product is that my skin feels unbelievably smooth after using it for around one month. Stratia’s Liquid Gold has formed part of my core skincare products. Even if I experiment with other products, I would still keep backups of this product in my stash. The only con I could think of with this product is that I cannot use it in the daytime because I find that it tints my skin slightly orange/ yellow since I’m quite fair. This tint is due to the inclusion of two types of sea buckthorn oil, so you don’t have to worry that the tint is due to a product dye. I love Stratia’s Liquid Gold and I’m so glad that I found it when I needed it the most!

Where can you find it?   

I bought this product from Stratia’s official website. They also ship worldwide.

It retails at US$24 (60ml sized).

Thank you for reading!

Review – Biotherm Aquasource Gel

In Singapore, although we do not really have the traditional 4 seasons like spring, summer, autumn and winter, I’ve always thought otherwise. To me, Singapore do have 4 seasons: hot, hotter, hottest and haze season (LOL.. Thanks to our neighbour Indonesia..). As we approach the middle of the year, Singapore has actually gotten even hotter with average temperatures during the day hovering around 32°C to 34°C (that’s around 89°F to 93°F). During such times when the thought of putting anything heavy on my face feels suffocating, I would turn to one of my favourite gel moisturisers – Biotherm’s Aquasource Gel.

Before we begin the review proper, let’s check out its ingredients, shall we?

Ingredients

Aqua, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Alcohol Denat, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Mannose, C12-13 Pareth-23, C12-13 Pareth-3, PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin, Ceramide 3, Carbomer, Zinc Gluconate, Sodium Hydroxide, Serine, Divinyldimethicone/Dimethicone Copolymer, 2-Oleamido-1, 3-Octadecanediol, Cholesterol, Ammonium Polyacryldimethyltauramide, Disodium Edta, Hydroxypalmitoylsphinganine, Vitreoscilla Ferment, Citrulline, Xanthan Gum, Menthoxypropanediol, Chlorphenesin, CI 19140, CI 42090, Linalool, Limonene, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde Citral, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Parfum.

You would notice that this product actually does contain some silicone. I’m usually not too fussed about silicone in my products as long as it doesn’t feel too siliconey. However, I do not feel that the texture of this product is too siliconey (unlike another other gel moisturiser which I’m also using). I also do not experience any “rolling”or “flaking” problems with this product, which are usually common with products with high levels of silicone in it.

How does the Biotherm Aquasource Gel fare?

Honestly speaking, I’ve used this product since I was 19 years old (I’m 32 years old now!) and have gone through so many tubs of this product as well as all the times that it had been reformulated. It remains one of my favourite products from Biotherm even though it’s just a normal hydrating moisturiser (nothing fancy!). I remembered that I first bought this product when I was just 19 years old. It retailed for S$52 then and now it costs S$69. Oh well, time flies and so does inflation I guess… Anyway, the reason why I liked this product so much to keep repurchasing throughout the years is that it really does keep my face nicely hydrated. It also absorbs easily without leaving a film on my face. Sometimes on really hot and humid days, I just use a toner and this moisturiser with sunscreen on top and my face still feels alright. I also love the way it smells although some people might find the smell a bit strong. It has a very fresh citrus ocean spa smell (oh god.. I’m so bad at describing smells but I think you’ll know what I mean when you actually take a good whiff of this product) that is also somewhat nostalgic for me. It doesn’t claim to do any fancy stuff except hydration and for me, I don’t really need my moisturisers to do fancy stuff. That’s what I use my serums for! However, I sincerely hope that Biotherm keeps this present formulation as it is because I find that their moisturisers have been getting more and more siliconey. I gave up trying their latest Everplump moisturiser when I read through the ingredients and felt its texture in stores cause it’s just way too many silicones for my taste.

Where can you find it?

Biotherm is quite a common brand in the departmental stores so I think you can definitely find it at all the major stores in Singapore. Sephora stores in Singapore also carry this brand as well.

It retails at S$69 (50ml sized).

Thank you for reading!

Review of NIOD’s Masks – Mastic Mast, Flavanone Mud and Myrrh Clay

NIOD has a range of very interesting masks which sounds pretty intriguing if you read their description. It seems like all 3 of them are cleansing masks but they have different functions. So how did they fare?

NIOD Mastic Mast Masque

First up, the Mastic Mast is described as a transparent masque for efficient, yet innocuous, cleaning and visible refinement of pores and impurities, resulting in immediate and maintainable visible reduction in both the number and the size of pores. So in a nutshell, it’s a pore refining mask.

NOD Mastic Mast Ingredients

Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Pistacia Lentiscus (Mastic) Gum, Centaurea cyanus flower water, Sapindus Mukurossi Fruit Extract, Niacinamide, Alcohol, Honey, Coconut Acid, Magnesium aluminum silicate, Arginine, Bentonite, Butyl Avocadate, Ethyl Linoleate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Lecithin, Phospholipids, Acacia Senegal Gum, Carrageenan, Citric Acid, Propyl Gallate, Ethoxydiglycol, Lactobacillus Ferment, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.

Short Review – I’ve only used Mastic Mast a few times and honestly I’m on the fence about this. It claims to be a pore-refining mask but I don’t really see much noticeable effects after I’ve used it. NIOD claims that you’ll see better effects if you use a hair dryer to dry your face after you wash off the mask. I’ve tried doing that before and I’m just left a bit bewildered and felt stupid doing that since it didn’t seem to make any difference. I don’t think I’ll repurchase this product.

NIOD Flavanone Mud Masque

Next, we have the Flavanone Mud masque. This masque is described to have a three-phase rinse-off decongestion system that disrupts neither the skin surface equilibrium nor its density. NIOD states that while FM can be classified as a masque for categorical convenience, its approach varies substantially from that offered by the concept of masques today both in terms of its way of positive visible influence on the skin as well as its respect for dermal integrity. In short, it’s what’s commonly known as a cleansing mud mask to clear congested skins.

NIOD Flavanone Mud Ingredients

Aqua (Water), Montmorillonite, Kaolin, Bisabolol, Silica Cetyl Silylate, Isodecyl neopentanoate, Panthenyl Triacetate, Glucosyl Hesperidin, Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate, Argilla, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Resveratrol, Naringenin, Arginine, Alteromonas Ferment Extract, Perfluorodecalin, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Glycosphingolipids, Propanediol, Xanthan Gum, Carrageenan, Acacia Senegal Gum, Mica, Quartz, Sucrose Palmitate, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Ethoxydiglycol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.

Short Review – This is my favourite masque out of all the 3 masks featured here. I find that this really does help in unclogging my pores and my skin is left looking so bright, smooth and calm after I wash off this mask. I’ve also tried using it consecutively for 5 days for an intensive treatment and was left impressed by the results. Breakout are diminished, clogged pores are gone and much better complexion overall. Very good mask! Definitely a repurchase for me!

NIOD Myrrh Clay Masque

Finally, we have the Myrrh Clay mask which is described as a treatment masque that visibly firms the skin, borrowing from a triangle of Ayurvedic, Unani and traditional Chinese studies of medicine. NIOD claims that Myrrh Clay offers an instant and visible tightening of the skin immediately and without forming a noticeable film on the surface of the skin as is common with modern skin firming formulations. So this is supposed to be a firming mask.

NIOD Myrrh Clay Ingredients

Peat, Solum Fullonum, Propanediol, Aqua (Water), Fragaria Vesca Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Commiphora Myrrh Extract, Evodia Rutaecarpa Fruit Extract, Carrageenan, Acacia Senegal Gum, Pentylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.

Short Review – Ok, like the Mastic Mast, this product also didn’t manage to impress me much. It claims to be a firming mask but I don’t see much firming effects with this. Product also smells weirdly of preserved prunes while I was using it. Won’t be a repurchase for me!

Where can you find them?

I bought them from NIOD’s official website.

The NIOD Mastic Mast retails at US$52 (90ml), the Flavanone Mud retails at US$47 (50ml sized) and US$70 (100ml sized) and the Myrrh Clay retails at US$45 (50ml sized).