Mena Cream

I used this cream for some time - during its popularity. It's one of the cheapest creams in the market and it cleared my face from pimples for a couple of weeks. I use it after cleansing my face with Eskinol (like my moisturizer). But I have an oily skin, thus, after few weeks, after my skin (face) got used to Mena's ingredients, my friendly zits are out again...How they loved me when I wan younger!

The Skin (Part 1)

Okay, I got so excited about my review, I think I have to start with the basic – to tell something about the skin. After all, this is where we apply most of the cosmetics we use, right? As they say, the skin is the largest organ of the body (what a cliché)! Don’t mistake the skin for the face – when we say skin, it’s not just the face, but the entirety of our body’s covering. I know this is a bit elementary, but our skin protects our body, helps our body maintain the right temperature and allows us to have a sense of touch. And of course, aesthetically speaking, our skin reflects our “beauty” – how we take care of ourselves. An ugly skin means a lazy person who owns the skin. Agree or disagree? Let’s have some science here now. The skin is made up of three layers – the outer layer called the Epidermis, the next layer (under epidermis) is the Dermis, and the last layer which is the Subcutaneous Fat. Epidermis is the part of the skin that we see. When you look at your arms, you see a skin right? This is the epidermis – but what you are seeing is an old skin cell. This is where we put all the “beauty products” before it gets absorbed by the inner layer of our skin. Skin undergoes a 28-day cycle before it produces a new skin (of course, the newer the skin, the better it looks). As one age, this process slows down making it 30 to 40 days period. This means you are showing your old skin for a month or so – or you look old for a month or so – how do you like that? That is where the “anti-ageing products” come into play – they speed ups the process of skin renewal, thus, you don’t have to wait for 28 – 40 days before you get a new skin and look a lot younger – that’s more like it! Most of the cells in the epidermis work to make new skin – well at least 95%. The other 5%, they make a substance called melanin. Melanin gives skin its color. The darker your skin is, the more melanin you have. When you go out into the sun, these cells make extra melanin to protect you from getting burned by the sun's ultraviolet, or UV, rays. The more melanin you have, the more protected you are from the UV rays. That also means, the darker your skin is, the better protection. But of course, whether you have white or dark skin, it is still recommended that you don’t go under the sun without a sunblock -- it’s a must! And please, please, don’t get deceived by the whitening products that claim to give you a white skin (if your dark) – say a morena skin will turn into a mestiza… Com’on, we can never be whiter than the natural color of our skin. For instance, I have a morena skin like Beyonce, no whitening cream can make me as white at Michael Jackson ( I’m referring to his complexion now). It can only be done if I inject something in my skin that will reduce my skin’s production of melanin. Do this at your own risk. Enough about the epidermis. Let’s talk about the dermis in my next post.

Lip and Cheek Stain

My all time favorite! I cannot leave the house without this cheek make-up. For a Filipina without a "real rosy cheek", I can instantly have one with my fave buddy, Lip and Cheek Stain. I usually buy it at The Body Shop, but there's a cheaper alternative at Ever Bilena Cosmetics (available at Watsons) for those who have budget constraints.

I've tried both The Body Shop's (TBS) Lip and Cheek Stain and Ever Bilena's. There's not much difference as to the look of your cheek after the application. But TBS' lasts longer than EB's. The price difference is really big though. More than P600 for The Body SHop as compared to only P150 of Ever Bilena. Both brands used to have the same look but The Body Shop recently changed their packaging (due to lots of imitations)

Whether its TBS or EB is really up to your preference. The Body Shop claims to be "all natural" but really expensive. I'll still reserach for EB's ingredients (i'll post it in the future), but it's a lot cheaper for those who are price senstive. The decision is yours.

The Body Shop's

Lip & Cheek Stain

Ever Bilena's

Lip & Cheek Stain

Eskinol Classic

I remember using eskinol classic way back 1995 when I was in high school. I'm one of the teenies who used to try all possible remedies in the world for pimples. Thanks to the power of TV advertisements then, I was introduced to Eskinol Classic (with Vilma Santos as the endorser)

UPS

• It did help decrease my ugly pimples


• Not too complicated to use


• Very affordable

DOWNS

• My skin felt dry after use (application must be followed with a good water-based moistrizer to prevent skin dryness)


• I learned from a derma that the alcohol content of astringents (not specific to Eskinol) can lead to skin pigmentation in the future - like having dark spots in some areas of the face.

I've graduated from using Eskinol when I got into college. I still have the pimples here and there, but I started trying my other options