i bought this one ages ago when i finished my previous body scrub. lately i've been struggling to finish my body scrub because it's too big. i don't get through body scrub as fast as my body butters. that's why i bought this one because it was available in small size. but i didn't try it at stores, i just put it into my shopping bag, paid it and went home. so later you'll see why i didn't write about this any sooner.

this is the description on their website: our mediterranean sea salt is precious for its mineral content and its coarse crystals, are the perfect texture to reveal fresher-looking skin. massage in to help stimulate circulation. use this invigorating scrub as part of our revitalizing ritual when you want your body and mind to feel instantly re-energized. resurfacing body scrub, exfoliates skin, leaves skin feeling refreshed, clean and smooth. revitalizes body and mind, enriched with mediterranean sea salt from spain.

the tub

the packaging: it comes in smaller size but in same design as the full size one. it has dark brown plastic tub with black plastic screw cap. it has gold reflective label at front and a bit of description at the back. the full size one is 350 ml but this one is only 50 ml.

the back of the tub

the scent: ugh.. this one is quite fragrant. i don't think mediterranean sea salt would smell like that, but this one is pretty fragrant. and it lingers for quite a bit. but i have sensitive nose and i usually like slightly fragrant, relaxing scents, so maybe it's just a matter of preference.

so sorry.. but this is what i have left inside the tub

the product: this is the part where i tell you what my mistake is. i didn't try it at the store, i didn't even look inside. so when i open the tub, i'm quite surprised to see that it has bigger grains. my previous scrub has sand-like grainy bits, but this one has sugar-like grainy bits. it's way bigger and more coarse than any scrub that i've had before. it's yellowish and has creamy feeling upon touching it.

that tiny grainy beads that i'm talking about

the result: when i use it to scrub at first round, it does feel rough. but after massaging it a few rounds, it starts to melt. and it doesn't feel rough at all. and weird enough, it feels so moisturizing after i was it all off. it feels balmy.. like i slather a moisturizing balm to my skin. actually, i'm not a fan about that afterward feeling.

after washing it off

i like that it comes in mini size. i thought i could finish it sooner, but since i don't like the coarse grains bit, i don't use it as regularly as i'm used to. so it's kind of neglected and at this point, i force myself to finish it. luckily, i've spotted some regular body scrub is available in mini size now, so i'm just finishing this one before buying other type. if you like the ingredients, or you love body shop products in general, you should try it. but if you don't like bigger scrub bits, then you should skip this.

i've dyed my hair once again. and my husband warned me to take care of my hair better if i dyed it again. so i decided to search for available hair care around me. and an affordable one. i found a good cruelty free shampoo at a supermarket near my house, so i think i might have some luck looking for a good conditioner there. lucky me, there are some aussie's products there. i've wanted to try aussie products but last time i was there, there's only their leave in conditioner. but now they have couple lines of shampoo and conditioner. so i took a good look at its description and decided to try the cleanse and mend conditioner.

this is the description from influenster website: great for oily, root damaged hair. also works for all hair types. clarify, protect, smooth. for strong and healthy hair, use cleanse & mend conditioner every time you wash. it helps prevent further damage to your hair and will leave your mane shiny and smooth. it's the perfect mate for cleanse & mend shampoo.

the packaging: it comes in a big purple plastic bottle with classic white flip top. it's pretty big but since it's tall, it's easier to grab this bottle than the ogx bottle. there's a label at the back with description and ingredients list in english. the text also indicates what line it is. for cleanse and mend, the text is green. since i bought this in supermarket, it doesn't seem to come with any sealing at all. and i like how this also comes in jumbo size, around 400 ml.

the bottle

the scent: since my shampoo is quite fragrant and refreshing, somehow i forget how this one smells like. i don't think it has strong scent like the shampoo, but it does have subtle fragrant scent. which is not overpowering at all.

the back of the bottle

the product: the conditioner is a pearly white gel cream that's easy to spread on my hair. it has the right thickness, not too runny, not too thick either. i apply it midshaft to the end of my hair since that's the part where it needs more attention. i let it there for about 3-5 minutes.

the opening

the result: after i wash it off, i can feel my hair is moisturized instantly. in fact, i can feel it's more moisturizing using this conditioner than using other hair mask that i'm trying at the same time. and since i'm not using this up to my hair scalp, i don't experience oily scalp.

at first, i thought this is just any other moisturizing conditioner, but after comparing it to other hair mask that i'm trying right now, i can clearly see that it works better than my previous hair conditioner. and it's still affordable and if you're concern about the ingredients, i don't see any SLS in the ingredients list. it doesn't instantly help with my hair loss, but it seems getting better since i ditch the suave (which contains SLS). i still experience hair loss, but it's not as bad as before. i also feel brushing my wet hair is easier after using this conditioner. definitely will repurchase, but maybe i will try other line.

it's undeniable that japan beauty products is widely known as affordable, so every time i visit japan, i make sure that i bought some new things to try along with repurchases items. and it's painful when you find something to see it getting discontinued because japanese are known to reformulate their products every 3 years or so. i was searching for description for this emulsion that i bought from japan last time, but since i didn't do it immediately after being back home, now i couldn't find it anywhere. even on their website because they've discontinued it. ugh. oh well.. let's continue..

this is the description on their website for the new formulation (i think it's only made with different bacteria): the EF-01 lactobacillus penetrates dry skin right down to your pores. a creamy skin lotion for soft skin.
- lactobacillus: penetrates to your pores for skin that's moisturized and soft to the touch. it moistens and softens your skin to perfection. also contains whey extract and bifida ferment lysate that support your skin along with EF-01 lactobacillus. the three ingredients work together to give you more vivacious skin.
- whey extract: a moisturizing ingredient derived from whey on the top layer of yogurt. it gives plumpness and moisture to dry and tired skin.
- bifida ferment lysate: a moisturizing ingredient that supports the environment of your skin. it brings dry and stiff skin to liveliness and softness.

the original packaging

and a bit information. i bought this straight after it's being launched, around march 2018, and it's discontinued and being replaced on september 2018! it's not even a year yet and they've discontinued it. i don't know why..

the bottle

the packaging: it comes in a white plastic bottle with blue dots all over it and a flip top. it has this big sticker at front which i don't know why since it's a new product so it's not a cosme award sticker. and it's only sealed with plastic sealing on the outer body, nothing else inside. there's a bit description at the back but everything is in japanese.

the lengthy description at the back

the scent: i think it's scentless, but if it does have any scent to it, it's very subtle.

the opening of the bottle

the product: just as described, it's a white milky emulsion. it's as runny as my previous hada labo alpha emulsion, but it doesn't feel the same way. the hada labo one feels like it has slightly gel texture while this one feels like runny emulsion like the sana soy emulsion. somehow i feel the consistency is between the hada labo alpha emulsion and sana soy emulsion. it's easy to spread around and it leaves glowy/watery traces and takes awhile to be absorbed, similar to sana one. the hada labo one is absorbed slightly faster.

the emulsion on my hand

the result: i've been using it for about almost two months now and i don't have any issue with it. it moisturizes my skin well without being overly greasy even under makeup. even on hot days. but if i had to be picky, i'll say that my hada labo alpha is a bit non greasy than this one. again, this falls just in between my hada labo alpha emulsion and sana soy emulsion. it also doesn't leave sticky feeling.

after blending it in

i completely forgot about the price, but considering i found this in tokyu hands, probably it's not as affordable as hada labo, but still affordable. if you have combination to oily skin, you might like this. but if you have dry skin, you might want to skip this as this one is pretty lightweight. you might need to add more cream on top of this one. as for me, i think i will repurchase this and use it alternatively with hada labo emulsion.

i can't believe i finish the sample before writing a review! i'm so sad i finish this one.. but as i'm getting closer toward the end, i can definitely see which one that i like and want to purchase in full size. if you didn't know, i bought a deluxe set of huxley essences and it has the grab water, the brightly ever after, the oil essence and the light oil. all the good stuff from huxley. it's really a good idea to sell the deluxe set because it will give the idea about the essences for those who doesn't want to jump buying the full size. i was afraid that huxley products might be too rich for me, but after trying the sample, i can say that it doesn't! even if you have oily skin, you might find something for your skin. so.. let's talk about oil essence for now.

this is the description from their singapore's website: a lightweight, optimized blend oil oil and essence that energizes and revitalizes the skin. formulated with prickly pear seed oil and cactus extract, this oil essence provides lasting hydration and nourishment.
key ingredients:
cactus extract/ prickly pear seed oil - moisturizes skin/ antioxidant.
yerba mate leaf - strengthens immune system / antioxidant.
acai berry - strengthens immune system/ antioxidant.
camu camu - antioxidant
quinoa - supplies hydration and nourishment.

the whole set

the description at the back

the packaging: since i bought this in a set, it comes in a transparent plastic box with a bit description at the back, but everything is printed in white text. white text on transparent plastic box is not a good thing.. i have difficulty reading the text. but since it's in korean, i don't bother figuring out. you can see all the bottles from the outside which all of them are placed on a plastic slider. the bottle is made of glass and it has dropper to dispense the product. the dropper works well, but since it's so tiny, the rubber part is a bit hard to squeeze compared to normal size dropper.

the whole sample set

the scent: i don't like the brightly ever after scent, even though they're supposed to be similar, but the brightly one is more on the jasmine side. but... i'm so happy that the oil essence smells exactly like the grab water. exactly!!! it has a good dose of jasmine and other scents mix into a slightly fragrant but not too overwhelming and amazingly addictive and relaxing for me. if you go to their website that you'll find out that huxley is working with other company to specifically produced a scent for huxley products.

the bottle

the product: okay, i'm a bit confused. in the website i could see the full size product has a yellowish essence in it. but the sample, it's more like ivory white essence in it. the full size one looks like it has two layer of essence, oil and watery essence. but the sample has fully mix one layer essence. i don't know if the sample didn't have the same essence as the full size one, but i do hope it's the same. the oil essence is cloudy white and has similar texture and feel to the grab water. it's slightly more viscous than the grab water, but once i blend it to my skin, it becomes watery and absorbed easily to my skin. i use this after my kikumasamune essence and before my hadalabo cream. it layers well over and under other products that i use. the tiny bottle has 5 ml of products and it lasts me about three weeks. and if you look at the key ingredients, the difference between the grab water and the oil essence is the moisturizing agents and peppermint. the grab water has added hyaluronic acid and ceramide while the oil essence doesn't. 

the dropper

the result: it takes a few minutes to be completely absorbed and afterward i can see my skin is glowing. it's definitely moisturizes my skin and nourish it. it does leave slightly tacky finish afterwards. and i don't mind the the tacky finish. i use this night time only, and i like to pile up hydrating and nourishing stuff on my skin during night time since i use air conditioner every night, and i'm not that young anymore, so i like to have layers of hydrating and moisturizing products. and this one works well.

oil essence on my hand

after blending it in

as you might have guessed, i will definitely purchase the full size once i've finished with my newly-purchased body shop serum. i like this one. this is slightly a notch more moisturizing than the grab water. for grab water, it's basically a hydrating essence. i can't compare it to hyaluronic acid serum since i never tried one before. but it's a slightly nicer, more sophisticated hydrating essence that will work well for combination or oily skin. but the oil essence is a more moisturizing one. slightly richer than the grab water. it will work great for normal to dry skin. so i hope it will help you to find which one to get. as for the price, i think huxley is a middle range priced skin care line. if you want something nicer to add to your skincare routine and you could pay it, then you should get it. but if you're looking for something cheaper, i bet there's another affordable option out there. but if you're asking me, it's worth the money.

i considered myself as a blog person rather than a youtube person. i like reading reviews rather than listening to it. perhaps because i like reading in general, and i think blogs will give you more in-depth review (although i have to admit some blogger will only say that it's nice it's okay and doesn't give much reason and just give a bunch of pictures). but lately, the government decided to ban bloglovin website. and i have to say that's suck in my opinion. it irritates me so much because i used to spend my nighttime scrolling through bloglovin and see updates from all the blogs that i follow without having to check them manually for new posts. but now that i can't do that, i have many tabs in my browser and check for updates manually for each blogs. and it annoys me, so somehow i only read blog when i have spare time or want to find review from reliable sources. and i became a youtube person lately.

not that i never watch youtube, but i never watch youtube regularly. i usually watch youtube for makeup tutorial or hair tutorial and sometimes for review, but mostly just for tutorial whether it's makeup, hair or nail. but rather than that, i barely watch youtube. so since bloglovin is banned, youtube is my go to destination for beauty. and i have several youtuber that i like to check for updates. some is popular, but some is not. i honestly don't care about the subscriber number, because i barely notice it. i've tried to put all the list into one post and it's longer than i'd like it to be, so i decided to separate it. for this post, i will only talk about skincare guru.

1. gothamista
i bet you've heard her. i think everyone or at least those who are skincare addict will know renee aka gothamista. i can't remember how i found her, but i didn't know her at first, not since my blogging days. probably i found her when i was searching for the ordinary products. she might not uploading as frequently as beauty gurus , but usually she will post some monthly favorites and seasonal skincare routine. i like the way she talks. she's very thorough in her explanation and her voice is so calming. she also has moderate speech speed which is good since i could hear her without subtitle just fine. and somehow listening to her feels soothing and calming to my ears.

she's not limiting her review on kbeauty stuff only, but also some western skincare as well. she will explain her skin need and condition at first and then her take on those products. although her skin type is different than mine, i can imagine how i can take her skincare routine to build mine. not copying, but building my own according to my skin need. i think all skincare addict will love her channel. but if you don't like plain background, just watching a person talking in long videos (around 15-20 minutes) and some products demo, then you might not like her channel. she didn't do clipart clips and stuff, just herself in front of the camera. she also reviews a bit makeup, but mostly skincare.

2. beauty within
this is pretty new in my subscription list. i watched this channel when the broadcasters are rowena and felicia (i believed she has her own youtube channel before joining this channel, but not so sure about rowena). i watched it because of their videos in which they talk about their experience using hype products. later i found out that this channel was founded by mia (which currently MIA since she moved to australia) and later felicia joined in, and rowena comes in after mia's MIA.

both rowena and felicia are more talkative and more cheerful compared to renee. but that being said, they make squeaky sound and more giggling and laughing than renee, which is not ideal for me to watch them at night because i might risk my kids waking up because of that. they also use informational video clip as well as animation clip to help explaining things. they also give various tips not only in beauty area. but lately, they are more concentrated in skincare things. i like because there are two of them, and both of them has different skin types. so when they review a product, they will tell according to their skin types. they're not just reviewing asian beauty skincare products, but also western products as well.

so far they're my favorites in skincare area. i do have other channel in my subscription list that also reviews skincare, but these two are my go-to. everytime i see them upload a new video, i will try my best to watch it as soon as possible. do you have favorite channel for skincare guru/ reviews? please let me know in the comments below...

i colored my hair once again, and i'm kind of sad since i could only find it in japan. the one in singapore doesn't have the shade that i like. oh well. since i colored my hair, i decided to change my shampoo to a color protection one. luckily a supermarket near my house sometimes has great selection of shampoo and conditioner. last time i bought suave one without looking at the ingredients and it has SLS and it dried out my hair. so i'm glad i colored my hair so i can change my shampoo (i don't like wasting any products that i've bought, so.. i'm looking for rational reason to do so). and i saw petal fresh line at the supermarket. i never heard about it before, but it is cruelty free. i never tried a cruelty free hair product before so i'm curious. it also has a color protection shampoo, so that's the one that i bought. though i hope it will stay around until i can try other variation.

this is the description from their website: antioxidant-rich organic pomegranate and acai berry extracts protect against the damaging effect of free radicals, while nourishing, re-energizing and enriching hair. color duration is prolonged, leaving hair feeling alive and revitalized.
the benefits: help protect longevity of color-treated hair, protects hair against environmental stressors, infused with essential oils.
key ingredients: pomegranate - high in antioxidants, pomegranate helps to strengthen the hair follicles, allowing it to maintain hair color for longer. acai - protects and revives the scalp & hair follicles to help prevent hair loss.

the packaging: i don't remember whether this has any sealing on the top or not. it comes in a jumbo size dark green plastic bottle with a click-top to dispense the shampoo. now, i don't like jumbo bottle because it's heavy to hold with one hand while pouring the shampoo onto the other hand. but i like it has click top so i can just pour it and then put it back before closing the top. i haven't felt the need to transfer this to my empty pump bottle, so even though it's big, it's still bearable. it comes in 475 ml so it might last a while. you can see the main ingredients pictured at front and the type of the shampoo written at front. at the back there's a label with a bunch of description and ingredients list.

the bottle

the scent: oh i love it! it smells wonderful! it's not too strong, it's not too subtle, not too fragrant, it's just lovely! i hope the other variants smells as wonderful as this one.

label at the back

the product: it's a transparent gel shampoo and it lathers abundantly. this one doesn't have SLS so i'm quite surprised that it still lathers up. since the bottle is pretty big and i have to hold it with one hand, it's kind of difficult to control how much i squirt to my other hand. i usually only need one blop, but sometimes pump too much and it's annoying to put it back in.

the click-top

the result: it's an okay shampoo. it doesn't dry my hair like crazy, unlike the suave one. but it's not so moisturizing either. i still need to use conditioner afterward to un frizz my hair. it doesn't help much in preventing hair loss, but i don't expect it too because it's not supposed to. as for hair color protection, i think it works okay. i can see my hair's starting to grow, so i can see my dark root but my hair color is still vibrant. so i think it works okay.

i do like this one for hair protection, but if you have dry hair, you might not like this much because it's a bit drying. but they have other variants that you can try. i wish they would stay around until i can try the other one. as for the price, it's okay for the jumbo size. i probably wouldn't repurchase this one but i will try other variants if they're still around.