When I was young, dad used to load me with face washes and Hazeline snow because he said that large pored skin is a family trait that has been going on for generations. Yes, my dad bought me skincare, not my mum. It really wasn't her thing you see. I never really got into it because being young and hanging out with the neighbourhood boys most of the time, playing with girly things was faux pax. Plus, I was fairly sweaty all the time (humid tropical country + boyish attitude) made whatever I was forced to slap on my face just feel particularly icky to me.
When I was in highschool I tried Johnsons clean and clear but soon grew to hate it as it was very astringent and stingy on my skin. I didn't know at that time I had sensative skin. Everyone just saw pimples and deduced I had extra oily skin. When I got to college and my allowance grew significanly I started experimenting in drugstore skincare but never really settled on one. The reason? I shared the bathroom with my young aunt who loved skincare and cosmetics and had a pension for impulse buys. Needless to say, I was enjoying her SKII and other lovelies. When I got to Uni, I stuck with mostly L'oreal as it was a brand I recognised being in a different country and all. Didn't work as well as I hoped but it was better than nothing.
Once I came back home I went straight back to Asian brands and this leads me to today's post. I'd like to review my previous skincare range, ZA True White. I started with the 3 basic steps and just exploded to the entire range and then some! It worked well on me within the first 2 months. My complexion evened out. Pimple scaring faded. Skin was less oily. Here is a break down on the products in the range:
Cleansing Foam
I like the smell. After washing it off I find that my skin feels extra clean. There is no tightness of the skin and it removes make up as well, most importantly, my BB cream! Also like how all the oil and grime goes with it.
Megavoltage Cream
This one is just fun to play with. Use it about 2-3 times a week or just once a week like me. smear a thin layer on your nose, chin or forehead (the areas prone to flaky skin or a thicker layer or deadcells) and let it dry. The tube suggest that you leave it on for 15 seconds but because it's kinda humid here it takes a longer time to dry so I just slap some on and run about a bit to put my PJs on. By then it would be sufficiently dry so you can start slowly rubbing your fingertips in a circular motion around the areas with the cream. It will start to flake off so stand near the sink. If it's not completely dry just keep massaging and it will clump up and fall off on it's own. Dunno if it really works or not but leaves skin feeling light and supple. Good massage this one.
Lotion
This one is actually more like a toner. It contains Alcohol Denat which I wasn't too keen about but it's hard to find a non-alcoholic toner that cleans well. I didn't like the neutrogena one too much as it stopped being good after the second bottle. 'Simple' has a smells funny to me. This one is quite pleasant. After it gets acsorbed into your skin, slap on some of the Emulsion and your skin wouldn't dry up so easily. I like to decanter my toner in a spritz bottle and spray it on my face then wipe off. That way I save the toner and have a more even distribution of the liquid on my face. Plus I don't have to expose the product to the air as much.
Emulsion
This is pretty good stuff. You only have to use a little bit to make your skin smooth and supple, ready for makeup. I use like one bottle of moisturiser to 3 bottles of toner ! That's how little you have to use. It doesn't feel sticky after application but it feels I end up with a bit too much and my skin feels moist I will put on some vitamin powder to sorta seal it in.
I like the smell. After washing it off I find that my skin feels extra clean. There is no tightness of the skin and it removes make up as well, most importantly, my BB cream! Also like how all the oil and grime goes with it.
Megavoltage Cream
This one is just fun to play with. Use it about 2-3 times a week or just once a week like me. smear a thin layer on your nose, chin or forehead (the areas prone to flaky skin or a thicker layer or deadcells) and let it dry. The tube suggest that you leave it on for 15 seconds but because it's kinda humid here it takes a longer time to dry so I just slap some on and run about a bit to put my PJs on. By then it would be sufficiently dry so you can start slowly rubbing your fingertips in a circular motion around the areas with the cream. It will start to flake off so stand near the sink. If it's not completely dry just keep massaging and it will clump up and fall off on it's own. Dunno if it really works or not but leaves skin feeling light and supple. Good massage this one.
Lotion
This one is actually more like a toner. It contains Alcohol Denat which I wasn't too keen about but it's hard to find a non-alcoholic toner that cleans well. I didn't like the neutrogena one too much as it stopped being good after the second bottle. 'Simple' has a smells funny to me. This one is quite pleasant. After it gets acsorbed into your skin, slap on some of the Emulsion and your skin wouldn't dry up so easily. I like to decanter my toner in a spritz bottle and spray it on my face then wipe off. That way I save the toner and have a more even distribution of the liquid on my face. Plus I don't have to expose the product to the air as much.
Emulsion
This is pretty good stuff. You only have to use a little bit to make your skin smooth and supple, ready for makeup. I use like one bottle of moisturiser to 3 bottles of toner ! That's how little you have to use. It doesn't feel sticky after application but it feels I end up with a bit too much and my skin feels moist I will put on some vitamin powder to sorta seal it in.
Vitamin Powder
This is a loose powder that is meant to go on as the last step of your skincare. I use it almost everyday as a good loose powder for sucking up all the oiliness from my skin. The packaging is also handy enough to carry around in your handbag. This has the same function and properties as the Ettusais treatment powders.
Night Cream
I use this at night in place of the emulsion. Sometimes I use both together. Only takes a little to cover the whole face. Occasionally it feels heavy on the skin but also can be remedied with the loose powder.
Essence
This is one of the products that I still hang on to becasue it works well. It's not part of the range but it does feel like it belongs. It has an oil layer and an essence layer. Shake the bottle to blend the 2 together, dispense about 5 drops on the palm of your hands and spread quickly all over your face. Rub your palms together to warm them up and lay it on your face to help the infusion of the essence into your skin. This step feels good at night after a long day at work.
This is a loose powder that is meant to go on as the last step of your skincare. I use it almost everyday as a good loose powder for sucking up all the oiliness from my skin. The packaging is also handy enough to carry around in your handbag. This has the same function and properties as the Ettusais treatment powders.
Night Cream
I use this at night in place of the emulsion. Sometimes I use both together. Only takes a little to cover the whole face. Occasionally it feels heavy on the skin but also can be remedied with the loose powder.
Essence
This is one of the products that I still hang on to becasue it works well. It's not part of the range but it does feel like it belongs. It has an oil layer and an essence layer. Shake the bottle to blend the 2 together, dispense about 5 drops on the palm of your hands and spread quickly all over your face. Rub your palms together to warm them up and lay it on your face to help the infusion of the essence into your skin. This step feels good at night after a long day at work.
I've recently moved on to other products but I think ZA will always hold a dear place in my heart. Maybe it's because it's by shiseido. Or maybe it's because it was whitening. I was forced to let it go when I realised the alcohol content wasn't doing well for my skin in the long run and I realised I have recently developed sensative skin. This SA in Sasa put on of those skin cameras on my face and I saw the tell-tale signs of redness across my face. I've done the test before at an SKII counter and those were there before I started this range. Sighs. It was good while it lasted.
I've got a couple more products from the range that I'll post up tomorrow. This one is getting a bit long. Tomorrow is going to be a 'fun' activity-filled day at work tomorrow. Can't wait to see what everyone has to say about it during lunch.
It's nice, you know. Being able to share this sort of thing with someone who really understands what I'm talking about.
3 opinions:
Thanks for the review...but I can't find this brand in other parts of Asia!
I agree with you about non-alcoholic toners...my nose pores just don't get clean with an alcohol-free toner!
Yes! Only sad thing is, is that ZA's toners are mainly Alcohol Denat(not so good for you). In fact a majority of their products contain that as one of the top three ingredients. So I'm looking for something with a more skin friendly blend.
It's in mostly the south east asian countries, i think.
What if, I tell you that all I do is.. cleanse? hahaha well at least it's a St Ives scrub! lol
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