Mini Haul ~ Mini Reviews
Mini Haul and Mini Reviews
So, this week was supposed to be a no-buy week. And as such, I absolutely promised myself that I wouldn't even look in T.K Maxx.
So what did I go and do?
But lookee here! What's a girl supposed to do?
From L-R: TonyMoly Magic Food Cucumber Water Gel
Holika Holika Honey Sleeping Pack
Holika Holika Aloe Facial Cleansing Foam
Every single one of these items was on my wish-list!
The Holika Holika Aloe Facial Cleansing Foam was an item that I had previously walked away from in T.K Maxx a couple of months ago and had been regretting it ever since.
This mini haul came at just the right time - I've had pretty itchy and irritated skin for the past couple of days, so these soothing goodies were obviously meant to be found by me.
Mini Reviews/First Impressions
As I only just bought these a few days ago - I can't report on any long-term usage, but I have already used all of these products in the past few days and have immediately incorporated the Holika Holika Aloe cleanser into my evening routine.
TonyMoly Magic Food Cucumber Water Gel
Firstly, I can never resist TonyMoly products, mainly because of the packaging. How could you resist this funky cucumber shaped bottle?
The English label that had been stuck over the original label (in Korean) states that it's for use on sunburned or heat-rashed skin.
My irritated face was really making me feel quite grumpy and uncomfortable, so as soon as I got back to my car, I whipped this out and slathered some of the gel over my angry face.
It's a viscous clear gel that's slightly runny. The scent is amazing - it obviously smells of cucumber but it also contains aloe barbadensis leaf, so it has a deeper and more lingering scent than cucumber. It reminds me of a cucumber gelato I had one summer - the scent of that was more exciting than the taste! Again, I feel that the texture and scent instantly shouts out refreshing and soothing - so how much of the first impression is already implanted by suggestion, I don't know.
It certainly felt instantly cooling and very soothing. I did experience a slight stinging sensation a few moments after application, but at the time, I put that down to my skin rather than the product (see the Holika Holika Aloe Cleanser impression below!).
Interestingly, considering that I applied this over my make-up (although it was the end of the day so my make-up was rapidly fading) it didn't remove what was left of my make-up. So this will be a perfect product (along with facial mists) to take out with me in the summer to cool and soothe when the warmer starts to heat my skin up. Although, given the packaging it would be quite a cu-cumbersome (soz!) to carry around. And let's face it, it's quite phallic, no?
It also dried well on my skin without leaving a tacky feeling.
I don't feel it had any long-lasting soothing effects (would definitely need to apply throughout the day). I'm not sure how effective this is over long-term usage as it fixes the issue at a time when it's needed, rather than act as a routine product.
Cost: T.K Maxx price (I think - I took the price label off right away to get into the packaging) £5.99 for 250ml.
The cheapest I have found this online is actually on eBay (UK seller - there are cheaper from Korean sellers) at £9.99.
Ingredients:
Cucumis Sativus fruit water, alcohol, polysorbate, carbomer, tiethanolamine, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, citric acid, disodium edta, chlorphenesin, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, fragrance
Holika Holika Aloe Facial Cleansing Foam
" A facial cleansing foam removes impurities and make-up from the skin with 400,000 ppm of Aloe vera leaf juice from Jeju that calms the reddened and sensitive face".
Again, this packaging is super cute - in the shape of an aloe leaf with the plastic bottle being slightly tinted green. It stands on it's lid, ensuring that the product is easy to dispense, especially when it starts to run low. I have one small niggle though - you have to ensure that you've clicked the lid closed quite hard, it does take a bit of a push to fully close and could easily let product run out if you haven't closed it tightly, due to it being stored on it's lid.
The scent is pure aloe vera - a fresh, slight fragrance that sings out soothing and refreshing.
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| Thick, rich and creamy foam - which is actually thicker and creamier than this when on the face. |
I'm suddenly reminded of a time some years ago after waxing my legs and getting quite a nasty burning feeling, I actually took some pure aloe juice from a plant I had on the bathroom windowsill and applying it directly to the burn and being in absolute agony as the burning and stinging got worse by 100%. At the time I thought it was because it was pure, from the source, un-concentrated, etc - but now, maybe I just have a thing with aloe?
The stubborn/possibly foolish side of me persisted though and I have introduced this cleanser into my nightly routine (as a second cleanser). The stinging was momentary and there weren't any long-lasting effects after use or the next morning. I'll see what happens after the next couple of weeks.
Cost: T.K Maxx price £5.99 for 150ml.
You can buy this online at YesStyle for £13.04
Ingredients:
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Water, Lauryl Hydroxysultaine, Myristic Acid, Lauric acid,Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Chlorphenesin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Palmitic Acid, Capric acid, Butylene Glycol, Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice, Zea Mays (Corn) Silk Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Fruit Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Potassium sorbate
Holika Holika Honey Sleeping Pack - Acerola Honey
"This sleeping pack is rich in honey, which provides essential nutrients to the skin. Acerola contains Vitamin C which make your skin more vibrant. (contains 20% acerola extracts + 20% honey)"
A lovely glass jar shaped with ridges to look a bit like a beehive. What I didn't realise until I got home that this is a version of the honey sleeping pack with acerola honey in it (the price label was stuck over the label on the lid and I didn't actually notice the rosey tones through the glass jar. More than happy with this version though.
It has a honey- gel consistency and is a rosey pink colour. The scent is sweet but not over-poweringly so like honey can sometimes be. There are pictures of cherries on the lid label but there is no discerning cherry smell, which is slightly disappointing as cherry has got to be one of my most favourite flavours.
I applied a reasonably heavy layer as the last step in my evening routine just before going to bed. It sat quite nicely on my skin - I could feel it there but it wasn't so thick that I had to be worried about it smushing into my pillow case in the night.
In the morning, I could definitely feel that I had been wearing a sleeping pack as my face felt everso slightly oilier than normal when I woke up - but not so much that I felt like I needed to badly wash my face. It just felt very nourished. It also hadn't mucked around with my skin's oils levels after I had cleansed in the morning. My skin remained oil-free for the whole day. So it definitely didn't increase sebum production. I would happily recommend this for all skin types.
Cost: T.K Maxx price £6.99 for 90ml
I found this online available at YesStyle for £11.40
Ingredients:
Water,Honey Extract, Malpighia Glabra (Acerola) Fruit Extract , Glycerin,Dimethicone,Glycereth-26,Arginine, Carbomer,Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer,Phenoxyethanol,Ethanol,Methylparaben, PEG-2M, PEG-90M, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Sucrose Distearate , CI 19140, CI 17200,Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Fragrance,Caramel,Disodium EDTA, Dipropylene Glycol, Portulaca Oleracea Extract
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