Caudalie Grape Water Face Mist, Eau de Raisin review

The weather in Singapore has been increasingly hot and humid the past weeks and I thought that this will be a good time to review my current favourite facial mist. From the French cult beauty brand, the Caudalie Grape Water is a little hidden gem to set your make up and refresh yourself throughout the day.

I picked this up in Sephora after much thought, debating between this and Sephora's Softening Facial Mist with Lotus extract. Both facial mists gives out ultra fine sprays that do not make you look like you have just stepped out of a shower dripping wet, as do some other heavier facial mists I've tried. Both feel really lovely and refreshing on application and dry without any stickiness on the skin. Due to the fine and evenly dispensed mists, both will make good make up setting sprays .

In fact, the Sephora's facial mist has a more pronounced, floral scent which I really enjoyed compared to the Caudalie Grape Water which has a mild fermented scent similar to fermented rice water based products like SKII facial treatment essence. However I noticed that on application, Sephora's Softening Facial Mist caused a mild stinging sensation to my eyes but this dissipated after a moment. I was concerned with this as I have rather sensitive skin, hence am more particular. If otherwise, I may have picked up the Sephora's version as I preferred the scent.

What I like about the Caudalie Grape water is that it uses simple, non irritable ingredients, in fact, it uses just 3 simple ingredients; organic grape fruit water, grape fruit juice and nitrogen. Free of parabens and sulfates, I find that this soothes redness in my skins in any particularly warm day and does not cause any skin irritation. For something as simple as a facial mist, I believe the more basic the ingredients, the better.

The mist comes in two different sizes 75mil for portability and 200ml, which I got and will last a good amount of time,

Nuxe Rêve de Miel Ultra Comfortable Face Cream review

This is a long overdue post on the Rêve de Miel Ultra Comfortable day & night face cream by my favourite skincare brand, Nuxe. Nuxe is a French pharmaceutical cult favourite founded by the gorgeous Aliza Jabès, based on the principles of nature, luxury, ultra-femininity and a pharmaceutical approach to skincare.

I have purchased this series of creams quite a while back, but this post comes rather timely as I have just finished up the day cream and am halfway through the night cream.

Day cream (Left), Night cream (right)

Rêve de Miel or Dreams of Honey and as the name Ultra Comfortable suggests, is a dreamy concoction of honey based cream for dry and sensitive skin. Both the day and night cream have a luxuriously rich texture which ladies with parched skin will appreciate. On me, the cream does take a while to get fully absorbed, more so the day cream(on the right) which I believe the version I have is an older formulation which comes in comparatively more lux glass packaging. The night cream I have in the plastic packaging is the newer formulation which I feel spreads and absorbs more easily. This could explain why I have already finished the day cream (which lasted me a good 5 months or more) versus the reformulated night cream which I require less per usage.

Day cream (Left), Night cream (right)

Regardless, both creams do settle onto my combination skin nicely and I am able to apply makeup after with decent lasting power in humid Singapore. These creams though, are not for one who wants to feel like she has nothing on her skin. The richness of the cream does leave a slight layer on the skin but definitely comfortable and which I quite enjoy as it feels like my skin is well protected from the elements and moisturised. Needless to say, this works very well in keeping dry skin very happy. Ladies who have tried the newly formulated day cream, do let me know if it absorbs better.

(Not sure if the you are able to tell from the photos, top swatch is the old formulation day cream which thicker texture)

The scent of the creams in another reason I love these creams. Warning, these creams are heavily scented but oh so lovely. In fact I think I am slightly addicted to the warm slightly musky and herbal scent of these creams that I will miss waking up to this. No problems on my slightly sensitive skin, but a note to those who may be concerned.

These creams will be a likely repurchase for me even though I have lots of other creams in my wish list as they are luxurious at a drugstore price. You will definitely be hearing more about the Nuxe brand on this blog and if you are in Singapore, definitely check out the Beauty by Nature stores in Ion Orchard or VivoCity which I find usually has better deals on Nuxe compared to Watson's or John Little. 

The Face Shop: Rice Water Bright Massage Cream

I first had the idea of doing my own facial massage after a particularly stressful workday and was looking a way to ease the tension in my forehead and jaws. The idea of giving one self facial massages has always struck me as very quaint and romantic. This was something our mothers, grandmothers include as part of their beauty routine but became somewhat lost with our hurried lifestyles.

Facial massage can be done using anything with slip, including oils, any sort of face creams or even facial wash. I was however keen to look out for an product specific for facial massage. Using my current face creams can be expensive as a fair amount of product will be required each time. I also personally prefer adding massage cream to my routine as the additional time and effort invested can feel extra pampering. Of course, if time pressed e.g in the mornings, facial wash creams are a good option for a quick massage.

This facial massage cream caught my eye with its soothing pale pink packaging ,which is surprising weighty and luxurious feeling. It contains my favourite skin brightening ingredient, rice water, and also moringa oil. The scent is a very clean, pleasant and quiet floral. It is mild but lingers throughout the massage, so it is important to take a whift of this before purchasing. I personally find the scent to be one of things I loved about this cream and it helps add a spa like feel to my massage.

The texture of the cream is rather thick but spreads easily and melts into an oil once massaged into the skin. The oil does not dry easily on the skin but forms a layer on top of the skin, which allows me to massage the skin without any tug. This also help prevent creating unwelcomed wrinkles while massaging and reduces the need to keep having to top up product during the massage,which can be disruptive.

I was initially concerned that the oil may cause breakouts but on the contrary, my skin has became noticeably clearer, firmer and brighter ever since I have included this as part of my routine. I think this is a combination of both the product and the facial massage. For my facial massages, I try to do lots of upward lifting motions for my cheeks and neck area, at the same time, massaging my lypmh nodes to help with drainage of toxins. I also do lots of criss cross actions using my fingers across my forehead which helps to relax the frown lines etched in during the day.

I usually do my facial massages once or twice a week, after cleansing my skin at night. After the massage, I like to use a cream cleanser to directly massage it into my skin before rinsing with water. I feel that this helps to dissolve the oils from the massage cream more effectively. After the cleanse, I see a significantly more well moisturised and brighter looking skin.  Facial massage not only improves my skin but definitely puts me a more relaxed state of mind and ready for bed. I love this so much that it already is an integral part of my beauty routine and I look forward to this mini me-time each week.

Lisa Elderidge's facial massage video was helpful in getting me started and I hope for you too. I liked her message that doing a facial massage should be something fluid, intuitive, based on what feels good, instead of something very technical. There are also many other videos and guides available online to give you some ideas. Test out a few to get a better feel of what type of movement feels good and after a couple of tries, I would say just go with the flow and enjoy!:)