Ettusais BB Mineral White

How's everyone doing? If you are reading this post, I just want to thank you for not forgetting this little blog of mine and sorry for the long silence. Life has caught up on me and everything was just crazy. There is literally not much 'me time' for myself that I can just not do anything.

Today, I would be sharing my thoughts on Ettusais BB Mineral White which is a newer BB cream than Ettusais' BB Mineral Cream (highly raved on the blogosphere). There is a good reason why I love BB cream and the answer is SPEED. I am always in the rush in the morning because I am a lazer (love lazing in bed and snoozing my alarm). By the time I get out of my bed, I will realise that I am getting late. Coupled with 4 fur kitties who will demand their breakfast to be served and toilets cleaned, there is seriously not much time left for me to pamper my face before leaving for work. BB cream is a godsend because not only I get to give my skin some skin benefit, I can also skip sunblock, makeup base and foundation and just replace it with 1 step. Isn't that great??

For ladies like me who whine about BB cream too fair or grey on their skin tone (despite being told that BBcream blends into your skin tone), you will be happy to know that Ettusais BB Mineral White comes in 3 shades: 10, 20 and 30. For my NC30 skin, 30 is the shade for me.

The texture is light and easier to blend with fingers or brush but I prefer using my fingers as the warmth of the finger somehow makes the blending smoother and easier. After blending into my skin, it looks matte and natural. It feels smooth, non sticky with a semi matte finish and I will usually brush a light layer of Laura Mercier translucent powder to set it and make it last longer. Coverage is sheer to medium and it's buildable, although I personally do find it looking slightly chalky if I over apply. Staying power? Good!!! Typically last me approximately 6 hours until I need to blot.

I did ask the SA on what is the difference between Ettusais BB Mineral White and BB Mineral Cream and she said the former makes you look more radiant. I swatch over the counter and at first look I do not feel any difference between the 2, so pardon me if I can't comment anything on the differences. For ladies who tried both BB Mineral White and BB Mineral Cream, do let me know your thoughts. :)

Ettusais & Paula's Choice, my saviour combating breakouts!

I'm sure most ladies are plagued the same way I am, having breakouts before or during the time of the month. Serously, it sucks! You are feeling uncomfortable and all and you have to see the pimples popping out on your face, wth man.

Lately, I noticed the breakouts became more severe than before resulting in more pimples and more 'potent' ones (big and red! yucks!!!). Thus, I cannot stick to my usual Clarins cum SK II skincare routine anymore...... I was at wits' end when I thought why not give Ettusias a try? I have known it to be suitable in treating adult's acne but whether effective or not, still a question mark. Luckily, the price was reasonable like $20 for the soap and $37 for Version Up (equivalent of a softener), so I guess why not?

Honestly, I hate facial soap....... It always looks disgusting after while and there is always the hygience issue. Thus, we always have to take note to keep it in a dish and not keep it wet. Another tip which the SA taught me was to NOT lather the soap under running water, the soap will turn soft very quickly. The correct way is to wet your hands and lather up. The pro about using Ettusais Acne Gentle Wash bar soap is my face feels clean and fresh after washing. Feels great after a hot and sweaty day. However, it does makes my skin feels alittle dry and tight and thus Ettusais AC Skincare Skin Version Up Extra is here to the rescue!

Ettusais AC Skincare Skin Version Up Extra is effectively a softener and thus we do not apply this like a toner whereby we pour it on a cotton pad and wipe or pad our face with. Instead, it's gel like texture makes it feels more like a moisturiser. It's easily absorbed and my skin immediately feels hydrated without feeling heavy and oily. A lot of people have the misconception that oily skin or acne prone skin should skip moisturiser. WRONG WRONG WRONG! By skipping moisturiser, your pores will secrete more oil to compensate for the lack of moisture on the skin surface! So the right way is to look for a SUITABLE, LIGHT WEIGHT moisturiser for your oily or acne prone skin.

Paula's Choice 2% BHA Lotion is another saviour. Actually for my combination skin, I should be using the gel form instead of lotion (which is actually more suitable for normal to dry skin) but there was previously some offer for lotion form in 1 of the spree so I took the leap and just got it! Honestly, my breakouts actually got worse initially when I first started using it, but after a week, the pimples started to subside and after 2 weeks, I do feel that my skin surface is not as rough as before. I do not apply the lotion over the whole face but instead over the pimples (which mainly occurs along the side of my face).

For you ladies out there who are plagued by breakouts or adult acne, Ettusias and Paula's Choice is definitely pocket friendly enough for you to give it a try. :)

Completed: Ettusais Medicated Acne Whitening UV (Oil block)

I have been using Ettusias Medicated Acne Whitening UV (oil block) for the longest time and it is starting to frustrate me that I am unable to complete it after coming to 2 years! Please do not ask me why I took so long to finish it because I am not sure either and I can already see fireworks when nothing came out from the bottle this morning!

Extracted from Ettusais website:

Armed with SPF 24 PA++, this lightweight base blocks out harmful UV rays. At the same time, its anti-bacterial effect treats acne and prevents further breakouts. Best of all, it also helps to lighten acne scars, freckles and uneven skin tone.

You know how most sun blocks are greasy and thick and I really hate it. The good thing about Ettusais Medicated Acne Whitening UV is that it's in liquid form and the texture is light and does not feel greasy. Most importantly, it is suitable for ladies with acne prone skin. Upon application, I do not see an ugly white cast as well. The only reason why I do not intend to re-purchase this again is because SPF24 PA++ is too low, in my opinion. Some people like to think that if we are indoors most of the time, it should be sufficient but I am someone who prefer to be safe than sorry.

For ladies with normal to dry skin, you will be glad to know that Ettusais has this sunblock for you and is called 'dry block' instead. It comes in cream form instead of liquid.

Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer

I have had the Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer for quite a while and had never really got to see the wonder of this baby but due to an incidental use of this product when I was in a hurry, I am totally amazed by what I seen.

I'm sure how many of you would agree with me that powder foundation and 2-way foundation tend to leave a cakey and powdery look on your face. What makes it worse for me is that it also made my pores loom more obvious and ugly, which is total turn off!

So to my rescue came Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer. Not only does my face not look cakey and powdery after applying Chanel Mat Lumiere Extreme 2-way foundation, my pores looks much smaller and well concealed.

This is a concealer that is meant to 'cover' your pores. If you are worried about pore blockages because this baby claims to cover pores, you need not worry. It actually camouflage your pores by having a powder formula which helps to prevent shadows by dispersing light thus making your pores less obvious. For ladies with oily or combination skin, this concealer also helps to control sebum which makes it a wonderful make up base.


Ettusias AC Pore Concealer comes in a small pot with a spatula to scoop out what you need. Remember, a little bit of this product is all you need to conceal your pores thus go easy on the amount. The texture is creamy and thick thus you do require a bit effort to blend and you should start blend upon application. It also comes in 1 shade only.

In the picture below, I am making a comparison with RMK Creamy Polished Base (on the right) as RMK Creamy Polished Base has a matte finish and is the thickest texture makeup base that I had. Note: I only had 3 makeup bases: Paul & Joe Moisturising Foundation Primer, BareMinerals Prime Time and RMK Creamy Polished Base

As you can see below, Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer has a thicker and creamy texture than RMK Creamy Polished Base.

After blending, RMK Creamy Polished Base leaves a slight sheen (right) whereas Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer (left) has a matte finish and look slightly fairer.

For ladies who need some help in concealing your pores during makeup, I strongly encourage you to try this concealer out! :)

Ettusais Sweet Marble Cheek Color (Limited edition)

Was browsing through February's Women Weekly and saw this cute blusher from Ettusais.

On and off, I noticed Ettusais will come up with makeup with this marble 'swirls' which adds slight shimmers to the products. The 2 products that I can recalled are their limited edition lip gloss and sparkling pact (which is a permanent item and is a pressed powder).

This blusher is at an affordable price of $29 which is pretty reasonable in my opinion since most people HARDLY COMPLETE their blusher and it doesn't hurt to own that 1 more blusher. I owned 2 of Ettusais blusher and hardly touches 1 of it as I find the colour too red and strong (don't ask me how I ended up buying something which I do not like the colour because I do not recall, haha). Their blusher is especially convenient for travellers as it comes with a small sponge at the bottom of the case which can be use to pat on the blusher on your cheeks, this way, you need not bring a blusher brush. However, my personal preference is still to apply using a brush as I find it easier to control the strokes and I look more natural without looking like 2 'kuehs' on my face. :)

Shiseido White Lucent Intensive Spot Targeting Serum

As far as I can remember, I always have freckles on my cheek bones and hear-say has been that it is hereditary. But in the recent years, perhaps due to age, it seems that I am getting more and more of such freckles and pigmentation. I use sunblock consistently (SPF50 somemore!) and I still do not understand how am I getting more and more pigmentations. To add to my unhappiness, my acne scars are still around...... what the hell........

I have tried cheap whitening essence like Olay, mid range like Ettusais whitening serum but all just seems to be useless. Olay gives me breakouts and Ettusais doesn't seem to help as I do not see any difference. I battled with myself for the longest time and wonder it is true that we cannot save on skincare and the more expensive ones works better (this is what my sis tells me, 一分钱，一分货) and said to say, this is really the case for my skin. I always get breakouts, dull or rough skin when I used drugstore brands like Olay and Hada Labo. But my skin seems to brighten up when I used salon brands like Adonis, or higher range like Shiseido and SK II. Much as I love to save money on skincare, it just doesn't work for me. I have switched away from Shiseido products for about 3 months to try drugstore brand and my skin deteroriated with roughness and breakouts and it's time for me to splurge on skincare once again to save my skin!

Serious help is really needed for my dull skin and pigmentation and I decided to switch from the normal Skincare range to the White Lucent range. It's generally $10 - $15 more expensive per product but I only purchased the softener and whitening serum first. The intensive spot targetting serum is supposedly the star product and target freckles, age spots, acne scars, EXACTLY WHAT I WANT!!!

Shall give this a try and see whether I can see any results.............