Review: Philosophy the Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash

I am a little OCD when it comes to my skin. I need to shower every night, usually right before bed when I can change into my PJs and then climb into bed. I also need to exfoliate once every few days to get rid of that excess grime because then it just feels like its building up and I’m growing a layer of dirt on my skin *pulls hair out*… Yeah, OCD indeed. When I received a deluxe 30mL sample of Philosophy’s Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash, I of course saved it up to use in UK!

What it claims (from Sephora.com):
A mild, exfoliating facial cleanser designed to effectively cleanse the skin while providing resurfacing benefits. Gentle enough to use daily, this unique formula is sulfate-free and formulated with ingredients designed to replenish and protect the skin with topical antioxidants as it helps condition the skin and retain its moisture level.

I was reading the reviews on Sephora and I kinda wonder if I received the same product than the other people, or if the stuff inside my bottle was accidentally switched or something because this was definitely NOT gentle on my skin. My skin does not irritate easily, but this made my skin red and blotchy. I don’t know if it was because it was cold outside and my skin was irritated from the cold wind, but it actually hurt when I was massaging it around, especially in my cheek area.

I think I will continue using this for another week or so and if it doesn’t improve, in the bin it goes. Or maybe I’ll just use it in my T-zone to rid it of blackheads. The good thing was it did actually clean, unlike that Dior cleanser I previously reviewed. But because I used this, it was another reason why I desperately needed to use a sheet mask in the middle of the week.

My score? ❤ ❤


I probably won’t repurchase it because it is too harsh on my skin.

My London trip was canceled. FUUUUUUDGE. 3/5 classes I had this week were canceled, which means I had nothing to do for the past 3 days, now today is completely boredom and so will tomorrow, because the local orientation tour around Southern England will also likely be canceled. I’m not just angry about having nothing to do, but all of that tuition money and money I paid for the included “trips” are now just going down down down into the drain, all $15,000 of it =___= [/rant]

Byebye Summer, and welcome to the Season for Snow White

Summer of 2009 is officially over (or has been over for a couple of weeks now). For your skin, this means its time to hydrate and protect itself from the bitter weather, and to repair itself from sun damage and excess buildup of melanoma (pigments in the skin). This winter, I will be doing a series of entries that focus on taking better care of your skin and preventing future damage. I call this:

“Snow White” has two meanings for me personally, one is that it is very cold outside but sometimes it can get quite warm inside, which means you need to adapt your skin to being able to withstand those extreme temperatures. The other is that with the abundance of sunlight in the summer, your skin will likely become tanned, which is why in the winter, for me at least, you need to 1) repair any sun damage, and 2) go back to having milky white skin.

Skin whitening, or skin brightening is a huge part of my skincare regime. There is a lot of controversy surrounding skin brightening in general, which I am not going to talk too much about. The main reason skin whitening is so important to me is that I want to have smooth, even, milky skin that has bits of pink especially in the cheek area. A good example of this kind of skin is Cyndi Wang, who is a Taiwanese singer and actress. This is my ultimate goal. With skin like this, who needs makeup?

However, which skin whitening, the main issue is hydration and moisture. Skin whitening is basically using chemicals such as glycolic acid, or other whitening ingredients such as Arbutin, to slowly peel off the upper layers of the skin. It is like constant exfoliation but just works faster and is a little bit stronger (although there is less iritation depending on what you use). Because there is that constant peeling of the upper skin layer, your skin will easily become sensitive and dehydrated, especially in the winter months. Therefore there is a need to regularly use products such as hydrating serums or moisturizing creams.

Currently, I am not going to lie, I have crappy skin. The reason is that I am in school, which means I sleep at 4-5 AM every day and wake up around 11. Also, once every two weeks or so, I don’t sleep at all for an entire night. And then I eat on average one meal, max 2 meals a day. So… you can see why my skin is crappy.

But you should not follow my example! In the summer (April – August) when I have a pretty set work schedule (8:30-4:30), I go to bed relatively early and wake up early, I eat 3 meals a day and I get my full 8 hours of sleep (normally). In the summer, that is when I repair my skin of all of the school damage such as acne, acne scars, fine lines, discolouration, etc. But now that I am in school, I can focus only on preventing those things from sprouting, which currently is quite effective.

My current night-time skincare regime:

1. Wash off day-cream with Shu Uemura oil cleanser
2. Cleanse with Clinique Liquid Facial Soap every other day, and MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator on the days I don’t use Clinique
3. Use MAC Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask once every 3-4 days which I am in the shower
4. Tone with Kose Meddicated Sekkisei or Biotherm Biosource Clarifying Lotion
5. Depending on how my skin feels that day, I use Biotherm Aquasource Superserum (if I need more hydration), Diorsnow White Reveal Essence (skin feels normal), Dior Capture Totale Night Time Soft Peal (skin feels normal). I usually rotate between the three in a white, Dior Capture Totale is used 1-2 a week, Biotherm Aquasource is used 1-2 times a week (at night) and Diorsnow is used the rest of the time
6. Hydrate my skin with H2O+ Face Oasis
7. Apply lip balm, usually Vichy Nutrilogie Lips or Burt’s Bees

My currently day-time regime is really simple:

1. Wash face with water; yes just water. When you sleep your body goes through damage control and your skin will secrete its own protective oils. This is quite precious and good for repairing your skin, so I don’t want to strip it off using a harsh cleanser.
2. Depending on the weather outside, I may or may not use Biotherm Aquasource Superserum. I don’t want to overhydrate my skin because that will cause congestion and breakouts as well.
3. Moisturize with Biotherm Age Fitness Lotion SPF 15. This is the preventative day care part, not only does it have sunscreen in it, it prevents and repairs the first signs of aging, including big pores!

This regime has done a good job at preventing more damage, but at the same time I have really noticed that my skin a lot brighter and smoother, probably due to the Diorsnow White Reveal Essence. Funny thing is that my face is actually brighter than the rest of my body, which is why lately I have been vigorously exfoliating and applying brightening body lotion.

Overall, you should be really paying close attention to your skin. This is why I have so many depending ons in the lists above because I apply products to suit my skin’s needs. You should also not follow my bad example; get a proper night’s sleep, drink lots of fluids, and eat all of your meals, and if possible, exercise regularly. A normal lifestyle will help you trememdously with the skin that you so desperately want.

I will be doing a reviews of the products mentioned above in the upcoming weeks.

Review: MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator

I am paranoid about dead skin building up on my skin. I cannot stand not exfoliating for a long period of time and I definitely use some kind of toner that contains alcohol in it to clean my skin again after a good wash-over with Clinique’s Liquid Facial Soap in Mild. It makes me happy to see dirt on the cotton pad because I knew I had gotten rid of some of that dead skin, but exfoliating is still my favourite friend.

I am always on the prowl looking for a new type of exfoliator. I started using St. Ive’s Apricot Scrub in high school, and then moved on to Anna Sui and then Lancome Exfoliance Confort. And then I did a bit of research and found that the most talked about exfoliator du jour was MAC’s Volcanic Ash Exfoliator. According to some, this “magical” exfoliator had the power to soften skin to the likeness of a baby’s, and that it had the ability to improve the texture of the skin overall. Immediately, I was obsessed.

The MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator (VAE) had been released as a limited edition item in the summer of 2008. At the time, it was the total rave, selling out completely within a few days of its release. I wasn’t much of a fan of MAC at that time, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. I had just started to pay attention to MAC’s releases just later last year when the MAC x Hello Kitty collaboration been announced. This year, VAE was released with the Style Black collection along with its sister product, the Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask. I wasn’t the biggest mask user, so I decided just to get the exfoliator.

The main ingredient in this exfoliator is sucrose, aka sugar. Basically the VAE uses crystals of sugar as its exfoliant, which is both natural and kind of cool. After a few massages, the sugar crystals would actually melt, which prevented over scrubbing. The product would also slightly foam up after the crystals melt and water is added. Then it would wash off clean with some warm water.

The first time I used this, I made the mistake of using it after my Clinique Liquid Soap. This actually caused over cleaning. My nightly cleansing ritual was Shu Uemura cleansing oil then Clinque Liquid Soap, but with this new addition, I had no idea if I had to use the Liquid Soap or not, so I used it anyways to be sure. Well actually, because VAE foams up, it acts like a basic cleanser as well, so there is no need to wash your face again with Liquid Soap or any other liquid cleanser (although cleansing oil is still recommended to remove makeup and/or sunscreen on your face).

The results? Well I have been using VAE for just about a week and I LOVE it. It really does leave my skin squeaky clean without any irritation. I have not broken out yet, which I am glad for, and it has actually caused my skin to become more smooth and my pores more refined. I may just have found a replacement for my now ex-favourite, the Lancome Exfoliance Confort (although I will still be using this for deeper scrubbing, as the crystals in VAE melt away).

Anyways, the MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator is now sold out pretty much everywhere, except on the MAC Website. You can grab 100mL of it there for $23.50. I don’t know if this is still valid, but you can try the code LASH109ca for free shipping on any sized order plus a free sample of MAC Plush Lash.