Fairwell Facial Dermatitis

Facial dermatitis is not uncommon in many of us. It is an eczematous condition usually manifests in the form of redness, scaliness and dryness on the eyebrows, around the nose as well as the chin area. It is an autoimmune skin disorder and often it cannot be cured. However, given the appropriate treatments, one can certainly keep this skin condition under control. It is worth noting that stress and hygiene could flare up the condition and therefore, a good management of personal hygiene and stress factor are essential to keep your dermatitis at a manageable level.

I suffered from moderate facial dermatitis since teenage years. It is not until about a couple years back, we discovered an effective treatment, combining a mild corticosteroid cream and an MSM-containing natural anti-inflammatory cream (called MooGoo, as in picture above) for my dermatitis. My skin improvement was substantial. The following regimen was employed:

1. Hydrocortisone 0.5% cream: twice daily on affected areas.
2. Moo Goo natural MSM cream: twice daily on affected areas, extend slightly to the outer areas.
3. Moisturiser: apply as frequent as possible, at least four times daily.

Foundation is not encouraged as it flares up dermatitis further. Instead, I use tinted moisturiser as a substitute. The brand that I am now using is Chantecaille Anti-Smog nude, made in Japan. The texture is very light and blends in easily with my skin colour. I bought this from Lane Crawford, Hong Kong. If you are not sure which brand to go for, always seek help from the cosmetic concierge. They are always very helpful =)

Facial dermatitis is embarrassing and detrimental to my social life. Thanks to all the new medicinal technology and the good food I always have, I am now back to my smooth and clear skin again =)

6 months ago

One month ago

Other useful tips to keep your dermatitis away:

1. Maintain stress-free or low stress level at all time.

2. Avoid harsh and heavy cosmetics.

3. Ensure sufficient hydration and time to rest.

4. Avoid touching your face with dirty hands; Avoid peeling or picking the scabs with dirty fingers.

5. Ensure plenty of moisturiser (paw paw ointment from AUS or Evelom ointment from the UK is one of the very best moisture-retainer ointments for my dermatitis)

All the best.

You too deserve a nice looking skin.

Pea

Pea Day

It's Pea's birthday two days ago and I must say I had a really simple yet contented birthday this year. It is not surprised that as you get older, you tend to enjoy even the simplest thing in life like gobbling your meal in front of the TV, for example. I am always a happy pea and this year I feel even more blissful than ever before. I survived through horrendous floods, earthquakes, and tsunami (now nuclear meltdown disaster); have a comfy place to stay; have money to spend; have a healthy lifestyle and virtually pollution-free living environment; have a harmonious relationship with my fiance and more to count. What more could I ask for?

I had a wonderful celebration at work with plenty of sugar-loaded cakes, muffins and chocolates to feed (and they do taste amazingly awesome!).  Friends from all over the world sent me their kindest wishes and loves. Not to mention, of course, my family, my fiance and his family who always see me like their little precious princess made me feel even more so on my big day. I wish I could say more than just a thank you to all of you. Your blessings are my reasons to be happy!

Yesterday, Alex took me to a Japanese dinner to celebrate my birthday. We always have this unique fondness towards Japanese food. Moreover, I am an Asian, and will always enjoy Asian food at any time, on any day.

It was because of my birthday, I declared this day to be Pea Day. Pea is my nickname given by Alex, my fiance.

It was also on this day that Pea rewarded herself with a little big skincare treat - Elizabeth Arden Prevage Face Serum. It is little in size but big in price! I know, it is very expensive but it will keep Pea looking younger forever.

Anyhow, I bought it from StrawberryNet, the arguably best website to offer you best price on any skincare or cosmetic product. It is a company based in Hong Kong and I always like to shop with HK merchants for some reasons, variety? price? quality? anything you can think of.

I am feeling lucky already. I hope you do too!

Have a great weekend,

Love always,

Pea

Review: Silk Whitia Anti-Oxidant Whitening Mask

I was concerned about my skin, so I began to search through Sasa website in the hope that something useful will turn up. Then, I found this highly rated Silk Whitia anti-oxidant whitening mask and immediately I decided to give it a try.

Previously, I have been using some Korean masks from a Watson outlet which I can hardly remember what is it called now, but as far as I can recall, I was totally in love with it. The Silk Whitia wasn't too bad (after two trials) but if I was to compare the two masks, I would definitely prefer the previous one, mainly because Silk Whitia contains fragrance. I am under such an impression that each time I use it, I am feeding my skin with tons of artificial substances. However, it is pretty cheap for the price of less than 2 dollars per mask when you buy it on sale from Sasa website, plus it does have a temporary brightening effect as soon as you remove the mask (which is great to be used just before going out for dinner or party).

I thought you would be interested to find out what exactly are the key ingredients in the mask. Each of these breakdown components is really good to improve skin tone, I just wish it is 100% fragrance-free.

There are many things other than masks that may improve your skin, such as...

Tomatoes contain lycopene which is a potent anti-oxidant. If you want to stay looking younger forever, it is recommended to have at least a tomato in your meal everyday.

This is my home grown tomato, by the way. Isn't that nice to have a fresh tomato with minimal or no chemical at all?

I enjoy growing my own fruits and vegetables very much.

Cheers,

Pea

Chinese New Year Cookies

I always love the Chinese New Year's atmosphere in the Asian country. It is the most valuable time for the Chinese families from all over the world to be reunited (sadly to say that I have not been able to make it home this year, nevertheless, I will have a quiet but comfortable reunion dinner with my fiance's families).

Given the importance of food in the Chinese culture, it is not surprising that food plays a major role in the Chinese Near Year celebrations. Peanut Cookies is one of the must have in the Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, at the time of making these cookies, cashew nuts were what I was left with in the kitchen cupboard and I am glad that the traditional flavour is still very well preserved.

Let's check out the ingredient, cashew nuts!

I like to pound it coarsely to give the cookies a bit more of a bitey texture.

Now here is the recipe, enjoy!

Cashew nut cookies
Makes 15

Apparatus:
Mortar and pestle
Baking tray

Ingredients:

3/4 cup salted cashew nuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
Handful of salted cashew nuts, halved

Methods:

1 Preheat oven to 200C and prepare a well greased and lined baking tray.
2 Grind the salted cashew nuts until fine and place them in a large mixing bowl.
3 Sift in the flour and sugar. Mix them together until well combined.
4 Add a little grapeseed oil into the nut mixture at a time. Knead the mixture with your finger tips until well combined. Gradually add in more oil as needed until you can roll up the mixture into a small ball.
5 Place a half tablespoonful of mixture on your palm at a time and roll them into small balls before placing them on the baking tray.
6 With a chopstick end, press gently on the top of the balls to make a round indents.
7 Place the halved cashew nuts in the middle of indents and bake for 15-20 minutes.


Isn't that easy?

That's one of my favourite childhood cookies and I certainly would like to introduce it to the Western society. I am glad that Alex enjoys it too.

Happy Chinese New Year to all of you.

May it bring you prosperity, wealth and health in the year of the Rabbit.

Love,

Pea

Review: Prevage Face Advanced Anti-Aging Serum

Three weeks has gone by so quickly. Tonight, I finished using the last drop of my Prevage sample cream from a local drug store. This product is a hot item in the current media and a 50ml bottle is sold at $165 on a discount cosmetics website. I am considered one of the luckiest person on the earth to have been given a free sample bottle to try before I decide to buy or not to buy.

I have read many reviews about the new Prevage range on the internet. Whilst a vast majority have reported a good result, some have also pin-pointed a major drawback of these products, that is allergic reaction to idebenone (synthetic derivative of CoQ 10). Apparently, the side effect can manifest as quite a nasty rash on the cheek, hence the company recommends to try a small amount of cream at the back of your hand for at least three days before commencing a full blast application on your face. Fortunately, I do not develop any allergic response to it.

You must be curious about what I think about this product. I am just as surprised as you with the result myself! I cannot believe it actually works. I swear by this!

To be honest, I wasn't completely sure if it has removed my fine lines but my complexion has definitely become more radiant and smooth since I started using this product, even my fiance, colleagues and customers noticed the difference. It makes me very happy! =D

I used Prevage Face Advanced Serum twice daily after cleansing my face and before I applied my moisturiser. For the past three weeks, I used Elizabeth Arden Intervene as my main moisturiser and Tony Moly's star products - Intense Repair Dual Effect Sleeping Pack and Moisture Full Formula every second night (just before I sleep) to further rehydrate my skin (as I sleep in air-conditioned room every night).

Tony Moly has very good hydrating products. I bought these two from Hong Kong and they were highly recommended by the sale assistant who served me at the counter. I had very dried skin around my nose and chin, and ever since I used these products every second night, the crackling dried skin has left me in peace for a length of time. Nevertheless, I still wasn't sure what exactly the active ingredient is and I can't understand Korean writing at all. sigh~~~

I have made up my mind to buy and continue to support Prevage Face Advanced Serum. However, before that happens, I would also like to try the new Shiseido Future Solution Anti Wrinkle range for the next three weeks and see if it works just as good as the Prevage. I have heard a lot of good comments about the Shiseido other than it is too oily for acne-prone skin. Let's compare between the two and I shall come back with more review on Shiseido's new anti-aging formula.

Thank you for following.

Kind regards,

Pea

Advanced Anti-aging Technology

If you remember my previous post about anti-aging, I have recently discovered a few fine lines under my eyes and around the upper corners of my lips. It is hardly noticeable when I had my make up on, but when I inspect my face up close on the mirror after shower, it reveals the ugly truths. Looks like Pea is slowly getting old... ???

So then, Pea visited a local drug store today and the cosmetic consultant lady was kind enough to provide me some free anti-aging serum samples of various brands to try. From reading the brochures alone, I am quite convinced by the new Shiseido Future Solution Eye & Lip serum. As you know, Shiseido is one of the oldest and most reliable skincare lines in Japan. Based on my research, however, a small jar of this new skincare range (15mL) can cost up to $150.

Moving on to the next brand, Elizabeth Arden new Prevage anti-aging range. It incorporates advanced idebenone technology in formulating the cream. Theoretically, the cream should work perfectly as idebenone is a strong antioxidant. As I skimmed through the brochure, I find this particular paragraph quite interesting and instantly decided to give it a shot and see if it does prevent and reverse my aging process. It is not a cheap option too!

-----<@@>-----<@@>-----

The launch of ELIZABETH ARDEN Prevage earlier this year caused a minor media frenzy. It contains idebenone, a synthetic derivative of CoEnzyme Q10 (ubiquinone), said to be the most potent antioxidant available in the skincare industry today.

• Clinical trials of Prevage (used in conjunction with sunscreen) found some promising results in terms of reversing signs of photoaging, although they acknowledged that at least some of the effect could be attributed to the moisturiser base.
• If that’s not exciting enough, the trials tested the product in its finished form — that is, the product you buy is exactly the same as what was tested, unlike many other studies where the active ingredient is tested in some form or other but then used in different bases and at different concentrations when it hits the market.
• At $200+ for 50 mL, it’s certainly not cheap, and if you’re game to try it at that price it’d be worth doing your own comparison test to check whether a moisturiser and/or a sunscreen was just as effective on your particular skin. But we’d like to see more and better research on this before people spend their money.

-----<@@>-----<@@>-----

It says here, skin tone improves over 12 weeks usage in a clinical test. Let's hope it will work its magic on me. Keep your fingers crossed!

Love,

Pea

My Sleeping Potions

This eye pillow was an amazing Xmas gift from my colleague. It contains a tension-relieving infusions of what I think are flaxseed, lavender and chamomile to relax my racing mind. The pillow is made in silky satin fabric, inside of which is filled with hundreds of organic beads that provide a gentle weight on my eyes. I am not a big fan of aromatherapy, but I absolutely enjoy the subtle scents and comfort this eye pillow has provided me, for sure!

So then, this eye pillow has accompanied me to dreamland for many nights now. I admit that I have been sleeping very well despite all these work-related things that repeatedly play in my mind. I must thank G for such a magical pillow, however, I am also very grateful to have my fiance, Alex, who has been secretly rubbing J&J Bedtime Lotion on my hands, around my neck and shoulder every night to calm my sleep (how lucky am I???). Plus, this is an old remedy I used to grow up with to ease nightmare.

Next to this, there is also this lovely product that I recently discovered from Alex that may also help to improve my sleep quality. Ta... Da... !!! Yes, it is this Dr Lewinns Bio-Care oil that I am referring to! It contains a blend of some funny oils which work amazingly together to comfort my mind. As it contains lemon myrtle oil, the aromatic scent makes this product a great massaging oil. Once again, I would like to make a special thank to Alex for such a wonderful product recommendation.

Quality sleep is essential for beautiful mind and skin. Please also allow me to finish off this post with some useful tips to tackle sleeplessness:

1. Cut back on caffeine (because it almost always give people a bad headache upon waking up the next morning).
2. Correct your sleeping pattern and posture.
3. Invest your dollars on a good quality feather & down or memory foam pillow (trust me, you don't want to be stingy about investing on your own health)
4. Listen to soothing musics to calm your mind.
5. Stay away from stimulating activities just before sleep, such as PC games and horror movies.

My sincere advice is to keep away from any sort of sleeping medications what so ever. They are brilliant for short term use but overuse may result in reliance or dependence.

Enjoy your trip to dreamland.

Have a wonderful sleep.

Good night.

Pea