The Top Shelf by khaylis

I was inspired by _lemonmeringue’s post on the different beauty products she uses. We are both avid lunch-time Sephora shoppers, scouring the shelves for new life changing beauty potions. 

We are also both totally susceptible to the power of suggestion, because we both like to read beauty blog Into the Gloss, especially The Top Shelf column which features famous and/or beautiful people talking about their favorite beauty products. So you could say our beauty posts are like our own Top Shelf interviews, only we are interviewing ourselves because we didn’t think to interview each other…which would have been a cool idea now that I think about it.

I also just wanted to point out that with growing consumer awareness, everyone’s all like stay away from parabens and other cancer inducing toxic ingredients that cosmetic companies use in their products. So, nowadays I try to be a bit more conscious about reading the ingredients list on the products I buy (which translates to spending a lot longer than advisable in Sephora during our 1 hour lunch breaks). I know Burt’s Bees rates highly on using non-toxic ingredients in their products – I use their shampoo, conditioner and body wash, which all smell fruity and heavenly.

I can’t vouch for the safety of all of these products below. If you’re really conscious of using safe products or want to make that change in your beauty routine, you can refer to this list on which brands sell totally paraben-free products.

So, here’s a compendium of my current beauty regime:

Facial Wash:

Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser (available in Sephora outlets throughout KL)

I’m kind of promiscuous when it comes to facial wash i.e. I haven’t stuck to one single brand as I’m constantly on the lookout for that platonic ideal of a facial wash. In the past, I’ve tried Bliss’s Fabulous Foaming Face Wash, Ren’s Rosa Centifola Foaming Cleanser, Ole Henriksen’s African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser, and a bunch of other exotic sounding cleansers that were aiight. I abandoned my bottle of Bliss facial wash ¼ into the bottle after seeing parabens on its ingredients list though. My minimum requirement is that my face needs to feel squeaky clean after usage, but never dry and tight. Caudalie is okay, it smells grapey and foams up nicely, and doesn’t leave skin dry. I bought 2 bottles for the price of 1 at Sephora, so I will probably continue using this until I am wooed by another brand of cleanser.

Mask:

Eve Lom Rescue Mask (available at Parkson KLCC)

Always making the Top 10 lists of masks, I decided to give it a try when I saw they had an Eve Lo counter in Parkson KLCC. But lord is it expensive, so I try to use it sparingly, when I’m facing a nuclear breakout on my face, which thankfully, doesn’t happen frequently, but definitely more often since I turned thirty, go figure. You spread a thick layer of the creamy white mask with oatey looking pieces in it all over your face. Then you wait for 15 minutes, usually in front of the telly watching Iron Chef America, to let the mask work its magic. Then moisten your hands with water and rub it in, exfoliating your skin with the oatey looking pieces before washing it all off. My face always feels refreshed and plump right after.

Exfoliator:

Clarsonic Aria Facial Sonic Cleansing Brush (available in Sephora outlets throughout KL)

A great tool for the supremely lazy as you can thoroughly wash and exfoliate your face in 1 minute with minimum effort.  All you have to do is switch on the brush and it hums and vibrates, and you basically massage your cleanser into your face using this circular flat brush, starting with the T-zone, then your cheeks, your neck etc. It’s basically a giant toothbrush for your face.

Make-up Remover:

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil (available at Shu Uemura outlets throughout KL)

I bought this a while ago without really understanding how to use it, so it kind of just sat on my sink for a good 6 months. But thanks to YouTube, I now know how! I know this is really effective because I managed to take off all of my thick wedding make-up using this oil while somewhat intoxicated and exhausted at 4am in the morning. All you have to do is massage the oil into your face, thus massaging off all your eye make-up, foundation etc. Then add a little water to your hands and continue massaging until the oil becomes opaque and milky. Then wash it all off with water. Fantastic stuff by those shrewd Japanese.

Facial: 

Triple Action Exfoliation Facial   (by Energy Day Spa, Ampang)
I use to go to the same facial lady for years, this lovely Chinese lady who exclusively used Decléor Paris products with a small set up in Plaza Ampang (I am an Ampang girl after all). But she use to always book my appointments super early on Saturday or Sunday, invariably when I’d wake up with a massif hangover, thus resulting in my missing a lot of appointments. Also, they only switch on the central air-conditioning at around 9.30am, smack in the middle of my appointment so I’d be lying on the facial bed, waiting for the clay mask to sink in then, whoosh, I’m engulfed by a cloud of curry perfume, undoubtedly coming from the mamak restaurant a couple doors down. So in the run up to my wedding I decided to upgrade and try Energy Spa at Great Eastern Mall, which got great reviews from several magazines. It’s right next to the BodyTone studio where I go for my 3x a week one-on-one torture sessions with my personal trainer. Their Triple Action Exfoliation Facial is 90 minutes, which is pretty long, but you come out and your skin is all buffed, shiny and clean! It’s not painful and overly invasive, and their extraction process is a lot less painful than the ones I’ve had in the past. I’ve had 3 facials to-date (and have fallen asleep in every single one of them).

 

Daily Moisturizer:

Fresh’s Rose Hydrating Gel Cream (available in Sephora outlets throughout KL);

I started using this based on a recommendation from a Sephora sales lady. She may have been a man, but regardless, he/she gave me some great advice. He/she said that a lot of her clients complained that because of the humid climate in Malaysia, most moisturizers left you feeling oily or greasy which makes putting on make-up difficult. But this gel moisturizer absorbs quickly and really gives you instant hydration. It feels refreshing AND smells great (if you like roses). Fresh isn’t on the paraben-free list, but I scanned the ingredients list which doesn’t seem to include parabens. It’s also in a small tube, which is great for travel.

Sunscreen:

L’Occitane Immortelle Brightening Shield SPF 40 (available at L’Occitane shops throughout KL)

In my early 20’s when I was young and naïve, I went on a lot of beach vacations, and my lackadaisical use of sunscreen resulted in a mushrooming of freckles right in the center of my face. I’m not so fussed about having freckles, but I’d like to keep them from multiplying - I am the only non-fair skinned / non-redhead / non Anglo Saxon person I know with this many freckles. I keep reading about how a lot of sunscreens which use harmful chemicals like oxybenzone. I was using Kiehl’s Ultra-Light Daily UV Defense SPF 50, but stopped because it uses parabens in its ingredients. So in my search for a paraben-free facial sunscreen I found the Immortelle Brightening Shield by L’Occitane. It has a relatively high SPF 40, and absorbed relatively quickly. I used it on our recent honeymoon to Uluwatu – the hottest area in Bali - and am happy to report, no new freckles have appeared post-vacation.

Night Serum:

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair (available at Estee Lauder counters / Sephora outlets throughout KL)

The reason I bought this was because one of my friends posted a picture of it on Instagram and said that they were out partying and getting crunk til late the night before, but because of this amazing serum, they managed to look fresh and awake at work the following day (even though their insides were probably pickling away in Grey Goose). That was all I needed to know! I did notice a difference after a week’s use - my skin seemed more dewy and hydrated. I think post-30, you need all the help you can get, and even if it’s just a placebo for those awful symptoms of aging.

Eye Gel:

Swiss Line by Dermalab’s Force Vitale De-Puffing Eye Moisturizer (that’s a mouthful) (available at Energy Day Spa Ampang)

I was born with dark under eye circles. I remember walking in the gym to P.E class in Middle School, and this young Indian girl pointed at me and said “You have dark under eye circles”. So I said “Yeah, I’ve always had them.” And she said “My grandmother told me they are the sign of the devil’s spawn. Only evil people have dark under eye circles.” I responded by shrugging my shoulders and walking away, but if I could re-wind to my 11 year old self, I would have walked back and kicked that bitch in the shins. Anyhow, concealer helps some, but I’ve sort of gotten use to people constantly asking me if I had a late night because I look tired. The lady at Energy Spa told me to try this gel in the run-up to my wedding. I can’t see any difference, but it feels nice to put something cool and tingly under my eyes after a long day.

Zit Zapper:

Burt’s Bees Natural Acne Solutions Targeted Spot Treatment (available at Burt’s Bees / Sephora outlets throughout KL)

This is my magic potion. Anytime I feel itchy on my face, I whip this out, dab some on my finger and rub it into my face. It burns a bit – you are, after all, putting salicylic ACID on your face – but it really works. What may have turned into a monstrous pimple is shot down by this wonderful thing. The formula is clear, so you can use it anytime of the day without any markings on your face, unlike other zit zappers which are opaque in color.

Lip Balm:

Baume De Rose By Terry (not available in KL)

I’m a bit obsessed with rose-scented beauty products, because they smell so good. I alternate between Baume De Rose and Burt’s Bees lip balm. I’ve been trying to make a bit more effort with wearing lipstick, but I’m so bad with taking the time to re-apply it throughout the day. Hence, I tend to fall back to tinted lip balm, which you can swipe on without a mirror.

Tweezer:

Tweezerman's Slant Tweezer (not available in KL, that I know of)

Man, did I use to have bushy eyebrows growing up. Not of the unibrow extreme, but I remember discovering the Tweezer in high school and thinking it was the best thing since sliced bread. It did take a while to control my need to pluck – I admit, I was a bit overzealous in the early days, resulting in a constantly surprised look for a while. These days, what with thick brows being all the rage (where were Camilla Belle, Lily Collins and Cara Delevingne when I was growing up??), I just clean up stray hairs and actually darken my brows with brow powder. The slanted Tweezerman tweezers are the best and easiest to handle.

I am in no way endorsing any of the above products. Everyone has different skin and what works for you may not work for me, and vice versa. I wish that I had one beauty product that i’ve used forever and could testify that it worked – like how my mother used Oil of Olay for years, and everyone kept asking my sister and I if she was our sister -_- Alas, I am fickle and inconsistent in my skincare regime, which I hope to resolve in my thirties.

Either way, whatever you slather on your face probably only does 20% of what taking care of your insides can do i.e. I think everyone can agree that drinking plenty of water, eating clean, getting enough sleep and and staying away from cigarettes and alcohol will probably take you the rest of the 80% to having long lasting great skin.