Review: Belo Kojic + Tranexamic Acid Intensive Whitening Bar

Trying more local/Philippine brands are in my New Year’s Resolution for 2016. It’s almost half of the year and this is the first local brand I’ve used. We can tell that I’m failing and I’m not good at new year’s resolutions. Haha!

Anyway, I bought this because it has salicylic acid for acne unlike other whitening soaps. I got it for my dark spots too. Kojic soap dries my bacne (back acne) before so I gave this a shot.

Description:
BELO’s most intensive whitening bar yet that boasts of the unique combination of today’s two most powerful whitening actives.

Kojic Acid is an organic compound that effectively inhibits the production of tyrosinase and melanin, giving skin a visibly lighter appearance. Tranexamic Acid is a peptide proven to inhibit inflammation and melanin formation. It is ideal for stubborn dark spots that do not respond to other skin lightening ingredients.

Size: 65g

Other information & Ingredients:

Pros:
-Affordable, Php 59 ($1.25)
-Has 4 exfoliating ingredients (Salicylic, Lactic, Kojic and Tranexamic) compared to other brands
-No peeling/micropeeling
-More on brightening, not whitening
-Has salicylic and lactic acid for acne
-Helps to dry my pimples even cystic acne

Cons:
-Melts easily
-Stings the eye, avoid that area
-Too harsh if used daily on the face because of its exfoliating ingredients
-Triggered my dermatitis

It quicky dries up blemishes. Even my cystic acne doesn’t last for a week. As for whitening, I didnt see any drastic change on my dark spots because they are deep. It’s more of brightening effect that gives you glowing skin.

Its active ingredients are 4 types of acid. That’s quite strong. This is definitely an exfoliating bar. Do a patch test first if you have sensitive skin. Be sure to apply moisturizer after and lotion for the body. Apply sunblock if you’re going out.

I suggest using it only on the area where there’s a blemish or where you want to whiten. I highly recommend this for drying blemishes especially bacne.

April 2016 Birthday Haul

My birth month is done already? That was fast. I dont celebrate my birthdays and never had parties. I just like to get stuff off my wishlist so I did a small haul again. Most items here are gifts from my sister and collaboration with Wishtrend. Let’s start

SKIN CARE

BELO Tranexamic Kojic Acid Soap
I bought this to lighten my dark spots. I find that it’s too harsh because it has 4 types of acids. I only use it on breakouts. It dries acne fast.

ETUDE HOUSE AC Clinic Spot Patch
An impulse buy and my sister got it for me.

ETUDE HOUSE Wonder Pore Freshner
Another gift from my sis. I’m not yet sure if I will declare it as one of my holy grails.

KLAIRS Midnight Blue Calming Cream
Wishtrend sent this to me. It has lavender which is one of my favorite ingredients. It has ceramide too that’s needed for my dry flakey flare ups. I’ll post my full review next week!

LUSH Mask of Magnaminty
I was praying and asking signs if this mask is available then I should get another tub. If not, it’s time to try a new one from another brand. To my surprise it’s available when I visited their store.

LUSH Fresh Farmacy
My all time favorite cleanser. I took a break from using this for almost a month now. I want to have it on hand just in case I like to go back to it.

SKIN & LAB Dr. Color Effect Red Serum
This is a sample size in my recent Wishtrend package. It’s a raved product in 2014 or last year. Maybe I’ll do a first impression post soon.

SKQIN Dual Sissi Mask Moisturizing & Brightening
These masks were added to Wishtrend’s package as a bonus. I’m so glad they gave us 4 masks. I’m excited to try them out. It’ll be my first time to try a mask that also gives love for our chin area.

MAKE UP

MAYBELLINE Clear Smooth All in One Powder Foundation
I set my concealer with this foundation. It’s so matte and adds coverage to my  makeup. It’s really affordable, 169 pesos (approx. $4)

BODY CARE

GOODAL Cherry Blossom Hand Cream & THE FACE SHOP Kakao Friends Hand Cream Apeach Cherry Blossom
Gifts from my sister again. I’m spoiled. Haha. It’s spring time in Korea and now brands are releasing cherry blossom lotions.

ACCESSORIES

ETUDE HOUSE Lash Curler for Monolid
Another gift from my sister. I actually prefer the silver curler because it’s more affordable. But my sister said this rose gold one looks even better.

There’s not so much in my hauls, right? I’m trying to reduce hoarding or making impulse buys. I’m having a hard time storing them. Haha. Aaaaah, sometimes the beauty world is tiring for me with all the consumerism and hyped up products.

April 2016 Favorites

A lot of things have happened this month. Stressful stuff but I still had time to switch products and use them all up. I’m going through my stash because I dont want to waste anything.

SKIN CARE

BELO Kojic + Tranexamic Acid
My skin got used to my holy grail cleanser. I took a break from it and tried this soap. My main problem is dark spots and I need to lighten them. I noticed this soap has Salicylic and Lactic acid for antibacterial and exfoliation. It’s too harsh for the whole face. I’m using it on breakouts only. Full review will be up soon!

COSRX AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid
My current spot treatment. It’s effective to turn my cystic acne into a whitehead/that stage when it’s healing and about to dry out. I think its formulation is too strong so I dont use it for big areas on the face.

MAKE UP

THE FACE SHOP Lovely Me:Ex Stick Concealer
I lack sleep these past few weeks and my undereye area became darker. I’m reaching for TFS stick concealer to cover my dark circles. It does the job and it’s not cakey.

ETUDE HOUSE Oh M Eye Line
I think I need a liquid liner with thinner brush. I’m just using it all up. I’m practicing how to do winged liner on my monolid. I’m getting the hang of it. This liner is good for beginners because it’s easy to remove. It crumbles and doesnt smudge when you remove it.

BODY CARE

JERGENS Hydrating Coconut
I love to use this at night. It smells so good and the scent relaxes me. It’s sinks in the skin quickly and doesnt leave sticky/oily feeling.

ACCESSORIES

ETUDE HOUSE My Beauty Tool Lash Curler for Monolid
I didnt know there’s a curler specifically for monolid. It grabs the lashes easier and curls them up effectively.

BEAUTY BAR Compact Mirror
Im confident to use this mirror because my flaws are not prominent when I look at it. It has two sides, regular and a magnified one. Nope, it’s not like in the department stores. Those mirrors at makeup counters are too magnified that they just show flaws. Haha. It’s their strategy too, I guess.

MUSIC

SS501 – Love Ya
I watched Boys Before Flowers again and finished all episodes in 3 days. I was focused on Gu Jun Pyo before. This time, I was into the character of Kim Hyun Joong, Ji Hoo. I missed his group SS501 after watching the drama. Love Ya is my favorite song. I started listening to it again everyday. Seriously, it’s my LSS. I still support their group despite his issues. I’m glad their sub-group SS301 performed this year.

2NE1 songs
2NE1 is my one and only favorite girl group. They changed the Kpop game to fierce and badass in 2009. The whole fandom of blackjacks were devastated on YG Entertainment’s statement. Minzy didn’t renew her contract and she’s leaving the group. I kept on watching their last performance as 4 members at Mnet Asian Music Awards 2015. We’re waiting for their comeback for too long while the other members are doing side projects. Maknae was kinda left out. No, I’m not blaming the girls. The management should’ve done something. This is the negative side of being an artist/celebrity, income and projects are not fixed.

So that’s it. Sorry this post has too much text. I need to reduce my ramblings.😂

Review: Belo Essentials AcnePro Pimple Gel

It’s a zit zapper review again. I ran out of VMV Red Better Spot Corrector and I cant buy it because I lack money again. *student probs* So I looked for an alternative. I found Belo Pimple Gel at Watsons before. I searched for reviews and this received positive feedback…. Which made my expectations high.

Price: It’s affordable compared to other zit zappers. PHP 149.75

Packaging: it’s in a plastic tube which makes it easier to pump out the
product

Size: size is big, you get a lot of product even if it’s so affordable

Texture: Gel is not too thick and runny

Scent: reminds me of Eskinol’s pimple gel, alcohol-ish scent

Effect: For me, it takes about 1 – 2 weeks to flatten small pimples and two or more weeks for cystic acne. It didnt cause too much redness. It stings which is fine with me.

Unfortunately, my skin is different from those bloggers. Since I didnt see fast results, I still rely on Intralesional Injection a.k.a. Pimple Injection. That one’s really quick, you just have to wait for few hours to 2 days tops for cystic acne. My next target is Snoe’s
Shoozit Pink Powder. 😛

You can try this. Im pretty sure this will work for those who have mild to moderate acne. 🙂

November 2014 Mini Haul

Hi. As promised, here’s my haul. I ran out of supplies. I had to replenish or even find an alternative. It’s difficult to find my cleansing tissues at Watsons so I wanted a new one. We went to Landmark Makati for a change. I found an alternative cleansing tissue. I also bought a spot treatment because Im out of budget if I buy VMV Hypoallergenics Red Better Spot Corrector again.

Here’s the list of the products:

1. SKINLITE Make-up Cleansing Tissues (Green Tea Extract)
2. SKINLITE Make-up Cleansing Tissues (Cucumber Extract)
3. Belo Essentials AcnePro Pimple Gel
4. Skinmate Shark Oil (7.5ml) – click here for my review

So that’s it. I would love to know what products can you recommend for makeup remover, spot correctors and whitening/dark spot remover. Please share yours on the comment box below. 🙂

Review: Belo AcnePro Gel Face Wash & Treatment Toner

Hello readers! This is a quick review. I’ll be straight to the point because I don’t want to talk too much and give you information overload. Hehe. 🙂 After using these items for almost a month, I can finally share with you my thoughts.

Belo AcnePro Gel Face Wash

Pros:
-Affordable (PHP 99.75)
-No parabens
-Non comedogenic & oil free
-Lathers up quickly
-Little goes a long way

Cons:
-not sure if it was one of the reasons for my recent breakout
-Leaves a thin film for me which was kinda slimy/sticky even if I rinsed twice
-Size is too small if used daily

Belo AcnePro Treatment Toner

I’ve used up all the toner already because it’s just in a small bottle

Pros:
-Affordable (PHP 79.95)
-No parabens
-Non-comedogenic & oil free
-Fragrance-free

Cons:
-Caused my recent breakout. This was the only new product in my skincare routine since I stopped using the gel wash. But I still kept on having breakouts. I’m sure this was the reason
-Stripped natural moisture & oil. It was drying for me.
-Size is too small if used daily

A lot of people raved about these products. I have to try anything that’s for acne prone skin. They said it’s effective but not for me. I didn’t put Bee Venom as a pro since it’s not new to me. If you’re updated with Korean skincare, you’ll know what I mean.

Verdict: these are “okay” products. It’s just that my skin is extra sensitive that’s why my skin reacted differently. I checked the ingredients and Bee Venom is the only one that’s new to my skin. Now I know that my skin doesn’t like it because I kept on having breakouts. Sad.

Remember: What didn’t work for my skin, might work well for your skin or… not because we have different skin type.

July 2014 Mini Haul

Im back! Im gonna post my reviews about these products after using them for 2 to 4 weeks.

Unfortunately, LUSH Fresh Farmacy doesnt really work on my skin anymore unlike before. I need to find something that has a great effect like what Fresh Farmacy did before. I also need a good toner for acne prone skin because this semester is stressful. I only use Celeteque Hydration Toner during vacations since I use little to no makeup at all.

I repurchased Maybelline Clear Smooth All in One Foundation and Purederm Makeup Cleansing Tissues. I feel uncomfortable when I do not double cleanse (makeup remover then facial wash)

1. VMV Hypoallergenics Red Better Spot Corrector – PHP 450 approx $10
2. Purederm Makeup Cleansing Tissues (30 sheets each) – PHP 119 for 2 packs approx $2.76
3. Maybelline Clear Smooth All in One Foundation – PHP 99.75 approx $2.30
4. Belo AcnePro Gel Face Wash – PHP 99.75 approx $2.31
5. Belo AcnePro Treatment Toner – PHP 79.00 approx $1.83

Have you tried any of these products? Comment below. 😉