My Swanicoco PR Package - The Closer Look

Have you ever received a PR package from a brand or a company? If you are a blogger or simply a product reviewer like me, you know that receiving a free box of goodies is always a good thing! Especially if it's from a great brand that you have been wanting to try. I recently received my first PR package from Swanicoco and I'd love to share you guys what I received.

If you are not familiar with the Swanicoco Brand, here's some background:

• It is a Korean Beauty Brand that claims to be nature-based.
• They are committed to ensuring that each Swanicoco product is consists of 90% to 100% natural ingredient.
• Swanicoco harnesses Korea’s high-tech biotechnology to provide products with not just time-honored botanical ingredients but those that are science-based, ranging from epidermal growth factors to snail mucin to fermented ingredients.
• Originally founded in 2000 by Seong Chunseon as a way to treat her family’s sensitive skin.
• Today, Swanicoco boasts a collection of over 150 products, ranging from skincare and color cosmetics to hair and body care and, of course, Seong’s fermented soaps.

I recently found out that they have a so-called Project SWANs where they send curated products for chosen reviewers. I was so happy to stumble upon this post on their Instagram account and more thrilled when my application has been approved!

After 2 weeks from the approval notice, I received the much-awaited package. Although my box came in soaking wet for some reason, I was glad that the products inside were all safe. I was amazed to see an amazing assortment of full-size products!

These are the products I received:

💗Biocellpure FGF Pure Ampoule - $53.00

💗Lifetime Saver Biocream - $42

💗Bioferment Fermentation Snail Care Skin Toner - $15

💗Bioferment Fermentation Snail Care Emulsion - $15

💗5 different sheet masks: 

     ⏩Dr.Syul 2GF Bio Mix Mask Pack - $4

     ⏩Dr.Syul Swanicoco Golden Time Leap Mask Pack  - $2

     ⏩Dr.Syul Swanicoco Shining Luminous Mask Pack 

     ⏩The Bio Nature Daily Swan Mask Pack  - $5

     ⏩Overnight Intensive Recharching Hydrogel Masklack - $3

Yes! This PR package cost around $140 in total!😱😍😄 I am so grateful! Review of each product will be coming soon here on my blog. Stay tuned!

Disclaimer: These products were sent to me complimentary by Swanicoco as part of their Project Swans 2.  All opinions are my own.

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FoodAHolic Grain Natural Essence Mask Review

Another face mask I have the pleasure of reviewing complimentary from Skin18. So let's see how my experience has been.

As most of you already know, I am a face mask lover. So when I discover the Blogger Pack Program of Skin18, I did not hesitate to apply! This was already my 2nd masks I received from them, and currently, I am a Level 2 Blogger in Skin18, which means, I received 2 masks.

Both of the masks I received was the FoodAHolic Grain Natural Essence Mask. This mask, as the name implies, contains grain extracts such as Phaseolus Radiatus (Mung Bean) Seed Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, and Glycine Max (Soybean) Seed extract. These grain extracts claim to supply nutrition to the skin and prevent roughness and dryness to make it glow.

The main claims are NUTRITION & REVITALIZATION. But it also focuses on Smoothing, Wrinkle-improvement, Moisturizing, and improving the elasticity of the skin. 

This was my first 3D-shape mask. It was kind of an odd shape with a seam in the middle but the fit and adherence were both great, it actually covered my entire chin well. It has a nice smell and the essence was just enough, not too dripping.

I left it for 20 minutes on my face and my skin felt soft after.  It has no "wow" effect but it was a good mask in terms of being moisturizing and smoothing.

Ingredients List

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can check out this product here: https://skin18.com/products/foodaholic-3d-grain-natural-essence-mask.

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me complimentary by Skin18 as part of their Reviewer/Blogger Program for testing and reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

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Home Tester Club: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in Terra-Coppa Review

Although I am as lazy as a Panda or as sleepy as a Sloth, I love painting my nails occasionally. I was fortunate enough to be selected by Home Tester Club to try Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel in Terra-Coppa.

This is my first product from Home Tester Club, and and I was so thrilled to be selected. I love nail polishes!

They sent me the Terra-Coppa shade which is a rose gold metallic nail polish. I am not  fan of  metallic or glittery-looking colors but this is definitely an exception. It just looks so pretty!

Aside from the nail polish they also sent me the volume top coat which is the second step to complete the salon-quality looking nails.

The nail polish glides smoothly during application. I applied 2 coats as instructed and it came out beautifully! To finish it off, I applied 1 coat of the Miracle Gel Top Coat and it shines with elegance! I read some reviews that the drying time was way too long. But from my own experience, the nail polish dries out fast. And it couldn't be faster without the help of my Panda Nail Polish dryer.

I never tried a manicure gel from the salon, the only thing I know is that they look pretty and they're expensive. But to be able to achieve awesome looking nails for a cheaper price is a steal. And this is what you will achieve with Sally Hansen's Miracle gel.

Now, for the "long-lasting" claim, I might say it won't last 14 days if you are constantly using your hands. Although, for the 6 days that I am wearing this nail polish, there is only one finger that chips out at the tip, but everything still looks great. I might say it will last for about 8-10 days in total given that I am consistently using my hands to do all sort of things - cooking, cleaning, washing the dishes, opening packages, etc.

But with all the nail polishes that I tried before, I will have to say that this is by far the best. And did I mention that they have a wide range of color selections? Yes, around 27 shades.

Have your tried this Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel before? How was your experience? Comment below!

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me complimentary by Home Tester Club for testing and reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

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Y.F.M. Exfoliating Foot Peeling Mask Review

Have you ever tried a peeling foot mask before? Have you ever wonder how it works or what it does? Wonder no more as I share to you my first-foot peeling mask experience.

I personally suffer from callous and dry feet, especially on my right foot (for some reason).  As most of you know, I love face masks but I actually never tried a foot mask before and I was so glad to be given this opportunity of trying one for free,

I received a complimentary Y.F.M. Exfoliating Foot Peeling Mask to try and review. I was so excited since I read a lot of good reviews about this foot mask in Amazon.

Cost: $13.98 (Prime)

Where: Amazon.com

Peeling Feet Mask & Nutritious Feet Mask Pair

The box comes with 2 different masks - the Peeling Feet Mask and the Nutritious Feet Mask.  The Peeling Feet Mask was meant to be used first. With its milk and variety of plant extract ingredients, it helps in the peeling-off of thick calluses which in turn leaves the skin soft and silky.

The Peeling Feet Mask

The instructions are pretty straightforward so using it was a no-brainer. First, you have to make sure your feet are clean and dry before using the product. The feet masks are attach to each other so you have to cut it open. After wearing the masks, massage the foot gently to ensure the essence are evenly exposed to the skin. The sticker on each of the mask is helpful to seal and keep the mask steady and fit to the ankle (although I had problems securing it and making it stick, really).  You need to leave the mask on for 60 - 90 minutes (1 and a half hours) and then rinse thoroughly with water.

Chilling out.

After 2 days, my feet began shredding all the unwanted dry skin! It was literally shredding and peeling-off and my husband always cringe whenever he sees it. He thought it was painful and for the record, I always told him it was painless. 

Look at all those skin! (gross I know)

I started soaking my feet in warm water, about 20 minutes, for the next 4 days until my feet stop shredding (the shredding for me only took 4 days, for others, it may take up to 7 days). Now its time to use the other mask - Nutritious Feet Mask. This mask contains a variety of plant extracts which includes rose oil that deeply replenishes necessary nutrients and water to the feet while restoring the skin's elasticity and giving back the smooth and soft feel.

2nd Mask - Nutritious Feet Mask

This mask looks just like the first mask. I massage each foot for 2-3 minutes to enhance penetration once I put on the mask. I left it for about 20 minutes. Then afterward, I rinse it with clear water. My skin felt silky smooth and my feet became baby-soft!

My baby-soft feet :)

Ingredients: 

Note: You can only use this mask twice every month. You cannot use if you have skin injuries and if you are pregnant or lactating. Also, please do not use hands to tear the old cuticle and scrub when they scrapped to avoid causing injury. 

Have you ever used this foot mask or any foot mask before? Let me know in the comment below!

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me for a heavily discounted price for testing and reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

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L'oreal Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Intensive Moisturizer - #Revitaliftchallenge

L'oreal was generous enough to send a 14-day sample of their new Revitalift Triple Power Intensive Anti-Aging Day Cream Moisturizer to women across the US and fortunately, I was one of them. How was my experience? Read along.

To be able to tell if a product would be effective for you, samples are very important. And of course, an adequate amount would be needed to be able to try the product and see results afterward. L'oreal went above and beyond by giving their consumer, not only a week of complimentary samples, but a 2-week supply (14 day samples) to try their Revitalift Triple Power Intensive Anti-Aging Day Cream Moisturizer. These ample amount of samples are definitely enough to tell if its worth the buy. 

I remember how excited I was upon receiving the samples in the mail. It comes in small pods and I love how it has the days on each (explicitly shown Day 1 - Day 14). I honestly sometimes lost track of the days so for me, this was helpful. The small pod was to be used AM and PM. The thing I found hard with these samples was to balance the amount to two uses. Although, this was just me and I am not complaining about it.

 The product itself has a creamy texture, and mind you, the smell was amazing! Although I prefer my skin care or beauty product to have no fragrance, the smell of this cream is tolerable to my sensitive sense of smell. These small pods have more than enough product to cover your entire face and neck. 

Last day - Day 14 :)

This product claims to visibly reduce wrinkles, re-firm skin and smooth skin's texture. During the 14-day #RevitaliftChallenge, I can honestly say that I achieved those claims. I love the intensive moisturizing feature of this product since we are now experiencing the colder season and my skin needs all the moisture and hydration it can get. It leaves me no sticky or tacky feeling when applied and it glides smoothly on to the face. This product is perfect for those who are looking for an anti-aging cream that keeps the skin moisturized.

1

All used up!

The following are the full list of Ingredients:

AQUA / WATER • GLYCERIN • ISOHEXADECANE • ISOPROPYL ISOSTEARATE 

• HYDROXYPROPYL TETRAHYDROPYRANTRIOL • ALUMINUM STARCH OCTENYLSUCCINATE • PROPYLENE GLYCOL • NYLON-12 • OCTYLDODECANOL • CETYL ALCOHOL • AMMONIUM POLYACRYLDIMETHYLTAURAMIDE / AMMONIUM POLYACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE • BEHENYL ALCOHOL • DIMETHICONE • C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN • PEG-100 STEARATE • STEARIC ACID • STEARYL ALCOHOL • ARACHIDYL ALCOHOL • TRIETHANOLAMINE • CETEARYL ALCOHOL • CETEARYL GLUCOSIDE • SODIUM HYALURONATE • PALMITIC ACID • ADENOSINE • DISODIUM EDTA • DISODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE • HYDROLYZED HYALURONIC ACID • CAPRYLOYL SALICYLIC ACID • LAURETH-7 • POLYACRYLAMIDE • POLYETHYLENE • METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE • METHYLPARABEN • PHENOXYETHANOL • CI 15985 / YELLOW 6 • CI 19140 / YELLOW 5 • CI 77891 / TITANIUM DIOXIDE • MICA • LINALOOL • ISOEUGENOL • LIMONENE • CITRONELLOL • BENZYL ALCOHOL • PARFUM / FRAGRANCE

Have you taken the #RevitaliftChallenge too? What are your thoughts about it? Leave your comments below!

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me complimentary by L'oreal for testing and reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

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Simple & Easy Banana Bread Recipe

Does this look like appetizing to you?😁 Well, oh well, as not a lot of you know, when I was younger, one of my frustrations was baking. Now that I have more time, I was able to bake twice this week! And this would be my first recipe I will be sharing here on my blog - my Banana Bread Recipe.

Simple & Easy Banana Bread

Prep time: 10- 15 minutes
Bake Time: 50 - 55 minutes
Recipe makes: 1 loaf
Skill Level: Easy

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Medium Bananas (overripe bananas are perfect!)
• 3/4 cup sugar (I used the SPLENDA® Naturals Sugar & Stevia Sweetener Blend I received free from Crowdtap for sampling purposes😉) Tip: You can also substitute sugar with honey👍
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Egg
• 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 tablespoon of Cinnamon or Vanilla extract (I prefer the Vanilla flavor but Cinnamon is a good choice too!)

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350℉ 
• Mash the bananas in a large bowl. (As mentioned overripe bananas are great since they are soft and easy to mash). 
• Add the egg, sugar and cooking oil to the mashed bananas.
• Add the remaining ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon or vanilla extract to the banana mixture.
• Grease the bottom and the sides of a loaf pan with a cooking spray.
• Baked for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Allow pan to cool down for 10 minutes.
• Removed your bread from the pan. (You'll find it easier to remove the bread when you run a butter or bread knife around the edges of the bread). Turn the pan over onto your wire rack (or a plate, like what I did, since I do not currently have a wire rack😂) then your banana loaf of bread should come out clean and easy.
• Allow the bread to fully cool before serving.

First baked Banana Bread!

For more easy recipes, check out Pinterest! I found a lot of easy to make bread recipes in there and tried to make it as my own adding some personal touch. While you're at it, follow me too and I will follow back.😉

Let me know in the comment if you tried this recipe and how did it go!

Recipe adapted from Thrifty T's Treasures I found on Pinterest.

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Dermal Pearl Collagen Essence Mask Review

I have been using a facial mask for quite a while now. But this would be my first time reviewing one here in my blog since I usually post my detailed review on my Instagram account.

Well, I hope you enjoy my first Face Mask Blog review, and hopefully, I can post here more often!

So the first mask I will have the pleasure of reviewing is the Dermal Pearl Collagen Essence Mask. To tell you honestly, I have already tried quite a few Dermal Collagen Essence Mask, and as far as I can say, I love all of them!

This particular Pearl Mask was one of my favorites. Its main features are moisturizing, convergence, and brightening. 

The main ingredients are 0.02% Pearl Powder and 0.2% Hydrolyzed Collagen. The Pearl Powder has found to be of benefits to keep the skin younger-looking and beautiful. It also helps in reducing pore size, lightening the skin’s tone and improving its texture. While on the other hand, Hydrolyzed Collagen helps in supplying amino acids that are necessary for healthy skin. 

Other ingredients include the following:

Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Aloe Barbadensis, Leaf Juice, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Beta-Glucan, Panthenol, Tocopherylacetate, Polysorbate 80, Disodium Edta, Xanthan Gum, Perfume, Methylparaben. 

This is generally how I used the mask:

1. Wash off my face, let it dry and apply my usual toner.

2. Remove the sheet mask from the package and unfold it.

3. Put the mask on the face avoiding the eyes and mouth area.

4. Let the mask sit on the face for 20 minutes.

Tip: Refrigerate the mask before using for a refreshing facial treatment.

My overall experience:

The sheet mask has enough essence on it - considerably wet. This mask fits and adheres great on the contours of my face. It has a great smelling mild fragrance too. I love the slightly cooling effect of it on my face. My face was still wet after I removed the mask, so I have to pat dry the remaining essence.

It left my skin felt sticky for a while but made it feeling refreshed and moisturized after. It has also made my skin clearer and brighter.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can check out this product here: https://skin18.com/products/dermal-pearl-collagen-essence-mask.

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me complimentary by Skin18 as part of their Reviewer/Blogger Program for testing and reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

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Crowdtap Mission: Unilever Sample Box #3

Crowdtap has been super awesome lately! There have been several Unilever Sample Box Missions, and I was able to get 2 boxes!

This was one of the Unilever Boxes that I've gotten from them.

This Unilever Sample Box includes 4 full-sized products! Yes, you read it right - FULL-SIZED products! I was expecting at least a deluxe sample-sized products but was astonished and excited when I opened the box. What a generous sampling mission from Crowdtap and Unilever indeed!

My box includes 2 Suave Hairsprays - Suave Professionals Flexible Control Finishing Hairspray and Suave Professionals Flexible Control Non-Aerosol Hairspray,  2 Degree Motionsense Anti-aspirant and deodorant in Sheer Powder and Daisy Fresh.

Both the Degree Anti-Perspirant and Deodorant have a good smell. The Daisy Fresh smells like a flower and the Sheer Powder, as its name implies, has a powdery smell. I love that they do not leave a sticky feeling when applied and the smell last pretty long as well. I do not sweat a lot, so I don't feel the need of an antiperspirant ingredient on my deodorant. However, this claims to provide a 48-hour protection that would be useful for individuals with an active lifestyle. I would find these useful going to the gym and walking or running in the park. If you ask me what my favorite scent between the two is, it would be the Sheer Powder.

On the other hand, the Suave Hairsprays have a fabulous smell as well! I do not usually use hairsprays since I love my straight hair which I do not have problems styling. However, at times, I want to curl it, but since my hair is super straight, it won't curl no matter how long I leave the curler on my head without putting any hairspray on it. These hairsprays help me out to have beautiful curls that stay in place. What's the difference between the two? First, the Flexible Control Finishing Hairspray is an Aerosol one that is why it's in a can while the other hairspray, as it clearly states in its name, is a Non-Aerosol with a plastic packaging. Secondly, the Non-Aerosol Hairspray has a Sebastian® Shine Define® while the Finishing Hairspray has Sebastian® Shaper® Zero Gravity.

Both hairsprays are Salon Proven and promise 24-hour Hold with zero crunches. I love how they keep your hair in place without the sticky and frizzy feeling that most hairsprays leave behind. I also like the fact that it helps smooth away frizz and flyaways with its humidity defense complex.

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me complimentary by Crowdtap for testing and reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

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