Review: Glow up with HadaLabo's Kouji Treatment Essence

This is probably one of the higher end range among Hada Labo's skin care products, the Hada Labo Kouji Treatment Essence (Amazon | Shopee.MY). This 110ml bottle retails at RM120 but of course, I grab it during promo. Shopping in Malaysia be like sales 365 days a year, no kidding! Still a fan of this brand after all this years! I'm amazed how beauty brands are coming up with so many range for a dozen purposes. I have no idea how long have this been available in the market, last I checked they launched the lifting+firming and the blemish control range. Feeling so outdated! Yet at the same time, I have always been contented with my usual Innisfree or Had Labo toners to want to experiment on new ones.

What caught my attention was the minimal packaging, simple but cute bottle design but the highlight is definitely the main ingredient called "Kouji". It does smell like washed rice water with hint of sake that I'm liking!

Having been a regular with Hada Labo's toners, I was assuming it will take me 4-5 months to empty this bottle. But, guess what. I'm barely a month into using it and I'm halfway through! I'm trying to pump more gently lolwut. The difference with the regular toner bottle is the pump dispenser that as you can guess, doesn't do much ...

Still, I love how it is making my pores smaller and it's noticeable in just a few days of adding this into my beauty routine. I reckon it gives almost similar result when I tried SK-II minus being overly drying. According to my gal pal, beauty products with alcohol tends to be drying but I haven't had issues with this one. Note that I've got combination skin _ proof how applying tea tree oil doesn't give me flaky, dry skin.

 As I'm aging (lol!), I do hope that I can still maintain a firm skin and hopefully it will be two decades before the lines start showing! Speaking of aging, I just celebrated my birthday and my sis got me a cute pampering kit, the roller I had secretly wished to have but been delaying in purchasing them. So when I got it, I was happy. Only after I found out it was from her hahahaha

Thursday Plantation Rosehip Oil Review

Finally, finally bought the Thursday's Plantation Rosehip Oil I've been eyeing about a month ago. I have been wanting to try this for the longest time but had been told by a beautician that oil isn't the best thing to use especially when you have oily to combination skin. So it came as a surprise when Thursday Plantation market this as "suitable for all skin type". Well now I got permission to use, yay! Plus, I got it on discount for RM70.96 instead of the usual RM83.49 for the 25ml bottle. This is like 2.5x the price of Thursday's Plantation Green Tea Oil of the same size. Btw, I mentioned in one of my last reviews that I find the 100% tea tree oil works better for me than acne products with only a small percentage of tea tree oil so of course I had high expectations on this.

According to the packaging, "Thursday Plantation Certified Organic Rosehip Oil helps to restore radiant and healthy looking skin. Naturally rich in essential fatty acids Omega 3, 6 and 9, Vitamin A and antioxidants, Thursday Plantation Rosehip Oil helps to:

Smooth fine lines and wrinkles,

Restore a radiant complexion

Protect the skin from the signs of premature aging

Replenish the skin moisture after sun exposure

Improve the appearance of pigmentation and uneven skin tone"

First impression was not the best because when I opened the bottle, I found some gooeys sticking at the side of the bottle which implied that the oil was not stored correctly or have been left for long, which I cannot tell... Then there aren't soothing scent nor the color of the oil looks like used cooking oil! 

I experimented a drop on my hand and was very turned off when I find it oily_ seriously like cooking oil and almost decided against using it. But then I was like heck, I paid RM70++ for this tiny bottle might as well put it to use. Surprisingly, it turned out a-okay when I applied onto my face. The liquid is quite viscous unlike the tea tree oil so I dabbed on troubled area before patting them in. They absorb pretty well and do not leave greasy aftermath like what you get from applying certain brands of sunscreen or lotions.

Before I come to this sharing my findings, just so you know I have been using this oil for about 2 months by now. Result-wise, I have not seen anything noticeable which is quite a let down. I have some dark spots on my skin resulted from work-stress acnes and they didn't seem to improve at all! I also noticed that applying on my oily t-zone is a complete no-no because I would end up having tiny oil bumps (don't know if there's a name for it) the following day. Thankfully, they do not last long but that weirded me out..

This bottle of rosehip oil is holding up quite well (too well, it's ridiculous!), it looked closed to brand new despite using 2-3 drops every night. At this point, I'm just using this for the sake of emptying it. Definitely don't see myself repurchasing, perhaps I'd consider another brand but I rather try something else.