About 3 weeks ago,
Alive Lab from Korea contacted me and asked if I would like to try out some of their products. If you are new to this blog, you may or may not know that I am a huge K-beauty junkie. So when I received the offer, I couldn't turn them down
because who doesn't want free K-beauty products because their products looks so adorably packaged and interesting! Since I wasn't familiar with their brand, I told them to send me some products that would benefit my oily, acne-prone skin. Fast-forward to a week later, a lovely package was sent to me containing 3 products from Alive Lab.
The first product is called the
Cotton Candy Ball. I know, like
what??? When they told me that they will be sending me their Cotton Candy Ball, I was just as confused. Turns out, it's an exfoliating product that promises to eliminate blackheads! It comes in a bright and fun orange packaging which almost reminds me of candy. Opening up the sealed tub, I found a pair of tweezers attached at the top of the cap. This is for you to pick up the pre-soaked cotton balls to minimize contamination. Honestly, I just use my hands to pick them up to save time, but it's a cute addition for those who are all about the process.
I love the concept of pre-soaked cotton pads, like the Bio-Peel from Neogen and Cosrx One Step Pads. Alive Lab's Cotton Candy Ball is pretty much the same thing, but instead of cotton pads, they used cotton balls for a cuter alternative. Looking at reviews online, the Cotton Candy Ball is supposed to turn grey after you have swept it all across your face as it would have picked up any dead skin cells, blackheads, and dirt. I was super excited to see the transformation of the balls, and so I've tried it on both my face, and my
boyfriend's face, obviously with two different cotton balls. Well, my boyfriend doesn't exfoliate unless I does it for him, so I figured out that his face would have more accumulated blackheads and dead skin hehe.
Sadly, the pale orange cotton balls did not turn grey like the reviews said it would. But, it did turn into a really dull and dirty looking orange which, to be honest, looks really gross which is why I refuse to take a picture of it. Even though it looks gross, it's a great sign that it is in fact working and is effectively picking up dead skin cells!
I did enjoy using the cotton balls because they are super convenient to use and each and every piece of cotton ball is very well and equally soaked in the formula. I also love how my skin feels noticeably softer after using this product. My boyfriend and I also love the light sweet scent of the cotton balls which does reminds us of cotton candy, and it just makes the process even more pleasant. Despite the cute appearance of the cotton balls, I would prefer it to be in cotton pads so it would cover more surface area, i.e., the cotton balls are actually quite small and might be difficult to maneuver if you have large hands. Since they are so small, it also takes a (much) longer time to go over your entire face than a cotton pad would.
One tub contains 30 cotton balls to be used either daily, or as and when needed on troubled spots and areas. It is retailing at 14,000won (~S$17) which is rather reasonable if you only use it either once a day, or a couple of times a week. If you use it everyday and night as a toner though, one tub will only be able to last you for 2 weeks which is the biggest downside of this product.
The next product is Alive Lab's
Centella Dressing Powder. This is another one of Alive Lab's best selling products and it has surely garnered many positive reviews online! Once again, I was extremely excited to put this product to the test since many reviews claimed that it made their pimples disappear within a night. What kind of sorcery is that?!
This product comes in a very small bottle and the packaging just reminds me of olden days camera film. I find the price of 8,000won (~S$10) very reasonable and affordable even though it's so small, you really only need less than a pinch of product each time you use it (it you're using it as a spot treatment). Centella is a type of plant and it is a rather popular ingredient for treating pimples as it can be found in quite a number of pimple-treating or blemishes-treating products such as the Centella Blemish Cream from Cosrx.
The interesting thing about this product is that you can use it in 3 different ways. The first method is to apply it directly onto your skin. After applying all my skincare products, I apply a thin layer of this powder over any fresh pimples. The first thing I noticed is that since it's a white powder and it's not super fine or anything, it does show on my skin instead of blending out like a loose powder. Therefore, I highly recommend you to either put on a foundation to even out your skin tone, or use it only at night like I do. Unfortunately, it didn't magically eat up my pimple within a night, but after a couple of nights, I noticed that this product really helps to dry up the sebum. For smaller pimples, it did help to speed up the recovery process a little. Even though it dries up the sebum in the pimple, it didn't cause my skin to dry up and flake.
The second method is to mix it in with a skincare product which is how I usually use it. If you have pimples all over your skin, it is good to mix it together with your moisturizer, instead of patting it all over your face. If you're like me and you only breakout in certain areas and you'd prefer to use it as a spot treatment, mix it in together with your spot treatment product! I am currently loving the Oxy10 Benzoyl peroxide cream for treating my spots, and so I love to mix this in to quicken the healing process. Mixing it into a skincare product also helps it blend into your skin since I've mentioned that it does show up if you simply plop it onto your skin. The final method is to mix it in with a mask. I have yet to try this out yet as I mostly use sheet masks and clay masks.
Overall, it is very simple to use, and not to mention again, it is really reasonably priced.
The last product is Alive Lab's
Refresh Sebum powder. On first glance, this powder reminds me greatly of the InnisFree No Sebum pact. Once again, Alive Lab slayed with its adorable packaging. It comes with a matte top lid and a flipping adorable powder puff with a bow on the top. Ugh, I just can't deal with the cuteness of this powder pact!
This is essentially a powder pact which you can choose to use all over your face, or just on areas where you tend to go shiny. It helps to reduce the amount of sebum production, absorb oils, and keeps your skin matte throughout the day. If you're super oily, feel free to carry this travel-friendly-sized powder in your handbag for touch ups.
I have oily skin and I tend to go shiny on my forehead if I'm not using a mattifying powder. With a light layer of this powder before I leave my house, I didn't find it necessary to touch up often while I'm out. Other than controlling sebum production, this product do not provide any extra coverage. Therefore, if you're the kind of person who uses a tinted loose powder, or a pressed powder to set your makeup, you can simply use this as a mattifying powder while you're out instead of using it to set your makeup.
Tip: Since it helps to absorb oil, you can also use it to blot out the oils in your hair!
Overall, what can I say, I do love a cheap product that works, and it does work in keeping my skin matte. The powder is super fine which sits well on top of my foundation without causing it to cake. I also love using it to set my under eye concealer as it doesn't make it crease.
All in all, I do recommend these products for those who have oily skin to try out. In terms of pricing, I'd say that their products are clearly on the affordable side and my top favourite is definitely the Refresh Sebum powder pact as I love how it keeps my skin matte, without caking up my face. If anything, the only con about the powder is that it doesn't come with a mirror. Next in place would definitely be the Cotton Candy Balls as it was a really fun product to use and I can definitely see an improvement in my skin after using this product. The only downside to the Cotton Candy Ball is how it only contains 30 balls per tub.
Once again, thank you Alive Lab for sending me these sweet and adorable products!
Labels: beauty, face, korean, review, skincare, tips
E-Mail 
Youtube 
