Yanwaili Anti-Blemish Line - Refining & Moisturizing Cream

Bought this along with other stuff from my Sasa.com online purchase and I've had about 2 and a half weeks of usage experience, so I'm here to report it!

I have mixed feelings with this cream! But let me tell you my review may be clouded because of my staple night cream, Ponds. You see, I've used Ponds for quite a while now, and I've never looked back. Sorry if I keep on comparing Ponds, but there's nothing else to compare for me because that's my regular skin care cream.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: Read the caution part of any skin care product if it is there. You can tell from there the allergens that may be present in the product so you can avoid what's bad for you. Luckily, I'm not allergic I don't think I have any allergies to anything at all!

Don't forget to read the ingredients list. For this cream, we can see there are parabens in the list! Parabens are kind of a taboo in skincare, but for me, there is nothing singularly wrong about having Parabens in the ingredientst list because they act as "preservatives" that keep products from going bad doubly fast. I have read this info:

Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) concluded that parabens were safe as long as they did not constitute more than 25% of a product’s content.  Parabens are found in levels ranging from 0.01% to 0.3% in skincare products.  Additionally, the FDA has determined that parabens are safe for use in cosmetic products.

But! If you are still not comfortable with parabens in your skincare, then Yanwaili is not for you. But the good thing about it is that it has good ingredients when it comes to ANTI-BLEMISH:

Glycerel Stearate, Salicilic Acid, and Allantonin.

If you're a hard core anti-paraben person, or are pregnant, or pro-organic, then it's best to save your money and buy something else.

Now with this Yanwaili cream, you can see from the size that it's a bit smaller. My night cream is bigger and for almost the same price =__= It looks cuter though since Yanwaili looks really nice with the silver cap and white bottle jar. I like that the packaging looks nice and refreshing, you can never really mess up the green + white color combination.

I used this replacing my beloved Ponds cream for a while, but it's really not up to par.... Thus my separation anxiety from my favorite Ponds cream. Having Yanwaili didn't help as I thought it would nor did it change my heart into using this.

Consistency:
The very consistency of Yanwaili Cream above is very light, more liquid than cream, actually!

Smell:
If you could go back to the ingredients list, you will see FRAGRANCE branded there. But in my experience, there was very little to no fragrance at all. The Ponds cream I normally used had this calming floral fragrance that's not cloying, but I was okay with Yanwaili cream but I found it to smell too earthy. Maybe I'm too used to light fragrance now.

You can see above the actual cream when applied on the skin. It looks thicker there because I put a bit more than what I normally would apply on my face.

But it gets soaked in fast! See below

Actual Application:
Once I apply on my face, it is immediately absorbed. It felt very nice while applying though I get bothered by the earthy smell sometimes. I find that when I use Yanwaili, it leaves a very moisturized looking face. I really like how moisturizing this cream is.

But I don't know, I feel like this isn't for oily-faced or combination at all since it's very moisturizing and I oil up a lot because of this.

Repurchase:

I would not. I think that my Ponds cream wins versus this Yanwaili cream. I would continue using this until it runs out to get the maximum benefit of this anti-blemish product.

That's about it for the Yanwaili Cream... Stay tuned for more reviews from my Sasa.com Purchase.

Thank you for reading!

Beauty Product Orders Have Arrived - Good Job, Sasa.com!

I can't believe it you guys! Our parcel is here in all its glory!

Last July 7 I processed the order together with my friends a group purchase in Sasa.com and we are so delighted that it came ON TIME! I'm like the #1 DOUBTER of international shipping, I've been burned plenty from my International transactions getting lost, not getting to me properly, having exorbitant fees to pay for shipping and etc. But Sasa.com has completely removed all those bad memories!


Box of Goods from Sasa.com

Now this is gonna sound like I'm kissing Sasa.com's butt... I am not, but I am just so happy with them! For real! Safe transaction (Paid with my CC, transaction went well and was secured!), REAL OFFER of FREE SHIPPING (some online shops offer free shipping but have so many fine print about this and that fees, don't you think???) and the best part of all, I was very surprised at the efficiency of Sasa.com customer service in handling adding of items even though it was dispatched (they charged us $5.00 since we miscalculated the products and had to add one more to get the Free Shipping, but what's $5.00 in exchange of $60.00 expedited shipping, right? Hahah.) and it went from there without a hitch at all!

Now it comes the hard part... praying for ourselves... PRAYING THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE ALLEGEDLY SUPER HIGH CUSTOMS FEE! I researched high and low for the computation for customs tax and fee and all those things, and I came up with like P1,500-- almost half of the entire purchase of our box! We crossed our fingers, held on to the faith that Davao Postal Office would never screw us like that... I was even worried because the parcel wasn't delivered to my house, I had to claim it and had to pay a "fee". URK.

I went there... and what do you  know? Prayers are really answered. Here is the receipt I got after claiming the package.

YEP! P40.00! They increased by P5.00 and I've never been so happy. :)))

Sasa.com is upfront with their items, they even have a printed receipt for you including the items that are within the parcel. But!! Davao Postal is SOOOOOOOOOOO good to its Davaoenos... It doesn't charge us unnecessarily like other metropolitan cities do! Look at the Philippine Postal Office Horror stories everywhere in the net and here and here... So I say, I salute you Davao Postal Office! THANK YOU! I love DAVAO.

And here are some of the things we got: I'll try to name them once I list down the products from my Sasa.com account... But as you can see we have the Yanwaili Anti-Blemish series in cream and essence, as well as the Hada Labo Tamagohada Cleanser and Shirojyun Lotion, the Naive (by Kanebo) Peach Cleanser, Lancome Hydrazen Toner, C+M, Pinky Black Head Masque, and a free Butterfly hair clip from Sasa.com

There are plenty more not in the picture above because we were so excited to take the pictures of them altogether, we snatched the products one by one!

I now officially love Sasa.com! Expect many more orders from me and please don't change your speedy customer service and your expedited free shipping too!

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Ordering Internationally: Sasa.com

Sorry for my upsetting post the other day.... Steam has blown so I'm more mellowed out now.

International online shopping has always filled me with happiness, excitement, want, anxiety and so much depression. A lot of times I see the stuff I've always wanted to have, with the cheapest prices as compared to the price tag of the online sellers I see around. The only downside is, which negates the cheap price, is the EXORBITANT shipping that depresses me so much.

I've once wanted clothes, accessories, skin care and a bit of cosmetics that I saw in online stores where the seller lived in another country. The last one I remember was an online shop that sold Washi Wallets, wallets made from Japanese Washi paper, that I love-- Shown below:

Image taken from LeaK Arts

The wallet was just about $5.00, but the shipping! OMG the shipping... $15.00! KA-CHING! I could buy 3 more wallets with it! :( That's why I you can understand how I tried (in vain!) staying away from International shops even though their products make my eyes sparkle! :DDD

I am now sooooo happy there is SASA.COM! I know I'm a bit late, but better than never, right? Kind of made me so giddy knowing that their FREEEEEEEE SHIPPING works! Pooled with my friends and ordered about $75 worth of goods and we were all set. You can check out or orders below:


Their customer service is great, very straightforward. I AM SOOOOO Happy I got the Hada Labo Shirojyun Lotion at a low price!





I've long wanted the entire range Shirojyun range, but I want to take care not to buy too much for my initial order. Maybe if our order comes without a hitch then I will be very happy and continue to order from Sasa.com!



I will continue to update and will give word once I receive the parcel

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Your Stance: RH Bill VS. Catholics

I've come to terms with the fact that I have no legal background to speak of so I would have the right to wave about cases, laws, ordinances; I'm not a Doctor/Obstetrician that I can freely give medical information about the body or how the reproductive cycle goes; and finally I have no religious nor political affiliations that I seek to promulgate. I am a private citizen who has a stance, a voice, using this post as a platform acting like a megaphone for all who would care to hear.

I am Pro-RH Bill. But I hope, even if you are on the opposing side, you wouldn't stop at that sentence in the spirit of give and take of information and understanding what you may have thought of as 'the dark side' as well.

The debate has not ceased, it has even generated a better, wider audience. And even those who have not even heard or seen the actual bill draft have preconceived notions and prejudices already, whether it's from a religious, political, or personal (mix of the two?) standpoint. And those are all we are entitled to have.

Maybe I made this post after all the confusing mix of articles, comments, legislation drafts, what my parents said, what our leaders replied has finally caught up with me. It's so easy to question anything: You read so and so article, does that article even have credibility? You said so and so's stance is this and that, what makes you think he is an expert? You believe in this and that organized political/religious groups, what makes you think what they think is right?

In these times, I have been left to my own devices, much like everyone I know in the face of these contradicting but at the same time very profound ideas. In the end, it all boils down to ourselves, we side with what we truly value in life, and what we want to uphold.

They say "You can be the change that you want to see in the world", and at this point, I want those who view otherwise to know that being Pro-Contraception does not mean you are automatically an evil person who wants to kill off an unborn child, who wants women to mutilate their bodies and put cancer inside them by getting on the Pill. Who thinks a couple who has sex without procreation in mind is going to have their names marked in the list of people going straight to hell.

I do not want to kill a child. On a personal level, I love babies, I love children, I adore my nieces and nephews, I once worked for an NGO Child Care Crisis Center. But I am completely Pro-Contraception. Does that mean I wished for these children to have never been born in the first place? I hope anyone won't go that low to insult me or to those that share the same sentiments as I do. I am Pro-Contraception because I have seen the ways it wounds a child to be unprotected, unsheltered or living low in love because the parents were not ready to shoulder a grave responsibility or add another head to their abundant family; or how a bright, young one is scarred for life when he or she is considered--as it is commonly termed in an untactful society--an "unwanted child".

I am not saying that Contraception is the only answer to stop having unwanted children, because it is not. My point remains that here is a bridging correlation between preventing pregnancy and contraceptives. Core point is: you, or with a partner, mutually chose to not have children yet but still enjoy the benefits of a loving union.

Now, the case that Catholics have is the notion, taken from various Dogmas and other holy documents, pertaining to the primal end of marriage and sexual activities. Both are made for procreation. It is something that I personally agree with in the Judeo-Christian tradition that: Sex is unitive and procreative in nature. (Of course it is, not unless you are unable to bear due to medical reasons, which is an entire can of worms altogether.) Now that Artificial Birth Control methods have long been laid out on the table and the fact that there is a new proposed bill to strengthen the campaign, it clashes violently with the Natural Family Planning that the Church approves of as they see that only the Unitive nature of sex is being upholded, which gave rise to the notions such as: "Birth control enables us to use our spouses as objects for pleasure, without the potential for self-sacrificial life-giving love". Given that we can now use sex for pleasure only, it makes the Catholic Tradition that God designed sex for Procreation null, causing the uproar and moral reprehension of those that support the bill.

Admittedly, it's hard for me to follow through with a lot of religious blogs that banner these statements because they only cover those who are under their wing, the pious dominant. But what about us, the margin, who do not follow their Dogma? The religious may call me morally corrupted, atheist, evil, but who are they to say that? Yes, the Philippines is predominantly Christian, but don't immediately rule out other religions as well, not everyone is a Christian or a Catholic.

It's your God and your beliefs, as I have mine. But I am not shoving my own God to your face and calling you evil and morally corrupt just because you don't follow my God. You only have a Catholic Viewpoint, and this viewpoint, as mine, is limited in scope and breadth, it only covers those who share it. Please do not impose on me your rules which I believe do not apply to me. Yes, you are entitled to your ideas, but you are not entitled to shove it to my face and call me names if I don't accept yours as my own.

NOTE: This note was not meant to alienate or anger anyone, I have tried to sound impartial as I wrote this in a calm, even though sleepy, manner. It's 3:22 AM and I have to go to work early, but this is something I can't just shake off with one sleep. If you have any comment to add, reactions that you want me to read, please comment below or mail me at its.the.crazy.country.air@gmail.com !

Thank you for reading.