REVIEW: MARY & MAY

Fascinated by their philosophy that aims for clean beauty that captures good ingredients in full disclosure, I decided to join the “Try Me Review Me” by Style Korean Global. 

Another South Korean beauty brand, Mary & May’s ingredients are all EWG green grade and free from 16 harmful ingredients that can cause skin troubles and irritations. 

As a freelance product developer myself, I do appreciate a thoroughly well-thought products. Of course, ingredients are important, but so do labeling, wording, and packaging. Personally, I believe Mary & May scored on all of these. Just look at the labels, no fancy names, easy to decode even for beginners, and they transparently disclose how much of the ingredients are included. They state their concentration in both, PPM (stands for Parts Per Million) and Percentages. I will explain more about PPM below on one of the products’s review, so you can get clearer understanding. 

I also appreciate a little note from their researchers, tagged on the serum bottle.

They note that Idebenone (one of their main actives) is not easily soluble in solvents, but they’re using raw materials with the appropriate technology to increase the solvents’ solubility and skin penetration rate.

Overall I can say that Mary & May has this luxurious feel and touch without the luxury price. 

Let’s start the review of each products, shall we?

WHITE COLLAGEN CLEANSING FOAM 
The first ingredient in the list is a whooping Hydrolyzed Collagen at 46.6%. You see, collagen is a major component of our skin and it will help to strengthen, hydrate and great for elasticity. It also has 1% Niacinamide to help with brightening, hence the name White Collagen. With milky white texture that foams up well (not overly foamy), it has a slight green scent but very gentle ones. On my oily skin, it cleanse them up without any slippery feel. But I believe, it’ll also do good on dry skin, because it doesn’t strip the skin at all. 

VITAMIN B5 + BIFIDA TONER
First, I love the thick glass pump bottle. Since I never travel anymore during this pandemic, I don’t mind glass packaging at all, and it’s great for the earth too. It contains 30,000 ppm of Bifida Ferment Lysate and 1,000 ppm of Vitamin B5 aka Panthenol. That means 0,03% of Bifida and 0,001% of Panthenol. So why they stated on ppm rather than the percentages? Well, actually it just sounds more sophisticated because ppm is commonly used in the lab. But personally, I think it’s better to write big numbers rather than zero point something, right? It’s watery and has a slight herbal fragrance, IMHO it’s better to use without cotton pads. I also recommend this hydrating toner for CSM. 

IDEBENONE + BLACKBERRY COMPLEX SERUM 
Taken from the note of their researchers, which is tagged on the serum glass bottle, the orange shade is the original color from the antioxidant that they use, Idebenone and Blackberry Extract. They said that Idebenone is better than vitamin C, to make skin more healthy looking with less hyperpigmentation and wrinkles. Basically, this is a good serum to reduce the visible signs of aging without feeling oily and sticky. It’s also fragrance free and placed inside an amber colored pipette serum bottle. 

IDEBENONE + BLACKBERRY INTENSE CREAM
At first, I was skeptical because of the name. But when I applied it with the spatula provided inside the box, I know why this cream is one of their best sellers. It glides smoothly, doesn’t feel heavy like most anti-aging creams that I’ve tried. It just melts and sinks right away on skin, giving it a slightly dewy but healthy (not oily) look. Beside Idebenone (500 ppm) and Blackberry Extract (63%), it also contains 5 types of ceramides, so it’s great to strengthen our skin barrier and helps to brighten as well. Oh, have I mentioned I love the sturdy yet luxurious feel glass jar? 

You can purchase Mary & May products, here

PHOTOS & VIDEO BY SHINTA ROSVITA

OCTOBER 2021 HAUL

ALL K-BEAUTY HAUL

ROUND LAB 1025 DOKDO TONER
Instead of using the real sea water to treat acne, like people on TikTok (seriously??!!), this toner contains sea water that has been processed specifically for skin. It also contains panthenol to reduce irritation and allantoin (which I personally prefer than Centella Asiatica) to soothe the skin, especially acne prone skin. 
Price IDR 155K for 200ml

S NATURE AQUA SQUALANE WRINKLE MOISTURIZING CREAM
Impressive ingredients list for a complete skin barrier moisturizer. Two of the top fives are squalane which acts as emollient, and glycerin as humectant. Because I try to save lately, I opt for a moisturizer which have both humectant and emollient in it, so I don’t have to purchase two separate moisturizers for my night time routine (FYI, I skip moisturizer step in the morning to prevent maskne). 
Price IDR 350K for 80ml

MISSHA AQUA SUN GEL SPF50+ PA++++
If you’ve been following me long enough, you’d know that I love my SkinAqua sunscreen. Time to try something new, which relatively easier to find locally. It is categorized as chemical sunscreen, with glacial water as one of the hero ingredient. Yes, it still contains Alcohol Denat and Silica (which can be drying for some), but I do like the matte effect on my oily skin. 
Price IDR 139K for 50ml (bought it on sale)

PHOTO & VIDEO: SHINTA ROSVITA

REVIEW: SOLELUNA HYDRATING FACE WASH

Cleansing our face is by far the most effective and basic routine to keep our skin clear and healthy. With so many choices out there, it’s not hard to pick one that suits your skin’s need.

So, why use Hydrating ones? Does it effective to remove dirt and other debris? Of course! Hydrating Face Wash can remove those things with a bonus: protecting skin.

Soleluna Hydrating Face Wash only contains 10 ingredients on the list, SLS-free and with additional Glycerin as humectant, it won’t strip the skin of its natural moisture. It is still foamy, in fact when added with a small amount of water, it will form an enjoyable liquid mochi texture (almost feel like snail mucin). And for those who are sensitive to fragrance, this is fragrance-free.

With additional actives, Zinc PCA, it’s also great for if you have oily and acne-prone skin. Overall, it is a simple face wash with affordable price (IDR 70K), a great cleanser to start off your skincare steps.

VIDEO: SHINTA ROSVITA
SCREENSHOT FROM INCIDECODER

HOW TO CONCEAL DARK CIRCLES | STEP BY STEP



Big shout out to my friend, Dery from BLP Beauty Team who sent me these concealers to try. 

I am a big fan of concealer since the day I knew makeup. And now, on my freelance days during the pandemic, I might not wearing full base makeup, but concealer is still my go-to. Thanks to dark circles and coronasomnia (sleeping problems during pandemic), uneven skin tone, redness here and there.

Got 3 shades to try: Vanilla and Peach are the latest shades. Priced at IDR129K each. Infused with chamomile extract, great for anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-irritant and calming properties. 

You can layer for higher coverage. Creamy yet easy to blend, with medium to high coverage and long staying power (great behind the mask). Personally I like more dense texture as it’s easier to apply and blend seamlessly, than liquid ones. 

Peach shade is more of a corrector, to cancel out blue and purple hues from dark circles. Apply a little, dab to set and layer with concealer. I used all 3 shades they sent to me: Vanilla, Peach & Light. Please check out the YT videos for the result, and don’t forget to like & subscribe.

BOTOX (AGAIN AFTER 5 YEARS)

Yes, due to lots of things happened in my life, including this global pandemic situation, I just had my Botox again, after 5 years of Botox hiatus (read my previous experience, here).

I did my second Botox Treatment at Jakarta Aesthetic Clinic with Dr Olivia Ong, you can check them out here

Why Botox if you might ask? Well, like most of people I do love my skincare products, but seriously how far can they go? I read it somewhere (I forgot where), skincare and botox are like diet and exercise. To achieve a successful and maximal result for your body, you need both to complement each other. 

Many did it earlier in their late 20’s for preventative botox, but for me it’s all about getting treatment, not just to relax wrinkles. And mine was not just a conventional Botox, obviously. It was like getting a facelift without surgery, very important for a woman my age, with problems on lower face.  

Please help to like & subscribe to my YouTube channel 

[VLOG] SKINCARE & DRUGSTORE’S HAUL

Yes, my lovely readers, I also have a YT Channel here, sharing vlog and my shopping trip, haul, etc.

On my latest episode, I share my haul from a local drugstore. I rarely went out on this pandemic, and when I did, I’ll make sure I checked out local drugstores to find new and interesting new products to try.

FROM SHAMPOO TO TONER

Hope you’ll enjoy my vlog on YT, appreciate it if you leave comment and subscribe to my YT Channel.

VIDEO: SHINTA ROSVITA

THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR 

This is the video that started this previous post (why I decided to do botox and filler on my birthday last year).

Enjoy the video as much as we did making it 🙂

VIDEO: JAKARTA AESTHETIC CLINIC