*YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS*
Hi girls, I'm so excited to share with y'all this blog post. Took awhile to churn this out ever since Albion sent me their range of Exage products cos I wanted to really try out the products for at least a month to give you an accurate and unbiased review. The first time I heard about Albion was when KayKay wrote about it and subsequently from my other friends. Everyone I know who has tried Albion always says AWESOME stuff about it so when I heard Albion was sending me products, you can imagine how happy and excited I was. I felt like I was gonna embark on a better journey for my skin.....which is essentially the case (:
Before I started using Albion, I was using a mixture of brands such as Clinique, Hada Labo, Origins etc and I was honestly pretty satisfied with the results then. I wasn't blessed with flawless snow white skin hence I'm very diligent with my skincare routine and am always on the hunt for good skincare products. My complexion did improve when I stuck to my Clinique-Hado Labo-Origins routine. From frequent breakouts, pimple scars, oily skin, blemish problem on cheek and forehead area and enlarged pores to lesser breakouts, mild blemish problems and less oily skin. Overall, it was acceptable and what I thought as "the best I could achieve". I was genuinely satisfied my skin even took a better turn and was determined to maintain how it was until I started on Albion. It was REVOLUTIONARY.
I've been using Albion products for about 2 months now and my skin has improved TREMENDOUSLY, it's unbelievable. My skin has become significantly less oily, in fact dewy now. To me, dewy skin is damn hard to achieve. It's always either too dry or too oily. Hence, dewy skin is the nirvana of complexion. Fairer too of course, more even complexion, almost ZERO BLEMISHES/ACNE on my cheeks and little on my forehead (unless before my period, but minimal too). My skin feels very moisturized at an optimal level, and my pores don't appear as big as there is lesser excess sebum. I may be a drama queen if I'm the only one who thinks my skin has improved a lot but nope, many of my friends have mentioned I have nicer complexion now. Even Vera, my best friend whom I've known for years recently went to HK with me and said "Sophia, your complexion now is very good".
Of course, I won't say my complexion is flawless or perfect now cos it's not. But it's significantly better than what it used to be. SO MUCH BETTER and I love it. I never thought I could achieve such complexion in 2 months with just skincare products, but Albion proved me otherwise.
Enough of words, here are pictures to substantiate my words (and to guide you on my daily skincare routine).
Here are the products Albion sent me.
From L to R,
1. Anna Sui Dolly Girl Edition (SMELLS DAMN GOOD)
2. Herbal Oil Gold $82
3. Skin Conditioner 330ml ** ($147), 165 ml ($86)
4. Exage White Crystal Milk III ** ($82)
5. Exage White Conditioning Cleansing Milk ** ($50)
6. Exage White Clear Lucent Wash ($41)
7. Albion Skin Conditioner Mask (8 pcs $53)
I've been using ALL the products religiously except for herbal oil gold but I'll focus more on my top 3 favorite products highlighted in yellow!
EXAGE WHITE CONDITIONING CLEANSING MILK
Cleansing milk aka make up remover is super important to me cos I love having a fresh clean face after a day out with make up. And I'm pretty particular about the texture, scent and effectiveness of a make up remover since it's the first step to cleansing. I love how mild and lightly scented the cleanser is, yet does its job well at the same time. I don't even need an oil based remover for the eyes, yet it's not overly oily for the face either.
Here's a cute made up dolly face on my hand. You can see, it's wearing thick make up ^^
Also love the pump dispenser cos it's a lot less messy and more convenient!
1-2 pumps should be enough for a regular made up face. Maybe 3-4 for very thick make up.
Just one swipe across half the face and it's almost gone, leaving behind traces of stubborn eyeliner which can be easily removed in 1-2 more swipes (:
I believe in double cleansing so after I'm done removing my make up, I'd wash my face with Exage White Clear Lucent Wash. I'll also use Albion Skin Conditioning mask every once a week to keep my face super moist! If you have Skin Con (short form for Skin Conditioner), you can just soak cotton pads with it and place it all over your face to act as a face mask too!
And this is how I look after masking!
Zero make up, zero photoshop/filter. I've only adjusted the brightness and contrast of the photo.
EXAGE WHITE CYSTAL MILK III
Then I move on to a vital step of my skincare routine! Exage white crystal milk kinda softens and moisturizes my skin, and prepares it for the next step which is Skin Con! This step has allowed me to skip moisturizer as it locks in enough moisture to my face!
Here's my fresh out of shower face ready for some pampering! Zero make up/filter/photoshop!
1 pump for the whole face and spread it evenly on your face with a cotton pad.
Then rub in circular motion until fully absorbed! For some reason, I just think the crystal milk works wonders together with Skin Con. It's like some superpower that both can generate together hahaha.
SKIN CONDITIONER!!!
This is Albion's best-selling products which I can fully see why! It's the one toner I probably don't wanna live life without. I feel like my life will crumble without this. Most toners that I've tried before tend to make my skin feel tight but this on the other hand, makes my skin feel supple and hydrated. It also helps in whitening. On top of that, my skin becomes dewy after using this. No more dry flaky spots at some areas and no more oily t-zone. It is my BEST FRIEND!
I pour the skin con sparingly on a cotton pad and dab it on my skin. And the only reason why I bother applying it sparingly on my face is because I know it works and I want more. Sometimes, I just wish I could soak my face into a tub of Skin Con every night if my financials allow hahahah. Maybe I'll wake up to be snow white the next morning.
After skin con, I'll just apply my serums or pimple cream if I have any pimple.
So here's how my bare face looks like after my skincare routine!
Pardon the pimple scar on my cheek cos my itchy hands couldn't resist squeezing the pimple so it's in the process of healing now.
I still have pimple scars which I'm in the midst of fixing (laser treatment, will blog about that next time) but overall you can tell that my complexion has improved a lot, it's a lot more dewy and moisturized and I barely have any blemishes.
It's extremely important to have good skin above nice make up. You need a good canvas so your painting looks good (:
Extremely thankful to Albion to sending me these miraculous products, if not I'm pretty sure right now I could still be foolishly satisfied with my mediocre skin which I thought was the best I could get. So thank you Albion, X!
You girls can get your Albion products from Takashimaya Level 1, under Cosmetics and Fragrances department. Highly recommend the 3 products I mentioned!
Simple quote "Sophia Chong Albion" from now till end Feb at Albion counter to receive a complimentary piece of Albion Skin Condition Mask with any purchase!
Simple quote "Sophia Chong Albion" from now till end Feb at Albion counter to receive a complimentary piece of Albion Skin Condition Mask with any purchase!
XX
Sophia
Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong
