Kojie San Skin Lightening Soap

After my not so pleasant experience with erase PLACENTA 3-in-1 soap, I realized that I didn't yet buy any whitening soap so I went to the nearest sari-sari store and the only one they had was Kojie San.

I bought the smallest one (I didn't picture it cause I immediately used it after I bought it), the one wrapped in plastic cause I was afraid that I might not like it. I was surprised at how cheap it was (20Php) compared to Cyliena and Erase.

I opened it up and found the smell of artificial orange to be pleasant, reminds me of instant orange juice. I consumed the whole soap within 7 days. That small soap was good enough for 9 washes (whole body and face).

It didn't sting, I didn't have any breakouts and it helped prevent me having pimples that usually come before my period. Plus, the pimple that was growing while I was using Erase Placenta subsided all thanks to this soap. It is not that drying compared to the other soaps I have tried, but that doesn't mean it isn't. It lathers up nicely and quickly. I'm not yet sure if my skin color lightened with me using this, but my boyfriend's cousin uses this all the time and she's pretty white (pale white though) and she says it's all because of this soap.

Before

After 

So, that's my before and after photos of my leg and my arm (leg above, arm below. Yes, both hairy). I didn't edit that. Wow, my skin tone lightened just a little bit and I didn't notice it.

What I missed though that this soap lacked was the peeling action. Both Cyleina and Erase Placenta made my skin peel about every 2 washes and I liked it and both soaps had faster whitening results Erase, I think had the fastest peeling action, it felt liked I had a major peel every time I bathed with it for as Kojie San, it took me 4 washes.

I think Kojie San's a good product, it's somewhere in the middle of everything. Doesn't dry your skin much but is still drying, doesn't whiten that fast, keeps those pimples small but doesn't eliminate them either. But for me, this isn't it. If I had to choose between all the whitening soaps I have tried already, I'd choose Cyleina Black Pearl but I won't (yet). I want to try other soaps, finding for the perfect one that'll suit me. >.<

Up next will be Beauche (cause I just saw a shop open at SM Baguio not to mention it's all over the forums) not the whole pack though, just the soap cause I'm all good with my other facial necessities.

erase PLACENTA 3-in-1 magic soap REVIEW

I've read some people find this soap really effective. They use it to whiten their underarms and those dark places. Even the saleslady who advised me to try it said it moisturized her skin more than the other whitening soaps she tried before. Well... let's see!

I've tried the soap 8 times already, full body and face. It takes about 25 full body and face washes to consume the soap (approximately) cause by now I've consumed almost 1/3 of the soap. See what's left down below.

And you know what, I'm going to stop using it from now on because of one main thing, IT STINGS. I didn't mind that it was a bit drying. It said it had Shea butter in it, but it was still drying. Okay, I accept that whitening soaps are drying, but it said it had Shea butter which I didn't feel or even smell. Then, the soap has little hard salt-like substances in it which, sometimes, are sharp enough to scratch my skin (note: I am not exaggerating, it did).

Then the main problem, it stings. Those little scratches that I didn't notice before, I would immediately know of their existence once I start applying this soap. It feels like pouring alcohol over an open wound. You know how you sometimes scratch that little bump on your face and wash your face like it was nothing. With this soap it'll feel like something, something you'd really regret doing. 

The good thing about this soap is it lathers nicely, I saw that I DID become a bit fairer even if it was just 8 days (fairer that you notice, but others don't yet notice cause it's not yet that obvious).

Will I buy again? No. So the search continues. 

I'll buy another brand tomorrow. I really hope it will be the one! :D

Tips for when using whitening soaps

I've learned a few things about whitening soaps, how to make them last longer and be more effective. This are all based upon my experience, so I'm not saying that this is what you should do, these are just what I do, ok. :)

1. If you have a big bar of whitening soap, cut it into two or three to make it last longer and to keep the other half or 2/3 of the soap not exposed to air and water (to keep all the goodness intact LOL).
2. Leave the soap for about at least 3 minutes, lathering and massaging it gently on your skin. Making those ingredients sink in.
3. Wash the whitening soap off and scrub those dead skins away. You can also scrub it off while lathering the soap on your skin with a loofah.
4. Use a moisturizing soap or body wash afterwards. This step really helps in keeping your skin moisturized. 
5. Don't forget the moisturizing lotion and sunscreen! or lotion with sunscreen... Dry skin is more prone to scarring. One time I forgot to put lotion and my bunny scratched my thigh, I still have that mark today. haaay... Dry skin doesn't heal fast... :( So keep it moisturized!

Olive oil to beautify

When I was in college I used to try all the home remedies out there. I watched youtube did some researching of my own then eventually tried them out. I've tried a lot and this time, I want to share what I experienced with using olive oil to beautify myself.

NOT EFFECTIVE:

First we'll start with those not effective stuff I did with myself using olive oil. Note here that I used Extra Olive Oil (EVOO) in every experiment I did.

1. EVOO to make your lashes longer and thicker.

This is not true! It's all over youtube and I tried it for more than a month people, applying it on the lashes and unto the base of lashes twice a day didn't work. Though it made my lashes softer and made it so easy to apply mascara.

2. EVOO as hot oil treatment for hair.

It made my hair heavy, oily and shiny. If you want that "shiny" that looks like you-didn't-take-a-bath-for-a-week shiny/oily. Plus, I had a difficult time removing the oil from my hair.

EFFECTIVE:

1. EVOO as makeup remover

I still use this today cause it easily removes those long lasting makeup, those that are hard to remove. It removes waterproof eyeliner so easily, no tugging or anything.

2. EVOO as a part of your body scrub and as moisturizer

This is so moisturizing to your skin that you instantly know just by feeling your skin, that this is healthy for you. Incorporate this to your salt/sugar scrubs or make your own homemade body scrub with this and feel the difference (more like importance) of having olive oil. I mix this with my favorite salt scrubs and the feeling of my skin after is one of the reasons why I look forward to scrub-bath days! ><

As a moisturizer, I use it on those really dry parts like my elbows or knees. Or mix it with some ineffective hotel lotion that was given to me just to consume those lotions. hahaha... then suddenly they'll become super effective. lol

AVON Anew Rejuvenate Glycolic Facial

I thought about making a review of one of my favorite products and this is one of them! I'm really not much of an avon fan but some of their products are really REALLY awesome! My mom's a reseller/seller of avon and sometimes I just tag along and pick some of their stuff.

The ANEW line of avon is effective. I can't deny it cause my mom's face really improved drastically. She has tried Olay, Loreal, Ponds, Mary Kay, etc. nothing worked as much as anew so when I saw that there was an ANEW product on the SALE section I naturally got some and it was this glycolic facial.

Yeah, that pic is a wee bit wrong cause the liquid has a yellow tint and the container is a bit translucent. I'm so lazy to take a pic tonight because of the bad lighting. heh (excuses)

Ok, that time I bought it for just 399Php not even deducting my mom's 25% discount for being a member. I am so damn lucky! 

The container was mainly made of glass, the dropper is glass as well. Good thing it didn't break while I was carelessly handling it while it was in the box (just tossing it in the basket and in the counter like that). I find the container really cute but I fear that I'll break it before I even halve its contents cause I'm such a klutz.

The morning after I first tried it I noticed a huge change. My skin was softer and the usual small bumps on my forehead were lesser. I was so happy >.<! I usually have a pimple here and there but those small bumps never go away and I thought maybe, just maybe this will make it go away.

In just 3 days the change was already obvious that my mom noticed it and started using it with me. Not to mention we bought 6 bottles while it was still on sale cause this normally costs 1000Php. We also stacked up on the buy-one-take-one creams. hahaha... All for personal use.

Now is the 14th day of me using it and all those bumps are gone! Plus my pores are noticeably smaller and the dark spots lightened. I used it also in my neck cause I have those horrible horizontal lines there and it made them lines finer. Wee!! I'm so loving this product. Too bad I only have 1 extra bottle left cause my brother and sister raided our stock cause they saw how good it worked. 

Me and my mom haven't even nearly consumed half of it and I was thinking 1 bottle lasted for a month but apparently it doesn't! I estimate that 1 bottle lasts about 3-4 mos if used everyday. I will be so devastated if they discontinue this.

I used to use this with my Mary Kay night restore & recover complex then afterwards with what was left of my Olay total effects moisturizer but found that using it along with the ANEW rejuvenate creams had better results. 

I'm gonna start using this every other night to maintain my skin and at the same time make my bottle last longer till I know for sure that avon will not discontinue this. ^^,

Cyleina Black Pearl

Cyleina Black Pearl! This has so many great reviews that I couldn't wait to try it out. So, I quickly bought the smaller size worth 65 Php (45 grams) and tried it at home. Note: this is the first whitening soap I've ever tried, so I was a real non-believer in these whitening soaps.

I won't go over reading the back part since there are already a lot of blogs or reviews there. If you still want to read the advertisement go here.

The first time I opened it, I was thinking it looked really cheap, it was covered in a cling wrap with a scotch tape at the back. I think they should really improve that cause it is expensive. I won't say it's cheap cause it's not.

I tried it. I loved the cool minty feeling caused by the peppermint essential oil in it. I loved the scent. I did that at least 3-minute wait time before washing the soap off. The dead skin cells were surprisingly so easy to remove. My face which is so acne-prone suddenly cleared up. Plus, I did become whiter, I was so happy! To sum it up, the experience was awesome.

I quickly finished the whole bar (circle? lol) of soap. Oh yeah, that 45 grams of soap takes about 10 washes (whole body) to consume. It was going to reach 11 but then it broke and broke and well, I didn't count that one.

Then, because of all the festivities (Panagbenga) I kept on forgetting to buy another one and just used the organic soaps I got for Christmas from my brother and my acne was starting up again. I thought that maybe I really did graduate from acne, but it was actually the soap. So, I bought another small one, and the experience was great (again).

I told my boyfriend to try it. It didn't work out too well for him. His skin broke out, had pimples here and there and I was so sorry I ever recommended this to him. But everyone noticed he became whiter. But of course, who'd want to have tons of pimples in exchange of being fair. Not me! So he stopped and said I was lucky that it worked great on me.

Then, my third soap came... which... in my case was really drying. I'd always take a bath and rush to put my lotion on before the third minute comes. I always do that, but I don't know why it is always so DRY! To the point that my elbows become white and I can see the white dryness of my legs which is unattractive. I keep on applying lotion but it's still dry. I'm so devastated that my once favorite soap happened to make my skin so dry. I wasn't even using it twice a day like recommended. haay..

erase PLACENTA 3-in-1 magic soap

 I got tired of my Cyleina Black Pearl Soap and wanted a sweet change so as usual I didn't know what next whitening soap to try. Here in the Philippines, there are dozens if not hundreds of different whitening soaps available and I just stood there, thinking which one of these really work?

The saleslady maybe saw that I was having a dilemma and kindly assisted me in trying erase PLACENTA 3-in-1 magic soap. She really convinced me that it was the right choice cause first of all, she's snow white-white!, I think that's all the proof I need.

She claimed it was moisturizing and wasn't as drying as her previous whitening soaps. Aha! I am having the same problem with my Cyleina Black Pearl. So there, I bought it. So, this'll be a review the packaging (sorry) not yet the product itself though I am very excited to try it!

So let's just read the text at the back.

erase PLACENTA with SHEA BUTTER
Enhanced Moisturizing Effect

whitening | anti-aging | moisturizing

ERASE PLACENTA SOAP 3-in-1 magic soap contains plant sourced liquid extracts combining the whitening effect of natural plant extracts, moisturizing effect of shea butter and anti ageing properties of sodium lactate. For best result, use ERASE PLACENTA SOAP regularly.

Ingredients: Sodium lactate of distilled palm, palm kernel, water, butylene glycol, Pueraria lobata root extract, chlorella vulgaris extract, Aloe barbadensis leaf extract, sodium lactate, Butyrospermum parkii, and fragrance

It's a white soap, looks like any ordinary organic soap I've had in the past, smells like one too. No special fragrance here. Scotch-taped ends makes me remember the scotched-taped cyleina soap only this has better packaging. I'm thinking why do they have to scotch tape these soaps? Dove and Olay don't, just makes the price higher.

Ok, to make you not feel to bad about this.. do you even call it a review? I'm going to discuss the ingredients one by one!

Sodium lactate - pH control agent, moisturizer, significantly accelerates and increases action (skin whitening) of Vitamin C, antimicrobial,
Palm Kernel - kernel/seed of the palm
Water - uhh.. H2O
Butylene Glycol - used as a preservative. It also helps active ingredients to penetrate the skin.
Pueraria lobata root - this is a root of some plant which has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties
chlorella vulgaris - green algae also known as "Super Food", known for its detoxifying and anti-ageing properties
Aloe barbadensis leaf - Aloe Vera, known for its healing, rejuvenating and soothing properties
Butyrospermum parkii - now I was wondering where the shea butter went, and this is actual it! We all know that it's a great moisturizer, helps in the healing process, regenerates skin and all that

whew..

I'll just keep this blog updated with the real review of this product. >.<

Update: The review is here.