On my recent trip, I bought some of the Majolica Majorca products, no thanks to the advertisements in magazines. The name itself is rather hard to pronounce. Try saying the brand name “Majolica Majorca” aloud for 5 times and you will know what I mean. In this time’s product review, I will try to add in as much information as I could, especially info that I think is essential for consumers to know. But whatever mentioned in this post is still considered as my personal opinion and each product’s suitability still relies on individuals themselves.

Majolica Majorca Rouge Majex (Lip Gloss)

• Function: Gives dry lips a touch of color as it hydrates. It also gives lips a glossy appearance, with a scent of sweet berries.
• Special Ingredients: Formulated with olive oil and royal jelly extract as moisturizers. (The lip gloss contains about 70% moisturizers)

Personal experience:

After applying the lip gloss, you will notice that your lips are immediately shimmery and plump. At a closer look, you will notice the presence of tiny glitter-dust like particle on the layer of lip gloss you have just applied. Most lip glosses do give the effect of ‘oily’ lips (forgive my crude description) but the difference in this particular lip gloss is actually the presence of glitter-dust like particles. This was certainly a surprise to me as nothing was mentioned on the package.

Another thing is the bent tip of the lip gloss applicator. Normally, lip gloss applicators will have a little, bent area for easy application. The difference in the Majolica Majorca Rouge Majex is the angle at which the applicator tip is bent and also the amount of surface area. It has a slightly more bent tip with a larger surface area. This provides a more efficient application of lip gloss. Do not worry about the precision though. The very tip of the applicator is still able to serve as a precision tool when it comes to hard-to-apply areas of the lips.

The setback is in the content of the lip gloss. Although packed with around 70% of moisturizers, the lip gloss is not really “friendly” towards the skin. Even after I removed the lip gloss with water and soap, my lips still feel sticky and I can’t see any signs of my lips being moisturized. However, the silver lining is, the lip gloss is definitely waterproof. I suppose office ladies will find this product useful as it is long lasting, albeit below the par in terms of moisturizing. My personal advice is, one can always apply a thin coat of lip balm before applying a coat of lip gloss. That way, the lip gloss will not leave your lips dry or sticky (like mine).

Majolica Majorca Jewelling Pencil (Eyeliner)

• Function: Creates eyes with impact (thanks to sparkling glitter)
• Special Ingredients: none unless you count in the sparkling glitter

Personal experience:

The eyeliner is sadly a let-down. As much as I love the color, it is still a lighter shade of gray. So for those who wish to get gray as a substitute of intense black (we all know gray is a lighter shade of black), do not even try to get this product. The gray in this product is of lighter shade and not dark gray. Avoid getting this product unless you really intend to get gray color as your eyeliner. For myself, I always think black is a little too intense and I normally go for gray. You can imagine my disappointment when the gray turns out to be the lighter shade and not the dark gray I am accustomed to.

Another sad point is the amount of glitter in the eyeliner. It does contain glitter but then it is in such small amount that it is almost nil. Maybe it is only the tip that does not contain much glitter. But then, it is still considered a bad start. For consumers who are looking for extreme glitter, this may not be the product for you. However, for those who are fond of glitter but still want to look as natural as possible, this product will be the one you are looking for. It gives the most subtle hint of glitter.

My personal advice is, do get an additional bottle of glitter liquid eyeliner (those with concentrated amount of glitter). Apply a thin line of the liquid eyeliner along the inner lids, in order to get that extra glamorous look. Believe me, a little of it will go a long, long way.

Majolica Majorca Lash Gorgeous Wing (Mascara)

• Function: Creates gorgeous and fuller eyelashes with each coating applied.
• Special Ingredients: Nil

Personal experience:

I like this mascara because it does not leave my eyelashes crooked or filled with clumps after application. However, I detest the length of time required for it to dry. It is too time-consuming and because the coat of mascara is not fully dried, every time I bat my eyelashes, I feel like my upper lashes and lower lashes are about to stick together. This product is a no-no for girls who are constantly on the go.

This mascara promotes its function in maintaining beautiful curls and also its waterproof property. I have yet to experiment with the waterproof part. I am not even able to get it fully dried, needless to say splash more water onto it. In the maintenance area, it does work nicely although not very long lasting. But then again, the outcome is different for everyone.

Overall, Shisheido products are still usable except that there are a lot of tweaks to be done. The packaging itself is attractive but then, do not judge a book by its cover. As consumers, do choose products that suit your skin and not according to the latest trend/brand.

That’s all I can say about Majolica Majorca products for now. Any agreement, disagreement or feedback are all welcomed.

Ever watched enviously at television ads on shampoo? Those which features shampoo models with nice, sleek hair? Alas, we all know that their hair are fake and not every strand really falls at the same angle, like what happens in the advertisement.

The good news is, I had recently tried a type of hair treatment which might just do the trick. It is not my first time trying hair treatments, so I know my way around one. But this one is a little more different and worth recommending. It comes in a gold-colored tube and even the content has a touch of gold to it. Hence, our main character of today: Asience.

How do you know that your hair is supple or brittle?

According to Asience’s homepage, they show video explanations on how they conduct experiments to determine the brittleness of hair. The result is based on bouncy hair movement and also the presence of marks after untying hair. Brittle hair tangles easy and does not sway smoothly. Brittle hair also has marks on it after being untied. This is a huge contrast to healthy hair, which has considerably less marks, due to its denser and suppler core.

Asience’s restoration of 18-MEA

What is 18-MEA? It’s full name is methyl eicosanoic acid. It can be found on the outer layer of our hair and functions to protect our hair and gives hair its smoothness and shine. 18-MEA is able to attach itself to damaged areas of our hair strand and restores the damaged surface.

Asience focuses on the regenerating technology of 18-MEA. It simply means that the hair care products launched under Asience aids in regenerating the amount of 18-MEA found on our hair’s outer layer. By restoring the amount of 18-MEA from time to time, our hair will no longer look dull and lifeless. Sounds exciting? Here’s more good news: Asience products boasts a formula which consists ingredients such as pearl, Korean ginseng, soybean essence, camellia oil essence and eucalyptus essence! In short, the formula uses natural ingredients (No wonder it smells fragrant),which aids in restoring hair vitality. Here is a little information that I had extracted from Asience’s homepage:

• Pearl and Soybean essence (Repair)
• Korean Ginseng and Camellia Oil essence (Moisturize)
• Eucalyptus essence (Protect)

My Experience

I get to know this product through a magazine and although i was amazed at the technology used. I happened to come across it during one of my “excursions” to a retail pharmacy (It’s recently getting more or less like a weekly trip. Well, rummaging through the shelves of retail pharmacies is always one of my bad habits). In the end, I only got myself the hair treatment, the full range consists of the usual shampoo, conditioner and so on which I suppose was out of stock in my area. The tube of hair treatment costs me around RM 27 (Approx. 7.50 USD).

Another thing I should mention is that, Asience hair care products are made in Japan and not under-licensed in Thailand or Indonesia. I don’t know how important that fact is to most consumers, but then it’s a little relief for me to know that the tube of hair treatment I am holding is made under stringent quality control (Or am i just a little too bias?).

Personal experience: I followed to instructions on the back (apply to hair, leave on for 3 minutes, rinse off). I am very happy to announce that my hair is not only much sleeker and smoother, but also straighter! Somehow, my hair appears “heavier” at the ends, which leads to my hair looking a lot less “fluffier”. The number of fly-away hair reduced a little and on the shine scale, my hair’s shininess increased a tad (maybe 0.5-1.0 times?). The most significant improvement is how my hair felt when I ran my fingers through it. It is softer to touch and my hair feels a whole lot lighter. Although I can’t really say much about the bounciness part, since I had only used it once, but I dare to vouch that my hair condition will change for the better in weeks to come. Here are some before and after photos:

Before

After

As a side note, the hair treatment can be used at a frequency of 2-3 times weekly, or even up to daily usage, depending on hair condition. For those who crave for soft and supple hair, Asience is definitely the brand that I strongly recommend. Experience it for yourself and if possible, do share your experiences with us! I would really love to know the effects of Asience on different types of hair.