B•liv by Cellnique – Products Review and Free Giveaways for 50 Readers!

There’s a saying in cantonese that Lie Yuen has taught me that goes something like a clear and fair face covers three layers of flaws or something like that. True that! It is comforting to know that at least there’s one part of myself that I can work on, which is my skin.

I am quite blessed because I have never experienced any major acne problems but I have never been particularly happy with my lack of a glow. I long to be one of those girls who look just a little pink in the face, a natural blush. I’ve been to a few beauticians and every time I get my skin assessed, I would be told that my skin is actually very dry and that my pores are big. Big pores run in my family and when I apply my foundation, it can be a little gross up close because tiny little opaque dots can be seen where the foundation is more concentrated. I have some blackheads splattered across my T-zone too and back in A-levels, I would squirt out whiteheads from my nose to gross Chien out. She calls it my Medusa nose.

So yes, as you probably expect, this is a product review! One that I am very very happy to do because I got free products from Cellnique to try!! Yay!! 🙂 I even have some 50 samples to give away. Scroll all the way down for details – read the post first la though, please.

I have long heard of the brand from my friends who frequent beauticians and also my mum who advocates Cellnique. My brother who had a little bit of an acne problem going on a couple of years back, had his skin all cleared up after a few treatments. And what with his one year in the Uk, sure damn nice lah his skin. *jealous*

Selina from Cellnique has approached me with a range of products from B•liv by Cellnique that would suit my skin condition. B•liv was originally known as ‘Cellnique Pro Series’ but it has been rebranded to keep up with young people like… ahem, us. To..ahem, match our on-the-go, stylish and confident lifestyle. I know some days I might think I’m a little too old for certain things but sometimes when you have nice products to try out, you’ll take pride being in the young adults age group. 😛 Very happy actually to be on the nubile side of my 20s.

Myself and my exciting box of beauty products from B•liv Cellnique!

Due to my very very packed schedule attempting to finish up with my final year clinical management report and clinic quotas in the past few weeks (tears were shed, hairs were pulled out, nightmares were dreamed, weight was lost (YAY), heart attacks given by ffk patients etc), I finally had time to do the review. Despite my heavy schedule, I was using the products everyday diligently. In all honestly, I have very poor compliance with beauty products. I buy them, use it once or twice and forget about it. 😐 But since I had to do a review, I kept at the regime.

I never really believed that beauty products can do wonders for me (sort of jaded about myself already) but even before doing the review or telling anyone that I was using a new range of products, I have been getting compliments on my skin! True story!! I was also pleasantly surprised because no one ever told me that I looked radiant before, so I guess it is really happening now!

Here’s a before photo taken during my ADSALympics event, an annual sports week at my dental faculty that drains us of all energy and soul.

I know there’s no obvious flaws (skin I mean, the rest you just pretend you never notice anything, don’t have to make it obvious ya) but you can see I’m not actually glowing. That’s the reflection of the sun. I just look…….yellow.

One more artsy shot with my camwhoring shadow behind me.

So here’s what was inside the goodie box:

L-r: Shrink and Tighten, Shrink and Tighten + and Off With Those Heads

L-r: Leach Me, A sample of Got Me Covered

Off With Those Heads is to do away with the blackheads and whiteheads.

It is a sebum gel that you can spread across your T-zone, massaging it into your skin until the wet feeling is gone. The gel just absorbs into your skin! It also feels fresh because there is a nice minty smell.

According to the description given, your clogged pores get soften thus extractions of the blackheads become easier. WIth the tea tree oil and witch hazel extract, they keep acne and comedones at bay plus aloe vera to keep the skin hydrated.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any before and after photos of my blackheads. I know I should have..sigh. I do think that my blackheads are getting less.. at least new ones don’t crop up. I just need to get some extractions done on the existing ones now that they are easier to remove.

For my craters, we have Shrink and Tighten which is to be used together with Shrink and Tighten +. The consistency is more fluid than Off With Those Heads with a slight yellow tinge to the gel .the smell is also more fruity than Off With Those Heads!

I have to say I am quite impressed with its functions. Shrink and Tighten pump collagen into your open pores to seal it, sort of a barrier protection from future big pores! It has Vitamin B3 which helps to hydrate the skin, Vitamin C for healing and as an antioxidant and Oleanolic Acid which has anti-inflammatory properties.

Shrink and Tighten + is the one to thank to give your skin that glow you’ll get after using these products, imho.

Fresh from the bottle, the formula is quite oily and when you rub it all over your face, you might feel a little irritated at first because you’ll be like, “Great, just what I need. More grease on my face, ughh.” But if you keep rubbing, rubbing and rubbing it in, you’ll realize that it gets absorbed into your skin leaving your skin to feel supple and hydrated without any greasy feeling at all! Even your fingers don’t feel greasy, just moisturized! z

Use it at night so that collagen production can work overtime and help to reduce those pores. The L-ascorbic acid helps with skin lightening, Witch Hazel extract for prevention of acne and comedones and Vitamin B5 for hydration.

See how oily it looks in the bottle?

About two weeks into using the product. At the sides of my nose, it is quite ugly lah with all the pores coalescing together forming unsightly holes. Applying foundation to the sides of my nose can be quite a bitch.

About a month after using. It looks smoother over all! No one’s gonna stretch the sides of my nose when they see me right. So, this is good enough for a clear base to put your make-up. Even the pores look more evened out.

Then we have Leach Me which is a moisturizing mask that does deep moisturizing, brightening and age preventing. Brace yourself ya, I’m gonna throw some complicated chemical names at you.

Sodium 1-Pyrollidonecarboxylate helps with water retention, it helps the skin to better hold moisture. Acetyl Hexapeptide – 8 is for reducing wrinkles (score!!), Acerola Fruit extract to prevent aging and is used as an antioxidant and other fruit acids complex which are used for exfoliation, skin hydrating and help simulate new cell regeneration.

The entire packet is soaked with the formula. Upon removing the mask, it is actually dripping with the formula!

As you can see, it is very very very wet. Formula was dribbling down my chin which I rubbed into my neck. No use having a young face and a wrinkly old neck right? So better to make the most out of it! The mask can be used once or twice a week.

Cannot smile when having the mask on or else formula will get into my mouth!

Got Me Covered is a sunblock + foundation formula for everyday use. It has a nice sheen to it upon applying, nothing too obvious. Sometimes foundation makes us look overly made up for our day-to-day activities, so this is ideal and it also allows the skin to breathe properly.

It comes with UV protector which helps in anti-aging, used as an anti-oxidant and suncreen. Salicylic Acid  helps with exfoliation and the formula has a natural foundation colour that matches your skin tone.

The thin sheen that I was talking about. Nothing too cakey.

After applying the foundation. Looks very natural right?

So that pretty much sums up my experience with B•liv after using it for one whole month!

I’m not tooting my own horn, but the pink glow that I have always wanted is there!! 😀 😀

A happier photo to show off the pinkness on the apples of the cheek!

To further accentuate the glow.

Cellnique has been so kind to offer 50 free samples of Off With Those Heads! So all you blackhead clogged girls (and boys!) can send your full name and mailing address to fbfreesample@blivskin.com with the subject “jayelleenelial.com“. Be quick though, the offer ends 1 week from now! This means…you have until 19th of June 2010! Hurry!

If you are keen to buy their products, head on over to  the B•liv by Cellnique website! Should your purchases be above USD60, you can opt for their free exclusive B•liv recycle bag instead of the usual packaging box. Head on over to their microsite, Cellnique Earth Campaign to support their No Paper. No Bag initiative!