Shills Whitening Oxygen Mask (Anti-Sensitive Formula) & a few Egypt pics

Since I wanted to take many new things to Egypt to have plenty to review I tried out the Whitening Oxygen Mask from Shills which has been sitting in my backup shelf for some time now.


There are 2 versions, a green one for acne-prone skin and a pink one for sensitive skin. Naturally I got the pink one as my skin is quite sensitive.

Shills is a brand I am inwardly split about.... on the one hand it has some amazing cool stuff on the other hand there are quite a bunch of seriously useless products available.


I really love Korean oxygen masks...they start out as a gel which you apply to your face, then leave it on for a few minutes... Within this time the gel foams up and stays foamy all the time, tickling my skin a bit and leaving it glowy and soft afterwards. Even if you wipe off the foam it will magically come back until you wash this stuff off.

Here are Shills´ promises regarding this product:


This comes in a rather pretty pink pump bottle containing 50ml. When you push the pump a light pink gel with a strong rose scent comes out.

This mask only foams up when I apply it to my skin. Right after I stop massaging the foam disappears and the mask starts to dry down to a tight sticky film on my skin. Not really comfy but I wash it off after a few minutes anyway.
It totally lacks the fun experience of foaming up and tickling and all that but it feels rather taut and weird and not fun at all!


I also feel my skin feels a little stressed or something like that afterwards. Not really an irritation but just an uncomfortable feeling overall. Away from this there is no effect I can see when using this mask. My skin looks the same, no bright or smooth result I can detect whatsoever.


So unfortunately this is totally useless for me and I doubt I´ll use up the bottle I have since it´s a rather uncomfortable thing all in all.


I thought of sharing some pics of my trip, it´s just a few really!

Here are couple of pics of a small part of Alexandria, taken from the balcony of one of my husband´s aunts. It looks rather beige and depressive to be honest though I still consider Alexandria to be one of the prettier Egyptian cities, especially the older areas that still radiate some charme from more glorious decades of this city (think 30ies-50ies).
My biggest pet-peeve about this city or Egypt in general is the overload of junk on the streets. Seriously, someone from Singapore coming to this city would probably die from a heart-attack seeing all that junk!


Oh, yesterday we were invited to a really cool villa (or should I say palace?) for barbecue and this cute little furball is the newest member of the owner´s family.. so tiny and so cute! She purred all the time when I had her on my lap and she fell asleep quickly!

Inexpensive Beauty Find: Shills Avocado Eye Cream

Hmmm...this product might look familiar to you as a known US brand has an avocado eye cream in a very similarly designed pot... (*cough* KIEHL´S *cough*).
Shills loves to get "inspired" by other brands so this doesn´t astonish me hehe =)


Anyway, for around 8 bucks you can get a 15ml jar of Shills Avocado Eye Cream from Sasa and I recommend doing that if you are in need of a very rich moisturizing eye cream.

Sasa writes about this stuff:
"Enriched with high nourishing vitamin E, natural avocado oil extract, giving ample moisture to the delicate skin around your eye. Hence, it enhances the flexibility of the eye area. Formulated with a unique "Dual Moisturizing Whitening Mechanism"— it is enriched with licorice resin and Chamomile extract to improve uneven skin tone, so that skin around the eyes is supple with a translucent glow. The use of Shea butter, Hawaiian nut oils helps retain nourishing ingredients within your skin. By the moment the cream touch your skin, it will transform to a watery texture, its innovative texture allows better absorption than other eye product, giving you maximum benefit without burdening your delicate pericular area."


The pot this comes in is not cute or even pretty in my opinion. Shills has so many cute items out so they could have chosen a more beautiful design but I think they wanted this product to be more "inspired" by the other product mentioned above hehe =)


The Avocado Eye Cream is very rich and thick and a little goes a long way. It´s very mild as it doesn´t sting or burn and it doesn´t irritate my delicate eye area at all. On the contrary, this stuff is really an excellent moisturizer as it makes the skin around my eyes so smooth and soft and smooths out very fine lines caused by dryness.


I only use this at night as it´s so rich and the weather is hot now but I think in fall/winter I can also use this during the day as it will help to protect from the harsh cold wind and weather in general.
This cream is scented, the sort of soft avocado-scent you might know from other brands but which actually doesn´t smell like real avocados at all =)


Overall a great little product for a good price. The jar should last ages as you only need very little per application.

Shills Amazing Grace Foot Cream

Ah, how I love thee, Shills! I can´t explain but I am just loving that sweet but totally gimmicky brand but something is just calling my name all the time!


The Amazing Grace Foot Cream is one of those small but totally adorable items from Shills that just make me happy. This is one of the retro-look goodies =D


This stuff is solid and feels like (and mainly contains) wax which melts into my skin as I apply it and my skin gets very soft with a light silky sheen (no shimmer or so, just shine from the wax) but it doesn´t really feel moisturized to me, more a silky feeling just on the surface of the skin.


I think this is not really a foot cream but the perfect quick fix for your feet when you need to wear sandals but don´t have time to do a pedicure so this tiny tin of foot wax could be your saviour for that =)


It has a light scent, something powdery in my opinion.


This contains 30mls and costs US$6.50 on Sasa. Not the cheapest stuff in my opinion but pretty convenient to get sandal-perfect feet in a flash.

Shills Natural Science BB Cream (Limited Edition)

Woot woot, Shills again =D Slowly finding my way through some of the things I got from them =D


I should have totally skipped this Natural Science BB Cream as I had allergic reactions to the other 2 versions I tried before but I was lured by that cute butterfly and flower design of the Limited Edition of this BB Cream (there is a regular more plain one available).


Even though Shills is a Taiwanese brand the box is printed in Korean. The box is definitely very pretty but the tube itself is more bland since it´s just made of aluminium with a paper sticker around it (which doesn´t stick too well on the tube!).
I got my Shills Natural Science BB Cream from Sasa for around 8 bucks which is a steal (this is a regular 50ml size, too!)


To my dismay I am allergic to this cream, too! Even though Shills stuff seems to be rather compatible with my skin the BB Cream doesn´t work at all.
At first my skin looked and felt great (as this is a rather lightweight BB Cream with sheer-medium coverage) but I noticed small itching patches appearing around my jaw-line and cheeks after about 30 minutes. I wore the cream for several days and it always started to itch shortly after application so I had to stop trying this out. My jaw still has parts that itch constantly after wearing this BB Cream yesterday =(


It´s really a pity as the Natural Science BB Cream is a great color match for me and gives a soft slightly glowy finish.
This has a soft fresh scent which doesn´t annoy me at all!


Overall nice stuff if you have fair skin and are not sensitive. Otherwise skip it!

Sasa says about this:
"Shills Natural Science BB Cream (Limited Edition) is of high potency and fresh texture. It protects skin from harmful UV rays while providing intensive hydration. It contains micro-particles which conceal visible pores and conditions oily skin. Blended with various botanical ingredients, it enables dewy-looking skin.

How to use it:
Use as the last step of the daily skincare routine. It could be used as makeup base, concealer or foundation. Apply outward from the centre of face in circular motions. Reapply locally to imperfections. Follow with loose powder for optimal results.

Ingredients:
Principal ingredients:

• Hyaluronic Acid—prevents the accumulation of melanin and the appearance of spots, maintains and optimal hydrophilic-lipophilic balance. Replenishes skin with nutrients for velvety-touching skin.
• Bisabolol—protects and comforts skin, prevents pre-mature aging and leaves skin refines and dewy.
• Yarrow Extract—anti-aging and anti-lines.
• Vitamin E—protects skin from UV rays. Maintains youthful-looking skin.

Other ingredients: Vitamin B3, Long-lasting Moisturizing Factor, Melissa Extract, Veronica Officinalis, Lady's Mantle Extract, Primula Veris Extract, Peppermint Extract, Mellow Extract"

Shills Natural Science Cherry Blossom Make-up Removing Oil

Ah Shills, my new love (or love-hate relationship..but we know how close love and hatred are to each other, right?).


My bathroom is now graced with another product from Shills because I simply can´t leave the stuff on my backup shelf for too long as it´s just too luring to try out!
I am a total sucker for all sorts of cleansing oils and face cleansers in general.... I swear a good part of the products waiting to be used are face cleansers and I usually have 3-4 cleansing oils and 3-4 foaming cleansers standing around cluttering up my bathroom!


Anyway, Sasa listed this cute 250ml bottle of Shills Natural Science Cherry Blossom Make-up Removing Oil for around 8 bucks so it had to be mine the moment I spotted it =P
The box and bottle are darn cute and printed with cherry blossoms allover. The oil is dispensed through a nice good pump and I take about 2-3 pumps per application.


If the ingredients list which is printed on the box is really complete (hmmm...honestly not sure if it is!) then this oil is one of the mildest and most natural I have tried so far (as far as I can understand the ingredient lists to start with as mostly they are printed in Japanese or Korean!)


The oil is very thin, liquid and slick without a very greasy feeling in my opinion so it´s great for doing a face massage.
The oil leaves my skin very soft and moisturized however I think this results from the oil not rinsing off completely (it doesn´t emulsify thus turn milky really much) so I feel there is a slight film left on my face.
Oddly I feel the makeup removing power of this is really good, away from waterproof mascara it gets rid of pretty much all my face and eye makeup.

This oil is scented with cherry blossoms but thankfully the smell is very light and soft and not overly yummy in my opinion but tolerable anyway.


Overall I am a bit split about the Cherry Blossom Make-up Removing Oil... on the one hand it´s really cheap, comes in a huge size, looks pretty, smells ok, has a short and nice ingredients list, removes my makeup well and makes my skin soft. On the other hand it leaves a slight film which means you definitely should follow up with a foaming cleanser and toner to get rid of this (I do anyway so not a big problem for me).

Still I prefer other cleansing oils over this (e.g. Kosé Softymo Speedy Cleansing Oil).

More Shills stuff to be reviewed soon (oh and I also got some things from Anosa which is a sister brand of Shills!)

Shills Aqua Shaking Mask Hyaluronic Acid

Uselessness thy name is Shills Aqua Shaking Mask... if you are interested in trying a total nonsense-product I highly recommend checking out the Aqua Shaking Mask Hyaluronic Acid from Shills. The interesting thing about this product is that it does...well...nothing at all!


Shills is a gimmicky (but cute and adorable and definitely check-out-worthy) brand in my opinion. They have some really decent items but they also have stuff that just doesn´t work at all!

Sasa listed a big bunch of Shills products within the past 3 weeks or so and I hauled quite a bunch. So far I only reviewed the Black Angel Bamboo Charcoal Whitening Masks and quite liked them!
So my next review is for another type of mask: an Aqua Shaking Mask!
The concept looked really interesting to say at least! You get a bottle of a gel which you shake until the gel turns liquid, then apply this to your face, leave it on for 10-15 minutes and then rinse it off.


Also US$6.50 for 100ml of face mask seemed a good deal so I got the bottle of the Aqua Shaking Mask in the Hyaluronic Acid version (for all skin-types, especially dry and delicate ones). Other available types are Azelaic Acid (oily, acne and combination skin) and L-Ascorbic Acid (all skin types, especially combination).

Anyways, you get a bottle filled with gel (and there are some tiny white beads spread throughout the gel). Shake the crap out of it and it turns *slightly* more liquid. I apply a big dollop of this to my face and massage it in. It´s a very lightweight gel which dries down a little to an almost powdery film giving my skin a slightly tight and firming feel.
When I wash this off I can hardly even feel that I wash something off at all! My skin doesn´t feel any softer or moisturized but doesn´t get irritated at all either. I just feel the mask does nothing! I still use this stuff to see if miracles might happen but away from nice pink cheeks there is no effect whatsoever.

The scent is weird but not unpleasant. Somehow like a mild flowery scent mixed with the smell of new band-aids. Yea strange I know but this is the image I get when I sniff this stuff.

I think the bottle lasts easily for 20-30 applications or more so it´s good value for money if it does anything for your skin =P


The ingredients list is short and good, among them being Hyaluronic Acid, Allantoin, Licorice and Aloe Extracts.
According to Sasa this can relieve sunburnt skin. Might be it could be of good use for that but I am not going to test that as I am avoiding sunburns like the plague.

This is what Sasa says about this stuff:
"Shills Aqua Shaking Mask Hyaluronic Acid adopts the Double Kinetics Technology. The first Kinetics fluidizes Hyaluronic Acid and inserts deep inside skin. The second Kinetics form a moisture binding firm on skin surface to prevent moisture loss caused by air-conditioning. It also enables cool sensation that helps soothe sun burnt skin."


All in all I am a bit ambivalent... I kinda like this stuff but on the other hand it doesn´t do anything really.
Anyway I will probably not consider repurchasing this!

Shills Black Angel Bamboo Charcoal Whitening Mask

Shills is not a brand that particularly caught my attention before... I read a few reviews on the Muse´s blog and ordered couple of BB Creams but both didn´t work for me at all (very sheer coverage and they gave me rashes and bumps).

Sasa (aka the devil) updated their site with lots of interesting new products and among them a whole truckload of different Shills stuff.
As I am a sucker and beauty stuff addict and since I always like to give brands that failed for me the first time a 2nd, 3rd and 4th chance and since Shills stuff is cheap I purchased a variety of items which I will start reviewing today.


Sheet masks usually work for me (except My Beauty Diary and a few others brands) so I thought why not get those cool Black Angel Bamboo Charcoal Whitening Black Masks). I paid a bit more than US$8 for 7 pieces which is quite a good deal!

Hmmmm...it was kinda hard to figure out the correct name of this stuff as the whole box is printed with various slogans like "Deep Cleansing" and "Anti-bacteria and excellent" and the name itself (which I suppose is the stuff written in the yellow box) says this stuff is whitening. Seems this is your perfect solution to any kind of skin concerns you might ever face!

The Singlish the box is printed in is quite cute, I like the fact that these masks can "draw out and decompensate the impurities such as fat and dirt inside the pore" and "the special adjunction of Hawaii seaweed gel can facilitate your skin metabolism and regulate the fat, to remove the trace of aging" etc.
Please click on the pic to enlarge to read about the amazing virtues of the Bamboo Charcoal masks!


Here is also an ingredients list which looks quite good to me as there are lots of plant extracts but no parabens listed. However I don´t understand the "Gigawhite" written in brackets after the natural ingredients? I suppose this should give a hint that these ingredients are helping in whitening your skin? Anyway call me stupid but the ingredients list doesn´t look like it was typed by a pro?


Anyway, if you are lazy to click the ingredients pic, here are some of them:
Algae, Bamboo Charcoal (though I don´t know which of the ingredients is the bamboo!) Hyaluronic Acid, Trehalose, Witch Hazel Extract, Horse Chestnut, Chamomile, Arbutin, Mauve Extract, Mint ("which can not only calm and relax your intense skin, but brighten your skin in the twinkling of an eye simultaneously" lol) etc.
Ok ok, enough blabla about the box and ingredients lol! The masks themselves are pretty good actually!


They are black masks but not as black or soft as the ones from Kanebo Kracie Hadabisei. The cut and fit is good but the masks don´t adhere well around my chin area. Also the 25ml content make the mask slide down a bit so while wearing it for 15 mins I need to adjust it a few times.
Away from that the masks are really refreshing and make my skin soft. I had some red patches and irritations and the mask I wore today significantly reduced the redness.


I was afraid of using it as the box says "Deep Cleansing" and that it will suck the oil out of my pores but I think this is a very mild formulation and it suits my sensitive skin very nicely.

All in all I say these masks are very worth their affordable price and I can highly recommend them.

Made in Taiwan, 25ml per mask sheet, 7 sheets per box. Retails for about US$8.40 on Sasa.com.