The truth about $180 bird poop Geisha Facial

I'm sure most of you guys have seen this on TV lately. It was covered on Oprah, The View, and various other news as a beauty treatment that can be used to clear your skin, whiten your complexion, and give you the porcelain skin like a Geisha. It is called uguisu no fun in Japanese and it's basically nightingale droppings.

It became all the rage when Shizuka Spa in New York started doing the "Geisha Facial" with this ingredient and magazines and news around the world jumped on it. For those of you that are thinking about paying the $180 Geisha Facial from the Shizuka Spa in NY, I would tell you now it's NOT worth it. Don't buy into the hype just because it's on TV and that Victoria Beckham does it. $180 is way overpriced for what is included in this facial and I will tell you how to replicate the facial at your own house in one of my future posts.

Why do i say it's overpriced? Because the key ingredient, the bird poo, is only $15. You can find it at various Japanese market or even ebay. The spa also mixes it with rice bran powder, which is also dirt cheap. At first i thought Shizuka's bird poo was a special kind, but no, they use the same one in the picture that I posted below and it is only $15. I know this because I have 3 bottles sitting in my cabinet and I've seen them taking the same bottle out of their cabinet to make their "Geisha Facial". They do other treatments after the mask with their own products, but the bird poo mask itself can be made for less $40. Of course if you want to be pampered and feel like you're in Japan, then I'd go and spend the $180.

The bird poo comes in a little container and it is in powder form. it has a very light smell. My friend smelled it and he said it smells like dried bird poo. i think it's all in the head. it does have a scent but it's not a bad one nor a good one. it just smells....interesting. Normally, Japanese people use it with their facial cleaner, mixing a little bit of the powder with their cleanser and just use it as a face wash. I use it every morning and I do like it. I am not sure the difference is amazing, but I do like the way my skin looks after i've been using it for sometime.

So there you go. I will do a post on how to replicate the Geisha Facial at your home in the near future. So keep posted!!!


This is what the "bird poo" looks like and it's the same one they use at the spa.

Part of Your World from the Broadway Musical of The Little Mermaid

My fav musical right now. forget the critics, buy your tickets now and you will end up loving this classic story all over again.

Acne solutions

I don't have severe acne problem, but I do get some VERY stubborn breakouts every once in awhile. I get these huge pimples usually on my nose or on my forehead that just won't go away for a few weeks. Two years ago, I got a huge pimple on my nose and I was on vacation in NY and it completely killed my desire to go out during the day.

My face is usually very clear, so it's very noticeable when I get a pimple. I broke out a lot more when I was in high school due to not being able to wash my face mid-day when it's extremely oily. Not to mention how much bacteria there were in classrooms.

Remember everyone's skin react to products differently, so what worked for me, might not work for you and vice versa.

Proactive

This is prob the most popular solution for people suffering from acne. I tried it for about 4 months and I have to say it didn't work for me. Th Lotion made my face very dry during the day and i don't think it's moisturizing enough to use as a night cream, especially if you are over 22. I'm very concerned with aging so anything that i use at night must have anti-aging effects.

The face wash was prob the best thing out of the treatment. my felt felt very clean, but it also dried out my face. If you are also using Retin-A, I'm sure your skin will start flaking off.

I never recommend this to anyone due to my personal experience with it, however, i have friends that got rid of their acne by using this and swear that this is the ONLY thing that works for them. So take my review of this with a grain of salt since this is the #1 selling acne treatment on earth.

Murad

I switched to Murad after unsuccessful results with Proactive and it actually cleared my skin. I used this throughout high school, because it was the only line that worked with my type of acne problem. The only problem i had with it was the Skin Perfecting Lotion. It's oil-free, but it made my face look greasy and oily during the day. After high school, I didn't really have that much of acne problem, but i kept using their toner and it's one of my fav toners. It's great for oily skin and it cleans your skin very well. The tingling feeling is so refreshing and clean feeling.

I always recommend this to people as an alternative to Proactive.

Sonya Dakar

Their drying potion is THE best thing that i've ever used to treat my stubborn pimples. You simply apply it on before you go to bed and your pimple will be gone in a few days. This thing works and even now I always have a bottle in my medicine cabinet just in case. It's the best spot treatment on the market.

Dr. Brandt- Poreless

I bought the entire line few years ago and I threw away the facial cleanser, because there was too much perfume in it. The toner wasn't that great either. It smelled like perfume and alcohol. I am very sensitive to scents and I get migraines from perfumes and the toner and cleanser were both giving my headaches. The poreless lotion was subpar as well. It didn't make my pores less and my face was still oily even after applying this on. What I liked from Dr. Brandt was the Pore Effect cream. I saw results in one night. It can also be applied during the day 'cause it really balances moisture and oiliness. It's far better than the Poreless Lotion. The Pore No More is decent at its best. I think there are better products to control T Zone shine, such as Cosmedicine's Medi Matte.

Bottom Line: I wouldn't recommend it and it's super expensive. I would get the Pore Effect cream instead.

Cosmedicine

I haven't tried their acne treatment line, but I just want to point out how amazing their Medi Matte is. It's simply the best oily absorbing lotion out there. It's very thick in texture like glue, and i wouldn't suggest using this all over the face or try to put liquid makeup over it, because it won't go on. If you want to see how amazing this lotion is, try this-- drip a tiny drop of olive oil on your hand, then apply Medi matte over it and it will absorb it completely. I use it on my nose and that all I use it for.

Patricia Wexler

I've tried their spot treatment, overnight acne lotion, and their anti-aging acne serum and they are all pretty good. I think the overnight acne lotion is the best out of the bunch. I don't think the anti-aging acne serum is anti-aging. It feels the same as the overnight acne lotion and it even looked the same, except the salicylic acid level is 0.5 % higher in the serum.

Bottom line: i think this is a decent line of acne solution that is worth trying.

Dry hair? not a problem.

My new fav shampoo! My hair is extremely dry. it's literally like hay when i don't have any products in it. I have no idea why it's so damaged, prob because i used to dye and bleach my hair almost every few months when I was in high school. I used to use Garnier's shampoo and I still think it's one of the better ones that I've used that you can get from a regular drug store like Rite Aid.
I thought it was time to get something for my hair so I went on Sephora.com and read reviews on countless different shampoos and finally decided on this one. I am in love with it and I just got a second bottle. I use it in conjunction with a conditioner from Fresh and together they make the most amazing scent!

I love the smell of this shampoo and i can smell traces of it throughout the day. it's a clean, fresh scent. Sephora has it in travel size, so if you are not sure if you want to get the full bottle, def give the travel size a try!

Jurlique

Anyone used or is using their products? i am very intrigued by the brand and have been seeing their products everywhere, including Whole Foods!

please comment if you use their products!

I gave in... La mer is a miracle!

For the longest time I resisted from using La Mer's products mainly because of the skyrocketing price and also the whole "miracle broth" marketing angle. I don't like it when products make ridiculous claims and i am also a big sucker for beautiful packaging (gotta have those jars!) and La Mer's packaging is just too bland for me.

So let's get to the point-- I finally went to La Mer's counter at Saks in New York and asked for a few samples. I started using them daily and i have to say I am extremely impressed by the results. I have combination skin that gets very oily and yet dehydrated, so it's very hard for me to find a day cream that can keep my skin hydrated while keeping the shine away. Freeze 24/7's Double Scoop is the only one that's been able to do both, however, Freeze 24/7's Double Scoop's texture makes it almost impossible to apply on my sun screen smoothly. It flakes off anything that i try to apply over it.

I tried both Creme de la Mer and Gel de La Mer, and I like them both. Gel de La mer is perfect for my skin because it actually creates a matte finish to my face after it dries and it sinks into my skin very well. I had no problem applying sunscreen over it as well. Creme de la mer on the other hand is too rich to use as a day cream. it makes my face very shiny, but it makes a perfect night cream. Since I already have Givenchy's Le Soin Noir, I am good on night creams and that leaves me with Gel de la mer.

I think once i am finished with Freeze 24/7's Double Scoop, i'm going to get myself a jar of Gel de la mer. The only thing that might hold me back is the price. It's $250 and it only comes it one size unlike Creme de la mer where you can get the smaller size for 100 some dollar.

The other concern I had was that it didn't feel very hydrating, so I had to apply a hydrating serum underneath it.

Overall, I am very impressed with La Mer and I highly recommend you going out there to get some samples. Would love to hear what you think!

Happy New Year!

Been busy with the holiday. will be back posting soon!