Holly Chang is the founder of Bonifacio High Street Central’s new Wink Laser and Wax Studio, a destination for hygienic and reasonably priced Laser Hair Removal and Waxing. Her decision to be an entrepreneur has been an arduous yet rewarding one especially because of her great interest in skin care and beauty.
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I use the Proactiv System everyday twice a day. It’s quite harsh on the skin so I have to moisturize a lot. I used to love using Clinique’s Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief or Hyaluronic Acid because it kept my skin soft and moisturized without being oily, but I always felt like my skin would never really absorb them, as if it was just sitting on top of my skin. I read about the Aesop’s Fabulous Face Oil on Into The Gloss, and I’ve been obsessed with face oils ever since. They keep your skin hydrated without making it feel greasy. I use the Aesop at night and the RMS Beauty Oil during the day. I use the Kahina Argan Oil for my scalp, body, or face when I’m so dehydrated that it shows on my skin. I can’t wait to try Vered’s Balancing Face Oil when I finish my Aesop, I heard its great for acne prone skin and that it smells wonderful.
I only started using sunblock on my face in college after seeing a photo of what not using SPF could do to your face. Apparently 80% of all visible aging is caused by sun exposure! This is my third bottle of eltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 and it’s the only sunblock I’ve used that is not overly greasy, doesn’t smell like sunblock, is not a chemical sunscreen and most importantly it doesn’t make me break out. I use it everyday, even if I know I’m just going to be indoors. If I could only recommend one product it would definitely be this.
Eye Cream is really important too. I’m obsessed with getting rid of the wrinkles under my eyes (or at least preventing them from getting worse) and Shiseido’s Benefiance Eye Cream really helps. I’ve been trying out other eye creams but I always go back to this. It’s really creamy and moisturizing so you never have to deal with your concealer flaking cause your skin is so dry! I barely ever need to use Touche Eclat under my eyes anymore and I think I have this eye cream to thank for it.
I use the Proactiv Refining Mask more as a spot treatment than a mask. As soon as I feel or see a bump on my face I apply this immediately and leave it on overnight. I never go on a trip without this, you never know what state your skin is going to be in when the weather changes.
I’m always on the lookout for face “brighteners”–anything that will fade old acne scars or that will make my skin glow. Kahina’s Brightening Serum doesn’t fade spots as quickly as Clinique’s Dark Spot Corrector, but it really helps even out your skin tone and give you that glow. I use it at night, then during the day underneath my sunblock I use Murad’s Active Radiance Serum. I’ve been trying to get my hands on Skinceuticals’ Phyto Corrective Gel, it’s supposed to help minimize discoloration and spots as well. On some days when my skin is oily I’ll trade the Murad Serum for Suki’s Balancing Day Lotion just to calm my skin and minimize the oil production.
I’m not so picky about shampoo, as long as I have the right conditioner. I use a hair dryer everyday and Snoe Beauty’s Hair Heroes Intense Argan Oil prevents my hair from feeling rough and frizzy. I normally use this as a conditioner but on some days I use it alone without any shampoo, and when I head to the beach I use this as a leave on treatment. It smells really great and your hair just feels amazing afterwards. We’ve actually just started selling Snoe Beauty at Wink and out of their many effective and well packaged products, this is their best selling product in our store.
I have really dry skin so I use the Rosken Dry Skin Cream during the day. I’m picky with lotions because I hate feeling sticky and even worse, getting my hands sticky from applying them. The Rosken cream instantly hydrates my skin without all that stickyness and I’m glad that there’s also no scent that could clash with whatever perfume I’m using. I use the Oasis Baby Oil at night. I love the smell, it actually helps me sleep. I used to use the lotion version on my face as well, it’s a great product line that was formulated for babies with skin asthma.
I can live without blush or eyeliner, but please don’t take away my eyebrow pen! I feel naked whenever I leave the house without doing my eyebrows and curling my lashes! Brows really frame your face and I’m obsessed with getting that perfectly arched and defined brow. I’m too OC to let anyone touch my brows too, so I pluck it myself every other day. I discovered the the K-Palette Eyebrow Pen in Sasa after giving up on brow powders. The pen is great because you can build the color, its so much easier to draw on and it really stays put even if you swim or sweat.
I stopped trying other mascaras when I found Fairy Drops Platinum Mascara. If you think your Diorshow or Inimitable mascara is the best you’ve ever tried, then you haven’t tried this. Aside from giving my lashes perfect length and perfect volume, this is the only mascara that I’ve used that is really sweatproof/waterproof/tearproof/smudge proof. I always use the waterproof version because it holds curls better. I easily remove it with Shu Uemura’s Cleansing Oil.
I don’t like to wear foundation much because sometimes I feel like it just clogs my skin so I’d rather let it breathe. On occasion I’ll use Diorskin Nude when I need more coverage than usual. But on a daily basis I use Sonia Kashuk Quad Concealer to hide old acne scars. It’s the perfect concealer for it because it’s not too heavy, you can build the coverage and one of the quads is a powder that lets you set the concealer.
I’m really into “glowing skin” so having a good highlighter is a must. I came across RMS Beauty’s Living Luminizer while looking for a replacement for Benefit’s High Beam (which had too much glitter). The Living Lumizer is perfect because aside from being all natural, it’s not sparkly or glittery or sticky.
After my first RMS pot, I went for the rest–eye shadow, blush, lip shines. I’m a big fan of the RMS Beauty line because it’s actually good for your skin. The creator is an advocate of clean cosmetics, so none of the products contain any chemicals and most of the products are based on coconut oil. I love how everything can be applied with your hands, so it’s great when you’re traveling, no brushes to bring! The only downside is how heavy all of the pots are when you carry them altogether. The staying power of these products isn’t as long as their less-clean counterparts, but it’s good to keep applying them anyway since their function isn’t just to add color, but to nourish the skin as well.
as told to divasoria