Half Way Through My Smile Direct Club Treatment Now!

I'd like to give a quick update on my Smile Direct Club experience. I'm finally on my 11th tray. The journey has been smooth so far and I did not experience anything surprising with my teeth and how they are moving.

Since the 8th treatment, I did notice there is a gap on my lower teeth. I double checked my treatment plan, even though it doesn't show very clearly on the right side picture, I do notice a very minimal gap on the left side chart. 

I'm not very much concerned at the moment as I think my teeth should move back in place in the future. But as you can tell, my bottom teeth has became more straighter and the over crowding area isn't as noticeable as before. 

My top stick-out tooth is still sticking out quite a bit, but I can tell it is not as much as before as well. You can barely see it now even when I get a big smile on my face. 

This is the treatment plan I've received: what to expect on the 11th tray

You can see my bottom teeth is straighter now and my top stick-out tooth is less noticeable

If I smile naturally, you can see an improvement from when I first started.

Again, this was right before the first tray, a close up on my messy teeth

I've been charged monthly so far, and I usually receive my trays every 2-3 months. But right now I'm on my 11th tray and I only have up to the 12th tray. I've emailed the customer representative about this and this is what they've replied: 

Your second phase of aligners won't be arriving from our manufacturing facility until you've switched into your 12th aligner.

If you're adhering to the wear schedule that was prescribed to you in your treatment plan, you'll only be wearing your aligner 12 for an additional week or two before your aligner 13 arrives. This is designed to allow your teeth a little extra time to stabilize before moving into the second phase of treatment.

Will update again after a few trays. I hope this works as planned. :)
Thank you for reading!

Japanese Beauty Products that I love in 2017

Hello everyone! It's been awhile since I've updated. I'm finally back to reality after traveling to Asia and I would like to share with you some of the things that I've encountered, some products that I've purchased and used and loved, and some of my travel experience.

So this post I'll be talking about the beauty products that I've found in Japan. I actually went to Japan twice during my trip to Asia in December. I went to Osaka with my family, then I went to Okinawa with my friends for a wedding.
I've always loved Japan. I love their culture, their products, their FOOD (OMG!), their politeness, their cleaniness, and their high standard of living (not in terms of money, but in terms of the way they want to live their life). Long time before Korean beauty products and dramas became a trend in Asia, I have always admired EVERYTHING in Japan.

So here are some Japanese beauty products that works really well with my skin. I purchased some of these during my trip this time, I've also purchased some of them in my previous trips or have asked my parents to get me these items when they travel to Japan (they generally go to Japan 3-4 times a year). Most of these items I've seen it in America, or on Amazon. Of course they will be more expensive comparing to getting them from Japan. But if you are planning to visit Japan and you are not sure what you want to try, you may consider these.

Facial Cleansers

Hada Labo Make Up Cleansing Oil

I love this brand because they are affordable. I've been using this cleansing oil for years. These comes in refill pack and which helps save the world by creating less waste for bottles and it's easy to carry when you are trying to buy a lot in Japan. I used to use Shu Uemura's cleansing oils which are very good too, but they are way too expensive. The Hada Labo cleansing oil is so much cheaper and it does a good job in removing face and eye make up. It may take a bit longer to remove waterproofed mascaras though, so I usually gently put a finger on top of my eyelashes with these cleansing oil on my finger, and let it stay for 30 seconds before washing them off. However, there is no problem in removing my waterproof eyeliner

If you are looking for a better make up cleanser for waterproofed eye makeup, I would recommend you another product from Korea instead. [Will post that in the future so stay tuned!]

Please note that I do follow the Korean beauty routine of doing double cleansing (which I didn't even know it was a Korean thing until I start hearing other vloggers talk about it). I will use a water based cleanser to wash my face again after using this cleansing oil to get a more deeper cleansing result.

Ishizawa Keana Baking Soda Face Wash Foam &
Ishizawa Keana Baking Soda Scrub Wash (Powder)

If you're like me, always struggling with clogged pores and blackheads, I would highly recommend to you. These face wash and exfoliator are just wonderful. They contain baking soda in it to help cleanse your pores and dig the dirt out in a non-abrasive way. Of course, you may always use a even more natural ingredient (i.e. the real baking soda that you can buy from grocery stores). 

These has been very popular in Asia right now and I've been seeing them in the stores in Hong Kong. I do see my pores being improved after using it for a month. I use the face wash every night, and the powder 2-3 times a week depending on how dirty I feel my pores are. They also sell these at Japanese drugstore. 

These can be found on Amazon USA website as well.

Toner

Labo Labo Super Pores Lotion

OMG, you won't believe me, but I am actually a super lazy bug when it comes to beauty and skincare. But growing older isn't fun and your age reflects how much time you actually need to spend on skincare routine. My mom used to give me a lot of different products to try but I will always say "Nah... I don't need it". But now I'm craving her to give me more to try. 

Since blackheads and big pores has been my problem, I've done some researched and decided to try this toner as well. And to my surprise, it actually works! I actually see my pores become smaller and cleaner after using this.

So after I've cleansed my face, exfoliated, then I will apply a few drops of these on a cotton pad and gently swipe through my face from the bottom to the top. At times, if I over poured an extra few drops on my cotton pad, I will put it around my nose for a minute and let them soak because that's my most problematic area with blackheads. 

These can also be found on Amazon USA website as well.

Moisturizer

 Hada Labo 3 in 1 Intense Moisturizing Perfect Gel

 

This is one of the best moisturizer that I use in a drugstore price. I used to use Clinque's Moisture Surge but it cost me a fortune to purchase those (even though they are very good!). I found these moisturizes my skin very well especially under California's super dry weather.

Like the cleansing oil, they sell these "Refill" version in Japan so you won't need to purchase the container again and throw them away like a waste. I have used this for about 2-3 years now and I've always just purchased the refill packs. They cost about 100-200yen cheaper than the container version, but it is so much easier to carry and space saving (especially you want to be able to put more into your luggage without being overweight!)

They do carry these in some Japanese beauty store or supermarkets and it's not difficult to find.

I've also used other of their products (emulsion and beauty water) but I like this one the best.

Eyes

Namerakahonpo Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream

This was recommended by a friend of my mom saying that these have anti-wrinkle function. Now some of you may say (like what I used to say), I'm still young and I don't have wrinkles so why should I care? To be honest, I was like that too. But after doing some research on Korean beauty, I decide to give more nurturing to my eyes so I bought these. To my surprise, they are not too "creamy" and oily, but it does moisturize around my eyes very well. I don't use a lot each time, just a tiny bead for both eyes and apply it with my ring finger.  It also seems like a big tube when you're using so little each time.Almost forgot to mention, they are also very cheap drugstore brand.

You may find them on Rakuten.

KAO Megurhythm Hot Steam Eye Mask

 

These eye masks can be life savers for a lot of people (not just ladies). If you've ever woke up with swollen eyes, this is what you need to get. These heated eye mask will become warm once you open the package for about 10-15 minutes. It's designed in a way that you can hold it with your ears so it gets hold in one place. They are not only great for the morning to help you feel refreshed with your swollen eyes, but also great for night before you go to bed to help circulation. It comes in different scents and this I have here is the Lavender scent to help you sleep better.

You may find these on Amazon.

Sunscreen

Shiseido Anessa SPF 50+

With the abrasive sun in California, it is a MUST to wear sunscreen whether it's sunny or not. I've been using this for many years since I was in college and I found them really protects my skin from going tan and hurting from the sun. These are waterproof sunscreen it can prevent melting from sweating. However, you must use a oil base cleanser to wash your face to remove it.

Please note that the version I got here might be a little older [because I've been using it for so many years]. There are newer versions out there with whitening and higher SPFs. You may take a look at what may serve you the best. 

So here you are, some of the Japanese beauty products that I love using in 2017. I'm hoping to do a recommendation on different facial masks, and also other Japanese products that I've got in the future. If you are interested, please stay tuned! 

Thank you for reading!