Hada Labo – From Tokyo With Love

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I adore Fall and think it’s the most beautiful season, but my skin likes to be extra finicky when the temperatures start dropping. It’s usually my cheeks and chin that get dry and irritated, so I tend to experiment with richer products that would normally be too heavy.

Hada Labo Tokyo is a brand known for their gentle formulas suitable for sensitive and dehydrated skin. I tried one of their fabulous moisturizers earlier this year, and tested three more products over the past couple of weeks. So, is this company worthy of your attention? Absolutely!

First of all, some beauty experts argue that there is no need to buy a separate moisturizer just for the eye area. I tend to disagree, because the skin on upper and lower lids is thinner and usually drier than the rest of your face. If my skin was naturally dry, I could probably use one moisturizer all over, as long as it’s nourishing enough. However, my skin is combination, and it makes perfect sense that I would address each concern by applying the treatments topically. Sort of like skincare contouring!

Hada Labo Age Correcting Eye Cream contains three types of hyaluronic acid, anti-aging plant extracts, collagen for plumping the lines out, caffeine for de-puffing, and light-reflecting particles that act as an invisible concealer. I found this eye cream to be gentle and soothing, a real treat for tired eyes at the end of a long day. I decided to keep it in the fridge to make the depuffing effect of caffeine even more effective. Try that with your current eye cream: best thing ever in the morning!

Ingredients – CosDNA: Water, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Peg/Ppg/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin, Squalane, Triethylhexanoin, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/ Vp Copolymer, Mica, Agar, Albizia Julibrissin Bark Extract [Pink Silk Tree], Alpha-Glucan, Aluminum Hydroxide, Arginine, Caffeine, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Citric Acid, Darutoside, Dimethicone, Dipropylene Glycol, Disodium Edta, Glucosyl Ceramide, Hydrolyzed Collagen (Marine),Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Methylisothiazolinone, Physalis Angulata Extract [Camapu], Silica, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Titanium Dioxide, Triethyl Citrate.

Exfoliation is one of the key factors to achieve beautiful skin, but the effect can be quite the opposite if you happen to over-exfoliate. For me personally that means no more than 2-3 times a week, which includes both chemical peels and abrasive scrubbers, like sonic brushes and physical exfoliators. On my skin over-exfoliation manifests in small painful red bumps along the jawline, and they don’t just go away after a few days of using BHA, so I really try hard to avoid that.

HADA LABO Hydrating Facial Cleanser is gentler than most cleansers on the market. It has rich and creamy texture that eventually turns into luxurious foamy goodness after coming in contact with water. Alone it doesn’t have the power to take off a full face of makeup, but I used it as a second step in my three-step cleansing routine, and it worked really well. My testing strips registered the pH at 6.5, which is more “basic” than I would normally prefer [read here why], but it’s definitely one of the better cleansers I tried recently.

Ingredients – CosDNA: Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Butylene Glycol, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Decyl Glucoside, PEG 400, Water, Sodium Lauroyl Aspartate, BHT, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Lauric Acid, Methylcellulose, Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, Mica, PEG 32, Phenoxyethanol, Polyquaternium 52, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Stearic Acid, Titanium Dioxide.

Sheet masks are another major weakness of mine, and I use them every other day. It might sound wasteful to some, but don’t forget that I order mine from Korea with the cheapest possible shipping option, and in the end they cost me roughly 50-80 cents per mask. I also love trying nicer sheet masks that are available in the US, and I use them once a week.

According to Hada Labo their Ultimate Anti-Aging Facial Mask will make the skin smoother and firmer in just ten minutes. For me, wearing one of these pre-soaked cotton sheets on the skin was a very relaxing experience more than anything, and 10 minutes of chilling on a comfy couch can smooth out any wrinkles, haha 🙂 Each box of these comes with four individually wrapped masks, making it easy to just grab one or two to bring on a trip. I don’t know about you, but whenever I travel my skin tends to look 5 years older, because it gets very dehydrated, even if I drink enough water [or I think I do anyway], so sheet masks help me “save face”, literally.

Ingredients – CosDNA: Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, BHT, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Carbomer, Dipropylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Hydrolyzed Collagen (Marine), Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Methylisothiazolinone, PEG-20 Sorbitan Isostearate, PPG-10 Methyl Glucose Ether, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Triethanolamine.

By the way, Hada Labo products don’t contain fragrances, parabens, artificial dyes, and mineral oils, which makes this skin care geek very happy.

WHERE TO BUY:

• Hada Labo Age Correcting Eye Cream – $21.99 for 0.5 oz. Available at Ulta, Target.
• HADA LABO Hydrating Facial Cleanser – $11.99 for 3.5 oz. Available at Ulta, Drugstore.com
• Ultimate Anti-Aging Facial Mask – $14.99 for one box [4x 0.7 fl. oz]. Available at Ulta, Drugstore.com

Have you tried Hada Labo products before? Do you use sheet masks? What’s your favorite foaming cleanser? Let me know in the comments below!

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