EUNICE ANNABEL: Nivea Extra White - Pore Minimiser Range

When I hear the brand NIVEA or when I think of it, the most significant thing that pops up in my mind is my dad’s daily regime. As a kid, I've always watched him apply his favorite Nivea body lotion to his hands, arms and legs. He works extremely hard for our family and he comes home pretty late because of that. By the time he knocks off from work, there isn't much to do. You know, there's no way he can unwind at a spa or pamper himself to a massage etc. So he finds comfort in the simplest of things- his Nivea body lotion. My dad has extremely dry skin - some times so dry that they crack - especially on his hands because his job requires him to use them a lot. I remember the look of relief he had expressed across his face when he applied the lotion every night before he sleeps. Because of this, I've always trusted NIVEA to be the ultimate, trust worthy skincare brand.

Along the years I was introduced to numerous other brands and to be honest, I've long forgotten about Nivea and its benefits. Frankly speaking, I couldn't care less about facial products. I'm a huge believer in sticking to what's already good. It's a pain walking through the drug store with so many different brands and products in your face. It's tough picking out the right one when you don't even know where to begin looking! In fact, thinking about this made me realized that I've never ever spoken about Nivea before. So when I was offered to come onboard this campaign, I couldn't say no for some reason. I was eager to try. Looking at the products and it's signature cobalt blue packaging hit me with a very nostalgic feeling and a sense of warmth. I suddenly recalled how it played a part of my childhood and how it constantly made my dad feel better every night.

In this post, I'm going to be talking about NIVEA’s skincare range though - their Extra White Pore Minimiser range. Apart from minimising enlarged pores and removing impurities from it, all of the products also contain Pearly White, which has proven efficiency 10 times better than Vitamin C. They also contain multi vitamins to help nourish skin after frequent use of make up. So basically, this is a product range that is most suited for individuals like myself - constantly using make up and looking for fairer skin.

We all want perfect clear skin but that's impossible unless God especially loves you and blessed you with excellent genetics. Once a while, we all get acne. It's every girl's worst nightmare, it means that you're have to wake up earlier because you'll need more time to conceal that ugly pimple. And that also means that you're actually clogging up your pores even more!

Everyone knows that the best way to avoid acne is prevention. So drink lots of water (It's really works! I didn't believe at first until I tried it for myself.), stay away from junk food - especially those high in sugar and salt, avoid touching your face whenever you can, and adopt a good skincare routine. Also, if your lifestyle allows you to, try to give your skin a "vacation" at least once or twice a week. Meaning, don't apply make up every single day.

You see, make up clogs up our pores whether you like it or not, even if most cosmetic products claim not to. Acne is formed when sebaceous glands become overactive. When they overproduce sebum - an oily substance - our pores get clogged up with dead skin cells.

One of the ways to minimise such things from happening is to resolve the basis of the problem. Don't you think that if our skin is well cleansed, there wouldn't even be an opportunity for dead skin cells or bacteria to clog up and pores were not be enlarged? Nivea Extra White Pore Minimiser Mud Foam removes impurities and make up residues that cause dullness, acne and enlarged pores. It also contains volcanic mud substance with proven whitening efficacy 10x more effective than Vitamin C. All these without thinning the skin!

The Nivea Pore Minimiser Mud Foam works as a pretty heavy-duty facial cleanser. It feels creamy and smooth on the skin so it doesn't feel as strong though it is able to remove 10 make up residues. According to its packing, it states that it removes the following:

1. Oil

2. Powder

3. Foundation

4. Blush

5. Eye Shadow

6. Silicon

7. Eyeliner

8. Colouring

9. Moisturiser residue

10. Sunscreen residue

So bacteria, excess oil and dead skin cells cause acne huh? Well, we can't avoid excessive production of oil because that's up to our skin type and hormonal changes, and bacteria are everywhere so avoiding it is inevitable. But we can control the amount of dead skin cells on the surface of our skin. This is where a scrub comes into the picture - it's also my favorite part of the entire skincare routine.

Basically, sebum, which is supposed to act as a lubricant for our hair and skin, some times acts as “glue". It traps dead skin cells and together, they form a plug that clogs the pore. Which over time causes inflammation - a pimple. Hence, another preventive measure to take to prevent a pimple from occurring would be to exfoliate and remove dead skin cells.

Nivea Pore Minimiser Scrub contains micro beads that gently exfoliate your skin to remove impurities hence minimising the appearance of acne, large pores and dark spots. The scrub feels really gentle unlike most scrubs I've used before. I like how it doesn't cause skin tightening.

Alright. So this is a question that's been in my head for the longest time but I never actually asked anyone about. What is the purpose of using a night cream? I like to stick to the basics when it comes to my personal skincare regime- Cleanse, Tone and Moisturize. So why do we need to spend a little more money on something else? Is that just a way for brands and companies to earn more by selling us a product we don't even need? Or do we really benefit from it?

Well apparently, different body cells are more active at different times of the day. Skin cells are most active at night. Research has proven that skin cell regeneration peaks between 11pm to 4am so apart from sleeping at the right time, it's also great if we can replenish our skin with active ingredients at that time.

If you look carefully, you'll realized that night creams are always a little heavier and thicker compared to day creams or serums. Active ingredients found in night creams are less effective when exposed to sunlight, which is why you'll need to apply them only at night before you go to bed. Most night creams are meant for purposes that contain ingredients that may cause skin irritation or sensitivity when exposed to sunlight. Which is why these ingredients are only found in night creams when your skin doesn't have to compete with other elements such as make up or sunscreen or pollution etc.

The Nivea Pore Minimiser Night Cream feels smooth and creamy, and a little heavy at first but it absorbs into the skin pretty quickly leaving your skin feeling soft and supple. My skin didn't feel greasy after at all, which is awesome! Nobody likes that greasy feeling. I also enjoy how it smelled! It has a very refreshing scent.

So now we know the purpose and benefits of using a night cream. But what about day serums? If it's so important to use night creams, I think it would be even MORE important to use day serums since our skin gets exposed to more harmful elements during the day. Our skin is subjected to harmful UV rays, pollutions, environmental stresses, and make up. Hence, day creams are designed to focus on protecting and supporting our skin typically with SPF and antioxidants. These are important ingredients that would act as a shield and protect our skin from UV rays that causes photo damage (aka hyper-pigmentation) and free radicals. Serum on the other hand contains a higher concentration of the cream yet lighter texture product.

The Nivea Pore Minimiser Day Serum is an excellent example of a day serum. It's designed to be worn under make up, so it's really light and non-greasy. I love how it quickly absorbs into my skin and it feels like I don't even have anything on after applying it. Which makes my feel like my pores are still able to breathe. The day serum acts like a primer in a way? It provides a smooth, oil-free surface for foundation to glide on smoothly.

So far, it's been pretty good. I saw a difference in my skin tone almost instantly after completing the 4-step regime. My pores are supposed to reduce in size in 7 days, so we'll see how it goes!:)

*When used with Nivea Extra White reapir range, referred from consumer satisfaction survey by IPSOS institution, Thailand, Aug12

I’m loving this limited edition Nivea Pouch! You can also get one with every $10 purchase of Visage face available in Guardian & Watsons in Sept 2014. Nivea Whitening Pore Minimser range is available in all major pharmacy chains such as Guardian and Watsons, and supermarkets.

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Thanks for reading.