Yamano Doronko

Remember the beauty products store @ Sun Plaza which I paid my 1st visit 2 months ago? We went there again last Sat & it’s already my 4th visit. Goodness…! 4 trips & cost us close to 1k!

The 1st time there, I was being introduced to a Jap-brand skin care products with its content mainly clay/volcano mud/sea mud – Yamano (Doronko). But I was full of doubts… didn’t want to aggravate my facial condition…

Long ago sis & I have already reckoned that our oily face is part of the hereditary package we received from our mum. I started to deal with zits problem during my pre-u days. But it’d never occurred to me that I should start using skin care products. Anyway I wouldn’t have the money to get any even if I’d thought about it. All I had was oxy-5 (is that familiar to you too, ha!) bought by mum to battle the irritating pimples.
Still vividly remember this particular incident: On the very day after my last exam paper, I was to go for a 1st date with my crush which I’d been so looking forward to. But on the actual day I was too troubled to be excited because I’ve got 1 big, red acne on my nose!!! Not on the left nor right, but right in the centre! However much oxy-5 used simply couldn't deflate it. That’s the very 1st joke Acne&Family played on me. I was so sad & many of my classmates (girls) gave all sorts of suggestion. Of course canceling the date was the last on my mind as I’d been waiting for this day for more than a year! So I took the next best solution offered by 1 of the classmates - to conceal it. That’s the 1st time I heard about concealer & used 1. Okie… laugh all you want... Cosmetics was like a foreign object to me then which I’d ZERO knowledge & interest.

So I rushed to get a Maybelline concealer (yes I still remember it’s Maybelline & it’s the cheapest) on my way home from school. Oooh… how impressed I was to see what miracles a concealer could do. I dabbed as much of the liquid on as my nose could take & no trace of redness anymore! No doubt the bump’s still there… I was contented enough. So much so that I also applied it on my whole face since the effect looked great… I’d accidentally taken it as a foundation. Haha.

And how did my 1st date go? Shall tell ya more about it separately before I’m totally out of the topic.

So I’ve problematic skin all along. My 1st facial treatment was @ Lucky Plaza before I turned 21 with the money I earned from private tutoring. Besides a few other beauty salons & skin doctors which proved to be ineffective, also used to go to Adonis & Haach. But the last two were too ex (though good) for me to sustain longer than a year, having to buy their long range of costly products. Then a girl friend recommended me to this famous aesthetic doctor @ Forum Galleria. Been consulting him for a few years & my condition did improve a lot including the scars. I was finally problem-free for a few years… surprisingly those late nights during The Bar time didn’t inflict a recurrence. And thank God I was free from it too when we wedded although did experience some breakouts before the wedding but was under control after treatments.

Then somewhere in the mid of this year the zitty problem made a comeback. Started with my jawline again, then hairline, then some parts of the face & they’d a high resistant level to all sorts of cream & antibiotics. Those prescribed by the aesthetic doctor weren’t effective this time. It’s so frustrating. Many said it’s due to stress. Well, did make some sense considering the amount of stress I’d had for my May mission. But for whatever reason it might be, I just wanted them out of my sight. Those who never have any of such problem with their skin won't understand...

Come back to this Jap skin care products. Eventually I was being given 2 types of cleanser & mask samples to try out. After 4-5 days, I really saw improvement… Surely it gave me more confidence in the products & a week later I went to get 1 of the cleansers. The following month, I went back for the mask. Then last Sat, I bought the cleanser which’s supposedly a mask – black clay mask, an eye cream & toner. So now, I’m almost a full-range Yamano convert:
- day cleanser
- calamine toner
- eye cream
- black clay mask (also serves as a cleanser in the morning)
- fango pack mask

By the way, the $50+ shampoo I bought (previously mentioned) is also Yamano’s. But honestly I don’t find the clay shampoo any better than others.

Also using the day & night cream of a different brand, bought from the same store. So far quite happy with the results.

Am I adventurous… I’ve completely switched over to some brands I’ve not heard before. But since it’s working well on me, I don’t really care… just gotta monitor the condition closely. Do hope I can at least finish the 1st bottle/pack should anything negative surfaces. Am even trying out their foundation too & I just read the powder is good too. Hmmmm....

Tried to search for some info online but only very limited info available & the best part is, all in Japanese! In the midst, came across this blog by chance… quite interesting.