WINNER of the Gamila Secret Giveaway

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to post an update on the Giveaway held in October last year.

Due to the holiday season and whatnot, I've to admit I overlooked this post and hence this delayed announcement.

The winner of the Gamila Secret Giveaway is ....

*drumroll*... ...


Kar Min from Malaysia!



CONGRATULATIONS!!!  :D

I've sent out the soap and hopefully it reaches you soon.

Thank you all for participating :)

Love,
PockMarkFats

GIVEAWAY: Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar !!!

Yup, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. PockMarkFats is having its first giveaway!

Not too long ago I did a review on the Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar in Original. Today, I have a brand  new box of the FULL SIZED cleansing bar in Soothing Geranium to give to one lucky reader! 

As you can see the box is still securely sealed, just waiting the be unopened by its new owner   :)

Gamila Secret is suitable for your entire body and gentle enough even for the face! It is recommended to use the soap ALONE for at least a month to get the full results. Try not to use any toner, serum or moisturizer as the soap works to rebalance and detox your skin. If your skin gets really dry, then use a light moisturizer after cleansing.

The official product website states that Soothing Geranium is most suitable for normal to combination skin types as it will regulate the skin's hydration balance. 

Some of the functions of this soap include:

- Cleansing

- Detoxifying

- Purifying

- Stimulate blood circulation

- Exfoliating

- Regulate pigmentation

In Singapore, this full sized bar retails for S$46.00 !!! 

To win this giveaway, simply let me know in the comments box below why you want to try out this bar of soap and leave some way for me to contact you. The winner need only pay for postage, and it is open to overseas readers as well.

Good luck!

Love,

PockMarkFats

Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar : Challenge Failed !

Ok, I have something to confess…

Even though I committed myself to trying out the Gamila soap for 28 days, I stopped using it somewhere after two and a half weeks.

I know it has been ages since I last posted, and that this review is really long overdue, but I have been too busy with work lately.

From my previous post at the 2 week mark, it seemed as though the pimples from the initial purge were calming down and going away, and my skin tone was more even. What the picture couldn’t show however, was how clogged up my pores were getting! I hated running my fingers across my face during cleansing as I could feel so many little bumps on my skin! It was driving me mad!

I think the fact that the soap is made up of more than 80% olive oil and also includes shea butter makes this unsuitable for my oily skin. Even though it seemed to rinse clean off my face, I still felt as though there was a thin moisturizing film left behind. This may be good for drier skin types, but not mine!

That is the end of the Gamila Soap Challenge.

Too bad Gamila, you didn’t work out for me. :(

CHALLENGE FAILED.

Sad,

PockMarkFats

Update: I've recently found a skin care line that completely healed my skin of acne. I'm now acne-free apart from that time of the month. To read my review, click here!

Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar : 2 Week Update

Hello!

It has been 14 days since I first started trying out the Gamila Bar Soap in Original on my right cheek and I have another update for you today.

Here are some photos:

After 1 week of using the soap:

At the 2 week mark:

Okay, it looks like the redness has calmed down slightly from a week ago, probably because I started using my Aesop serum after cleansing and this has reduced the dryness from the soap. The pimples have also more or less settled down and seem to be on their way out. Overall, my skin tone seems to be slightly more even today. One thing though, I don't think this soap helps to clear out clogged pores... ...

I have one more week to go for this 28-day trial, I don't know how much my skin can improve over this time to meet the claims of the soap. But I shall persevere! Hopefully no more new pimples surface from now on!


Love,
PockMarkFats

Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar : 1 Week Update

Just wanted to update how the soap is going.

I’ve been testing the Gamila Soap (Original) on my right cheek since 20 June 2013 and today is Day 7. I wash with this soap morning and night after removing my makeup and try not to use a moisturizer, as I’ve read other reviewers comment that mixing it with other products made them break out.

This was what my skin looked like on Day 1:

Horrible skin after returning from UK holiday :(

After 7 days, this is my skin now:

Wow, taking a look at these photos, my skin actually seems more red after using the soap for a week! Also you can see it has brought out some pimples on my skin. I admit I am tempted to ditch this 28 day challenge, I'm afraid more zits will surface!

I find that the soap does make my skin softer, however even though it is supposed to be moisturizing, I actually find it drying and my skin feels tight after wash. I think I'll have to break the 'no moisturizer' rule from now on, perhaps use my Aesop oil free serum to hydrate the skin a little.

In the meantime, I need to use more concealer!

PockMarkFats

Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar : The 28-Day Challenge

Hello my lovelies!

I just came back from a long trip to the U.K. so have not managed to squeeze in a post for a while now. FYI, I had a good but tiring trip thanks for asking!

On to today’s post… …

I came across this bar soap called Gamila Secret Cleansing Bar during one of my internet searches. This soap is meant for both your face and body. Now, I’ve always been told that soap was not meant to be used for the face. Tell any facialist that you use soap to clean your face and they will probably freak out…

‘Aiyo, Ah Girl ah, how can you use soap on your face??! Soap is very harsh and will damage the skin you know! Must take care!’

They will then proceed to recommend some ridiculously priced cleanser that they so happen to stock at their salon. I’m sorry Aunty, but what’s ‘best’ for my skin is driven by your sales commission no?

So anyway, I used to be pretty sceptical about using soap to wash my face but after trying out some handmade soaps, I found them to be gentle on my skin, contain skin benefits and also cleanse well. Now I am actually starting to prefer these natural soaps over chemical-laden commercial cleansers.

Back to Gamila Secret… I began searching online for reviews of this product (because as I will reveal later, it is NOT cheap) and I found quite a few positive reviews, some of which even had before and after pictures! Most users seem to experience brighter, more even-toned skin, and a small group also had their blemishes disappear! Now I was REALLY keen to try it out.

Gamila Secret soaps are all natural with a total of 10 different types and categorized according to skin types. Every bar comprises of a base assortment of wild herbs, shea butter and plant oils to heal your skin.

As the Original bar is suitable for all skin types, even sensitive, I decided to make that my first purchase before trying out the others.

Even though Gamila Secret has a local online website where you can purchase the soaps, and also store retailers (Metro Paragon and Robinsons Centerpoint), all of these were SOLD OUT OF THE ORIGINAL SOAPS!!!! I only managed to get my eager hands on the small sample size of the Original bar at Centrepoint (thank goodness!). The sample size is 30g and cost $26 by the way :(

I must state here that customer response on the Gamila Secret Singapore website is C R A P. 

I sent in two emails enquiring about new stock for the soaps and got no reply whatsoever from them till now.

According to the instructions, the soap has to be used for at least 28 days with minimal use of all other skin care to get the full results. Only basic toner and moisturizer should be used during this period if necessary while your skin gets used to the soap. The less the better!

I’ve started using my Original bar today and have also taken pictures of my skin to track my progress with the product. I intend to take up the 28-day challenge and see what sort of miraculous results I get. Can’t wait!!!

I will post my results along with photos after 28 days, so do tune back in if you are interested.

xxx

PockMarkFats