Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation £5.99
When Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation came out in the UK, I was not that interested because I thought it would make my face cakey and emphasise dry patches that appears in winter. But after hearing all the good reviews, I couldn't resist by to try it.

Because it's not sold here in Japan, it was hard to pick a shade. I would like to thank those kind ladies who helped me to find the right shade on Instagram, without their help I wouldn't be able to.

The shade I got is 100 Ivory. I usually use Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 52 Vanilla, and I am in between MAC NC 20 and 25. Ivory is not the best colour match to my skin because it's a little bit too pinky actually, but it's definitely wearable.

The texture is moussy as the name suggests, but very creamy at the same time. You need a tiny bit to cover the whole face, but make sure your skin is well-moisturised. It covers the pores on my cheek, redness around my nose, and even out the skin tone. I use my fingers to apply the foundation, and once it's blended out I use my Real Techniques sponge to make sure there is no harsh line. I have tried to use it with the buffing brush as well but it didn't look as nice.

It gives a matte finish for sure, but I have to say that it won't stay matte for so long. I have dry skin in winter that transforms into oily skin especially around my cheeks in summer. My skin looks a little shiny after a couple of hours even in this colder season with this foundation, which means it might be not "matte" enough for my skin in summer. But the good thing is that it doesn't stay too matte and the dewiness comes through after a while, which makes it look natural, not like a porcelain doll.

This is definitely a good matte foundation for dry skin. For oily skin, it could be a little bit heavy. I wish they had more yellowy toned shade, because most of the shades look pretty pinky. It's not a full coverage foundation but definitely buildable. 

Have you tried this foundation? What did you think?

Cooling sensation for your scalp! Yuzu-Yu Hair Mask

Yuzu-Yu Hair Mask
Yuzu-Yu is a brand that is famous for their hair oil with yuzu oil. Yuzu makes your hair soft and shiny, while stimulating blood circulation when you apply it on your scalp. This hair mask contains yuzu oil along with menthol for a cooking sensation, and chili and ginger extracts for a warming sensation, that gives you kind of like a spa-treatment session at home. What a unique concept, isn't it?

The texture is pretty thick. It supposed to smell of yuzu, which is a fresh citrus scent with a little bit of bitterness, but it smells more like menthol unfortunately. I wouldn't want my hair to smell of menthol, but I thought to give it a try. 

After shampooing, I applied it on my scalp as well as on my hair. Usually you need to be careful not to apply hair mask that contains silicone as it tend to clog the pores on your scalp, but with this hair mask you don't need to worry about that because it doesn't contain silicone, artificial fragrance, colouring and parabens. 

The cooling effect kicked off immediately, and after 3 minutes my scalp felt so cool that almost felt like tingling. I was waiting for the warming sensation to start, but it didn't. After 5 minutes, I couldn't be bothered to wait any longer so I washed it off. 

My scalp felt cool for another hour or so. I do not recommend it to use in winter, as you will need an extra blanket to sleep with. But in summer, especially in Japan it's always super hot and humid, it will be perfect to use on a pamper night. 

And it made my hair SO soft and kind of fluffy, that is much better than having a limp and flat hair. Considering the fact that I applied it on my scalp, meaning the roots of the hair were completely covered with the moisturising hair mask, it's just amazing, isn't it?

My hair tend to get tangled when I use hair mask without silicone, but it didn't happen with this one. The only downside is the scent. I personally want my hair to smell good, and I want the fragrance of hair care products to be pretty strong and long lasting. This hair mask leaves a subtle scent of menthol (forget about yuzu, you don't smell it at all) that is not an amazing scent. I wish it had a nice pleasant scent like Macadamia :(

Anyway I can see myself using it in summer on a weekly basis to refresh my scalp. Have  you tried this kind of hair mask? What's your thoughts?

Sold only in Japan? Rimmel Marshmallow-look Lipstick in Mode Beige

Rimmel Marshmallow-look Lipstick 1300yen
Rimmel is definitely one of my favourite drugstore brands. I love their moisture renew lipsticks, apocalips and stay matte powder...they all are really good quality for the price. But those products are not available in Japan and Rimmel here seems to be completely different from the brand in the UK. Their products here in Japan had never been appealing to me until I saw this lipstick. 

It's called Marshmallow-look Lipstick, and they brought out some new shades a couple of months ago and some shops had a special stand for the range which caught my eyes.

 
I picked up this shade 05 Mode Beige, as it looked like a perfect for every day wear. 

 
 It's got this gorgeous rosy tone which makes is feminine and wearable in my opinion. It looks beigy but definitely more pinky than orangy.

Apparently this lipstick has "marshmallow touch gel" that makes your lips look soft, and "moist oval powder" makes it last longer. It doesn't have shimmer or glitter particles, and formula is creamy that glides on and feels moisturising on the lips. It doesn't last too long to be honest,  but as the colour isn't too bright you can't really tell that it's worn off :P

The formula of Marshmallow-look Lipstick feels more moisturising compared to Moisture Renew Lipstick in my opinion, and I like the fact that it's fragrance-free. They have bunch of pretty shades in the collection and I might pick up more shades for spring and summer!

I'm not sure if this range is sold in other countries, I'm pretty sure that it's not available in the UK but how about in your country? Have you seen / tried it? :)

 

What's in Japanese Glossy Box?

I purchased Glossy Box a couple of years ago when it just came to Japan to see what it was like. The box arrived, I opened, and immediately I cancelled the subscription because it was crap. But now I hear quite a few people saying that their service has improved and the box isn't too bad. So I decided to subscribe to it again for a couple of months for a blogging purpose. Today I'm going to show you what I got in my February box.

So the box is nothing special, just a plain pink box. We don't have a thin mag that you get in the UK (not sure about the US), nor the post card thing which explains the products that are in the box, because we get different products based on our profile I guess.

The box was pretty heavy and I thought "Oh they have improved their quality because it must contain some full-size products". I was wrong. The reason why it was heavy was because of a bunch of sachets. Gee!

Noz Beashow Trial Set
Sachets of the haircare products from the brand Noz, created by a hair stylist Michio Nozawa, which I have no clue who that is. The white one makes your hair smooth, the blue one gives volume in your hair, and the red one moisturises damaged and dry hair. I haven't used them yet but I'm not excited at all about the sachets at all.

KRYOLAN Blusher Glossy Rosewood
Kryolan, the professional makeup brand from Germany, collaborated with Glossy Box and created this blusher. It's actually not sold anywhere else, and the shade is pretty nice.

The blusher is completely matte, which I like.

And this dusty pink shade looks quite sophisticated when I apply on my cheek. I didn't own any blusher like this, and I've been enjoying it since I got it. I wish it didn't have the Glossy Box logo on the packaging though.

Beaute de Sae Hand Cream -Rose bouquet
Beaute de Sae has been pretty popular here in Japan, I think the biggest reason is the packaging and the scent. They look very girly and feminine, and smell pretty nice. I don't particularly like the brand, just because they are too "kawaii" in a French-y way if that makes sense, their packaging looks like a French-wanna-be. 

Look how tiny the jar is! This buttery textured hand cream is pretty rich yet doesn't make my hands greasy. However it's got a perfumy rosy scent, which I wouldn't mind if it was not as strong as it is. It's got organic sheabutter, aloe, honey and rise bran oil to nourish your skin. It's not greasy at all and it feels quite nice on my hands, I wish the perfume wasn't too strong.

Avance Lasjh Serum Mascara
Apparently they are known for their eyelash serum which has been around for more than 10 years, and this mascara contains the serum to grow your lashes. 

This is a typical Japanese mascara in my opinion, that gives length but not volume. It's so wet that sticks my lashes together and make them look less dense. You might like it if you want to make your lashes look longer, not fuller, as whenever I wear this mascara I'm like "WOW my eyelashes look so long!" .

Stick Essence Face Mask
 Last AND least, a Korean face mask. I'm not excited to try it because whenever I use Korean skincare products my skin reacts so bad.

That's all I got in my February Glossy Box. It costs 1500yen / month, and I honestly think it's not worth the price. The mascara itself is 1500yen so it is physically worth more than 1500yen, but I just don't feel like it is. A bunch of sachets didn't make me happy at all, and I felt like that they were being stingy about the sample of the hand cream from Beaute de Sae. I will keep my subscription until April to see what happens, and will most likely cancel. 

What do you think of Japanese Glossy Box? Better or worth than the one in your country?

My Spring Beauty Wishlist...

My excuse for wanting new beauty products is that because it's spring. When the seasons change, it's natural to feel that you need new products -isn't it? 

I'm madly in love with UK products usually but recently I'm interested in some American brands too. I will definitely pick up some products from Tarte if I ever go to the US. be MATTEnificent colored clay eye & cheek palette is something I was thinking of purchasing from Sephora website until I found out that the shipping to Japan was about $20. fresh is another brand that I fancy a lot, their lip treatment is quite pricey but I've heard so many good things about them. When it comes to drugstore beauty bits, I love wet n wild eyeshadow as the texture is kind of buttery and the pigmentation is very good. I would love to try out more products from the brand. 

I have no idea why but L'Oreal Paris in Japan is pretty crap. The price range is on the higher side and they don't bring many new products here. Their Color Infallible eyeshadow is something I've been waiting for them to release in Japan, but apparently it's not going to happen in the near future...unfortunately. They look gorgeous, and it's been hyped up on blogs and YouTube since last year I guess. L'Extraordinaire by Color Riche Nude Ballet looks so pretty that I thought of purchasing on eBay (which I didn't...it's called self control) and I'm sure I will love it as I love their Glam Shine Stain Splash which has got a very similar texture apparently.

Some people may think it's so random but I LOVE Original Source shower gels, since I used it at my sister in law's house! I can't believe that I didn't purchase it last time I went to the UK, I was too paranoid about the weight of my suitcase -which I should have been more paranoid about, because it was drastically over the limit-. I love Lemon and Tea Tree scent, which smells so fresh and clean.

To give some texture and volume in my hair, I need some volumising or texturising spray that's not sold in Japan. Or it's just that I've never seen them anywhere. Japanese people tend to have thick hair that gets frizzy, so there are many products to reduce volume in their hair out there but not the texturising spray for thin hair. Oribe's Dry Texturizing Spray is ridiculously expensive that I would never be able to justify myself to spend $42 on a tin of hair spray, but I am dying to try it out after hearing all the good reviews. Also Bumble and bumble's thickning dryspun finish seems also attractive and a little bit more affordable than Oribe's....but still very pricey.

Apparently I'm into 1) Neutral eyeshadows 2) Good smelling body care products 3) Voluminous hair this spring. What's on your spring wishlist? And what do you recommend? Let me know! x

Nature Conc Clear Lotion

Nature Conc Clear Lotion 
This is like a hybrid of Japanese moisturising lotion and clarifying toner. The Coix Seed extract clarifies your skin removing the dead skin sells, while hyaluronic acid, collagen and plant derived ceramide hydrate. 

It looks like it's beigy in this photo but it's actually clear. Some people say that you can clearly see the dirt on a cotton pad when you have wiped your face with it (I know it sounds a bit gross but it must be satisfying at the same time...) but it didn't happen to me. 

But that doesn't mean it doesn't work on me. It does make my skin feel soft and smooth, remove dulness and improves the skin complexion. It's such an amazing toner that I am totally obsessed with recently. I even stopped using my Michael Todd Blue Green Algae Antibacterial Toner which I had been loving until I discovered this product, because I just got addicted to how my skin feels after using it.


It doesn't contain any acids like AHA or BHA, which could be a bit harsh on your skin especially you are Asian, as we tend to have thinner skin, which makes it usable on daily basis. This fragrance free lotion which tones and hydrates at the same time also can be used in the morning as cleansing water. Another great thing about this affordable (it's around 800yen mark) lotion is that they have refill, that I'm thinking of purchasing once I've used up my current bottle.

What do you think of this product? Interested?

Rituals Honey Touch Rich & Nourishing Body Cream

Rituals Honey Touch Rich & Nourishing Body Cream £17.00

I first got to know the brand Rituals just last year, when Fleur from Fleur de Force mentioned about this body cream on one of her videos. Then I remember she and Becky from Talk Becky Talk spoke more about the brand in one of their haul videos, that made me really want to try out some of their products. They said that the whole shop was spa-like and their products also smelt like spa. Who wouldn't like that?

But I was a little bit scared to try out their products without sniffing them because although I love good scented bath and shower products, I also can be pretty sensitive towards scents. Plus their products are not too pricey but not too affordable either especially YEN is getting weaker now. So when my husband offered to get it for me as a Christmas present, I was super happy that I could fly to the moon.

I wanted all the body cream they have got, but I decided to give "Indian Rose and Himalayan Honey" one a try.  The scent is just DIVINE!!! If you are hesitant to purchase this range of products online because you are not a big fan of a rose scent, don't worry about it. It smells nothing like rose. I don't like rose and floral scents too much either and that is one of the reasons why I didn't purchase it earlier, but it just smells like a spa treatment that you (might) get in Bali or Phuket or somewhere like those tropical islands, nothing like rose nor honey.

To be honest, I have more of a bang on description of the scent. It literally smells like a ladies' room in a very luxurious hotel. You know the ladies' room that doesn't even look like one, with beautiful decorations and an amazing powder room, that's what I am talking about! Sorry if I put you off, but if you like that kind of scent (a luxurious spa or a ladies' room, whichever it is) you would love this body cream.

The texture is literally like whipped butter cream. It moisturises my skin but is never feel heavy or greasy. It contains Dimethicone (silicone) which makes the skin surface silky and smooth, so you can dress immediately after applying this. 

Because I love the scent so much and I want to be wearing it 24/7, I've been applying this body cream every single day without forgetting to do so since I got it on Christmas -which is very impressive for me as I failed so many times to make it a habit. And it shows how much I adore this product. This new habit improved my skin condition for sure, as now I don't have any dry patches on my legs or arms that I tend to get during winter.


Now I'm curious about their body cream in the orange jar (Touch of Happiness) and the blue jar (Touch of Hammam). I also want to get their foaming shower gel when I go to England next time, as they don't ship any aerosol tins.  Have you tried any products from Rituals before? What's your favourite?

My two favorite nude shades from Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick 
Notting Hill Nude and Nude Delight  £6.29 each
I used to think that nude shades would wash me out and makes me look dead. But when I discovered that they make you look chic and sophisticated when you choose the right shade for your skin tone, I have been trying out some nude shades. Today I am going to write about my two favourite nude shades from Rimmel Moiture Renew Lipstick. Now they discontinued the exact ones that I have but they now have Rimmel NEW Moisture Renew lipstick (what a unique name, well done) which has the same shade range along with some new shades.

Left : Notting Hill Nude   Right : Nude Delight

As you can see in the photo above, Notting Hill Nude has more of a rose tone whereas Nude Delight is more like a beigy nude with an orange undertone to it. 

Notting Hill Nude

Nude Delight

 I love both shades, they are not bright colours but definitely brighten up my complexion somehow, and make me look healthy. Sometimes I add a lip gloss on top but usually I wear them on their own. I love the semi matte finish and the fact they don't contain glitter particles. I heard glossy lips will be on trend this spring and summer but I still love those creamy lipsticks!

What is your favourite nude shade? Share your favourites with me!

feelunique & lookfantastic discount codes!

Today I'm going to share some discount codes that you can use on feelunique.com and lookfantastic. 

feelunique discount codes:

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Friend Referral
There's a friend referral system on feelunique if you are shopping there for the first time. If you want 10% off friend referral voucher, leave a comment below to let me know your name (first name & sir name) and e-mail address. The voucher code will be sent via e-mail soon! 

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Hope you enjoy shopping!

The best lip balm ever! Aquaphor Lip Repair Immediate Relief

Aquaphor Lip Repair Immediate Relief $3.86
My lips tend to get chapped all year round. Of course I have to keep moisturising them every 30 minutes during winter, and even in summer I cannot live without a lip balm. Not only are they dry but also they are surprisingly sensitive. When I use a product that my lips don't like, the skin starts peeling off and they become super dry. I tried so many lip balm in my life but nothing worked better that the one from Uriage. I repurchased their lip balm literally more than 20 times, and each one costs 1,040yen. But finally I found a lip balm that works better than Uriage on my stubborn lips. And this is only $3.86.

I love the packaging as you don't have to dip your finger into a jar every time you use it. I am not sensitive about hygiene and stuff but I just don't know what to do with a finger with greasy lip balm after applying it on my lips. Either I wipe it on a towel, or if I don't have one, I just rub it in on the back of my hands...do you have a problem?

It's like Vaseline but it does not contain petroleum jelly. It doesn't contain fragrance but it has this smell of ingredients which I don't mind. It makes my lips soft and smooth even when the skin is about to peel off. It doesn't sting, it doesn't make my lips too greasy that I can apply a lipstick on top. 

This is as effective as Uriage yet much cheaper. I repurchased two more tubes before I used up the first one. I carry one in my bag, and keep one on my table at home. I strongly recommend this lip balm to anyone who's suffering from dry lips.

What's your favourite lip balm?