Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair is a cult product in the UK as well as in Japan. It's one of the best selling serums in Japan, and it's chosen to be the best beauty product in beauty magazines almost every year. SK-II Essential Power Essence, also, is a very popular serum in Japan. As you know SK-II is a luxury skincare brand that represents Japanese beauty brands. As SK-II is even more expensive than Estee Lauder, I had never tried anything from the brand until when I was given the serum to review on my Japanese blog a few months ago. I almost finished my bottle, so I thought it's a time for me to do a comparison review on two cult serums!
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair
I totally understand why people have been raving about this serum. And also, why people spend quite a lot of money on this serum. Because it's definitely worth it. Apparently this super serum reduces wrinkles and lines while hydrating the skin. As you can guess from the name, it's a night serum that you apply before bed, and it helps your skin to recover from the damages it received during the day while asleep.
The scent did not impress me when I first used it, it's very subtle yet herbal and medicinal. I expected a floral scent because their products tend to smell good so I was a bit surprised at first. The texture is very loose, it goes on like a lotion when applied on the skin. It sinks in quickly, and leaves a slight stick film on the surface. It doesn't feel uncomfortable at all especially when a night cream is applied on top.
It's the next morning you notice your skin is in a better condition. It's plumped, hydrated yet not greasy or oily, and most importantly (at least to me) the pores have been shrunken. I was shocked to see how minimised my pores were when I tried it for the first time. It's definitely effective and I will continue using it until it stops working on my skin.
SK-II Essential Power Essence
Now let's talk about SK-II, A friend of mine has been using SK-II for years and she raves about the brand. People assume that it's cheaper in Japan as it's a Japanese brand, and I have no idea how much they are in other countries, but believe me their products are super expensive here in Japan as well. This serum is 16,500yen, which is about $137.5 ($=120yen). I was excited to try this out because I would never be able to afford it yet I was very curious to find out what is so amazing about it.
This serum contains Pitera, just as other products from the brand, which is full of vitamins, amino acids and minerals that work together to allow the skin’s natural surface rejuvenation process to function at its prime. Pitera is said to have a strange smell, but I didn't pick up the smell at all as this serum smells very nice and floral. To me it smells like a floral earl grey tea.
When I looked at the ingredient list, I was shocked to find out how many different types of silicons it contains. And as expected, it feels very siliconey that it almost feels like a primer rather than a serum. It's said to plump up your skin and minimises the pores, but it didn't sink into the skin at all and I didn't feel that it was working. It would just sit on my skin and stay there until I wash my face in the morning. It contains polymer that plumps your skin temporally, and it did work I think because the shape of my pores slightly changed from oval to round, which is a sign that it's plumped. But that's the only thing I noticed about my skin since I started using it. It didn't break me out but didn't do a fantastic job either. For 16,500yen serum, I was pretty disappointed.
Overall, I much prefer Advanced Night Repair because it did actually work. I ended up giving my SK-II serum to my mum and she is loving it. She says it plumps up her skin and it feels much smoother. She is 52 (yes she was quite young when I was born) and I guess that must be the appropriate age for the brand. I might try SK-II when I'm older, but if you are in your 20's or 30's, you might want to wait a bit more to spend a lot of money on their products. Just my opinion though!
MegRhythm Steam Good-Night Neck Mask
You must have heard of MegRhythm Steam Eye Mask if you are interested in Japanese beauty products. It's now sold in many countries and is still popular in Japan though it's been years since its launch. I wasn't a big fan of the eye mask because it was pretty uncomfortable and I simply couldn't be closing my eyes for more than a minute without getting bored.
But a heat pad that warms up your neck to help you fall asleep? Yes please!
Apparently this is a new release from MegRhythm, and there are two types that you can choose depending on your liking. One is lavender scented, and another is unscented. I obviously chose the scented one because I love anything scented.
The box contains 14 sheets individually wrapped. It's so handy that you can take one or two out when you have a long journey waiting for you, especially on a long flight it would be super relaxing to use.
It starts heating up immediately when taken out from the bag, so I always open it when I am fully ready to go to sleep. Though the scent of Lavender is a little artificial, it doesn't bother me at all.
The temperature goes up to 40 degrees and it remains for 30 minutes, which is enough time for me to fall asleep. I put it on the back of my neck, get into my bed, and while watching one or two YouTube videos (of course beauty related ones), I just fall asleep.
It feels so good that it kind of loosens up my muscles and forces me to relax. You know it feels relaxing when you place a hot towel on your shoulders, don't you? Imagine that feeling without having to place a wet towel in your bed.
It's about 1,400 yen for 14 sheets which makes it 100 yen per sheet -not the cheapest product ever, and some people may think it's ridiculous to spend that much money on something only lasts for 30 minutes, but if you are stressed and tired like I am, you will love it. And it's so addictive that I get tempted every night to open a new one.
I strongly recommend it to those who didn't like the eye mask version, because this one feels much better and you can use your phone or PC while relaxing. Also if you have stiff shoulders, it's a must-have. I have really bad stiff shoulders that sometime feel cold because of a poor blood flow, and this kind of products always help my shoulders feel lighter.
Is it available in your country yet? Would you like to try them?
LUSH Olive Branch Body Lotion
A couple of months ago I found out LUSH had a new system called LUSH KITCHEN where they make online exclusive products in a limited quantity, and the product range changes every week. I wasn't interested at first because I don't like paying the postage when there is a branch in my local town....until I saw this product.
Olive Branch is my favourite scent from LUSH. When I went to England for the first time in 2012, I bought a small bottle of Olive Branch Shower Gel because it was cheaper than what it was in Japan at that time because of the exchange rate. Bringing 200ml shower gel that's sold in Japan seemed ridiculous, but I could not justify myself to spend 2,000yen on shower gel to buy it in Japan, yet I loved the scent so much that I wanted it so bad.
So when I found out that they brought the body lotion in the same scent, I had to get it. I think it was about 2,500yen including the postage, which is a little pricey but it didn't stop me from purchasing it.
I like this pot, it screams pamper in my opinion! But the lotion is very very thin that you have to be really careful when you open the lid especially when it's still new because it just runs off.
It smells absolutely gorgeous, you will LOVE it if you like the shower gel. It smells a little bit sweeter than shower gel for some reason, but it's still amazing without a doubt.
It applies smoothly and very light weight that doesn't make your skin greasy at all. I can get dressed immediately after applying it, without making my clothes stick to my skin. I usually like body butter than body lotion in winter, but this one is moisturising enough though it's a thin lotion. I have been suffering from an unknown skin disease for months now and it made a lot of cuts and irritations on my legs mainly, but this lotion made my skin condition much better, without stinging like some other body creams does.
The scent lingers for about 30 minutes, and slowly fades away. It's not a kind of body cream that leaves a scent on your clothes, maybe because it's got natural essential oils as a fragrance. I use this body lotion on my whole body at night, and on my legs in the morning because I like wearing Rituals Body Butter in the pink packaging on my arms in daytime as the scent lingers for the whole day.
I really hope LUSH would make it a permanent product because I want to repurchase it once my pot is finished. They also brought the body lotion in Comforter and American Cream as well that sold out immediately. What does LUSH KITCHEN have in your country?
Just a quick post to let you know that I'm doing a mini giveaway on my instagram until 6 Jan! One winner will get this cute lipgloss from Shiseido Integrate, in the shade Cherry&Berry which is limited.
Rules:
1. Regram the photo on Instagram
2. Mention #beautinjapan and @nicintokyo
3. Answer the question👉Do you have any Japanese beauty products you want to try?
4. Follow @nicintokyo if you are now following😉
You can enter the giveaway on Instagram, click HERE to enter now! Good luck!
KATE CC Lip Cream / Nudist Pink
I know what came to your mind when you read the title. What the hell is CC Lip Cream? It began with BB cream, then CC cream, there are also EE cream which is ridiculous, and now CC LIP CREAM? I thought the same. So what it does is "Color Correcting". It moisturises, evens out your lip colour, gives a beautiful glossy finish, makes your lips look fuller, and protects them from a sun damage.
There are 4 shades in total, and the one I picked up is 03 Nudist Pink. The other shades are sheer red, blue toned pink and orange.
I was pretty surprised how sheer it was when I swatched it for the first time. It's barely there. I expected it to be similar to OPERA Sheer Lip Colour (REVIEW) but this one is sheerer.
When applied on the lips, it does feel like a lip balm. It's not sticky at all, it kind of feels like there is a very thin, none greasy film of oil on the lips. You know the feeling on the lips after you had Pasta aglio for lunch. It's that feeling.
You might not like it if you like a thicker lip balm like Carmex or Vaselline, that hugs your lips and stay there for hours. You will love it if you don't want to feel anything on your lips, but want to give a bit of colour to them.
The colour is more like a bluey pink than beigy pink which I expected it to be. It's not my favourite shade ever, but it's handy to have in my collection especially when I'm wearing "no make up make up".
The whole CC Lip Cream series is limited edition for some reason, and some shades are sold out at the drugstores near my house. I personally prefer thicker texture as it gives more shine to the lips, but again if you are a type of person who doesn't want to feel anything on the lips, you should go grab it before it's sold out!
Oh, and the price. I don't remember how much it was exactly, but definitely below 500 yen. Not too bad, is it?
Integrate is a Japanese drugstore beauty brand belongs to Shiseido. Their products especially the eyeliners and eyeshadow palettes are pretty popular in Japan, but I had never tried anything from the brand. But when I saw online that they came out with the gorgeous lipgloss range called Girl's Kiss Jelly last month, I couldn't resist but to pick one up.
The lip gloss comes in 7 different shades and I have to admit all of them look very pretty and wearable. I picked up this shade called Cherry&Berry, because first of all this is the only limited shade out of seven, secondly it looks so pretty. This kind of deep berry shade is on trend this winter, but I don't have enough courage to wear a lipstick in this shade. So I thought this lip gloss would be perfect for someone like me!
I am not a huge fan of Japanese 'Kawaii' stuff, but I really like this heart shaped lid! It adds a little bit of cuteness and makes me happy whenever I apply the lip gloss.
The angled tube applicator makes it easier to apply, and it doesn't dispense too much at once because the hole is so tiny.
The shade is very unique in my opinion, because it looks quite sheer and reddish like 'cherry' when applied one coat, and when you build it up with 2nd and 3rd coat, it becomes more like a 'berry' shade that has a purple / burgundy undertone to it. One coat gives you a natural shine and pout, or you can build it up to a deeper red.
It has tiny glitter particles that make your lips look gorgeous. Wearing a little sparkle on your lips is definitely suitable for winter. I hate lip gloss that has glitters that stay on my lips until I wipe them off with a tissue even after the lip gloss itself has been worn off. That sandy feeling on the lips is disgusting! With this lip gloss I haven't had such a problem, which is a good point.
You can apply it straight from the tube but I like using my Real Techniques' brush to apply. But because the applicator is small, it's not difficult at all to apply it straight from the tube either.
According to the website, it has a 'sweet and spicy' scent, but the scent is quite subtle that I didn't even notice at first. It indeed smells fruity and sweet, and has kind of a floral scent as well. I don't mind it at all, but it might bother people who hate scented lip products.
I LOVE how it looks on the lips. It instantly erases creases and discolouration on the lips. It makes your lips look like they are coated with raspberry syrup or something.
I like to apply two coats on the lips, and add a little bit in the centre of the lips to give a pout. It's perfect to wear on top of a berry toned lipstick of course, to add shine. The gold glitter particles look super gorgeous but as you can see in the photos, they are quite subtle.
This lip gloss is pretty comfortable to wear, though it's thick it doesn't make my lips feel too sticky. A good thing is that because it's thick, it stays on the lips for quite a long time. I don't have to keep reapplying every 10 minutes, which is always a plus when you have a hectic life.
I really like the effect it gives to my lips and am thinking of purchasing other shades as well. It's pretty small but I have never ever used up a single lip gloss as I have too many lip products (I'm sure I'm not alone here) so I quite like the fact it's small and easy to carry around in my purse.
If you want to see more details in action, please watch my video which is my favourite out of three that I've made!
This product is available on Beaut in Japan. Click HERE to purchase it now :)
Nocor Organics Hot Healing Body Massage Oil 5,980yen
I am not a body-oil kind of girl at all. I hate the oily residue on the skin, and I hate even more to get dressed after applying a body oil because then my PJ sticks to the skin and ahh it's just disgusting just thinking about it. Though I am a beauty addict, I admit that I don't like applying a body lotion either especially in winter when the air is cold in my room. That's why every year I end up with dry, cracked skin.
But this winter, I have a secret weapon. It's Nocor Organics Hot Healing Body Massage Oil. Nocor is not a huge brand in Japan, I didn't know the existent until I was given an opportunity to try this oil out. It's an organic body oil that has the essential oils that help your blood flow and warm up your body, such as ginger, cinnamon and pepper. The base oil contains olive oil, jojoba oil and castor oil that hydrate and nourish your skin.
The blend of orange, grape fruit, ginger, cinnamon and pepper smells absolutely divine. It smells really fresh and citrusy, then it becomes more like an oriental, deeper scent in the end.
It's so relaxing to massage my legs and arms with this oil, because it's far from stickiness and oiliness, and it sinks into my skin as if my body is drinking it (...or as if my body is a desert). It doesn't leave the oily film on the skin, and I can get dressed right after the oil is applied. How amazing is that? The pump is very handy as well that I sometimes use it as a hand cream too.
In Japan, 'Hietori (冷えとり)' has been on trend for years now which is a health management method where you warm your body and ideally increase your temperature to improve immunity. Hie means cold, and Tori means remove. My feet get extremely cold in winter, and I hope this oil would help increase the blood flow!
Do you have any favourite body oil? Let me know :)
Sweets Sweets Velvet Souffle Cheek 900yen
You must remember my post about Sweets Sweets Velvet Souffle Cheek that I wrote about a month ago (HERE), because I was raving about it a lot. And I mentioned that I would try out other shades from the range that are more suitable for winter. I picked up this shade called Apple Souffle, as it looked like berry toned deep red that would be perfect for the colder season. However, I was extremely disappointed when I actually used it on my skin.
Before I start complaining about it, look how beautiful it is. It looks like a deeper red that is sophisticated, and based on my experience with the shade Apricot Souffle which still is one of my favourite blushers, I assumed this one would work the same.
But it didn't.
Can you guess why I was disappointed with this blush? It's because the formula is absolutely rubbish. First of all, the shade looks different from how it looks in the jar (is it a jar? Or a container?). It's much brighter, blue-tone pink rather than deep red that I wish it was.
Another thing is that it goes on so patchy. I apply it with my trusty stippling brush from Real Techniques, that works really well with Apricot Souffle, but it just makes my cheeks look messy for some reason. You have to be really careful and light-handed to apply, otherwise you will end up with patchy, messy cheeks which never is a good look. I just cannot be bothered to pay that much attention just to apply a blusher, I don't have time for that every morning!
That's why I haven't used it since the first time I tried it. I much prefer Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek, which is 100 times easier to apply and 1000 times more beautiful on the cheeks. I didn't expect the formula to be this different depending on the shade.
If you ever think of purchasing their blusher, I don't recommend Apple Souffle at all! :(
I'm not going to lie, I admit that I am a junkie when it comes to magazines. But usually I much prefer British or sometimes American magazines to Japanese ones. So it was expecting that I bought 6 Japanese magazines in November. That's crazy. And Japanese magazines aren't that cheap, what was I thinking? But I have a good excuse for each magazine.
Bea's up is a beauty magazine that used to be really popular I remember. It's not as popular as other beauty magazines now, but actually I really do like it. It's thinner which makes it easier to travel with, and the product reviews in this magazine is insane (of course in a good way). I had to buy it because it's the beauty award issue!
Voce I believe is the best selling Japanese beauty magazine. I feel like it's targeting younger readers than I am, but I still enjoy it a lot. This is also a beauty award issue, and it came with a sample of Biore Face Wash that won a best cleanser award or something.
Yup, another beauty magazine. MAQUIA is my favourite beauty magazine I must say, because they show different looks that are on trend each month and it's really enjoyable to look at. And this is also a beauty award issue. It made me really happy that MAQUIA finally came in a smaller size ;) I also love the cover photo of Erika Sawajiri, I wish I could exchange my whole face with hers.
ELLE is a hit and miss recently. I was obsessed with ELLE when I was in high school, but it became more and more conservative and boring in the past decade and recently I don't buy it much. The reason why I bought the latest issue was because I was interested in the book recommendations by celebrities including Natalie Portman and James Franco. Then I found out that a full-sized hand cream was coming with it. SOLD.
Vogue is also one of the mags I was obsessed when I was a teenager, but just like ELLE, it became crappier and crappier that I don't even have a look at a bookstore now. But you know what, when Vogue talks about beauty award, they know what they are talking about.
This thick book-in-book is all dedicated for the beauty award and oh my gosh it's amazing.
Last by not least, ELLE girl. I know I'm not a girl anymore, but I bought it only because I wanted Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm. I've been loving the shade COY, and I was eying on INGENUE which I got with this mag for 390yen instead of 1200yen. I will write an in-depth review on the two shades another day, but they both are gorgeous.
So now I am surrounded by magazines and books that I haven't read. I feel pressure every single day that I have to read, because all the magazines are getting older and older that they don't even make sense anymore. I just don't have time for reading because I've been juggling my personal life, job, 3 blogs and eBay, and now I will be writing some column for a website. Enough with me rambling, I hope you enjoyed the post! Oh, and I will be selling magazines on eBay as well, send me a request if you have any mags you would like.
I am so excited to introduce you to the limited shades of my favourite pencil eyeliner from Visee. As I mentioned in my Autumnal Eyeliners post back in October, I have been obsessed with this eyeliner. I was a liquid-eyeliner type of girl for more than 10 years until I discovered how good this eyeliner was. Last month they brought these beautiful limited shads that I grabbed when I found them at the drugstore because their limited eyeliners are always very popular that they get sold out very quickly. In fact, I saw some people tweeting that the eyeliners and the nail polish that came with them were sold out already, only like 3-4 days after the launch. Insane, isn't it? But it's how good they are.
Warm Brown
This is Warm Brown, which has a red undertone compared to their permanent brown shade BR300, and more like a grown-up brown compared to another permanent brown shade BR301 which is a pinky brown.
It's so creamy and easy to draw the line. It's kind of shimmery but not glittery at all which is suitable for any occasions.
When applied on my eyelids, it shows up kind of subtle but definitely defines my eyes if that makes sense. I can build it up more by applying second and third coat, but I like how subtle it looks with one application and smudged a little bit.
Winter Orchid
This is the shade I was looking forward to getting my hands on when I saw this for the first time in a magazine a few months ago. You know I love taupe shade, and I thought this would go perfectly well with my taupe eyeshadows by no7 and Addiction.
Ohhhh my gosh I can't get over how gorgeous it looks!! It's got this metallic finish that looks super gorgeous. It's more pueply than I expected, but this is one of the most beautiful eyeliner shades ever!
It does go well with eyeshadows in taupe, purple and grey. It adds a bit of colour on the eyelid which is a fun way to wear an eyeliner rather than always reaching out for boring black. I've been obsessed with this shade that I'm wearing it all the time. I kind of regret that I didn't buy two, I don't know what to do when I run out with it!
If you wish to see more details of these beautiful eyeliners, please check out my video!
Beaut in Japan
This product is sold on my eBay page, Beaut in Japan.
Direct link to the listing page on eBay: Visee Color Impact Gel Liner
Please feel free to leave your request on the comment section or you can email me anytime!
Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek / Cherry Mix
I had been eying on this beautiful blusher since I saw it in a beauty magazine a couple of months ago. Majolica Majorca always had the blushes in the cute tins with their signature girly design on them called Puff de Cheek, but they were not appealing to me particularly. But this new range called "Puff de Cheek Flower Harmony"got into my wishlist instantly, mainly because of its cute looks. But I found out that it wasn't just the looks that was amazing about this product, the actual blush is brilliant too.
Puff de Cheek Flower Harmony comes in two permanent and one limited shades. Permanent shades are PK302 Strawberry Mix and RD303 Mandarin Mix, and a limited shade is RD401 Cherry Mix. As it's easy to get hold of the permanent shades, I decided to go for the limited one. And also, it looked like the perfect shade for autumn and winter.
The marble pattern is not only pretty but it's designed to give you a beautiful flush that looks like coming from within, simply by applying it with the fully puff that comes along in the cute tin. This shade is supposed to be red, but it looks more like hot pink with a blue undertone to me. It contains a little bit of shimmer but not the big glitter particles that make your face look like a disco ball. It's a "slightly lifts your cheekbones and make you look healthy" kind of shimmer. You know what I mean!
Another good point is the puff. It's very thick and fully, plus it's got a cute ribbon on top! What more can you ask for? I like the fact they pay attentions to small details like this, this is when I feel Japanese brands are amazing.
As you may have noticed, this beautiful gradation of the blush creates a perfect "I'm blushing from within" kind of look. The centre of the blusher is the darkest pink, and it's got a lighter pink around it and more of the highlighter kind of shade at the edge. When you place the puff in the tin and swirl it around a little bit, you will get a perfect amount of the blusher.
And all you need to do is just pat your cheek with the puff a couple of times without re-applying the blusher. You will be amazed by the pigmentation of the blush as well as the perfect "ombre" kind of look on your cheek. Obviously I applied much more in this photo than I would apply it on my cheeks, but you can see what I mean by the "ombre" look. It's actually very beautiful that I always get compliments whenever I wear it. It may sound weird but I feel like it makes you look innocent and pure when you wear it, maybe because it makes your complexion look perfect for some reason just like a baby's!
It's also very long lasting which is another bonus! I hate it when I apply a blusher in the morning and it's completely gone by the the time I get to the office, because then I have to look dead all day. It stays on the cheeks for all day without smudging, which is great but be careful if you are heavy-handed, it would be pain in the butt to remove if you've applied too much.
I just cannot rave enough about this blush. I am no longer wearing my favourite Tarte blush, or Sweets Sweets blush, because I'm completely obsessed with this one. It's already sold out at the drugstores and I got hold of a couple for you guys online. If you want to see more details of the blush, please have a look at my first-ever video on YouTube below!
You can purchase the product on my eBay shop Beaut in Japan! Click HERE to view the page.
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