Japanese Drugstore Haul!

About a week ago, Alanna from UK2Tokyo and I went to Veggie Food Festival at Yoyogi Park. After we enjoyed Vegetarian Kebab and wandering around the park looking for treasures, we dropped by Ainz Tulpe in Harajuku. If you live in Tokyo and haven't been there before, you need to go there as soon as you can. Because I guarantee you that you will find amazing products you have not seen before. It's quite a big drugstore that has 2 floors and we actually spent 1.5 hours there as long as I can remember. Today I want to share my thoughts on the products I got from Ainz Tulpe as well as the ones I got to review!

Non Kuma
It contains 4 sheet masks for under the eyes that you can use multiple times.  I admit that I was attracted to the cute packaging at first, then I read that it reduces the appearance of dark circles which I am always conscious about. So when I found out it was only 500yen or so, I didn't hesitate to buy one. Far infrared slightly warms them up once applied, which they claim to improve circulation. I have used it once and I wish the sheets were a bit softer, but it feels relaxing to have slightly warm sheets under the eyes. My undereye circles are pretty dark so it might not erase them completely, but I am hoping them to fade a little so that I can reduce the amount of concealers to apply to hide them...

Rafra Balm Orange / Yuzu Honey
Rafra Balm Orange is my favourite cleansing balm in the world. I will write an in-depth review on this product because I have been enjoying it a lot, but this is such a lovely cleanser that makes me excited to remove makeup. Usually they only have the orange-scented one, but they just came out with a limited scent which is a blend of Yuzu and Honey. The scent is much weaker than the original, but it's more lemon-y and refreshing.

Pantene Extra Damage Care Hair Mask
This hair mask is given to me to review on my blog. As it's packed with silicone, it makes my hair feel absolutely silky smooth. My fine hair gets tangled very easily, but I don't even have to comb it in the morning when I have used this hair mask the night before.

Asience MEGURI
Though I cannot share my thoughts on this yet, the concept seems very interesting and unique. Asience, one of the most popular (and classic) hair care brands in Japan which I was obsessed with when I was younger, just came out with this new range called MEGURI. I got the trial set to see if I like them, and I believe it was only 500yen. There are 3 different scents, and I assume there is no difference between them besides the scents. I got Bergamot and Neroli which is the feminine yet refreshing scent, and they also have Lavender and Lemongrass, and Geranium and Mint. Starting with shampoo like you normally do, succinic acid removes calcium built up in your hair. Then apply the gel which supple your hair, and move on to the hair treatment without washing the gel off. I will write an in-depth review once I have tried them!

Ce Parfait Loose Powder / The City Matte
This is another product I got to review. I usually prefer pressed powder (I have been loving the pressed powder from Me Me Me Cosmetics, which makes my skin look like porcelain doll) rather than loose powder, because loose powder is a little too fine that completely disappears on my skin. But this loose powder maintains the matte skin for hours, which is a big PLUS for me! It looks a little bit cakey at the beginning, but once set on the skin, it makes it look flawless. The only downside is that it's a little too pigmented and makes me look pale. I much prefer a transparent powder.

L'Oreal Super Liner V Sculptor / Soft Bronze
I believe this product isn't available in the UK nor the US, but I hope they will bring it out there soon! I use it as an eyeshadow stick rather than an eyeliner, and it is absolutely beautiful. The sponge tip applicator isn't necessarily practical and the powder is pretty loose that falls off on the cheeks, but it looks so pretty on the lid! It's so pigmented and blendable, and the metallic finish is gorgeous.

What is your favourite Japanese drugstore product? Any recommendations? Let me know!

bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream

bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream £26.00
Are you into this 'No Makeup Makeup' look? Are you confident on your skin? You don't like foundation yet want something to even out your discolouration? If you answered yes to any of the questions, you will like Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream from bareMinerals. I had seen quite a few beauty bloggers raving about it so I was pretty excited to receive it to review.

The shade I got is 03 Buttercream. I first thought it was too yellow for my squinting, but it actually didn't matter -because it's so sheer that you can't tell its shade. It definitely gives a natural glow. Not a glittery glow, a very fresh skin-like glow.

My skin has been behaving well recently, but as I got older my pores appeared bigger. So even when my skin is clear I have to be really careful not to emphasise my pores by any products putting on my skin. And this tinted cream kind of does make my pores visible and noticeable. I think one of the reasons is because it gives the natural glow that reflects lights that makes each pore stands out.

It also makes my skin a little shiny and greasy throughout the day even if I set it with powder. I have to use extra blotting paper when I wear this cream. I have to test it longer during the winter to judge fully whether it makes my skin greasy even in the cold weather or not, as it just started getting cooler in Japan (finally!).

However, it's a wonderful cream if you have dry skin with smaller looking pores. I want to introduce this cream to myself in my early twenties when I had really dry skin. Any foundation made my skin look dry which made it look older, and in winter it sometimes peeled off even. It would work amazingly on dry skin giving a natural shine and glow.

I definitely recommend this cream to young, dry skin that needs a little bit of something rather than being bare-skinned. It's got SPF30 PA+++ which makes it a perfect base product to wear when you go walk your dog -or just going to a supermarket on a lazy weekend when you don't want to put makeup on. Consider it as a slightly tinted moisturiser that makes your skin look healthy and dewy.

If you have oily to combination skin, you might not like this. Avoid purchasing it online, go to the shop and test it on your skin, see if you really like it for a couple of hours at least. If it doesn't make my skin greasy during winter, I might wear it underneath my foundation, but not on its own because of the pore-emphasising effect.

Have you tried this cream yet? Do you think it's worth the hype?

Clinique Travel Box -Hong Kong

One of my favourite things to do when I go abroad, is to shop at Duty Free. Especially when I am in the country where the exchange rate is terrible -such as the UK- I take the full advantage of being able to shop without tax, because just a tiny bit of discount matters. Another reason why I like Duty Free is because they have exclusive products / sets that you can't miss out. This Clinique Travel Box is definitely one of them, considering the fact it's a set of full sized products.

Travel Box Hong Kong £55
All About Shadow Quad / Going Steady
Quickliner For Eyes Intense / Intense Charcoal
Lash Power Feathering Mascara / Black Onyx
Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm / Pudgy Peony
Cheek Pop / Plum Pop
Makeup Bag

I always wanted to try their Cheek Pop as I had heard so many good things about it. The shade Plum Pop does not look like a plum shade to me but it's a gorgeous bright pink that instantly brightens up the completion. Unfortunately blue toned pink does not look as pretty as I wish it would be on my skin, but the pigmentation is great and it blends easily into the skin.

It's easy to create both a simple and feminine look, and a smoky and seductive look with All About Shadow Quad in Going Steady. Using shade 1 on all over the lid with shade 3 on crease, you can reach a feminine version of 'no makeup makeup'. I used shade 1 on the lid, shade 3 on the crease, shade 4 on the outer corner, and shade 2 on the lower lash line in the photos above.

Shade 4 is a little bit hard to blend, you really need to be patient and keep blending for a couple of minutes -which I am not even exaggerating- until there is no line. Yes, the application takes a little longer but it's worth it. Look how beautifully each shade blends with each other! 

Also Quickliner For Eyes Intense is a very good pencil eyeliner that provides you a smooth application, and the sponge on the other end comes in handy when you want to smudge the line. And my favourite product out of everything in this beautiful set is the mascara. Feathering Mascara is one of my favourite mascaras ever, because it really does make my lashes look like feather -very light, separated and full. People often ask me if my lashes are naturally that long and full when I am wearing it -that's how natural the lashes look! I have two tubes opened -and I must say it dries out pretty quickly which makes it a tiny bit clumpy, but still works wonderfully- and both are almost empty because this is the only mascara I wear recently. I am going to repurchase it over and over again for sure.

If you like a bright pink lipstick that does not make your lips look flat and old-fashioned, Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Pudgy Peony is perfect for you. You still can see your lips through as if your lips are candy coated. The lipstick itself is pretty sheer yet very pigmented. The bright blue toned pink is not my kind of shade, but I love how it wears! I totally understand why Chubby Stick has been raved about and influenced other brands to bring out similar types of lipstick. 

The makeup bag is also very cute and bright which represent Hong Kong -the very energetic city. It's not too big nor too small, which is very handy to have in your makeup bag collection. Apparently they have different Travel Boxes represent different cities such as London, NY and Paris, and they all look so pretty! And I think they did a very good job representing each city with a perfect colour scheme. If you like bright pink, you will absolutely love this set. 

What is your favourite product from Clinique? Let me know!

Exclusive to Travel Retails! Bobbi Brown Instant Pretty Eyes and Cheek Palette

Bobbi Brown Instant Pretty Eyes and Cheek Palette
This palette brought a different perspective to the brand Bobbi Brown. I knew Bobbi Brown was a wonderful brand with a kind of ridiculous price tag, but what I did not know was that the quality of their products were beyond amazing and it's totally worth the price. This palette is the first product I have ever tried from the brand, and I absolutely love it and I'm going to tell you why.

It contains a blusher in Nectar, eyeshadow in Bone, Beige, Pink Quartz and Black Chocolate. All of the shades besides Pink Quartz are matte which is one of the reasons why I love this palette. 

But to be honest with you, I first thought it looked very neutral and a little bit plain. And swatching the shades on my hand did not change that.

From left: Nectar, Pink Quartz, Bone, Beige and Black Chocolate

I wasn't impressed when I swatched the eyeshadow for the first time if I'm completely honest with you. I thought the blusher looked beautiful, but the eyeshadow especially Black Chocolate looked a little patchy and dry if that makes sense. 

BUT when applied on my eyelids, they look absolutely gorgeous. I don't know why but it looks completely different than what it looks like on my hands. They all blend nicely together, while creating a very sophisticated look. I'm a drugstore-eyeshdaow-kind-of-girl and I always thought they are as good as high-end eyeshadow most of the time. But this palette showed me how different and better high-end eyeshadow can be. It stays on my eyelid longer, it doesn't crease, it looks even better after a couple of hours after applied...which never happened with a drugstore eyeshadow.

It looks much more beautiful in real life (let's blame on my old camera) but the 4 shades work perfectly together. I apply Clinique Chubby Stick as a base, Beige on the crease, Bone as a blending shade, Black Chocolate on the outer corner and Pink Quartz on the lid in the end, and blend them all together. Pink Quartz looks a little too pink when applied, but trust me, it transitions to such a beautiful beigy pink as time goes along. 

As mentioned before, this look looks much more beautiful after 2-3 hours. The shades blend well together naturally, and it creates such a sophisticated look. Beige is such a useful shade to have in your collection as a crease colour, or you can apply it all over the lid for a natural look on the relaxing weekend. 

It comes with a tiny brush (though there is no compartment for it) which is pretty handy. I did not write much about the blush but it's such a pretty shade too, it's just that the eyeshadow impressed me so much that it kind of overshadows the blusher. 

This palette is only 6500yen (about 35 pound I guess?) and exclusive to the travel retails. It's such a handy palette to have, which I carry around in my bag when I know will be working late hours or have a plan after work, though I don't even need to touch up as it stays on for hours and hours. I put my makeup on at 7:30am and come home at 10pm or 11pm when I'm working, and my makeup still looks pretty good when I wash my face at night which is ridiculous!

I've been eying on their stick eyeshadow as well as their beautiful eyeliner that you can use as a cream eyeshadow. Have you tried anything from the brand? What's your favourite?

Travel Retail Exclusive CLINIQUE Perfect Eyes and Brows

CLINIQUE Perfect Eyes and Brows  5900yen
Whenever I go overseas -which isn't as often as I wish it was- one of the most exciting things to me is to shop at the duty free shop. Sadly, I am quite a poor beauty blogger who cannot afford high-end beauty products unless they are massively discounted, and though their discount rate isn't that amazing, still duty free shopping is something I look forward to. 

CLINIQUE is definitely one of the counters I hit. Last summer I got their Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm from the duty free shop in Okinawa, and I was impressed by the quality. And now I am introduced to this travel retail exclusive kit called 'CLINIQUE Perfect Eyes and Brows', I am even more impressed by the brand. This kit is 5900yen, and the contents are more than 10,000yen worth. And all of the products in this kit are actually brilliant.

Superfine Liner For Brows / Deep Brown
This super slim eyebrow pencil is now one of my favourites for sure! It glides on super smoothly, not too waxy and not too powdery. 

This shade Deep Brown actually is a tad too dark for my hair colour but I'm using it on the end of my eyebrows where I have no hair, and fill in the sparse areas with lighter powder. It creates such a nice and natural eyebrow look, and it lasts longer than just using powder.

Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes / Bountiful Beige
Chubby Stick is something I had always wanted to try but every time I went to the counter, none of the shades matched my liking. This shade Bountiful Beige looks very orangy and kind of boring, but actually it's a very simple and useful shade to have in your collection.

It matches my skin tone perfectly, so when I apply it on my eyelid, it just evens out the skin tone and gives a shimmery effect. It's such a perfect base for any eyeshadow on top. I sometimes wear it on its own when I want to pull off  'no makeup makeup'

Lash Power Feathering Mascara / Black Onyx
Now, let's talk about this mascara. I have never seen a beauty blogger or youtuber talking about this particular mascara, but this is such an amazing mascara that I will definitely repurchase when I've finished my current tube. 

I believe it's the brush that makes this mascara standout. I hadn't seen this kind of brush for ages. It's kind of an old fashioned mascara brush that I like, which catches small hair and emphasise them.

It makes my lashes look fuller, which is all I ask for. I don't want my lashes to look longer, as long as they are separated and look fuller, I'm a happy bunny. And it doesn't smudge yet is easy to remove with warm water, and the curl lasts all day. 

All About Eyes
I love the fact this kit contains an eye cream, because it's an essential to create a perfect eye look! I actually just finished up my All About Eyes Rich, and I wasn't a huge fan of it as it was too thick, whereas this one is this perfect texture in between cream and gel, which I really like. I use it every morning to create a smooth canvas for concealers. 

Overall, there is no product that I don't like in this kit. All of them are my new favourites, and I've been really enjoying them all. It looks like a very simple and basic kit, but this is something you won't regret purchasing. CLINIQUE is such a lovely brand, and I really hope to explore more in the future!

Don't buy them! Disappointing Products

Today I'm going to talk about some products that disappointed me. They all are new launches that just came out in early 2015. I hope you find it helpful!

Rimmel Maginal Stay Lip Coat  1200yen
Let's talk about Japanese Rimmel first, shall we? If you see a Rimmel stand in Japan, stay away from it. Well, I have one lipstick that I like from Japanese Rimmel, but most of their products are rubbish. They are completely different from the original Rimmel that I love, that I even wish they didn't call the brand Rimmel in the first place.

This product just came out in the end of Feb, and I got to try it out last month. It's basically a top coat for your lips, that makes your lip stick lasts for a long time. There are several reasons I dislike this product. 

First of all, it feels disgusting. It's basically a silicone primer kind of formula that feels a little oily and slippery. I applied it on top of my lipstick without dragging it, and voila! It made my lipstick look so patchy! And it instantly changed the texture of the lipstick. On top of a glossy lipstick, it makes it look like a patchy semi-matte lipstick. On top of a matte lipstick, it makes it look a little shiny (oily, in other words). It changes the colour of the lipstick as well...it makes any lipsticks look so dull. Do not waste your money on it, it's so rubbish that I cannot even cope.

SUGAO AirFit CC Cream Pink Bright  1380yen
I always wanted to try out SUGAO. Their original CC Cream was a big hit and everyone and their dog was raving about it. I tested it out at the drugstores a few times, but I always put it back in the shelf because it didn't look that attractive. Then the opportunity came, when they launched the brand new Pink Bright version in March. I was given this tube to review, and I was very excited to finally be able to try it out.

But it just wasn't for me. If you have perfect skin that doesn't have any discolouration or pores, then you might like it. But if you have that kind of perfect skin, I don't see why you would need a CC cream anyway. This moussey-textured CC cream just disappears. You cannot even tell, on which part of your face you put this cream. It literally disappears, whilst leaving a stinky sunscreen smell on the skin. It doesn't prevent my skin to get shiny throughout the day, it doesn't cover my pores, it doesn't even out the skin tone....what does it do then? Absolutely nothing.

But the weird thing is that there are people raving about it. I am not sure if they are being honest, or they feel like they have to say that because the product was given for free. Either way, I do not recommend it at all if you are looking for a proper C cream.

Rimmel CC Powder Airy Finish 002  2000yen 
Surprise surprise, another Rimmel product! This CC Powder just came out on 1st April along with CC cream. I tried the CC cream too but the shade didn't match at all -it made me look like an orange. Yes I'm talking about the fruit- so I cannot tell whether it's a good product or not. 

I had high hope for this powder because it looked pretty. The puff is so thick and soft, which alone made me happy. The one I got is 002 shiny, and there is another one 001 natural, apparently. I was worried that 002 shiny contains chunky glitters, but it didn't seem to have any glitters really, and the powder itself didn't look shiny at all.

What it claims to do is that the powder contains oil, squalane and hyaluronic acid which keep moisturising your skin throughout the day while covering the imperfection of the skin.

When I tried it for the first time, it applied beautifully which impressed me. The powder seemed very creamy and didn't dry out my skin at all. And it did something opposite instead. You guess it right, it made my face look like I dipped my face into a bowl full of oil. It was disgusting how greasy my face looked! I had never looked that shiny in my life, it was awful. It might work on really really dry skin, but does not work on dehydrated skin because it wouldn't hydrate the skin but put oily surface on top.

I'm not sure if 001 natural makes the face this greasy as well, or just 002 is shiny as the name suggests...but I can say that I do not recommend 002 shiny.

I hope it was helpful!

New on Beaut in Japan! Visee Super Slim Eyeliner

Visee Super Slim Eyeliner
When it comes to eyeliners, I think Japanese ones are the best. Liquid or pencil, it doesn't matter. I had been a liquid eyeliner kind of girl for more than 10 years until I discovered Visee Color Impact Gel Liner that I wrote about HERE in December, and now I'm so in love with their latest eyeliner that just came out last month called 'Super Slim Eyeliner'. This is the pencil eyeliner that you can actually create the perfect flick. 

It comes in 3 different shades, but I only picked up Black and Brown for myself. For your reference, here is the swatches of all three shades next to each other.
So now let's take a look at the details!

First of all, as the name suggests, it's SUPER thin. You can see how thin it is compared to my finger. And don't forget I have quite thin fingers. The packaging  is all black no matter what the shade is, which is a bit inconvenient because I always have to grab one, and check the label to see which shade is it before use.

It looks like retractable, but actually once you twist it to get the pencil out, you cannot get it back in. You have to be really careful not to twist too much, otherwise you will squash the pencil when you put the lid on. 

I know I'm being annoying right now, but look how thin it is!! It means I can draw a super thin line though it's not a liquid eyeliner. I always thought it's pretty hard to draw a thin line with a pencil eyeliner but this one makes is very easy, surprisingly. 

BLACK
It glides on super smoothly that you don't even have to try to draw a line. You just lightly touch your skin with the eyeliner, and it allows you to draw a thin, straight line. You don't even need to pull your skin to draw a line, that's how creamy the formula is. Black is a pretty dark black which is perfect for the waterline as well.

You can create the flick as well with this eyeliner, which I never thought would be possible with a pencil eyeliner. You can smudge it with a brush for more natural or smoky look, or you can just leave it as it is. You won't believe how closer this eyeliner allows you to draw a line to the lash line!

BROWN
Sorry my skin looks red in the photo above, it's because I couldn't get the previous swatch off with Bioderma. That's how strong the staying power of these eyeliners is! When I use it on my eyes, I always use a cleansing balm or oil to remove it, but I was being lazy trying to get it off with Bioderma, which made my skin look red because I rubbed the cotton pad so hard!

Anyway, brown is brighter than I expected -which I thought wasn't ideal but it actually looks beautiful on the eyes.

It's natural, but makes a huge difference to the whole look. To be honest I use the brown one much more often than the black one, just because it goes well with my favorite neutral eyeshadows.

Overall, it's such an amazing eyeliner. I do not use my liquid eyeliners anymore recently, because this eyeliner especially in brown, works amazingly. Of course the eyeshadow palette that came out along with the eyeliner, is also brilliant if you haven't checked it out. I wrote an in-depth review on the palette HERE :)


Watch the video to see how creamy and smudge-proof the formula is in action!



Watch the video on YouTube >>CLICK HERE
Purchase the product on Beaut in Japan >>CLICK HERE
 

Rimmel Exaggerate Lipliner / Eastend Snob

Rimmel Exaggerate Lipliner / Eastend Snob £3.99
When Amelia Liana said it was a dupe for Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk, I didn't even hesitate to purchase it from feelunque.com. I always thought Pillow Talk looked a perfect pink, at least on Amelia's lips in the least creepy way possible, but the brand isn't available in Japan and even if it was, I wouldn't be able too afford it anyway. 

So I purchased the lip liner from Rimmel in Eastend Snob when they had this 'buy 2 get 1 free' offer among the limited brands including Rimmel and Maybelline (yes I got some eyeshadows from Maybelline at the same time).

It's retractable which is a big plus, considering the fact my another lip liner from Rimmel is like a normal pencil that I need to sharpen every two weeks or so. 

The colour is a little more bluey that I expected. I was imagining more like a soft, beigy pink with a hint of mauve but it's more like bright mauve. Not that I don't like it, but there definitely was a moment that I thought 'Holy moly it might not look good on me!'.

When it's worn on its own, it looks like this. The formula is soft and creamy, that sometimes crumble on the lips. It glides on smoothly and easy to fill in the whole lips. It looks pretty on its own, though it's leaning towards bluey mauve on my lips in person. But when I apply a nude lipstick like Nude Delight from Rimmel, it gets toned-down a little which I like more.

Then, it happens when I apply lip gloss on top! I cannot believe how plumped my lips look! I simply applied Tanya Burr lip gloss in Champagne Toast on top, and now my bottom lip looks like it's about to burst. It's a little too much to my liking, but it's definitely effective if you're looking for a lip pencil that you can cheat fuller lips!