Physician's Formula Organic Wear Mascara $9.55
First of all, I want to apologize for not being able to update my blog for 2 weeks. My work had been hectic, and my personal life was also full of problems, and my health reacted as well and I literally did not have time and power to blog. I might have to slow down a bit, as managing 3 blogs takes energy obviously and my health isn't in an ideal condition at the moment. But still I will try to blog as much as I can.
Anyway, moving on to my review on this hyped-up mascara from Physician's Formula. I have heard some bloggers including Tati and Fleur raving about it. I had been eying on it for ages, but I had never thought of trying. But for some reason, I just thought of this mascara suddenly and went to iHerb.com and purchased it without hesitation. iHerb.com is such a wicked website which delivers the products from the states to Japan within 3-4 days. And the shipping is around $4 which is pretty awesome.
So this mascara is made with 100% natural ingredients including soy and olives, and 47% of them are organic. It's also free of harsh chemicals, synthetic preservatives, parabens, synthetic colors and fragrances.
The brush is thicker than I expected. I had a very bad experience with a brush like this -I guess it was a mascara from covergirl but don't remember the name of it- so I was ready for disappointment. But I was surprised in a good way when I actually applied it on my lashes as although the brush was pretty big, it caught all my lashes and made them look fuller.
This is just one coat, but of course you can build it up by applying 2nd and 3rd coats. It doesn't clump, separates the lashes and make them look fuller naturally.
Looks beautiful, doesn't it? My only complaint is that it never settles. It remains wet for ages. God knows when it completely dries. I didn't notice on the day I tried it for the first time, and I touched my lashes when my contact lens felt uncomfortable. Then the mascara transferred to my fingers and smudged around my eye. And it was more than an hour after the application. Which mascara does that? None that I'd tried! Since then I always apply Maybelline The Rocket after this, to make it smudge-proof. I wonder why it doesn't settle on its own, but it just doesn't.
I like how it makes my lashes look and I have been using it none-stop since I got it. I recommend it to anyone who wants natural-looking yet defined lashes. Would I repurchase? Probably not, as there are many other mascaras that would work as good on their own.
Have you tried this mascara? And what's your favourite mascara at the moment?
I often get messages though this blog from girls from different countries, asking where they should go to to pick up Japanese beauty bits when they come to Japan. I always write them back, but most of the time they don't write me back once they've got the answer (phew!) so I thought to write a blog post about it so that I can share the information with a lot of people at once!
If you're on the hunt for drugstore beauty products...
Matsu-Kiyo is the biggest drugstore in Japan. You see the yellow sign everywhere especially in Tokyo. Some are bigger than the others, but I'm not sure which branch is the biggest. They have anything from toiletries to makeup, as well as medicines of course as it's a drugstore.
Don-Qui is a discount store that has many branches in Japan. They sell anything from video games, stationary, food, cos-play costumes, and of course beauty products. I don't particularly enjoy the atmosphere as it's so noisy and always crowded, but if you are looking for Japanesey goods at low price, you might want to drop by.
Tokyu Hands is a "home centre" that you can get daily goods inclusing DIY stuff and party materials. I sometimes go to Tokyu Hands just to browse, as they often have interesting goods. It depends on a branch but they often carry Japanese drugstore beauty brands such as CANMAKE, ettusais, excel, CEZANNE and many more.
Loft is similar to Tokyu Hands, but I strongly recommend going to Loft if you go to Shibuya. The beauty floor at Shibuya Loft is heaven for beauty junkies. The entire floor is full of beauty bits, where I can be browsing for hours. They also have a wide variety of natural beauty products. There are shop assistants who have good knowledge about the products as well, and it's really handy to have them as they don't belong to any specific brands.
They mainly carry imported goods such as stationary, snacks, fashion items and beauty bits, but they also carry Japanese products when it comes to the beauty section. Their pricing isn't a purse-friendly compared to the drugstores, but it's a fun store to look around.
Department Store
Isetan is one of the biggest department stores in Japan. Shinjuku branch opened in 1933, and about 30,000,000 people visit the branch per year. I strongly recommend you to stop by if you are into luxurious and natural / organic brands. On the ground floor you would find major luxury brands like Chanel, Dior, Estee Lauder, Tom Ford, Armani as well as NARS, Jo Malone and MAC, and on the B2 floor called Beauty Apothecary, you will be surrounded by natural beauty products from all over the world. You will never get bored.
Along with Fashion Shopping...
If you are greedy like me, or don't have much time to go beauty shopping, you can stop by Opeque Marunouchi. It's got 2 floors including fashion items, beauty bits, hair salon and florist. Marunouchi is a very nice area to shop, and you have another shopping building KITTE to stop by as well.
Hikarie opened 2 years ago and has been one of the main commercial complex in Tokyo. You can enjoy shopping for hours if you are into fashion, interior and beauty, and there are many nice restaurants and cafe that you can take a break at, as well. They have Jo Malone, Aveda, Diptyque, SABON, LISSAGE, Ayura, RMK, Three, Shiseido, and many more popular brands such as Dior, Clinique and DE LA MER. It also have Cosme Kitchen that I will write more about after this. I like American Pharmacy where you can buy Caress Shower Gel!
For the Organic Beauty lovers...
The pioneer of the organic beauty craze in Japan, Cosme Kitchen opened their first branch in Daikanyama in 2004. They only carry natural and organic beauty products, and the shop assistants are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. It's a must-see if you are into natural beauty products!
Hope it helps, enjoy your time in Japan! x
Recently, I often hear people raving about "natural" and "organic" beauty products on the blogs and YouTube videos. I hear them say "This product is amazing, and it's good for your skin because it's natural" or "You should try to use as natural products as possible, they are good for you". I want to object to that, and decided to write a blog post about it.
More than 5 years ago, natural and organic beauty products started becoming popular in Japan. Some specialised shops like Cosme Kitchen, Crayon House and Terracuore were the pioneers. I was studying aromatherapy at that point, and I found myself totally into those products.
I thought artificial colouring, perfume and preservative as well as silicone, paraben, sulfate and those "chemicals" were bad for you, and can be a cause of cancers. I tried my best to avoid them, and I checked all the labels whenever I would buy beauty products, to make sure those were "safe".
After a while, I found myself having breakouts on my skin. I thought it was stress or dry skin. I tried my best to cure it, I even went to a clinic as I was suffering from breakouts for more than 6 months at that point. The medicine didn't work. One day, in England actually, I had an opportunity to use a moisturiser which is not organic for a couple of days. I thought it would make my skin worse, as I believed that the organic ones were better. But it ended up clearing my skin up completely. That's when I realised that my skin was reacting towards the natural and organic products.
Since then, I stopped using organic skincare products. I stopped using organic shampoo and hair treatment as well. Then what happened? My skin became silky smooth like before, and my hair no longer looked like a bird's nest. Organic shampoo and conditioner that don't contain silicone contains oils instead, to make your hair feel smoother, which can stay on your scalp and get oxidized, that can cause an odor. It happened to me as well, and I used those products even more to get rid of the odor, which was just a negative spiral.
There are loads of chemicals you should avoid, such as paraben and artificial perfume. There are some natural preservatives that can be used instead of paraben. Essential oils can smell better than artificial perfume. But you need to remember that the natural and organic ingredients are not purified and sometimes contains impurities, which means it has a higher risk for your skin to react badly towards the ingredients. The natural ingredients are said to be sometimes stronger than chemicals, and chemicals are made for benefits (not only beauty purposes of course, but you know what I mean) whereas natural ingredients are just natural ingredients, they are not specially made for the beauty purposes. They have benefits as well, of course, but they also have impurities which can irritate your skin. It would be great if your skin doesn't react to it, but you should know that that's just you. Not everyone.
Some people react to chemicals, and some people react to natural ingredients. I am not sure what my skin did not agree with, but since I stopped using all organic products it has been in a very good condition. I still like some brands such as REN, balance me and Liz Earle that don't attack my skin. But on the other hand, I have so many brands (mainly organic ones) that broke me out so bad and I have been staying away from.
I want to say to those people, especially influential bloggers and YouTubers, that natural ingredients cannot always be good for you. I hate it when people say "It's natural, so it's good for you". You need to know that it works for you because your skin agrees with it. There is a big difference.
I am not against the natural beauty products, there are tons of them that are good, and that I like. You should switch to natural products it for sure if your skin likes them, because they don't contain ingredients that feel good for now but could be harmful later.
I'm against the people who say "You should go for natural beauty products, chemicals are bad!" or "Natural products would clear up your skin, as they are safer" or things like that, because that is not true. Look for products that your skin likes, not ONLY because the products are natural or organic.
