If you are in Japan you must have heard already, but Bourjois is leaving Japan in July. I was gutted to hear that back in May, as Bourjois is one of my favourite drugstore beauty brands that you can get in Japan. Their price tag is ridiculous considering the one in the UK, but still I have been loving their foundation, concealer and lipsticks. And now PLAZA is having 20% off sale on all of Bourjois' products, so I decided to stock up with their nail polishes. You can get Bourjois from ASOS and lookfantastic, but nail polishes cannot be shipped because of the restriction. I thought it's smart to stock up with something I cannot get from ASOS.
So laque glossy nail polish #02
(How odd that we don't have a name on each shade in Japan. Boring!)
This is such a gorgeous summery shade! I've been wearing it none-stop recently as it pops yet goes with any style. This orangey-red shade compliments my skin tone, I love wearing it on my toes as well. The formula is very opaque, you only need two coats to get the colour and it never goes on streaky. And it doesn't chip for days.
One second gel nail polish #19
Love the shade, such a unique purple with a brown undertone. The brush is wide and easy to apply, but I tend to miss the tips of the nails with this brush for some reason. I have to be extra careful, otherwise my nails look chipped although they are freshly painted!
One second gel nail polish #05
I thought I would love this shade but I am not a big fan actually. It's more orangey than I wanted it to be, and it makes my skin look dull. I also don't like the glitter particles, without them it would look much more glossy I guess :(
So laque glossy nail polish #07
Love this nude shade with a hint of pink, it makes my fingers longer and slimmer! The only downside is that it's too sheer that you need like 3 coats or more to get the colour in the bottle. I usually apply 2 coats only though you can see the nails through the nail polish. It doesn't go on too streaky, but you definitely need multiple coats to create an even finish.
So laque glossy nail polish #09
This shade is pain in the butt to apply!! I literally applied 4 coats when I took the photo above. You can see how thick it looks on my nails. It's so streaky and apply unevenly. I want it to look a bit sheerer and paler but I just needed to apply coat after coat to fix the streaky finish. I love the shade, it's such a pretty pale blue but I don't recommend it if you are not a professional manicurist who don't have a special technique to make it work...because it takes ages!
Do you have any other favourite shades from their nail polish collection? What is your favourite item from Bourjois? :)
RAFRA Balm Orange 3240yen
I had never heard of this brand called RAFRA before I was sent this beautiful cleansing balm smells like fresh orange juice. RAFRA calls for a theory of "simple skincare" and this cleansing balm is their main product which acts as a cleanser, make-up remover, massage balm, exfoliator and face mask. It warms up on your skin and remove dirt in the pores, while hydrating with hyaluronic acid, collagen, royal jelly and honey.
It looks like jelly in the tub (is it a tub? or a jar? or...what is this?) but actually the texture is slimy which is more like honey. I warm it up in my palms to make it softer before applying it on my face, otherwise it's pretty hard to work on the skin. Once applied, it immediately warms up and remains warm for a long time. I usually massage my face for about a minute, and apply a little bit of warm water around my eyes where I want to remove my makeup the most -that way all my mascara and eyeliner dissolves- and rinse off.
This whole process is so relaxing because of the amazing scent. It literally smells like fresh orange juice, and I don't think there is anybody who hates this scent. It's such a lovely, fresh and sweet scent that makes me want to eat it.
And another amazing thing about this cleaner is that it makes my skin so soft and smooth. I didn't expect it to work this well as an exfoliator because it doesn't contain AHA/BHA or salicylic acid. This is the most gentle exfoliator I have ever tried, which works wonders without irritating or drying my skin.
I use this cleaner every 3-4 days. I want to use it every single day but the price tag stops me to do so. You don't need too much to remove makeup, but still 100g jar isn't going to last for months if you use it every day. Every time I use it, my skin feels softer, smoother and very hydrated without being oily or greasy.This is definitely one of the best cleansers I have ever used. They have a trial set which is handy for travel as well, which I might purchase for a holiday that I'm planning in September. They also have a limited foaming cleanser which has a cooling effect which sounds refreshing in summer. RAFRA definitely has become one of my favourite skincare brands!
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?
