My current base makeup routine

Every morning before I go to work, I spend about 20-25 minutes to do my makeup. I wonder why it takes so long although I don't go too crazy with it when I have work, because 20-25 minutes seemed too long for the result. But then I realised, I was taking about 10 minutes or more for my base. To me, base is the most important part of the makeup, so no wonder why!

So here are the base makeup items that I use on daily basis....

Primer: Benefit POREfessional
Work day foundation: Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation
Weekend foundation: L'Oreal Infallible 24hours Matte Foundation

I bought Benefit POREfessional at Heathrow Airport when I went to England this summer. I wanted it so bad that I thought of purchasing it from Boots so that I could use it during the stay, but I ended up purchasing it from Duty Free to save some money. The texture is similar to Micro-blur Skin Perfecter from Kiehl's -even better actually. I loved the one from Kiehl's but it separated a couple of weeks after I started using and it was a big mess. Whereas POREfessional never separates, and the texture is thicker which stays on the skin better.

When I go to work, I use Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation which I purchased from Duty Free at Haneda Airport before flying to England. I ended up using this foundation only during my stay, because I became obsessed! I had used this foundation before to write an article, and I instantly fell in love. I wanted to buy one immediately but the price tag put me off -it's about 8,000yen I believe. Duty free didn't make a huge difference but I took the opportunity. My shade is Sand 02, which could be a little bit lighter than my skin tone if I apply too much, but it's quite a good match I must say. With SPF40, it's a perfect foundation to wear when I have plans outside of my house.

On my day off, I use L'Oreal Infallible 24hours Matte Foundation which I bought from Boots. I was at Westfield and they didn't have all the shades, and the testers were all messy and dirty. I should have waited to go to another branch but I wanted to buy 3 items from the brand to get the offer. So without matching my skin, I picked up the shade Sand 20 -which doesn't match my skin AT ALL. It's too dark and I cannot use it on its own, so I mix it with a foundation that is too light for my skin tone. It's a shame because this foundation is absolutely amazing that I wish I could use it without mixing with any other foundations! As L'Oreal cannot be shipped to Japan, I have to wait until I come to the UK again to get the right shade.

POREfessional blurs out my pores completely. I apply a tiny bit on the cheeks and nose, and it keeps my skin matte and smooth all day. I love the pleasant scent too. I am not sure when I will use up the tube as I only need a little bit per use, but I will definitely repurchase it once used up.

Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation looks super yellowy in the photo above but it looks beautiful on my neutral-toned skin which isn't too yellow but definitely not pink. The reason why I'm obsessed with this foundation is because it gives a natural glow to my skin without making it look shiny. I have combination skin and quite large pores on the cheeks, so I always avoid glowy finish when it comes to a base product. But this one gives the most natural glow as if I am bare-skinned. It covers up the pores and dark spots without being heavy. Also the lavender scent is just amazing.

You can see L'Oreal Infallible 24hours Matte Foundation is too dark and pinky...especially when applied next to the one from Bobbi Brown, it looks ridiculously dark! I heard they don't have yellow-toned shade, I hope they would expand the shade range soon because I love the finish! It doesn't look too matte, but definitely not glowy. It makes my skin look soft and smooth, and plumped. I love how natural it looks on the skin. It's definitely worth the hype.

Evens out the skin tone: LANAREY Prism Concealer
Dark Circles: Calypso Magic Concealer
Dark Circles and highlight: Za Cosmetics Perfect Fit Concealer

To conceal dark spots and blemishes, I use LANAREY Prism Concealer that I got to review. It's an OK concealer in my opinion, I don't think it's worth the price (3456yen!) but it works as a concealer for sure. I apply it under the eyebrows too, to evens out the skin tone and conceal pores and baby hair.

My hideous dark circles can't be concealed by ANY concealer in my experience, but this combo works well. I first apply this orange concealer from Calypso, blend in only on the dark circles.  Then apply lighter concealer from Za Cosmetics which sadly is discontinued, to brighten them up. They both are creamy and not drying at all which is important when you choose a concealer for under eyes.

I have the shade 02 Natural of LANAREY Prism Concealer and it's quite a good match to my skin tone. I just click the end of the pen twice, apply it under the brows, on blemishes and dark spots, as well as around the nose, and blend with a sponge. I carry it around in my makeup bag when I have a pimple that I want to cover up so that I can touch up during the day.

You can see Magic Concealer from Calypso is pretty orangy on my skin, whereas Perfect Fit Concealer from Za Cosmetics is much brighter. I LOVE this concealer from Za because it kind of melts on the skin when applied, and it never looks cakey or drying. The only downside is that it's hard to control how much to dispense because of the tube, I sometimes dispense way too much. The shade is perfect to brightens up the skin without looking too bright. I also like the fact it's not pinky at all.

Phew, it became a much longer post than I expected. I sometimes switch my foundation to BB or CC cream, but these are the products I use on daily basis. Let me know what your favourite base products are!

A new whitening formula! Organic Rose Skin Conditioner

Organic Rose Skin Conditioner -Whitening formula
Some of you may remember I was raving about Organic Rose Skin Conditioner before. I loved the lotion very much, as it helped balancing my skin and made it stable. While I was using the lotion, my skin didn't break out nor felt dry. Considering the price (I think it was about 1200yen), I thought it was such a lovely product for everyday use. They just came out with this new whitening formula which I received to review. The packaging looks the same as the original, just in blue.

I usually use a cotton round to apply the lotion, but you can use your hands like the most of Japanese people do so. It contains placenta extract to brightens the skin and organic rose water to hydrate. Placenta extract grosses me out, the website does not say what it's derived from but I am hoping it's plant derived placenta (yes that exists, such as melon placenta).

It smells divine just like the original. I love how natural the scent is, it doesn't smell artificial or too perfumy. When applied on the skin, it feels cooling and soothing. Not sure if it's supposed to have a cooling sensation, but it feels very nice on the skin in my opinion. It never irritates my skin, and has got this perfect texture to use in the morning before makeup.

It helps a serum or moisturiser -whatever you apply next- to sink in better, and also balances the skin's pH balance. As I am quite pale for Japanese, I am not keen on whitening, but I have some dark spots I want to erase. I am not sure if this lotion helps, but I am looking forward to seeing the result!

Bored with Black Mascara? Try this! Love Switch Pink Brown Mascara

Love Switch Oil Treatment Mascara / Pink Brown  1,728yen
Recently, I tend to gravitate towards brown when it comes to eye-makeup. I'm not talking about eyeshadow, I'm talking about eyeliner and mascara, that usually I choose ones in black. If you ask me what the best brown eyeliner is, I don't even hesitate to answer that it's Love Liner in Dark Brown. But I hadn't found a brown mascara I recommend when asked the same question about mascara....until now.

Love Switch Oil Treatment Mascara is something I wouldn't have picked up if it was in black. They do have it in black too but what attracted me was this shade Pink Brown. It was when I was flipping through the beauty magazine MAQUIA, one of the photos of this model Moeka Nozaki caught my eyes. I loved the simple makeup she was wearing, and what made it look so natural was this mascara.

I had never been a pink-toned mascara type of girl at all, I always colour my hair in ashy brown with  a hint of blue which is far from the girly image. But surprisingly this mascara doesn't give too much of a femininity to the whole look at all.

The brush isn't my favourite if I am honest, but it's not the worst either. I wish it didn't contain fibres because not only it irritates my eyes but it makes my lashes look wonky. But one thing that I really do not like about this mascara is the smell. It's got this lavender scent which is supposed to be relaxing, but it literally smells like a bathroom deodorant. And the worst thing is that it lingers. For about 15 minutes after applying this mascara, I smell a loo.

But the colour is gorgeous. It's more reddish and brighter than I expected.

This mascara tends to stick the lashes together so I always comb them with a clean spooli after the application to separate them. Because it contains oil instead of water that makes lashes go down as time passes, meaning it holds curl better. Another bonus point is that it's a waterproof mascara that comes off easily with warm water and a bit of cleanser.

It doesn't make my lashes look fuller or voluminous, but it lengthens for sure as you can see in the photo. I love how natural it looks on the lashes, when I don't want my lashes to overshadow the whole eye makeup if that makes sense. You can't really tell it's 'pink brown' unless you are informed so, and it goes well with brown eyeshadow that I wear on daily basis. I wouldn't pair it with blue or green eyeshadow but I assume it looks pretty with most of the eyeshadow shades.

What do you think about this mascara? Do you own any mascara in a unique shade? Let me know!