My Autumn Skincare Must-Haves

Though I have pretty oily skin during summer that all my makeup melts throughout the day, I suffer from dryness during winter -which is why I call my skin type combination rather than oily. December started and the air is getting colder and drier in Tokyo that instantly spoil my mood. I love trying out different skincare items though I have some products that I completely rely on when my skin becomes unstable.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is definitely one of those products. This unscented cream seems very simple and kind of boring, but it basically mends the skin and make it look plumped. Even when I have rash due to some kind of allergy to new skincare products that my skin doesn't agree with, it heals the skin within a couple of days of use. It hydrates the skin whilst keeping the skin surface feeling smooth. I used up my first jar now that I am ready to repurchase. Though, I might wait for a while as I just ordered the moisturiser from First Aid Beauty which I have heard works similar to this one.

Terracuore Damask Rose Dew Oil that I mentioned in the past (HERE) can be used in different ways. I usually use it as serum, but it can be used right after the cleanser to softens the skin, or you can of course mix it with a moisturiser. The mix of rosehip oil, almond oil, avocado oil and safflower oil makes your skin feel soft and hydrated.

It smells like rose perfume in the nicest possible way, though I do not like a rose scent, but this one is an exception. It smells divine that I recommend to ANYONE. This is definitely one of the best smelling face oils out there. This none-greasy oil protects the skin from dryness, and balances out the oil production.

Hada Labo Gokujyun Premium Oil Jelly that you can read an in-depth review HERE has been living in my makeup bag. During the colder months, my makeup tends to look cakey and kind of powdery though I only use liquid foundation, and that can be fixed with a product like this. I LOVE how light it feels on the skin. It can be used in the morning, night and during the day -basically ANYTIME! This is what you want to keep in your bag all the time, ditch your vaseline and grab this one instead!

I use Trilogy Everything Balm  when my skin requires even more hydration. This is quite an oily balm that I rarely use, but when my skin feels very dry that Gokujyun Premium Oil Jelly cannot even fix, I rely on this balm. It smells very 'natural and organic'-like, which not everyone would love. I definitely smell something like ylang ylang or patchouli. The great thing about this is that you can use it on your hair, nails, hands, face...everywhere on your body. Apparently this is one of their best-selling products, and I understand why. It's slightly more tacky than Gokujyun Premium Oil Jelly but it works wonders on my skin. This mini that came in one of the look fantastic beauty box is super handy!

Do you have any products that you cannot live without during the colder months? Let me know!

Majolica Majorca Romantic Night Mascara & Eyeliner Set

Majolica Majorca Romantic Night Mascara & Eyeliner Set  1,800yen

I had been looking for a good navy eyeliner and mascara since the end of summer. But unfortunately, most of them I came across did't have the right shade -to my liking. They were either too dark or too bluey. So when I saw this limited set at Aintz-Tulpe, my favourite drugstore in Harajuku (other branches are pretty small, go to the one in Harajuku if you are interested) I did not even hesitate to take it to the till.

This set comes with their best-selling mascara called Lash Expander Edge Meister and eyeliner called Perfect Automatic Liner, both in the limited shade 'Romantic Night'. They also launched other limited products at the same time: body lotion that smells heavenly, lip stain / gloss, eyeshadow palette and nail-caviar thing that was very popular a couple of years ago.

The liquid eyeliner has this pretty design on the body -which somehow reminds me of Sailor Moon. It's the type of eyeliner that you twist the end part to dispense the ink. At first it would tend to dispense too much ink at once which I wiped excess on the back of my hand, but it started working fine after using it for a couple of times.

I twist the end of the eyeliner once, and apply it on both eyes. The amount of the ink it dispense by one twist is absolutely perfect. The shade "Romantic Night' is such a lovely midnight blue. It's shimmery which makes it even more appropriate for the coming holiday season. It dries very quickly, meaning you have little time to apply it without making the eyeliner look messy, but once you're used to it you won't find any problems.

As you can see, it looks absolutely gorgeous on the eyes!! The metallic finish is very pretty and trendy, yet it's not too in-your-face at all. It definitely defines the eyes like a black eyeliner does, but definitely makes the whole look softer and more natural. It also makes my eyes look brighter for some reason, which is another plus point in my opinion.

The mascara is even more gorgeous than the eyeliner, as it contains bigger glitter particles that look absolutely amazing on the lashes. The brush looks rather odd, and I didn't think it would work on my lashes at first. I assumed that it would make them stick together and look clumpy. But I admit it did not do any of those -it separates the lashes and holds the curl for hours and hours.

It's got loads of fibres which I usually hate because they make my lashes look wonky, but for some reason this mascara does not do that much. I just comb my lashes with a clean spooli right after applying the mascara, and all the excess fibres come out.

In this photo, I only applied the mascara on my bottom lashes as I didn't want to look too much with the blue eyeliner and mascara on. You can if you want, but I just wanted to tone it down. You can see the bottom lashes look sparkly, but it's not too bluey at all.

When applied on both top and bottom lashes, it makes the whole look kind of mysterious -which I LOVE!! I tend to pair it with a black pencil eyeliner to balance out the look. It goes well with olive green eyeshadow -my favourite is Eyes to Mesmerise Cream Eyeshadow in Veruschka by Charlotte Tilbury- as well as taupe, silver and purple eyeshadows.

I have been wearing them 3-4 times a week since I got them. Especially the eyeliner is suitable for a daily use as they are quite subtle. The mascara is perfect for a special occasion, like a night-out or a special event. It's a shame they are limited, as I would repurchase them if they were permanent. They are sold out online already, but I have spotted them in some local drugstores recently. Grab them if you've seen them, as I promise you that you won't regret it!

Limited sets for this holiday season! Coffret D'or Party Coffret

Coffret D'or Party Coffret / EX-1  5,000yen
Just like any other countries, Christmas Coffret' is huge around this time of the year in Japan. Most of the beauty brands come up with limited sets that look pretty and gorgeous that you cannot resist. I usually do not buy Christmas Coffret but this year I was given a wonderful opportunity to try out Coffret D'or Party Coffret to review for GLAM. They have 4 different sets that you can choose depending on your liking, and I was given EX-1 which comes with a bright pink makeup bag that kind of represents the colour theme of this set.

EX-1 contains Soft Glamorous Eyes Eyeshadow Palette in Rose, Premium Stay Rouge in PK- 293 and a nail oil. Pink is not what I usually wear when it comes to makeup, as I do not dress 'kawaii' and 'cute' like Japanese uni students do, and I always feel like pink makeup doesn't go well with my style. But this set completely changed my point of view!

Soft Glamorous Eyes Eyeshadow Palette in Rose is such a lovely palette for grown women. Just like most of Japanese eyeshadow palettes, there is no matte shade to define the crease in this palette which is the only downside I can think of. It's got a very pale baby pink, dusty mauve, brown cream shadow, brownish burgundy and glittery gold eyeshadows which create such a beautiful look when they are used in conjunction with each other.

As you can see, all of the powder eyeshadows are super shimmery. The pigmentation isn't the best in the world, but the shades are very pretty.

Don't you think it looks pretty on the eyes? Even though I did not use an eyeliner, the cream eyeshadow worked as eyeliner and defined my lash line perfectly. It is definitely pink, but it's not a 'kawaii' type of pink, it's more mature and classy.

Premium Stay Rouge in PK- 293 is a lovely pink which I usually avoid, but this one looks quite nice on my lips as it's sheer. The nail oil didn't excite me to be honest as I have much better one which is spilt-free and smells amazing.

As you can see it's sheer and has tiny glitter particles that make my lips look plumped and juicy! The shade is a little too bright for my liking but it doesn't look childish at all which I like.

The makeup bag is also very useful -the size and the material is very nice and it holds so much stuff!! If you are into pink, this set is a must-buy. And for those who usually don't gravitate towards pink makeup, it's still worth checking out.