Best in Beauty 2015 -Skin, Body and Fragrance

GLAMGLOW Glamtastic Facial Set
I tried out GLAMGLDW for the first time in 2015, and it did wow me. Especially BrightMud, the mask for the eye area worked amazingly. It contains caffeine and reduces puffiness of the eyes instantly. I also love SuperMud and YouthMud too, that they both cleans my skin properly -though I always break out after use, I still love them all.

Kielh's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel-Cream
Such a perfect morning moisturiser for oily, combination and dehydrated skin. During summer my skin becomes super oily that makeup melts during the day. This moisturiser creates a perfect base without making the skin oily, and it helps makeup to stay longer. In winter it's a little too light for me but I will 100% repurchase it next spring / summer, as it really did make a big difference on the lasting power of my makeup.

EVE LOM CLEANSER
A mini size of this much-loved cleansing balm was in one of lookfantastic Beauty Box. Not sure if it's the cleanser or the muslin cloth, but it makes my skin feel like baby's skin. It takes my makeup off completely, whilst leaving moisture but not an oily residue. I am not a huge fan of the scent -which is very oriental and herbal- but I can cope with it because the result is just AMAZING.

Rituals True Happiness Gift Set 
Rituals could be my favourite body care brand ever. I love their pink range (Ayurveda?) and their body cream is the best body moisturiser I have ever used. I wanted to purchase all of their products back in August when I went to the UK, but I restricted myself and only bought two gift sets for myself to try out different products. I ended up loving the body scrub and shower foam in Laughing Buddha range. The scrub is harsh enough to remove all the dead skin cells on my legs and elbows, the parts I find pretty hard to polish with crappy scrubs. The shower form is fun to use in the shower, I love how it turns to a foam. The scent is very relaxing, and a little bit masculine that I like. I still like the pink ones, but as I mentioned it in the last year's best in beauty post, I thought to mention this range this year instead.

Lola's Apothecary Restorative Winter Clarifying Bath & Shower Oil
If you haven't tried out any products from Lola's Apothecary, you should. This Bath & Shower Oil is my recommendation for you, if you like a herbal scent. The glass bottle looks so pretty on the bathroom shelf, with flower petals inside, but that's not all. The blend of peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, rosemary and marjoram smells absolutely beautiful. Not only does it calm you down, it also helps your muscle pain, blocked nose and body ache. I love how soothing and relaxing the scent is, and it's perfect for a morning shower. I rub the oil on my body before having a shower, which makes a shower time super relaxing and luxurious.

Therapie Roques Oneil Joie Bath Infusion
Another product makes you feel completely relaxed. A bath soak powder that contains rose quartz, jasper, butter milk and french clay along with beautiful essential oils such as frankincense, cedarwood and sandalwood, helps you detox and relax. They recommend you not to use any electric devises after having a bath with this product, so that you can maximise the effectiveness of this product. I have never smelt anything like this before, it's such a unique yet addictive scent. This tiny sachet costed £12.00 which is ridiculously expensive, but I am dying to try out their bath salt, too.

Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess
I now understand why people have been raving about this fragrance. It is the BEST summer fragrance, ever!! I got mine this summer at Bicester Village with about £15.00 - 20.00 discount. I like the latest bottle -as mine is one year older- but I don't care much because the scent is just beautiful. When I heard some beauty YouTubers raving about this fragrance saying 'it smells like a beach holiday' and 'smells of sunscreen', I never thought I would like this scent because I thought a sunscreen-scented fragrance is a little too childish to me. But I was wrong, this scent is very sophisticated yet fun and playful, I highly recommend it to anyone who likes creamy coconut scent blended with fresh citrus. 

Penhaligon's Lothair
My autumn/winter fragrance of the year! It smells masculine yet not too manly if that makes sense -such a perfect scent for both men and women. The blend of bergamot, grapefruit, berries, fig milk, magnolia, lavender, vanilla, musk and ceaderwood smells so lovely that I have been wearing it non-stop for months. The key note of this fragrance is tea, which is my favourite scent when it comes to fragrance. My husband and I had been wearing the tea fragrance from BVLGARI -which I forgot the name of- for years and years and it brings me a nostalgic feel.

Estée Lauder Modern Muse 
Who doesn't like this scent? It might not be some people's favourite, but who gets offensive by this scent? It's such a lady-like, feminine, clean scent that gives a good-girl-impression. I think it's perfect for an interview, meeting and a first date, when you have no idea what kind of scent your date likes. And also, this is a fragrance you can wear all year round!

I hope you enjoyed my Best in Beauty posts! Wishing you a happy new year!

Best in Beauty 2015 -Makeup and Hair

I apologize for not being able to blog for a while, December is the busiest month work wise and I had to get everything done before my long winter holiday. In Japan Christmas is a working day but the winter holiday is pretty long that everyone spends time with their family to welcome a new year. As I am off until the 3rd of January, I picked up my favourite products I discovered in 2015 to share with you all.

Maihada CC Cream (REVIEW)
This CC cream is what I have been wearing on my day off. It's perfect for when you do not want to wear foundation, concealer, highlighter and powder on, because it covers all the imperfections of your skin and makes it look flawless and dewy, yet very natural. I have the lighter shade and it's a perfect match for NC20 skin I guess. The texture is very light yet moisturising enough, this is a perfect BB CC whatever cream.

Three Shimmering Lip Jam / Moon Whisper (REVIEW)
I just wrote a review on this lipgloss the other day, so am not going into too much details. All I can say is that this is the pink I was looking for.

Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation (REVIEW)
This is the foundation I wear on daily basis. As mentioned in my 'My Base Makeup Routine' post, it is one of the foundations that give dewiness to oily / combination skin without making it look shiny or oily. It hides my pores on the cheeks, gives a flawless finish with a natural glow to it. I also LOVE the lavender scent.

Bobbi Brown Instant Pretty Eyes and Cheek Palette (REVIEW)
The eyeshadow palette that I used the most in 2015. Grab yours if you ever see it at Duty-free, it's such a lovely palette that you won't regret spending money on. Though I do not use the blush much, the eyeshadows are worth the money themselves. They last ages on the lids which means I can rely on this palette when I have a long day at work. It's also tiny that can fit into my makeup bag easily. The matte brown shade is my favourite, although it's a little hard to blend, it makes the whole look sophisticated somehow.

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush / Nude Mauve 
I am about to hit the pan. That's how much I adore this blusher. I got it back in August when I went to the UK. I wasn't sure about this blush because I thought shimmery blush would emphasises the pores on my cheeks, so I only purchase only one. I came back to Japan and tried it on, and it blew me away! It's such a beautiful blush that makes my skin look AMAZING. It does not emphasise the pores at all, instead it gives such an amazing glow and warmth to the skin, making my face look sculpted. I would buy all the shades, and 5 of Nude Mauve next time I go to the UK.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
I had heard a lot about this primer, and I bought a mini from House of Fraser to try out. Now I regret that I didn't buy a bigger one! It naturally covers the discolouration on my lids, while creating a perfect base for eyeshadow to stick. Since I started using this eyeshadow primer, my eye makeup never smudges or get ruined, even on a long long day at work -I'm talking about 17 hours of wearing makeup. I will 100% repurchase once I've used it up, but I doubt I would in the near future, as a tiny bit goes a long way.

Percy & Reed The Perfect Blow Dry Spray
My hair cannot be the same without this product. I have no idea what's in it, but it gives natural volume in the hair by spraying it before blow-drying. It also protects the hair from the heat, and leaves such a beautiful scent in it. Though it does not make my hair feel crispy or tacky, it definitely makes it thicker and voluminous. I love everything this spray does, I cannot live without it.

Fudge Urban Texture Spray
Another product I regret not buying a few at least. This candy-scented hair spray gives serious volume in my hair. Yes it makes it feel a little tacky, but I don't care because the volume lasts all day and the scent is to die for! I am definitely buying their dry shampoo, styling mousse and salt spray too next time I go to the UK.

I will reveal other favourite products of the year on the 31st! Don't miss it ;)

Three Shimmering Lip Jam Moon Whisper

Three Shimmering Lip Jam / Moon Whisper  3,240yen
If you ask me which Japanese beauty brands I recommend, I would answer THREE and ADDICTION. ADDICTION is like a Japanese version of NARS, and THREE is...well, very unique and different. THREE is famous for their beautiful shop in Aoyama, Tokyo called THREE AOYAMA where you can shop their products, have healthy food and experience their relaxing treatment. The layout of the shop is simple yet sophisticated, and their café serves healthy and yummy food and drink. Their spa is open from 7:30 in the morning, and though I have never had their treatment, I heard it's amazing. One thing you need to be careful is that they reject any customers who have tattoos -even a tiny one. They opened THREE AOYAMA a few years ago but I've been a fan of the brand for more than 5 years I believe. Possibly since their debut.

First of all, their skincare products smell divine. If you like a spa-like aromatherapeutic scents, you will love their products. Their oil cleanser is one of their best-sellers. Secondly, their makeup products are also lovely they always bring out very simple, conservative yet beautiful products.

Though I do not buy high-end makeup products often, I couldn't resist purchasing this beautiful lipgloss when it came out as one of their holiday limited products in November. A couple of days before the launch, I went to THREE AOYAMA and tried this lipgloss on. I didn't expect to like it much, but it was one of the most beautiful lipgloss I had ever tried. On the launch day I purchased it online from Isetan Website.

There are 4 limited shades came out in November. They contain 'moonlight pearl' that makes your lips glowing from within. My shade is Moon Whisper, such a beautiful yellow toned pink. The texture is very comfortable to wear on the lips, not too sticky yet stays on the lips for a couple of hours without touch-up. I also like the fact it doesn't have fragrance which makes it suitable in any scenes.

It instantly brightens up the complexion once applied and gives such a gorgeous glowing effect to the lips. It makes them look plumped and 'juicy' -though I hate the word for some reason- and I cannot rave enough about it. Blue toned pink looks awful on me, so I usually avoid pinky lip products but this one is absolutely beautiful. The glitter particles are super tiny that you don't feel at all, yet the effect of them is visible.

The chic packaging design under the theme of moon and dark sky is also unique. I've been wearing it almost every day since I got it, as it goes well with any kind of makeup. It looks beautiful with natural makeup, and it enhances the whole look worn with smoky eyes. Though it's pink, it's not a kiddish pink -it's such an elegant pink for grownup women. I highly recommend this shade if you have olive or neutral skin tone, or if you are looking for a natural pink lipgloss.

THREE AOYAMA