My BLOG is MOVED

The Beauty Maniac in Tokyo is now closed, and moved to Beau Tea Time in Tokyo.

Beau Tea Time in Tokyo

Enjoy!

Mellsavon á nu Body Wash

Mellsavon á nu Body Wash   980yen

Sometimes Japanese brands take the beauty products to the next level. There are many 'weird and gimmicky but unique and interesting' products in Japan that often WOW my friends and clients from overseas. Mellsavon á nu Body Wash is definitely one of them, because I am pretty sure this kind of product does not exist in most countries -except Korea, they come up with crazy ideas!

What makes this shower gel special is the packaging. Did you notice that the product is not in a typical plastic bottle but in a plastic bag instead?

That is the secret. The product comes like this -shower gel in a plastic bag, a pump and a plastic frame. So the idea is that the formula is in an air-tight bag so that it never touches the air, which made them possible to put multiple active ingredients that are prone to oxidation such as rice bran oil, apple derived polyphénol, olive oil, and vitamins.

The shower gel comes in two different types, one is Smooth Moisture which is the one I've got, and another is Rich Moisture in a pick packaging. They also have two types of face wash that have a special packaging to prevent oxidation.

You simply remove the sticker on the plastic bag, set it in the plastic frame and insert the pump. Since both the pump and the plastic bag are specially made, air does not get into the bag.

Smooth Moisture feels moisturising on the skin yet very refreshing -I imagine Rich Moisture is even more moisturising as the name suggests. The scent is supposed to be a blend of Ylang Ylang and Mimosa, but to me it smells like grapefruits...maybe the yellow packaging is influencing my nose.

I like how refreshing it feels, especially now that it's getting hotter and more humid, I like this kind of shower gel. It does not leave my skin feel tight which is also good. More than anything, I like the idea as it's very unique. Japanese people like air-tight packaging as now even soy sauce comes in it!

Flowfushi Mote-Liner in Cherry Cheek

Flowfushi Mote-Liner in Cherry Cheek  1,500yen

Whenever I take friends or clients from overseas to my favourite drugstore in Harajuku, Ainz-Tulpe, 90% of them would ask me 'Is this a good brand?' with a mascara or eyeliner from Flowfushi in hand. You would spot Flowfushi everywhere in Japan and it's hard to ignore. I believe they are one of the best-selling Japanese drugstore brands, and they have a very good reputation.

However, I always answer 'It's popular but I personally am not a big fan' to the question, because that's the truth. They are selling well but I haven't had a good experience with their products. First of all, let me tell you something about their best-selling Mote Mascara. They have 4 different types of mascara and one mascara base. I've tried a couple of them but the only one I kind of liked was the base. It's blue which makes your eyes standout, and I liked the unique concept. However, the mascaras were not good at all in my opinion. If you like Dejavu, which is another mascara I have no idea why have a good reputation, then you might like Mote Mascara too. It sticks your lashes together and make you look like you only have 4 lashes each eye. Not my type at all.

But what I didn't like the most is Mote Liner. I tried it in black and brown when it came out, and I hated them. Firstly, it did not dispense the ink evenly. Sometimes I ended up with a super thick liner just because the ink came out a lot suddenly. Another time the ink didn't come out that I had to keep shaking whilst drawing the line which resulted in a horrible look. Then, the eyeliner dried out within 10 days or so. I tried the hacks hoping they would bring the eyeliner back to life, but nothing did. That happened to 4 or 5 of my Mote Liner, and I finally decided not to purchase their products ever.

But when I saw Mote Liner in this limited shade Cherry Cheek in March, I couldn't resist. I knew Mote Liner might let me down again, but the shade looked too pretty not to give it a go. And it's only 1500yen. Why not?

I instantly fell in love with this beautiful shade. It's somewhere in-between pink, red and orange. I have never seen any other brands with this kind of shade of eyeliner. It's such a unique and sophisticated shade.

How pretty is that? I am truly obsessed with this eyeliner. And as you can see in the photos above, it draws a perfect line without fail. It allows me to draw thick and thin lines very easily, and never budges on my eyes. It stays vibrant all day and does not make me look like I have an eye infection! It goes well with a simple makeup like the one I'm waring in the photos, or you can go really bold with orange or pink eyeshadows.

It has not been dried out after 2 months, which makes me wonder if the ones I have tried were from a bad batch and were defective. Have you tried Mote Liner before? How did you get on if you have?