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!
I have written my 'Best in Beauty' post on my Japanese blog at the beginning of Jan, but I missed a chance to write on this blog...until now. I know I'm a bit late, but hopefully you enjoy it :)
SKINCARE
My skin has changed slightly about 2-3 years ago. It used to be super dry, but it started becoming a bit oily during summer. This year, I turned 30 and my skin has become combination skin all year round. I struggled to find suitable products for my combination skin, as I was used to having dry skin. But these products are the ones saved my skin a lot throughout the year!
CyberWhite HD Advanced Brightening Night Creme
I'm about to use up the 2nd jar of this beautiful night cream, and I am not looking forward to that because I don't think I can purchase it myself. This cream is supposed to help eliminate dullness, brightens up the dark spots and make your whole complexion looks brighter. And I noticed that my dark spots around my eyes look brighter actually. Brightening skincare products never worked on me so I was not expecting anything to be honest, but I'm happy too see the visible result! But what I love about this cream isn't that effect, it's how it feels on the skin and how it smells. It's not too heavy yet moisturising enough, and it smells divine that helps me relax before going to bed.
Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex II
It minimises the appearance of my pores. Enough said.
Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye
It applies like lotion but moisturises the skin around the eyes well. I tried the sample sachet which lasted for more than a week I remember, and felt it reduced the intensity of my dark circles, and picked one up at the duty free shop in Okinawa. It's not greasy or heavy around the eyes at all, and definitely reduces the fine lines in the next morning as well as brightens up the dark circles. And this tube will last me forever!
Terracuore Damask Rose Dew Oil
Oh my god, has a facial oil ever been this fragrant? I don't think so. It is like a fragrance that you apply on your face. It moisturises, brightens, plumps up your skin, while redusing the visibility of the pores. It feels like a serum rather than an oil when applied an appropriate amount, and sinks into the skin instantly. I use it before moisturiser when my skin feels stiff, or apply it on top of the moisturiser when my skin needs intense hydration. Also you can use it along with a steamed towel for a 'at home spa treatment'.
Perfume, Hair care and Body care
Jo Malone Perfume
I discovered Peony & Blush Suede in summer, and asked my husband to get one from the duty free shop at Heathrow Airport when he was back in London, as the price in Japan is ridiculously high even when you consider the terrible exchange rate between GPB and JPY. I don't typically pick a floral scent, but this one smells feminine yet not grandma-like. I used up half the bottle within 2-3 months, which was because it didn't stay on my skin at all and I had to spray it a few times throughout the day. Then I purchased Pomegranate Noir on Rakuten Auction for 1,000yen just because I didn't want to use up Peony & Blush Suede. I am combining it with Red Rose (in sample size) as it smells too musty to me on its own. I also like Blackberry & Bay, French Lime Blossom and Earle Grey & Cucumber.
Rituals Honey Touch Body Cream
Definitely the best smelling body cream, ever. This is my first ever body cream that I've used up in my life. It leaves my skin soft and smooth, without being greasy at all, and the scent transfers to my clothes and remain smelling divine for hours. It was too heavy during the summer as it's super humid in Japan, it was the only thing I was looking forward to about autumn / winter. It smells like a gorgeous bathroom at a very high-end hotel. I know it sounds horrible, but you may understand if you've tried it!
L'Oreal Elseve Extraordinary Oil
The best hair oil ever. It doesn't weigh down my hair at all yet nourishes the ends instantly. It smells of 'oriental flowers' which is a bit musky, kind of dusty in a way yet feminine and sexy....which I absolutely love.
Alterna Bamboo Volume Weightless Whipped Mousse
It gives a great volume in my hair!! The mousse texture makes it easy to distribute to my hair. I use it mainly on my roots when I wear my hair down to give enough volume, or apply it all over including the ends when I wear my hair up, which gives a good 'grip' to my hair without making it greasy.
Do you want to know what my favourite makeup products of 2014? It will be up on Sunday!
I purchased these B&BW candles from eBay.com as we don't have B&BW here in Japan unfortunately. I really love their products especially their lip gloss, shower gel and hand wash. My favourite sent is Warm Vanilla Sugar, I think that scent is so so so good! And there are many scents I would like to try, I'm sure I'd go to B&BW straight from the airport when I go to the states someday in the future. Definitely.
These candles are about $2-3 each, but with the postage it was about $7-8 each (or possible more). It's pretty expensive for a small -actually it's tiny- candle but it was worth it because I loved them all!!
Marshmallow Fireside
This is such a perfect scent for winter! It smells just like marshmallows getting roasted over a fire. It smells pretty sweet but not the sickly kind of smell. It makes me feel cozy and relaxed, I like to light this candle when I blog or read or watch a movie. The most amazing thing about this candle is that it does have a hint of this campfire smell!
Brandied Pear
It could be discontinued as I couldn't find the link at the official website of B&BW...or was it seasonal? This scent is described as "Poached autumn pears, drizzled with sugared brandy and topped off with vanilla cream". Hmmm YUMMY! I don't think it smells of pear much, it mainly smells of brandy and vanilla. It smells sweet but is not a childish smell because of the hint of brandy, which makes it suitable for a fancy dinner or something.
Fresh Balsam
Here is the description; Like evergreen woods on a clear fall
morning, our refreshing blend of crisp eucalyptus, fir needles and
cedarwood musk notes is an invigorating and timeless treasure. Doesn't it sound amazing? Apparently this was one of the most popular ones and I totally understand why! It smells of Christmas tree which made me feel festive before Christmas. Even after Christmas I've been loving this scent, it's such a soothing smell which makes me feel relaxed. It's not a sweet scent so my mum doesn't mind me burning this candle with the door open so that the whole house smells of it (my flat is so tiny!).
I call them B&BW candles but actually there are a few different brands, aren't they? What's the difference between Slatkin & Co.'s Fresh Balsam and White Burn's Fresh Balsam? Why do they make candles with exactly the same scent? If you know what kind of deal is it and what the difference is, please let me know because I'm curious!
What's your favourite scent of B&BW candles? I'll purchase more once I've finished them all, do you have any recommendations?
Caudalie Divine Oil 25 GBP
I first got to know about this oil on essiebutton and ghostparties, two of the most famous beauty blogs. Both Estee and Kate said they loved the oil, and from what they said about it I knew I would love this oil. But I hesitated to buy it because it was pricey, but luckily I was able to get a few pounds discount on lookfantastic.com somehow.
I put the link of the product page on feelunique above because lookfantastic didn't have the same discount offer anymore, and I personally like feelunique more than lookfantastic because they are quicker to ship the products than another.
On feelunique it says..." Caudalie Divine Oil offers everything you need to make your skin
positively exquisite. This multi-use miracle oil is also great for your
hair, your nails, your bath and massages", basically you can use it on every part of your body. I remember Kate from ghostparties mentioned that she was using this oil on her face as well.
First of all, I love the packaging. How classy and beautiful is this bottle!! And I love the idea that it's in a spray bottle because it's obviously much easier to apply on your hair and body. Although the spray is quite direct, I think it's because the oil is heavy so it cannot be misty.
It contains grape oil, extra virgin argan oil, extra virgin hibiscus oil, sesame oil and shea butter to moisturize your skin.
I spray this oil on my arms and legs to prevent dry skin, and on the tip of my hair before blow-drying. It really does make my skin so soft and smooth, and smells AMAZING. I cannot even describe the scent, but according to feelunique this smells is the blend of moroccan rose, bulgarian rose, grapefruit, pink pepper, whilst cedar, vanilla and white mask. It does smell floral for sure but the base with vanilla and white mask is making this scent very mature and sophisticated, instead of a simple floral scent.
I'm addicted to this product now, I just cannot leave my house without smelling of this oil! Unfortunately the scent doesn't last long, and the bottle is too heavy and big to carry around. I wish they had a smaller size so that I can put it in my bag and reapply it during daytime. It prevents dry skin very well without making my skin greasy or oily. I think I've been using this for about 2 weeks now and my skin hasn't been in a better state.
I strongly recommend this oil if you're looking for a body oil. I'm not a big fan of floral and vanilla scents to be honest but this one is totally different from all the scent I'd known before!
Have you ever used this product? What did you think?
