Maybelline Big Eyes Love Bag Liner 1296yen
In Japan, eyeliners that define your eye bags have been on trend for years now. I hadn't been a big fan of those at all because it defines my under eye circles instead of my eye bags. To begin with, I have never been interested in defining my eye bags. I originally have quite plumed eye bags that make my eyes look swollen and I'm not particularly happy about that. But this glittery eyeliner (with a strange name) from Maybelline, is surprisingly good.
The shade I got is BE-1 with gold glitters, and there is another shade called PE-1 with pink glitters. This eyeliner is designed to use on the inner lower lash line, but I sometimes use it on my eyelid as well.
It's tickling and a little uncomfortable to draw the line with such a thin brush....but it's worth it because it looks so pretty! It gives a little sparkle to the eyes, which makes a huge impact to the whole look.
The glitter particles are very small which means you never end up with having some random glitters around your eyes. It doesn't make your friend think 'She has got a glitter line under her eyes...yup it's obvious' but she will think 'Her eye makeup looks pretty today for some reason' instead! The line stays put all day and never budges. Because it's gold, it goes well with pretty much any eyeshadow shades.
Whenever I'm wearing this eyeliner, I am quite satisfied with my makeup. It adds something extra to my boring makeup, and it makes my eyes look beautiful! Not sure if it defines my eye bags (hope it doesn't) but it definitely adds a little spice without gathering attentions to my dark circles!
Maybelline Pure Mineral CC Bright Up 1,512yen
I know. I'm over BB or CC or EE cream, too. But let me tell you, this CC cream from Maybelline isn't too bad at all! I was a little bit skeptical when got it to review before the launch, as I didn't have any information in advance and I just saw the name 'CC cream' and was like...meh. But actually it's perfect for a lazy day off when you can't be bothered to wear a full makeup yet you want to wear something.
Based on their description that says 'Colour correcting capsules burst on your skin when applied' I imagined a while cream that adopts your own skin tone. But actually it's a beige cream as you can see in the photo. What a confusing description. There is only one shade called 'Bright ochre', which is suitable to my skin tone but might be too bright for the most of Japanese people.
When it's blended out, it turns slightly more yellow which matches my skin tone perfectly. The whipped texture feels very light on the skin as if I'm not wearing anything. I use my fingers to blend out, and add concealers to erase my dark circles and pigmentation around my nose.
See, you cannot even see where it's applied! You can definitely see your own skin through the CC cream, but the complexion is evened out and a very natural glow is added on your skin.
It's very comfortable to wear as it's very light weight, and having SPF 37 sun protection is always a plus too. It's pretty moisturising which makes it suitable for dry skin. I have combination skin and it makes my skin a tad shiny throughout the day, meaning it could be too moisturising for oily skin. I still like wearing it on my day off, because I don't particularly want to look like I spent 30 minutes on my makeup on my day off when I don't go anywhere but a local coffee shop to work on my blogs. I want to look as natural and effortless as possible, and this CC cream makes it easy to create that look.
Well done Maybelline!
It was a short but pretty hot summer we had in Japan this year. I am so sad that it's autumn now and it definitely is getting colder day by day. I hate winter, I just hate everything about winter, and I'm getting so depressed as writing this thinking about winter...BUT I am excited about autumn / winter makeup. I'm all about coral cheeks and coral lips in summer, but I tend to gravitate towards darker lips in colder seasons like everyone else.
The problem is, I don't look good with dark or bright lips although I'm dying to wear rosy or berry toned lips. And I came up with this idea to mix the lipsticks I own already to create new shades rather than to look for the perfect autumnal shade.
Rimmel London Kate Matte Lipstick / 107 × Moisture Renew Lipstick / Nude Delight
I didn't know that when I bought it but 107 seems to be a very popular shade. On my lips it looks too bright and pinky, so I tone it down with Nude Delight, which is one of my favourite shades of the entire lippie collection.
This is how it looks when both of them are on the lips. They are both matte formula, which creates this beautiful velvet kind of texture which is perfect for autumn.
REVLON Lip Butter / Berrï½™ Smoothie
×Maybelline Baby Lips / Peach Kiss
It's been ages since I stopped wearing Lip Butter although I was pretty obsessed with it when it came out. There is no particular reason why I stopped wearing it, but now I remember how pretty it looked on my lips! Having said that, it's still too bright on its own. So I applied Peach Kiss from Maybelline on top, and voi-la!
It has the right amount of pinkness but not too bright. Baby Lips give a little bit of shine and I kind of like that.
Estee Lauder Pure Colour Envy Shine / Surreal Sun
× LUNASOL Full Glamour Liquid Lips/ 03
This combo is what I've been loving since summer. Surreal Sun is a very bright orange that I cannot wear on its own. I dab Surreal Sun on my lips and blend with my finger, then add LUNASOL lip gloss on top. This shade 03 is no longer available apparently, but it's such a useful shade added on top of any kind of shades. I love how it feels on the lips.
I LOVE this shade!! I don't know what to do when I run out of this lip gloss, as it looks totally different when the lip gloss isn't added on top. This lip shade makes the whole look more sophisticated, and goes really well with autumnal eye makeup.
Bourjois Effet 3D MAX Lipgloss / #68 × CANMAKE Stay on Balm Rouge / 04
This lip gloss from Bourjois is awesome. It smells awful like rose petals burnt with vinyl or something like that...which is pretty gross. But how gorgeous it looks is unbelievable. It has this rosy undertone to it, which makes my lips look beautiful. It has glitter particles which might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I like it. I paired it with CANMAKE Stay on Balm Rouge in 04, which is a very natural beige.
Browny beige with a hint of rose is such a perfect shade for the colder season. And the glitters make it suitable for the holiday season as well!
It's so much fun paring lipsticks and lipglosses because sometimes it creates a completely different shade. And I can save money by not purchasing a bunch of new lipsticks!
Maybelline Lashionista Mascara 1296yen
I LOVE Maybelline mascaras. The Falseas and The Rocket are my favourite, they are amazing for giving volume and keep the curls all day, while being smudge-free. I was very excited to try out this mascara called Lashionsta and had a very high expectation. According to their Japanese website, this mascara won 59 beauty awards since the launch in 2011 until 2013. It has very light-weight lengthening fiber that floats on water and makes your lashes long and separated.
I like this packaging better than The Falseas and The Rocket as it's much slimmer and doesn't take up space. The pink tube looks pretty with silver detailing and black logo.
You can see that the fiber is pretty long. Normally fiber is about 2mm but this particular mascara contains 4mm fiber. And because the fiber is very light, it makes it easier to hold the curls.
It's pretty impressive how light it feels on my lashes. It feels like I'm not wearing a mascara. The more you apply, the more your lashes get longer -not voluminous. It's a perfect mascara for people with shorter lashes who are looking for a lengthening mascara.
It kind of separates the lashes, but not perfectly like The Rocket does. I kind of like the natural look this mascara gives, I like to pair it with the smoky eye look to avoid looking OTT. This is a mascara that creates "my lashes but a bit fuller" kind of look if you know what you mean. This is not for you if you are looking for a volumising mascara that people would ask you if you are wearing false lashes.
Not sure if it's sold in other countries too (I guess it is / was sold in the US) but in Japan there is a limited packaging with My Melody on it right now!
Michael Todd Blue Green Algae Toner
This is a very refreshing toner that I was loving throughout the summer, autumn and winter. It has blue green algae, organic kelp, hyaluronic acid and teatree which help to maintain an acne-free, moisturised skin. It smells so refreshing that I'm totally addicted to it! I apply it on a cotton pad and gently wipe my face with it. It's the perfect balance between refreshing and hydrating.
Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask
I don't need to write too much about this product, do I? There are so many amazing reviews about it, and I've written my in-depth review of this peach-smelling face mask a few weeks ago, so I'm not going to ramble about it here again, but my skin can't be the same without it. It smells amazing, feels brilliant on my skin, and the result is very impressive.
Nourish Revital-Eyes Eye Cream
I use it every morning and night. It contains peptides, amino acids, B vitamins and antioxidants to boost natural resilience against signs of ageing, and it also helps to reduce the pigmentation of my dark circles too.
LUSH Let the Good Times Roll
Thank you LUSH so much for making such a wonderful cleanser!!! It looks, feels and smells of cookie dough. If you love sweet scents like I do, it would be your dream come true to cleanse your face with cookie dough, isn't it? Plus it's super moisturising, perfect for dry skin. Thank god it's now available all year round.
Predia Spa et Mer Fango Double Cleanse
It's a very luxurious cleanser that makes you feel like you're in a spa. It gently removes my makeup without any oily residue, while moisturising my skin. It smells heavenly too.
Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Body Lotion
It smells very sweet and nutty without being overpowering. I'm not sure when I'll be able to use up this massive bottle, but I've been enjoying it very much since I got it in Jan 2013. It doesn't make my skin feel greasy at all yet hydrate the dry parts perfectly. And the scent lingers for hours.
Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Butter Cream
Well...it might beat Smoothie Star to be honest! It smells like sweet yogurt when I open it but once it's settled on my skin it smells like sweet brown sugar with a hint of lime as it claims! Although this one is butter cream which must be heavier than body lotion, I feel that this one is lighter than Smoothie Star Body Lotion actually. I love them both anyway.
It's a 10 Miracle Leave-in Conditioner plus Keratin
The most effective leave-in conditioner, ever! It worked wonders on my hair, it made my hair silky smooth without any tangles. That's unbelievable because my hair is usually very frizzy, dry and very easy to get tangled. Plus it smells like hair salon. Bonus.
Soap and Glory Hand Food
Love this hand cream! It's quite thick but doesn't make my hands feel greasy or over moisturised if that makes sense. I reapply it every 30 minutes at work just to enjoy the scent. Oh, and to hydrate my hands.
Soap and Glory HAND MAID
Yes, Soap and Glory again. I hadn't used any hand sanitizers until I bought this one in London in March. It smells divine, lighter than Hand Food although it's the same scent.
MUA Undress Me Too Palette
Such a useful palette for 4 pound! Although the staying power isn't great, the pigmentation is amazing overall and the shades are all wearable on daily basis. I love creating greyish smoky-eye look with the silver, purple and dark grey.
Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick / Notting Hill Nude
I've been wearing this lipstick none-stop since I got it. It's not completely matte but it's not shimmery or glittery. It has this rosy undertone to it that doesn't make my whole face like a zombie.
L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash / Pink Resistance
I believe this shade is not available either in Japan or the UK, but if you love a very natural coral-pink shade, you should get it from eBay! It's such a beautiful shade that makes me look healthy. I love how it's buildable, too.
Rimmel London
Exaggerate Undercover Shadow Primer
I purchased it because I couldn't afford the hyped-up primer from NARS, and I'm glad I did! It works really well as a primer, although it's doesn't have a colour-correcting effect. My eyeshadows stay much longer when I use it underneath them, and it's super affordable.
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer
I'm so glad I did purchase it in London in March. I have shade1 and 2, that I use on my dark circles. I don't find them too drying as some people claim, but I wish they had more shades.
Max Factor Clump Defy Volumising Mascara
Such a good mascara, isn't it? It really doesn't make my eyelashes clumpy, it just coats each eyelash that I don't need false lashes at all! I wish I could buy it here in Japan.
Maybelline Volum' Express The Rocket Mascara
My favourite mascara that I can buy in Japan for sure. I like it better than Falsies just because it makes my eyelashes fuller than Falsies, which I found the formula was a little bit too wet for my liking. I love this mascara so much that I'll repurchase once I run out of it.
Maybelline Dream Touch Blush / Peach
In 2013, I fell in love with cream blushers. I also liked the one from Bourjois, but this particular shade easy to wear with any kind of makeup, in any seasons. It feels pretty wet on the skin but once you blend it out with Stippling Brush from Real Techniques, it creates this pretty cheeks that looks like it's from within.
Maybelline ColorTattoo Metal / Barely Branded
This shade works amazingly as an eyeshadow base! It's such an elegant campaign colour that I wear every single day underneath any eyeshadows. I just hope it doesn't dry out until I actually hit the pan.
What are your best beauty products you discovered in 2013? Let me know!
Hope you have a happy new year!
Maybelline Volum' Express The Rocket Mascara
As I mentioned before (HERE), I love Maybelline The Falsies Mascara. I love how it separates my lashes to create this voluminous look. I was aware about The Rocket Mascara but had never been interested in it because I heard mixed reviews about this particular product. Some people say it's better than The Falsies, and some people say it's rubbish. So when I received this mascara to try out, I was not expecting too much. But it turns out that I might love The Rocket a little bit more than The Falsies....!
The wand looks pretty thick. I thought "I'm not going to like this mascara" when I saw the wand for the first time just because I had a bad experience with this kind of wand before (yes I'm looking at you covergirl lash blast volume mascara!). But actually this wand is amazing. It separates my lashes very well.
My lashes look longer, thicker and fuller. What more can I wish for? It doesn't come off in daytime unless I cry a lot -which doesn't happen often- but very easy to remove with a cleanser at night.
The Falsies was pretty wet in my opinion that I had to wipe the wand with tissue before using it at the beginning, and it dried out after a week or two. I hope The Rocket doesn't dry out as much as The Falsies did because The Rocket was not wet from the beginning.
Have you tried The Rocket Mascara yet? What's your opinion about it? Let me know! :)
It's been quite a long time since I wrote my last blog post here. If you speak a second language, you may know that sometimes you speak the language fluently and sometimes your brain completely stops when you try to say a word in the language. I'd been (or let's say I HAVE been) having a difficulty in speaking English that I found it difficult to talk to my husband even. But I decided to stop running away from it and face the reality -I'm not a native English speaker and I've never learnt English properly. I make mistakes and I'm not perfect. Who cares if my English doesn't make sense?
Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss $3.79
Now, let's talk about beauty stuff. This is my new favourite tinted lipbalm that I've been using none-stop recently. I knew that many youtubers and bloggers were raving about this product but I'd never been interested in it to be honest. It was when I was browsing Vitacost.com last month that it caught my eyes suddenly. I wanted some natural lipsticks or lipgloss and just thought it was perfect.
This shade is called Peach Kiss, and I assume it's the lightest shade in the collection.
It looks much more subtle and natural that I expected, which is a good thing. It has silver shimmer in it but it doesn't look glittery. It goes on really smoothly and feels very moisturising.
It looks so pretty, doesn't it? It's a perfect peachy beige that I would wear every single day! It makes me look healthy while being subtle. I also love how moisturising it feels on my lips. It feels like butter and goes on really smoothly without being patchy.
The peachy scent is another reason why I love this product. It makes me want to lick my lips all the time -which I try not to- as it smells so good. I keep reapplying it just to enjoy the scent! I usually apply another lipbalm underneath just because my lips are sensitive and get dry easily, but you can wear it on its own if you don't have dry lips particularly.
I'm thinking of getting other shades as well, which one is your favourite?
Today I'm going to talk about the makeup products I use daily.
After moisturising my face with SOLAR Protective Moisturizer SPF30, I apply this BB cream from Baby Pink which I talked about HERE. It has SPF35 too which is definitely needed especially in spring and summer. After I apply it with Buffing Brush by Real Techniques, I move on to concealer. I use a few different concealers starting from Rimmel Match Perfection Illuminating Concealer in 040 soft beige. It's a little bit darker to use as highlighter so I use it to cancel out the redness around my nose. Then I apply Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 02 Light under my eyes, then mix 01 Fair with Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Light, and apply on top. Because my under eye circles are brown / orange, and I was told to apply peachy concealer first, then apply yellow toned concealer on top. It still doesn't cover them up completely but better than nothing, I guess.
Then I move on to my brows. The first thing I use is my eyebrow mascara. My favourite one is Heavy Rotation Colouring Eyebrow in ashy brown. I bleach my eyebrows every 2-3 weeks to match them to my hair colour but I still like applying eyebrow mascara to even out the colour. Then I use my eyebrow pencil from KATE in BR-02. Then I use VISEE Powder Eyebrow in BR301 which is the lighter shade, and I only use the lightest colour in this palette to fill any tiny gaps.
For my eyes, I use NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone as a primer. I apply just a tiny bit on my eyelid with my finger to even out the skin tone. I actually don't like this product much because it still makes my eyeshadow crease anyway, and it's kind of oily. I am on the hunt for a cheap yet good eyeshadow primer! Then I apply Maybelline Color Tattoo in Eternal Gold. I didn't like this product much at the beginning but now I love how it shines on my eyelids. You still can see through the shine even after you apply other eyeshadows on top. Then I use Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Storm. I like MUA palettes as well but they tend to come off very quickly...Is it just me or does it happen to you too?
Next I use Kingdom Liquid Eyeliner in black. I only use liquid eyeliner just because I like to define my eyes. I don't like black pencil eyeliner just because it's hard to draw a straight line and does get smudged easily. Anyway this eyeliner is very good because it doesn't come off easily in daytime but it comes off without rubbing it too much with a gentle cleanser and hot water.
Relevance Highlight Tip in pearl beige is something I use when my eyes look tired. It brightens up my eyes instantly. Then finally I use L'Oréal Paris Volume Million Lashes Mascara. I didn't like this mascara much at the beginning but it doesn't clump and creates very natural looking eyelashes.
On my face, I use Baby Pink BB Loose Powder to set my foundation. It makes my skin look flawless and I love the matte finish it gives. It erases my pores on my cheek as well, I love this powder so much! Then I use Relevance Shading Mineral Powder for shading. I apply it on my chin and forehead to make my egg-shape face look rounder. On my cheek I like to use Pierre Couleur Mineral Mousse Cheek in Lovers Pink. It has this unique texture which is exactly like mousse, and it melts into my cheeks when I apply it with Stippling Brush by real Techniques and creates this glowy look. And I sometimes use Sun Beam from Benefit (in this tiny bottle came with ELLE magazine last year).
On my lips I use different lip products depending on my mood. I like to wear Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick from Soap and Glory when I'm wearing a simple eye makeup as it shows up pretty bright on my lips. I love applying Bath and Body Works Lip Gloss (which I talked about HERE) on top of any lip stick I have! It smells so nice like vanilla syrup or something, and it gives pretty pretty shine on my lips. I also like L'Oreal Paris Glam Shine Stain Splash in Lolita. I use it all the time especially at work. It doesn't show up much on my lips but definitely creates "Oh my lips look naturally this pigmented and make my whole face look healthy" type of look if that makes sense. Revlon Color Burst Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie is another favourite of mine. It's such a pretty girlie colour I want to wear on a date or something. It's such a perfect pink!
Phew it became such a long post! Thanks for reading, and share what's on your face today!
