Japanese Makeup Haul

It has been a long time coming to do this post since going to Japan last Summer. It was so difficult to choose which products to buy because there were so many brands that I have not seen in the UK and it was a land of mistery! What was interesting was that the products sold in the well known brands such as Maybelline was different to the UK market.

Maybelline pure.bb mineral watergel  This is a repurchase for me which I am slightly regretting. It is a very light weight BB gel which is very comfortable to wear and is barely detectable on your skin. I loved this because I used to hate feeling anything on my skin but now that I have got over that, I feel like I should have branched out and tried another BB cream. Still, this will be good during Summer and for anyone wanting a light coverage natural looking skin.
CEZANNE UV foundation EX plus Whilst doing some research online, this popped up as the best drugstore summer foundation. Firstly, I was sweating like crazy whilst in Japan so I wanted a foundation that was sweat proof as well as trying out some powder foundation. Having tried it, I was really impressed with the staying power even in the very hot humid weather. I still need to work on the best application method becase it was easy to cake up this product when using the puff that came in the compact.
Cezanne Natural cheek Matte 102 This was an impulse purchase because it was so cheap and I was having an orangy coral blush phase during the summer. I think it was quite good considering the price point.

dejavu Fiberwig This was ranked No.1 mascara in the drugstore that I went and I had heard good things about it so I decided to try in out. It is a tubular mascara that comes off with hot water which is brilliant and it really doesn’t smudge! Pretty much all mascaras that I have tried will smudge under my lower lash line but this didn’t do that! It was good at lengthening and defining lashes.
CANMAKE Gokubuto mascara I made this purchase influenced by a Japanese Youtuber Hashimoto Nami. Apparently it gives good volume but I am yet to try this so we shall see.
KATE slim gel pencil BR-1 I’m not usually a liner person because it is just time consuming to put on and always smudges. (Also my top liner is vertually invisible when open my eyes so I feel it is  abit pointless) I though a gel formula in the click up type would be quite a convenient type. I’ve only started using this recently and I’m loving it for lining my lower lashline. It smudges out nicely when applying and then sets in place.
ROSY ROSA eye beauty liquid For most people, eye glue to make your monolid into a double lid may sound very bizzar but it is a massive deal in Japan (and potentially other asian countries?) This is used to make a crease for monolids. I have previously tried the tape version but I found it to be very unnatural so I decided to try out the glue type. This works quite nicely to be honest with a thin brush to apply the glue. However, I’m actually feeling quite alright with my monolid and I feel more selfconsious to wear this so it has just been sitting in my draw.

CEZANNE Lasting Gloss Lip BE1 I got drawn in the by the promotional stand for this product. It is meant to be a shear moisturing glossy lipstick but I found it to be drying on my lips when applied for a long time so I won’t really recommend this one.
NIVEA Natural Colour Lip Bright Up Pink Beige For everyday wear, I thought I’ll get a tinted balm. To be honest, there was very little colour to this but I really like it as a balm. It’s probably best to get the normal balm and get the colour from other more pigmented lipsticks.
CANMAKE Base Coat A random purchase because I was out of any base coats. Nothing extraudinary but it does prevent staining of my nails and don’t seem to interfere with application of nail polishes so I guess it’s OK.


This concludes my makeup purchases whilst I was in Japan. I really think I did well in restraining myself from going over the top with purchasing unnecessary makeup! Let me know if you have any Japanese makeup recomemdations so that I can start to compile a wish list for the next time I visit there!

Finish 7 By Spring–Makeup edit

Happy New Year! My first post of the year is on a brand new challenge I would like to be a part of. It’s the ‘Finish 7 By Spring’ Challenge that seems to be going around the project panner community on YouTube. This is my first time doing a project like this so I am slightly anxious but lets see how I get along.

1. Bourjois healthy mix serum
   • I have had this foundation for more than 2 years now and I absolutely love it but its probably time that it goes.
2. Maybelline Pure.BB mineral with micro-minerals
   • This is a BB cream I got in Japan and is such a light weight BB watergel. Its so nearly gone so I really want to finish it in the next few months
3. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 01
   • This is probably reaching 2 years plus and as you can see, all the writings have long rubbed off. There’s still about 1.5cm of product left so I am slightly worried about finishing this product but I shall give it a shot.
4. Clinique chubby stick in 07 super strawberry
   • This is a sample from a magazine with under 1cm of product left. As this isn’t so intense in pigmentation but very comfortable to wear, this shouldn’t be a problem to finish….. so I hope.
5. Fasio Double dusting eyes C-2
   • This is probably one of my very first eye shadow palette that I bought in Japan long long years ago. There’s a healthy dent in the lightest and the darkest shade so I will be aiming to hit pan on those two shades.
6. L’Oreal Volume Million Lashes in Extra Black
   • This is probable one of my favourite mascaras that I have ever tried. It gives me good amount of volume with definition. Although the recommended life span of a mascara is 3 months, after half a year of on and off usage, its still going strong.
7. Britney Spears Curious Eau de Parfum Spray 30ml
   • Finally the last product is a perfume that I have had for 4+years. I got this in a secret santa back in my school days and it took me a good few years to even start using it. It’s now at the half way mark so we shall see how I progress with this.

Best of luck to everyone else who is doing this challenge and I shall keep you updated on my progress probably monthly.

Tokyo Disneyland vs. DisneySea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I go back to Japan during the Summer, I usually find myself going to one of the Disney Resort Near Tokyo. I love the Disney characters to begin with (well, who doesn’t!?) and although it usually ends up being a pretty intense day, there’s just something magical about that place. However, if you are visiting Japan for a short period of time, you probably don’t wont to fill 2 of you precious days with Disney resort so I thought of giving a quick comparison between the two resorts.

• Disneyland has been open since 1983 where as DisneySea opened in 2001 so familiarity wise, Disneyland wins for me.
• Disneyland being the original Disney resort in Japan, the classical characters (e.g. Micky mouse, Minnie mouse, Chip n Dale etc.) are there and the rides are based on older Disney films. DisneySea on the other hand includes more recent Disney film characters as well as some original. Duffy the Disney Bear is featured massively in DisneySea. 
• In both resorts, there are a good range of rides and you won’t be out of things to do for the day. Personally I found the rides in DisneySea to be more efficient in carrying more passengers per carriage and the technologies used in these rides are just outstanding. The down side was that I felt that the duration of the rides in DisneySea was slightly shorter.
• Both resorts have parades scattered through the day but the main parade for Disneyland goes across the park whereas for DisneySea, the parade is performed on the water which is in the centre of the park.
• Generally, DisneySea is marketed as the more ‘adult friendly’ one out of the two resorts because alcohol is sold within the park!

If I was to pick a favourite, Disneyland would definitely be the one. I really did enjoy DisneySea when I visited for the first time 2 years ago. There were amazing rides like Indiana Jones and Toy Story Mania but as a whole Disney experience, it just didn’t feel like Disney. This might be because I have Ioved Disneyland  from when I was a child and it has nostalgic memories associated with it. I’d be interested to know which one is your favourite if you have been to both or any other Disney resort around the world!

Product Empties #2

Following on from my empties series, here are the Makeup things that I finished.

Primer

• Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer - This was a light moisturiser like primer and yes, it did give a luminous look but I didn't find it amazing. I probably should have known that the glow combined with my oily skin was not a good idea in the first place and I think a good moisturiser underneath the foundation would do a similar trick.
• Fake Urban Decay Primer Potion - This came with my FAKE UD Naked palette (sad times when I found out :( ). It had a very runny consistency with a skin colour tint. I have never tried the real thing so I cannot compare but I think this did work to enhance the colour of eye shadows. Slightly worrying since you don't know what are in these fake products so I shall not make the same mistake of buying fake products in the future!!

Foundation

• Rimmel BB Cream Matte (Sample) - I have previously tried the original formula and I quite liked it except for the fact that I became shiny after a while and oxidised a bit so I was excited to try out this matte formula. Sad to say that it wasn't much more mattifying then the original. I think this will be good during drier seasons when I get combination skin because this does not emphasise the dry patches!
• Rimmel Lasting Finish Nude Foundation (Sample) - Other than the colour match issue I had with this, I generally liked this product. It had quite a good coverage and sat very nicely on the skin. I may consider getting the full size if I can find the right colour.

Powder

• Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - I was so happy when I finished my first ever powder! This product was a must for my oily T-zone and I will probably come back to this product in the future.

Concealer

• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - I'm sure you don't need to hear any more of how good this concealer is but the coverage that this product provide is amazing! I wouldn't personally use it for under the eyes since it is quite thick and can easily look caked up but to conceal scars and pigmentation, this really works.

Eyes

• COMPANY Eyeliner - This was a felt tip liner that came in the COMPANY magazine. This did the job but this streaked when applying and the blackness wasn't that great. Since it was a freebie, I guess I cannot expect that much.
• So Susan Flutter Mascara - This came in one of the boxes. It was a very wet formulae with a brush that was in a nice swirl. This was a good mascara for every day but if you are after volume or definition, this probably isn't the mascara for you.
• Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara - This also came in one of the boxes and was surprised with how big the wand was! it was massive! (well... compared to what I usually use anyway.) I did like the plastic spiky bristle never the less and it did a good job of volumizing the lashes. The issue I had was the formula was on the dry side and if you went over the top with your mascara application, it was quite easy to end up with clumpy lashes. 

Lips

• Tanya Burr Champagne Toast Lip Gloss - Clear brown gold with specks of tiny gold shimmer. This was my favourite out of the three that I had. Generally good to wear on a casual day or to top up in the centre of the lips
• Tanya Burr Afternoon Tea Lip Gloss - Quite opaque light pink gloss. This gloss was too blue toned for my complexion and because it was the most opaque out of the three, I  found it quite difficult to wear. It will probably suit people with a paler complexion.
• Tanya Burr Aurora Lip Gloss - A lovely pink gloss with small specks of glitter. I did like this gloss too. 

All in all the Tanya Burr Lip gloss had a lovely sweet scent and felt comfortable on the lips. The disappointing thing was that they all started to smell sour after a year and a half so I had to get rid of them. I'll probably repurchase some and try out some other colours in the future. I am also loving the new packaging and the nail vanish range as well!!

• Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm - This was my first time trying Burt's Bees and I absolutely loved this lip balm. It was quite a hard waxy product and left a tingly feel after application. During the drier winter period, this really helped my chapped lips.

Thank you for reading yet another lengthy list of things and let me know if you have any product recommendation for this coming Autumn and Winter.