KANEBO

Current Favorite Cleansers

October 12, 2017

Sharing some cleansers I have been using lately. As usual, I love to have a lot of products to choose from depending on my mood. There is a mix of Japanese skincare products in my routine now as I brought back a suitcase of them from my trip to Japan!

Shiseido ELIXIR WHITE Purify Cleansing Gel Cream – I really love this fresh gel cleanser in a clean white pot. It is a makeup remover that reminds me of the cult favorite Eve Lom, and it is best to be used together with a muslin cloth. The difference is that it’s much cheaper with a very lightweight jelly-like consistency. It applies like a creamy jelly – doesn’t feel balmy nor oily, but removes and dissolves the makeup including waterproof eye makeup thoroughly. It is ultra-gentle and feels very hydrating to the skin, and your complexion feels very clean, fresh and supple once it’s removed with a muslin cloth. Highly recommend it if you are after a non oil-based lightweight makeup remover but still does a good job.

Sodashi Clay Cleanser with Lime – A luxury under-the-radar organic skincare brand. If you are into luxury spas, you will be quite familiar with ultimate heavenly Sodashi facials and treatments that are widely used in a lot of high-end hotels such as the Four Seasons Resorts around the world, and the Qualia resort in Australia. I couldn’t help but buy some products to try after having the Sodashi facial years ago. Since then I was hooked on the Clay Cleanser which I have repurchased over and over. It’s a luxurious, gentle cleanser with a milky clay texture. It cleans the face, helps to restore the moisture and balance, and the clay helps to calm and detoxify the skin. The amazing invigorating spa-like smell also instantly brightens up my mood when I use it in the morning. Totally love it.

Kate Somerville Exfolikate Cleanser – Since I love their Exfoliating Treatment so much, I bought the cleanser version of it! It has a blend of AHA (glycolic acid and lactic acid) and enzymes that help to exfoliate and renew the skin mildly. It’s very gentle to my normal-dry skin, and doesn’t strip the moisture off. I love using it at night after removing my makeup. It has a creamy minty green clay texture that doesn’t lather much. Overall it brightens up my complexion after use and keeps the skin very clean and keeps the pores clear. Another big thumbs up from me!

Kanebo SUISAI Beauty Clear Powder – These cute little tiny pots of powder cleanser is trending everywhere in Asia now. It’s very affordable and I love the packaging which is very convenient for traveling. One pot lasts for two uses for me depending on the condition of your skin. The powder is quite grainy, and it lathers up mildly and cleans the skin thoroughly with a mild exfoliation effect. It is gentle and non-drying to my dry and sensitive skin. It makes a great and affordable dupe for the cult Dermalogica daily microfoliant.

Kose SEKKISEI White Powder Wash – I am going through a powder cleanser phase, so I also picked up this product to give it a try as well. This powder feels quite different to the Suisai Beauty Powder above, as it works like a typical Japanese foam cleanser that lathers up to an ultra-rich creamy foam, and deeply cleanses the skin with a squeaky clean feel. If you have combo to oily skin, you will like this one. I personally find it too strong for my dry skin during the cold days.

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Labels: CLEANSER • KANEBO • Kate Somerville • KOSE • SHISEIDO • SHISEIDO ELIXIR • SKINCARE • SODASHI

October Favorites – Drugstore Products Edition

October 31, 2011

I haven’t done a monthly favorite for a while. Reason being I use way too many products throughout a month that is impossible for me to consolidate a list of things into a short post. So I have decided to resume my favorite posts as of this month but will focus on one particular category. For the month of October I would like to do a Drugstore Products Edition! Surprise?! I just feel like I always talk about high end products, but in the mean time there are some really wonderful and affordable products that deserve a shout out!

Western Brands:

PANTENE AQUA LIGHT Lightweight Nourishing Shampoo, Conditioner and Treatment:

These are absolutely amazing!!! I have been neglecting my high end shampoos and conditioners ever since I had them. They have made my hair feel soft, smooth, tangle free and most importantly as light as feather. The first few times I used them I literally could not stop swinging my hair (like the girl in the shampoo ad but in a clumsy way). It is the same feel as if you just had a hair cut – the hair just feels so healthy, manageable and light. I need to re-iterate, these are amazing 🙂

OPI NAIL ENVY

I wear nail polish everyday as a result my nail becomes yellow and dull. This product has completely rescued my nails and serves as a good base for nail polishes.

Covergirl Lash Blast Volume Waterproof Mascara

An oldie but a goodie. It separates, volumises, holds the curl and doesn’t budge. May not be the best mascara in the market but definitely best value for money!

SLEEK Blush in Rose Gold

Gifted by my sweet beauty pal Joyce! She always raves about it and I totally understand why she loves it more than the Nars 0rgasm blush the minute I opened it. The color is gorgeous. I will do a comparison post later in the future, for now please check out Joyce from Atelier Beauty’s review here.

Asian Brands:

LAVSHUCA Eyeshadow Palette

Newbies to Japanese drugstore brands? Lavshuca is the brand to go! It is a affordable line of Kanebo. Though the packaging may not look as elegant Lunasol quads, the actual eye shadows are just as good – smooth, finely milled and great color payoff with a soft shimmery finish. If I only had 10 dollars as my budget for eyeshadow this will be the one.

K-Palette Liquid Eyebrow Pen

Big fan of liquid eyebrow pens because they last 24 hours on me. If you love the Suqqu liquid eyebrow pen, you would love this one. Actually they are pretty identical to me and K-palette is only a fraction of the cost.

Etude House Cream blush

They are housed in a sterdy glass jar with an adorable packaging. These are very pigmented, cool tone pink blushes. They have a perfect texture of cream blush that is not too creamy nor too dry, and give a dewy finish that lasts all day. What more can I ask for?!

From LTR:

Dolly Wink 02 Sweet Girly: super long and dramatic, wore them in this post.

Dolly Wink 04 Feminine Style: these are cute corner lashes, very natural and suitable for daytime wear. Wore them in this post.

Dolly Wink 01 Sweet Dolly: the perfect style for a sweet and dolly looking eyes. Wore them in this post.

Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Feline Extravaganza Waterproof Mascara (AUD$48)

Okay I am cheating… this is not a drugstore brand. I am just loving this one too much that I have to include it in this month’s favorite! HR Lash Queen Feline Extravaganza WP Mascara is my Holy Grail Mascara. I have tried tons and tons but nothing else beats this one! I always get a few backups whenever I get a chance to shop at DFS Galleria.

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Labels: BLUSH • DOLLYWINK • Etude House • FALSE LASHES • HAIRCARE • Helena Rubinstein • KANEBO • MASCARA • My Favorites • OPI

Lunasol Three-Dimensional Eyes 03 Mysterious Beige Review, Swatch and FOTD

October 24, 2011

Lunasol is known for their neutrals, and this fall Lunasol has taken it up a notch and delivered a set of new eye shadows – the Three-Dimensional Eyes, that lets you to manipulate light and shadow more effectively to add depth to your eyes. The star feature of this collection has to be the graduation of the neutral colors, as in each palette the Highlight Color and the Shade Color consists of three different textures and levels of luster. Being an Asian who doesn’t have deep set of eyes, this concept is really intriguing.

Under the influence of my beauty pal Elaine who is a purple-holic, I went for 03 Mysterious Beige which has a purple color (the old me would have gone for the neutral beige but I decided to venture out…)

The highlight color which is a pinkish ivory comes in three different textures – 2 shimmery’s with slight variations in undertone (however on the eyes I don’t see much difference), and 1 sparkly shade.

The purple leans lavender and is very similar to the purple shade in Nars Nouveau Monde, but a softer version.

The shade color is brown with a hint of charcoal undertone – it comes with 2 shimmery shades in variant undertones, and a sparkly shade.

A safe shimmery peachy beige, very similar to Stila Kitten.

Group Swatches: All shades are very smooth and easy to blend.

How I wear this palette:

I firstly applied the shimmery highlight colors all over the eye lid up to the brow bone, then applied the purple shade all over the eye socket area and added the peachy beige into the socket line only. Applied the shimmery shadow colors along the lash line up to the outer v and patted the sparkly shadow over.

On the lower lash line, the sparky highlight color was added to the inner corner and the sparkly shadow color was added to the outer corner. Blend the edge using the peachy beige color.

Finished with a set of quite dramatic lashes, so if you want your eyes to appear 10 times bigger this is the style to go for! (picture can be found in this post)

Overall Look:

I hope you like my take on the soft smouldering look with the Lunasol Mysterious Beige. I also really love how Elaine wears it, check it out here.

For other colors that are available in this range, you can find them on Lunasol’s website.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • KANEBO • LUNASOL

Lunasol Chocolate Cosmos Eyeshadow Palette Review, My everyday look FOTD

July 26, 2011

I managed to get up 10 minutes earlier than usual this morning (unbelievable!) so I quickly snapped a few pictures of my makeup before I left home for work. The eyeshadow palette I used is my beloved Lunasol Chocolate Cosmos by Kanebo. Lunasol is well known for neutral eyeshadow palettes, and this one has been one of their top sellers for years! It can look bland or dupable, but the beauty of this palette is that all of the shades are so wearable and flattering and are designed to enhance the natural beauty of your eyes and complement the rest of your makeup.

Shades description (clockwise from top left)

a soft shimmery cool sandy brown

a soft shimmery peachy brown

rich chocolate brown with silver glitters

a pearly beige white with an iridescence – the texture of this shadow is different to the rest – it has a spongy creamy texture that can be used as a base as well as being excellent for highlighting the inner corner of the eyes.

I love how the iridescence of the pearly white shade shows up in this picture.

Swatches: All of these shadows are smooth and are easy to blend.

Love the finish of these shadows – they are neither too matte which can look too flat nor too shimmery. They give a satin shimmery effect with a subtle sparkle that bring my morning lifeless eyes back to life.

Some pictures of my FOTD this morning. Just a very soft and fresh makeup look I normally wear to work everyday.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • KANEBO • LUNASOL

Kanebo Lunasol 04 Smoky Ocean Scene Eyes Swatch and FOTD

July 5, 2011

If you are familiar with Asian cosmetics, you will know Kanebo Lunasol eyeshadow palettes are highly raved in Asia. Some of their signature neutral palettes as well as their seasonal limited edition palettes are always sold out. I too am a big fan of Lunasol in general and I have collected quite a few palettes from them. Today’s review is for the beautiful 04 Smoky Ocean eyeshadow palette from Lunasol’s Ocean Scene Eyes Line which is their newest range.

The Ocean Scene Eyes Line adopts a new Soft Powder Formula Technology which delivers a moist and smooth texture. It carries 5 permanent palettes – I chose 04 Smoky Ocean because it seems to be the most cool toned palette out of them all. All eyeshadows in the palette are shimmery as this line is designed to create a translucent and wet looking finish.

Each eyeshadow is very finely milled with lots of fine silver shimmers. They do stand up to their claims – the shadows are cushiony soft and silky smooth. When I ran my fingers over each shadow I couldn’t feel any trace of graininess from the shimmer.

Shades description from left to right for the below swatch:

white silvery shade with a hint of beige (lower left in the palette)

a light grey with a hint of taupe (upper left in the palette)

a pale blue with silver undertone (upper right in the palette)

this is such a unique color, a bluish charcoal with a hint of moss. (lower right in the palette)

These are swatched heavily using the sponge applicator. When applied on the eyes using a brush, these shades appear more sparkly and translucent for a wet look finish which is the way I prefer.

How I wore them on my eyes for a subtle smokey eye look:

I only used 3 shades – the light grey all over the eyelid with the bluish charcoal applied along my upper lash and the outer v. The pale blue is applied along my lower lash.

Bottom Line: The texture and the translucent finish of these eyeshadow are to die for. I am most impressed with its long wearability as they stay put for 8 hours. As for the palette, I won’t say it is a must have as it is more for summer only and is limited to smokey eye use.

Other products used:

Cheeks: Nars Multiple Tint in Turks and Caicos

Lips: Shu Uemura Lip duo tint and gloss in Love Apricot from the Takano Collection

Falsies by Kiss Me in style 02: I have to give special credit to these lashes. They are incredibly beautiful and they make such a huge difference to the eyes.

Overall Look:

Lunasol is not sold in Australia. They cost around $60 AUD if they are purchased over the Kanebo counters in Asia. Price varies online.

The Ocean Scene Eyes Range has recently released two LE palettes for their summer 2011 collection. Check out the gorgeous Elaine and PrettySeaEagle for their beautiful swatches!

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FALSE LASHES • FOTD • KANEBO • KissMe • LUNASOL • NARS • Shu Uemura

Kanebo and Etude House Haul, Shoutout to Elaine, and Ramblings

June 20, 2011

I am so excited to show you this haul today! It’s very special to me because I wouldn’t be able to get hold of these makeups if I didn’t have this blog. One of the greatest things I have enjoyed from blogging to date is getting to know people all around the world who share the same passion with makeup as I do. I am not a pro blogger nor do I do this for living, it is really just my hobby to express my love for makeup. The experience has been really awesome so far, reading comments from all of you completes my day 🙂

Okay back to the topic, I want to do a big SHOUTOUT to Elaine. She is one of the kindest and sweetest girls I have met on the blogging community, do check out her awesome blog! I cannot thank her enough for helping me buy some of the Kanebo eyeshadow palettes and Etude House blushes which I have wanted for so long. I did give her quite a long shopping list but unfortunately some of the Kanebo palettes have been discontinuted and are no longer available over the counter – I have to buy them over the evil bay..

My Kanebo Haul

My measly Kanebo Eyeshadow Palettes Collection

still in progress and hopefully I will be able to get hold of more

ETUDE House Haul

they make the best and most affordable cute blushes!

Elaine’s gift to me! So kind of her 🙂

A makeup pouch, lots of facial masks and a Fasio Eyeshadow Palette

Fasio Eyeshadow Palette

Love Fasio..it’s just as good as Kanebo at a fraction of its price

Reviews and swatches will be coming up in the next few weeks 🙂

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Labels: BLUSH • Etude House • EYESHADOW • KANEBO • LUNASOL • SHOP

Foundation Primer Reviews

March 30, 2011

Rather than talking about new makeups all the time, I would like to show you some of my old favorites – starting from Face products. Foundation primer aka Makeup base is not considered as an essential makeup item for some girls. As for me – I can’t live without foundation primer. I have one for every skin condition I can possibly have. Using a primer together with a foundation perfects my skin for a flawless and radiant complexion. On a good skin day, I would only use a primer and skip the foundation.

So here is a group picture of all the primers I am currently using..actually I have to admit I had no idea I own that many primers!

I don’t regret buying them all, each of them serves a different purpose. My foundation primers can be broken down into 4 categories:

1. Oil Controlling

Mac Prep and Prime Skin Base Visage: amazing product, hides my pores without feeling cakey and silicony – keeps the oil at bay for 8 hours! I only use it on my t-zone.

Shiseido (bought it in japan, no English name) : No swatches because this one is only exclusive to Asia, it used to be my HG until I found Mac Prep and Prime.

2. Radiance and Natural Glow

Chanel Base Lumiere – my absolute favorite! It contains no shimmers, but it imparts a really beautiful glow to your skin, gives a “your own radiant skin but better” effect.

Dior Radiant Base – a light pink fluid with tiny shimmers. My second favorite as the shimmers are not noticeable once it is sheered out – gives a beautiful pinkish glow.

Lancome Fluid Illuminator (LE) – a beige fluid with fine shimmers, can be used alone or mixed in with foundation. It is too shimmery for my liking – I only apply it along my cheekbones in summer time when my face is tanned for a bronzey look.

3. Color Correction

– Shiseido Control Base: a light green fluid designed to correct the redness in your skin. This one is amazing..I only use it when my skin looks dull. A tiny amount would turn your complexion into “you have just slept 10 hours”!

– Giorgio Armani fluid sheer no 5 – recommended by GA’s makeup artist at a makeover event. It is a peachy fluid, very pigmented so I can’t imagining applying it all over the face. I like to use it on my cheeks to create a natural flush.

– Etude Pore Smoothing Peach Base (korean brand) – a purple fluid that brightens up your complexion by a few shades. I won’t recommend using it all over the face unless you want a geisha look. Again it’s a good product for a dull skin day.

These products were heavily swatched in the picture. The effect on your face would be a lot more subtle than shown in the picture. Even for my whole face I would use less than what I used for swatching.

4. Primers with sunscreen

Shu Uemura UV Under Base: it’s been a cult favorite in Asia for ages – can be used as sunscreen, makeup base or tinted moisturizer. On a good skin day, I would only use this product on my face – very sheer but evens out skin tone.

Kanebo Lunasol UV Essence: A makeup base with spf of 25 , has the same texture as a serum. It absorbs into your skin like a serum, makes your skin look hydrated and glowing, leaves no white cast on your skin like other suncreens do. The best sunscreen I have ever come across!