Monday, May 25, 2015

Addiction Tinted Skin Protector

I received a sample of this with my Addiction eyeshadow order and decided to give it a try. Oh my goodness. It's wonderful. It gives perfect coverage while still allowing your skin to shine through. There seems to be some illuminizer in it, so there is a dewy effect, but it's not overwhelming. Plus, it has SPF50+/PA+++. It really downplayed my pores and unevenness in my skin tone.

I liked it so much I bought a tube (in color 03), from the Addiction website (Japanese only) for 4860 yen.

UPDATE: I am trying desperately to cover a zit and this stuff just doesn't cover as well as the Evangelist BB cream.

Addiction eyeshadow: Pink Sky

I was so happy with my recent Kate eyeshadow I thought I would pick up another brand in another color. Cosme ranked Addiction eyeshadow as the best, so I gave it a whirl, selecting Pink Sky (pearly type) for 2160 yen (available on the Addiction website- Japanese only).

I was thoroughly disappointed. The color looks like any brand and had no shine at all. I'll be sticking with the Kate brand!

Friday, May 22, 2015

deodorant and antiperspirant: Certain Dri



A few days ago I posted about the number one Japanese deodorant and antiperspirant, Soft Stone. It just doesn't do the job on the antiperspirant side of things. So, I'm really happy that I picked up Certain Dri from Amazon (about 1300 yen).

You put on Certain Dri at night, and it works for about 72 hours. In the morning I use Soft Stone to deal with odor. The combination has been great so far!

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Concealer: Sheer Eye zone concealer (Shiseido)

My trusty Rimmel Natural concealer is no longer anywhere in my local drugstores, so I took that as a sign from the gods to move forward and try something new. Ranked at #3 on cosme's recommended concealers is Shiseido's Sheer eye zone concealer. I bought this from the Shiseido website (in 101, very light) for a little more than 3600 yen.

The color is great, and it seems to have some sort of luminizer in it, which is nice, but this is definitely too sheer to be called a concealer. It provides only minimal coverage.

And, I have to say, I'm not a fan of the applicator brush.

I'll continue to use it until it's run out, but then I will try something else.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Summer lotions: Nivea Premium Milk

I needed a new lotion to add to my summer arsenal, since my favorite Tiare oil is too oily for a quick shower and change. I picked up the Nivea premium milk based on its number one ranking on Cosme. It's a nice lotion, a good consistency for summer, and very hydrating, but THE SMELL is overwhelming. Such a fake flowery stench. It cost me about 600 yen.

I'll switch to the regular unscented version once I'm done with this bottle.

The beautiful scent of my Tiare oil has spoiled me!

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

RMS living luminizer

I've never really liked luminizers because they just make me look sweaty, but this one is different. I love it. It is the perfect shade and goes on sheer and light. I use it in combination with my NARS orgasm blush.

It's about $38.

Benefit brow zings

I got my brows done a while ago and my stylist talked me into the shadow and wax they sell. I like it much more than the brow mascara I had been using. I find that the shadow is enough of a filler for day-to-day use, and the wax gives me extra umph for the evening.

It costs about $36.

Best Buys: End of winter wrap-up

Here are the things I will continue using/ doing into spring:

Shampoo and Conditioner
Ahalo (switching to the premium scalp/ pure scalp next time around)


For ingrown hair prevention:
Tendskin


Facial Cleanser:
Bioderma


Facial moisturizer:
SK-II stempower (but I'm going to try Embryolisse when I am done with this jar)


Body moisturizer:
Nivea


Hand cream:
L'Occitane (switching to Yuskin when I run out, I don't like all the artificial fragrance in the L'Occitane)


Eyelashes:
ProCare extensions


Base makeup:
Evangelist BB cream


Nails:
Jin Soon Nostalgia

Breaking up with:
Apps Ep Shampoo and conditioner (too expensive)
Cleansing wipes
Fancl facial oil
Face masks
Heroine make mascara (I like the convenience of the extensions)
Nivea hand cream
Uniqlo underwear (not high enough quality, and not sexy)




Kate dual blend Eyeshadow (gold)

My Japanese girlfriends all wear sparkly pinky silver eyeshadow everyday. I'm not sure if that color would go with my skin tone, so I picked up the new Kate dual blend eyeshadow when I was at the drugstore yesterday, for about 1000 yen.

It went on nice and smooth and stayed put. I really liked the gold color, lots of sparkle. I contoured with the dark brown today, and felt it blended nicely. Not bad for a random purchase. It will last forever - there is so much!

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Japanese deodorant: Soft Stone by DeoNatulle (デオナチュレ ソフトストーンW)

I finally ran out of the American deodorant I brought with me, and, since Kyoto has decided to skip spring and launch full-on into summer, I thought this was a great time to try a Japanese brand. According to cosme, this Soft Stone deodorant is the best on the market, for a number of years running. I got mine on Amazon for 667 yen, but I've seen this in just about every drug store in the area.

(The best thing about Kyoto drug stores is that they put the most popular seasonal products right out front! The worst thing is that they completely hide - or stop selling - off season products. So, I grabbed an extra winter Nivea lotion when I found a lone one on the shelf the other day. Never know when I will have extra dry skin before next winter!)

The deodorant went on clear. It kept me nice and fresh all day long, but I did notice perspiration. I have the Patti Stanger Certain Dri on order, so I'm hoping the combination will keep me fresh as a daisy all summer long.

UPDATE: I'm a few days in, and I have to say, this is keeping me fresh and dry. This is a winner!
FYI: one stick lasts about two months.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Gel nails: Gelish starter kit

I love the long lasting indestructible-ness of gel nails, but I hate the price of a gel manicure and don't want to ruin my nails and hands with the gel-off process. So, I took a little plunge into the world of at-home gel nails.

I got a basic starter kit (different than the one above) at Tokyu Hands for 4500 yen. A bottle of color gel polish was about 1000 yen.

The first try was a bit of a disaster. I found I'm not a very good manicurist, and it is EXTREMELY important to not get any polish on your skin, as it really just turns into superglue. In addition, I got some weird bubbles on a few nails. I had to take it off immediately since it looked pretty bad. I soaked off in acetone for about 30 minutes total. Not optimal.

For my second try I decided to do a gel nail top-coat over regular polish. According to this article in Allure, this method is possible if you allow your regular polish to dry for 24 hours. This is perfect for me, since I love my Jin Soon nostalgia color, and have 24 hours to clean up any polish that is on my cuticles or skin. After drying the topcoat and wiping with the cleanser, I got that great gel nail shine!

I usually get about 5-6 days of chip free nails with a regular manicure. I get 2 weeks with a good gel manicure (and could even go longer if I could stand that "grow-out" portion at the base of the nail.) I will update on how long the gel topcoat over regular manicure lasts!

UPDATE: the experiment failed. the regular polish chipped and peeled off within a day of the gel top coat. : (