My new moisturizer: coconut oil from Kaldi's Coffee

I popped into Kaldi's for some coffee and picked up a jar of coconut oil. Apparently, it's the best thing out there for your skin and it has no additives so it's super safe. And, Kylie uses it, so why not.

I picked up a big jar for about 800 yen.

I applied after my shower. It was a bit oily, but absorbed into my skin well. The coconut smell was overwhelming at first, but became pleasant after a few minutes.

My skin really is super soft now.

Dry Oil: NUXE, Neutrogena

Really. This stuff is the best. My favorite after bath oil (Tiare is a close second, then Neutrogena). But why a glass bottle, filled with oil? Why? It's $29 for 1.6 oz, but it turns a regular shower into a fancy spa experience.

The Neutrogena body oil is a far second. It also absorbs into the skin quickly and has a nice smell, but nothing like the Nuxe. You can get a huge bottle at Nordstrom Rack pretty cheap ($20ish).

2014 Year end awards: Buy these now!

These are the things I can whole-heartedly recommend:

Heroine make mascara

Heroine make mascara remover

Evangelist BB cream

Muji lipstick

SK-II stempower

Bifesta facial cleansing wipes

Tiare body oil

Beauty Pride's APPS+E(TPNa) shampoo and conditioner

Drybar dry shampoo

Monoi Tiare body oil

This was one of those purchases made after reading an "if you can't get to the tropics, at least you can..." articles. Moni Tiare oil is one of the major tourist purchases in Tahiti. I've always wanted to go to Tahiti. So I can buy the oil, right?

A 400 ml bottle goes for about $10 on amazon and can be found on Amazon Japan as well.

This is my favorite post-bath oil. It's thick. It reminds me of Tropicana tanning oil from my childhood. It has a similar smell, although less coconut and more Tiare. It reminds me of a wonderful vacation I had in Anquilla with my entire extended family. It is a vacation in a bottle.

The smell is strong, but not so strong as to be offensive. It permeates my bathrobe and my bed linens and transports me to a vacation-y place. Love!

MUJI Massage Oil: Citrus Green

I need a good moisturizer for Japanese winters and have found that I like oils better than lotions. I ran out of my standard Neutrogena sesame body oil, and, rather than ordering it here, decided to try some Japanese options. I picked up this MUJI massage oil in Citrus Green because it was marked down to 500 yen.

This oil is currently ranked as number 15 on cosme.net in the body massage section.

The oil itself is fine, nothing truly special, but I found I was not too fond of the smell. I'm glad I only got a small bottle and didn't pay much for it. I'll use it until it runs out, but will be looking for something different for winter.

UPDATE: I've been trying to use up this small bottle to clear out my medicine cabinet. I really dislike this oil. It leaves an oily film on my body for at least 24 hours, it never absorbs into my skin. It makes me feel dirty and oily.

The Japanese Standard: Camellia oil

I'm a big fan of oils so I thought I would try out the Japanese standard: Oshima Tsubaki oil. This oil is currently ranked as number 6 on cosme.net in their styling category, however it has won a slew of cosme prizes in the past: 2004 best prize, 2004 best hair care, 2005 hall of fame, and 10th anniversary special best prize. A bottle costs about 1000 yen.

Most people use this on their hair, either straight on as a styling agent, or one drop mixed with shampoo. However, since I did the Japanese straight perm, I don't really need anything weighing my hair down. Therefore, I've been using it on my skin and really like it.

There is no smell, and while it is a rich oil, it quickly absorbs into your skin leaving little to no oily residue. This makes it a great oil to use during the day as it doesn't stain clothes or leave you feeling sticky.

Since I use so much body oil during Japanese winters (space heaters and cold weather really dry out my skin!), I'm excited to see if this can stand the test!