Haul from Japan!

Hi all :)

My best friend just recently came back from her trip to Japan. Here are a few items she picked out for me that I wanted to check out.

The Shiseido 131 brush. This is supposed to work great with either pressed or liquid foundation. It is not flimsy at all; quiet stiff and extremely soft! The bristles are 1.75cm in diameter; tiny but works well in small areas such as the under eyes.

Fiberwig set; including the original mascara and a tiny version ('tiny sniper' lol) of it for the lower lashes. I love fiberwig mascaras; they are easy to take off and waterproof.
The infamous Dollywink liquid eyeliner in Deep Black. I've heard great reviews on this. This type of brush has become my favourite way of applying eyeliner (replaced my usual Gel + Brush method). Did i mention how cute the packaging is?

Canmake Cheek Gradation in 05 (Peach). I already own this in 01 (Pink) and I absolutely love it! There is sparkles on the top but that's just on the surface; it eventually fades the more you use it :)

Shiseido Integrate Rainbow Grade Eyes in GY905. This comes with 4 shades of eyeshadow and the bottom purple shade is a "all over sparkle" that you use after you're done, for extra bling!

Shiseido Tsubaki Water, which is a leave in conditioner. You can spray this onto clean damp hair, or after you have styled your hair for extra shine. Can't wait to try this out!

Shiseido Tsubaki Treatment, which is a thick cream you leave onto clean damp hair and wrap your hair for about 30mins. But I like to keep mine on for an hour for extra work!! Then you simply wash it out :)

And lastly, my best friend got me this totally adorable planner for 2011; something I really needed! I absolutely love it!!!

That is all for now! Hope everyone is having a terrific start to 2011 :o)

Haul

A few things I picked up this weekend :)

The Shu Uemura eyelash curler. Been meaning to get this for a while now. It really is amazing!!

My favourite mask of all time. Shiseido's purifying mask. Comes out white; you leave it on your skin for 5 minutes, then rinse it off. Helps get rid of excess sebum and any other dirt in your pores. Really works!!! I've been using this for years!!

Shiseido's Hydra-Balancing softner. Suppost to be a toner. Not gonna lie, I got it because I don't currently use a toner, and this looked like the safest bet from Shiseido. Dries nicely and doesn't leave any residue/greasiness after. We'll see in a few weeks if this really does anything positive to my skin.


And lastly! Some SPF. Yes, I know this is for kids, but I got it thanks to Fuzkittie's recoomendation a while back. She said this is quiet nice and non-greasy. So far, I like it!


That is all! :) Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Foundation Routine: Shiseido + Rimmel

hey all :)

hope everyone's having a good weekend so far!!

so after playing around with my new shiseido dual balancing foundation (#B20), and trying to get it to work (with diff. brushes, powders, etc.), I have come up with the 'HG method' for making it work. I didn't like it as much before, but damn, do I love it now!! It has become my HG liquid foundation. Here's da method!

1. Apply a tiny (and i stress tiny!! you don't need a lot for it to work!) amount of the foundation on your MAC 189 brush. Blend away. Apply a bit more to areas that need more help :)

2. Set foundation with a flat brush ( I use the Italian Badger one; you can get it off coastalscents.com), using my HG pressed powder by Rimmel; Stay Matte in Translucent.


and you're done!!! :) easy, eh!! Well, I guess you could use this method with any foundation you may have. And try out the Rimmel powder!! It's cheap and amazing!!! ( I love it more than previous more expensive powders I've used; this one was only $4!!!). Oh, and that MAC 189 brush isn't all that necessary, but it does make a major difference. I tried using the standard foundation brush (MAC 190) and it did not work. Same goes for using the MAC 189 (that skunk looking brush, yeah you know what i'm talking about ;) and my fingers, but the 189 reigned supreme!!

Hope this helps someone out!

Lina

P.S: I only got the 189 brush a long time ago because a very awesome Youtube Guru named ChefCaffy showed it in one of her videos. Check her out if you don't already know her!!! :D

Shiseido • Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour NEO mascara

I brought this since I wanted to try something new, other than the usual Dior Show [which I always use]. Needless to say, the brush is like a comb, and sometimes it does clump my lashes, so I usually end up going over it with my lash/brow comb [which is time consuming. The mascara is waterproof, which makes it a little harder to take off, thus I spend more time on removing it with my Shu Uemura cleansing oil.

Overall, I will probably not repurchase this, since I did not like the effect it gave my lashes. They were longer, but the look was more natural, but I prefer more of a dramatic look [as I get with my Dior Show mascara].

Shiseido • Majolica Majorca Automatic Eye Liner

Firstly, I think this liner is by far the best I have ever used. This one overtook my current liquid liner, which was the Shiseido one. The Majolica liner gives a really nice black color, which is dramatic, and gorgeous. It is much more blacker than the Shiseido one [or anyone that I have tried, for that matter]. It has a good consistency, but can be a little runny in the beginning, which is why it is recommended that you do not turn the twist at the top more than 2 times, or else it will let out a lot of the liner.

Overall, I plan on purchasing more of these. I currently use BLK999, which is the blackest shade they have. They have excellent staying power too.

You can can these for a very cheap price at www.adambeauty.com [for around $7US each; don't buy them at other places, which may charge up to $20 for one [which is what happened to me :( ]

HIGHLY recommended.

Shiseido • Maquillage Double Liner

This is a liner from Shiseido's Japanese line, Maquillage. It comes in several colors, and you can chose 2 from which you may put on the pen that they sell, or just have one, which is what I have in my case. The color comes out when you twist the top, and you don't have to worry about sharpening it.
I brought this off of adambeauty, and needless to say, I was expecting more, since I am a huge Maquillage fan myself. The pencil, so to speak, is very dry, and took a while for me to draw a nice line along my upper lash line. The color, I got black, was very faded, and not as dramatic as I would have liked it to be. I am glad that I did not order 2 different cartilages, since I am not happy about the one I have. It hurts my eyes when I apply it, and takes forever to get it to do what I want it to do: draw a basic fine line.
It also comes with no cap, which means that it sits on my counter, and I wonder about all the germs that it is collecting! Yuk!
Overall, I don't recommend anyone getting these. They are a major disappointment from the Maquillage line; which do have awesome products, don't get me wrong!
If you are looking for a great liner, try the Majolica Majorca liquid liner, which is also sold at adambeauty for dirt cheap.
Hope this helps! :)

Shiseido • Tsubaki Shampoo + Conditioner (Red Version)

My L'oreal Vive Pro shampoo and conditioner were not doing what they were suppose to be doing, and my hair was still looking damaged [thanks to bleaching, straightening, and everything else you can imaged].

I asked my best friend what shampoo/conditioner she used, and she recommended this. It also didn't sound bad that this is the best shampoo line sold in Japan.

Luckily, one of the Asian malls I visited at my town had this, so I picked it up.

Getting to the point: this is my HG shampoo. My hair has completely changed after using it. It is silkier, shinier, smoother, and overall BETTER. I LOVE THIS SHAMPOO.

I love it so much, I even got my mom into it. And she loves it too. I even restock on it whenever I see it, just in case [it is usually sold out too].

Get your hands on this if you can.

I am also reviewing the Shiseido Tsubaki conditioner, which I use right after my Tsubaki shampoo.

I absolutely love this conditioner, and these 2 items have completely changed my hair. I actually like my hair now! haha. It smells wonderful, and I get so many compliments on my hair. It lasts forever, and I only need 2-3 pumps [I have long hair that reaches the middle of my back]. Before, with my old conditioner, I would use double the amount, and still not get the same results.

Getting to the point: you must absolutely get these! Alongside its' shampoo. You can get them at specialty Asian malls, or online at ichibankao.com. You will thank me, I guarantee it!

Shiseido • Maquillage Climax Moisture Powdery Foundation AW

After trying out almost every foundation known to mankind (high and low end brands), I decided to venture out into Asian brands, instead of the usual Western brands. I discovered Shiseido's Maquillage line, and decided to get their pressed powders. Keeping in mind that most brands (this includes Chanel) color ranges (their lightest) are even too dark for mine. Not drastically, but dark enough for me to see it, and I'm sure for others as well. I found my perfect shade in OC00 (the Maquillage line for this foundation comes in 6 shades), and it blends PERFECTLY into my skin. It is truly amazing. It covers my uneven skin tone (i apply my favourite Lise Watier Portfolio concealer under it for areas that need more concealing) and glid this on top with the sponge that comes in it. Needless to say, even the sponge is great quality! The pressed powder itself is silky and glides on like butter!! It doesn't make me look like I'm wearing a ton of foundation; it's very natural looking. And you don't need a lot of this stuff, a little does go a long ways! Just don't overdo it, or it can look obvious (I usually just brush my MAC 189 on top of it to blend everything out).
Oh, and did I mention it DOESN'T break out my ultra sensitive skin?! Everytime I try out a new foundation (liquid, cream, powder, you name it) my skin tends to thank me in return with a huge zit. And this is not the case with this foundation! This is truly my HG!!!

Also, I got the LE Christopher Kane case version, (black case with sparkles on top) but the original is a cute pink case. Same pressed powder though!

Hope this helps!! :)



Christopher Kane with all the lovely Maquillage models.