NANACOSTAR Hand Cream 2100yen
NANACOSTAR is a Japanese beauty brand launched by a hairstylist who has been working in the beauty industry for mroe than 15 years. I believe it's a new brand as I hadn't heard of them before and also they only have 4 products yet, including 2 shampoos, hair treatment and this hand cream. They made this hand cream from their experiences as hairstylists whos hands are always exposed to water. There are 5 different scents of this hand cream such as honeysuckle fruits, garden rose, the forest rose, gardenia country and jasmine pear which I got.
They have 7 active ingredients including collagen, BG and lpidure which moisturise your skin, and arbutin and vitamin C which have whitening effects. In addition it contains many ingredients I don't necessarily want to put on my skin such as silicone, polymer and artificial preservative.
It does moisturise my hands without making them sticky or greasy so you can use it during the summer time as well as in winter. The scent was something I was really disappointed about. I was expecting floral fruity scent as it's supposed to smell like "Jasmine and Pear", but it just smells like...a hair salon. You know that smell you notice when you open the door of a hair salon, the mixture of shampoos and hairsprays and all that. That's a good smell in my opinion, but you don't want to wear that on your hands...do you?
It smells clean and feminine which isn't too bad but I don't smell jasmine or pear at all. For me a scent of hand cream is the most important part and this one didn't impress me. And also don't you think it's freakin' expensive for hand cream from an unknown new brand? This is what I mean about Japanese beauty products being expensive. They set the prices really high somehow. Anyway, I wish it smelled like pear as I love anything smells like one.
Which hand cream is your favourite? Would you use hand cream smells like a hair salon? :P
In April I've used up quite a few products. Or maybe since I started writing monthly empties posts I've been encouraged to finish up products rather than keep them all in my tiny apartment. It feels satisfying somehow to finish up beauty products and judge whether it was a good product or not.
Redken Scalp Relief Dandruff Control Shampoo (REVIEW)
This was my 2nd bottle and I'm so sad it's finished. I don't have dandruff but I have a really sensitive scalp which gets irritated quite easily by using shampoo which my scalp doesn't like. At worst it gets itchy that keeps me awake all night so I am very picky when it comes to choosing the right shampoo. And this shampoo from Redken is the best so far. It lathers well, it makes my hair and scalp very clean but doesn't make them dry. It contains glycerine which moisturises the scalp. It has a very subtle herbal scent which is pretty nice and I really enjoyed using it. I would love to repurchase again but as YEN is much weaker now I'm trying not to shop much on feelunique and lookfantastic lately...so when YEN gets stronger I'll definitely buy a new bottle.
The Body Shop Rainforest Shine Shampoo and Conditioner
Apparently this shampoo is a best-seller on The Body Shop UK website, but I absolutely hated this series. Before they changed the whole haircare series, they had shampoo and conditioner with honey and I loved the scent of them. So one day I went to the shop and asked for it then they said it was discontinued and instead they had new haircare series, and they recommended this one because it smells similar to the honey one I loved. But in my opinion it doesn't smell the same and the scent doesn't even stay on your hair. Also it's pretty drying and makes my hair frizzy and basically it doesn't do anything to my hair. I just don't like it and I'm not going to repurchase, ever.
LebeL Trie 5 Hairspray
I think I bought this about a year ago after my hairdresser used it on my hair at the hair salon. It smells like green apples which is brilliant but it doesn't do much on my hair. I don't think I'm going to repurchase it but I might have a look at a bit stronger hairspray from the same brand because it smells so good.
Terracuore Jasmine and Honey Body Scrub
Terracuore is a Japanese organic beauty brand which has fields in Italy to grow the herbs which are included in their products. Terracuore is my favourite Japanese beauty brand and their products are very good. Although they are pricey and I can't buy them often. This product was given to me by them when I had a business meeting with them but actually it's 5250yen which is about 35 pound / $52. It's ridiculously pricey but it's VERY good. It contains Jasmine essential oil which are derived from more than 13800 jasmine flowers. I was expecting a strong jasmine scent but it's much softer and sweeter, and surprisingly NOT overpowering. This creamy body scrub contains crushed apricot seeds which exfoliate your skin gently, and believe me it does make my skin so so so soft. And it leaves the pleasant scent on my skin. What more do you want? Another great product from Terracuore I've tried.
Jurlique Rose Moisture Plus Moisturising Cleanser
This was sent from my lovely fellow blogger Mel from The Beauty Dispensary a few months ago. Since the day I received it I had been using this cleanser every single morning. It's such a gentle cleanser with pleasant rose scent. I think I should have used it in the summer time because foaming cleanser tends to strip natural oils on your face and obviously in summer your skin produces more oils than in winter. I really enjoyed using this cleanser, and also I loved the chic packaging so much. Thanks Mel!
Pangea Organics Facial Mask (REVIEW)
The best face mask I have ever used. I literally cannot live without it. Whenever I feel my skin is dry or dull, I use this face mask at night. Immediately I feel the difference on my skin and the next morning my skin feels glowing again. It smells a little bit weird but now I'm used it and I'm more into the result it makes on my skin. I cannot explain how and why it works so well, but trust me, it really does work. I introduced this face mask to my readers on my Japanese blog, and some of them actually tried and they all loved it. If you haven't tried it yet, you definitely should. It's amazing and of course I repurchased it again.
Jason Apricot Scrubble
(REVIEW)
I loved this scrub! It's such a gentle face scrub you can use every day. I only used it 2-3 times a week but it was enough to make a huge difference on my skin. It makes my skin so silky and soft with such a fresh and sweet apricot scent. You would be very surprised to feel your skin after you've used this product, it's such an amazing face scrub. I love it but I'm not going to repurchase now because I have some other ones to use up. I strongly recommend this product if you're looking for a gentle face scrub.
Bourjois healthy mix serum (REVIEW)
I decided to bin it although there's a bit left in the bottle because it's getting old. I used up like 80-90% of it and I liked it very much. Mine is shade 52 Vanilla and it's slightly darker but matches my skin tone OK. It doesn't feel heavy on my skin and I really liked it. I've got the new version of Healthy Mix Foundation and I'm totally in love with it. The review will be coming soon!
BIODERMA Sensibio H2O (REVIEW)
I don't need to explain what it is because you all know what it is. I loved it, although I didn't like the weird smell at the beginning. It takes everything off without being harsh on my skin. It didn't irritate my eye areas which is great, and I'm dying to repurchase but for now I'm not going to just because it's expensive here. I will buy tons when I go to Paris. Someday...
Weleda Wild Rose Day Cream (REVIEW)
This product was sent by my another lovely fellow blogger Zanka from Zanka Talks Cosmetics. As the name is not in English, I don't know what exactly it says but I assume it's a day time moisturiser. I was using it in the morning before putting makeup on anyway, and it worked really well. It smells amazing, of natural wild rose which was pretty soothing in a busy morning. Thanks Zanka so much!
PAUCE Cleansing Butter
I LOVED this cleanser so much! It's got this buttery texture and it melts on your skin turning into an oil consistency. It removes all my makeup including eyeliners and mascara. I didn't even need my BIODERMA to remove my eye makeup because it took off literally everything. And it left an oily feeling on my skin even after rinsing it for more than a minute, and this oily feeling turned into a whole new moisturising feeling after I dried my face. It's such a good cleanser to take makeup off and I'd love to repurchase if it wasn't this pricey. What a shame.
Skin Repair Moisturiser™ Normal/combination
Another product I loved so much. Although I have dry / sensitive skin, this one worked really well during winter. I couldn't stand the smell at the beginning but I think it faded after a few weeks since I opened the jar because at some point I wasn't bothered by the smell anymore. Now I'm using a new
jar and it stinks and I realised that it wasn't me getting used to the smell, it was the smell faded by time. Other than that it's such a nice cream which really is effective. I'll keep repurchasing their products until I find a better brand which I doubt :)
Phew, it has become such a looooong post, you must be bored. Thanks for reading!
Big Sexy Hair FIRM VOLUMIZING HAIRSPRAY
I always wanted a hairspray which gives volume on my hair without making it crunchy. But I didn't have a good experience with the ones I'd tried. Either they made my hair crunchy or did nothing. So I wasn't expecting too much from this product. But believe me, this is the best hairspray to give soft and natural looking volume.
I spray it after I've dried my hair completely (as I wash my hair every morning). I lift the top of my hair and spray underneath, and then instantly my hair looks so much better. It lifts my hair and holds it all day. When I spray it too close to my hair then it makes it a little bit crunchy but when I spray it from 20-25cm distance, it gives perfect volume to my whole hair. And of course I touch my hair and the wind messes it up sometimes during the day, but still it holds the style I created in the morning somehow.
I have no idea how it makes this miracle happen but one thing I can assure you is that I cannot live without this hairspray!! I can run my fingers into my hair, or shake my hair if I want to, without worrying about ruining my hairstyle. The volume you get in the morning by this hair spray won't go away.
Have you tried anything from this brand Sexy Hair? Apparently they have many other products for different style like Short Sexy Hair or Healthy Sexy Hair. Let me know if you have tried them!
Pure & Basic Anti-Dandruff Natural Shampoo $5.09
Although I love Redken Scalp Relief Dandruff Shampoo, I cannot spend 10 pound every 3 months on my shampoo. Well, usually I can but not now especially considering the fact I spent so much in London in March, and I continued shopping in Japan through April. So I decided to purchase this one instead as it's much cheaper.
Before moving on to the product review, let me make it clear. I don't have dandruff. But then you might be wondering why I got shampoo to prevent dandruff. The reason is that I've got really sensitive scalp and it was kind of out of control. Anything I used on my hair, it irritated my scalp so bad and it started hurting as I scratched it so much. Then I found the one from Redken, which really relieved my scalp. I found that those kind of shampoo has glycerine in it and that could be the ingredient which has been calming my scalp down. Anyway, if you are suffering from itching or sensitive scalp, you might as well try Scalp Relief Shampoo from Redken. It really worked.
Moving on. This shampoo is from this American brand called Pure & Basic. According to Vitacost, this product is "A unique botanical blend of Rosemary Extract, Tea Tree Oil, and Canadian
Willow Herb rids hair of pesky flakes while stimulating and
moisturizing your scalp to help relieve itching. Leaves hair soft,
manageable and flake free". Interesting.
The texture is a thick gel which I found a bit hard to lather up unless you add some warm water while washing. As long as you have wet your scalp enough, and keep adding warm water on your palms while lathering it up, you won't have any difficulties. It lathers really well and it relaxes me with the scent of essential oils. It smells herbal and fresh.
It leaves my hair squeaky clean but once I apply conditioner or hair treatment on, it becomes soft and silky again. They have conditioner as well but I decided to use mine as I have like 3 bottles of conditioner here. It doesn't itch my scalp at all which is great and I like how it cleans my scalp and hair.
I like Redken one better but this one does a very good job too! If you are looking for shampoo which is gentle for your scalp but cleans it really well, you should give it a try!
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer £4.19
I don't even need to introduce this product here, do I? Everyone knows Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. Everyone loves it. As I'd been suffering from dark circles since 15, I really wanted to try out these concealers. I picked up 01 Fair and 02 Light in Boots so that I can mix them up if they don't match my skin tone.
Fair looks yellow with a bit of pinky undertone, and Light looks pretty pinky and orangey. I don't use Light on my dark circles because it emphasises them. On the other hand, Fair makes them look grey somehow, and it feels a bit cakey. So I mix Fair with my Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Light (Full Review) to prevent dryness and to add yellow-tone. It works OK although it doesn't completely cover my dark circles unfortunately.
My dark circles are pretty bad, and I've never found a concealer which covers them. No matter what I do, how hard I try, they are just THERE. Never been gone. Even a makeup artist from MAC told me that they were pretty hard to hide because of my skin tone and the colour of the dark circles. He told me to cover them up with orange concealer and light beige concealer on top, then finish with light coloured pressed powder. He did well using the MAC products but it looked quite cakey and heavy, and it was a "Yes I'm trying so hard to cover them up" look for me.
Anyway, these concealers didn't disappointed me because they are really good for blemishes, pimples and discolouration for sure, the quality is very good for the price. But because they are full coverage concealers, they tend to be drying and cakey especially under my eyes. If you know any good concealers to mix with this product, let me know because I don't want to waste them and I really like them!
And lastly, they should definitely expand the colour range!!! They are such good concealers but it's not cool they only come in 4 shades!
Sleek i-Divine Storm Palette £7.99
This eyeshadow palette was something I wanted to purchase online but couldn't because I didn't accept PayPal. So when I found it in Superdrug in London, I didn't hesitate to pick it up. Now I kind of regret that I got this palette because the shades are pretty similar to MUA Undressed palette, and that I should have picked up Oh So Special instead.
There are 12 shades in this palette, and 3 of them are matte and 9 others are shimmery.
Here are the swatches. I love all the colours except the matte black one. It's just not the shade I usually use and also it's a bit chalky. Love silver-blue, navy and green at the bottom as well as the champagne colours at the top.
I used silver-blue on the eyelid, navy at the outer corner and the mixture of navy and black on the lower eyelid on this look. Oh and I might have used the matte beige colour on the crease.
On this look, I used the champagne colour on the whole lid, then added the bronze colour at the outer corner, then the matte beige shade on my crease.
Overall I'm quite happy about the quality of the eyeshadows, especially considering the fact it's under £10! They are creamy except the matte black shade, and the shimmer looks gorgeous. All the shades are very pigmented and a little goes a long way.
I'll definitely try their other palettes when I have a chance, and also I'm interested in their blusher and contour as well. If you have tried any of their products, please let me know how you liked them!
Ecco Bella FlowerColor Lipstick $14.89
This is another product I purchased from Vitacost.com, it's the best website to buy American products including natural and organic ones besides iHerb. This lipstick is from the brand called Ecco Bella, apparently an American beauty brand which makes beauty products with natural ingredients. I had never heard of the brand before, but I purchased this product because the colour looked pretty and also you should be careful what to put on your lips, and their lipsticks looked harmless.
This colour is called Pink Rose, and is suitable for Vegan as it's made with vegetable wax. It's also gluten, paraben, petroleum and fragrance free. It has a subtle smell of the ingredients, a typical smell of a natural beauty product, which doesn't bother me too much. The colour is so pretty and I can see myself wearing it in spring and summer a lot.
It goes on very creamy and doesn't have shimmer or glitter.
It's pretty matte so I need to moisturise my lips really well with lip balm beforehand, otherwise it makes my lips looking really dry and patchy. Even in this photo you can see it's a bit drying...
The colour is brighter than I expected. It looked corally pink but it shows up as blue toned bright pink on my lips. I put it on and dab it with my finger to blend in, and it creates such pretty baby-like-lips. Also I sometimes add some lip gloss with shimmer on top! It's such a perfect colour in this season and I've been wearing it a lot recently.
What is your favourite lipstick in this time of the year?
