Hi my lovelies!

As Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I’ve got an exciting “gift” for you — $5 off every purchase of Meiji Amino Collagen Grapefruit. The original price was USD35 but it is only USD30 now. The expiry date ends in June 2010, so hurry while stocks last.

BUY HERE

Here’s my video on what this yummy pink grapefruit collagen tastes like.

To celebrate new additions to the Beauty Box Store, we are holding a very special Spring Sale — 10% discount on ALL Raffine products!

Our first Raffine product was the Perfect One Collagen Cream and it proved so popular that we thought our customers would love to try other products in this natural beauty range.

BUY HERE

(Clockwise from the top left:)

Raffine Perfect One Collagen Cream Moist – USD92 USD82.80
This has THREE times more collagen power than the original Raffine Perfect One Collagen Cream.

Raffine Solid Cleansing Oil (Makeup Remover) – USD49 USD44.10
An innovative makeup remover, this is a waxy paste made of orange, lemon, and grapefruit oil, that turns into oil once it comes into contact with your skin. It can remove heavy, waterproof makeup and leaves skin soft and hydrated.

Raffine Perfect One Deep Treatment Collagen Mask – USD65 USD58.50
These masks are infused with nourishing ingredients like royal jelly, hyaluronic acid, baker’s yeast, ginseng extract, soybean extract, pomegranate extract and chamomile that rejuvenates and moisturizes sallow skin deeply.

Raffine Clear Lotion – USD65 USD58.50
Brighten your skin tone with this hydrating toner made with vitamin C, baker’s yeast, saxifrage flower extract, peony extract, mulberry root bark, chlorella extract, and hyaluronic acid. Like many Japanese toners and treatment water products, you splash this on after washing your face, instead of using a cotton pad.

BUY HERE

I was thrilled to receive our new box designs for the Meiji Amino Collagen Premium products.

We used to pack them in the regular boxes and confused a few of our customers. Sorry for that — we had to use the regular ones to get the products past US customs. The US and EU countries do not allow non-English packaging.

So now you can see that the Premium product has hyaluronic acid and coenzyme Q10 on the English cover!

There’s a new flavor on the block: Meiji Amino Collagen 25 Days’ Supply Apple & Ginger (click here to buy).

Meiji comes up with a brand new winter flavor to tickle your tastebuds. Last summer we had grapefruit (which is still on sale) and during the previous winter, hot lemon, which was all sold out in Japan.

Enjoy a warm cup of apple and ginger with a shot of collagen this brr cold season.

We are excited to announce the launch of a new product we are selling in our store: Raffine Perfect One Collagen Cream.

This top-selling cream in Japan is a collagen-infused moisturizer that is also full of nourishing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, royal jelly, vitamin C, chamomile, olive, orange extract, and baker’s yeast.

Treat your skin to a moisture-rich anti-aging cream. The texture is like a gel and doesn’t feel heavy despite its hydration power. Winter is just around the corner, so it’s time to switch to something with more grunt.

By the way, you don’t need a toner or serum if you use this cream. Just wash your face and apply — great for busy women who are too tired to go through multiple steps to give their skin what it needs.

I’ve been using this product for almost two weeks and my skin is lovin’ it.

Buy it here

Things are abuzz at BB headquarters: we got boxes designed for our collagen products. Aren’t they pretty? By the way, our website design has changed to match our new look. Just loving it…

There’s no rest for the wicked. We are sending out orders even though we have traveled to Hokkaido for a week-long ski trip.

The beauty of having an iPhone is it helps us mix work and pleasure wherever we are:

We hooked up to the Internet to check incoming orders at Chitose Airport in Sapporo — I scribbled down the addresses and sent off some collagen from the airport’s post office.

(more…)

I’m quite the youtube junkie and I managed to dig this one up:

It’s an old Meiji Amino Collagen ad in Japanese with a hot Japanese dude and a bevy of beauties. I think a few years ago, their packaging was different and they coined this product as amicolla (a fusion of “amino acids” and “collagen”).

I had to replay it a couple of times to catch what he says and what I can make out is:

最近，きれいな人，ふえましただよね。

アみこら？

アみこら。。。じゃ、すごいかも。。。

Basically it means, “Recently, there has been an increase in beautiful people around. Amicolla? Amicolla must be amazing!”

I cracked up when I first stumbled upon it. I love watching Japanese ads — they are either done really well and sleek and/or with some Japanese humor and cheekiness. It’s no wonder they are seen as a kawaii (cute) culture.

Look at how BB headquarters is stuffed with boxes…

It’s been absolutely insane because of a re-run of Beauty Secrets From Around The World.

Take a peek at my workspace…

This is actually our dining table but I need a wide berth to pack the orders. My desk is actually next to the window but it’s cho samui (very cold in Japanese) now since it’s winter so I’ve made my retreat further into the apartment.

We just want to say thanks to all you new customers!

Just a quick note to let everyone know we are having a clearance sale for our Singapore store.

Alas, it has been difficult to maintain it and we are just focusing on our international shop for now.

We are not saying goodbye forever to our Singapore customers — we may revive the SG store eventually if we can find a way to juggle both, but for now, we just need to be practical.

Please surf on over to my eBay shop. My seller ID is astrorainfall. You can find DHC, Fancl, Meiji, and Kose products here.

Please bid with confidence — you know my products are authentic and straight from Japan!