For me, I wash my makeup brushes once a week, but those are my full-sized ones which I use daily. But for my palette brushes, I have to admit I only started washing them recently. I stopped using palette brushes because I prefer proper brushes as they blend better but I do use them if I’m in a pinch, e.g. said regular makeup brushes are very dirty or have been used on a very contrasting colour.
I would say, moving forward I would wash my palette brushes once every two months? That’s how rarely I use them and I’m more concerned about the bacteria on used brushes contaminating eyeshadow and blush compacts.
I use MAC’s brush cleanser when I’m travelling and can’t afford the downtime for brushes to be wet for a day. I thought this type of spot cleansing would be also handy when I find myself in a dirty brush situation at home but even then the brush needs a bit of time to get dry. I tend to rub my brushes on a piece of tissue if I need some emergency cleansing.
I don’t use any special brush cleanser when I do my weekly brush wash as I think a good liquid soap and some conditioner should do the trick. I tried mixing liquid soap and olive oil (saw it on this video), but after awhile, the olive oil actually builds up and the bristles get weighed down. I only condition my brushes every other wash too because I don’t think they need to be conditioned every time.
Washing makeup brushes is definitely a must in my book because dirty brushes can cause breakouts – ew!
What’s your brush washing routine like? Any brush cleansers you would like to recommend?
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Hiya, I see I have tempted some beauty fanatics out there with my Visee Smack Glam post — I’m especially loving the nude lip gloss. Go get it now.
We’re breaking away from reviews/hauls for a bit today and I thought I would share my latest DIY discovery. I was inspired by a video by Andrea’s Choice which talked about how great salt is for treating acne. You can use it in a mask or put it in your bath and it would heal your acne much faster. I was quite taken by her towel mask (she cut holes out for her eyes and nose) which she soaked in salt water and she also featured a honey salt mask/scrub which she demo-ed.
I wasn’t having a very good day with acne on my chest and back due to a moisturizer I was using (will not name names here but it broke me out!) so I wanted to do some heavy duty scrubbing. This scrub only needs three ingredients: salt, coconut oil, and lemon.
Instead of honey, I thought coconut oil would be a good idea because salt can be very abrasive so an oil could help move things along better. In fact, there are some amazing facts about coconut oil you could read here, and I’ll mention the most interesting one for skincare: it is actually great at removing dead skin cells from the surface of your skin!
My skin improved by leaps and bounds by the next morning — the pimples calmed down and were on their way to drying out and I would recommend just rubbing some salt water on subsequent days if you want to speed things up even more.
So let’s get down to how to make your own salt scrub that smells delicious and is good for getting rid of acne.
So take a tablespoon of coconut oil. It is always in solid form so you need to melt it. I wouldn’t recommend heating it in a pot over the stove because coconut oil melts with just a slight raise in temperature.
I put that small bowl containing the coconut oil and placed it in a bigger bowl half-filled with warm water. It doesn’t even need to be boiling water. The oil should melt immediately and you’ll get the liquid form in just a few minutes.
I know this is a bit bothersome but you could just mix solid coconut oil with salt but it would be more solid and chunky as opposed to a more liquidy oily texture that the store-bought ones have.
Just use a spoon to mix the salt (I used pink rock salt), lemon juice (1/4 wedge), and coconut oil. Be careful of how much lemon juice you squeeze into the concoction because you don’t want it to turn into a watery mix which is not ideal for a scrub.
I need to warn you that the rock salt I used looked a bit chunkier than refined salt and it was very very rough, so I would advise you to use very finely milled sea or rock salt if you dislike extremely rough scrubs. I can take very hard scrubs but this was was kind of pushing it for me. If you have a serious breakout, I would advise you to soak in a bath with salt dissolved in it, rather than this scrub because it could do more damage (in terms of open wounds – very stinging! – and just general discomfort scrubbing bumpy skin) than good.
I used this scrub after I washed my body with my regular shower gel and my skin felt extremely oily after I washed everything off. I was a bit dismayed but after drying off, my skin felt fine. And it was soooo smooth right after and the next morning, plus my zits started healing straight away.
Do you have any salt beauty treatments that you like? Do share!
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Visee feat. Smacky Glam Glam Glow Eyes and Glossy Nude Rouge Limited Edition. Visee’s official website is here and if you are interested in looking at what Smacky Glam is, you can click here. I’m not familiar with Smacky Glam at all but it looks like a boho-chic type fashion label that is on the pricey side (a jacket costs 38,000JPY).
The pretty packaging had me at “hello” but I’ve always been a fan of Visee (here & here). This is totally not a review post because I’ve not even worn any of these but I thought you Visee fans out there might like to see the products up close
I only got the “Bitter” products which are a warm nude eye palette (BR-7) and nude lip gloss (BE305). I didn’t get the “Sweet” set because the pink is rather cool and I’ve already got a cool pink in my Dior travel palette (would like to do a review on this soonish – loving it!) and the lip gloss is quite a run-of-the-mill shade so I decided against getting the whole LE set.
I especially love the peachy champagne shade on the top left corner (I know you can barely see it but it’s more pigmented in person, I promise) and the warm taupe on the top right. The dark brown eyeshadow is surprisingly matte looking when swatched.
My least favourite is definitely the shimmery white eyeshadow on the bottom left. It is very flaky and I’m kind of over highlighting my eyes with what seems like light glitter dust.
This nude lip gloss is definitely quite unique where drugstore cosmetics are concerned. It’s not super pigmented nor is it sheer — kind of in between.
I think it gives the lips a slightly milky nude look which is very pretty.
Visee is under the Kose umbrella and is so affordable (the eyeshadow palette is 1,600JPY at retail but Matsukiyo was having a sale so it was marked down further by 20%) but yet has very good quality eyeshadows, as mentioned by Glossed in Translation too, so I would highly recommend you getting some Visee if you can.
Hisashiburiiiii! (It’s been a longtime, in Japanese) I know it’s been ages since I uploaded a proper video but I’ve been trying to find solutions to my uploading issues, so this is me with a “no-frills” video (no music or intro or text) which is about my October Favourites (video link here; or you can click on the photo above to take you there). My thumbnail is upside-down *groan*…Anyway, the video plays right-side up…This is so bizarre…Edit: I re-uploaded this and Youtube is not acting up anymore — everything is right-side up!!
Sorry if my voice sounds stuffy but I’ve been battling the flu since last week but I’m feeling heaps better today.
Products mentioned:
Ettusias Mineral BB Cream 30
Jill Stuart Lip Jewel 11
Addiction Emotional Blush
Maybelline Creamy Gel Liner 02 Brown
Essie Not Just A Pretty Face
Sally Hansen Instant Strength Base/Top Coat
Sally Hansen Dries Instantly Top Coat
Hada Labo es Lotion
Hada Labo es Milk
Naruko Magnolia Brightening and Firming Serum
Morrocan Oil
Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator (organic, transfat, cholesterol and dairy-free!)
If you can’t be bothered to click over to my Youtube Channel, you can watch it here:
*Edit: I was mistaken about the Ettusias BB Mineral Cream — it does have sun protection and SPF30 to boot! It says on the plastic box it comes in and not on the tube itself.
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I know I’ve said before I am a huge fan of Lancome’s Juicy Tubes and I tend to always go back to them despite trying many other lip glosses. For example, I don’t really like MAC’s lip glass because it’s too sticky for me although the colour range is phenomenal and they look really good. It’s not that I can’t put up with any stickiness but I prefer less sticky ones, like Jill Stuart’s Lip Jewel lip gloss. In fact, it’s really not sticky!
I bought a trio of these lip glosses on an ANA flight after flipping through their shopping catalogue — simply because I liked the look of the packaging but I’ve confidence in the brand so I knew it would be at least okay quality. But I actually really love them and have been constantly reaching for them since July. These don’t have much pigmentation though and would not be for you if you like very opaque lip gloss. But personally I tend to prefer sheer lip gloss anyway because I use it to enhance my lipsticks rather than use lip gloss on its own.
A Lip Jewel gloss from Jill Stuart costs 2,940JPY including tax so it’s 2,800JPY without tax, but I can’t remember how much these cost at duty-free. I’m guessing around 6,000JPY or so because I remember thinking it was fairly reasonable for designer lipgloss. Official website here.
This is 07 Romantic Quartz which is a non-shimmery baby pink which I love because I don’t think I have a non-shimmery lip gloss in my collection. I tend to pair this with lipsticks that are too nude and adds a nice touch of pinkiness.
Now I love this one, 11 (can’t find the name on the website, in fact, there is no 11 there) which is a simmery nude clear gloss. It doesn’t give much colour at all on its own but I like using this with dark red lipsticks when I want a rosy hue and not a full-on red lip. This is probably my favourite of the three because I adore nude lip gloss.
This is 01 Catseye Wink which looks incredibly similar to 07 but in person it is a darker pink with shimmer. It looks very glittery in the tube, but on the lips, there are no “chunks” at all and I love using this one with coral lipsticks when I want to take the edge off the orange.
Here are the swatches. I wanted to photograph the lip gloss on my lips but they just don’t show up well on camera because they are so sheer. I know some people dislike lip gloss that has no colour payoff but I kind of like it that way because I want my lipsticks to take center stage. I would say I’m the least crazy about lip gloss precisely because of this reason, and if I find a brand I like, I just stick with it forever, plus lip gloss takes a loooong time to finish. I tend to throw them out due to them going bad rather than actually finishing them….
Surprisingly, I couldn’t find many blog reviews on this product but there are two you could peruse by Vanity Fashionista and Fruity Lashes.
Do you like Jill Stuart lip glosses? How does it compare to their Lip Jelly glosses? What other lip glosses would you recommend?
I’m honestly amazed how quickly base makeup can fall out of favour with one’s skin tone (which explains my never-ending fascination with foundation) and I attempted to save yet another “fail” in my collection.
I went through a mineral makeup phase which lasted all of two to three months last winter until the weather got too humid to wear just powder. During that time I really was pleased with my Meow Cosmetics purchases and bought a full-sized backup, but unfortunately, the shade is just way too dark for me now. I must have been so tanned last winter (weird, I know, but I went to Singapore and Sydney which had a blazing summer)…
Despite my attempts to mix my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Dark and the Estee Lauder Nutritious Vita-Mineral Loose Powder in Intensity 1.0, I have fallen out of love with the highly powdered look (very aging) and use finishing powder very sparingly these days. So what I have done is to mix the Estee Lauder powder (too light) with my Meow Cosmetics Mineral Foundation (too dark).
Tada! Looks waaaaay better now. It has a slightly ashy undertone still, but when applied lightly, it is hardly noticeable and the pink undertone from the Estee Lauder powder does help heaps.
I tried to photograph the mixed loose powder with my other finishing powders, e.g. Jill Stuart, but the camera emphasizes the contrast so it’s not really accurate. As you can see, the picture with the blended powder alone is lighter than the one above.
I tried to compare it with my HG loose powder by Paul & Joe (by far the most refined powder I’ve ever encountered and a good match for my skin tone) and it also looks so dark.
It’s not a perfect result but this is definitely useable and I don’t feel so bad having products that can’t work for me.
Do you ever try to make products “work” for you? Do you find it annoying and toss it out or do you just deal with it?
This is my first-ever FOTD and my skin has cleared up quite a bit since my last breakout fiasco. I figured that it’s not that often I have okay-looking skin and I’ve “re-discovered” an old foundation that was unloved by me for the last year, so I thought, “Let’s do an FOTD!”
I bought Estee Lauder’s Double Wear Light Foundation Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10/PA++ (Intensity 2.0) in January as a “gentle” base during my horrible breakout phase last winter. I looked up Makeup Alley and found that those with acne-prone skin liked this particular foundie because it was light-weight, non-clogging, non-oily, and had decent coverage.
To be honest, I liked it at first and then I didn’t like it because it didn’t give me enough coverage and looked patchy on me. Furthermore, the brand Estee Lauder is not something I usually reach for as I prefer girlier brands, e.g. Jill Stuart and Paul & Joe, but I realized I’m actually smack in the demographic that Estee Lauder markets at – LOL!
But on hindsight, my skin really was a mess and I think I didn’t put enough of it on as I used to have a very light hand with liquid foundation. I just felt it didn’t give me that ultra-smooth complexion that some BB creams can (like the Nanoce one but it’s too rich for non-winter weather). And because it is very light-weight, I think it wasn’t moisturizing enough for the freezing temperatures in Feb and Mar in Tokyo. My skin was flaky at that point in time but I wouldn’t blame it on this foundation because I think I wasn’t moisturizing my skin enough and was using an arsenal of drying acne products.
BUT, in this warm-ish fall weather when it is over 20 degrees C in the day and 16-18 degrees C at night, somehow my skin has been LOVING this foundation. I do use it generously but it doesn’t cake. The only complaint I have is that it is a wee bit too light for me shade-wise but Intensity 3.0 is way too dark for me.
It gives a dewy look if you don’t powder your face after and it gives surprisingly good coverage to redness and freckles.
Other items used in this FOTD:
Lunasol Modeling Eyes 01 Beige Beige
Dollywink Eye Pencil in Brown
Lancome L’Extreme Mascara
Meow Cosmetics Brow Beater in Dark Brown to line brows
Esprique Precious Gradation Layer Cheek 01 Coral Red as blusher and face highlighter
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Medium Dark as bronzer
Revlon ColorStay Pressed Powder 104 Medium
Jurlique Love Lip Balm
Chanel Rouge Coco Cambon 31
Lancome Juicy Tubes mini (sparkly nude)
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Today’s Beauty Debate topic is a bit of a fun topic and I would love to hear what you have to say:
What’s your beauty quirk?
It’s something that doesn’t quite connect the dots or it contradicts some of your “beliefs” or you are particular about something that isn’t usually a concern for others etc., you know what I mean?
Let me list my beauty quirks here…
Quirk #1
I don’t use scented lip balms if it is in stick form, but if they are in pot form, I don’t mind if it has fragrance. This is my personal logic: the stick types go directly onto your lips so saliva mingles with the balm which makes the scent go bad within a matter of weeks (this really bothers me). For lip balm sticks, I’m using Mentholatum Waterlip and Yuskin Lip Cream.
But for pot balms, I always use a clean lip brush so the balm doesn’t get that “gone bad” smell and right now I’m using Jurlique’s Love Balm and Paula’s Choice Lip & Body Treatment Balm. Scented lip gloss is fine too because I either use my finger or a lip brush. The ultimate contradiction: I don’t mind scented lipsticks although I apply them directly onto my lips.
Quirk #2
I adore good quality body lotion that smells divine — nothing less. Right now, I’m using Korres Body Milk in Jasmine. I love smelling good all over, but for some strange reason, I don’t like scented hand cream because I like to cuddle a pillow while I sleep and if my hands have fragrance, I would feel bothered.
I’ve tried different types, brands, and scents, but at the end of the day I always reach for an unscented moisturizer (I like QV Cream, but it’s not available in Japan and I buy it in Singapore or Australia if I get the chance) and currently I am using the Yuskin S-series Body Cream. That’s also another quirk: I use body moisturizers for my hands.
…Which explains why I’m having trouble finishing two tubes of the paw paw balm I bought in Melbourne in March this year — the slightly “rotten” papaya scent is quite off-putting although it is an amazing product. I use this on my feet and toes so I can’t smell it at all.
Now it’s your turn!
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Hello my lovelies, I can’t wait for the weekend and I bet you can’t, too. Hope you enjoyed my last post on the “ice jelly sponge” — it’s so cool to discover new beauty tools that are inexpensive and effective.
Today, I’m kicking off a new series on the blog called “Travel Must-Haves”. Travelling is such a big part of my life and it definitely shapes some of my purchasing decisions beauty-wise. I used to have the mindset of travelling with items that I didn’t care about much in case I would lose or damage them, especially eye shadow and blush palettes. But I found that I was always feeling dissatisfied with said items because they performed poorly or I didn’t have enough variety. I remember I would bring one “green” and one “purple” palette — I laugh at the thought of only having two looks to play with.
In recent years, “quality” definitely wins in my book. I whittle down my selection to one warm palette and one cool palette for eyeshadows for even month-long trips. The warm eye shadow palette I love toting around with me out of Japan is the Chanel Les 4 Ombres 74 Nymphea.
For one, I love the fact that it is so hardy because I think it is the “baked” version as it is an international Chanel version which is made with a baking method as opposed to US-made ones that are silkier in texture — not sure if it is due to being “non-baked” but it seems the two are distinctly different (read more here by Suelynn).
Secondly, I could do multiple looks with this palette — I could do a warm nude with the brown, pink and beige; or highlight the green and forgo the pink; or just use the pink and brown for a smokier nude look; or blend the pink, green, and brown altogether, smoking out with the brown. I don’t get bored of this palette!
My only complaint is that the brushes are pure crap as they don’t transfer much colour at all to my eyelids — does anyone feel the same about Chanel brushes? I’ve had a travel palette before and the black brushes they provided were lovely, but for this palette, I think they are pretty awful. But I generally do not use palette brushes anymore unless my makeup brushes are terribly dirty and I don’t have time to clean them.
Thought of just popping in this really short video at the end of this post — I wanted to test my Youtube channel as I was having many problems uploading a full-length video but it seems a short video done in .mov on my iPhone in HD seemed to upload fine.
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I hope that got some attention because it’s a literal translation of today’s review — 氷こんにゃくこんにゃくスポンジ ( which says ice konjac sponge) but the “ice” part is just a metaphor as the sponge is rock solid when it is dry but it is indeed made of konjac, a Japanese potato that is often made into jelly for desserts or noodles that are seen as a low-calorie diet-friendly food product.
Known for its fibrous content, it’s no wonder that it can be woven into a sponge. Here is how it looks semi-dry…
I don’t have a picture of the sponge in its rock-hard solid state but it looks like a very rough hard sponge not unlike those for scrubbing tough stains on pots and pans. I’ve to say Nic Nic from bangbangsheshoots got me thinking about a more serious cleansing routine in her post on the foam net, muslin cloth, and a basic wash sponge.
Honestly, I just wanted to get something similar to the orange sponge she featured on her post because she said it was travel-friendly and does the job. I went to my local Tomods down the hill from my apartment and found a white sponge that looked like it had the same texture, but I really had no idea I bought a konjac sponge — what a lovely surprise!
The packet says bright/glowing ball which is the brand of this konjac sponge and says this is gentle enough for babies and for washing the face, and that it is 100% plant-based.
The instructions are really simple — dip the sponge into warm water, wait for 3 minutes (actually it takes only less than a minute for me), and it’s ready to be used. For the care directions, it is advised to hang the sponge outside after use so it can dry naturally and it should return to its original rock hard state.
I’m just guessing that being so dry and hard would prevent mould and bacteria from festering — I could be wrong but the “caution” part of the instructions says that if the sponge is not completely dry, “black spots” will grow.
Now time for the effectiveness of this konjac sponge: I love it. I only use it in the morning and is more gentle than the Clarisonic (which I only use once a day at night). It solves my problem of getting rid of excess oil and other crap that accumulates on my skin overnight in a gentle way. The angular shape of this sponge allows it to get into crevices the Clarisonic cannot reach, e.g. the curves between my brows.
I use an extremely light hand and the Hada Labo es Foaming Facial Wash provides enough cushion for this extremely soft exfoliating ritual. I then just follow up with a generous douse of the Hada Labo es Milk which I also use on my eye area.
This routine has helped more clogged pores from happening and my skin feels really smooth. Overall, my skin is alright considering the fact that it’s the time of the month.
My skin is at a strange place right now — it’s very sensitive from the horrible breakout I suffered on my wedding day and all the Naruko, Clinique, Kiehl’s, Jurlique, Eucerin, CerVe products I had been using on my skin leave a burning sensation. It’s really horrible so I decided to stick to very basic skincare products from Hada Labo es range (except the cleansing liquid: I’m using Mutenka Cleansing Oil now) which is formulated for sensitive skin.
My skin has calmed down a lot but with the lack of hydrating grunt from my “stronger” products in this autumn weather, my “oily-dry” skin has been acting up — more clogged pores; oilier complexion, so I decided to focus on cleansing to ride this yucky period out. I think a month of this should do the trick and I’ll slowly introduce my beloved brightening and anti-aging serums back into my regime.
As a last note, I found a website in English that explains the benefits of konjac sponges here if you would like to read more about konjac sponges.
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