Inexpensive Beauty find & first venture into Japanese BB Creams: Meishoku Moist Labo BB Essence Cream SPF40 PA+++

To be honest this is not my very first venture into Japanese BB Creams..I tried one from Nanoce some time ago but got the wrong color which was so off that I didn't bother trying the cream on my face and put it up for sale on LP Sales right away.

Recently I spotted this new Japanese BB Cream (in 2 versions) on Adambeauty (click here for direct link) and granted I was very interested and decided to get both (natural and shiny) as they were really cheap (US$14.50) and because I was interested to review them here anyway =P
I know by Korean BB cream standards US$14.50 isn't that cheap but I believe the Meishoku BB creams are among the cheapest Japan-produced ones.


Meishoku has a pretty nice under-eye concealer (I got the pink one which I haven't reviewed.. I can say it's a nice concealer which brightens my eyes instantly. Coverage is about sheer-medium so it's best if your eye-circles aren't too severe).

I actually wasn't that convinced that either of the BB creams would work for me but to my surprise both are nice and work for my skin-tone.

Both BB creams have the same color, a very light yellow-toned shade. On the swatch on my hand (left is #01, right #02) they look very yellow but when blended they're nicely adjusting to my skin (as you can see on the pic below where I blended 02 on my hand).
#02 Shiny has some fine silver glitters spread throughout the cream.
I personally like #01 Natural better as the glitters in #02 are fine but not fine enough not to show up as glitters. Good to wear on a dark or rainy day but in bright sunlight you'll get the disco-ball effect I think.


Texture-wise I can't detect a difference either, both are rather lightweight and don't have that heavy silicone-feel some Korean BB creams have. Actually the Meishoku BB creams are really nice and light so they should work well for someone with normal-oily skin.
Coverage is actually quite good, I'd say medium and buildable. I can easily cover my cheek redness and my light eye-circles with the Moist Labo BB Creams.
I love how my skin feels very silky, and smooth but without a greasy or heavy feeling some Korean BB creams leave behind.
The finish is a natural matte. #02 has the added glitters as stated above.


The tubes are small, each only contains 33g. #01 comes in a light golden and #02 in a pale pink tube.

According to Meishoku the BB Cream has 6 benefits:
-Essence
-Cream
-Makeup Base
-Concealer
-Foundation
-UV sun block (SPF40 PA+++)
The hyaluronic acid found in this BB Cream is supposedly only 1/100 of the size as regular hyaluronic acid molecules as nano-technology is used.
Furthermore the BB Creams are sweat-and waterproof.
Retails: 1260 Yen (about US$13)

All in all I can highly recommend this BB cream for anyone with fair-light skin-tone and most skin-types except very dry. Since I have no problems with acne I can't tell you if it would work acne-prone skin or not.

GIVEAWAY! Pocket calendar, Miffy pens & more

I thought it's the right time for a little giveaway, yay! The really cool giveaway from HouseofJam will be soon, too! =D

Since the year is coming to an end I thought one of my readers will be delighted to get a cute Japanese pocket schedule book, some sweet pens and a small bunch of some letters/letter papers and memo cards for writing some happy lines to their friends and loved ones =). All stationery is either Japanese or Korean (the pens) =D


You get:


-Matryoshka pocket calendar starting from November 2009 through March 2011
-3 Miffy pens (0.5mm), scented gel pens that write very smoothly. Th colors are blue, pink and purple
-3 envelopes with matching letter sheet
-6 message cards
-2 small envelopes with message card enclosed


My rules:
-become a follower of my blog if you aren't yet
-leave a comment (no specific content required)...please make sure I can identify you by your nick or first name!
-Contest ends on Sunday, November 1st 2009, 6 PM (my time, GMT +1)
-Winner will be announced in a new post after random selection by random.org
-Please contact me within 3 days to claim your prize or another winner will be selected!
-Prize will be shipped by airmail WORLDWIDE within 2 business days after winner contacts me! Happy participating and Good Luck!

Cute Stationery: San-X Palette's Sweet Street pocket calendars

Along with some letter sets and stickers I ordered I purchased 2 cute new pocket calendars for 2010. I was excited to find them with my favorite San-X character Palette!


I got 2 and didn't really know why the pink one was more expensive than the blue one but when I received them I understood why =)
The blue one is really slim and handy and just has a double-page per month whereas the pink one also has a page per week.
I am using the blue one as it's super slim and handy and easy to tote around. I just love the cute illustrations on every page! Of course the themes fit with the month they're used for =)


While I loved my Korean ones I got last year they were so heavy to carry around due to all the pages inside.


Both day planners run from October 2009 (yep, I am already using mine!) through March 2011 and also contain memo pages, address sheets and some Japanese subway maps.


I got mine from Etsy seller JapanKawaiiYa. I paid approx. US$12 for the blue and US$17 for the pink planner.
Both come with a protective clear plastic cover.

Fall 2009: Etude House Moistfull Collagen (Part 1: base makeup)

Etude House's fall collection is called Moistfull Collagen vs. Code: B. Moistfull Collagen consists of various base makeup items and skincare whereas Code: B is the makeup color collection. Honestly Code: B is a snore and I only picked up one (but a very pretty) lipgloss up from the collection.


I however purchased quite a bunch of the Moistfull Collagen collection with mixed results. I like the original Moistfull range so seeing base makeup from the new improved series really excited me and I indulged shamelessly in quite a few of them.

I will review the makeup items in this post and leave the few bits of skincare for later.

The Moistfull Collagen base makeup collection consists of:
-Essence-In Primer (a dual-phase spray) - 10000 Won
-Essence-In Base SPF22 PA+ (pink or green) - 13500 Won
-Essence-In Foundation SPF22 PA+ (2 colors: #1 and 2) - 13500 Won
-Balm SPF36 (1 color only) - 16500 Won
-Essence-In Pact SPF25 PA++ (2 colors: #1 and 2)- 15500 Won


I got all items except for the primer spray.


Essence-In Base:
This comes in bulky plastic bottle with a pump dispenser. I got the pink version (#2 Shimmer Essence) as I thought it would do a nice job of illuminating my pale skin.


The base is a lightweight cream with a smooth and silky feeling when you spread it. It nearly covers nothing but as I expected brightens my complexion and gives a soft pearly sheen.


So far so good...but unfortunately my skin reacted almost instantly to this product. I got a red rash on my right cheek along with a burning sensation so I had to remove the base and I won't be using it again.

Essence-In Foundation:
The packaging is like the one of the Essence-In Base but the top part is purple instead of peach.


The texture and coverage (about sheer-medium and buildable) are excellent, very moisturizing and smooth. However the color (#1 which is the lighter one) is so off (too dark and yellow) that it looked so fake on me I had to remove it. I think this would be suitable for a NC20-25.


It leaves a beautiful dewy finish and it's really a pity that this doesn't work for me.


Balm:


The balm comes housed in a very pretty light peach compact with an opalescent top. The balm is tightly covered by a soft plastic tray and comes with 2 sponges.

This is the only product among the Moistfull Collagen base makeup series that works for me and I really love it (and will order a few more to store in the car, purse etc.). This is actually astonishing me as I expected this to be the item I would like the least.


This is a solid foundation balm which only comes in one color mixed with white swirls of moisture cream. Together they blend to a very light beige which is really *so* close to my natural skin color. I think this would only work up to a NC-20, for anyone more tan than this it will probably be too light.


I love using this when I am on the run and too lazy for makeup but still want even skin (coverage is medium) with a pretty dewy sheen.
I should add that the lasting power of this isn't that great, only 3-4 hours if you don't set it with powder.


This has a pleasant scent like all the Moistfull Collagen range. It's a lighter and prettier scent than the original series carries.
The balm came in a set with the Cream (will be reviewed later) which cost me 31500 Won. The balm came packed together with a sample of the cream, too!


Essence-In Pact:


This is the obligatory pressed powder from the Moistfull Collagen range. I was delighted to find a moisturizing powder compact from Etude House as I like some of their powders.
The compact is purple with an opalescent cover, just like the compact of the balm but in purple.


The Essence-In Pact is too dry for me and the color doesn't match either. It's a very light-toned powder but the yellow tones aren't suitable for me so I can't wear this either.
I even ordered 2 of this by mistake!


I think I should just stop trying foundations and stick with my beloved and trusted Maquillage foundation and powders! However the balm is a great addition to my morning skincare!

I got my stuff from etudegmark on Gmarket. I purchased a whole lot more stuff (especially from their new body care products) and got some nice freebies.

Fall 2009: Lunasol Star Shower Eyes 04 Star River & Shizukuboshi Jyouka Stardust On Eyes EX-01 Silver

Again I have been posting so little *sigh*. Honestly I lost a bit interest in blogging lately as I am starting to get super busy with my studies (again) and I had a fraught emergency with my youngest Sara a week ago (she's all fine and well now but she gave me the most shocking 15 minutes of my life!) which just reminded me once again what matters most.

I am way behind my reviews, I have so much stuff probably good for 100+ postings and I will try to catch up on as much as possible over the next period. I also got so much cute Etsy and stationery stuff but will only post some selected items as I just don't have the time anymore to take pics of everything I get, sorry!


As every fall Lunasol added a new range of eyeshadow palettes to their range.
This year's series is called "Star Shower Eyes" and come in the same signature metallic chocolate bronze cases like the other palettes.


I don't know why but I wasn't that keen on the new Lunasol stuff however one of the palettes looked pretty so I decided to go for it.
I wasn't that keen on my Blooming Eyes (=Layer Bloom Eyes) palette as the result was a bit chalky and dull.
The Star Shower Eyes palette I chose is 04 Star River. I also got the palette in 05 Close of Night for my mum whom I made a fan of Lunasol hehe =P


The texture of the shades in the Star Shower Eyes palette is very smooth and packs good pigment in the purple and dark charcoal color. The white and silver are more sheer which is suitable for highlighting shades in my opinion.
To my delight all shades have a rather pearly instead of glittery finish. The shade at the bottom left has a fine multi-colored glitter but far less chunky and annoying as the glitter shade in most of the other Lunasol palettes.


The dark color at the bottom right has a very complex finish, almost like a soft metallic and not the dull dark gray found in many other brands. This is a vibrant and interesting color.
The purple is grayish so it flatters me perfectly. The top left shade is a pretty white highlighter and the slightly glittery shade below it is a light silver.

All in all a great palette I used several time already and got compliments nearly every time I wore it (something that rarely occurs honestly!).
I got this from Gooddealer.com who offered the best price for this palette when it came out. I think still you get the best deal there despite shipping and handling charges.

I also picked up the Shizukuboshi Jyouka Stardust On Eyes EX-01 Silver. I actually don't know why I got this as I am not so much a fan of glitter shadow hehe.


This is a Limited Edition eyeshadow single which contains only glitter, no color so you're supposed to dab this on top of your regular shadows for added sparkle.


Actually I like this product, the glitter is very fine and elegant, I used this on top of the Star Shower Eyes palette and the result was stunning. This will be a cute little item for the upcoming holidays, too!
I got this from Gooddealer, too!

Here is a closeup pic of the Star Shower Eyes in 05. Since it was a gift for my mum there are certainly no swatches.


On another note: Here is some food porn =P We were invited to my cousin's graduation party and got these delicious dishes:

Salad with salmon as a starter


The main dish was delicious! Veggies, potato gratin and guinea fowl (a yummy type of poultry)


As dessert we got Panna Cotta with fruits