Kao Bioré UV Daily Care Gel SPF28 PA++

I am currently on a sunsreen kick =) I always use sunscreen on my face and body, even on my hands as for me it´s a really vital step before heading out of the door.

In winter I usually just rely on the sun protection of my foundation or base (normally around SPF15-20 or so) but now as it´s turning warmer and having in mind that I will stay about 5-6 weeks in Egypt I decided to haul some sunscreens to be on the safe side.


I got a few bottles of body sunscreens which I mainly use on my arms, hands and neck as I am not someone who´s wearing clothes bearing lots of skin... I always wear long pants and my shirts´ sleeves usually reach below my elbows =) Very boring, I know!

Anyways, I got this green bottle of UV Daily Care Gel from Kao Bioré for US$11.50 from Adambeauty and quite like it!


You get a smallish bottle (120ml) of a milky gel in a green squeeze bottle. If you plan on using sunscreen on your whole body the bottle won´t last you an eternity but if you just use it on certain parts it will be good for quite a while.

The gel is very lightweight and easy to spread.... I am not sure if the coverage can be sufficient that way but I didn´t get any sunburn or something and was out the whole day so I think it´s fine.
The UV Daily Care gel has definitely an alcohol smell to it which vanishes quickly and leaves a fresh scent behind, sort of like a Cologne.
It´s not sticky at all so after like 3 minutes I totally forget that I am even wearing sunscreen!


This has an SPF of 28 PA++ which (in my personal opinion) is enough for the moderate sun-rays here but for my trip to Egypt I stocked up on several products with SPF50+ PA+++ (e.g. from Kosé Softymo´s Q10 line).


I am pretty sure this is not waterproof so it´s a good choice for using when you are just out in the park, go shopping etc.

Here is the lineup of Bioré sunscreens. I will soon review the Aqua Rich Watery Mousse Water Base and the UV Mild Care Milk.

Aube Couture Designing Stay Rouge PK134

I just noticed I never seemed to review any of my Aube Couture lipsticks (only the glosses and liquid lipsticks) even though I have quite a few colors here. Time to resolve that!


Aube Couture has 2 ranges of lipsticks out right now: The Designing Rouge and the Designing Stay Rouge. Or actually I think the regular Designing Rouge line has been discontinued recently.

It seems to be quite easy to score good Aube Couture deals on eBay, I think I didn´t pay full price for any of the Designing Rouge and Designing Stay Rouge lipsticks so far.


The Designing Stay Rouge comes in a pretty heavy silver and pink metal tube. In my opinion it looks nicer than the recent releases of Maquillage and Coffret D´or.

The formula of this is soft but it dries down a little to a longer lasting but not seriously drying finish. I really like this kind of formula as it will last good time without making my lips feel in need of balm or gloss. The finish depends on the shade. PK134 has a pretty shimmery finish whereas another color (to be reviewed soon) I own has no shimmer but a glossier finish.


Like the majority of Japanese lipsticks this is not scented or flavored. The color PK134 is a light milky peachy pink with shimmer. The shade is rather sheer so my natural lip color shines through and makes this a very nice natural lipstick color.

I got mine on eBay for around 10 bucks or so. It was definitely worth that like all the other Aube Couture lippies as they´re really nice quality!

Canmake Glossy Holic Lips in 02 Lollipop Pink

Canmake released a cute new small collection of lip glosses called Glossy Holic Lips promising to be lipgloss, lipbalm and sun protection, all in 1 product.


There are 4 colors, all on the transparent light side (beige, pink, orange and milky pink). I chose 02 Lollipop Pink as I felt it was the most suitable color for me.


The Glossy Holic Lips comes in a normal clear squeeze tube with a slanted plastic applicator.
It has a light sweet scent reminding me slightly of cherries but with a plastic-y overlay. Otherwise there is no flavor to the gloss.

The color I chose is a very sheer shimmery pink. I´d have liked a little more color but for just swiping a layer on before I go out it´s a good choice. I like using the Glossy Holic Lips on my no-makeup days when I just apply BB Cream and lip balm.


The gloss is a bit sticky, not overly much in my opinion and lasts decently. The finish is very glossy and shiny. I feel it gives moisture to my lips as they are always smooth and soft when this stuff wears off.


This product contains SPF 15 PA++ so it offers a bit sun protection.


All in all I quite like this and can recommend throwing a tube of this in your purse.
Retails for 504 Yen, I got mine from Ichibankao for 1000 Yen incl. shipping.

Somang Beauty Credit Milk Hand Cream & Milk Hand Balm

I think handcare is very important...after all our hands are so active all the time, exposed to the sun etc. it´s important to take good care of them.


I go through handcreams like nobody else. I think I easily use up a tube per week so I get the opportunity to test lots of handcare items within short time actually =)

Recently I found these cute Milk items from Somang Beauty Credit on Sasa so I hauled them as I firstly like everything with milk and 2nd the things were cute and cheap!

I got the Milk Hand Cream and the Milk Hand Balm (which is long gone by now) and am delighted with both, especially with the Hand Balm!

I like the design with that cute fat cow (she looks like she´d have lots of milk!)....and I have a weakness for all kind of beauty products containing milk!
Both hand treatments smell really yummy, a light milky vanilla-baby powder kind of scent.


The Milk Hand Balm comes in a 40ml tub which sounds little at first but actually a little goes a long way so I enjoyed the balm for about 2 weeks before it was gone (with about 2-3x daily use). The Milk Hand Balm is rich and thick and very creamy and makes my skin buttery soft so I decided to order a few more tubs on Sasa!


The Milk Hand Cream comes in a 100ml squeeze tube which is a quite generous size as in my experience most hand creams contain between 50-75ml.
This is lighter than the balm but moisturizing enough for dailiy usage. If you need a deeper care with more lipids I´d recommend the Hand Balm.
All in all this stuff is nice, too!

I ordered both items from Sasa and paid about US$4 for the Milk Hand Balm and US$5 for the Milk Hand Cream.

Creer Beauté La Rose de Versailles Oscar Impact & Cool Eyes (eyeliner)

I am not a fan of the Lady Oscar Anime series but Creer Beauté released a few cute Oscar and Marie-Antoinette-themed items. I picked up the Oscar Cool & Impact Eyes liner as I really love to try all sorts of slim feltpen-style eyeliners.


The Oscar Cool & Impact Eyes liner comes in a pretty shiny pearly purple pen and has a 0.1 ml thick tip. I am very fond of these think eyeliners but I dislike the Creer Beauté version for one single reason: The liner is too stiff!


Whereas Kate Supersharp, Sana Moroha, K-Palette 1-day Tattoo liner etc. have a nice flexible tip which allows to draw a super precise, thin and even line the La Rose de Versailles liner is just too hard thus the line just gets uneven.
The color is a nice deep black but as I mentioned the stiffness of the tip makes this a less than mediocre liner in my opinion.


I got mine from Adambeauty. I think I paid somewhere around US$10-12? Don´t remember but it was not worth it. Retail in Japan is 1050 Yen.

Kanebo Sala Perfect Dual Hair Treatment (for stiff hair)

I quite like the haircare from Sala...the products smell nice and are effective (I use that yellow shampoo/conditioner/treatment line and it gives really shiny smooth hair).
Recently I found this cool new Perfect Dual Hair Treatment on eBay and just had to get one as it contains 2 different treatments in 1 tube which you should mix together for the best result!


The idea behind this product was packing a treatment for repairing the internal hair structure as well as one for the outer surface of your hair into 1 product. It contains proteins, natural lipids, royal jelly and honey and special components to care for the hair cuticles (as I read in the auction description provided by Alphabeautyuk on eBay).


After trying the Perfect Dual Hair Treatment a few times I can admit that I quite like it. It makes my hair indeed very soft and smooth with a healthy shine. The treatment isn´t as rich as I´d like though and I find it quite pricey (I paid about US$20, right now someone on eBay is selling it for US$35!) so I´d say getting e.g. the Hair Esthe S-Care Treatment from Cosmetex Roland is far better value for money.


This carries the typical pleasant Sala scent (a fruity-citrus kind of blend) andcontains 170g. Shampoo your hair, apply the Sala Perfect Dual Hair Treatment, leave it on for 3-5 minutes, rinse off and follow with conditioner or leave as is.
Retails for 1450 Yen in Japan (about US$16-17).


All in all this is good stuff but just not as amazing as I hoped it to be!
The one I got is specifically for stiff hair...well I don´t consider my hair stiff so I will try this on my daughter´s hair as I´d consider her hair stiff. =) Maybe results on her will be more noticable than on my hair!

Kosé Fasio Hyper-Stay Mascara Magne-Plus Curl Volume BK001

Fasio seems to be quite known for their mascaras... I tried several and found they´re pain in the butt to remove but still I couldn´t resist to try out the newest addition to their line: The Hyper-Stay Mascara Magne Plus Curl Volume (what a name!). What sold me was the comb applicator and that it´s a volumizing formula, 2 things I always prefer when it comes to mascaras!


The Hyper-Stay Mascara comes in a rather unexciting gray/silver tube and features a comb applicator as I mentioned above. I got the black one (BK001). I think there is also a brown one available.


While the applicator is good I dislike the formula. The mascara is rather thick and sticky and doesn´t covery my lashes well as due to the stickiness it doesn´t glide on nicely. It takes about 3 layers to cover my lashes so that they don´t look grayish but the stickiness is hard to manage as my lashes start to stick together and just don´t look nice.
I don´t think this contains fibers and it´s a pain in the butt to remove (as Fasio mascaras tend to be). Make sure you own a cleansing oil and a dual-phase mascara remover to get rid of this stuff from your lashes!


I hoped this might be a good mascara and able to replace my favorite discontinued Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Neo but unfortunately it fails for me.


Retails for 1260 Yen and contains 7g. I got mine from Adambeauty.com.

Xmas 2008: Shu Uemura x Mika Portable Brush Set

Lol, yea! I am indeed typing this post as of April 23rd 2010! And the item I am reviewing is an Xmas item from 1 1/2 years ago! =P


Recently I found several Shu Uemura x Mika items popping up on eBay. Probably there was some warehouse sale going on in Hong Kong or something lol.
The Shu x Mika collection was my favorite collection from Shu Uemura in the previous years.

I admit I also scored the Shu x Mika Gerbera lipgloss set as I just loved the cute pouch that came with the glosses and I won the auction for US$15 whereas the retail was more than double that. I was afraid the lippies might be off but they turned out to be perfectly fresh and fine. I might do a review later...let´s see =)


Anyways, makeup brushes stay fresh and I already fell in love with the Portable Brush Set when I saw pics 1 1/2 years ago but it was just too pricey for me (retail US$85 plus shipping) so I just admired it instead of splurging.

I scored this on eBay for US$38 (& shipping) so I am a seriously happy girl now! I saw a few more of these on eBay but not sure if there are right now.


The Portable Brush Set comes in a gorgeous bright cherry red pouch with the stunning rose print inside. I just love it!
The brushes have pretty red handles to match the set. They are all travel-sized and "remain uncut at the tip for the finest touch" and all are really soft brushes.
There are 4 short-handled brushes: face brush (27 brush - Goat), cheek brush (17 - Pony & Squirrel), eyeshadow brush (10 - Sable & Kolinsky) and lip/eyeliner brush (6M - Sable).

The face brush is honestly a bit too small to be useful for powder application but it makes an excellent blush brush. The bristles are extremely soft and give a pretty even lightweight look to the blush.

The cheek brush is a decent highlighter brush and feels a bit denser than the face brush. It´s somehow very tiny thus not really my first choice for blushes. This is my least fave brush out of the set.

The star of the set is the eyeshadow brush for me. When I saw it I thought it´d be only good for cream shadows or as a brush for applying a wash of shadow but it´s actually a perfect brush to pat on any color on my lids and blending it in the crease as the application is absolutely even, the brush packs on pigment really well and distributes any of my powder shadows perfectly. Right now this is my favorite eyeshadow for lid application and I am considering getting the full-sized one, too!

I first was a bit disappointed that there is a lip brush in the set but was happy to see they also recommend it for eye-lining. I always feel annoyed that nearly each brush set comes with a lip brush as I almost never use lip brushes at all.
This lip/eyeliner brush in the set is a perfect brush for deep crease and outer eye definition. It´s softer than the Sasa brush I´ve bee using for the past 4 years or so and gives a more even application. It´s also great as an eyeliner brush for applying either cream or powder liners.


All in all I think the set is very nice and useful, not just for traveling! It´s not a complete set of brushes but a good start. I personally need eyebrow brushes, a skunk brush, a fan brush (to remove eyeshadow crumbles and tone down blush) and couple of wider eyeshadow brushes for applying a wash or highlighter in addition (the best softest wide brush I have was a GWP from Inoui ID!).


The set was so worth its price and I am happy to be the proud owner of it now! Seems sometimes it´s worth waiting a little =)

Inexpensive Beauty Find: Anosa Q10 Eye Cream Set & GIVEAWAY =)

Finally that ash cloud is gone! My husband was stuck for 4 days in London until he finally managed to catch a flight to here! Oh and the packages I am waiting for are subject to delay *sigh*. Hah, anyway, I have enough stuff to review here...so even if we should have an ash cloud disrupting air mail for the next 10 years I´d still probably be able to do a review per day haha!


Anyways, Sasa is pure temptation as they just can´t stop listing cool new things... that´s really hard for a beauty stuff junkie like me as I need to haul and there is no way out of that! =P

So...2 bottles of eye cream for US$5.40? I am sold! Anosa is a sister brand of Shills as they´re under the same company.... Anosa is somehow not as cute as Shills but they have some good products worth trying out!


Anosa has several Eye Creams (Sets) up for grabs but Sasa only has the Q10/Elder Tree version (right now).

I am a sucker for eye creams... no idea why, but eye creams just appeal to me very much! I rarely ever have irritations caused by eye creams which is weird since the rest of my face likes to act up when I try to indulge it with something new so maybe that´s why I like buying eye creams!

So the usual not too expensive eye cream contains about 15ml and will set me back around US$15-20. Anosa gives me 2 *35ml* bottles for about US$5 (or at least Sasa charged me that) so can they be good?


First off packaging is very basic and simple as the creams are packed in hygienic pump-bottles. The pump isn´t the best as it somehow has the tendency to be hard to push but when it moves it will spritz out lots of cream so just push gently not to end up with eye cream on your mirror.
Design-wise the labels remind me of some plant-based pharmacy skincare line. A bit cuteness wouldn´t have hurt but it´s still appealing to me.

If you scan the ingredients lists you will notice that the formulas of the Elder Tree Eye Cream and the Q10 Eye Cream are almost identical. Just the last few ingredients are different.


Since the ingredients are nearly the same the texture is identical, too. Both are lightweight yet moisturizing and make the skin around my eyes very soft and smooth and are a perfect prep for eye makeup/concealer.
I am not sure if the creams have any effect away from moisturizing so for a basic eye care for younger ladies both are a perfect inexpensive choice but if you want deeper care, something against dark-circles or anti-wrinkle ingredients these creams will probably not succeed.

There are some really nice ingredients in the formulas like Macadamia Nut Oil, Collagen, Shea Butter and Vitamin E. Both creams are unscented and don´t irritate my eyes at all.


Overall I really like the eye creams and think they are great value for money. The expiry and production dates are printed on the box and mine is very fresh, just was produced a few months ago and will expire in 3 years (which is probably the time needed to finish 70ml of eye cream hehe).

Sasa claims:

• 【Q10 Eye Cream】（35 ml）
  It contains coenzyme Q10, an super antioxidant and anti-aging ingredient, and highly moisturizing collagen to firm skin around eyes and restore its moisture-retaining ability. It is more penetrating and is more similar to skin constituent. It re-energizes skin around eyes, leaving eyes firm and hydrated again. Accompanied by massage to promote blood circulation, it restores skin’s elasticity, prevents dryness and relieves the tired eye contour.
  How to use: Morning and night, take a pearl-sized amount to gently apply to eye area. Follow with eye massage, or coverage of eyes with palms with fingers covering forehead. Let the warmth of hands warm up the eye contour to promote blood circulation and reduce puffiness as well as dark circles.
• 【Elder Tree Eye Cream】(35 ml)
  It contains eye-firming factor extracted from elder tree to firm skin around eyes. Eye bags will become unobvious. Skin will be firm and delicate again. With shea butter, niacinamide derivatives, vitamin E and vitamin K, the fresh cream, which is easy to absorb, is more effective in moisturizing skin and reducing the appearance of fine lines due to dryness.
  How to use: Morning and night, take a pearl-sized amount to gently apply to eye area. Follow with eye massage, or coverage of eyes with palms with fingers covering forehead. Let the warmth of hands warm up the eye contour to promote blood circulation and reduce puffiness as well as dark circles."

Giveaway:
One reader can win a duo pack of the Anosa Q10 & Elder Tree Eye Cream! The duo pack is fresh (expiry in December 2012) and comes in a sealed box.


How to enter:
-Only open to followers (so please make sure you follow me on blogger)!
Make sure by your nickname or name I can clearly identify you!
-Open worldwide!
-Please leave a comment to this post (telling me which kind of eye care you use or want to use)
-Giveaway open until Saturday, May1st 2010, 8 PM (my time, Vienna time-zone)
-Winner will be randomly chosen by random.org and announced here by Sunday, 2nd of May 2010. Please make sure to email me to claim your prize within 3 days after winner is announced or new winner will be drawn.