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Saturday, June 26, 2010

Summer Giveaway closed...

....the winner is mandy!! Comment #21 as chosen by random.org.

Please send me your address to lotuspalace@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Integrate Gracy White Liquid Foundation in PO-10 SPF26 PA++

Maybe you remember my post about the Integrate Gracy Cream Foundation Moist in PO-10. It´s the perfect color match for me albeit a more moisturizing formula so I was checking out the White Liquid Foundation in the same color hoping it would be just as perfect and as it should be a bit more lightweight for the coming summer.


The White Liquid Foundation comes in a squeeze tube which I definitely prefer over the glass tub. As I expected the formula is lighter though still moisturizing so it´s a great foundation for normal-drier skin-types to wear in warmer weather.

The coverage this provides is about medium which is perfect for me. It pretty much covers all minor skin flaws so I just follow up with a layer of powder without the need for concealer (except around my eyes).
The finish this provides is slightly dewy but in a silky not in a shimmery way.


The color match is excellent though I suspect this is about half a shade (or so) darker than the Cream Foundation Moist but nonetheless it´s a great match.
The foundation doesn´t oxidise on me but I always wear a makeup base underneath. Furthermore I don´t experience any irritations when using this and I have been using this regularly (about 2x a week) for the past 3 months.


This is not scented and I haven´t (and don´t) experience(d) any kind of irritations when using this.
Overall this is a great summer foundation for me and I´ll probably repurchase this when I run out!


Alphabeautyuk on eBay has this foundation in several colors up for grabs.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

MuGu (Muli Guli) True Story Makeup Palette

I recently found a blog sale on this blog and was delighted to find a makeup palette from the cute Taiwanese beauy brand MuGu (Muli Guli) for sale.


MuGu seems to have lots of cute items but I wasn´t sure about the quality etc. so I was happy to take the chance to try out a complete makeup kit from this brand.


The MuGu True Story palette looks like a fat sweet pink book when it´s closed but opens to reveal 18 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, 2 powders and 4 lipglosses.
More like children makeup to be honest but it´s a Taiwanese brand and I love cute things, right? =P

My review will be mainly focusing on the shadows and blushes... didn´t really try the powders and glosses and not intending to do so honestly.


The eye colors are all on the lighter and colorful side. There is no deep defining eye color in the palette which is a bit of a lack in my opinion...at least a dark gray or a black shade for adding definition would have been a good idea.
The texture to my surprise is rather silky though the shadows have the tendency to be crumbly thus could fall onto your cheeks during application. That is quite annoying but since I do my eye makeup before my face I can live with crumbly shadows.


The pigment is decent in most colors but not very strong overall. You need to layer a bit to have a color show up better. And that´s where my problem starts: the more you layer the more you wipe off. The shadows are the kind that don´t really cling to your skin (or eyeshadow base... I always use one and the Coffret D´or one I stick with currently is quite good with 99% of the eyeshadows I use!) so on my lids the color can look somewhat uneven and boring after attempting to get the colors to show up better!


Also to me the shadows look a little dull as the finish tends to be on the matte-glittery side (like matte base with sparse glitters).
The palette is a good thing to play with colors or to use occasionally but the overall quality is not the best.
I also would like to add that half of the colors in the palette are nothing for me (like the yellows, brown, blues) but I am not into such bright colors in general.
The shadows seemed to irritate my eyes as they were tearing slightly all day long (something I nearly never experience with my eye makeup).


The 2 blushes are quite pigmented and have a shimmery finish. The pink looks quite nice but the other color is too strong/orange for my skin-tone.
The powders seem to offer minimal coverage and come in a very light and a light-medium color and the 4 glosses are sheer with glitters. I didn´t swatch them though so can´t comment on lasting power, finish etc.


For this EOTD I used shadows No. 4, 6 and 18. I attempted to define my creases and outer lids with #15 but it wouldn´t adhere to my lids.
Mascara is from Majolica Majorca, liners from Kose Cosmagic (inner rims) and Dolly Wink (upper lid):

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Baviphat Mango Magic Brightening Mask & Apple Soft Lipbalm

I ordered a few more goodies from Baviphat last week and the first 2 arrived just after a few days (shipping from allover Asia is really fast these days!).

This time I got the Mango Magic Brightening Mask (US$9.89) and the Apple Soft Lipbalm (I paid US$5.89), both from eBay. The mask came with a free trial size of the Apple AC Sleeping Pack (which I reviewed along with the Peach Waterfull Cream here).


The Mango Magic Brightening Mask supposedly deeply cleanses and brightens your complexion with the use of super fine oxygen-bubbles.
It comes in a cute bulky shiny yellow jar (not as cute as the peach one though) and contains 100g.


I actually expected a gel which would foam up upon contact with my skin (though I wasn´t sure how it would work to have this filled in a jar as my logic told me the mask would create bubbles as soon as it comes in contact with air like other oxygen masks) but this is a very thick hard, almost waxy cream with little orange spheres spread throughout.


My skin doesn´t tolerate cream and gel masks well in general...I can use the majority of sheet masks but just not cream masks for the most part.


I tried the Mango Magic Brightening Mask couple of times now and really like it. I spread a layer on my skin so it looks white at the beginning but after 3 minutes (the mask is recommended to be left on 2-3 minutes and then to be rinsed off) the mask looks mostly clear with some white streaks where I applied it extra thickly. It doesn´t tickle like other oxygen masks though as those create bubbles and this mask doesn´t.


The mask has a light fruity scent..it´s not really that good but since it´s light it doesn´t bother me. It also has this typical oxygen-mask smell which is hard to describe... but it´s there.
Anyway, the mask doesn´t sting or burn on my skin at all, it feels actually nice and my skin feels very soft and looks bright and clear after using this.
I really like this stuff and will continue using this 2x or so per week.


The Apple Soft Lipbalm is filled into a cute little matte red apple jar and is lightly tinted with a soft red hue. It smells really yummy like a sour apple candy but it doesn´t really taste good...very soapy and the balm itself is waxy and hard. It gives a semi-glossy finish with a light tint which is pretty but overall this isn´t really worth purchasing.


I am giving away 3 sample sachets of the Mango Magic Brightening Mask to the first 3 readers (1 sachet/reader) to email me. All gone, sorry! =D

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Clé de Peau Beauté Satin Eye Color in #101 & 102

Clé de Peau is Shiseido´s super high-end brand costing seriously lots of money. I am not the person to spend US$45 (+tax) on an eyeshadow *single* (I will on a quad/quint etc. though) but since there is eBay there are always nice deals coming along so I am the proud owner of 2 Clé de Peau Satin Eye Colors for less than the price of 1 =)


Clé de Peau is pretty much available internationally but sure here at the makeup butt of the world we don´t have it (well, I am sure they´d rob us €50 or so per shadow!)...anyway, at least we have internet to get what we want from abroad =D


Anyway, the compacts are the typical elegant night blue and golden ones you might know from other CdP products. Very luxurious and elegant as you would expect for such a pricey item.
The applicator that comes with the Satin Eye Colors is a standard sponge-applicator...nothing spectacular and actually they could have included one with a sponge and a brush on the other end. But anyway, I use my own tools so I am ok with that.


The eyeshadows are shaped somewhat like jewels which is quite pretty in my opinion.
The texture of these is not really soft but silky (sort of like baked shadows) and they are well-pigmented with a gorgeous pearl shimmer. The shadows don´t crumble or fly around at all so they are pleasant to apply. I find the darker color I got (#102) is a bit hard to blend though and can look uneven until I put a few layers. That´s quite annoying but the final result is really nice so I can live with that.


Staying power is not the best though. I found the colors faded a good deal after 6-8 hours. I rarely wear makeup for longer times than this but I expect my shadows to stay put for a timespan of 8-10 hours at least. I didn´t experience creasing or irritations.
Overall I think these are good but not outstanding so not worth the retail price in my opinion. If you can score them on eBay or so they are definitely nice to add to one´s stash.


101 is an off-white shade whereas 102 is a deep bluish gray.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Summer giveaway!

Japan Beauty, a great online shop for Japanese beauty products, offered me to send me some products for a summer giveaway here on my blog!

You can win 2 full-sized goodies perfect for the summer time (and beyond of course!)

Both products are from Sana and I reviewed both of them already!
You can win:
-Covercom Stick Foundation in 01 (review here!)
-Hiaruronsan Hyaluronic Acid gel (review here!)


Of course both products are brand new, fresh and unopened!

To enter please do the following:

-Be a follower of my blog

-Please go to Japan Beauty and do either of the following things:
Please either list (down in the comments section) 3 products with links to the shop which you have tried and are effective for you (this would be great to share your opinions) OR if you haven´t tried Japanese products yet or any that are not listed in the shop please post 3 links to items in the shop you would be interested to try.

-Giveaway open to worldwide, shipping via airmail!

-I will close the giveaway in 2 weeks from now, that´s June 26th at 3 PM (my time, Vienna-Zurich timezone). Winner will be chosen randomly after giveaway closes.

-Winner must email me (lotuspalace@gmail.com) within 48 hours after close of giveaway or other winner will be chosen.

Good luck and thanks for participating!!



Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Rohto Mentholatum Sunplay Skin Aqua Moisture BB Cream SPF27 PA++

Mentholatum is actually a US-based company but was acquired by Rohto Japan a few years ago so I consider it a Japanese brand now (at least for their Asia-only lines like Sunplay Skin Aqua =D)


I found a review of the Skin Aqua Silky BB Cream (the one for oilier skin-types) on one of my favorite blogs written by my dear friend Yumeko (check here to read it!) so when I found the Skin Aqua Moisture BB Cream (for dry skin) on Sasa I ordered it right away.

The virtues of this BB Cream are:
-sun block (UVB protection of SPF27 and UVA of PA++)
-moisturizer
-concealer
-foundation
-whitening
-anti-aging
-oil-control (? in the moisture version?)
According to Sasa this was produced in Korea by a company specialized on BB Creams ("as one of its innovators"). No idea who is the mysterious manufacturer of this actually Japanese BB Cream =)


The tube is nothing special..just a very basic white squeeze-tube containing 40g (and costs around US$16 on Sasa). The Moisture-version has a copper-colored cap whereas the Silky one for oily skin is silver.

Now I have to say this Moisture BB Cream is absolutely amazing. I wore it for several days and it matches my skin-tone perfectly. The texture is on the slightly thicker and moisturizing side so it´s really for someone with normal-dry or dry skin but it blends into my skin like a dream and doesn´t feel heavy after a few minutes and after setting with my face powder.


The coverage is excellent so I only wear this and powder, no separate foundation is required for a pretty much flawless look (i have good skin to start with though). All the redness on my cheeks and small freckles I have on my nose are hidden when I wear this BB Cream.

In addition my skin stays absolutely silky smooth (feel and look!) when wearing this and even through the powder I notice a light glowy finish. Don´t worry, there are no shimmer particles in the BB Cream. I guess the glowy finish comes from some silicones I suspect in the formula (judging by wear and feel).


The Sunplay Skin Aqua Moisture BB Cream has a light scent, something floral...a typical BB Cream scent in my opinion (Skin79 perhaps?). I don´t really like it but it doesn´t bother me as it pretty much is gone within a few minutes after application.
Staying power (with a layer of powder) is excellent. I wore it for around 10 hours without significant fading (mostly around my nose) and it didn´t settle into those few fine lines I am having.
As I am so thrilled you will probably guess that I didn´t get any skin irritations =)


Totally recommend this stuff if you have a light-medium skin-tone and normal or dry skin or for cold weather when your skin needs an extra layer to protect it. The SPF is sufficient for the weather here in Austria usually but for summer I´ll prime with a SPF50+ to be on the safe side.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

First venture into Dereon Cosmetics Baviphat (Peach All-in-one Waterfull Cream)

Until maybe a few weeks ago I never even heard of a Korean brand called "Baviphat" (by Dereon Cosmetics)...
I discovered the brand somehow by coincidence on eBay as I was searching for a certain product from Innisfree and the seller had this Baviphat brand listed in his shop. The Peach All-in-one Waterfull Cream caught my interest so I got it for around US$14 (retails for 8500 Won in Korea but i don´t mind..it´s still cheap to me).


To my delight the cream (or gel as it should be called) came with a cute small jar containing their Apple AC Therapy Sleeping Pack to try out and couple of other sample sachets.


The Peach All-in-one Waterfull Cream comes in a pretty huge peach-colored and somewhat weird and fruit-shaped jar containing a generous 100g. I think it´s somehow cute somehow odd to look at hehe =D
This is a lightweight rather wet gel which seems to contain a good amount of water (it contains peach extract, aloe vera gel, beta glucan, hyaluronic acid etc, rosemary extract etc.). It smells like fresh peaches, no artificial sweet scent but more like the real thing (seriously delicious!).


It´s a very nice light moisturizer to use in the summer or when you have normal-oily skin. Drier skin-types might find this not hydrating and moisturizing enough though when used on its own. I like to use this as the last step of my skincare, after my moisturizing milk so it´s a perfect extra goodie for my normal-dry and somewhat dehydrated skin.


This doesn´t leave a sticky film behind at all and the scent doesn´t linger long. I don´t have any problems with irritations when using this so I am really happy with my first product from Baviphat.
Overall a pretty nice item from this new brand. I´ll definitely check out more from this brand.

The Apple AC Therapy Sleeping Pack smells absolutely yummy, very much like a true sweet apple juice. It´s an emollient gel-cream to apply before you sleep and wash off in the morning. I tried it a few nights and it honestly doesn´t do anything for me. My skin doesn´t feel different from when I just use my regular skincare.


Maybe you noticed that I am not posting much these days... I am very busy with my studies & kids these days so I can´t post as much as I want to... I should be back to post more come July!

Soon I´ll post a giveaway so keep an eye out! =D

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