Summer 2011: Sana Hadanomy Collagen Mist Lemon

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Sorry for my absence but I just passed my 2nd last exam today with an exellent result so I am really happy and have time to blog again =D Well, there might have been actual time for blogging but when I am so focused on my studies I can´t do much else (e.g. I have only been wearing makeup 3x the whole last month!)

I reviewed the Hadanomy Collagen Mist from Sana a while ago and I really love it (and have used up a bottle by now) so I definitely wanted to try their summer LE in a lemon fragrance! I think the mist is the same, they just filled it into a cute heart-shaped bottle and added a really lovely sweet lemon scent.
I personally like the lemon scent even more than the regular one so I wish this could become a part of the regular line =D

The mist is slightly viscuous and refreshing and the dispenser really creates a super fine mist. This doesn´t irritate my skin at all so I can highly recommend this product!

The cute bottle contains 90ml (vs. 250ml in the full-sized regular version) and retails for 500 Yen. I got mine from Alphabeautyuk on eBay.

Rating 5/5

Shu Uemura Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation in 584

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I stumbled across a Shu Uemura store in Langham Place Mall in Hong Kong so I thought to take chance of this and check out if there would be a proper foundation for me as the color codes puzzle me too much to be able to order one online =)

I swatched quite a few foundations with the help of a friendly SA and finally purchased the Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation in the color 584. I believe that 5 = neutral, 8 = very pale and no idea what´s the 4 =P

The foundation comes in a frosted heavy glass bottle and contains 27ml. It´s a cream which spreads like silk without any pilling or blotchiness and offers medium coverage. It feels smooth and dries down to a rather matte finish without any greasy feeling however it doesn´t feel like it´s drying out my skin.
Staying power is good however after about 5 hours or so I need to reapply some concealer around my nose and chin and this bugs me a little.

The foundation is slightly scented but it´s quite subtle and not bothersome.
I didn´t experience any skin irritations at all since wearing this (and I started using it over a month ago).

Color 584 is a pretty perfect match for me as it´s neither too yellow nor too pink/orange and is really a fair tone.

Overall I am really happy with this product as the color match and overall even and smooth result is really great.

I am not sure regarding the retail price but it wasn´t more than around US30 in Hong Kong however I know HK is the cheapest place to get Shu!

Rating 4.5/5

Shiseido UNO Fog Bar (pink version for women), special LE set

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Fog Bar is a very famous series of liquid hair wax mists from Shiseido UNO, a brand targeted towards men.

The Fog Bar became quite popular among ladies, too, so Shiseido decided to release a set for women for market testing purposes. Here is an interesting article about this product.

The set contains a pink Fog Bar spray, a dusty pink satin (or silky material) hair scrunchie and a small booklet with styling ideas.

I believe the Fog Bar spray contains Tsubaki oil =)
I got my set from Alphabeautyuk on eBay and I still see a few sets left for those interested.

The Fog Bar is a slightly sticky and waxy spray so I recommend using it with care as the result otherwise can feel a little gross. If used sparingly this stuff is really good for keeping my style in place and smoothing down fuzzies but without the slightly hard sometimes crunchy feel of regular hair spray. It´s great to do an "airy" hair style and kneading in some of the Fog Bar as the hair will get a good dose of volume and it will nicely stay in place.

This product smells slightly floral but it´s a very unobtrusive scent which doesn´t smell strong at all.

The scrunchy is not slippery even though it´s made of a really nice silky material. It seems like a good quality product to me and I like wearing it a lot these days =)
The booklet is useless for me but might be interesting for others.




Overall I like the Fog Bar set and while the spray can be sticky the overall result it gives is good - as long as you don´t overdo application.

Rating 4/5

PS sorry for my lack of posts. I am studying for my 2nd last exam so I even don´t get to see my kids a lot these days let alone have time for posting =( I will be back to normal early July.

Giveaway closed! And the winner is...

...Poppy! Please email me (lotuspalace@gmail.com) to claim your Sigma brush set!

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Juju Shiromomohada Peach Whitening Mist

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Juju released a new mini series of skin care in a cute peach theme, the 2 available products (well at least that I know of) are the Shiromomohada Peach Whitening Water and the Peach Whitening Mist.

From what I understand the water is richer whereas the mist is more refreshing. While I normally opt for the first this time I went for the lighter mist. I know I admitted not being a face mist person but since using the Hadanomy Collagen Mist from Sana (which I just finished a few weeks ago) I somehow got fond of face sprays instead of regular toners =D
Juju is quite famous for its Aquamoist skincare range which is an excellent range btw.!

Their packaging is usually not cute but this time Juju went for a really sweet peach theme.
The water  (200ml) and mist (250ml) retail for 924 Yen/each and come with a sweet and juicy peach fragrance. Both products are free of mineral oil,  alcohol, artifial coloring and are weakly acidic.
The included ingredients are hyaluronic acid, peach leaf extract, placenta extract (please don´t ask me which kind of placenta...)..

The Peach Whitening Mist is a very lightweight liquid which feels fresh and skin softening but not really moisturizing. It´s meant to be used before a skin milk/cream (that´s how I use it) or whenever one wants to use it, including after makeup application.
The mist is supposed to help in whitening the skin but I can´t confirm that.
The fragrance is nice but a litte strong so if you are sensitive to (peach) scents you might prefer to skip this product.
The spray nozzle dispenses the liquid a bit too strong for my taste making it more a spray than a mist (whereas e.g. the Sana Hadanomy Collagen Mist comes out as a really fine mist).

Overall I like this stuff and enjoy using it but I don´t think I´d get another bottle and will rather use another Sana Hadanomy Collagen Mist, also due to it´s slightly more viscuous texture.
The Shiromomohada range can be purchased from Alphabeautyuk on eBay or Adambeauty.com.
Rating 4/5

Mont Bleu glass nail file with Svarovski crystals

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Mont Bleu recently provided me with one of their glass nail files to test and review. Please check out their website here. And if you are interested the file can be purchased from this site. There are numerous designs to choose from and I got a really pretty one, a white one with pink and clear Svarovski crystals.
I actually live only like 10 mins drive from the main Svarovski factory and love to visit the Crystal World there as the crystals there really sparkle and shine like nothing else =)

Anyway, the file is a glass file and is pointy, slender and long with a relatively fine graininess but nonetheless it can trim and shape my nails with just a few strokes and seems to seal the tips of my nails really well.

My previous crystal file was quite a bit rougher and I think it made my tips tear and break easier.

The design is really pretty and the crystals are absolutely well attached, none of them became loose or shifted.

Overall I can recommend checking out the glass nail files from Mont Bleu if you are in need of a good nail file.

Rating 5/5

Summer Sale on Lotus Palace Sales

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I am going to list a huge load of goodies on my sale blog as of tomorrow, June 2nd at around 3 PM (my time, that´s the Vienna-Zurich timezone). There will be a lot of Korean and Japanese cosmetics so check out my sale blog if you are interested =)