Kokubo x Sanrio BabyBathDay Little Twin Stars & My Melody Bath Powders

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Today seems to be my kiddy-stuff review day hehe =D Anyways, I just have to share these cute BabyBathDay Bath Powders from Kokubo as they are really nice... each pack features either the Little Twin Stars or My Melody but they seem to be pretty much the same stuff to me otherwise.

These can be found on Sasa and are on the pricey side (around US$2 per bath isn´t cheap) however I picked up a few for my youngest daughter´s sensitive skin.
These powders are unscented and tint the water a soft milky yellow (my daughter would prefer pink though hehe). Just pour a sachet (or actually I use half as my daughter doesn´t need so much water for her bath) and enjoy.
The BabyBathDay Bath Powders keep the skin really soft and moisturized, even very sensitive children skin.

Overall very cute product, I wish they´d sell this stuff in a big tub though!

Rating 4/5

Kokubo AddGood Milky Bath Powder Lavender & Rose

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I received the AddGood Milky Bath Powders from Kokubo in Lavender and Rose  with my last Bonjour order.

Each box contains 700g and retails for HK$56 on Bonjour. If you are getting enough products to enjoy free shipping and considering that each AddGood box gives you over 20 pleasant baths this is quite value for money in my opinion.


Each box has an attached scoop for easier dosage, 2 scoops (each 15g) are needed for one full bath.
Both of these powders are subtly scented and tint the water in a milky color. I think these don´t dry out my skin at all but aren´t overly moisturizing either.


Lavender is a really nice relaxing soft lavender scent, the water color is a milky pink purple.
Rose is a very nice muted rose scent which is neither overpowering nor powdery or cloying. The water color is a milk pale fleshy pink.

Overall I really like these bath powders and know that I can enjoy these for quite some time =)

Rating 4/5

Bison Rosefull Moroccan Rose bath salt

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I am not so much a fan of rose scents but from time to time I like a good rose scent if it´s not overly sweet or powdery as that way it will give me a headache.

Sasa has a huge range of individually packed bath salts/powders and among them the Rosefull range from Bison which offers 3 different rose scents in 3 different textures (essence, salts, powder) to choose from. I got a package of the Moroccan Rose bath salts as I thought it sounded yummy =)

The package contains 50g which is good for one bath. At around US$3 per pack this is definitely an indulgence but still less than e.g. a Lush bath bomb.

The bath salts actually are a mix of salt crystals and a red-tinted bath powder so the water will show up as a nice bright pink red color.
The scent is really wonderful, a subtle spicy rose scent which is neither heavy nor cloying and absolutely relaxing.

I am not so sure about the skincare properties of this product but my skin felt soft and not dried out when I finished my bath.

Overall one of the best and most authentic rose scents I found so far and I am sure to pick up a few more packs when I order next time from Sasa.

Rating 5/5

My first order from Bonjour HK

If you see this post on another site than lotuspalace.blogspot.com it has been stolen and used without my permission. I only allow reposts with proper credits for my work (please contact me first!)!I visited Bonjour shops in Hong Kong quite a lot as it´s one of the big drugstore chains there but when it came to ordering (mainly Japanese/Korean/Taiwanese skincare, hair stuff and body stuff) online I was sticking with Sasa as they have a great selection of products, really cheap prices (partly up to 70% off of Japanese retail prices, generally at least 10-20% cheaper) and shipping is free if I order products worth a certain amount. Also I have the VIP card so I am getting an extra 5% off and can redeem products with the points I am collecting with every purchase.
But since Bonjour has its own website I decided to place an order there, especially since they have a relatively good variety of bath powders for really cheap and free shipping (so important for such heavy items!) if you order over a certain value so I purchased some items there.

What I noticed negatively there was the amount of products that showed out of stock...really, the majority of products was OOS actually! But I found a good bunch of goodies anyway so was looking forward to receiving my order. I also upgraded my free shipping to EMS shipping for a mere HK$80 (and my box weighed close to 8 kg!)

A day after placing my order I received an email telling me one item was out of stock so I had to cancel it to proceed with my order. I emailed them to cancel it and 3 days later got the same email again. I called the customer service in Hong Kong (the lady was really friendly) and she told me they had not received my reply =(
A few days later I got the information that my order was being packed but they had to cancel another item as it´s a compressed gas can (it was a deodorant)...quite annoying actually. Why could I order it then in the first place?
Anyway, it took around 8 days for my order to be shipped after placing it so that was quite a bit longer than I had expected!

Things came well packed and padded and the value on the parcel was declared correctly so I paid customs fees, too (which I had expected and included in my order value calculations).

These are the items I ordered (I also ordered a 2nd of that orange body oil and couple more Tsubaki shampoo/conditioner bottles but gave them to my mum right after I received the order and before taking the pic below):

That anti-wrinkle serum is a freebie and seems quite nice!

Overall not the best online shopping experience and all in all their order processing is a bit unprofessional for such a famous and big drugstore chain like Bonjour.
For items I can get on Sasa I would always prefer this site over Bonjour but I am happy with the items I ordered so all in all it was a good thing to order there.

Rating for Bonjour:
Site (layout, navigation etc.): 4/5
Item selection: 2.5/5 as so much was OOS!
Telephone customer service: 5/5
Email customer service: 1/5 as my email didn´t even arrive!
Processing time: 2/5
Shipping costs: 5/5 (free shipping and cheap EMS upgrade!)
Packing: 5/5
Item condition upon arrival: 5/5 (nothing old/expired/leaked etc.)

B&C Body Parfait Body Whip Cream Vanilla & Mix Berry

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For some weird reason it was a bit difficult finding Japanese body care in Hong Kong, especially body lotions. Maybe they are just not that popular with that hot and humid weather?

Anyway, in the Bonjour store in Mong Kok opposite of Langham Place I found this really amazingly cool body cream product from B&C Laboratories!
It looks like a can of whipped cream but be careful, it´s not intended to be ingested =)

The bottle is really cute! It´s also quite huge and heavy and contains 200ml of the Body Parfait Body Whip Cream.
The scent is really good, the name "Vanilla & Berry Mix" pretty much describes what it smells like.

The texture of this stuff is amazing. It´s a very thick mousse really resembling the thick fluffy texture of whipped cream so using a little goes a long way as the cream is so thick and won´t just disappear like a regular foam. It´s a very lush and indulging feeling to use this cream =)
It´s not the most moisturizing body cream I have encountered but it gives me soft, nourished, touchable and nicely scented skin for a long time.

I don´t remember the exact price but I think it was around US$10 or so. Retail price in Japan is 1260 Yen.

Overall I love this stuff, I am almost addicted! I am happy I got a 2nd can from Hong Kong =)

This totally deserves a rating of 5/5

Somang Verywell Body Shower Green Herb & Apple Mint

Somang is a brand offering nice quality items for really affordable prices. I got couple of shower gels from their Verywell range along with my recent Gmarket order and enjoy using them quite a lot so it´s time for a review. 

I got two 500ml bottles/each of the Green Herb and the Apple Mint Body Shower gels (so 4 bottle total), each duo costing a bit below US$10 in this listing: 180199555 (options H and J).

These shower gels come in very plain clear bottles but the big pump dispenser really makes using this a breeze. 
The gels both lather very well, especially when used with a shower lily. I think both of these gels leave my body clean and softly scented and are not drying my skin out but aren´t particularly moisturizing either, just good basic body cleansers.

Green Herb smells very fresh, much like original cologne (or very similar to a certain green tea scent from a known perfume brand). Perfect for summer or to wake you up in the morning, could be a good shower gel for both ladies and gents.

The Apple Mint shower gel smells like apple chewing gum or candy to me. I can´t really detect the fresh mint notes well, to me it´s more like a sweet candy apple scent. Quite nice and not too sweet and sticky.

Overall these are really nice shower gels so I recommend checking them out if you see them.

Rating 4/5 

Miracosmetics Imselene Olive Natural & Organic Olive Premium Body Essence Lotion

I neither ever heard of the brand Imselene by a unknown company (Miracosmetics) nor would I even know how to search for it on Gmarket but I stumbled across their Natural & Organic Olive Premium Body Essence Lotion (what a name!) and thought the 510g bottle looked nice so I added it to a recent order (Gmarket 200768421, option #5...you have to choose 2 lotions for the price so this product cost me around US$4 or so. I also got option #9 which is also a really nice lotion btw).
I think I just liked the look of this and the promise of "Natural & Organic" is always cool though I have no idea how natural this lotion really is.
 
I really like the huge 510g bottle with its very big pump dispenser as it´s very comfy to push so my hand doesn´t slip off and the long neck makes it convenient to put the hand under the pump to receive the lotion.

This Olive Premium Body Essence Lotion is a rich and very nurturing cream with a very nice green and fresh fragrance. It needs some time (3-5 mins) to sink into my skin properly but my skin will stay soft until the next day... the one I chose is the richer version, I believe you can also get a lighter one (option #6).

Actually I really love this lotion, it smells so good (and the scent lingers for really long!) and makes my skin so silky soft and smooth. Perfect for dry-very dry skin and the colder winter weather, it might be too heavy for summer though (but since our summer only lasts like 2-3 months that´s fine with me) =D


Rating 5/5

More from Gmarket...

As I said earlier I ordered quite another bunch of stuff from Gmarket and since they are lightning fast over there at Gmarket everything arrived as of today despite placing my orders like mid-end last week!
 
This is a very pic-heavy post so accept my apologies if it takes longer to load..
i want to add a general observation first... it seems many sellers got the message that it´s very annoying to over-estimate the shipping weight as this means the buyer will pay a very high amount upfront and even though there will be a refund it´s always stuck in the Gaccount... e.g. etudegmark (Etude House ) used to put an estimated shipping weight of 1.1kg per item, now e.g. the eyeshadow palette I ordered had an estimated weight of 0.2kg which is more logic.
As a matter of fact I noticed many sellers put a weight that´s way lower than the actual item, e.g. I ordered some 450ml body lotion with an estimated weight of 0.3kg...that can´t work. I must stress you to alwaysy check your overseas shipping status as the package will be held until the fees are paid and you are not getting an email to request the payment...so you must check your order status incl. international daily!

Since LP is a beauty blog I´ll start with my beauty goodies...

Etude House:
i had to get some of those new bubble hair dyes! I got the darkest color (Deep Black) and this is really a great hair dye, very mild and super easy to use. Also got an eyeshadow palette (seems like great quality, the best from EH so far), a pouch (perfect for carrying my stationery with me...a cash book, memo note, some pens, stickers, business cards etc.) and the super cute 4 new hand creams! Freebie was a purse organizer/makeup bag


Happy Bath haul (various sellers):
Lots of 450ml body lotion bottles, body oil, hand cream, body wash, face cleanser and 2 travel kits.... just do a search for 해피바스 and you´ll find lots of offers for Happy Bath stuff. It´s worth comparing prices and offers as there are quite big differences. 









Some hair dyes from Amore Pacific Welcos Confume. Most hair dye auctions are quite tough as there are so many different brands etc. packed in one listing.
Also got hair dyes from Mise en scéne, love that deep purple so curious how it will turn out once I use it =)
I like how most Korean hair dyes seem to contain a plastic cape, something I miss among Western and even Japanese brands.


Also got these 2 body lotions, they cost like around US$9 together! In the same auction (200768421) you can get 2 bottles of 450ml Happy Bath body milk for as little as around US$7.20 for both...that´s quite a steal. 
I chose options 5 (Inselene Olive Premium Body Essence Lotion 510g) and 9 (Body Phren Body Lotion Vanilla Milk 500g)...the 3rd drop-down menu lets you choose if you need Saturday delivery if I am not wrong.

And here are the accessories and stationery items I hauled. I got a purse (looks ok, a bit cheap though), purse organizer (love this! By coincidence the freebie from Etude House was a purse organizer, too, but much lower quality of course), wallet, card case, iphone case, bankbook pouch (good for stationery or smaller makeup items) and some pretty pens and day planners. 








As of right now there is only one smaller Gmarket haul which might arrive within this week. It only contains a few bottles of Redflo hair care and couple of body care items.


i think there is no need to buy new body lotions or shower gels for the next 10000 years for me now haha! But actually some bottles will go as gifts to my mom and friends so I will have a good reason to order more stuff soon haha =D

Gmarket Happy Bath haul

I think I haven´t ordered from Gmarket for over 1 1/2 years... just out of the Korean cosmetics loop somehow... but recently I decided to finally spend the 50000 Won gift certificate that was stuck on my Gaccount and there were also around 20000 Won from a previous shipping refund so I decided to finally haul more products from Happy Bath as I really loved the Body Milks I used up before very much!
I meanwhile also placed another order for more body care, accessories and stationery... really, Gmarket is so addictive!

This time the prices were even much better than when I first ordered 2 lotions a couple of years or so ago from Happy Bath so I went nuts a bit hehe =D 
I ordered a total of 5 body cleansers and 6 body lotions however the seller forgot to include 4(!) of the body lotions.... I was really pissed but I suspected something must be missing as the total shipping weight seemed to low considering what I ordered!
At least that was the fastest overseas order I ever received.... I ordered the items late night on Feb 13th (Sunday) and received the package as of today morning (Thursday)...considering that the seller had to send the order within Korea to Gmarket, then it had to be packed and weighed at their headquarters, sent via EMS from Seoul to Austria, passed customs and had to travel through all Austria that was really lightning fast! The stuff I order inside my country like from Amazon takes longer than this!

Anyway, besided missing 4 of my items one soap also spilled lightly so I had to wash the bottles as they were really sticky and icky =( I took pics and am in contact with the Gmarket customer service resolving the situation right now...


But still I love the items I reveived! I got 5 bottles of body cleanser...and each contains 900ml! That should last me many months per bottle! The body lotions I got contain 450ml respectively 350ml so they will also need quite some time to finish! I ordered some more lotions (incl. the ones this seller forgot to send) and shower gels from another seller, too....


The items I got are:
-Lime Essence Body Cleanser
-Lavender Essence Body Cleanser
-Mild Natural 96.6% Body Cleanser
-Moisture Natural 96.6% Body Cleanser (2x, pic only shows 1)
-Aroma Hydrating Lotion 92.80% Natural
-Repair 24 Enriching Essence 95.46% Natural

Price-wise the lotions and shower gels retail for around US$4-6 each so incl. shipping each bottle came to less than US$10. For almost a liter of high-quality shower gel respectively half liter of really fantastic body lotion that´s pretty much a steal for me. When I buy Japanese shower gels usually a 650ml bottle will set me back around US$20-25 incl. shipping and jacked-up online prices....
As you might know Happy Bath is produced by Amore Pacific, probably the biggest and best known Korean cosmetics manufacturer (e.g. Etude House belongs to it, too).

The Happy Bath products contain organic ingredients and have the French Ecocert badge printed on the back.
Overall the products are really high quality and smell all very delicious while being mild to the skin.
I will properly review most things later on!

Sasatinnie Ginger Bread body care set

I found a cute little bath & body set on Sasa recently, from their own range Sasatinnie. I love anything with a foody scent so I thought the Ginger Bread range would be nice for the winter months.

The set includes:
-Shower Gel 100ml
-Cream Bath 100ml
-Body Lotion 50ml
-Body puff
All comes packaged in a retro gift box (the design is so very 70ies for me).

Price somewhere around US$6

First off, the packaging isn´t the best. The bottles and jar are made of a quite thin plastic and the tub had leaked body lotion in both of the gift sets I bought so it´s not really nice to give it as a gift in that condition. 
Furthermore this stuff doesn´t even smell remotely like ginger bread, it´s a very basic and nice fresh lemon scent but nothing close to ginger bread.


The Shower Gel and Cream Bath are both supposed to be used with the puff as a body wash but what bugs me is that they don´t lather well and the scent is too weak. Both don´t dry my skin out but they aren´t particularly moisturizing either.

The Body Lotion is the one product I actually like so it´s a pity that there are only 50ml in the jar. As I mentioned before the lotion leaked out of the jar during transit so some got wasted this way, too.
The lotion is a bit runny but quite moisturizing on the other hand and leaves my skin nicely scented. It takes a little longer to absorb but not so long to be bothersome. 
I´d totally purchase this product if it was to be available alone and possibly in either a squeeze-tube or a bottle.


Overall the set is performing somewhat weakly so I wouldn´t repurchase.

Rating 2.5/5