Cow Brand Japan Mu Tenka foaming face wash

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I was searching for a cute new foaming cleanser in Hong Kong and I found this product I had never seen before in a Colourmix store right below our hotel.

I was already familiar with Cow Japan but never heard of their Mu Tenka skincare series. The whole bottle was printed in Japanese respectively translated in Chinese so I had to rely on the sales lady to assure me that this product is made for dry/sensitive skin.

This foaming facial cleanser is dispensed as very fine lather and feels very soft and absolutely not drying. This is unscented but has this light no-scent-smell you might find in other unfragranced cosmetics.

I liked to use this in the morning and in the evening after cleansing oil.
I used up my Mu Tenka foaming face wash already and really enjoyed this product as it was mild, non-drying and all in all just a pleasure to use.
This seems a bit hard to find, I can´t locate it in any of my usual online sources.

Rating 5/5

Summer 2011: Kosé Nature & Co Mint & Tea Refresh Mist and Mint & Tea Sun Protector SPF50+ PA+++

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I have quite a soft spot for Kosé´s "natural" skincare line Nature & Co. I just like the nature-themed kind of packaging, herbal scents and easy and quite affordable products.

2 of the newest products are especially formulated for the hot summer weather as one is a sun protection milk whereas the other one is a refreshing mist ideal for this hot weather and as an aftersun care for stressed skin.

Both products are from the "mint & tea" mini skincare series and I *think* they are limited edition. Both contain mint extract and a variety of tea extracts.

The Sun Protector has an SPF of 50+ and PA+++ so it´s quite a strong sunscreen. It has a distinctive mint herbal scent which is not bothersome as it´s quite light.

The bottle has to be shaken prior to each use to mix the lotion well. This is quite a liquid milk but unfortunately what ruins this a lot for me is the weird greasy feeling this leaves on my skin...this stuff doesn´t seem to absorb nicely but rather feels like sitting on top of my face.


So even though this might be a good sunscreen it´s just not comfortable to wear and feels like a burden to my skin. I will use it up on my body though where it seems to perform nicely.

So overall for my face a nay but ok for body use.


Rating 2.5/5

The Mint & Tea Refresh Mist is for face and body use and comes in a 200ml spray bottle. The bottle seem good as it also sprays when I hold it upside down (to reach my back).

The mist feels refreshing and has a nice, clean and fresh aroma (herbal, thyme and mint perhaps) and feels slightly moisturizing (but not greasy).
I like using it allover my body and my face and it doesn´t seem to irritate my skin at all, on the contrary, it seems quite calming and soothing.

All in all I really like the mist and think it´s a nice refreshing treat for the summer. It´s replacing my regular body lotion on hot days as it feels moisturizing enough when I am sweaty already =P

Rating 5/5

I got both products in a Watson´s store in Hong Kong and don´t remember how much I paid however you can get these on eBay, e.g. Alphabeautyuk has both in stock.

My Scheming Silk Protein and Caviar Extract Masks

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My Scheming is a (new?) brand of sheet masks from Taiwan. I got couple of mask packs from Hong Kong (the Double Lifting series which came in boxes of 5 pcs) and recently I got 2 of the 10-pc packs from Sasa as they were really cheap (US$7.60 per 10pcs), however the price has gone up to US$12.60 which is a little weird!.

I got the masks in the Silk Protein and Caviar Extract versions.
The masks are made of super soft and rather thin cloth which is cut to fit excellently. Furthermore each of them is saturated with 30ml of a liquid gel-like essence which is quite a lot but due to the great cut and thin well-adhering material it doesn´t slip.


Like the majority of sheet masks this is a refreshing treat which makes my skin super smooth and soft and gives a certain brightness to my complexion.
The masks are lightly scented but with a pleasant not overly heavy fragrance.
Effect-wise I don´t notice a difference between Silk Protein and Caviar Extract.

Overall these are high-quality masks, are affordable and mild to my skin, brighten my complexion and feel refreshing.

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.)

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

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

Juju Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Essence

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I actually don´t understand why I haven´t reviewed this stuff yet, especially since it´s part of my daily evening skincare ritual for about half year now...but finally it´s time to write about this wonderful stuff! =X

I am really fond of the Aquamoist range from Juju. Their skincare is really excellent (I wrote about their bubble face wash and the cleansing oil but I should review the other stuff like lotion, emulsion etc. soon, too!) and very compatible with my sensitive skin =D


I ordered the Hyaluronic Acid Essence in December last year from either Sasa or Adambeauty (don´t remember, both sell it but it´s OOS on AB right now). Alphabeautyuk on eBay has it, too, so it´s not hard to get it. 
My Hyaluronic Acid Essence came with a free HA mask sheet (love these sheets, been buying the full packs several times already!) and cost me around US$20.

The essence comes packaged inside a blue plastic bottle with a hygienic pump dispenser which contains 30ml.
When I had a look at the ingredients list I was totally thrilled! There are 4 ingredients in this stuff. That´s all! The less ingredients the milder in my experience =) Water, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben.
So there is no fragrance, mineral oil, colorings, animal-derived ingredients etc. in the formula.

The Hyaluronic Acid Essence is a clear, slightly oily gel which should be applied at night after toner and before milk/cream. I use 1-2 pumps when my skin is still damp from the toner so it spreads like silk. Then I follow with my face milk.
This stuff absolutely rocks! It makes my skin look plump, soft and moisturized in the morning, definitely like wearing an overnight face mask. Since I started using this I can´t live without it anymore hehe =D

I am not alone with this opinion btw, the reviews on Sasa, MUA etc. are almost all raves!

Definitely recommend this to anyone who wants some extra hydration and plumping for the skin overnight, also suitable for sensitive skin like mine since there are so few ingredients!

Rating 5/5

Guest post by the Manhattan Beauty School-Hair Design Institute - How to treat Acne

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!)!

Here is a guest post by the instructors at http://libeautyschool.com/.
If you have questions regarding the topic please comment, I will see to have the author of this article to reply to them.
Check the websites if you are interested:


http://hairdesigninstitute.com


http://libeautyschool.com


http://yourbeautyschool.com
 
How Asian Women Can Treat Acne
In general, Asian women are known to have beautiful hair and skin. However, from time to time Asian women experience acne just like everyone else. No one likes living with unsightly spots or blemishes. The good news is that with a little bit of work, treating acne does not have to be a very difficult task. Here are some tips.


Be sure to use a soap-free cleanser that is made for your skin type so that you don’t cause your skin to become oilier or dry out too much. It’s okay to wash your face once in the morning and once at night, but try to avoid cleansing more than that.


Be sure to exfoliate your skin weekly in order to get rid of any impurities and dead skin. Exfoliating also helps to get rid of the oil buildup that leads to acne.


Use a light moisturizer that has sunscreen in it every morning. While you may be afraid that the moisturizer will cause your skin to act out, it is important to protect your skin from the sun and air. Try using a cream that has citrusy fruit enzymes and vitamin A to help prevent breakouts and to hydrate your skin. If you’re uncomfortable with this idea, see your dermatologist and have him/ her recommend a moisturizer for you.


Finally, keep a healthy diet by staying away from fried or fatty foods and eating more lean proteins and leafy vegetables. Also be sure to drink at least eight glasses of water a day.


This beauty remedy should be a part of your daily routine so that you minimize the probability of breaking out. Good luck!

Happy Bath Sensitive Clear Bubble Cleansing Oil & Cleansing Foam

I´ve been trying a lot of Amore Pacific Happy Bath products lately and really like all of them (a few are ok but most are great). There is no dud... on the contrary, quite some products have good staple potential!

There aren´t many face products in the line, only cleansers for different skin-types so I picked up the 2 for sensitive skin. 
 
The idea of a cleansing oil foam isn´t new but still somehow quite intriguing for me. There is a regular cleansing oil in the Happy Bath Line but I got the one for sensitive skin which came in bubble form.

The 150ml pump bottle contains a pink liquid and smells like a natural and non-chemical blend of roses and some herbs which is a quite refreshing and unobtrusive scent for me. When I push the pump a fine and dense white foam comes out and even with massaging into the facial skin the foam doesn´t disappear.
To be honest this isn´t a good makeup remover as it doesn´t seem to break down makeup, especially not waterproof one. It burns when I get it in my eyes so it´s not good for using in the eye area either.
However this is a really great non-drying facial cleanser as it leaves my skin clean but soft and moisturized (not greasy or oily!) so I like to use the Bubble Cleansing Oil after a regular cleansing oil or alone in the morning.
So overall it fails as a cleansing oil (face makeup remover) but it´s a really good face cleanser.

Rating 4/5

The Sensitive Clear Cleansing Foam comes in a squeeze-tube containing 175g of product. The texture is like most Asian cleansing foams, a very thick paste-like consistence which lathers up very easily.
I like to use this with a face-sponge to create very thick and rich foam. 
This is a little drying but not to the extent to make it an uncomfortable product. Smells like the Bubble Cleansing Foam (a rose/herb scent).

Rating 3/5

The products are made of over 92% respectively 96% natural ingredients, are hypo-allergenic, dermatologist-tested and contain allantoin and organic flower calming complex (rose, lavender, calendula).


Bought on Gmarket from 영뷰티 for around US$7/each.

Rosette x Hello Kitty Collagen Wash

Rosette is my favorite skincare brand right now... I am sure you must be tired of my raves for the Soys line but actually the more known skincare line from Rosette is the one featuring Hello Kitty! I reviewed the sheet masks some while ago so today I will bring you the review of the Hello Kitty Collagen Wash!
 
There are several face washes in the Hello Kitty line but only the Collagen Wash is suitable for dry and sensitve skin-types so I purchased it on Sasa (around US$8).

To my delight the Collagen Wash is the one in the pink tube =P I love pink so that´s perfect hehe...
The tube contains 120g and is marked "For sale in Japan only" =P

The wash itself is a thick white paste that lathers up nicely into a very dense soft and silky froth so I only need to take very little each time. Even better foam can be achieved when I´m using one of those Japanese foaming nets that can be purchased on Sasa or eBay. They are used only to create lather and are not actually used on the face.
This product is scented with a crisp apple fragrance which is actually quite nice in my opinion. The foam is gentle and leaves my skin soft and clean albeit slightly dry.

Overall this is a really nice face wash well suitable for normal-dry skin-types. I wouldn´t recommend this to very dry, very sensitive and very oily skin though.

Rating 4/5

Sana Hadanomy Collagen Mist & Cream

You might know that my absolute favorite skincare line is from Rosette (review here). I felt I wanted to add something to my winter skincare though and this super cute Hadanomy Collagen skincare from Sana just kept popping up in all the online shops so I thought of giving it a try. 

Of course what sealed the deal for me were the cute pink bottles... you know which kind of shallow creature I am, don´t you? =X

There were 3 or 4 items available at the time I purchased these 2 products but now there is also a series of masks available (and I actually tried them but didn´t really like them that much).
I purchased the Collagen Mist and the Collagen Cream to add to my daily skincare regime (cleansing or double-cleansing at night), Soys Lotion Rich, Soys Milk).

The Hadanomy Collagen range contains of course micro-sized collagen (1000mg...per ?), honey extract, hyaluronic acid and acerola. The products are free of mineral oil and colorants and have been allergy-tested.
The Hadanomy products are scented, to me it smells like rose and something fresh blended in...orange or lemon perhaps.
As I said packaging is simply cute, very sweet pink with white lace design printed on, made of a high-quality plastic.

The Mist contains 250ml and retails for 900 Yen...that´s quite affordable given the good amount you get. It´s a liquid with a slightly viscous quality so it´s not completely runny like water but it´s much thinner than my Soys Lotion Rich which more reminds me of a liquified gel.

This is a spray-on toner (aka lotion in Japanese beauty terms) to be used after cleansing but before moisturizing. I am not a big mist person but I started using this regularly 2x a day before my Soys Lotion Rich and I just love the extra kick of freshness. To me it´s not a vital step in my beauty routine but I use it nonetheless =)

This is also a nice prep for sheet masks, as it´s always recommended to use a toner before applying one of them.

The Cream (100g for 1000 Yen) is actually more of a gel-cream than an actual cream. This is nearly only moisture but I believe low in lipids so on its own it´s not rich enough for me and my skin feels tight and uncomfy. However when applying this after my Soys Milk this is an excellent moisture-booster and skin-softener perfectly suited for the dry and cold winter weather.

My skin stays perfectly hydrated and looks plump and radiant when using this skincare routine.


I have been using the Hadanomy range for about 5 weeks now in conjunction with the Soys line and have not encountered any sort of adverse reactions so I suppose it´s very suitable for my skin (allergic reactions or irritations never occur later than 2 weeks after starting to use a new product on my face, usually this shows in just a few days).

Overall I am very happy with these products. The Mist isn´t really a necessary product since I already use another toner but I enjoy using it and there is nothing negative to say about it at all. The Cream is excellent and a welcome addition to combat the current temperatures. It might be too much to use this on top of the Soys Milk in summer though. 

Rating:

Mist 5/5

Cream 5/5

Rosette Soys Lotion Rich & Soys Milk

Sorry for posting so little these days but as I said earlier I have been sick and also a bit uninspired what to write about lately lol.

Anyway, I recommended the Soys line from Rosette to so many people already who asked me for skincare suggestions but haven´t actually reviewed the stuff so it was about time to remedy that!

Rosette is a Japanese brand, I think the most known range is probably the Hello Kitty line (which includes masks, face washs, moisturizer gel etc.) and Sasa carries quite a lot of products.
It was quite coincidential that I picked up the Soys products, I like to add random stuff to my Sasa shopping cart to try out and among them was the Lotion Rich and the Milk from Rosette. I also purchased the Soys Wash foaming cleanser but haven´t tried it yet so will review this individually one day.

As you might remember my skin is really sensitive, for some strange reason much more sensitive to skincare than makeup. I almost never react to foundation, blushes or powders but in like 90% of the times when I try new skincare it turns out to be unsuitable for my skin.
The Soys products looked nice and were very affordable (like US$9 per product) so I picked them up expecting they will probably still end up in my "can´t-use-stash" aka trash bin hehe. 

In Japanese beauty lingo a lotion is basically a toner to be used before moisturizer but the whole idea of a toner is different as it´s often more moisturizing (or including other skincare benefits) than clarifying. I have the impression that the "lotion" step is actually the most important in Japanese skincare ranges, often the toners are the most advertised products.

The Lotion Rich is a viscous (as in lightweight liquid gel) clear lotion filled in a brown plastic bottle. It´s very easy to squeeze or shake this out of the bottle and it´s a refreshing yet very mild and moisturizing lotion.

It´s the perfect prep for the Milk which comes in a clear plastic bottle with a pump dispenser. I usually pump 2x in winter and 1x in summer so even though the bottle is small-ish it lasts for about 2-3 months with 2x daily use. Since I use a bit more of the Lotion Rich than the Milk the products finish at about the same time.
The Milk is lightweight and not sticky but still it´s rich and moisturizing so for me it is perfectly balanced. It doesn´t leave a greasy film but leaves my skin so super soft and smooth.
Since using this skincare (I am on my 4th set of toner and lotion, started using these products about 10 months or so ago) my skin has been in the best state ever, clear and without any red bumps.

I really love this skincare range as from the bottle design to the contents this is just perfect stuff in my opinion. I am so obsessed with this skincare that I have several bottles of each of the 2 products in my backup storage (right now 6 bottles/each!)... I am a bit mad I know lol!


Both products are not fragranced and super mild. The Lotion Rich contains 200ml whereas the Milk has 120ml. Both products retail for 1050 Yen/each which converts to about US$13 so Sasa is quite a few $$$ cheaper than Japanese drugstores.
There is also a regular lighter Lotion available but I chose the "Rich" version for my dry skin-type.
 
I always first cleanse my face (or double-cleanse at night if I am wearing makeup), dab the Lotion Rich on with a cotton pad and then apply the Milk. Sometimes I use a special wrinkle treatment afterwards (more for prevention, I don´t have many lines yet), at night I follow with the Kracie Hadabisei overnight mask (reviewed it some time ago). And of course I always dab on some eyecream and lipbalm.

According to Sasa the Milk contains soybeans and black soybean extract, soy isoflavones, hyaluronic acid, soy lecithin and Vitamin E.
 
The Lotion Rich contains rice fermentation liquid, hyaluronic acid, soybean extracts (white and black) and is meant for dry and delicate skin.
According to Sasa both products are unlikely to cause irritations and I have to fully agree in my case.

Rating 10/5 lol, best stuff ever