Kosé Nature & Co Three Butters Lip Essence Fruit and Floral

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Here is quite an overdue review for the Three Butters Lip Essence Fruit and the Three Butters Lip Essence in Floral from Kosé Nature & Co. I purchased them back in January and have used up one and used half of the other meanwhile so time to review before I forget how I liked this product =D

The Lip Essence (in either flavor) comes in a cute squeeze tube with slanted applicator and contains 8g.
This is a rather hmmm..."liquid" lip care balm..or let´s say it´s like a thicker serum with a very slick feel. Weird description, sorry! It´s not sticky like a gloss but gives a slightly glossy sheen and seems to absorb well.

The Lip Essence contains cocoa butter, macadamia nut oil and shea butter as well as olive oil and safflower oil.
To me this is nicely moisturizing product and even though it´s not so long-lasting my lips feel very soft and smooth after the essence has worn off.

There are 2 scents: fruit and floral. Fruit is a nice fresh slightly orangey scent whereas floral features a very subtle and unobtrusive rose fragrance.

Overall a pretty nice product, I like both scents though fruit is a bit better in my opinion.
I got them on eBay, I don´t remember the price but right now I see these listed for around US$10/each incl. shipping (not exactly cheap, I know!).

Rating 4/5

Kanebo Kracie Moistage Perfect Essence BB Cream UV SPF 16 PA++

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And yet another Japanese BB Cream hit the market! And of course I had to test it hehe =D

The Moistage by Kracie series is targeted towards dry skin-types and so is the new Perfect Essence BB Cream UV SPF16 PA++.

According to the seller I purchased this from (as so often alphabeautyuk on eBay) this cream has the following benefits:
-essence
-emulsion
-UV protection SPF16 PA++
-skin correction and pore coverage
-skincare ingredients include silk protein, squalene and collagen
-does not require removal with a makeup remover

This BB cream is really moisturizing so right now in this hot weather it feels a bit too heavy even though I have rather dry skin. However for the cooler month this should be a nice product.

To me this is not really a BB cream, it´s more of a lightly tinted moisturizer as it doesn´t give much coverage and the heavy silicone-y BB cream feeling is missing, too.

The color is a very fair yellow peach which blends into my skin very well.
The Perfect Essence BB Cream UV is not scented and doesn´t irritate my skin at all.


Overall a nice lightly pigmented tinted moisturizer ideal for dry skin and cooler weather.

Rating 4/5

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.

Za Cosmetics Plumper Lips lipstick in 01 Ruby Dazzle & 05 Innocent Rose

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I stumbled across quite a few Za Cosmetics displays in Hong Kong, e.g. in various Bonjour shops.
Za is a brand under the Shiseido company but doesn´t count as a Shiseido brand per se (as there is no Shiseido logo printed on).

Anyway, it´s an affordable drugstore line with some famous products (their powder foundations!) and the Plumper Lips lipsticks are nice little gems, too!

Packaging-wise these are quite simple, in pinkish-silver shimmery plastic tubes with the Za logo printed all over the cap.

The lipsticks contain "Fill-up Collagen", "Plump-Up Pearl" and Vitamin E. Furthermore they claim to plump up your lips, moisturize them and contain a "prismatic red pigment" for natural yet rich color.

These are really soft, creamy, glossy and shimmery lipsticks with a great slick and moist feel. I think due to being glossy and shimmery they definitely give a plumping effect to the lips without those nasty cold or burning ingredients some other lip plumpers tend to include.

Despite being creamy these last really well on me, a few hours without reapplication is possible if I don´t eat during that time.
The colors show up well on my naturally pink lips even though they look quite sheer on the arm swatch.

The Plumper Lips are slightly scented but it´s more of a hint and very subtle and furthermore it´s a pleasant sort of creamy scent.
I got 4 colors but first took pics of 01 and 05 together as I bought them on my 2nd day in HK thus the separated review (the other 2 will be reviewed soon, too).


01 Ruby Dazzle is a gorgeous deep raspberry pink

05 Innocent Rose is one of those perfect natural pink beige lipstick colors.

I think these cost me around HK$95 (or thereabouts) each, contain 3.5g and are made in Taiwan...these should be readily available in countries like Singapore and Malaysia and are worth to be given a try in my opinion.

Rating 5/5 as these are truly nice!

Shu Uemura The Art of Travel Make-Up Palette

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Here I am reviewing one of my favorite acquisitions from my Hong Kong trip! Actually this Shu Uemura The Art of Travel Make-Up Palette was the last product I purchased on my trip, a few minutes before midnight when the Duty Free Shop in Hong Kong airport was just about to close.

The Art of Travel Make-Up Palette is a heavy and chunky black and clear plexiglass palette, like the previous Xmas and spring palettes.
The palette contains 4 powder shadows, 2 cream eyeliners and a blusher shade, all in neutral tones for a perfectly polished office/business/day makeup look.

The eyeshadows are very soft and super pigmented (except for the lightest shade) with a gorgeous metallic appearance. The shadows blend like a dream and look very brilliant when applied however like most metallic Shu Uemura shadows they tend to crease a little on me after some hours of wear and creasing is not a problem I usually face with other brands, even metallic and pigmented ones.
The colors are a creamy off-white, muted dusty pink, pink-toned taupe and deep black with some sparkles.


The cream liner/eyeshadows are fine, I definitely like the golden white one for its glistening finish and as it´s a great highlighter for the inner corners of my eyes however the deep brown liner is a bit sticky and doesn´t apply smoothly so it can look uneven and can fade after some time.

The Glow On blush is very pretty as it´s a versatile matte peachy pink. It´s a little sheer though so might not show up so well on everyone.


The includes applicators are of good quality and can work in a rush however for me they can´t replace proper tools.
Overall even though this palette has its small flaws I really like it and the overall look I can achieve with it.

I don´t remember the price, around US$50 or so maybe?
This palette is made in Korea.

Rating 4/5

Naris Up Frogtime Sun Protect Milk SPF50+ PA+++

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Someone asked me to write about the sunscreen I am using this summer so I will review the Frogtime Sun Protect Milk SPF50+ PA+++ from Naris Up.

Frogtime seems to be a mini skincare series from Naris Up and I purchased 2 products, the other one being the hand cream (great stuff, should review soon, too).

The Frogtime Sun Protect Milk comes in a cute and cheery orange bottle with a cute frog character printed on the front.

This is a strong sunscreen offering a protection of SPF 50+ and PA+++ for "daily use and leisure" hehe.
I am not sure if this product is supposed to be scented with orange (as there are oranges printed on) but to me it´s absolutely odorless.

This is a lightweight quite liquid milk which absorbs really quickly and leaves soft but in no way greasy skin so it´s a really comfortable sun protection milk to use on the face (and/or body but the small bottle will be empty quickly).

The 30ml should be shaken prior to each use and I don´t know the retail price as it doesn´t seem to be printed on the package but I purchased it for less than US$10 from ebay seller alphabeautyuk.

Overall great stuff and affordable (if you use it for your face, a bit uneconomical for body use)

Rating 5/5

Yanagiya Prexceed X Sanrio Little Twin Stars Hair Moisture Essence

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Today I am reviewing the pretty much cutest hair care item I own =) I don´t know how about you but the Little Twin Stars were some of my most favorite characters when I was a little kid. I liked them much more than Hello Kitty and even My Melody as Kiki & Lala were just too cute! I had all sorts of stationery and other goodies from the Little Twin Stars and I am so happy that Sanrio is finally doing a collaboration with a beauty brand for something that is NOT from Hello Kitty!

Yanagiya is a famous Japanese haircare brand and they did a collaboration with Hello Kitty some time ago. I am generally fond of the Yanagiya hair creams and the Little Twin Stars version was a sure must-get for me!


The tube is really pretty and typically Sanrio. The hair cream is a rich white cream with a slightly oily feel. It has a sweet scent which reminds me of those grape-scented fineliner pens Sanrio used to sell.

The Hair Moisture Essence should be used on either wet or dry hair though on dry hair it could get a bit greasy in my opinion.

Anyway, this stuff makes my hair soft and shiny and nicely fragranced so I definitely will use up my cute tube of hair cream (though I haven´t even used up my Hello Kitty one).

Rating 4/5