Summer 2009: Kate Lasting Color Eyes GY-1 and PK-1

Woot, an actual beauty review! =P Don't worry, next Etsy haul post coming soon =P

Lavshuca came out with swivel-out eyeshadow sticks for last Xmas and now Kanebo decided to release a similar (or pretty much the same) product with Kate's (small) Summer 2009 collection.


I am not a fan of the Lavshuca Stick Eyeshadows (review here) and don't like Kate's version any better.

Kate's Lasting (?!?!?!) Color Eyes smudge, fade and crease like nobody's business on me (I am more talking about the darker color as the highlighter shade I picked virtually blends into my skin).
Since the skin around my eyes and on my lids is on the normal-dry side nearly nothing smudges on me except for those grease cream shadows...and Kate's stick eyeshadow is a greasy mess on.


All in all i just can give them a nay. The highlighter shade works though, best worn just under my brows and on the inner corners of my eyes (where it doesn't last that long though(.


I got
GY-1: I am actually quite annoyed with this pencil in specific.
What should I say more, the color is just not a "GY" (gray) but a dirty brown on me. I expected a taupey color but it's far away from gray or taupe.

PK-1 is your standard pearly baby pink highlighter/pastel shadow.

At least these are cheap, around US$9 or so? Adambeauty has them listed so you can get them there for a good price if you want to try them (because it might work for others, e.g. Birkinbagbeauty likes hers!)

I'll update with swatch pics later! NO EOTD pics as the shadow looked like a mess even before I even finished applying mascara!

New goodies from Yumeko's blogger sale!

I simply love Yumeko's blog! And I am daily stalking her sale blog as she lists fantastic handmade items there quite often!
(I participated in most of the sales so far =P Yep, I was the bitch who snatched up 3 brush rolls, the makeup pouch, a netbook cover and 2 scrunchies right before you =P)


Anyways, I am really thrilled with the 2 brush rolls I purchased some time ago (Rilakkuma and Hello Kitty!) so I ordered yet another brush roll (Little Twin Stars!!!! I loved Kiki & Lala when I was a kid.. I think I actually preferred them over Hello Kitty!) for my growing stash of brushes!


As always it's so well made and the fabric and lining fabric fit so nicely together!
The fabric is so colorful and cheery and so crowded with cute creatures and things! It's the cutest LTS fabric I spotted so far (most of the LTS pouches etc. you find on Etsy are made of a rather pale pastel fabric which looks a tiny bit boring)!


I also got this generously sized cute makeup pouch made of the same HK fabric as my brush roll!


Love the cute lacey trim around the zipper, too!

And last but not least (and most eagerly awaited) is my new netbook sleeve for my Acer Aspire One (8.9" screen version)!
I picked the Kuromi fabric as the little naughty devil is just darn cute!


We always had My Melody stuff here (though it's gone for some years now *sigh*) but her evil sister was just created in 2005 (I remember seeing a lot of Kuromi stuff in Japan when I was there in 2006)!
Look at the skully cherries lol! Ahhhh, I just love it!


The size is great, because I can also tuck in the charger, modem and even a notebook (I mean the one made of actual paper lol) when I am heading to university! All the gals there are going to give my cool netbook cover jealous looks =D


It's lined with shock-absorbing material so the computer is protected from the daily bumps (like from tossing it in my big messenger bag hehe)

Yumeko also spoiled me with candies and a fab looking mask from Skin Food! I shall try this later today!


Thanks dear for another bunch of lovely items that made me really happy! And I am continuing stalking your blogs hehe!

Giveaways closed! And the winner is...........

...the giveaway for the Lip Conditioner from Beautiful Twists is closed now!

The winner is comment #3: Shopn'Chomp

Please email me to claim your prize!
lotuspalace@web.de.

Thanks everybody for participating!

DHC Giveaway closed! And the winner is...........

..............SOAPAHOLIC! (comment #71 as chosen by random.org)

Please email me your address to lotuspalace@web.de to claim your prize!

Thank you everyone for participating!

My Etsy week so far =P + Giveaway!

Yea I definitely got addicted to the sweetness of handcrafted goods from Etsy. And to stationery you can find there in the "supplies" category!

Packages keep coming in daily right now lol! I think I received stuff every day for the past 1 1/2 weeks except on last Thursday! And this Monday was a postal/public holiday so no mail either!
But I got quite a load of new cuties from Tuesday until today and if I should get something(s) tomorrow I will simply update this post tomorrow!

So the stuff is sorted by sellers as (very pic heavy post as usual =P):

-chigu:


Reader Anissa commented on one of my previous Etsy haul posts recommending to check out seller chigu on Etsy. And I did and ordered 2 things haha (2 orders but they arrived yesterday and today)!
Chigu has hands-down the cutest, sweetest and most kawaii patchwork/applique pouches you can imagine. Her favorite color is pink as you will notice when you look at the pouches lol! (My fave color is pink, too, so this stuff is for me!)

Each pouch tells you a little story and you can feel with how much love these have been handcrafted. For the amount of work spent on each pouch her prices are very reasonable so I highly recommend checking out her shop!

I got the "Pink Bear Matryoshka Pakkun Pouch" (this has a squeeze opening...you know those metal things sewn in the top part so you just squeeze to open) and the "Pink Bunny Mummy Sleeping Bag Zipper Pouch".
Aren't they adorable? The zipper pouch is considerably large so it holds a good amount of cosmetics!
Did you spot the cute "Thank You"-tags on the pics? They come with a little brooch!

-ilovesparkle:


Here I found this super cute small My Melody tote bag! It's very sweet and well made (and lined with cute pink gingham fabric). It's a gift for my cousin (the one who's getting a baby.. I'll put her swaddler blankets in the tote!)

-Siamsquare:


I posted about this seller before here. Her handmade items are just perfect quality and excellent craftsmanship.
I purchased this super cute Cinnamoroll box pouch and the organizer which holds so much stuff (9 cards slots, various other slots and even a zippered pocket on the back)!
She is definitely one of my favorite sellers and I check her store daily for new listings!

-inkjet:


I found this funny little keyring in the iPod Nano-design. Look at the pear on the back of it lol! In this shop you can also find sweet coasters, magnets and other bits you might like!

-simbiosisbyjulia:


This is yet another favorite seller. Her pouches, clutches, totes and other stuff are made of the sweetest Japanese fabrics. I ordered the 2 items when she had a sale and it took a while for them to get here (no idea why! The other packages sent on the same day came last week and before). Anyway, the items were really cheap but as always perfect quality, cute fabrics and just lovely all around!
I got the large Matryoshka tote and a pencil case/cosmetics case with the cutest little animal town.
Tomorrow a pouch sale will start in her shop so have a look there!

-craftingbug:


I also got some cute deco tapes, gift bags and a little memo pad from seller craftingbug. They're mainly for packing up stuff from my sales blog, contests etc. =D

-elladean:


This was actually my very first Etsy order on the 2nd of May but seems Ella is so swamped with orders that it takes her some time to produce everything and get things mailed out! I read about her line "Beautiful Twists" on Musings of a Muse and really liked the cute packaging/nice person behind the products.

I got (from the "Sexy Librarian" range) the Cinnamon Roll Room Spray (so good! This smells like the real thing!), Maneater Vanilla Cupcake Body Mist & Lip Conditioner (nice, sweet marshmallow-y vanilla scent) and Kary Had a Big Lamb Fairy Tale Body Mist & Lip Conditioner (the Body Mist is a bit too strong and flowery for me but the Lip Conditioner's Coconut Milkshake flavor is really yummy).
I also received 2 free lipbalms.
I am giving away one of them (read on the bottom of this post for more information).


As you can see on the pics her stuff came wrapped really nicely and there were cute hand-written notes on the back of the labels, too!


+++GIVEAWAY+++

I am giving away the Beautiful Twists Lip Conditioner in Banafrit (Egyptian Marshmallow & Watermelon Bubble Gum)


To enter the giveaway you have to:

-become a follower of my blog if you aren't yet
-leave a comment (no specific content required)...please make sure I can identify you by your nick or first name!
-Contest ends on Monday, June 8th 2009, 6 PM (my time, GMT +1)
-Winner will be announced in a new post after random selection by random.org
-Please contact me with 3 days to claim your prize or another winner will be selected!
-Prize will be shipped by airmail WORLDWIDE within 2 business days after winner contacts me! Happy participating and Good Luck!

Noevir NOV Trial Set II

This review is loooooooooong overdue. I think I used the NOV Trial Set II back in January or so. However I simply forgot to review it =P


Now since I have to rely on memory of 5 months ago I can't really review the items in-depth, I just know that I didn't like the products so I didn't purchase the full-sizes and I am glad that I tried out the Trial Kit to find out that the products didn't work for me.

NOV offers various ranges for different needs of sensitive skin:
-ACT-NOV is for sensitive acne-prone skin
-NOV II is for generally sensitive skin
-NOV III is for skin that is seasonally sensitive. It has a barrier function to protect your skin. There is a "Moist" and a "Light" range available depending if your skin is on the dry or oilier side.
-NOV Acne and AC offers more skin care for acne-prone types.

There are also a few items for all skin-types (eye gel, lip balm, moisture pack, Whitening Essence etc.)


I decided to order the NOV II Trial Set from Ichibankao. It was around US$25 or so. The individual items are quite pricey, somewhere in the US$50ies-60ies online and a bit less in Japan so I consider this a very expensive skincare line.

The Trial Set II contains:
-Cleansing Cream (Step 1)
-Washing Cream (Step 2)
-Face Lotion (Step 3)
-Moisture Cream (Step 4)
I don't remember the sizes but the thing were rather tiny. I think around 5 or 7 ml for the cream, and around 15ml for the other items/each.

I only can say that I didn't like the overall performance. Both Cleansers didn't leave my skin clean. I am used to the cleansing power of cleansing oil followed with foaming cleanser so the 2 cleansers might my skin feel sticky and not really clean.

The Face Lotion was ok, nothing so exciting. The Moisture Cream was not that thick but made my skin feel somehow icky and sticky and I believe it caused some new red bumps that occured at the time I tried the NOV kit. My skin often reacts so when I try new stuff so it might be that after longer use the NOV would have worked for me without causing a reaction.
I also found that the strong medicine smell of the cream was really upsetting me. The products are unfragranced but they really reek =X


Overall I didn't like the items and I am far much happier with Kanebo's range from Freeplus. I think the mint-colored plastic bottles and tubes of the NOV line aren't that pretty either!

Oh and a new Etsy haul post is coming soon, too (incl. a small giveaway! =D