Japanese sweets haul

I dearly love all kinds of sweets with matcha (Japanese green tea) filling/flavor..but since there is nothing here with that flavor I decided to order some goodies from Hong Kong so I ended up with a bunch of delicious treats including also a few non-matcha things. I think these will last me quite a while as I try to eat very little of these as they are really special to me (and shipping is kinda pricey).
These are chocolates and cookies, there is also a bag of matcha-filled marshmallows!! =D

Here are the things I got:

First purchase from Ekilove =)

I´ve seen some of the very pretty jewelry made by Eki from www.ekilove.com/ featured on some other blogs and I love reading her blog, too, so when she posted new items up for sale I instantly had to pick up one of her beautiful necklaces.

I got the package and everything came so sweetly wrapped, just like a piece of art by itself =D Love the cute gift bag, box etc.! I also got some sweet little extras and I think her business cards are too cute, too!



Anyway, this is the necklace I received and I really love it! It´s a very nice quality item, both in materials and look. I am definitely going to wear this a lot!

 
Overall I am absolutely delighted with my purchase and can highly recommend to check her online shop out!

Japanese sticker sale on Etsy

I am not usually posting any shop news but I thought I have to share this with you (and I am not getting anything from this seller for posting this nor am I affiliated with her):
If you are looking for kawaii Japanese stickers you should check out one of my favorite Etsy shops, Japankawaiiya. They are selling cute pre-packed lots of 30 sticker sheets or sticker baggies for US$20 or US$30 for the premium lots (&shipping). That´s really a good price as usually you pay anywhere between US$2-5 per sheet/bag in other online shops. The designs in most lots are nicely mixed and you get really cute stickers like puffy ones, gel, felt, capsule stickers etc.

Furthermore they are selling all other regularly listed stickers for 50% off (which will be refunded after payment), unless they are marked as Sale or New Arrival item (most aren´t so there are really a ton of different designs on discount!).
Certainly I indulged in some of the sets and single sheets and I also ordered a few things not listed on Etsy in their webshop (where they are not having the sticker sale btw).. When you are a mom of 3 you should always have some small gifts around and of course I like to use them, too =P 

Xmas 2010: Kanebo Lavshuca Star Decoration Eyes PU-1 & GN-1 + Perfect Gloss SPF21 PA+

I can never skip new eyeshadow palettes from Lavshuca... this brand has grown into one of my favorites over the past year as there were some really good releases. The Natural Beauty collection was my favorite summer release this year!

For Xmas there is quite a large collection featuring new eyeshadows, lipsticks and a lip base/gloss.

I picked up a total of 3 of the new Star Decoration Eyes palettes, the Perfect Gloss and 2 of the new Star Glow Rouge lipsticks. So far I have received 2 of the palettes and the gloss so I´ll review the other 2 items later.

The Star Decoration Eyes are very cute small compacts incl. 4 shadows/each. They look really princessy and the shadows are arranged like some jewelry so I think they look very pretty.

The range features 2 brown palettes, a pink, a purple and a green quad. I first got the purple and green quads as they looked interesting but also picked up the cooler brown quad which I will hopefully received by next Tuesday (EMS shipping is usually predictable =P).
I love the texture of the Melting Eyes quads that came out for summer as they were very soft and pigmented so I hoped the Star Decoration Eyes would have the same formula.

And to my greatest delight these palettes have a super silky and smooth texture with great color pay-off. Seriously, these babies are very pigmented for a Japanese drugstore brand! The finish of the 3 outer shadows is somewhere between intense pearl shimmer and metallic whereas the middle is the inevitable Japanese glitter shade.

Lasting-power is good, e.g. I wore the purple quad for about 14 hours and even had forgotten the eyelid base and there was only a bit of fading and creasing going on.

The color schemes are all a bit on the pastel side which makes them very suitable for spring and summer.
The colors are definitely not unique or outstanding but the overall quality makes them a worthwhile investment if you are looking for those kind of shadows. 

PU-1 includes lavender, white, plummy brown and sparkly pink.


GN-1 is a combination of a rather bright fresh grass green, pale green, olive-brown and sparkly light beige.


Retail price is 1680 Yen.

Rating 4.5/5

The Perfect Gloss is a very thick balm to be used as a lipstick base or as a lip care gloss. It comes in a cute squeeze-tube and is unscented and unflavored.

It has a milky pink color when squeezed out but applies clear. I really like the thick texture which lasts very long, gives a pretty glossy sheen and feels moisturizing.

 
When using this as a lipstick base I dab on really little but the slightly sticky texture helps the lipstick to cling to my lips and look even.
Contains a sun protection of SPF21 PA+.
The 8g tube retails for 600 Yen.

Overall a lovely little product!

 
Rating 4/5

Both products can be purchased from Ichibankao and Mihokoshop, Adambeauty will probably have this soon, too.

Xmas 2010: Majolica Majorca Majoromantica (perfume)

This year´s Xmas collection from Majolica Majorca is downright disappointing. A perfume, a red mascara and a pink nail polish...that´s all! No cool palettes, no shimmer powder...nothing.
I neither need red mascara nor pink nail polish but I definitely wanted to try out the new perfume called Majoromantica.

The Majoromantica perfume comes in a slim tall bottle made of a pretty bright red glass.

The applicator is a long slim black stick which is very convenient for dabbing the perfume behind your ears etc.

The perfume is in an oily solution and to my greatest suprise extremely long-lasting and quite strong so a little goes a very long way. I dabbed a little on this morning at around 8 AM and now, 10 hours later, I still can smell it.

I am not good in describing scents so all I can say it´s a spicy smell, a little powdery but not to a cloying extent. It´s definitely neither really floral nor very fruity but it has a slightly fresh note.

My dear reader Aki translated the composition for me here (thank you!):
Top Notes: Juicy and Fruity (Juneberry, strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, apple, fig, mangosteen, bergamot, lemon, mandarin)
Middle notes: Floral Sweet (Rose, sweet pea, jasmine, muguet, gardenia)
Base notes: Sweet and Mysterious (Vanilla, maple, brown sugar, sandal wood, amber, musk)

I actually love the perfume, it smells really great and is perfect for the season now. I don´t think this is a very unique scent but it´s nonetheless really yummy and doesn´t cause any headache (as I am really sensitive to scents!) =P


Retails for 1680 Yen for 20ml. I got mine from Ichibankao but I think other online shops will carry this soon, too (I see e.g. Mihokoshop is listing this now, too). 

Rating 5/5

Canmake Melty Nude Lip in 03 Baby Pink

I picked up a few super nude lipsticks recently from Apopofkawaii and among them was this Melty Nude Lip from Canmake in the most popular color 03 Baby Pink.
All 4 available colors look really pale so I decided on 03 Baby Pink as it seems to be the only color with some subtle pink tones.
Check colors etc. here.

I think the Melty Nude Lip comes in cute packaging, I like the rosey peach metal tube and also the shape of the lipstick´s tip looks interesting.

The texture is creamy but not overly emollient. The lipstick feels comfortable to wear and doesn´t dry out my lips but it tends to look uneven after eating so it needs to be reapplied completely new, a touch-up won´t do in my opinion.
Like with other nude lipsticks it needs 3-4 minutes to melt into the skin so if it looks a bit weird at first after application give it a bit of time to adjust into an even color.

The color is quite opaque which means that such very pale nude color can look blotchy (as it might accumulate in fine lines etc.)...having healthy smooth lips and prepping the lips with a good lip base is a must in my opinion or it might end up looking chalky.
 
For me a pale lip is more high-maintenance than red lips. I hate when nude lipstick wears off on the inner part of the lips leaving a red ring. Checking the lips in the mirror from time to time is necessary to do quick touch-ups and keep my lips looking neat.
The Melty Nude Lip wears surprisingly well and stays looking smooth even for longer time and it vanishes without gunking up in certain areas. 

03 Baby Pink is a very light beige with a subtle hint of pink. It looks quite nice when worn with a strong smokey eye makeup. It has a satin finish as it´s neither glossy nor chalky matte.


It´s still about a shade deeper than my skin so it doesn´t wash me out.

This lipstick is unscented and unflavored. 

Overall a good choice if you want a nude lipstick. Since it´s affordable it´s great to have this in one´s stash for experimenting with the pale lipstick trend that´s going on in Japan right now.
I am definitely getting more and more fond of the pale lip look!

Rating 4/5

Canmake Cream Cheek in 02 Cherry Pink

I believe the Cream Cheek blushes from Canmake are very popular and much raved about. Of course that meant I have to try one, at least for the sake of this blog (and for pretty flushed cheeks of course hehe).

Read here is what Canmake has to say about this product. 

The color I liked most was 02 Cherry Pink which looked like a pretty rich pink that should fit perfectly with my skin-tone.

The Cream Cheek comes in a cute little plastic case without any kind of applicator so you should use your fingers or a foundation/cream blush brush. I use my fingers and find the smooth pigmented texture spreads and applies absolutely evenly even when used on top of powder and not underneath. Though this blush is very pigmented so it will show up well even with powder on top (which helps to set the creamy color).

I find this lasts very well but right now the weather is very cool and rather dry so I don´t know how good the lasting power is in hot and humid weather.

The only thing I dislike about this blush - and actually this bugs me very much - are the huge pieces of golden glitter found in the blush. Even with powder on top the glitters show up and this is something just not very appropriate for me. I love fine shimmer on my face and would never wear flat matte makeup but I am just not a fan of glitter on my face. 

The color 02 Cherry Pink is really a gorgeous rich pink color but the golden glitters sort of ruin it a bit for me. The glitter doesn´t show up well on the pic but it´s obvious once the color is spread.

I got this from Apopofkawaii.com.

Rating 3/5