Stationery haul from Gmarket

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 actually bought this stuff a while ago but thought of posting some pics! All was purchased on Gmarket from some random sellers (e.g. 하루디자인문구, 에뛰드하우스 직영샵).

I really love Korean stickers and other stuff =) I have a secret hobby (making gift tags hehe) and those stickers and also stamps are just the best =)

I really have a soft spot for those tin cases filled with those polaroid-style postcards (usually around 50 pcs per pack) =)

And those postcards are my faves!

Summer 2011: Esprique Blend Dimensional Eyes A-4 & A-5, Melty Fix Cheeks RO600 and Aqua Drape Rouge RO670

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!)!
Esprique Precious got a revamp and has been renamed in Esprique starting with this summer collection.
The new packaging is a bit more mature than the previous style and reminds me now a bit of how Visée used to look like. I like it anyway and most Japanese brands change their looks quite frequently so Esprique will definitely undergo some changes in the future.

I got couple of eyeshadow palettes, a gloss and one of the new blush sticks during my Hong Kong trip. I don´t remember the prices exactly but I remember compared to the Japanese retail prices it was like 25-30% less.

The new eyeshadow quads are called Blend Dimensional Eyes and consist of 4 powder shadows, 3 of them grouped together in 1 pan and one separately.

The shadows have a silky, pigmented and fine texture with a gorgeous metallic glazed shine and a great blending quality. The shadows have a little fall-out when applied with a brush so as always I recommend doing the eye makeup before the face...or maybe use the included applicators as they seem to be great quality.

Lasting power is excellent, all the colors stay pretty fresh and crease-free for most of the day.

A-4 is a gorgeous neutral taupe-beige quad. The colors are all light and neutral however the metallic shine gives them a more interesting finish.



A-5 is a mermaid-y emerald/seafoam and beige combo.  My favorite shades are the beige (it has such a nice glazed finish) and the emerald.



Overall these are wonderful eyeshadow palettes and I really love them.
Small deduction only for the fall-out:

Rating 4.5/5

The Melty Fix Cheeks is a new series of cream blush sticks, something quite rare among Japanese brands in my opinion.

The black twist-up stick is quite heavy and big and the formula is creamy but not greasy, overly slick or soft.

The blush is pigmented and blends beautifully, I like applying it with a wide foundation brush (got one from Sigma brushes which is really great, will review these brushes, soon!).

This is not scented (like the other Esprique products) and doesn´t irritate my skin at all, furthermore it stays on well topped with a sheer layer of face powder.

RO600 is a gorgeous cool candy pink with minimal shimmer.

Rating 5/5

Last but not least I got one of the Aqua Drape Rouge lipglosses/liquid lipsticks.


I like the quite chunky tube with the nicely shaped and soft applicator. This is a slightly thicker and long-lasting gloss with a very lustrous finish and good lasting power. The particular color I got is quite pigmented but not sure about the other colors.

Overall this is a great well-lasting beautiful lipcolor which is not scented and doesn´t feel drying at all. I think I might pick up a few more colors later on!

RO670 is really beautiful, a golden-tinged rose pink.


The haul incl. freebies from the Kosé counter in Hong Kong:

Rating 5/5

Inexpensive Beauty Find: Daiso Moisture and Gloss Jewel Eyeshadow in Green

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 love Daiso. It´s just the best shop to spend your money on a lot of cute things (think stationery, beauty goods, bento accessories etc) haha. It´s a 100 Yen shop in Japan (HK$10 in Hong Kong, it´s called Jusco $10 Plaza there) but they also have some items that cost more like the eyeshadow I am going to review now. Well, it´s only 200 Yen (I think it was HK$25) but I am quite impressed with it...just read on =)

I am not 100% sure what´s the proper name of this product, something between Moisture and Gloss Eyeshadow (as written on front) and Jewel Eyeshadow (as stated on the back of the packaging) =)

These shadows actually usually retail for 100 Yen but that´s only for the refill. I wanted one with the beautiful heavy mirrored compact so it was a 200 Yen value pack. The only colors available with the compact were a very reddish pink combo and the green one which looked really pretty so I got that one.
Honestly I didn´t really expect to like the shadows at all but actually they have a very smooth and pigmented texture with a gorgeous intense pearl-metallic finish, blend well and are really color-true.

Also the lasting power is excellent, the shadows stayed on all day long in the hot humid Hong Kong weather!

The Green combo includes white, beige, bright grass green (love this color!) and a deep moss green (a little sheerer than the other colors but shows up well nonetheless).

Overall I can highly recommend this unexpectedly nice product from Daiso, it´s way better than many drugstore brands with higher price-tags!

Rating 5/5

Spring 2011: Visée Mineral Cheeks Baby Finish & Mineral BB Cream Baby Finish

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Woohoo! Visée managed to jump on 2 bandwagons with 1 product: Mineral BB Cream! How cool is that =D

I picked these goodies up from Adambeauty before I went to Hong Kong and I am happy I did as I didn´t find Visée in Hong Kong myself when I went there. Probably missed whichever shop stocks Visée!

Anyways, I picked up the Mineral BB Cream Baby Finish and 3 of the new Mineral Cheeks Baby Finish blushes.

I like the white and sort of lighweight and airy design of the new Visée products as it looks really pretty.

The Mineral BB Cream comes in a quite small squeeze tube containing only 25g for a retail price of 1400 Yen.

It´s unscented and has a slick slightly thick texture ike most other BB creams but still it´s neither heavy nor uncomfortable to wear. The color is really light and quite neutral-toned however it will work for most skin-tones as it´s really sheer so to me this is more like a makeup-base rather than a regular BB cream as the coverage isn´t really sufficient but it does even out my skin a little.

The finish is slightly dewy which is really pretty in my opinion.


Overall this is a really lovely and mild makeup base but not really what I would classify as a BB cream.

Rating 4/5

The Mineral Cheeks caught my eye the moment I spotted them on Rouge Deluxe so I instantly knew I´d have to pick up some of these.
There are 4 colors in each palette. The lower 2 colors are deeper and a bit more matte and the top 2 colors are shimmery and more suitable as highlighters.

The texture of these is a little dry but finely milled and easily blendable. The thing I dislike about these blushes is that the colors are all too glittery for my liking except for the deepest color which is matte. It´s the kind of glitter that is quite obvious and not giving a dewy but indeed a shimmery finish.


The colors are quite standard and nothing special at all.
The included brushes are quite soft and can work in a spot but I still prefer my regular blush brush.

Overall cute blushes but they can be skipped in my opinion.


PK-1 is a sweet pink combo

PK-4 is a dusty rose combo

RD-5 is peach-tangerine beige combo


Rating 3/5

Back from Hong Kong and Giveaway!

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 came back from Hong Kong a couple of days ago! It was a fantastic trip though quite exhausting and I walked around so much I need to use a Baby Foot Easy Pack again soon =)
I went with Qatar Airways via Doha (which is one of the worst airports I ever had to travel through!) and the service on board and in-flight entertainment was pretty good.

Definitely I hauled like a lunatic and the prices are really good there, the Japanese brands mostly are like 25-30% cheaper than in Japan however the variety of brands wasn´t as huge as I had expected or maybe I just didn´t find the right places to shop hehe =)
I also got quite a bunch of clothes, stationery and toys for my kids but didn´t take pics of these.

My husband and I went for quite a bit of sightseeing, too, of which the nicest was the giant Buddha and cable car drive to it. My favorite place was Mong Kok where I finally could get a bubble milk tea of which I had dreamt for quite a while hehe!

Here are the majority of beauty products I bought however I didn´t take haul pics of some body care stuff I purchased as I only took individual pics for later reviews.

Giveaway!

I actually had planned to post the giveaway from Hong Kong but didn´t take my laptop so here is the giveaway finally!
You will get all the things pictured below and of course they are all unused and untested.

-1 Aizim Ms. Violet BB Cream
-1 Daiso Black Nose Mask Pack
-1 Kiss Me Moist Lip BB lip balm (really nice beige lip balm!)
-1 Dobest Japan eyeshadow quad
-1 cute pocket mirror

To enter please do the following:

-Be a follower of my blog

-Please leave a comment to this post, no specific content required.

-Giveaway open to worldwide, shipping via economy airmail (2-3 weeks delivery time)!

-I will close the giveaway in 2 weeks from now, that´s May 28th at 3 PM (my time, Vienna-Zurich timezone). Winner will be chosen randomly after giveaway closes.

-Winner must email me (lotuspalace@gmail.com) within 48 hours after close of giveaway or other winner will be chosen.

Good luck and thanks for participating!!