Lemongrass House Rose Absolute Shampoo and Rose Absolute Conditioner

Just cant say no when I see the word ‘Rose’ ...

Previously I got Dog Coat Oil from Lemongrass House. This Thai brand has quite a lot of stuff in the shop... Soaps, Oils, Pet stuff and this shampoo and conditioner!

It smells nice. Of roses, green-ish roses, not the fruity or too powdery rose.

I know I was looking for trouble when I got this one. It is for normal hair, while my hair is super dry. SO.. it was hardly surprising when I find it the shampoo too drying for my hair. However, it leaves soft fragrance on my hair when wet. The fragrance seems to go away not so long after hair is dry.

The conditioner is not very moisturizing for my ultra dry hair. But it might be just perfect for normal hair. The fragrance is the same with the shampoo, roses – fresh and lovely. The fragrance lingers when my hair was wet. Lingers slightly longer compared to the shampoo only.

I, personally, still enjoy using this shampoo once in a while – when I wanted squeaky clean hair. I use the conditioner more than the shampoo. Used it as light conditioner when I don’t need to shampoo my hair, when simple rinsing with water is enough.

Again, the fragrance is wonderful. Those with normal hair, do give it a try!

SANA Make Skin CG Clear Glossy Powder in Glossy Beige 02

First time I saw this packaging was to run away from it. What kind of product is this that it needs a CG-girl to promote it? My sceptical mind goes to defensive mode: no product can make your skin look like photoshop-ed! On one hand, I was correct... but I decided to try it anyway.

So, this product promises computer-graphic finish, no pore, no discoloration with glowing effect. Granted, not all promises come true!

CG Glossy Beige looks pale beige in the casing, but it is really translucent with soft pearly finish. I tried to apply lots and lots on my face and it doesn’t make my skin look cakey at all. It gives light glow as the subtle shimmer reflects light. Love it for this glowing effect.

Not like my regular powder, this doesn’t help with oil absorption whatsoever.

As for the other claims... I don’t see the promised effects on my skin. But I still love it for the glowy appearance it gives my skin. And I am planning to get the other shade...glossy pink :D

In Summary...
Packaging: light clear plastic with puff
Color variation: glossy beige and glossy pink
Collateral Damage: SGD 23.90
Texture: light, translucent, very very light shimmer
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you like shimmering powder
No if... you dislike loose powder, you expect more oil control from powders, you want more coverage

SANA Make Essence Face Powder SPF 15 PA++

This is probably the cutest powder I have ever bought...

Blue sad faced elephant with ginormous oily face and I have one thing in common: oily face! This product promises me no shine all day long including T zone area and no cakey/powdery finish? I am sold... give me one of that!
SANA is Japanese brand which always brings cutesy make up and body care stuff to the drugstore. This one which the cute elephant brought me is called Make Essence Face Powder with SPF 15 PA++. The Make Essence line also features pore concealer, eye bag concealer and eye and lip concealer. All endorsed by cute animals with humanly facial woes

The pressed powder is housed in ivory colored plastic compact with the elephant printed outside...how cute.... it comes with a tiny puff and a mirror is housed inside too. This format is so convenient to stash in my handbag for mid day touch ups! I love the size, the mirror and the puff. But not so much the plastic material...I can foresee it will get dirty and scratched very soon and the elephant will fade as other items in my bag (Lord knows how many item I carry daily...).

Now the powder itself! It is very light ivory-beige in color. Not to worry, it applies matte and translucent. It gave minty fresh fragrance, which disappears after application. I would expect anything minty fragranced to feel tingly or icy upon application, but Make Essence face powder does not give me any tingly feel. Disappointed, may be... but this is good news for those who has more sensitive skin than I.
Under normal circumstances, any translucent powder I applied on my T zone will only display its effectiveness within 1-2 hours. After that... my T zone will appear oily as if nothing is done to mattify my face... this is where Make Essence Powder makes the difference! My T zone appears matte even after 4-5 hours! Hurrah! I can feel that my T zone is oily if I touch it, but it doesn’t appear oily. Must be something in the powder! Whatever it is I am loving it :D
In summary...
Packaging: plastic, with puff and mirror inside
Color variations: comes in only 1 variant
Collateral Damage: SGD9.9
Texture: translucent, matte powder
Mattifying Power: 4-5 hours! Yay!
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you want super oil absorbent mattifying powder, the shade suits you, you cant resist that cute yet oily elephant endorsing the products
No if... you don’t like the light, rather flimsy plastic packaging, you don’t like fragranced products, your skin is dry or not oily

SANA Superquick Lip Concealer EX in Baby Pink 02 SPF 15 PA++

I’ve wanted to try the nude-lip look for a while now. Unfortunately for me, not single product I tried has been pigmented, moisturized enough for my lips. One day thou, I found this baby:

I’ve wanted to try the nude-lip look for a while now. Unfortunately for me, not single product I tried has been pigmented, moisturized enough for my lips. One day thou, I found this baby:

I am loving the texture...very balmy, feels like not wearing lipcolor but balm. It gives me glossy finish from start to end. The color though, doesn’t last very long. Only 2-3 hours with minimal tea sippings in between. But the glossiness sticks around for few more hours. Not bad... unfortunately I don’t see or feel any plumping effect aside from the gloss.
In summary...
Packaging: plastic, lip balm like
Color variations: only 2 options: baby pink or beige
Price: SGD 17.9
Texture: balmy and glossy
Moisturizing: 4/5
Staying power: 1-2 hours without tea sippings or snacking in between
Will I buy more? Yes, if I was still having the nude lip fever by the time this tube finishes 

Kanebo MFC Color Accent Eyes in EX01

Got this one just because it is from Japanese cosmetic giant – Kanebo.

I heard MFC is sold in Japanese drugstore only, I got mine online. The color attracted my attention. Mine is combo of glittery pink-mauve, brownish wine, pale yellow and white.

Packaging is very simple clear and black plastic, with some design on top. I kinda like the design. It was not luxe at all, but good enough. As usual, Japanese palettes almost always has easy to follow diagram to create look with the palette:

The pink, yellow and white are very glittery, while the wine was not as glittery. Too bad it is not pigmented at all. I don’t fancy the colors when I tried to layer or build up the intensity. So, most probably I’m gonna use them only as glitter top coat for less glittery shadows.

Now the liner color – the wine... it is so sheer and somehow fades easily. By lunchtime, I cant see if Im wearing any eyeshadow...



In summary... not my cup of tea...

MAC Viva Glam Cyndi Lauper Lipstick

This one is a last eyar product... but it is... My first ever red lipstick! Before Cyndi Lauper, I am always pink and mauve person, occasionally peach. But I just cant say no to Cyndi Lauper...

The sales lady told me this is going to be limited edition and available only in 2010. Good marketing to prompt me purchasing it as soon as I got my salary! But earlier this year, I still saw Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga’s blue-pink lippie.

I wont describe the texture and fragrance here – it is classic MAC lipstick with hint of vanilla fragrance. The color itself is rather sheer warm red. Just nice for red first timer like myself.

In summary...
Packaging: classic MAC
Color variations: 5/5 MAC has the most variation of colors, finish and shades I have ever seen so far
Texture: light, glides nicely
Moisturizing: 3/5, somewhere in the middle, but best used with balm underneath
Staying power: 3-4 hours
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you have been collecting MAC’s viva glam, you are red first timer
No if... you expect super intense red

Koji Eye Talk

My left eye had fold on the crease –something like double eyelid, while my right doesn’t. This makes my left eye appear bigger than my right. And I just realize it these few weeks. Upon realizing, I am just so desperate to make the right one has double eye lid too. let’s hope this product helps...

As you can see, tiny plastic bottle of Koji Eye Talk comes with fork like plastic thingy.

I thought wearing this would be an easy task. It is not. The first few times, I tried and tried and didn’t manage to achieve good results. I consulted the manual, all in Japanese by the way, and the illustration didn’t help.

Until I realize, my mistake is applying the liquid first then folding the crease. When it should be the other way round! Ha!

Koji Eye Talk is latex glue like substance to glue and make your eyes appear to have a crease or double eye lid. You are supposed to make/find your crease by pressing gently with the prong thingy, 4-5mm from lashline, then apply the thin milky liquid on your lids around the wanted double eye lid area. Then wait until it is semi dry for about 2-3 minutes. When it is ready to fold, the liquid turns clear. Then with the prong again, slowly press and make the crease. The glue will stick on your skin and make it appear to have double eyelid.

It is counter intuitive, however, i find it best to apply shadows and eye make up first before using Eye Talk. If you do the other way round, the shadow will stick more on the glued area and i find it totally ugly borderline yucky.

The glue thingy removes easily with simple washing with warm water and facial cleanser or cleanser on cotton pad.

However, to make natural looking crease is not easy and require alot of practice and knowing where to make the most natural crease for yourself.

In the beginning, it is slightly uncomfortable to wear on daytime while going to campus or working in the office. Takes some time to get used to it.

Since i wanted to make a permanent crease, nowadays I wear it only when I’m home sans make up or sleeping. Let’s see if this makes the crease more permanent....

Tarte Natural Cheek Stain in Glam

This is the beginning of my love affair with cheek stains...

Got this from one of Sephora’s box sets. I just adore the packaging. Lovely color too... pink-coral with golden shimmer...

On skin, it is sheer and makes my cheek glows...

It is lightly fragranced- very soft and soothing fragrance. And feels moisturizing when I applied it on my cheek and blend it. in drier climates, I think this would be a nice comfortable on skin kind of blush. But in tropical climate like Singapore, I think it is a little too moisturizing for me. I can see those with dry skin would be happy with this blush.

However, this is not really a stain. When i swathed it on my skin, i can easily remove the color with clean cotton pad. It doesn’t stain my skin at all.

Whenever I use this one, I always set it with sheer powder. And it works perfectly. I am thinking to get more colors if they ship it over to Asia...

In summary...
Packaging: made of plastic, golden in color...pretty and festive
Texture: light, glides nicely, shimmery and moisturizing
Moisturizing: 4/5
Staying power: stays pretty much all day
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you adore the color, you want moisture with your blush
No if... you have oily skin, you expect a staining product

Kose Visee feat Aula Aila Glam Shade Eyes Limited Edition in BR9 Gypsy Gold

Once I started with Visee I cant seem to stop. Wanted to get 2010 collaboration with Mercury Duo, but the color I am interested in was sold out in Adambeauty.com. Then I saw the recent Aula Aila collaboration and grabbed it!

As usual, the packaging of this palette is just gorgeous. I almost always love how Visee palettes look like. Look at that ‘sequined’ look on the palette... lovely

As usual, Japanese palettes comes with fool proof diagram to recreate the model’s look..

Now the most important thing... the colors! Left-right: ivory, chocolate, dark brown-olive, black-grey and cream textured glittery silvery-ivory. Only the most right is cream, the other are nice easy to use powder with soft lovely creamy feel.

All are shimmery and pretty, except the creamy which doesn’t pack pigments, just shimmer and glitters. They are rather sheer, the most pigmented is the black-grey (second from right).

These gorgeous color are very easy to work with. Simply fool proof. No matter how you combine them, it will still look gorgeous and matched. Best of all... office friendly!

I do think I am ready to grab more Visee and the other Aula Aila palette! Now this... is what I call value for money!

In Summary...
Packaging: made of plastic but gorgeous and well decorated
Color offering: only 2 neutral palettes are available from Aula Aila collaboration
Collateral damage: USD 21.5 without shipping
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you love neturals, you enjoy sheer and shimmery shadows
No if... you want more colourful palette and hate online shopping.

Etude House Shine Stick Eye shadow in 09

I picked up another color 12 (blue based glitter pink) together with this one.

Was hoping that this color is going to be better than the pink, but unfortunately my opinions of them are the same. The only difference is the color. Link to the previous review is here

Here’s the swatch for 09 – sheer baby blue with loads of glitter

Cezanne Smooth Fit Shadow in 04

According to the site, Cezanne is Japanese cosmetic brand which has been around for 40 years! The brand claimed to bring about safe and easy to use cosmetics for daily use. How come I never heard of it? Shame on me... Anyways, I stumbled across this one:

The website says...
‘Pearl & soft touch: A moist, soft powder containing an abundance of pearl. It blends smoothly with the skin for an elegant gloss.
Three-dimensional colors: A quartet of colors that creates deep, impressive eyes simply by adding one after the other.’

The packaging is really not appealing at all... simple clear plastic palette. What appealed me was the colors. I have never owned such combination at that moment, and I wanted to try me some blue.
The color is rather sheer. And i cant see the difference of each color when combined in any way. They are simply too similar, except the darkest liner color. it is not the easiest shadows to work with too...
Bottom line, I know, after typing this article, i don’t think i will ever use this again. this palette is going to collect dust in my make up graveyard...

Badger Cocoa Butter Lip Balm in Sweet Orange

Oh, I cant believe I haven’t post this favourite of mine!

My first encounter with this American, organic brand was ... an organic restaurant! Of course, the cute badger on the packaging was the one that’s really calling me. My first purchase was Badger Winter Wonder Balm. It was totally lovely and become my staple soon after.

Too bad, not so long after I got addicted to the balms, the restaurant decided not to sell them anymore. This forces me to get my stock from the internet – http://www.uncommonscents.com . and this was where I saw the lip balm and decided to try.
As you can see ... the packaging was really cute with the badger in the front. It is made of plastic – light and simple.

The package which I got contains Lime Rocket, Sweet Orange and Creamy Cocoa. The texture of the balm is just nice on my lips, not too light not too heavy. It is not flavoured, just lightly scented. Nice scent I must add – all Badger products which I tried were wonderfully scented anyway...

The color appears yellowish in the container, but applies clear on lips.

I am using this as lip treatment when my lip feels ultra dry, to prep my lips before applying lipsticks .... and sometime as cuticle balm too. I know... it sounds crazy, but it works well for me.

With the nice price... This product is totally very ultra worth every penny!

I am soooo loving this product!

Nothing goes to waste everytime I purchase stuff from Badger... I love the box so much, I don’t have the heart to throw it away... I am using it as...

My brush container! Dont you just adore that badger?

In Summary...
Packaging: simple plastic with ultra cute badger as the poster boy/gal
Price: USD 13 for a pack of 3
Texture: just nice 
Is it worth it?
Yes If.... you love lightly fragranced lip balm
No if... you don’t like shopping online (for those in Asia)

Note:
I just realize some specialty mom and baby shops in Singapore carries limited Badger products. Most shops sells the balms only, not the lip balm.

Etude House Sweet Shower Lips Miss Tangerine in Sweet Peach Shower 5

This is one of my favourite item from the Miss Tangerine...Sweet Shower Lips in Sweet Peach. What ever that ‘sweet shower lips’ means....

I’ve reviewed other two colors Shiny Pink and Sweet Berry Blossom.Beside Sweet Shower, Miss Tangerine also brings us new shade in VIP Girl Dear Darling Lips, also reviewed and swatched here .
Beside the color, formula, lasting power, fragrance, etc are the same. Sweet Peach is pretty sheer pink-peach with enough shimmers to make me happy.

Gave my lips slight peach tint without being too orangey... love...

This makes me feel tempted to get the other 2 colors from Miss Tangerine.

In Summary...
Packaging: pretty and feminine
Color offering: varieties of poppy tangerines and pink
Moisturizing: 4/5
Staying power: vibrant color stays for 1 hours, soft shimmer left afterwards
Collateral damage: SGD 24.9
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you like sheer shimmery colors, if you want moisturizing lippie
No if... you want more pigment, you prefer more grown up color, you cant use fragranced/flavoured products

The Face Shop Touch & Shine Dual Eye Color in Gold Bronze 01

This is one of my initial encounter with The Face Shop, a Korean brand which offers body care, skin care and make up line.

This looks perfect for lazy person like myself. Eye shadow on one end, and matching liner on the other end. And most of all, it doesn’t require any sharpening! Yay!

The color is ultra sparkly gold with glitter chunks for the eye shadow and pretty metallic light brown for the liner. Thinner line is swatch with single swipe and the one next to it is done a few times – as you can see, it can be sheer but easily build up.

They glides easily, however doesn’t last very long. I find the liner migrating a few hours after wear. And mine somehow has a little funny smell – I don’t like. Definitely not fragrance, may be just the funny formula.

And the sparkles – it somehow irritates my eyes. Thanks to this, I haven’t purchase The Face Shop make up products for a while...

Etude House Miss Tangerine Sweet Shower Lips in #2 Sweet Berry Blossom

Made a big huge mistake to drop by Etude House when I was in the mall earlier. I cannot resist to get another Sweet Shower Lips from Miss Tangerine Collection...

I somehow grow to like more and more stuff from the Miss Tangerine Collection. One of my favourite item is this baby. Love the packaging design, love the colors. I’ve reviewed other color here Sweet Shower Lips Shiny Pink
). Beside Sweet Shower, Miss Tangerine also brings us new shade in VIP Girl Dear Darling Lips, also reviewed and swatched here Miss Tangerine VIP Girl Dear Darling Lips.
Texture, fragrance and lasting power is the same with the other two. The only difference is the color. Sweet Berry is warmish sheer red with rather glossy finish, minus the shimmer.

The color looks very sheer and natural, making me look fresher with dash of color on my lips. Not too overwhelming, just nice.

The only bummer is, I got this even more expensive in Jakarta than in Singapore. Should have hauled the whole Miss Tangerine Sweet Shower Lips from Singapore! Dang...

In Summary...
Packaging: pretty and feminine
Color offering: varieties of poppy tangerines and pink
Moisturizing: 4/5
Staying power: vibrant color stays for 1 hours, soft shimmer left afterwards
Collateral damage: IDR 238,000 (normal price), I got 50% member discount when I purchased this
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you like sheer colors, if you want moisturizing lippie
No if... you want more pigment, you prefer more gorwn up color, you cant use fragranced/flavoured products

Naris Pore Clear Pack eggshell & charcoal

I am obsessed with black heads on my nose. Okay, they are not big, not too visble too... but enough to drive me crazy. And so... I pick everything I find that’s related to blackhead removal or nose pore tightening. This time Mr Humpty Dumpty managed to get himself in my pore fighting regimen...

See the Humpty Dumpty with moustache there? Hehe... This product is from Naris, Japanese drugstore beauty company. It is believed that eggshell and charcoal inside this Pore Clear Pack is going to help me get rid of those blackheads.

This product is actually one of those black colored peel off mask for the nose or other blackhead infested area. Consistency feels similar to regular facial peel off masks. Only black in color and without fragrance.

I slap them around my nose area, wait until it is dry, usually 10-15 minutes to make sure every single part is dried... then I peel it off.

Well, this time, the blackheads won again... I didn’t see any visible reduction whatsoever. Just skin around my nose feels fresher and cleaner after use.

In Summary...
Packaging: plastic tub with 20g of products inside
Collateral Damage : SGD 12.9
Texture: regular consistency, dries in 15 minute-ish if spread evenly
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you like peel of mask, you cant resist products promising less blackheads ( like me)
No if... your skin is thin/sensitive

Dodo Tip Shadow in 03

When I see ‘dodo’ all that pops up in my mind is the extinct fightless bird. Immediately I turn my head to the other side of the aisle and look at some other brands. Well, but I encountered dodo a few times now, and it had managed to spark my interest. All of the product has this cute colorful flower pattern on black background printed on the product packaging. Not the expected cute kawaii style Japanese are famous of. After looking around,I picked this up...

Tip shadow comes in a few bright cheerful colors, which makes me wants them all! I picked 03 that’s pretty pastel pink with soft iridescent shimmer.
Dodo brochure says...
‘this collection of shadows add colours to your eyes to suit your own personality. The applicator has rounded tip that allows for precise and controlled manoeuvre. Play with colours of your choice!’
I couldn’t agree more about the rounded tip applicator which kinda springs up when you unscrew the closure. The product is actually cream eyeshadow that’s deposited in the tip of the closure. Spill proof! Unlike powder shadows in tubes, this one suits clumsy hands like me...I dropped the top (which contains the colored shadow) and I didn’t make any mess...but...Very teeny weeny amount: 1 gram only!

Anyways, it looks like product sent from heaven...no more brush cleaning after use, no more mixed up sponge tipped applicators, no more messy fingertips!

As you can see, this eyeshadow is very very sheer. I was trying to build up the color on my hand and on my eyes, yet I can only barely see the colors. The most difficult part is to take up more color, I have to dip in the applicator back to the tube, unfortunately for me, the tip never manage to take enough color. I ended up dipping again and again without seeing visible color on my skin yet.
While this product is not my cup of tea, I can see that other girls who like convenience and sheer color to like the product. There is simply no risk to over apply this one!
Packaging: light pencil like, with nice floral pattern
Color variations: 4/5 not much deep colors, but plenty of pastels to choose
Price: SGD 9.8
Texture: light and sheer
Is it worth it? I cant think of anything which makes this valuable for anyone sadly...