Shiseido Integrate Melty Your Heart eyeshadow duo No. 1

Integrate is a brand from Shiseido. This cutie is from their 2014 fall collection called Love Sniper. In the past I loved their Pure Big Eyes palette, I am curious if I like their duo too. 

http://www.shiseido.co.jp/ie/point/

Integrate offers eye shadow in gel cream texture (pink) and shade fit powder (brown) to aid the color stay put and not faded. according to their test, it lasts 10 hours! I am interested! 

As usual, integrate website offers diagram to advise how to apply the shadow. Right now they offer 5 color combinations, No. 1 is limited edition. 

The eyeshadow is housed in plastic tub with plastic lid over the powder shadow. both colors has satin finish with minimal shimmer. Not the most pigmented colors, but they are a pretty combination nonetheless. the pink is cooler baby pink while brown has a tinge of plum.

The pink is buttery and glides easily. Brown shade is not as powdery as I originally imagined it to be, it is rather well packed yet smooth to touch and easy to apply. it just sticks nicely when applied over the pink gel.

On my eyes, I didnt follow the Integrate diagram. I used Dolly Wink liquid eyeliner, then applied Melty Your Heart eyeshadow duo on top. I applied a bit of Make Essence Face Powder on my browbone. 

well, as you can see... pigmentation is not the forte of this duo. but, it does stay put! the sheer pink and brown stays up to 9 hours on my oily lids.

Bottomline, 
if you want sheer, office friendly duos with lasting power. this is suitable for you!

Mods Hair Hot Care Intensive Repair Essence

I have been trying to suppress my cosmetic shopping and focus on finishing piles of stuff I have bought… but… sigh… resolution remains resolution…

http://mods-style.com/haircare/product/hotcare05.php

Enter Mods Hair Hot Care line. I need my hair to be more easily managed and tidy… so, I suppose new repair essence wont hurt my wallet… (of course, I didn’t stop with the repair essence, I reached the cashier with piles of other stuff I will review sooner…)

Mods Hair is Japanese line from Unilever, now available in Singapore. This sleek hot pink bottle is designed for dull, coarse, unmanageable, dry and damaged hair. just what I need!

It contains Triple Heat Oil to repair damage while you heat style your hair. This bottle promises me product that is not sticky and spreads easily. Plus… floral passion fragrance to keep me cheerful all day… let’s see if the claim is accurate…

I tried this repair essence with dry hair and towel dried hair during the past two days. I continued both tries with flat ironing and styling as usual.

I have to say I prefer the result when used on towel dried hair. my hair feels smooth to touch, and true enough, it is not sticky at all. Makes my hair straight for longer time than usual… plus it doesn’t have silicone-y feel…

As for the fragrance claim… it is soft and light.. but it doesn’t last all day…

Anyways… I am loving the product and most probably re-purchase! 

Lucido L Hair Wax < Moisture >

Lucido L is famous Japanese hair care brand; it is pretty easy to find their product in local pharmacies such as Watsons in Singapore. Yet, I happened to purchase mine when from Bangkok. Doesn’t matter… since all are made in Japan (I think…), the quality should be the same with the Singaporean stock.

Anyways, I love love love Lucido L for their innovation. Seems like every other day they churn out new products … newer products always seems prettier, more potent, more interesting … which means, I end up with numerous tubes of unfinished hair products but end up getting more. All of that aside…

This is another new one from Lucido L: the new hair wax comes in 6 variants to address different concern from making voluptuous volumes to adding juicy moisture. All packaged in pretty, colorful tubs…  for my fried, chemically processed hair…I got the one to add moisture, of course… and it comes in pretty pink tub!

Lucido L says this tub contains double hyaluronic acid to provide long lasting moisture- creating shiny, lively and smooth hair. it also contains non sticky powder to absorb oil and penetrating hyaluronic acid to add moisture.

The light glossy cream smells of light fruity floral fragrance. The lovely cream is absorbed easily without making my hair feels heavy. But… I don’t feel much moisture from this baby. Of course, directly after application, there is moisturizing feeling, but after it has been fully absorbed by my fried hair, I don’t feel any difference. One thing I love from this wax is it doesn’t feel silicone-y at all! A little dash of silicone in my hair wax or oil is good, but too much of them… I am getting kinda bored with tonnes of silicone laden products out there…   

Anyways… bottomline…

Pretty tube never fails to tempt me to purchase from this range. This might be moisturizing enough for those whose hair is not as fried as mine. For me, this didn’t have any effect. 

Lucido L Hair Make Supplement Treatment Oil for Permed hair

Previously I reviewed Styling Milk for Straight hair of this series. Now, I am going to try its treatment oil for permed hair. 

(picture from lucido-l.com.my)

Lucido-L promises soft curl with light feeling, they recommend this baby for perm damaged hair. DAMAGED is the key word for me here, that's why I am going for this orange one, instead of magenta bottle which is marketed for straight or straightened hair. Just like the pink bottle, it also contains CMC like ingredient. This fancy ingredient is supposed to help water retention to make your hair more manageable. 

I applied this oil on towel dried hair, just like what Lucido-L recommends. The idea is that the ingredient will coat your hair to lock in moisture. Shampoo at night and wake up to smoother, softer hair! 

The oil is very light and faintly fragranced. It has slippery siliconey feel - so it doesnt weigh down my hair, it just adds shine and gloss. 

bottomline,
i guess this is more for normal hair, instead of dry hair like mine. the oil is very light and adds good amount of gloss, but no way moisturizing or keeping permed wavy hair stay. 

Kose Esprique Mellow Forming Rouge in PK811

Esprique is another brand from Kose. Its principal is one stroke beauty -user friendly and simple. 

This is not traditional lippie with a firm bullet, but rather one of those 'serum' lippie like Dior's Serum de Rouge. The lippie is very soft and housed in click style 'pen' instead of tube. Dont twist too much, it might not goes back inside as easily as your regular lippie tube... 

PK881 is pretty baby pink with light superfine shimmer. It is super easy to wear. I do think it suits almost every skin tone. 

The texture is melt upon application, very glossy. My lips feels moisturized when I am wearing this. The color itself is super sheer, so dont expect much color payoff here. As with most moisturizing, glossy finish lippies - I dont expect this to last very long. Indeed, it only lasted me 1-2 hours with my regular tea sipping. Frequent application is definitely needed... keep one pen in your pouch!

Bottomline, 

Easy to wear, moisturizing lipstick - just like what Esprique promised. It is lacking in pigment  and longevity department. But the comfortable feel makes me reach for it more and more often as my daily lippie.

Kao Segreta Hair Treatment Essence

Segreta is brand from Japanese beauty company, Kao. This particular brand is targeting hair issues of more mature audience. For me, I will try anything that promises more manageable, glossy, stronger hair. Previously I tried Segreta's Glossy Hair Oil. This time, I grabbed their Treatment Essence. 

(picture from adambeauty.com)

The treatment essence is housed in mist bottle. I dont read japanese, but I do think this is meant to be applied on dry hair, then dry your hair as usual. 

Its texture is just like water... with faint fruity floral aroma. very faint. I sprayed the treatment essence liberally on my dried hair, and wait for my damp hair to dry as usual. 

The result was slightly softer hair. But I am not super impressed by it. I do think this is still a nice spray to add a little moisture on my bone dry hair ends, but aside than that, I didnt see any magnificent difference. 

Bottomline, 

nice add on for my desk, during those bone dry hair days. but I wont repurchase. 

Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek Kiichigo Cream Blush in RD 411

Cream de Cheek is part of Majolica Majorca Autumn Winter 2012 launch titled Circus Ecstasy.  This collection contains liquid blush Cream de Cheek, nail polish, new perfume, liquid eyeliner Trick On Liner and hand cream. Of all, I am only interested with the liquid blush.

Majolica Majorca is Japanese drugstore brand from Shiseido. They always come up with pretty seasonal stuff. I have been in love with most of their products...good quality, buttery eye shadow, well pigmented powder blushes and all...

As usual, the packaging is pretty- frosted glass bottle with black cap and golden MJ logo on top. Lovely. It reminds me of nail polish! The brush style is just like nail polish too!

RD 411 is creamy warm red which applies sheer and lovely. It makes my cheek glows nicely – like baby cheek!

The consistency is similar with nailpolish too… minus the nail polish-y smell. Little goes a long way here… a single dot is enough to make my cheek blush nicely. Even though it is well pigmented, Cream de Cheek is easily blended.

Bottomline,

Lovely liquid blush! Pigmented and easy to blend. Just how I want my liquid blush to be! Too bad they don’t come with more colors.

(pictures from shiseido.co.jp/mj/)

Pantone Color of The Year 2013 - Emerald

After 2012’s highly successful Tangerine Tango, Pantone has announced 2013 color of the year… Emerald!

I personally find Emerald super easy to work with… it is cheerful enough for spring/summer outfit and makes you get noticed during grey cooler months. To tone it down, pair up with beige or navy. When I feel like adding splash of color, I pair my emerald with a little sunflower. Emerald is one of those versatile colors which make both silver and gold jewelries pop equally.

In my beauty beauty & make up universe, I loved a little emerald eye liner in rotation with my staple jet black – like Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil in Covet. Or, apply little green eye shadows from Lancome’s Color Design 5 Palette in Vert Tendresse.

My personal Asian drugstore pick would be Kanebo Kate’s Eye Blend Zone Eye Shadow palette in GN-1 and Majolica Majorca Jeweling Eyes palette in GR 780.

Nails… ah… there are thousands, if not millions, of gorgeous emeralds out there- in variety of finish too! Like China Glaze Exotic Encounter if you like crème or China Glaze Deviantly Daring for duochrome lovers.  

So, are you going to embrace emerald next year?

(pictures from pantone.com, Sephora.com, chinaglaze.com, adambeauty.com, shiseido.co.jp/mj, head2toebeauty.com). 

Kao Liese Designing Jelly 1 Tidy Straight

I am always amused by the level of differentiation Japanese hair styling products presents to us. They pretty much have one type for every single hair style. Sometime the vast choices overwhelms me, but most of the time, it’s all fun.  And Liese is not an exception... it is one of the biggest brand of hairstyle in Japan, which offers pretty much everything you need for your hair styling routine. 

 As usual, I picked up the one which promises me pretty, tidy, straight hair. That leads me to number 1, tidy straight. It promises natural, sleek look by keeping frizz at bay and flyaways tame.

 I don’t think I will ever bring this during my travels, but the bottle is just too cute. It kinda reminds me of nail polish bottle. The cap, which makes it cute, also makes it travel un-friendly... it simply will take too much space in my luggage.

The product itself is light runny liquid gel like, which get easily absorbed by damp towel dried or fully dried hair. It is lightly perfumed with light fruity floral fragrance, which dissipates when applied. Nice thing is, it doesn’t feel silicone-y or weigh down my hair.

On regular day, this is a nice styling product. It does exactly what Liese says about it. But don’t dream that it will straighten your wavy hair. Tidy Straight tidies up your hair, but it will not straighten it.  I love to use it to tidy up fine hairs which frame the face.

Bottomline,

Nice styling products to tidies up a little frizz and flyaways, but it is not suitable for heavy duty straightening. 

Ma Cherie Hair Oil

I love hair oil waaaayyy too much. I have a lot, yet I keep on buying more. This time I grabbed one from Shiseido’s Ma Cherie. I tried their hair milk and straight wax before, and am quite happy with the results.

Ma Cherie says this hair oil will provide deep penetrating nourishment to your hair. They also promises light texture. It will protect hair from heat styling and UV rays. Two of the star ingredients are Champagne royal jelly extract to repair damaged cuticle inside out and hydroxyethyl urea and inositol to enhance gloss and shine, plus making hair soft to touch. And as with all Ma Cherie product, the fragrance promises protection against odors and cigarette smell.

This hair oil is colorless and feels very light-almost watery, with light fruity floral fragrance that’s present in all Ma Cherie products. It does feel a little silicone-y, even though the ingredients list doesn’t mention various silicone based stuff. But then again, we never know the proportion of each ingredient from the ingredient list.

Ingredients: c 13-14 isoparaffin, dimethicone, olea europeaea fruit oil, hydrogenated polyisobutene, poly silicone-13, triethylhexanoin, amp-isostearoyl, wheat/corn/soy amino acids, bis-ethyl-hexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, royal jelly extract, wine extract, ehtylhexyl methoxycinnamate, isostearic acid, alcohol, water, tocopherol, butylene glycol, bht, fragrance, red 17, green 6.

This product is a pleasure to use. Single pump might appear and feel too much in the beginning, but it does get absorbed easily. It doesn’t weigh my hair at all or make it appear oily. It just adds softness and shine and reduce tangles on my hair ends. This might be the perfect hair oil for those with normal or softer hair. for me, I would want my hair oil to give a little moisture to my split ends.

Nowadays I’m using it to complement my regular Vrai oil, just after I towel dried my hair.

Bottomline,

Pleasant to use, light hair oil. It adds softness and shine, but doesn’t weigh down my hair. might be a perfect hair oil for those with finer or normal hair. Personally I wont repurchase, as I would want my hair oil to supply more moisture to my fried our hair ends. 

Kanebo Ichikami Hair Treatment Oil

Hair oils… I am in love with them right now. Previously, I tried Ma Cherie’s Hair Oil, and now I am trying Ichikami’s version. I am so intrigued with this one, as this baby promises tsubaki oil. I have been dying to try the buzzed up tsubaki oil. In fact… I purchased this one because of the tsubaki oil content.

As with other Ichikami’s products, they uses ingredients that’s used since ancient Japan for haircare; such as black rice extract, tsubaki oil, hiougi (a kind of iris), mukuroji and walnut. Ichikami says this oil prevents and repairs serious hair damage.

I do love the packaging, small plastic pump bottle with small nozzle. Making it a breeze dispense small amount of oil at a time.

The light clear oil has no discernable fragrance. It is not sticky and get absorbed easily. This oil doesn’t add any weigh on my hair, it just add softness and sheen. I don’t notice any stark result difference when I applied it on my damp towel dried hair or fully dried hair.

Bottomline,

Another pleasant to use light hair oil. I love the small plastic bottle and tiny nozzle for easy dispensing. It is light and makes my hair feel so soft, I think this would be nice for finer hair or normal hair. I won’t repurchase as it doesn’t add moisture as much I want my hair oils to. 

Kose Cosmeport Salon-Style Precious Head Spa Secret Knight Repair EX

I’m always up to fun treatments or anything that promises hair repair. Kose Salon Style Secret Knight Repair EX fits the bill.

It promises no stickiness when applied. I agree with Kose, sticky hair during sleep is no fun. The product will moisturize your hair deeply and maintain it.

The product contains wonderful ingredients such as orange essential oil, safflower oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, hot spring water and herbal extracts.

I washed my hair, air dry it and apply. Salon Style specifically mentions to make sure your hair is dry when used. Oh, don’t make my silly mistake – shake the bottle thoroughly before dispensing. Else, you wont get mousse, but milky liquid mess instead. When shaken properly and the bottle held upright, the soft mousse will be dispensed nicely. Somehow the mousse expands in volume a few seconds after dispensing. So, I highly suggest dispensing small amount, ping pong ball sized mousse at a time.

The product was easily absorbed, leaving no residue behind. My hair was soft and silky to touch afterwards. I applied it in the evening after shampooing, leaving it on overnight. The next morning, my hair is still nice to touch, but I don’t feel it as moisture as much as I liked it to be. When I did this test, I skipped my usual leave on hair oils/ LUSH R&B moisturizer during drying process. Nowadays, I am applied Salon Style Secret Knight Repair EX after my regular hair moisturizers.

Bottomline…

Nice to have, but not essential at all. But this might be a wonderful product for those who just want silkier hair. For me and my fried dried processed hair, won’t repurchase. 

Jil Stuart Gel Eye Liner in 05 Gold Shell

Honestly, I have always stayed away from Jil Stuart for one reason: sheer pastel colors, shimmers and more glitters. The brand somehow manages to be strongly associated with pastel colors and glitters in my mind. And I love me some pigmented colors!

But… when I need eye liner for my lower lash line… I want something light which just opens my eyes more. So, I do think I need something pastel (Jil Stuart) with shimmer and glitters (also, Jil Stuart). So ... why not  try something from Jil? Plus, I love gel liners…they are precise, easy to manage and most of the time stays put on my rich oil-field eye lids. Plus… not many companies sell pastel gel liner.

Jil Stuart promises rich color and luster plus precise application. Just what I expected from my gel liners, even though in my experience with gel liners, the precise part is affected more by the brush used.

Here, I applied it with my trusty Kate gel liner brush. So cheap, so simple, so easy to use. I love this brush so much, I owned 3-4 back ups in my stash!

Ahem… yes, back to Jil’s liner… the packaging is no doubt going to be one of the prettiest, the girliest in my make up cupboard. Even the pink box is carefully embossed with design. And I just adore the frosted glass design.

Gold shell is pale cold gold with shimmers. From certain angle, it looks metallic, with that subtle shimmers sprinkled. I detected a whiff of fruity floral fragrance when I opened the tub. Why do you need a fragranced eye liner… only the people in Jil Stuart know.

The consistency is heavenly to use. I don’t have to dig deep to pick enough color on my brush. Single swipe is pigmented enough to give my eyes that needed pop.

Bottomline,

Definite repurchase! Love the color and the texture. Still puzzled with the fragrance, but who cares… my eyes doesn’t smell any fragrance anyways.

Lavshuca Girly Whip Cheek in PK-1

I was super duper excited every time creamy/liquid cheek product arrives in my doorstep. This baby from Lavshuca is not an exception. Whip Cheek comes in options of pinks, orange and red. This baby was launched in together with Lavshuca’s Double Color Lipstick.

The packaging really looks like lipgloss don’t you think? Even the sponge tip applicator reminds me of Revlon’s Colorburst gloss. Similarities to gloss aside, the material used here is good. The plastic tube is clear and feels sturdy despite being plastic. What I don’t fancy as much is the detailing on the mouth of the tube… the printing is tad rough… gives the cheap look.

The product promises natural looking flushed cheeks. The creamy-mousse transforms to powder upon application.

PK-1 is classic baby pink which I think, most Japanese cosmetic offers. While the color is not unique at all, I do love the lipgloss tube idea.

The sponge tipped applicator carries enough product each time. You just have to apply and blend. Blending was a breeze and the color buildable. It does immediately turns into powdery consistency upon application. However, I do think it feels a little silicone-y. for me personally, it doesn’t matter as much.

Bottomline,

I adore the practical applicator, makes it super travel friendly. I do wish they come up with more pigmented color variations. Repurchase? Most probably ;)  

Lavshuca Double Color Lip Stick in PK-1 (model color)

Who wouldn’t be intrigued with the idea of two tone lip color? It should help define the lips without the need of having multiple shade in hand. Plus, it means I’m carrying 2 colors of lippie in a small tube! Such a space saver!

This baby was launched together with Girly Cheek Whip, which I also purchased. 

The idea is each lipstick consists of 2 matching colors, deeper one meant for the outer lips and lighter one (Lavshuca calls it 'glow color') for the inner. This will create illusion of fuller lips. PK-1 is combo of super wearable pinky mauve and light shimmery warm pink. Looks like a great combo. 

 yes... I was not patient enough to try this. I've forgotten to take the unused bullet picture before trying it on...

You can see the difference of light and deep color in my hand swatch here... the line is clearly visible. I do think it looks way better and much more wearable after blending.

Like most Japanese lip products, this baby is not fragranced or flavored. 

First, I tried to apply it as Lavschuca intended to: the darker outside and lighter inside. I find that I still need to blend to make my lipcolor look natural. Else, you will end up with dark lipliner look that’s on the rage in the 90s. not a look I am coveting right now. A little blending by pursing your lips will suffice. The light color is too light compared to the darker shade. In my lip swatch here, I simply blended the colros inward with my fingertip. 

I find the darker color to finish faster than the lighter shade when applied as intended. May be it is just the way I handle my lipstick… but for me, that’s what happened.

Unfortunately, this lippie is not moisturizing for me. Makes sense, since they have to have sturdy bullet for this 2 colors in one bullet idea. Harder bullets are usually more drying. Plus, it makes my dry lips look even drier. But balm on top or underneath will help tremendously. I also find the color a little staining. In the end of the day my lips looks pretty pinkish.

bottomline, 

as much as i love the novel idea, i dont think the formula is cutting it for me. it is simply not moisturizing enough. the color is pretty though...

Kose Nature & Co. Three Butters Lip Balm

This tiny baby comes from Nature & Co., natural-themed brand from Japanese giant, Kose. Right now, Nature & Co. offers 5 lines of products: Pure White, Vital Purity, Mint & Tea, Three Butters and Honey Blend. Of course, each line is dedicated to certain problem/needs of your skin or hair. Three butters has both face and body care products.

Meant for delicate, sensitive lips, the balm is packed with many natural ingredients like olive oil, safflower, cocoa seed oil and shea butter. Some of these ingredients are organic too.

First, I don’t need another lipbalm…. But I picked this up… since I adore the packaging so much. The small 5.8 gr brown jar is vintage looking and pretty. It is made of light plastic, yet feels hard and sturdy.

The balm itself is hard yet glossy. It melts upon contact with skin, so you don’t have to dig deep to get the balm. I find little goes along way, since it is so glossy. Unlike my trusty badger balm, I don’t think this is suitable for lipstick base… again, since it is glossy. To be used on top of the lippie, it is suitable.

Even though the packaging listed fragrance, I didn’t smell or taste discernable fragrance or taste. There is faint herby smell, but I wont detect it unless I bury my nose in the jar.

I rarely use balm/gloss on top of my lippie. So, I wont use this as much as other more base-suitable balms I own. However, I found that it made excellent cuticle balm and elbow balm. My dry patchy elbow loves this balm! Plus, due to the small size, I don’t feel guilty chucking it in my cosmetic pouch.

Bottomline,

Another nice addition for my pouch. I like it as cuticle and elbow balm, but I don’t like it that much that I would repurchase. 

Segreta Glossy Hair Oil

Segreta line is hair care range for mature women by Kao, a Japanese cosmetic producer. Kao consider loss of shine and less luster to be of 40s ladies concern… little do they realize that I also have that concern! Ha! My dried fried processed hair is always lackluster… therefore, I am grabbing stuff from Segreta!

(picture from adambeauty.com)

One more surprise (at least for me…) Segreta is Italian for ‘secret’. And Christy Turlington was the first model for this brand!

Segreta Glossy Hair Oil promises lively gloss full of texture, it also protects your hair from damage caused by dryer and UV rays. Kao recommends applying it after towel drying before blow drying.

The bottle is standard clear plastic bottle with pump. The bottle looks like glass, where it is actually sturdy plastic. I love the color and the design of the bottle. I find it looking more luxurious than other hair products.

What can I say… I love this hair oil. The oil is super light and smells fresh too. The fragrance is not too sharp that you can smell it miles away, though. It just add a nice whiff of fresh smell when I smell my hair.

It does get absorbed easily, without leaving my hair heavy or oily. Wonderful thing is, it doesn’t feel silicone-y at all. I can feel my hair ends getting softer with this baby applied.

Bottomline…

Light, lovely, easily absorbed hair oil for my dried ends. I am definitely going to repurchase this one!