Wednesday, April 27, 2011

BoBoDave Beauty Haul

Hello, thank you for reading my first post! Please excuse the picture quality, it will be better!
I'll jump right into the purchases I made from BoBoDave.com.

Beauty Haul
I've been eyeing the Jill Stuart eyeshadow for the longest time, and I've finally made the purchase. I'm a bit of a sucker for packaging and Jill Stuart has one of the most beautiful that I've ever seen. Here's a photo of my complete haul.
CLOCKWISE: Jill Stuart Eyeshadow, Jill Start Fragrance, CanMake Perfect Brown Eyes Eyeshadow, Kao NEKURIZUMU Vapor Relax Hot Eye Mask (Large box with masked lady), ESPRIQUE Precious Extra Moist Retouch, ESPRIQUE Dramatical Veil Pact UV, sample of RMK Creamy Foundation color 103 (Small yellow pack), sample of MISSHA Super Aqua Hydrating Emulsion (Small bottle with blue cap), sample of Missha Super Aqua Ultra Waterfull Cream (Small Pack with pic of jar).
Kao NEKURIZUMU Vapor Relax Hot Eye Mask, contains 5 lavender scented eye masks. I tried this last night before going to bed. When I first opened the packet, the smell of lavender was strong. After placing the mask on my eyes, I stopped noticing the scent. The mask gradually became warm, it was never too hot. After a few minutes, I felt condensation beginning to form, this was a good thing, my eyes lids have been dry and this should add moisture. As directed, I took the mask after 10 minutes and fell asleep. -.- zZzz
Rating: 6/10
Scroll down for more detailed pictures of my haul.
Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes in Eternal Platinum, ESPRIQUE Dramatical Veil Pact UV (Extra Moist) in OC410, Jill Stuart Fragrance 4ml travel size
Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes in Eternal Platinum. I couldn’t help but squeal a little when I opened this.
The small tray area where the applicator sits is clear! I’ve seen many pictures of this palette, and didn’t realize until this was in my hands. Let me introduce you to uhm, well I’ll just call her Kabuki Hello Kitty. I found her in a Korean gift store in LA. Kabuki Hello Kitty is a keychain, with the chain attached to the top of her head. Scroll down for a full pic of her. :)
Jill Stuart Fragrance 4ml travel size.
Product Description: Top notes are green apple, pear, black currant, lemon and water lilies. The heart includes a bouquet of peony, Bulgarian rose, lily of the valley, jasmine, magnolia and orange blossom. The base contains notes of musk, sandalwood, cedar, vanilla and amber.
My take: smells like many of the other fruity/floral perfumes you find at Macy’s or Sephora. Also, was disappointed it did not look like the picture on the site I purchased from, it didn’t have the silver embellishments circling the bottle. :( I was actually more impressed by the silver on the box it came in.
ESPRIQUE Dramatical Veil Pact UV (Extra Moist) in OC410. The case is soo pretty!
This pressed powder was first released for F/W 2010. When I ordered, I was afraid that since it’s an Asian brand, the colors going to be lighter than American brands. I think I did an okay job in picking OC410. I picked the color purely on the color swatches I saw on the site. It was definitely a lot darker in person than what I see on screen. Anyways, I gave it a try and it was a tad light, so now I’m curious how the OC415 looks. It covered my large pores well, I was impressed! I plan to find my MAC NC color when I get the chance, to give you a good reference. Will review this product in a later post.

ESPRIQUE Precious Extra Moist Retouch
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An essence you use to pat over dry patches of makeup. I couldn’t find much info in English. I've tried this on several on occasions, when my skin is okay to great, when I've got liquid, cream or powdered foundation. It has a thicker than normal gel-like consistency and was slighly opaque. Once applied, I had to be careful to blend out the area of the dry patch. This was okay for me.

Rating: 6/10
Canmake Perfect Brown Eyes in 01 Deep Brown. Product
Description: Effects of the cream eye base containing beauty essence ingredients. Carefully designed brown powder. A moist powder with an excellent coloring ability that has been calculated to go with the base cream
First Impressions: I didn’t found out until after my purchase, bloggers seem to think the quality is not worth the price, its not pigmented enough. I have yet to try this.
On the plus side, its got a small horizontal mirror on top, great for on the go. I hope you can tell from this pic but the bottom left color, the pan with the rounded corners, is the base cream. That is the full view of Kabuki Hello Kitty!
Bottom view of the palette. Shows you what to apply the shadows with and where to apply. Notice the cream base should be applied with a finger. :)
Another plus, instead of double end sponge tip applicators, one end is a flat rounded brush! For me this is a big plus because I like to apply the darkest shadow right at and above my lashline.
More Samples:
IPSA Metabolizer Moist White 2
Description: Prevents the occurrence of spots and freckles by inhibiting the melanin production and fills the stratum corneum with dewy moisture. Maintain the well-balanced proportion of moisture and oil. Mild and moist texture leaves skin non-sticky and silky smooth.
IPSA The Time Reset Essense W
Description: A medicated brightening essence that creates bright, translucent skin rich in moisture. Creates an artificial skin barrier on the skin surface to prevent moisture evaporation and increase moisture deep inside the skin. [Contains Double Barrier Actor II, an ingredient for preventing rough skin.]Also controls melanin production to prevent the development of dark spots and freckles for translucent skin with moisture. [Contains m-Tranexamic acid, a medicated brightening ingredient.]
UNO Fiber Neo Acrobat Wire
Description: UNO Fiber Neo Acrobat Wire Wax gives you strong hold, soft and flexible texture best used to style short to medium hair.

Shopping on bobodave.com
My first reaction to this site was, “WTH is bobodave? That’s a wierd name…” Bobo makes me think clowns (yuck and creepy), or the name Chinese people give their dogs (I know two Chinese families who named their dogs Bobo). Upon reading the Chinese characters on the site, its a direct sound tranlsation of 寶寶地. I can’t tell you what it means, but it has something to do with nurturing one’s beauty. Hope that makes more sense. :)
As I explored the site, I was excited about all the products they sell, especially all the Jill Stuart items they have. At some point, I realized the website will not tell you how much shipping to the States is. They won’t tell you until *after* you have paid. It’s all so questionable and inconvenient!
I found that some other US based bloggers have made purchases without problems, so I took the plunge and made my own purchase.
I ordered, paid via paypal, and received a confirmation email. After two days of not hearing from them on shipping fees, I emailed them. Turns out an item was sold out. They gave me options, so I asked them to use the refund for shipping. The package was received 9 days later. Though I asked several times, I was never told how much shipping was. The sold out product was $15, and I didn’t see a refund in my PayPal account, so I can assume shipping was $15.
I'm not sure if I'll order from them again, perhaps only if they sell an item that no other place does.
Rating of bobodave: 7/10

R.I.P Maybelline Sky High Curves Waterproof Mascara



This used to be my favorite mascara. It was by far the best bang for your buck, about $8.

For what seemed like the longest time, I was looking for a mascara that didn't smudge on my hooded mono-lid eyes, and a mascara that would hold a curl for more than an hour. When I found this mascara I was so happy, because this was really it!

It smudged just a little, didn't give me panda eyes, lasted through tears, and the curl stayed for 6+ hours! To make sure this worked for me, I heated my eyelash curler, curled my lashes, then applied this mascara with a zig zag motion to avoid clumping.

Some people find this mascara difficult to remove, but I didn't mind. I just used a decent waterproof eye makeup remover (I think I used cold cream). It may take a couple extra swipes but it was worth being able to see my lashes over my mono-lids.

Sadly this has been discontinued :( It took me several searches at drugstores to realize this.

A reviewer on makeupalley.com commented that Maybelline's new XXL Curve is the replacement - I have not seen particularly good reviews on it, haven't even seen anyone mention the hold power of the curl.



The good news is, since then I've found a good replacement, Shiseido Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Mascara. It's formula is more lightweight, didn't smudge, and definitely held the curl in my lashes. I also noticed that it makes my lashes shinier, but personally don't really care, who can really tell except for you? Another plus is the brush, it's shaped almost like a wide-tooth comb. With flat and wide teeth, it is just perfect for applying onto sparse lashes, and making sure it keeps your lashes separate without clumping. The brush also makes it easy to apply to my hard to reach lashes, on the outer corner without accidentally hitting my hooded monolid :P The only downside, its expensive, especially when you purchase in the states, about $18.

If you know a good replacement for Sky High Curves, let me know!


Note: I no longer fear any waterproof eye makeup as I found a pretty aweseome waterproof eye makeup remover. MAKEUP FOREVER SENS'EYES Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser. Will post reviews on eyemakup removers later.

REVIEWs: Dry Shampoos

I love using dry shampoos in between washings, that makes it ever other day for me. I first discovered dry shampoo at Sephora, when I read "dry shampoo" on a can of Rene Furterer Naturia. It sounded perfect for my non-wash days and it smelled good. From there I started trying out more shampoos as it became more popular. I've put together two lists, my best and worse. Hope this helps you.

BEST - Dry Shampoos (best are listed at top)

1. Blow - Faux Dry Dry Shampoo
By far, the best I've tried out of the many. It does not have a scent and doesn't leave my hair sticky. Takes out all the oil at my roots without being sticky or white powdery looking on my dark brown hair. I also like being able to shake the powder on my roots instead of spraying. It's less effort than pressing down on a spray nozzle with my index finger. Also adds nice fluffy volume to my hair. Unlike the Oscar Blandi non-aerosol, you need to cut open the tip of the nozzle of this product before you can start using it. I find this to be a good thing, as you can control how much comes out. I made sure to snip as little as possible and snipped more off when there isn't enough product coming out. Found the control to be just right when I shook this product into my roots instead of squeezing the bottle. It's pricey at $20, but lasts longer than aerosol dry shampoos.
Tip: If you are paranoid like me, you want your hair smelling nice also. After using this faux dry shampoo, spray some perfume into a brush, then brush through hair.

Rating:  9/10

2. Rene Furterer - Naturia Dry Shampoo
Definitely takes the grease out and adds a volume to my thin hair. I like the smell. It is a spray with a powdery product that comes out dark orange. It lasts pretty well but my hair gets sticky and stringy at the end of the day.

Rating:  7/10

3. Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo
After my first couple of uses, I found that it didn't aborb the grease as well as the others. It did leave a nice shine to my hair and does have a very nice fresh scent. Recently I find myself using this along with "blow faux dry shampoo". Every other morning, I spray this in my hair, sprinkle some blow faux dry shampoo, leave it on for several minutes while brushing my teeth. Then brush out. Hair done, teeth done!

Rating: 6/10


4. Liquid Keratin - Keratin Infused Volumizing & Revitalizing Dry Shampoo
I cannot handle the scent of this! In my opinion it smells like old lady :( To be fair, the product works well and feels lighter than the Rene Furterer. It's also less sticky and and gave my hair some bounce.

Rating:  5/10

5. Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo Aerosol Spray
Has a unique citrus scent, same as it's non spray version. Works okay. Can smell dusty. Pricey for what it can do.

Rating:  6/10

6. Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo (non aerosol version)
Like it's aerosol version, it has a nice citrus scent. I find this a little harder to control, I sometimes squeeze out too much of this product, leaving big clumps of powder. Unfortunately, also smells dusty.

Rating:  5/10

8. Frederic Fekkai - Au Naturel Dry Shampoo
Works okay for me, can also smell dusty.

Rating: 5/10

9. Salon Grafix Invisible Dry Spray Shampoo
Smells strong, in a bad, artificial, almost medicinal way. Works okay.

Rating:  4/10


WORST - Dry Shampoo
TIGI Bed Head Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo
This is the worse dry shampoo product on the market right now - the aerosol can leaks. I got only 3 uses out of it. I used it one day, waited a week, and noticed that the can felt significantly lighter. One return later, I went online and found that other consumers are experiencing the same. I don't know if TIGI bothered fixing it. I'd rather not go through the trouble of trying a "possibly good batch". It's too bad, I really wanted to like it. When I first tried it I thought it was great. It has the best scent out of all of the dry shampoos I've used, and I it did an okay job on soaking the oils at my roots.

Rating:  0/10

Batiste Dry Shampoo
Seems pretty popular based on the reviews and the amount of reviews I've reviewed. However, I didn't like the smell, I've checked out the Original, Blush, and Tropical scent at the local beauty store. Unfortunately, I thought all three smelled awful.

Rating:  1/10

Tresemme Fresh Start Waterless Foam Shampoo
I picked this bottle because the label stated "for DRY/CURLY to NORMAL hair". The description sounded wonderful, containing aloe vera to add moisture to your hair and citrus extracts, leaving hair smelling refreshed. I thought to myself, "Hey I've got dry ends on my straight hair, maybe this will add some shine AND clean it". I gave it a scent check by squeezing some of the foam into the cap - smell check passed! I like fresh citrus scents. Once it was time to use, I applied this product to my hair as directed, but it left my hair looking wet and greasy :( I tried to blot and rub the product out of my hair with a towel but it didn't take out the wet and greasy look. The aerosol version "for OILY/STRAIGHT to NORMAL hair", was better suited for me.

Rating:  3/10


Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk Non-Aerosol Spray
Not the worst, I want to try, it sounds wonderful but I'm allergic to oats. :(

Rating:  n/a (didn't get to try)




































Got 2b Fat-tastic Fresh & Full Dry Shampoo
I wish I checked out the scent at a store before buying it online.  One spray test into the cap was enough.  If there was such a thing as opposite of fresh baby powder, this was it.  I am not trying to insult seniors here but this smelled very similar to the inside of a nursing home.  It's too bad, based on the reviews, it did a good job.
Rating:  1/10

Monday, April 25, 2011

Top 7 Lip Balms for sensitive lips

I'm addicted to lip balms! I've got it stashed everywhere, my desk, my car, purse, my bathroom, top drawer of my kitchen, next to my pillow. Insane? Yes but I blame it on the X (eczema). For those of you who don't know what eczema is, no it is NOT contagious. Eczema is genetic and no there is no cure! :( A post on the X later. ;) Back to the main topic...

I have gone through sooo many lip balms that I feel I must share my experience! Below are lists of my tops favorites for both Sensitive and Non-Sensitive lip days. Also included my "irritated my lips" list. :)

Sensitive Lip Days (starting from most sensitive to least)

1. Aquaphor - .35 ounce tube
Okay so this isn't a lip balm but this is my go to lip treatment for my absolutely most sensitive lip days. I may have to re-apply often but to me it is like drinking purified water at a far away campsite. Was recommended by my Dermatologist for my eczema. It helps to heal dry, cracked, or irritated skin.


2. Dr. Bronner's & Sun Dog's Magic Organic Lip Balm - Naked
Found this at the local natural grocers. Turned out to be the best lip balm I've used to date! It doesn't irritate my lips at all and it stays on for long lengths of time; I attribute this to the harder consistency of the balm. At $3 or more per stick, tt may be a bit pricey but this is the balm I have to apply least often.


3. ChapStick 100% Naturals Lip Butter
I have purchased the most of this as it's most easy to find in the states. Doesn't bother my lips and stays on my lips more than the average balm. It's packaging has changed a bit since it first came out and even now it seems to have 3 different types for what seems to be the same product.

4. Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm
Found this just recently at a Nordstrom's Rack, yes strange place to purchase lip balm, but I am glad to find it. The texture is fairly smooth. The amount of balm that comes off per swipe is a more than average quantity. I have a feeling this will get used up quick.

5. Daiso Hyaluronic Acid Lip Care
Yikes! Hyaluronic Acid sounds scary but its actually used quite often in anti-aging skincare kin. This also does not contain perfume, and applies smoothly, and can melt easily if you leave it in your car.

For Non-Sensitive days
6. EOS Lip Balm Smooth Sphere - Summer Fruit
Bought this as part of a 3 pack at Walgreens. Pricey but there is a lot of product in each sphere. I like to keep this one in my car. It took me many months just to use half of it! Oddly enough, this flavor was easiest on my lips compared to the Sweet Mint and the Honeysuckle Honeydew, which irritated my lips. :T

7. Daiso "Lip Stick" - Peach
My absolute favorite! Despite the label, its really a lip balm. I bought this at the Daiso in Harajuku Japan, I wish I bought about 5 more XD. This is one of the few flavored lip balms that doesn't bother my lips. The smell is sooo yummy!

Irritated My Lips

1. Bonne Belle - I think the perfumes and flavors in this really irritates my skin.

2. SPF Lipbalms - irritates and makes my lips itchy. If you take a look at the lip balms section of a store, you will see SPF is in a majority of lip balms. Hence my constant hunt for non-spf ones.


3. Daiso Beeswax lip balm - heavily perfumed and irritated my lips. :(



4. Mint or Mentholatum Lip Balms - this includes Carmex and the mint Chapstick. It may give me relief to my chapped lips but after a while, my lips are even more dry and sometimes peeling!


5. Burts Bees - irritated my lips and I didn't like the smell.


6. Softlips - felt nice, great and smooth. Great packaging but alas, it did not keep my lips moisturized very long at all. I had to continuously apply and each time I apply I felt that I had to swipe back and forth numerous times with the thin tube of product.


7. Nivea Lip Care a Kiss of Flavor, Cherry Tinted Lip Care - I liked this so much when I first purchased this. It felt great, tasted great, and it gave my colorless lips some color! Unfortunately, after some use, I started to notice that my throat gets parched everytime I use this. Wierd! I don't eat or lick my chapstick anymore than I do my Daiso Peach one, so why would this make me feel thirsty? Sad, I really wanted to like it. :(