Jack Black Industrial Strength Hand Healer

Hubby loves Jack Black's Beard Lube, so I got him this Industrial Strength Hand Healer also...and ended up using most of it myself :P It has that soothing menthol scent similar to Burt's Bees Hand Salve, only it absorbs faster and less greasy. Works just as well too. Can be used on hand or elbows or knees, wherever feels dry.


***Picture from Jack Black.

Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour Cream Intensive Hand Treatment

I bought this 8-Hour Cream Intensive Hand Treatment for my mum and got a deluxe sample tube for myself.

It's actually very nice. Very softening but not greasy, and it absorbs rather quickly, to my surprise. It has a strange medicine-like smell though, which takes a bit to get used to. I ended up purchasing a full size tube for myself though, so I guess I like it enough :)


***Picture from Elizabeth Arden.

Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Luminous and Sparkling Shadows

I got the obsession for these Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Luminous and Sparkling Shadows from Miss Muse. After reading her blog entry on these loose powder shadows, I've got to have all the colors. So there, now I have a nice little rainbow of 'em :D


I haven't tried them all just yet, so this is just a little preview of what's to come.

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme

I keep a small pot of this Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme on my desk at work to keep my raggety cuticles in check. It's moisturizing, but it can harden after a while and I'd really have to rub around on the surface with my finger to warm it up. Oh well, it's got wax in it after all. I do like the lemon scent a lot.


***Picture from Burt's Bees.

Burt's Bees Hand Salve

Every once in a while my hands get crazily dry, so I grabbed a small little pot of this Hand Salve to see if it would heal the cracks around my cuticles. And it does! It works well, but again it's quite greasy and takes a long time to sink in. It has a very strong menthol scent too, kind of soothing. I bought a HUGE pot for my dad who also has very dry hands, and he likes it enough to keep it by his bedside.


***Picture from Burt's Bees.

Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme

Yes, Burt's Bees. I got into the "natural" phase for a while, so I gave this Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme a try.

I didn't like it though, unfortunately. Way too thick, pasty, and greasy. Takes forever to sink in too, although it does make my hands very soft I'd have to say. Just didn't have the patient to keep rubbing it in, that's all. The smell is nice, reminds me of almond cherry for some reason, even though there's no cherries in it...


***Picture from Burt's Bees.

B&C Laboratories Lip & Moist Creams

B&C Laboratories is a Japanese brand and formerly known as Sony CP. I had no idea of this brand previously though, until I stumbled upon their ridiculously cute lip and moist creams. The moist creams are for hands, feet, wherever you feel like some moisturizing, and they are about twice the size of the lip creams. They are not meant for facial use.

The prices run $7-14 for the moist creams and $5-8 for the lip creams depending on where you buy, so these aren't exactly cheap. But I buy them for their packaging anyway :P You bet I won't be throwing these pots out after I'm done with the creams. They're just too freakin' cute, not to mention they'll provide nifty storage for many other creams I own. Goodbye boring old tubes!

- Apuru chan Moist Cream: the cream is packaged in an apple-shaped pot and smells good enough to eat - I love the scent of apples!!! By all means this cream is no intensive hand treatment, but it moisturizes my super dry skin well, absorbing fast and completely without that greasy feeling.






- Apuru chan Lip Cream: Smells soooooo good, like a fresh apple on your lips! The lip cream itself is wax based, but it's incredibly soft and not at all waxy! It also gives shine to my lips, like a balmy lip shine. If you like the "Water Lips" lip balms in the twist up sticks in Japan (of various brands), you will LOVE this lip cream. It gives your lips that "wet" feeling, only it is thicker in consistency and has great staying power.


As with all the lip treatments I like, I gave this lip cream my "overnight test," and it passed with a "B," meaning I don't wake up with moist lips, but not with dry and peeling lips either. Mind you, only a few passed this test of mine, and they are all oil-based, so this wax-based lip cream is quite a trooper. Considering I'm a side sleeper and roll around a lot in my sleep, this stuff has got to have real staying power to not dry up my lips after I've smashed my face against the pillow all night! See my gradings below.
- Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Soothing Lip Balm: A+ *MUAH* mon amour!
- Rosebud Perfume Company Smith's Minted Rose Lip Balm: A-
- Rosebud Perfume Company Smith's Brambleberry Rose Lip Balm and Lancome Juicy Gelee (yes, I wear this to bed with the exception of the shimmery Diamond Tiara!): tie with a B+
- B&C Lab Apuru chan Lip Cream: B - not so bad for a wax-based lip balm!

Apuru chan Moist vs. Lip Creams, just for comparison's sake.


- Kumomo chan Moist Cream: also smells fresh and delicious! And I just adore the peach-shaped pot! However, this moist cream is a lot thinner in consistency in comparison to the apple moist cream, almost gel like! To that effect, it is also a lighter moisturizer, but still good.






- Kumomo chan Lip Cream: likewise, this lip cream is also much thinner in consistency in comparison to the apple lip cream. Actually, I'm shocked this peach lip cream is not oil-based because it feels identical to the Rosebud Perfume Company's original Smith's Rosebud Salve! Unfortunately, this means it also doesn't last very long for me, as with the Rosebud Salve. Oh well, still nice.


Kumomo chan Moist vs. Lip Creams


- Mikan chan Moist Cream: similar thickness and texture to the apple moist cream. Very nice. I like the mandarin orange scent a lot!






- Mikan chan Lip Cream: another wax-based lip balm to pass my overnight test with a B. Yippee!!


Mikan chan Moist vs Lip Creams.

Lancome Juicy Tubes Part II

More Juicy Tubes, yay!

Daiquiri: my favorite Juicy Tube hands down. Yummy flavor but no taste, lovely bubblegum pink that gives a sheer hint of color without any shimmers, goes on super smooth and stays on for hours. What more can I ask for?


- Tokyo Peach Mochi: part of the World Tour Collection, the color is very similar to Spring Fling, only a touch more peachy and more opaque. There is no shimmers (hooray!) and the flavor is actually dead on with the momo (peach) flavor you would get in Japan. Very nice!


- Touched by Light: a sparkling gold, a more subdue version of the World Tour Paris Bubbly, more subdue as in its shimmers are fine enough that it doesn't turn the gloss frosty and keeps its texture smooth. The World Tour Paris Bubbly is more metallic than Touched by Light, but unfortunately it also feels very grainy on my lips - not a good feeling.


- Fruity Pop: a pretty cherry blossom pink with violet shimmers. Formula wise, this gloss was a part of the "Ultra Cooling Lip Gloss" line that Lancome discontinued, but it leaves this tingly cooling sensation that's not minty but still fresh. Neat stuff.


- Je Vous Aime: a pale flamingo pink with a lilac pearly sheen. Another one of the Ultra Cooling Lip Glosses.


- Raspberry Ice: a bright coral pink with gold shimmers. Also an Ultra Cooling Lip Gloss.


- Simmer: a nude beige with a pink pearly sheen. This color actually washes me out. I might have to experiment more with layering this one.


- Pink Horizon: a grapey berry with a multi-dimensional effect of bronze shimmers and a purple pearly sheen. It's a similar color to the Clinique Glosswear in Sunset. Very pretty!


- Fraise: a juicy cherry red with red shimmers. A bit more pigmented than the rest and gives my lips a burst of color!


- Sweet Valentine: a very similar color to Fraise, only with more pink and is probably the most pigmented Juicy Tube I own. Just a tiny swipe will give me juicy red lips!


See my previous Lancome Juicy Tubes post.

Lancome Juicy Gelee Part II

After the Lancome Juicy Gelee in Fruit Punch, I decided I've got to have more of these on hand. Unfortunately, Lancome has discontinued them, so most colors are no longer available and you'll have to get them from Ebay.

Just like the Juicy Tubes, these Juicy Gelees have nice colors but their flavors are totally hit or miss. May be it's a Lancome thing. I do love their texture and how moisturizing they are though, so I guess I'll just have to put up with the less than stellar flavors. Good thing they don't have a taste. Yuck. Also, although they have different colors, they all go on sheer, so the colors are pretty much just for show :D

- Fruit Punch: my first Juicy Gelee






- Lemond Twist: there's nothing lemony about this one aside from the fact that it's a beautiful and cheery yellow. However, there's definitely a twist - it smells like an overwhelming old lady's perfume. Actually, I think it's the scent of orange blossom, but either way, ick! I was very tempted to toss it out, but I stuck with it a while and the flavor lightened up substantially after several uses. It still smells like an old lady's perfume, only a bit more tolerable.






- Pink Lollipop: now this is what I'm talking about - my favorite flavor ever! I like this flavor the best, even better than Fruit Punch! Actually, it's the exact same flavor (and color!) as the Juicy Tubes in Daiquiri, sweet and sugary, yum! I love it!






- Crown Jewel: now this flavor surprises me. It's a very light grapefruit scent and to think of it, the color reminds me of red grapefruit too!






- Diamond Tiara: When this one arrived in the mail, I thought, "Crap..." Generally, I prefer my lip glosses without any shimmers at all. Of course, that doesn't prevent me from owning a gazillion of shimmery glosses, but I do try my best to avoid them. Of course, I didn't expect Diamond Tiara to have any shimmers. Of all the pictures I looked at, I couldn't tell whether or not it has any, but I took a risk a bought it anyway and, well, it turns out to have loads of them! Grr... Good thing the shimmers were very very fine and didn't affect the texture of the gloss at all (lots of shimmers usually makes the gloss feels grainy and not as smooth). It also has similarly sweet flavor as the Pink Lollipop, which is definitely nice.






See my previous Lancome Juicy Gelee post.

Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Minty Lip Shine

I love Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Soothing Lip Balm, so I was thrilled when I saw this Beauty Rush Minty Lip Shine and immediately picked up a few.



My first reaction to this Minty Lip Shine was disappointment. It was a clear gloss with a rather thin consistency. Also, the minty sensation was very strong and over powering. In fact, whenever I get sloppy with my application and get some smeared past my lip line, it actually irritates my skin, making the area around my lips red and itchy! To think of it, this lip shine is nothing but a copy cat of C.O. Bigelow's Mentha Lip Shines! They even mimicked the Mentha Lip Shine's sweet taste (which I really hate)! Urgh.

Anyways, for some reason I stuck with it, and now that I've gotten used to the thin consistency and the strong mint sensation, I...kind of like it :P Actually, I like it better than the Bigelow Mentha Lip Shines because it has better staying power, not to mention it really does give my lips some shine. I guess I'll just have to be careful when I put it on, because as long as it doesn't come into contact with my skin, it doesn't bother me.

I still really hate the sweet taste though. Dammit, when will they learn I want a lip balm/gloss and not candy? I wish they hadn't made it sweet, because then it would have been a thinner but more minty version of my favorite lip balm, which would totally rock! But of course, they're not going to give me the cake and let me eat it too :(

In the end, the winner is still my good old favorite Soothing Lip Balm, but I have this Minty Lip Shine at my desk at work and it does the trick...

Avon 8-in-1 Palette

Another part of my Avon Loot is the 8-in-1 Palette, which is available in 3 color groups: Water Colors, Paradise Greens, and Neutral Tones.

***Picture from Avon.com.

I have the Paradise Greens palette with 8 pretty neutral colors, most of which are pastels. Also, within the 8 colors, 2 are semi-pearls and 4 semi-metallics, and I'm saying semi because they aren't quite pearls or metallics. Also, these shadows are not pigmented at all with only 3 of the 8 are low intensity colors and the rest are very sheer. They will utterly disappoint you if you are looking for a tiniest hint of color. Sad, but true.


And unfortunately, as excited as I was with this palette in the beginning, I'm growing more frustrated with each use. Even though I like sheer eye shadows, these colors are way too difficult to pair up, not only because they barely show up but also because of their half-assed finishes. The only good news that's left is their soft and airy texture. So yeah, if you must try these palettes, I would recommend to stay away from Paradise Greens and pick from the other 2 color groups. That, or save your $8 altogether :D


Anyways, here are the colors, from left to right:
- White sand: very sheer, probably the second most metallic shade in the lot (second to the Pale marzipan). This goes on a very pale gray with silver metallic sheen.
- Seafoam green: matte, low intensity. Looks pretty in the pan, but I can't use it at all. I tried it on the back of my hand, and it matched perfectly the color of the blood veins from underneath my skin - not something I'd want to put on my eye lids, you know? Ick.
- Pale marzipan: metallic, very sheer, it actually goes on a metallic gold. Very pretty!
- Pastel pink: semi-metallic, very sheer, a cool pastel pink with silvery semi-metallic sheen.
- Putty: matte, very sheer, a basic highlighting color, just that it's matte. Works well as an under-brow highlighter or for inner corners of the eyes.
- Golden olive: semi-pearl, low intensity, an olive with semi-pearly gold sheen. Makes a good medium shade for a smoky eye!
- Purplish brown: semi-pearl, low intensity, a brown with semi-pearly purple sheen. Unfortunately, I can only use this color as a liner because it gives my lids this disgusting purplish bruise otherwise. Let's just say if I want to dress up as a zombie for Halloween, I would load up my eyes with this color and I will look as good as dead.
- Pale cappuccino: semi-metallic, very sheer, this color actually goes on a golden beige and is quite pretty.