Maquia May 2011

I've long been avoiding beauty magazines like Maquia and Biteki, because I feel they're nothing more than thick books of advertisement/advertorial for various makeup brands. Also, they usually give out cosmetic samples as freebies, which doesn't exactly tempt me.

But this Maquia May 2011 issue, however, came with a cute Aqua Girl Cosmetics makeup pouch. That's all the excuse I need :P

The squarish makeup pouch measures 12(height) x 12(length) x 12(width) cm and is made of polyester. It is a pretty cream color background with green clover print.

The pouch is well made and feels very substantial. The material is quite thick and stands on it own!

It is also lined and had all its inside seams covered.

The model on the left page is Kiko Mizuhara, who recently made her acting debut in Norwegian Wood, a movie based Haruki Murakami's book of the same name. She's a really popular model and I guess Aqua Girl Cosmetics is also advertising their makeup along with the freebie pouch. Makes sense.

For the Kamenashi Kazuya fans.

Just as I thought, the majority of the magazine was pretty much advertisements/advertorials for various new makeup collections from different brands. Though I did find a few pages interesting, the rest was pretty much a yawn. I love cosmetics, trying them, using them, experiment with them, and write about them, but for some inexplicable reasons I don't love following seasonal collections from any brands. If I'm ever curious what's coming out next, I go to other excellent blogs like Rouge Deluxe and catch a glimpse there. As you can probably see, my posts on this blog don't really follow any seasonal release. I see, I try, I like (and sometimes hate), I write. And these beauty magazines aren't for me.

All hail the BB Cream, which has now totally conquered the Japanese market following a massive invasion in the past few years. See how many BB Creams directly targeting the Japanese market?

These aren't Korean imports mind you. They are either Japanese made, or made for Japan ^.^ You know a product has influence when it spawns a thousand bandwagon-mates among The Body Shop, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown, L'Oreal, Maybelline, Lancome, and even Dior!

The rest of the pages below are featured runway makeup.