Laura Mercier Lip Glace

I'm pushing hard to get through the last few items from the Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Lips set. This one is Laura Mercier Lip Glace in the color Rose.

All pictures taken indoor with flash unless otherwise noted.

Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss

A post for Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Pout, in the spirit of more lip color posts this month ^.^ It's a tiny little sample/travel sized tube from the  Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Lips that's been taking me forever and a half to go through, simply because I've been totally distracted with a bunch of other lippies :P

All pictures taken indoor with flash unless otherwise noted.

Korres Mango Butter Lipstick SPF10 Part II

More Korres Mango Butter Lipstick SPF10 ^.^ I just realized I've been posting a ton on lip colors this month!

Within the past several months, I've had more time to play with these Mango Butter Lipstick. To my surprise, they actually grew on me! This may have something to do with my "new" way of wearing lipsticks, as in not wearing them like lipsticks at all but rather like a stain, i.e. applying only 1 layer on the bottom lip then press my lips together to spread and that's it. It's actually not that "new" as this was my way of wearing Lancome Color Design Lipstick in First Crush, since it's a gorgeous translucent red without any shimmers and perfect for staining. I just hadn't thought of extending this staining method to my other lipsticks too until around this summer. Yeah, I'm kind of slow when it comes to these kinds of things.

Korres Limited Edition Mango Butter Lip Collection, which comes with 45 Coral, 47 Orange Brown, and 52 Orange Red.

Lancome Color Design Lipsticks Part II

Several more Lancome Color Design Lipsticks ^.^ I've already explained the different lipstick finishes in my last Color Design Lipsticks post so I won't go over it again. All pictures taken indoor with flash unless otherwise noted.

- Love It: Cream finish, moderate coverage, a beautiful cool rose.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil

These NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils can attest to my current obsession for eye and lip pencils. I have 12 of these right now and am still eyeing other colors ^.^

I think it's funny that I go through phases like this. I'm not so much all consuming with a particular product from a particular brand, but more like a type of product in a range of brands. In the late spring and throughout the summer I was going nuts for liquid/cream/gel eye colors, and now it's pencils ^.^ Do you go through phases like this too? What's your current obsession?

Milk and Cottage Cheese 

Horseradish and Baby Blue 

Stila Kajal Eye Liner

I've had these Stila Kajal Eye Liners for a while now too but haven't paid much attention to them. Until now, that is, and as it turns out, I really like these ^.^ I only have 2 with me right now in 21-Aquamarine and 20-Antique Silver, but have since gotten 4 more colors waiting for me at home in the US of A (Pearl, Amethyst, Sapphire, and Tiger's Eye). I really can't wait to get my hands on my new acquisitions!

21-Aquamarine 

20-Antique Silver 

NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil

On my brief visit home, I dug out quite a few things and brought them back to Japan with me. Among them are a bunch of NYX stuff, and I'll start with these Jumbo Lip Pencils.

I got these Jumbo Lip Pencils a while back, but it wasn't until the Stila Lip Glaze Sticks that really got me to pay attention to eye and lip pencils. And even then, by eye and lip pencils, I don't mean eye and lip liner pencils, but the actual coloring pencils. I think they're convenient, with the exception to the sharpening part, allows the kind of control that results in a precise application. I really am enjoying using them! I haven't used these NYX Lip Pencils very often, but that's only because I'm all taken with the Stila ones right now.

Vanilla Ice

Hot Red

Lancome Color Fever Lipstick

Not sure what prompted me to buy this Lancome Color Fever Lipstick when it came out, but the color Lancome Rosebud read like a pretty pink so I thought I'd give it a try.

Columbia Tower Club, Seattle

The Columbia Tower Club is on the top 75 and 76 floors of the Columbia Center, the tallest building in Seattle. We had a little party there, sharing the floor with some kind of benefit on the other side that started off with a fashion show ^.^ So several of us were standing on the other side of the stair stealing a peek at the show while the party was going on LOL!

All these pictures belong to mum in law and aunt D. I couldn't bring my camera that night so I missed out on some photo-ops. Oh well...

The view was spectacular! 

Etta's Seafood Restaurant, Seattle

Etta's is one of Tom Douglas's many restaurants, and I don't know about Tom Douglas and didn't quite enjoy my lunch at Etta's either, but I did have what must have been the best chicken wings I have ever had! And erhh...sorry, those disappeared so fast I couldn't take a picture of them. And we had 2 plates of them too ^.^ Yes, they were that good.

Dad in law ordered a burger.

Pike Place Market, Seattle (Picture heavy!)

Hubby and I were in Seattle playing tourist recently, so of course Pike Place Market was a must-see for us ^.^

Some of these pictures are from mum in law and some are from aunt D. They both took some really great ones!

The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle

Hubby and I stayed at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel on our recent home visit. No, home isn't Seattle, we were just in Seattle for 6 days and 5 nights for a wedding. And no, it wasn't my wedding either :P

Half of these pictures are from my aunt D. and her BFF, also name D. ^.^ 

Bausch & Lomb Renu Multi-purpose Solution

Okay, this post is a bit frivolous because Bausch & Lomb Renu Multi-purpose Solution is not cosmetic or skincare, but I thought it was kind of cool that my contact lens solution came with a freebie travel toiletry bag so I just had to post it up to show you guys ^.^ And this was from my first visit to Target in a very long while! 

L'Occitane Lavender Body Lotion

Hubby and I have used up a couple of tubes of L'Occitane Lavender Hand Creams already, but this is our first time trying the Lavender Body Lotion.

Hubby loves both the Hand Cream as well as this Body Lotion. I'm ok with the Hand Cream but on the fence with this Body Lotion. It's too thick and greasy for use on the body, and hubby doesn't need body lotion, so we both use this for our hands, elbows and knees. But even then, it's still a tad greasy on my hands. I think the Hand Cream smells better too as this Body Lotion has this odd chemical smell I don't like. Meh. LostRiverRags Goats Milk Hand & Body Lotion still wins.

The Body Shop Moroccan Rose RoseFlower Eyes

I brought these Body Shop Moroccan Rose RoseFlower Eyes back to Japan with me on my recent home visit. These were a part of the Moroccan Rose collection along with the RoseFlower Blushes that I started using recently. 

01 Sunshine Gold, all pictures taken in natural light without flash. 

02 Mint Green

Lancome Color Design Lipsticks

I did tell you Lancome can be ridiculously generous with their GWP, right? As a result, every time I buy something from Lancome, and perhaps their GWPs have been successful in getting me to spend money, I get lots of freebie skincare samples, Juicy Tubes, and lipsticks. They used to give out a couple of Rouge Sensation Lipsticks and many Le Rouge Absolu Lipsticks, which got me to actually buy another Le Rouge Absolu Creme Lipstick in Rosiere! Nowadays, they give out a bunch of Color Design Lipsticks ^.^

The Color Design Lipstick is scented with the same perfumy rose fragrance but isn't as creamy and moisturizing as its big sister Le Rouge Absolu (or her current incarnation as L'Absolu Rouge). However, I like it that it comes in many different finishes such as...

- Cream: moderate to full coverage with no shimmers and semi glossy.

- Sheen: sheer to moderate coverage with fine shimmers and semi glossy.

- Shimmer: sheer to moderate coverage with lots of chunky, almost glittery shimmers.

- Metallic: moderate to full coverage with lots of fine shimmers that gives off a metallic sheen.

- B-List: Cream finish, moderate coverage, looks like a nude lipstick in the tube but turns a fleshy peach on me. 

L'Occitane Fleur Cherie Lipstick

Onwards with more of L'Occitane's color collection. Yeah, I bought a few things ^.^ These are L'Occitane Fleur Cherie Lipsticks in the colors Corail Brocart and Ruban Rouge.

Corail Brocart

Ruban Rouge

L'Occitane Fleur Cherie Facecolour Powder

Along with L'Occitance Facecolour Powder in 01 Helene Martin Peony, I also bought 2 other Fleur Cherie Facecolour Powders in 2 colors, Rose Dentelle and Fil D'or.

Rose Dentelle

Fil D'or, all pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lancome Juicy Tubes Part IV

I got tempted by the recent Yayoi Kusama for Lancome Juicy Tubes collection and went for the Limited Edition Set from Neiman Marcus rather than buying them individually. And then there are a couple of freebies GWP too.

This Limited Edition Set comes with, from left to right, Rose Blossom, Swing Pink, and Crazy Raspberry. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick Part II

I did tell you if I were to buy another lipstick, it would be a Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick, right? Yep, I actually went out and bought one in the color I've had my eyes on for a while now - Ambrosia.

I've already harped enough on how much I love the formula and texture of these Butter Shine Lipsticks, so I won't go on and on about them again here. Let's just say I'm really happy I bought another one, and when I see a good Clinique promotion, I will probably buy more in different colors.

Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick, all pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Clinique High Impact Lip Colour SPF15

Clinique High Impact Lip Colour SPF15 sounds like some sort of weapon, no? xD I got one of these in the color Rose Spectrum as GWP. 

High Impact Lip Colour SPF15 in Rose Spectrum, picture taken in door with flash.

Clinique Different Lipstick

Preview for the several Clinique Different Lipsticks I got as GWP below. I actually have had them with me for months now, but since I don't wear lipstick very often, I figure a preview is better than nothing at all. 

I'm not sure what's so different about these "Different" Lipsticks, because they feel just like any other lipsticks. They're not as creamy as Lancome lipsticks, and they're definitely nowhere near the buttery texture of their sister line Colour Surge Butter Shine, but they're not bad either. To be honest if I'm going to buy a lipstick, I would definitely go for more Butter Shines, but given the fact that these are freebies, I won't complain ^.^

All pictures taken indoor with flash unless otherwise noted.

Ice Bloom: a ripe raspberry. I used to think this color was too cool for me, but now I actually like it!

L'Occitane Facecolour Powder

When I saw that L'Occitane was coming out with a color collection, I sort of roll my eyes and didn't pay much attention. It actually took a huge promotion (3-hour 50% off sale with GWP!) to get me to take a closer look ^.^ In the end, I picked up this Facecolour Powder in 01 Helene Martin Peony.

01 Helene Martin Peony, all pictures taken in natural light without flash.

T'estimo Frame Impact Eyes Part II

More of the forgotten T'estimo Frame Impact Eyes *sniff* I actually have 3 of these palettes, and have only begun to use these late last year when I, umm, "re-discovered" them in my makeup mountain T.T But thank goodness both palettes work perfectly fine, even the cream liners still show up well and pigmented and didn't dry out at all! All the more reason to mourn T'estimo, yes, still, even now.

All pictures taken indoor with flash unless otherwise noted.

Etude House Orgel Light Cheek

Owning all 7 palettes of the Etude House Orgel Light Eyes (though I've only reviewed 4 so far) makes me want to get all the Orgel Light Cheeks ^.^ That said, the Orgel Light collection items are all baked, I approached the cheek colors very slowly, and...ended up forgetting about the 02 - Orange I bought during my orange craze at the time :(

Too Faced Liquif-Eye

Just a super short review for Too Faced Liquif-Eye since the product had long been discontinued.

This is a clear gel with a pointy tip applicator that allows you to turn any eye shadow into a liquid liner, just dab the applicator tip to the shadow and then line away! Sounds like a really neat concept, right? Just imagine all the possibilities!!!

Too bad it is too good to be true. Sure, the gel will melt the powder shadow into a liquid liner, but it doesn't hold at all and will fade in an hour or so on my lid. And that's not to mention it ruins whatever eye shadow you dip it in, so I had to be careful to dab at the very edge of the pan. Blah, too much work just for a liquid eye liner. I ended up tossing my tube. Meh.

Stila Lip Glaze Stick

I know Stila is a cult favorite brand for some, but to me it's a total hit and miss. Although initially excited with the twist tube applicator, I didn't like the popular Lip Glazes. I didn't like the It Glosses either. And the Floating Eye Shadows were, umm, a regret on my part. But on the other hand, I love, love, love the Convertible Colors, and boy what I would do for them to bring back the Color Push-ups!

So while I am delighted to think I might have found another Stila love, the Lip Glaze Stick, I am disappointed to learn these were actually discontinued a while back and I only chanced upon these Glaze Sticks in the Smile in Style Set on Ebay while searching for something else altogether. May be Stila has picked up some bad habits from Japanese cosmetic brands, discontinuing perfectly fine things :( Either way, just swatching these Glaze Stick set off my new craze for stick glosses and balms and I am currently eyeing several similar items from Clinique (Chubby Sticks), Tarte (Lip Service LipSurgence set), Urban Decay (Super-saturated High Gloss), and the likes. All I am waiting for is a good promotion. Psst, Sephora, hint, hint.

Stila Smile in Style Set, with Lip Glaze Sticks in (from left to right) Plum, Berry, Peach, Blackberry, and Fruit Punch, along with a sharpener. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Sekkisei Lotion and Emulsion

Sorry to say this, but I officially dislike Sekkisei Lotion and Emulsion. I got 2 deluxe GWP bottles that are decently sized and for the several weeks prior to leaving on my trip I struggled with these, trying my best to like them but ended up hating them every time. And no, I didn't take them with me on my trip. They simply just didn't make the cut. 

SkinFood Black Raspberry Toner

I've been wanting to try out these 2 bottles of SkinFood Black Raspberry Toner that I got as GWP for a while but never had the chance. Until now. I just love traveling, because it's an excuse for me to try (and buy) new things ^.^ 

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Milk

I also took this Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Milk with me on my short trip and almost finished this 30mL bottle I got as GWP. 

FANCL Skincare Travel Set

I was shopping around for a smaller sized oil cleanser I could take with me on my home visit, and to my disappointment there wasn't anything at the local drugstore that was small enough or travel-friendly enough. 

The problem I found with most oil cleansers is that they are stored in pump bottles, which are not travel-friendly at all. Even if you put a pump stopper on, they would still leak from the air pressure on the plane. I tried wrapping them in saran wrap to keeping the stuff from spilling everywhere, however that results in an inconvenient mess when I go to wash my face at the airport. The twist caps were similarly troublesome. Another big problem is that, well, thanks you-know-who we are now allowed only 3 fl. oz. (~100mL) of each liquid/gel/cream toiletry in our carry-ons, and they all have to fit into one ziplock bag per person. So even the half size oil cleansers I found at the drugstore were either over 100mL or the packaging was too big. 

Thank goodness for conbinis, where you can find many conveniently packaged toiletries meant for use during travel! That was where I found this nifty little FANCL Skincase Travel Set!

La Maison Part II

Was given this pretty package of Strawberry Cookies from La Maison and couldn't resist the dorky tendency to take pictures of them ^.^

One word for these cookies - yummy! They're a tad on the sweet side, but mind you, they are cookies. Very tempted to go back to La Maison for more of those delectable tarts that are just perfect and not too sweet.

Fueki Nakayoshi Hand Cream

Happy October! 

I'm back in Japan again after a brief home visit ^.^ More posts and pictures of items I used on the trip to follow, but for now, here's a brief preview with pictures for Fueki Nakayoshi Hand Cream, I Love Onsen edition that my sister bought for me as a mini gift from the Ayasa Hotel gift shop. 

Fueki Nakayoshi Hand Cream, I Love Onsen edition - check out the towel on his head while he is soaking in the hot spring, very Japanese ^.^