Lavshuca Pure Blossoming Eyes Limited Edition Set

So I'm a bit upset with the Japanese cosmetics makers. They say one thing, but they do something else. The release date for these Lavshuca Pure Blossoming Eyes Limited Edition Sets is just one example. This screen cap clearly says May 1, and prior to this, the new release on Lavshuca's website also said May 1. It makes you think that these items are going to be released, i.e. going on sale starting May 1, right? Wrong.

***Picture from Lavshuca.

Friday night was N.'s birthday party in Shibuya. So while hubby was in class up in Ikebukuro, I went around Yokohama shopping for a bday present for N. As usual, in trip include perusing my favorite drugstore stops and foreign food shops, just to resupply our Twinings and jams. Then lo-and-behold I spotted the display for these Pure Blossoming Eyes Limited Edition! I checked my cellphone, thinking I'd been a vampire for so long I'd lost track of my time and date. Nope, it was friday April 27. And yet these limited edition sets were already on sale. The worst part? The displayed were completely empty - they were already sold out! My next rational thought was that this particular drugstore is somehow "special" in that it gets "first dibs," which explains why it got the merchandise so early on in the process that it had time to sell out the items! I went on to check out my other usual drugstores, only to find that they too had the same freakin' exact same emptied out display! Garrhhh!!! What is this, a bizarrely warped reverse Asian time continuum in which instead of being 30 minutes late to the agreed time you're a week early?!?

Pure Blossoming Eyes Limited Edition Sets PK Pink Variation and PU Purple Variation. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Canmake Candy Wrap Lip

Finally, a makeup post ^.^ Since I don't go to class everyday anymore, I only wear makeup on the weekends when (and if) we go out. Even then, most of the time I'd be tired and not in the mood to doll up. Yep, that's just how boring my life has gotten these days with my work building up to its peak season and all -.-'

But the last time we went out I did treat myself to these Canmake Candy Wrap Lips xD No I don't need any more lip glosses. Actually, I don't need any more makeup, period, as there are so many things I  still haven't even gotten around to photograph or swatch, let alone use. But hey, everyone has a vice and makeup is mine, plus I'm easily distracted :P Anyway, I had a hard time choosing among the 6 available colors, so I bought them all. These are very affordable at just 609yen including tax and they come in decently sized tubes, so it didn't hurt as much as it can hurt.

From left to right: 01 Sugar Love, 02 Navel Drop, 03 Peach Shower, 04 Lady Strawberry, 05 Pinkholic Syrup, and 06 Guava Smoothie. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Dessert Kingdom

Our good friend K. took us to her favorite dessert buffet after the hanami session a couple of weeks ago. She said this Dessert Kingdom (デザート王国) is the best she's ever been to, and I heartily agree. It is located in the Queen's Patio section of the Queen's Isetan Yokohama. I couldn't find the restaurant's official website, but I did find a website with details and pictures of the place.

I have been to a few dessert buffets, and they all have salad bars and serve pastas for some savory appetite whetting before the dive into the sweets. The difference between other dessert buffets and Dessert Kingdom is that the latter serves *real* food, as in instead of simple pastas in plain sauces they whip up the whole shebang. That means you'll actually get pastas with meat, seafood, and/or vegetable toppings in them instead of just plain sauces. Same with the pizza, omurice, soup, and curry. They totally sold me on the omurice. Delicious!

Pizza Pizza Part IV

I have mentioned previously that hubby and I were not ready to embark on the culinary adventurous side of Japanese pizza. Well, in the past few weeks our caveman lifestyle drove us to desperation and we finally began to venture into unknown pizza territory - the crazy combination pizzas. They're not the "normal" combination pizza per se, you know, with everything in it. More like 4 quarters of totally different pizzas put together to make one pie, like the Frankenstein of pizzas ^.^

We order exclusively from Pizza Hut now, because they're the best out of all the other blah options. Also, I just can't get enough of their Super Korean Bulgogi. So good. I didn't think Korean food on a pizza would be edible, but hey, I gobble it all up every time! So far, we have had 4 different combo pizzas. The Medium comes with 2 slices of each kind, and the Large comes with 3 (those prices aren't even the most expensive, by the way, that honor belongs to Dominos). Some of the pie was surprisingly good, some not so great, but overall we're glad we've tried them. 

The first one we ordered was the Family 4, which is a combination of my favorite Super Korean Bulgogi (beef, onion, mayo, and paprika shavings), hubby's favorite Deluxe (pepperoni, ham, green pepper, onion), Cheese & Cheese (tomato, onion, basil), and Tuna Mild (tuna, mayo, ham, corn, onion). Yes, you read that right, Tuna Mild pizza with corn in it. What did it taste like? A tuna melt, only on a pizza. Very extremely weird. 

The Family 4. Clockwise from top right: Deluxe, Tuna Mild, Super Korean Bulgogi, and Cheese & Cheese. The Cheese & Cheese was okay but not my favorite. But the Tuna Mild? I actually hate tuna melts, so this one didn't fly with me at all. Yuck.

 

Manyo Club Part II

Hubby just completed a draft of his dissertation, and to celebrate I took him back to Manyo Club for some much need relaxation. School was done for me as of late March, and I have been working a lot too (hence the lack of daily posts, sorry!), telecommuting from home. That makes two cave-people out of us, well, more like a caveman and a vampire as I usually stay up well into the morning. So it was due time to chill out in a hot bath and come back to civilized society ^.^

To be honest, I don't like going to the onsen by myself. If you have ever been to one in Japan, you will know that it's infinitely more fun to go with at least one other female relative or friend. Why? Because onsens in Japan are communal --separated by sex-- but yes, everyone soaks in the same super duper hot spring water bath(s). Completely naked. You must shower and wash up first, but swimsuits and towels are generally not allowed into the baths as coverups.

Taiyaki Part IX

The taiyaki stand on the west exit of Yokohama station is one of those mundane things that makes life so fun here, at least for me. I visit the place once every other week or so, because chances are they will have a new limited time flavor ^.^ I don't always like what they, but most of the time I do. Right now they have matcha cream, which hubby and I inhaled before I could get a picture. Oh well, but here are 2 other flavors that were offered recently.

Caramel cream: delicious!!! Taste more like caramel pudding, but hey, I love caramel, so no complaints here!

Mixed Berry Cheese Cream: finally, a contender for Apple Cheese Cream! Sooooo good!

See my previous posts:
- Taiyaki
- Taiyaki Part II
- Taiyaki Part III
- Taiyaki Part IV
- Taiyaki Part V
- Taiyaki Part VI
- Taiyaki Part VII
- Taiyaki Part VIII

Castledew Diacut Eyes 9 Colors Part II

Now that the weather is warming up, I'm trading in the spring-y colors of the later Castledew Diacut Eyes 9 Colors palettes (E904 Romatic Garnet Dia, BE905 Blackish Smoky, and BE906 Airy Bloom Dia) for the warmer selections of the earlier ones. Order never really mattered to me anyway.  Here are BE901 Planet Diamond, E902 Planet Shine Star, and BE903 Shine Jewel Dia.

***Picture from VOV Korea.

All pictures are taken indoor with flash unless otherwise noted.

Visee Mineral Cheeks Baby Finish

As expected, the permanent lineup of Visee Mineral Cheeks Baby Finish is much better than the 2 limited editions done in collaboration with Rich. Out of the 5 colors available, I have PK-1, RD-2, OR-3, and PK-4. I skipped RD-5 because it looks too brown. Actually, even OR-3 was a later addition. I didn't buy it at first as I figured it wouldn't be orange on me anyway. But then I changed my mind because it was pretty and peach blushes are always nice to have. So I went back to get it ^.^

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lavshuca Star Decoration Eyes Part II

Here are the rest of the Lavshuca Star Decoration Eyes and I am now the proud owner of all the palettes in this line, including the 2 limited editions sets ^.^ I haven't been so giddy about an eye shadow palette since T'estimo Layered Impact Eyes, and I think I know why. Of course it's because they both have a gorgeous sparky top wash xD

In my last Star Decoration Eyes post, Julia commented these all seem to have a brown liner shade. After swatching, I can confirm that the liner shades for GN-1 and PU-1 are not brown, at least not on me.

BR-1, GN-1, and PU-1. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lavshuca Melting Eyes

Encouraged by the Lavshuca Star Decoration Eyes, I gave the Melting Eyes a try despite the horror movie title. Melting eyes? Eeeps. At least the compacts are lithe and pretty ^.^'

BE-1 and BR-1. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

These are available in 5 colors, PK-1, RD-1, OR-1, BR-1, and BE-1. As the color names suggest, they are all warm with the exception of BR-1 that is more or less neutral. I'm not sure why Lavshuca would do this, as warm palettes are not for everyone and most eye shadow ranges will include at least one cool combo. The funny thing is, while I am warm myself, warm palettes usually turn very red on me. So I tend to stick with neutrals and cools unless I really love something enough to venture into the warmer spectrum. 

Ojori (Korean Cuisine)

I learned of Ojori (in the 2nd Basement of the Yokohama Joinus, visit their official website in Japanese) from M-chan, a much younger classmate from my second term. We share an affinity for spicy food but she prefers Korean over Sichuan because the latter is too oily, not that that ever occurred to me. Spicy food? I'm in.

So she took here for lunch one day and I was hooked. In the month after that, I brought hubby and he was hooked. We went back a few more times, taking our friends too. Their lunch sets are huge and very well priced. The lunch and dinner dishes are served in the same portion, which only makes their lunch a kick ass deal. Oh, and did I mention they have some of the best plum wines I have ever had? They do.

Side dishes and salad they start you out with for lunch. On the left is my dark brown sugar plum wine mixed with soda. Damn it was good.

Hanami 2012

No one was in the mood for hanami last year, but this year is different. Everyone was out enjoying the flowers, and so were we ^.^

Maybelline Hyper Diamond Shadow

Yep, these Maybelline Hyper Diamond Shadows are the Japanese release of the Eye Studio Color Explosion Luminizing Eyeshadow ^.^ I've been seeing these around for a while now, but never thought to pick them up until I played with the US versions and got curious how the two would compare. The Japanese release has 8 color combos available, BR-1, BR-2, BU-1, the newer release GD-1, GN-1, GY-1, a second newer release PK-1, and WN-1. I don't know about you, but I think the 5 gradations released in the US look totally bland and boring next to these 8 Japanese color schemes. Call me bias, but somehow these palettes just appeal to me much much more so than what's available at home.

***Pictures from Maybelline Japan.

Lavshuca Eye Jelly

Update Friday, April 6, 2012.

I know the BE-1 looks very sheer in this swatch, but that's only because it blends in with my skin pretty well and isn't as sparkly as the others. And plus you're seeing it next to BR-1 and PK-2, both of which are pigmented and opaque. Even the GD-1 looks more opaque next to it.

Top row: BE-1 and GD-1.
Bottom row: BR-1 and PK-2. Picture taken in natural light without flash.

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Original post Sunday, June 19, 2011.

Given my love for Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Colours, don't ask what took me so long with these Lavshuca Eye Jelly. I take my time playing with my toys, so some things slip through my memory crack, only to be "rediscovered" some time down the road until something else come along that reminds me, hey, I have those, and then I would proceed to dig them out! And perhaps it was a good thing I didn't start using these until a couple of months ago, after having had ample time experimenting with cream shadows in general. Because, what do you know, I love them!

All pictures taken indoor with flash unless otherwise noted.

Lavshuca Eye Jelly Part II

Finally had some time to swatch the rest of my Lavshuca Eye Jellies. I have 5 other colors I haven't touched, BU-1, GN-1, PK-1, PU-1, and SV-1, and I figured why not. Oh yeah, while at it I re-swatched the other colors too since the last swatches were crappy. Will update the original post with better swatches next.

BU-1, GN-1, PK-1, and SV-1 are all super sparkly and metallic. They also feel gritty due to all the shimmer particles, big and small. PU-1, on the other hand, is more similar to BE-1 in that it has finer shimmers and therefore not as sparkly. Over all, these are all light colors and make good base/highlighter colors. And as mentioned in the last post, they do not budge once dried and need eye makeup remover to be taken off completely. 

BU-1. These 6 pictures were taken indoor with flash.

GN-1 and PK-1

PU-1 and SV-1

Stila Lip Pots

These Stila Lip Pots are supposed to be tinted balms along the lines of Korres Lip Butters, only I think they're much better in terms of texture and formula. These Lip Pots are also discontinued a couple of years back and I decided I've held on to them long enough not to swatch and play with them. The below 5 colors I bought in a set during one of Stila's warehouse sales more than a year ago. Because as I much as I like their formula and love the pretty glass jars they come in, I would never have bought them individually or pay their retail price.

Top row: 02 Amande, 03 Cerise, and 05 Baie.

Bottom row: 11 Pecan and 15 Mandarine. Pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Visee x Rich Mineral Cheeks Baby Finish

Here are the recently (as in mid March) released Visee x Rich Mineral Cheeks Baby Finish in 2 limited edition colors, PK-6 and OR-7. Ignoring the silly names Fairy Heroine and Active Heroine, the polka dots compacts and lace embossed pressed powder totally sold me. I picked up both, in addition to 4 others in the permanent lineup, which I will get to later in the month.

The Visee x Rich collaboration featured on Visee's front page.

***Picture from Visee Japan.

Aside from the adorable packaging however, both powders are on the sheer side. It's quite obvious that they were going for a softer look with these 2 limited editions. The [heavily done] swatches reflect this too, which leads me to guess they're probably sheerer than the permanent lineup since those colors look much brighter. I haven't played with the four I have yet so I can't compare, but when I do, I will confirm one way or another. I'm actually okay with these sheer limited edition since I like my blushers sheer to begin with ^.^

PK-6 and OR-7. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Maybelline Eye Studio Color Explosion Luminizing Eyeshadow

I've read all the less than stellar reviews for these Maybelline Eye Studio Color Explosion Luminizing Eyeshadow and got curious, wanting to try them for myself. After all, they don't look half bad in the bad, and plus some of the negative reviews did say that at least the sparkly top wash (at top) was redeeming. Hey, if someone says a sparkly top is the redeeming point of an eye shadow palette, I'm getting it. Out of the 5 variations available, I picked 2 palettes, 05 Caffeine Rush and 25 Pink Punch. I haven't used these yet, so this is a preview post.

To be honest I actually had a hard time deciding which palette to get. I definitely wanted the 05 Caffeine Rush and 25 Pink Punch, but it wasn't cut and dry that I didn't like the other 3 either. In fact, the only color I didn't like in 10 Amethyst Ablaze is that bright peri wrinkle, for 15 Forest Fury it's that bright limy green, and for 20 Blue Blowout it's also the bright neon pool blue. But in the end I figured I better try out just two first and then go back for the others if I like them enough. 

05 Caffeine Rush and 25 Pink Punch. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Revlon Luxurious Color Diamond Lust Eye Shadow Part II

Back in February when mum in law sent me a care package, she so kindly threw in these Revlon Luxurious Color Diamond Lust Eye Shadow since she knows I have a bit of a soft spot for pretty sparkly things ^.^ So now I have the American version of 110 Starry Pink to compare with the Japanese release I bought back in late December. I haven't actually worn these, so this is a preview post.

- Left picture: top row, left to right, 100 Celestial Silver, 105 Plum Galaxy, bottom row, left to right: 110 Starry Pink, 115 Neptune Star, and 120 Night Sky, all are US drugstore releases.

- Right picture: 110 Starry Pink US version. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.