VOV Showcase Ball on Cheek

I was surfing Korea Depart (not affiliated) when I spotted these cute VOV Showcase Ball on Cheek on sale, because they've been discontinued ^.^ So I grabbed both colors available, #1 Bebe Pink and #2 Bebe Light. You can still find these on E(vil)bay I think.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Innisfree Mineral Powder SPF40 PA++

This Innisfree Mineral Powder SPF40 PA++ was discontinued, but I've read good things about it so I hunted it down and finally got one through, guess where, Rakuten JP (not affiliated!), because it was sold out everywhere else when I was looking.

This is a 10g loose mineral powder with light to moderate coverage, and it comes in 2 colors: #1 Light Beige and #2 Natural Beige. I got #1 Light Beige.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Red Carpet Edit Set

I was eyeing this Lipstick Queen Red Carpet Edit Set since it came out last fall. The set includes 3 red lipsticks in 3 different finishes: Saint Red, Red Sinner, and Red Metal - OMG want!!! But I held my composure. Why? Because it's Red Sinner and Red Metal. And as much as I love red lipsticks, I also love my red lipsticks sheer, like that Saint Red *drools* So the thought of having 2 highly pigmented lipsticks with opaque coverage scares me sh*tless. And then, of course, Lipstick Queen had a sale and the set was half price... xD

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Holika Holika Midnight Owl

After Holika Holika released the Hello Holika Chic Blushers, they released these Midnight Owl compacts in 2 colors, #1 Bright Owl, a highlighter, and #2 Shy Owl, a blush. The #1 Bright Owl looked a bit funky for me and plus I already have too many highlighters, so I went with just #2 Shy Owl. This was a couple of years ago though, and only recently did I finally dig them out of my moving boxes. Sigh.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Dancing Queen Set

Yes, more Lipstick Queen, and this obsession won't stop anytime soon so don't worry :P I got this Dancing Queen Set during the same sale event earlier in the year, at the same time as Lipstick Library Volume 2 - Look of Love and the Heaven Sent Trio.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Dr.Jart+ Renewalist Sun Powder SPF40 PA++

This 6g Dr.Jart+ Renewalist Sun Powder SPF40 PA++ is another loose powder with moderate to full coverage. Last summer I tried the Renewalist SPF40 BB Cream and liked it a lot, so when I spotted this powder I picked it up in a snap. It's not available here in the US, so I got mine from Korea Depart (not affiliated!), shipping directly from South Korea for a really decent price - $16 plus shipping. E(vil)bay lists it for $22-26, plus shipping.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Holika Holika Strawberry Pore Magic Cover Powder SPF50+ PA+++

This 10g pot of Holika Holika Strawberry Pore Magic Cover Powder SPF50+ PA+++ is another old release of summer 2011 and was available up until early 2014, I think, when it was discontinued. It's mostly sold out everywhere, because, well, I mean, look at it, it's freakin' cute! Anyway, I got mine from Amazon because even E(vil)bay was sold out!

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Holika Holika Hello Holika Chic Blusher

These Holika Holika Hello Holika Chic Blusher have been out for a long time, since the spring of 2011, I believe, although they're still available! There are 2 palettes available, #1 Breeze Kitten and #2 Twinkling Kitten. I actually bought both a couple of years ago, but they were packed away in many a moving boxes and I'm still slowly digging things out. So here they are, finally! Also, there was a limited edition(?) Merry Holika All Over Face Powder but I missed that one, obviously :(

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Storage for Makeup Brushes

Now that I've got the Storage for Cosmetics out of the way, I will share with you how I store my makeup brushes. The easy answer is - brush stands ^.^ The hard part is to find the perfect brush stands. So I searched high and low on the internet for brush stands and got, well, paint brush stands. These would be fine for some of the smaller Hakuhodo eye brushes with standard long handles, but for everything else, especially the Koyudo fu-pas, they wouldn't do at all. So back to the drawing board. This time, I searched for pencil holders, which yielded a ton of aluminum or mesh wire holders. Nope. Tried again for desktop organizers and finally somewhere.

Having found some interesting looking desktop organizers, I applied my criteria. I didn't want plastic or metal. I had considered bamboo, but bamboo can be splintery, which is a no-go because it'll scratch the nice lacquer on some of the brush handles. So solid wood only. I must have looked through hundreds of shops on Etsy but found nothing I liked. I know, all that work just to find holder(s) for my makeup brushes. Crazy, right? I was this close to giving up when I stumbled upon some beautiful woodworks from the most unlikely place: a shop that specializes in organizers/holders for e-cigarette/vaporizer pipes, "juices," and accessories. 

My first thought was, hmm, e-cigarettes/vaporizers... 

My second thought was, damn, those organizers/holders are gorgeous! 

My third thought was, well, these organizers/holders may have been made for e-cigarettes/vaporizers, but I'm going to use them however I damn pleased! Who the hell cares anyway?

So I contacted the shop owner, a gentleman named Byron from Texas, and told him I'm looking for brush holders for makeup brushes. He thought it was a novel idea (he was being nice :P) because no one has ever approached him for such a thing, so why the hell not?! Damn right! He agreed to do some customization for me and asked for pictures of the end-product in action so he could post them on his FB xD 

Behold my lovely trio of desktop, vanity, and brush organizers, handcrafted with tender love and care from Texas Premier Woodwork (not affiliated)!

Storage for Cosmetics

So after moving so many times in the past decade, I finally fulfilled my dream of having a *real* storage solution for my makeup collection. While I was away, they've been scattered in a few locations, at my parents' house, grandma's basement, etc. In Japan, Taiwan, and even San Francisco, I only had a few of my favorites with me, stuffed into various toiletry bags :( Since hubby and I moved home from the west coast, I decided my babies will no longer be subjected to toiletry bags, not even plastic tubberwares or organizers.

I had in mind exactly what I wanted, a multi-drawer craft chest. But locating one in a good size with good size drawers was a pain, not to mention the sticker shock. One place quoted me a whopping $800 for an oak-wood (the cheapest wood) unfinished chest with 12 drawers and stands to my chest. Finishing it (staining, painting, etc.) would be another $200, so a total of $1K plus tax! Erhh, come again?!?

I was really heartbroken thinking I'd never be able to afford decent storage for my goodies. Then came my dame in shiny armor: sis-in-law who was moving away to the west coast (I know, just as we moved home from there, they moved out there -.-"). She's an artsy one who's been doing craft since high school, and of course in her possession is a gorgeous unfinished craft chest with 14 drawers in 3 different sizes, also made of oak wood. She even took the pain to replace all the drawer knobs with quirky things. A craft chest with personality, just about perfect. And she gave it to me. For free. Weeeeheee *happy dance*

Lavshuca Aqua Drops Rouge Part II

More Lavshuca Aqua Drops Rouge in the colors OR-2, PK-3, and RD-1. 

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Lipstick Library Volume 2 - Look of Love

Yes, more Lipstick Queen :P From the same sale I bought the Heaven Sent Trio, I also picked up this Lipstick Library Volume 2 - Look of Love. The name sounds totally cheesy, but it's a set of 2 lipsticks, a Saint and a Butterfly Ball, and a lip and cheek cream. Sold.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Coffret D'Or 2014 Total Designing Set

I was curious about Coffret D'Or Full Smile Eyes but wasn't tempted enough to pick one up, that was, until they included this palette into the 2014 Total Designing Set ^.^

As per the previous two years, there are 4 different sets available:

1. Color Blush PK, and Elegant Jewelry Rouge EX-100:

- EX-1 with Full Smile Eyes 01 Apricot Beige

- EX-2 with limited edition Full Smile Eyes 05 Pink Beige

2. Color Blush RS, and Elegant Jewelry Rouge EX-100:

- EX-3 with Full Smile Eyes 03 Bronze Brown

- EX-4 with limited edition Full Smile Eyes 06 Gray Brown

Lunasol Three-Dimensional Eyes Part II

I told you I was going back for more of these Lunasol Three-Dimensional Eyes palettes, right? Yep, I did, and I got 01 Neutral Beige and 04 Cool Beige this time ^.^

***Screencap from Lunasol-net.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.