Missha The Style Moisture Coating Tint Part II

I like the Missha The Style Moisture Coating Tint so much I went back for the other 2 colors I don't yet have: Hollywood Pink and Dream Orchid.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Liptropolis

This Lipstick Queen Liptropolis set was the last of my Amazon haul, and it includes all 3 shades Soho, Upper East, and Central Park in a nice hardcover book-like box.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Jungle Queen

So...this Lipstick Queen Jungle Queen was an impulse buy, because I was already there and Amazon made it easy to just add stuff to my cart. Supposedly, this papaya-coral pairs well with animal prints. Problem is--I don't wear animal prints ^.^"

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Endless Summer Lipstick SPF15

So I have a thing for Lipstick Queen, and these Endless Summer Lipsticks have been on my wishlist forever. I kept waiting for them to go on sale but they never did. Then this past May came along and there was a general sale, I was ready to give in and just get them, only to find that they've vanished from LQ's online store. I can only assume that means they've been discontinued, so I jumped over to Amazon and thankfully found some at a discounted price (should've just done that from the start...)!

There are 4 colors in this range, Aloha, Hangten, Perfect Wave, and Stoked. I skipped Hangten because I'm not that fond of nudes.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Stila Convertible Color Part IV

These Stila x Baublebar Gift Sets in Glow & Behold and Merry & Bright were from the 2014 holiday season. I've had them since last summer when they went on clearance. After months of using Canmake Cream Cheeks and the new Lip & Cheek Gels, I finally dug them out, ready for more Convertible Colors I don't yet have.

Glow & Behold and Merry & Bright Gift Sets. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Addiction Ready to Wear Eye Palette

Finally broke into my Addiction Ready to Wear Eye Palette in 05 Departure. Took me a long time because I'm afraid I'll want to go back for more, which is exactly what's going to happen--I'll be going back for more, probably palette 06 Es Paradis.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Butterfly Ball Lipsticks

Ironically, the very first Lipstick Queen Butterfly Ball Lipstick I bought individually and not in a set is also the very last one I'll buy. That's because the color Goodbye is the only one I'm missing in the whole Butterfly Ball range, unless there's a discontinued color I don't know of :)

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Lip Nouveau Set

Between J. and I, this Lipstick Queen Lip Nouveau set was just about perfect having Butterfly Ball Fly, Saint Berry, and Red Sinner. I'd been dying to get my grubby hands on Fly and sure wouldn't mind having Saint Berry, and J.'d been wanting to try Sinner Red. That works out pretty well, right?

J. and I also paid retail for this set, only for it to go on sale for half price right now on Lipstick Queen's website. Argh!

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Bete Noire

Last fall my friend J. pulled me into her search for a blackberry lipstick, which I happily joined because I myself have never found one that doesn't make me look, well, dead. Lipstick Queen Bete Noire has both a Possessed Sheer for me and a Possessed Intense for J., so we gave this line a try. That said, the details below only apply to the Sheer, but thanks to J. I at least have a swatch for the Intense.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Nivea Sun Protect Plus UV Creamy UV Essence SPF50+ PA++++

Just finished this 50g tube of Nivea Sun Protect Plus UV Creamy UV Essence SPF50+ PA++++ so here's a review for it.

Note this is the 2015 formula in the white tube and bottle (top row) and has been discontinued, replaced by the 2016 formula in blue tube and bottle (bottom row). There's also a new Mild formula that's alcohol-free in the mint green bottle (bottom row), which I'll review when I get to it.

Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF50+ PA++++

Update Monday, July 18, 2016.

A couple of recent encounters at the drugstore:

1. The big size of both this Watery Gel as well as the Watery Essence new formula with SPF50+ PA++++. I bought both for hubby as he loves the lighter gel for the summer and the slightly more moisturizing essence for the fall and winter.


2. The limited edition "Cool-type" formula for both the Watery Gel and Essence. Bought the Cool-type Watery Gel for my sister. Like hubby, she prefers the lighter formula, and she also likes the tingling, cooling sensation from the added menthol, which I don't (I don't like anything unnecessary in my sunscreen).

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Original post Tuesday, December 1, 2015.

Hubby has been a fan of Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF50+ PA+++ since we discovered it back in 2012. Given my oily t-zones, it didn't work for me at all but was great for him with normal skin. Three years later and he's game to try something slightly new, this 90mL bottle of Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF50+ PA++++ ^.^

Canmake Lip & Cheek Gel SPF24 PA+

I'm not sure why, but it took forever for these Canmake Lip & Cheek Gel SPF24 PA+ to show up at the drugstores in my neighborhood. I didn't see them around until December of last year, with some stores not getting them in until January of this year! By then, I'd already gone elsewhere for them--Rakuten!

There were 3 colors released initially, 01 Strawberry Mousse, 02 Apple Mango Parfait, and 03 Raspberry Float, with 04 Blood Cranberry being limited edition. That said, as of this spring, 04 was brought back (by popular demand?) and is now in the permanent line-up. There's also a brand new color just released: 05 Cherry Fromage, which I probably won't see in stores for a few months. Sigh.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash. Clickable = zoom-able.

Canmake Cream Cheek Part VI + Clear Series

Finally, the newest installment of the Canmake Cream Cheek: a 14 Apple Cream Red in the regular line which I'd hunted down last fall, and a CL08 Clear Cute Strawberry in the Clear Series released this past spring.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lupicia Tea

So...living in Japan for the third time means it's time to get into a Japanese-brand tea, as in Lupicia Tea. Ha. I like Nihoncha (Japanese tea, 日本茶) and other traditional teas too, but most of the time I prefer my milk and sugar with tea. Oh woops, did I just say that out loud?

I've known of Lupicia for a long time. When hubby and I were in Yokohama back in 2010, there was a branch in the Yokohama Station we used to walk by all the time. I stopped by a few times back then but was unwilling to try new things. When we were living in San Francisco, there was even a branch downtown (unfortunately closed now, according to the official Lupicia USA online store...) but I didn't care much for it back then either. Now our nearest location is on the B2 floor of the Ginza Printemps.

Below's my collection so far, which I'm afraid will only grow given the seasonal releases. I started out with these 6 tins--I hate that they're round, by the way, quite difficult to store, but this is my only complaint when it comes to Lupicia.

Mizuho Brush

I'd been curious to try a Mizuho (瑞穂) Brush, so when Citrine reviewed hers I mentioned I was tempting to get the pink pencil brush myself. And then what do you know, a few months later, that very brush arrived in a small swap along with the Butter London Cheeky Cream Blush Ruby Murray and two L'Oreal Paris Infallibles in 556 Smoldering Plum and 800 Bottomless Java. Thank you, Citrine! ^.^