Lavshuca Dual Prism Eyes

I have been using these Lavshuca Dual Prism Eyes since June and brought them with me to Japan. I guess it's home sweet home for them, though I didn't bring them on purpose. I had them in my makeup bag the whole time and during the chaos of packing, I didn't bother to worry about what was in my makeup bag because I had already packed all my other makeup. And thus here they are... ^.^

I have 4 of these Dual Prism Eyes, PU-1, SV-1, GN-1, and BR-2. Each compact comes with 2 colors, a darker color and a medium color, though at first upon looking I mistakenly took the medium color to be a highlighter due to their lighter appearance. I was fooled, they look light but swatched darker so I would say those are medium colors. In fact, out of the 4 compacts I own, only the champagne color in PU-1 can be used as a highlighter, the rest I use on the crease as blending shades. I should also mention that the darker olive color in GN-1 is actually not dark enough to use as liner, so the GN-1 combo is kind of an odd combo for me. Texture wise I would say these Dual Prism Eyes are actually better eye shadows than Lavshuca's previous hit, the Summer Gradually Compacts. They are more pigmented, still a tad dry but smoother and blends better.

I do think the Dual Prism Eyes are rather awkward. To me, important components in an eye compact is a highlighter color and a darker color as liner. The medium crease shade is not necessary because I can always blend the darker shade with the highlighter to get a medium color. So as a result, with exception to PU-1 I always needed an extra highlighter color when I use the other Dual Prism Eyes. Mind you I'm not complaining as I do like these a lot, I just feel that they're a bit awkward, that's all. My way around the medium color is to use the champagne in PU-1 as highlighter for all the other compacts since I carry all 4 with me anyway ^.^

- PU-1: warm champagne, metallic, medium intensity; true purple, shimmer, medium intensity.

My favorite, of course, not just because of that champagne color. I think it's one of my favorite color combination, a warmer champagne and a cooler purple. The champagne is pigmented but not frosty, and the purple color shows up true to how it looks. Gorgeous! My favorite look is to apply a sheer wash of the champagne all over my lids and then line my eyes with the purple.

- SV-1: Taupe silver, metallic, medium intensity; smoky turquoise, shimmer, high intensity.

The medium color shows up kind of beigey in my pictures (looks that way in natural light too!), but it swatched a metallic taupy silver with just a touch of purple and gray. It's quite an interesting color that I haven't seen too many of. The darker color is really pretty too! It looks like a silvery turquoise but swatched much deeper with smoky gray undertone.

- GN-1: Nude beige, metallic, medium intensity; khaki olive, shimmer, medium intensity.

This is a really pretty combination, but unfortunately rather challenging for me to use because the metallic nude beige is too dark to use as a highlighter and the olive green is too light to be effective as a liner. I haven't used this combo very much at all, which is a shame.

- BR-2: Taupe, metallic, medium intensity; bark brown, shimmer, high intensity.

This is a cooler brown combo despite appearing quite warm in my pictures. The medium color is a beautiful metallic taupe and the dark cinnamon bark brown makes a really gorgeous smoky duo (with a separate highlighter, of course).

Taiyaki

Yesterday after having dinner at a standing udon bar right outside the Yokohama Station, I noticed that there were many teenage girls lining up at the snack booth next to our noodle bar. Looking over, I realized it was a taiyaki booth, a traditional Japanese snack food/dessert that is a fish-shaped waffle with sweet red bean paste (anko) inside. So I decided to get one ^.^

But I didn't get the traditional one. I got what they called "cold" taiyaki. There were 3 flavors available: chocolate, white, and strawberry. I picked strawberry, and in this case it means the taiyaki is dipped in strawberry yogurt icing and is filled with plain yogurt icing.

It was pretty good, though hubby didn't like it due to the strong strawberry flavor. Didn't bother me. I was a tad disappointed that the shell wasn't waffle but rather thick and cake-like. So instead of having a waffle dipped in strawberry yogurt icing mine ended up tasting more like a strawberry cake. Still didn't bother me though :P I will try the chocolate one next time.

By the way, the standing noodle bar is one of those booths where you step up, order, pay, and they give you your noodles in a flash and you eat it right then and there, standing in your spot. There is almost always a standing noodle bar of some kind (mostly ramen or udon) outside a larger train station in Japan. Talk about rushing around...Though I have to admit the udon at this stand damn good. Didn't have time or space to snap a pic, sorry!

Canmake Cheek & Highlight Part II

I was really indecisive one day and couldn't make up my mind which of the Canmake Cheek & Highlight to use next, so I brought all the 5 colors I haven't tried with me :) I think I've gotten into the habit of just picking a color that suits my mood at the time.

I love these Cheek & Highlights, even more so than the Cheek Gradations! In comparison to the Cheek Gradations, these Cheek & Highlights have similar texture, not super duper soft but still decent, though they are a tad dustier. They lose to the Gradations in the fact that while their colors are buildable, in the end they are sheerer. What they have over the Gradations, however, are their accompanying highlighters, which work impressively well for a blush-highlighter duo that costs a mere $8!

These highlighters are just simply awesome. A few quick sweeps across the forehead, down the nose ridge, on the chin, and around the under eye area and my face literally lit up with this soft focus, ethereal glow! They are more for daytime use as they don't have enough "wattage" to shine during the night. That said, I would recommend applying them with a light hand. Using too much and not blending well will result in an overly made up look.

- #01 Tea Rose: this is my second favorite color combination. The rosy blush comes off very subtle, just enough to give me some blush although too bad it's not a bright enough pink to give me that "perk up" look. I wear pick this combination whenever I'm lazy and just want to some color on my face. I know this sounds like I'm dissing this blush but I have to admit I'm more often lazy than not so this blush had come in handy more times than I can count.

The highlighter is a pale fleshy pink.


- #02 Peach Cream: this is a pretty orangey peach blush but unfortunately it's super sheer, so sheer it doesn't really show up on me. It brightens my face and that's pretty much it. Shame.

The highlighter is a very pale peach color. But of course, since it's a highlighter it doesn't really show up any differently than those in the other combos, with exception to the highlighter in #6 Strawberry Milk below.


- #06 Strawberry Milk: holy cow this is probably the most pigmented Cheek & Highlight combination! I remember putting it on for the first time like I would any other blush and then I looked in the mirror and -WOH- and proceeded to grab a tissue to wipe some off. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. This blush is a bright yellow-based strawberry pink and it will show up that way so proceed with caution.

This highlighter is the only highlighter in all 5 of my Cheek & Highlight combinations that actually gave me some color! So really, this "highlighter" is in fact a very pale blush and I don't use it as a highlighter at all. I actually use it to lighten up the blush, blending these 2 together with my brush.


- #07 Apricot Cooler: this is the 2nd most pigmented out of the 5 combinations, next to #6 Strawberry Milk. Although the name apricot makes me think of a more orangey blush, it's more of a pinky coral to me.

Thank goodness this airy pink highlighter has no color in it.


- #08 Rose Macaroon: this is my favorite color combination out of the bunch. It's so easy to use and although the bright bubblegum pink blush is sheer, it gives me just enough color to "perk up" my face, which is my favorite look since I tend to look tired and sleepy. I have to say I reach for this one most often, then #1 Tea Rose (I told you I'm lazy!).

The highlighter is a chalky white color, but it definitely does not show up chalky! I really love this combo!

There is a new combination #9 Love Pink (been out for a while now, actually) and I will definitely grab it the next time I'm at the drug store ^.^

See my previous Canmake Cheek & Highlight post.

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Both hubby and I agreed that one of the best thing about living in Jersey was the readily available Italian food. God I'm desperate for a good slice of pizza and the thought of a fresh, hot, crispy loaf of chicken parmigiana makes me want to cry. Damn I miss Jersey.

That said, Japan is the land of the breaded-n-deep-fry (katsu, tempura - hello!) so there has got to be a way for me to buy my own unassembled chicken parmigiana. Let's see, I'll have to make my own sauce, buy chicken katsu, bread, and mozzarella. Then assemble them and toast in my little toaster oven. Argh so complicated!!! As for pizza, forget it. I don't have anything to bake it in, and ordering from Pizza Hut or Domino's on this side of the planet is just...pitiful. Not only they're doubled-tripled in price and halved in size, they come with toppings catered to the local tastes, to be gentle. Erhh...sorry, I like my pizza the "usual" way they're made.

So the only thing left that's doable for me is to make some pasta. Funny how I never order spaghetti when I eat out in Jersey. I only make it at home.

Dinner was spaghetti in meat sauce with garlic bread (just store bought bread, butter, garlic powder, and dry parley, all toasted in the mini toaster oven) and instant potato soup ^.^

Here's my recipe for the Meat Sauce.

Ingredients:

- Ground beef, though I prefer ground pork because it makes the sauce sweeter, 1 lb.

- Onions, 2 large or 3 medium, diced

- Tomatoes, 3-4 cans whole tomatoes, though I prefer fresh tomatoes, especially tomatoes on the vine, 12-15 medium, chopped. When I use tomatoes on the vines, I also pick out a clean vine, wash it well, and set it aside to throw in with the sauce. This will result in a very "tomato-y" and fragrant sauce - yum!

- Garlic, 2-3 large cloves, chopped

- Lime or lemon, 1 slice. If the fresh fruit is not available, a few sprits of the bottled juice will work, but be careful to not to use too much since the bottled stuff tends to be stronger.

- Optional: mushrooms. I hate most mushrooms, so I never use any mushrooms in my meat sauce.

Seasonings:

- Salt, 3/4-1 teaspoon. This sounds a lot but you're also making at least 2 meals' worth of meat sauce for 2 people (4+ servings), and that's with hubby inhaling 2 large plates each meal! So really, this recipe will probably yield 6+ servings for those who eat only 1 plate like me. I use sea salt because it tastes less salty than table salt, plus it adds a touch of sweetness to the dish.

- Dark brown sugar, 1/2-3/4 teaspoon. When I use fresh tomatoes, especially tomatoes on the vine, I skip sugar. I made the mistake of adding sugar once with fresh tomatoes and my sauce turned out super sweet. Ooops.

- Black pepper, generous sprinkles

- Dry basil, generous sprinkles

- Dry oregano, generous sprinkles, though don't over do it and avoid using more oregano than basil as it is stronger and will overwhelm the entire dish.

- Optional: crushed pepper, to taste

Steps:

- Brown the meat, and if you want to eat lean, drain the meat of the grease and transfer to a clean bowl.

- Add 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil (this is the good fat you want to eat!) to pot, quickly brown the garlic.

- Throw in the onions, cook until tender.

- Add the browned meat, then before mixing the meat up with the onions, season with salt (and brown sugar if use), black pepper, basil, oregano, and crushed pepper. Mix well.

- Add chopped or canned tomatoes, mix well. Throw the cleaned vine in here and make sure it's submerged.

- Cook for at least 1 hour until the tomato sauce is smooth. Cooking with fresh tomatoes will take much longer, about 2-2.5 hours since fresh tomatoes will give off tons of water. If you use canned tomatoes the sauce will be ready in just over an hour.

- Squeeze the slice of lime/lemon into the sauce pot and mix well right before serving. I didn't have either the fresh fruit or the bottled juice, so I used the bottled yuzu juice ^.^ And don't forget to remove that vine!

The Body Shop Aloe Protective Serum

I'm already half way through this Body Shop Aloe Protective Serum and I started using it only about 3 weeks ago! And I only use it once every 2 nights too! :X

The instructions says I'm supposed to apply this underneath moisturizers, but given the sticky humid weather here I didn't even think of layering anything over this so I use it alone as a night moisturizer. I must say as a serum, its texture is a tad thick and heavy, though it does a pretty good job keeping my skin moisturized but not greased. It applies easily and I can spread a very thin layer around so I don't need much. Each time I use 1 pump for both face and neck, and another half pump for the decolletage area. It absorbs completely and feels pretty much like...nothing ^.^ I like that. Oh, and it is unscented.

Day trip to Zushi

Mum-in-law had a college roommate, Mrs. H., who lives in Zushi, a touristy but nonetheless lovely beach resort town. Since we are only a 30-minute train ride away, Mrs. H. invited us to come visit so hubby and I went on a short day trip to see her family.

Mrs. H., her family, and hubby.

It was supposed to cloudy and perhaps some rain, but thank goodness it didn't. The sun even came out for a few hours and roasted us all at the beach.

We watched a big group of people (a school, may be?) windsurfing.

Tons of people windsurfing!

To the right of the beach is Hiroyama, a small mountain where Hiroyama Park is located.

A view to the left of the beach.

The panoramic view (left side) of the Sagami Bay from Hiroyama Park.

Interestingly, Hiroyama Park has a mini-zoo which kept some peacocks.

Rabbits.

Guinea pigs.

...And monkeys.

At least little H.-chan is enjoying watching the monkeys ^.^

One thing that really creeps me out at the park is these spiders. They're huge, and there were tons and tons of them hanging leisurely on their big web in every bush! They may not as big as the Japanese Huntsmans, but they're still a pretty ugly sight. Yuck! They give my goosebumps.

More of Sagami Bay (right side), with the taller buildings being a beach resort and Enoshima (Eno Island) is further away on the horizon.

My outfit for the trip.

Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick

This Clinique Butter Shine in Delovely was a GWP I got from buying some lotions and whatnot. And when I saw the color, I tossed the lipstick aside, thinking it was too dark for me. Well, I was a silly fool for not trying this any sooner, because I believe I have found my favorite lipstick in the whole wide world. No, the color Delovely still isn't the best for my skin tone, it is too deeply brown of a nude color, almost bronzy nude, but I'm definitely getting other colors from this line.

Butter Shine in Delovely, picture taken indoor with flash.

Missha Fresh Aloe Mask

This Missha Fresh Aloe Mask was such a burden to carry because it's in a glass jar and super heavy, but I guess I'm glad I brought it with me. It's very decent and quite refreshing for use when it was still super hot here.

It contains 80mL, which is a pretty generous amount, and comes in a very heavy glass jar with metal lid. I bought this from Ebay and paid an arm and a leg for it, only to later found it on the official Missha USA website for only $20! Of course, I searched again on Ebay and found it from a couple other sellers for much much cheaper too! Hmph. Now I feel cheated :(

Anyway, this wash off mask is supposedly for moisture care, and you apply it after cleansing, leave it on for about 10-15 minutes and then wash it off. I don't usually use wash off masks because they are a pain, you know, having to rinse my face off again even with just water after I had just washed it. But I made an exception for this mask.

The texture is of a thick gel, and it smells heavenly, like a combination of green tea, aloe, cucumber, with a touch of flower. Very fresh! The only concern I have is that it stings a little around my upper lips area as well as around the apple of my cheeks, where the skin is very dry and can be sensitive. Also, looks like this mask contains alcohol (see list of ingredients below). After rinsing my skin feels refreshed, though not so much moisturized but more hydrated. Over all, I wish I had done more research before paying so much for it on Ebay, and if the jar itself wasn't so heavy I'd buy it again.

Missha Fresh Aloe Mask:

Water, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Butylene Glycol, Betaine, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, VP/VA Copolymer, Alcohol Denat., Cyclopentasiloxane, Polysilicone-11, Rubus Coreanus Fruit Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Xanthan Gum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Carbomer, Methylparaben, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Triethanolamine, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Poloxamer 188, Polyperfluoromethylisopropyl Ether, Propylene Glycol, Benzophenone-9, Disodium EDTA, Laureth-7, Polyacrylamide, Fragrance, Yellow 5, Blue 1

***List of ingredients from Missha USA.

Yokohama Chukagai, Yokohama, Kanagawa

Literally, Yokohama China Street, i.e. Chinatown. Unfortunately it's very touristy, but still I think it's a nice place to see and there are delicious food to be discovered here. Hubby and I like to go walk around Chinatown, going into every shop in search for my more exotic cooking ingredients that cannot be found in the stores.

These are some pictures we took today. It's a very beautiful Mazu Shrine, at least outside it is. But we were not permitted to go inside unless we pay some money :X

And no photograph of the actual shrine either. Oh well...