Year-end Surprise ^.^

Yesterday I got quite a pleasant surprise in my Inbox - a comment from Julia of Colour Me Cute giving me a neat little blog award ^.^ 

I started this blog in 2007 as an outlet for my hobby, and the occasional interaction with the lovely gals who dropped me a comment or two, and gave some excellent advices and recommendations along the way(!!!), is already more than enough of a reward for me. But for someone to actually think of giving me a blog award? How sweet is that? Thank you for thinking of me, Julia!

And so I am happily passing this sweet gesture on. The "rule" is really just to pass this on to 7 other blogs that you read with a brief note, so below are my 7. Oh, and repeats are okay, or so I've been told. 

My 7 in no particular order:

- Julia from Colour Me Cute has given me some great advices, the best of which has totally changed the way I view and use Japanese greasy cream eyeshadows. 

- Same goes for Kuri from Tokyo クリ

- Citrine from Citrine's Blog and I have had some fun conversations too ^.^ And some of her blog posts cracks me up and I really appreciate her humor and candor. 

- Rouge Deluxe

- Kimoko's Journal

- Bang Bang She Shoots

- Snowkei's Blog (in Chinese)

Canmake Cream Cheek (Picture Heavy!)

I've been collecting these Canmake Cream Cheek since they came out, skipping only 06 Nut Cream because it was too brown for my taste. Though now that I think about it, I should have bought it too and use it for contouring. Or not. I can't decide. It just looked so...brown. Oh well, may be I'll go back and check it out more carefully later!

I like cream blushes in general, but these Canmake ones go above and beyond your average ho-hum cream blush. They're really just as fantastic as everybody says they are. Smooth, creamy, and pigmented colors that can be sheered out or layered. In short, they're awesome and very buildable, suitable for the chicken-shit me and the braver others. And they're cheap too, only 580yen (~$7.50) a piece. Given that you really only need a tiny dab for each cheek, these will probably last for a loooong time. What's not to love? 

Here are all the Canmake Cream Cheeks I have, from 01-05, 07-12, only missing 06 Nut Cream.

Because I bought some while back at home and some here in Japan, some pictures were taken indoor with flash and some in natural light without flash. I'll be sure to note which is which. These two were taken in natural light without flash.

Non-no October 2011

Posting the Non-no October 2011 backissue today! It came with a set of MilkFed pouch, pen case, and tissue holder. I was actually going to skip this issue, but then I was starting school and was looking for a pencil case and decided I should just get this.

And plus I saw this set on display at a local bookstore and they don't feel too bad, despite being unlined.

More otaku dorkiness

Another totally random post ^.^

My sister finally got a glass cabinet to enshrine her growing collection of figurines which includes the 3 Gintama figurines I bought for her back in August. 

Benefit Cosmetics Creaseless Cream Shadow-Liner Part II

Here's a preview for a couple more of Benefit Cosmetics Creaseless Cream Shadow-Liner. Back in mid September, after posting about Bunny Hop, I went and got 2 more colors off of E(vil)bay just to try  out and brought both back with me from my home visit in late September. Again I haven't actually worn these out and have only played with them at home, so they haven't been tested for lasting power.

Sippin' n Dippin': a very pretty and bright candied peachy orange with an iridescent gold sheen. So depends on which angle the lights hit, this will look either peach or golden orange, like an iridescent and peachier version of Canmake Metallic Eyes in 11 Summer Orange. That said, it's a tad too opaque for my liking and I wish it was more translucent, though I guess that would be tough to do since it is iridescent ^.^ I'm asking for a lot, I know. 

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Only in Japan...

It's not just fashion and cosmetic brands that churn out seasonal, and often limited edition, collections. I don't know about else where in Asia, but in Japan, many snack and beverage (read: American) brands like Pepsi, Cocacola, and KitKat like to put out "limited edition flavors" too. And I don't know why that works so well in Japan, but the folks here are beyond curious and these limited edition flavors almost always sell out extremely quickly. I remember one Christmas a couple of years ago, my sister came home with a giant box of KitKat with 12 different flavors as present for my dad and he looked at her like she was nuts. Mean while, both she and I marveled over the different flavors and how far and beyond she had gone to get a hold of that gift box LOL! I guess that makes us one of the curious ^.^

And then the other day at the local groceries, I spotted this curiously pink bottle of Pepsi. Alas, it was one of the 2 bottles left on the shelf of the limited edition Pepsi Pink "Strawberry and Milk" flavor. I grabbed it, despite hubby's eyebrow-raising. It was...interesting. Like a strawberry and milk flavored soda and nothing reminiscent of Pepsi. LOL!

T'estimo Color Lighting Part III

Happy Thanksgiving!

These are the last of my T'estimo Color Lightings that I've been holding onto since forever but haven't had the chance to try :( But it's shimmer season, so I'm going all out with all my pretty daytime highlighters ^.^ 

These T'estimo ones are even more subtle than the Canmake Highlighter in 05 Beige I reviewed yesterday. Their pearlized shimmers are less dense, so even with scattered shimmer particles that are a little more visible, the overall effect is more gentle. This makes me regret not trying these sooner as they might be passable for use during the summer too. Oh well, there are sunny days during the winter, and these light up my face when the sun hits. Love it! The down side is that during cloudy days without any sun, these don't make much of a difference at all and I couldn't even tell I was wearing any highlighter. Boo. 

EX-08: an off white with gold color dots and gold shimmer overspray. 

All pictures taken indoor with flash.

Canmake Highlighter Part II

I saw this new Canmake Highlighter in 05 Baby Beige at the local drugstore about a month or two ago and snapped it up immediately. I was hoping it would be like the original Canmake Highlighter that I bought a few years back in that I can use it for daytime without looking like a disco ball ^.^

Highlighter in 05 Baby Beige. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

SkinFood Fresh Fruit Lip & Cheek

I've had my eyes on these SkinFood Fresh Fruit Lip & Cheek for a long time and only recently did I buy all 6 available colors, though not all at once.  

I bought #1-4 on a home visit earlier in the year, so I was able to take pictures of those with my SLR at home, which has a nicer flash with more consistent indoor lighting. I prefer natural lighting over indoor with flash, but here in my apartment the sunlight shines directly in through my windows and paints everything yellow -.-' That's why many of the pictures I took here in Japan in the past year are either washed out (the sun was too bright), having a distinct yellow tint (from the sunlight), or too dark (cloudy/rainy day) T.T 

From left to right: #1 Pomegranate, #2 Berry, #3 Grapefruit, and #4 Apricot. Left picture taken indoor with flash. Right picture taken in natural light without flash. I was lucky on that day to have caught the perfect natural lighting that's just right, not too bright and yellow, but not too dark either ^.^

#5 Peach and #6 Lychee I bought while living here in Japan, as shipping from Korea to Japan is a breeze. The 2 countries are next door neighbors, after all.

Etude House Moonlight Shimmer Blusher Part II

Just a quick post for the Etude House Moonlight Shimmer Blusher 04 - Highlighter. Since using the 01 - Pink and 02 - Orange this past summer, I've been wanting to use this Highlighter, but couldn't due to the super wet weather. Now that it's drier, I didn't waste any time in digging this pretty pink compact out :) Hello shimmers, here I come!

04 - Highlighter. All pictures taken indoor with flash.