Kiss Me Heroine Make Long & Curl Mascara Review

This'll be a fairly quick and straight forward review of a new favorite mascara of mine: Kiss Me Heroine Make Long & Curl Mascara.

Pros:
+ Lengthens and separates lashes really well! Best I’ve seen yet.
+ Waterproof so holds a curl fabulously.
+ Contains little polymer fibers (smaller than I’ve seen in other Japanese mascaras) so lengthens lashes really well (I know, said that already)! Little fibers have yet to fall into my eyes and irritate them (which happened quite frequently with my Fasio mascaras).
+ No need to use any mascara base since it adheres to lashes so well (sorry I've used 'well' so many times but it does!)!
+ No flaking or smudging after hours of wear.
+ Unscented.
Con:
- More difficult to remove than with normal mascaras. If that’s the case for you, here are my two eye makeup remover recommendations:Mandom Cleansing Express Eye Makeup RemoverSonia Kashuk Remove
Tip: IMO, it’s best to use a mascara guard with this mascara. Whenever I don’t use one, I usually end up accidentally getting a bit of mascara on my eyeshadow.
Cost:Anywhere between $12-20 depending on where purchased.
Bare lashes:

Lashes with Kiss Me mascara applied:

From the side:

Where To Buy:A Pop of Kawaii (support a fellow beauty blogger! :))SaSaAdam Beauty Mihoko Shop
Ichibanko

Sony CP B&C Makemania Curvy Lip Silicone Lip Gloss Review

I purchased Makemania's Curvy Lip Silicone lip gloss a while back at Mitsuwa for a jacked up price of around $16 (oh, those impulse purchases...). I've been looking around for a nude lip color for a while and thought I'd give this one a try since it looked like such a nice pinkish-nude. Turns out, it's supposedly a bestseller in Japan because of it's inexpensive price and great "plumping effects!" I honestly had no idea from the packaging (due to limited knowledge of the Japanese language) that it was supposed to plump your lips or else I'd have not purchased it since I don't really care to plump my lips any further. I just purchased it simply for the nude color.

The packaging for Makemania's Curvy Lip Silicone lip gloss was revamped and re-released in 2010. This new packaging is fairly attractive to me but I still think that the actual lip gloss tube could do with some revamping itself, imo.

Makemania's Curvy Lip Silicone has a plastic spatula applicator instead of your normal brush applicator. It's an interesting concept. I'm not sure exactly why they chose this type of applicator but one thing I do like about it is that you are able to easily wipe it clean. Say you already have color on your lips and then you apply this lip gloss: the [plastic applicator can be easily wiped off and it won't contaminate/stain the rest of your lip gloss! Nice!

Ingredients include: collagen, hyaluronic acid, grape seed oil, soybean seed oil, and chamomilla.

The lip gloss itself is thick but surprisingly not sticky, which I absolutely adore. Too many times have I found myself with a lip gloss that was so sticky that it made my lips strangely stick together (Stila Lip Glaze, anyone?). After a while, I started feeling a slight tingling sensation on my lower lips, nothing that was too bothersome. I would attribute the "plumping properties" of this lip gloss to the hi-shine and hi-gloss rather than any stinging effect, which is a nice change from your traditional plumping methods. I tried this one Sally Hansen plumping gloss once and I'm not kidding when I say it felt like it was literally burning my lips. What the heck.

The smell strangely reminds me a lot of Kokuryudo's Privacy UV Face Mist. Not that I can really put that into words unless you know what it smells like yourself. Apologies for that. It is nice though! :) As for the color, there was no real color payoff for me. The gloss is sheer with very minimal tint, if any. Keep in mind, my lips are quite tinted so it's difficult for anything to really show up unless it's darker than my natural lip color.

Sorry for the yellow lighting! I'll try to retake this picture another time and repost.

All in all, I quite like this lip gloss for what it is. It's extremely hydrating and moisturizing. Unlike other glosses that just sit on top of your lips, this one feels like it actually penetrated my lips and moisturized them. There is no sparkle, shimmer, or glitter which I also like since I'm not into blinged out lips. I'd recommend it if you like a very hi-shine and very moisturizing lip gloss but not if you're looking for some kind of color payoff too.

Question: What do you use on your lips to get other colors to show up as they really are? My lips are pigmented and I have a difficult time getting colors to show up. Time to invest in a nude lipstick? Suggestions? :)

Kose Seikisho Clear Cotton

I woke up the other morning with my face makeup still on. Ah~ guilty of sleeping with makeup on. I also felt like doing a review since I recently did some major haulage and found this to be the perfect time to review my new Seikisho Clear Cotton squares!

Read more after the jump!





I like cotton puffs. Combined with my Sonia Kashuk Remove, they make removing my waterproof eye makeup a cinch. The majority of puffs/squares I've tried have been super rough, linty, or too thin. My current favorite cotton puffs though are CS-being's since they're only around $2.99 for 222 squares. And they're super soft to boot! Mmm~ :)



Recently, I was shopping around Beauty.com since I needed (okay, more like wanted) new foundation (I ran out of my Bare Minerals Matte sample which I had been living off of since that promotion they did agessss ago). They had a 20% off promotion going on and I wanted free shipping so I added Kose Seikisho's Clear Cotton as a cart filler.

These cotton pads have two sides:
- The Herringbone pattern side is to be used specifically on your T-zone.
- The Plain pattern side is to be used on your cheeks and decollete.

Herringbone Pattern

Plain Pattern

Here we'll do a comparison between Kose Seikisho Clear Cotton and CS-being Cotton Puffs:

CS-being cotton puffs:


Right eye. Eyelashes are all wonky cause I slept on them.

Left eye.

Seikisho Clear Cotton on left. CS-being cotton puffs on right:


Seikisho Clear Cotton squares are a bit thicker and larger than CS-being cotton puffs but I don't think it's necessary when taking off your eye makeup. In addition, the fact that it's larger and thicker means that it absorbs more makeup remover so that less of it gets on my eyes.

CS-being test on right eye:



Seikisho Clear Cotton test on left eye:



Seikisho Clear Cotton Herringbone Pattern on T-zone (Didn't have Seikisho Clear Lotion so I used Laneige's White Plus Renew Refiner):



Seikisho Clear Cotton Plain Pattern on neck and decollete (here you can see how the cotton squares are beginning to bunch up and curl):



Verdict?
I'll be sticking to my CS-being cotton puffs. The Kose Seikisho Clear Cotton squares are quite pricey at $5 for 60 puffs. Given, they're of high quality but I don't have a need for that since I'm only removing minor eye makeup. One reviewer on MUA suggested cutting them in half so that you can get to the softer cotton in the center. If I end up giving that a try, I'll update this post.

Kai Mascara Guard & Lash Comb Review

Finally picked up the Kai Mascara Guard & Lash Comb the other day.
Read on for a detailed review.



I've been looking to purchase a mascara guard for a while now since I often accidentally swipe mascara onto my eyeshadow. Finally found Kai's version at Mitsuwa the other day for $4.99. Hurray! I immediately threw it into my shopping basket.

Here are my bare lashes:


Here is the mascara guard held over my right eye:


Applying a couple coats of mascara: Tarte & Majolica Majorca:


Seems like I need to apply mascara with less of a heavy hand. I was easily able to swipe off of the mascara guard onto my eyeshadow. :/


I tried the mascara guard for my bottom lashes too:


Worked out pretty well:


My Tarte mascara is getting old. It dried super quickly and one of my lower lashes got stuck to the mascara guard. :/


Finished:


I tried the Kai Mascara Guard again with my left eye and things turned out a lot better. I applied mascara with a lighter hand and not once did I get any mascara on my eyelid.

My Thoughts: Granted, I can't always achieve as much volume as I'd like while using the mascara guard since it prevents the mascara from reaching the back of my lashes but I love that it keeps mascara off my lids where it doesn't belong. After using the mascara guard to create a base layer of mascara, you can always gently swipe your lashes a few more times without the mascara guard to give it a little more va-va-voom which is what I ended up doing with my right lashes. The gentle post-mascara-guard swipes won't end up on your eyelids cause you're already created the necessary base and you'd just be worrying about touch-ups and little add-ons of volume. Make sure to clean your mascara guard each time so that the dried clumps of mascara don't end up on your lashes the next time you use the mascara guard.

Verdict: Love it! Will be purchasing again if ever this one broke or anything.

I haven't been able to try out the lash comb yet but will update this review if I do.

Where To Purchase:
Webichi.com $5.19
Cosmelandusa.com $4.99

Etude House Dream On Pact Slim & Cover SPF25/PA++ in #2 Natural Beige Review & EOTD

How cute is the packaging of Etude House?? :)

I was able to get this CP'd recently from Singapore. Kind of a bad decision. It wasn't until after I solidified the CP did I find out that Etude House prices in Singapore are super jacked up. :( Anyway, I really wanted to try Etude House and this one was one of the items I decided to purchase. I opted for Shade #2 Natural Beige because I didn't think Shade #3 True Beige would be easy to find. The things you settle for when you're in a rush..



Description from Etudehouseusa.com: The secret to dreamy bright complexion. Compact powder makeup maintains sheer, oil absorbing texture for radiant coverage with UV protection. Contains hyaluronic acid and encapsulated oil control powder to smooth, moisturize, and nourish complexion.



Directions: Use puff to gather and apply pressed powder to cheeks, forehead, nose, and chin. Gently pat to finish.

The design of the compact is so cute. Makes me smile. :)

Here is the little puff that's included. There is a plastic plate holding it so that it doesn't sit directly on top of the powder.




The day that I did the review was almost a record hot day where I live. I was also doing the review upstairs where all the heat was concentrated so you can somewhat imagine how shiny I was while trying to take pictures for this review. Given these conditions, this may not be the best all-around review but at least it'll give you an idea of Etude House Dream On Pact in "extreme" conditions.

Here is one of three before and afters. Left image shows you the right side of my face before application and right image is after application.

Another comparison picture. This heat is nasty.

The comparison is reversed in this picture. Left side shows the Dream on Pact applied and the right side shows my bare skin.

Again, I should restate that the day I wrote the post was a really, really warm day. Four hours after application, I noticed that the side where I applied the Dream On Pact was a little shiny again. Not as shiny as my left side (Applied no foundation to this side) but it was still a little shiny. I'll do an edit once I test this foundation on a better day.

My impressions on the Etude House Dream On Pact:
+ Nice floral scent, not too strong.
+ Contains SPF 25
+ Flawless finish, no cakeyness (but that could also have been because it was a warm day)
- Oil control doesn't last all day. Lasted for about 4 hours before I had to touch up again. It is, though, a compact powder meaning you can carry it around with you and touch up whenever you like. Perhaps it isn't meant to last all day.
- As cute as the compact case is, it's made out of plastic. For my jacked up price of $23+, I wish it was made of something a little sturdier.

About the color match: Shade #2 Natural Beige isn't the best fit right now since it's summer time and I've tanned a bit. Hopefully, it'll be a better match in the winter time, if I lighten up by then. For reference, I was N30 the last time I was MAC color tested. That was a while back though...

Where to buy Etude House Dream On Pact:
- EtudeHouseUSA.com
- EBay: 031tansango, codinara, zinopark
- GMarket (I can't supply you with sellers yet though since I've never shopped here)

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Thank you to my girls who went far & wide to get me Urban Decay's highly coveted Naked Palette for my birthday! I've put off using it for a few days because it's so pristine and pretty but I finally gave in.

I'm still really new to eyeshadow application but this was kind of a fail. Hah. The excuse I gave myself in the end was that I was going climbing later and didn't want to look overdone.

Colors from the Urban Decay Naked Palette used:
- Sin
- Buck
- Darkhorse
- 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Whiskey (is this the creamiest eye liner or what?? seriously!)


Top lashes: Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain & Majolica Majorca Enamel Glamour Volume On
Bottom lashes: Hourglass Superficial Lash