Secret Valentine Reveal

Thanks to Sheila, this time she hosted a Secret Valentine swap. I had so much fun with the Christmas ones that there was no hesitation to go ahead and join this one. I felt that this one was more difficult to do since the limit was $20.00. Needless to say, I'm quite sure that everyone who joined in was far more generous than their $20.00 limit. That holds very true to my Secret Valentine who was...


DRUMROLL




May! I met May via Twitter and she is just the sweetest person!

The box was so cutely decorated! She knows how much I love (as well as many others out there) Hello Kitty.

The box was filled to the brim!

Yummy sweets! The panda ones are so cute and are absolutely delicious! May, are they Japanese candy? I showed it to Wuzzyangel and we both haven't seen it here before.

A ton of masks and e.l.f. makeup remover wipes. I haven't masked in a while and I really need to do so. Love masks!

Hand and foot exfoliator and wet swabs. I really do need to exfoliate my feet! It will come in handy.

A washing mitt and makeup sponge.

A Hello Kitty 2012 calendar! It's so cute!

A very cute polka dotted makeup case. This was also filled to the brim!

Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart--this was on my wish list! Beautiful purple nail polish, Q10 cream, hand lotion, a Dolly Wink Eyebrow pencil--or was it an eyeliner. Sorry, everything is at my office and I'm at home typing this and a cute stuffed charm. 

I'll have to admit that I opened this up last week. Sheila gave me permission since she knew that I would be so busy on Valentine's Day that I probably wouldn't have a chance to open it up until really late, if at all. All of the panda candies are eaten and the other goodies will be finished up soon too. I can't wait to try everything that was in the box.

Thank you again May for the wonderful Secret Valentine gift. You were so generous! It's been great getting to know you on Twitter. I'll see you there again soon.

*Kat*

Creative Idea: Mini Japanese Sauce Container

Since I don't like to use powder to touch up my face, I usually like to carry either my concealer or a bit of foundation for a quick and easy touch up, if needed. Honestly, I usually don't bother doing any touch up during the day but like a Boy Scout, I like to be prepared.

My current favorite foundation is Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation but carrying around the full bottle is a bit unwieldy and not practical. I thought about what I wanted to use and was going to use one of those flat crystal clear plastic sample jars and put it into a little ziploc bag in case it leaked. I then came upon a great idea when I was looking through my bento lunch supplies--mini Japanese sauce containers. The pack that I have originally came with 8 containers. Each container can hold 6 ML of product.

To carry it in my purse makeup bag, I only filled it up partially and put it into a mini ziploc bag. It didn't leak so I'm glad to know that I don't absolutely need to have it in a mini ziploc bag.

Since I will be traveling a couple of times this year, I decided to see how long this little container will last me. I filled it up about 3/4 full with the Chanel foundation.

I have been able to use it for 3 weeks now and can still get out some more product! That is with every day use! The one nice thing about this container is that the plastic is pliable so you can easily squeeze it as you use up the product and your container is less full. Admittedly, I don't use very much foundation with each day's application so this container size is perfect.

For a size comparison, here is the Chanel Foundation, which is 1 fl oz/30 ML in size.

It's going to be so nice to be traveling with a much smaller, lighter and unbreakable container.

*Kat*

Valentine's EOTD

With Valentine's Day coming up next week Tuesday, I decided to work on a simple Valentine's look.

Products Used:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Eden
Urban Decay Pistol Eyeshadow (from NAKED 2)
MAC Eyeshadows: Yogurt and Swish
NARS Eyeshadow: Red color from Hanamichi Palette
K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner
L'Oreal Voluminous False Lashes Mascara
Tarte Starlet Amazonian Clay Blush (From Starlet Palette)
Revlon Berry Smoothie Lip Butter

Primed my eyelids with Eden. Yogurt is applied just under the eyebrows. Swish is applied to the inner 1/3 of eyelid from lash line to crease line. NARS red eyeshadow is applied to middle 1/3 of eyelid, from lash line to just above crease line and blending upward and outward. Pistol is applied (the one marked with the white "x") to the outer 1/3 of the eyelid from lash line to just above creaseline and slightly blending it upward and outward. I also blend it in the crease line having it fade as I work my way toward the inner eye. Lined the upper lash line and outer corner of the lower lash line with K-Palette. Using Pistol, I apply it over K-Palette on the lower lash line and blending and fading it towards the middle of the lower lash line. Mascara is applied to uncurled eyelashes.

Starlet is applied to my cheeks and Berry Smoothie to my lips.

This eye makeup look is definitely much more pastel than I usually wear. As a result, I really felt that I needed to wear mascara although I don't normally do so, especially for going to work every day.

I consider it to be a sweet and innocent look, neither of which I am. Haha!

Hope you'll be enjoying Valentine's Day with your special someone.

*Kat*

Mini Asian Haul

I normally don't like to do haul posts unless there's a review included in it but I don't have a review. I'm actually sneaking in a post in between scheduled posts.

I mentioned in my previous post that I pet sit for my friends when they travel to Japan and Korea. At first they were paying me but we decided that instead of them paying me, I'd rather that they bring back things for me to the equivalent of what they'd be paying me.

They just got back from a trip to both Japan and Korea and I'm so excited with what they brought back.

I had never heard of this brand before but it's apparently quite popular. It's a trial-size sampler pack of the RJ Skincare line.

RJ stands for Royal Jelly. It is a subsidiary of Yamada Bee Farm and the RJ line is made with the honey that is farmed there. I've read many good things about honey in skin care. It's supposed to be moisturizing and helps to lighten the skin. I can't wait to try it!

DHC Moisture Fruit Foaming Cleanser and Gel Cream. Although the Moisture Fruit line has been out since 2010, I think, I hadn't heard of it before. I believe that it is a Japan only release. I've used other DHC products before and really like it so I'm quite hopeful that this will be the same.

The little boxed item was included in the DHC package but I have no idea what it is. Anyone? The only thing that I could read was "mineral oil". Most of it was in difficult kanji so I'm stumped.

From Korea is a Tony Moly Cats Wink Mascara, curling and longlash. I haven't tried this before either so it will be interesting to try.

I really love how cute the tube packaging is. Sorry, it's not really clear because it's still in the cello wrap but one of the ends has cat ears and a cat face. When I do a review of this mascara, I'll be sure to include a better picture.

I also received but not pictured, two boxes of snacks--Tokyo Banana and Shiroi Koibito. They are my favorite snacks. I also got two Hello Kitty utility knives and an Arashi book. For those who don't know, Arashi is a J-Pop boy band.

I hope that everyone is having a good week so far.

*Kat*

Gift Review: Experimental Weekend--EOTD Using Tarte Starlet Palette

As I had stated in the beginning of the year, one of the things that I wanted to do was Experimental Weekends where I play with new makeup, items that I don't normally use or doing something that it out of my comfort zone with regards to makeup. This past weekend I decided to finally play with Tarte's Starlet Palette, which was a Limited Edition item from the Holiday 2011 collection. I received this from Vonnie of Oh So Vonnie in the Blogger Secret Santa gift exchange. You can see more detailed pictures of the palette in this post.

For Saturday's EOTD, I used the palette combo that was in the top layer, upper right hand corner.

The colors listed are: Talent, which is the top left color, a peachy/shimmery burnt orange; Idol, which is underneath Talent, a matte beige taupe; Cameo, which is next to Talent and Idol, a matte pink beige; and Virtuoso, a glittery forest green.

Other products used:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Eden
K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner
Nanoce BB Cream #2 Healthy Ocre

Using a small crease brush to easily apply a fine line using Cameo under the eyebrow as a highlight. Idol is applied in the inner 1/3 of eyelid, Talent is applied to middle 1/3 of eyelid and blending it upward to above the crease, into the contour area. Virtuoso is applied to the outer 1/3 of the eyelid and gently blending it toward the inner corner of the eyelid along the crease line. K-Palette is applied to the upper lashline and to just the outer corner of the lower lashline. Virtuoso is applied to the lower lashline, starting from the outer corner and bringing it toward the inner corner of the lashline. It actually fades out towards the middle of the eye.

The colors in this quint is quite neutral with the exception of Virtuoso. While I don't normally tend to like neutrals, I really liked the result of this EOTD. Virtuoso is such a pretty and strong color that it adds a necessary and beautiful pop of color to what I would consider a boring and plain look. I actually wore this on Sunday too since I liked the result so much.

I also decided to use the blush from the Starlet. The color of the blush that I used is Starlet.

It is a beautiful pink, described as "shimmering rose" on Sephora's website. It is an Amazonian Clay 12-Hour blush, which is long wearing and solar baked. It is infused with natural clay from the Amazon River and is rich in nutrients. It is nicely pigmented and applies very nicely. I really like this color and I'm just a bit sad that it is a LE color. I would love to try another blush from Tarte. The one thing that is a negative for me is that this blush is quite soft and powdery. I like to swirl my brush over the blush but when I do that with this one, it leaves a powdery mess behind. Enough that I have to tip over the blush and empty it out into the rubbish can. I should probably try to tip it out into a container and save it so that I can use whatever remants of it as a loose powder blush. The best way to pick up the blush is by lightly dabbing the brush into the blush pan.

One thing that I noticed when I played with this palette, each of the layers of makeup will pop out very easily so that you can reuse the Starlet set as a jewelry box or vanity. The makeup itself is housed in such flimsy material, which surprised me a bit.

The one good thing about this is that I think they will be very easy to depot and place into a magnetic palette. I will be traveling again in a couple of weeks and I think that I will want to take this set of eyeshadows and the blush with me as my makeup to use everyday. I will attempt to depot it soon.

*Kat*

NOTE: This is a scheduled post

Product Reviews: Shiseido Perfect Whip & Perfect Puff

I am doing this as a double review because it is the same product line. I wasn't quite sure whether to do the review as a purchase or a gift because it was more like a trade. I oftentimes will pet sit for my friends who travel to Japan and Korea and instead of getting paid, I have them pick up things for me. This duo was one of the things that I got.

First up is Perfect Puff makeup removing pads. I really like Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipes and the significant difference between the two is that Neutrogena is an actual wipe and true to the name, Pefect Puff is a puff or pad and is similar to the asian puffs that I use to apply toner and liquid eye makeup remover except a bit larger and thicker.

I found it difficult to use Perfect Puff because I'm so used to the size of the wipes. I find the wipes easier to hold and use to swipe and rub across larger areas of my face. Perfect Puff is a little more difficult for me to handle and doesn't easily rub. Another significant turnoff for me is that when I use Perfect Puff, a strong alcohol odor is present. I looked up the ingredients and discovered that alcohol is second on the list of ingredients. I'm not happy with the fact that there is alcohol in it as it is too drying for my more mature skin.

Perfect Whip facial cleanser is your typical cream type of cleanser, which squeezes out of a tube. It does whip up quite nicely and cleans my face well. I do find my face to be a bit on the tight side after I dry it. While it is a good cleanser, I find Naive Aloe facial cleanser to be much more hydrating.

As a side note, the next week and a half will be quite busy for me at work so I'm going to try to do some scheduled posts.

*Kat*

Infallibles EOTD #2

Today I present another EOTD using Infallible eyeshadows. This time I'm using Goldmine, Amber Rush and Eternal Black.

Products Used:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Eden
L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows in Goldmine, Amber Rush and Eternal Black
K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner
L'Oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lash Mascara

Primed my eyes with Eden. Utilizing my standard way of applying eyeshadow colors, Goldmine is on inner 1/3 of eye, Amber Rush on middle 1/3 and Eternal Black on outer 1/3. Blended the colors together as best as I could--Infallibles do not blend easily. Lined my upper lashline and lower outer corner of lashline with K-Palette eyeliner. Applied mascara to my upper lashes.

Although you can't see it, I also used Time Resist White as a soft highlight on my cheeks.

I love this color combination as I think they all work together very well. Thank you to Lynn, Brianna and Vicky who gifted me with Goldmine, Amber Rush and Time Resist White, respectively. Vicky was actually the very first person who sent me an Infallible eyeshadow. It was exciting at that time because it was said that Infallible eyeshadows would not be released in the U.S.

Can anyone see what is different in the EOTD picture?

*Kat*