Maybelline Big Eyes Barbie mascara review

Maybelline Big Eyes Barbie mascara

I have been seeing these around Watson's... Maybelline has been one of my favourite mascara's for several years because of their innovative products (such as falsie). This product is no different, I was intrigued with the double ended mascara while discovering that the other side contains fibres to extend your eye lashes.

info... the ingredients seem quite safe

The ingredietns seem safe and there doesn't seem to be a lot. The instructions tell you that you need to add a layer of black (mascara) then a layer of white (fibres), then another layer of Mascara.

Cotton/adding length end with fibres

The fibres look like cotton candy. It was quite interesting to see... I thought it looked like a moldy wand (lol).

Mascara

This is the mascara side. Like most Maybelline mascara wands, this one has lots of product on the wand.

before and after

From left to right: my normal eye lashes, my eye lashes coated with one layer of mascara and one layer of fibre, and finally coated with one last layer of mascara. 

I don't have to tell you which side has the mascara on

You can see the results. My eye lashes are obviously so much longer and fuller.

To remove:

all you need is a face towel drenched in warm water, put it over your eyelashes (or eyes) for about 10 seconds and wipe. Voila! extremely easy to remove.

Impression:

• very easy to apply
• fibres can be slightly clumpy
• washable, very easy to remove
• you can layer (for a dramatic look)

Pros:

easy to remove
easy to apply
makes my eye lashes so much fuller

Cons:

a bit expensive
not water proof
fibres and mascara clump
not a lot of product

I have only seen this product in Hong Kong, not even in Tokyo. I wonder if it is a limited edition. Any how, it is a good product and would repurchase.


score: 8.5/10
website: http://web1.sasa.com/SasaWeb/eng/product/viewProductDetail.jspa?itemno=107811614011 (Sasa website)

also... if you are interested, please check out my personal blog and follow me around Tokyo :)

Hada Labo 5 in 1 Skin whitening Cream review

Hada Labo's 5 in 1 Whitening

So the name might be slightly confusing, this is actually an all in one cream that you can use after you wash/cleanse your face. You just need to put this on your face and that will be equivalent to putting on toner/moisturizing lotion, moisturizer/emulsion, Serum (美容液), cream (クリームバック),

information on how the products absorb

This was very affordable only ¥1350. It lasted 1.5 months for me (I use it every night and day).

caution and ingredients

• Do not use this on eczema or broken skin,
• Do not store in cold or hot places
• It also lists all the ingredients

how to use this product

Translation (based on my limited Japanese) :

• Night time, after washing your face, apply an appropriate amount to face
• It is not necessary to wash it off
• They recommend... (cannot translate this... have no idea what they are trying to say)
• You can use this with other skin care items (products)

pros:

• time efficient
• my blackheads and whiteheads started to pop and disappear (just 3 days of using this product)
• can be used as an overnight mask

cons:

• stings open pores and wounds A LOT
• moisturizing effects are not long lasting
• cannot separate the different products
• some times it will leave a dry crusty residue on your skin

This was a decent product. It really helped me save a lot of time and made my skin feel very moisturized but did not last the whole day... I had to reapply to maintain the moisture. Sometimes it had weird residue too. It made by pores a lot smaller. There are many advantages as well as disadvantages to this product but I really liked the idea that it was all in one (saving a lot of time and space on my desk). I will definitely be repurchasing this product.

Score: 7.8/10
Website: http://jp.rohto.com/category/skincare/face/

Vaseline Lip Therapy review

Vaseline Lip Therapy

So, for most of my life, I have been relying on Vaseline to repair my cracked, chapped lips and always thought how weird people had to buy a smaller container of vaseline. 


A few days ago, I went to a store, and saw that the smaller vaseline containers are called "Lip Therapy" and they claimed they would make your lips rosy.

other claims

Impressions

• very thick
• a little goes a long way
• nice smell
• pigment did not make my lips "rosy" looking
• much more expensive than your typical Vaseline
• not hygienic, need to apply with finger and dipping finger into product many times

When I first dipped my finger in the small container (thinking it was a red tinted vaseline) I was surprised as how much thicker it really was. It felt like mixing a container of dry lip gloss into vaseline. When I applied it to my lips, I was surprised there was no typical scent of Vaseline, it had sort of a rosy smell to it (but the smell wasn't very strong).

Lip Therapy: 

When I applied this to a crack on my lip, I could feel it immediately working and the crack healed. What better time to test a lip therapy product than when you have a painfully bleeding 2 day old crack on your lip? (sorry for being so graphical) I was very surprised and impressed with the results.

However, in terms of tint, this did not do a good job... aside from looking

Verdict:

So is it worth it? I could say YES! despite it's priciness of ¥450 (compared to a Vaseline that is 100 times it size for only a fraction of the price), it does wonders to your lips. After applying this (only once) my lips were immediately replenished and the results were long lasting. Not only has it healed my crack but it also smoothed out my lips and this feeling lasted for almost 6 hours!

Score: 9.8/10 (because it did not give my lips a rosy tint)
Website: http://www.vaseline.us/product/lip-balm/tinted-lip-balm-lip-therapy.html

Sukiya 牛丼店 review

how their store front looks

Eversince landing in Japan, I have been seeing Sukiya shops EVERYWHERE! ... they are extremely affordable each set meal would cost from ¥480 - ¥800. The day I finally decided to go was when their store front attracted me... usually guys eat at this place but I saw lots of families in this one so I walked in.

the set

This set was only ¥480!

the soup was a sort of vegetable and pork fat soup. It was tasty but I found it rather fattening... I could see the oil on the surface and the bits of pork fat. However, I find this soup delightful during a cold night.

table layout

Since they serve salads for some of their combos, salad dressing was available. Their complimentary drink was a kind of cold/iced rice/barley tea. The ginger paired nicely with the beef. And if you are not a fan of plain rice, they had a "7 flavoured powder" to sprinkle onto your rice.

only ¥480!

The meals was very filling. The beef was well marinated and the portion was big. I highly recommend this! Especially when you are on a budget :P

Score: 8.5/10

Website: http://www.sukiya.jp/menu/in/gyudon/100100/#tab_menu_set

ROHTO C3 Softone Moist review

Softone Moist

I am always willing to try new products (which is why I have started this blog). While shopping at Watson's I came across this contact lenses solution. I made sure it was compatible with my contact lenses before making a purchase.

what is inside the box.

According to the box, this is suitable for all Silicon Hydrogel Lens (however, NOT SUITABLE for Hard or O2 Lens). Since I use Johnson and Johnson's Acuvue Oasys lenses (which are made out of Silicon Hydrogel), I was able to use this solution.

One Touch

so... embarrassingly enough, it took me much longer than it should for me to figure out what does "One Touch" mean. My imagination caused me to think that it was a much greater feature than it really is (e.g. my imagination lead me to think that: 1. if I pressed a certain area of the contact lenses case once, it will caused both sides to open or close; 2. if I put the lenses cases on the container it will dispense or drain all the liquid out... also wrong).

After reading the instructions, I realized that the only purpose of this "One Touch" feature, is so that I could allow the contact lenses case to dry after washing it... seriously? ok... I think they should hire me to come up with better features.

the "One Touch" feature... drying out the case

Made in Japan

Ingredients:

Polyhexamethylene Biguanide, Poloxamer 407 Sodium Borate, Boric Acid, HPMC, EDTA

impressions:

• easy to use
• dispenser made it easy to aim product and not make a mess
• dispenser hole was too small
• does not moisturize as well as Sensitive Eyes (by Johnson and Johnson)
• contact lenses suck up this stuff like crazy

This product was easy to use, the "mouth" was small making it easy to aim the product without leaving any product on the cap however, at the same time, I thought the hole was too small, I constantly wasted time having to squeeze the bottle several times to get enough product out.

I couldn't help but notice that my contact lenses either sucks up a lot of this product OR the product just mysteriously disappears... evaporates? The first few times I used this product I couldn't help but notice (the next morning) that my contact lenses case had little of this product remaining. I thought it was weird... so if you are using this remember to fill up your contact lenses case almost to the top to avoid not having enough product to moisturize your contact lenses.

I also noticed that this product does not moisturize my contact lenses as well as Johnson and Johnson's Sensitive eyes Plus contact lenses solution. I'm not sure whether or not it was because I use Johnson and Johnson's contact lenses... or whether they were a slightly better solution than this one.

Score: 8.0/10
Website: http://www.mentholatum.com.hk/detail.jsp?catid=11%7C19%7C30%7C159&id=340

Daiso Shiny Eye Shadow review

Daiso Shiny Eye Shadow #5 Woody Gold

I usually don't get cheap cosmetics (anything under $5, ¥500) because I care about my skin. Cosmetics are already bad for your skin... if you get the cheaper ones, which are made of cheaper materials, it would harm your skin even more.

BUT... Daiso is a bit different... 1. It is Japanese (most, if not all Japanese products/brands have a certain quality control to their products, ensuring that it is safe for you), 2. Most beauty gurus who care about their skin have blogged about their products

Out of the few available I chose #5 Woody Gold, I liked the colour. Since it was Daiso, there wasn't a tester available, so I just had to guess what might suit me more.

product

The product is very simple, eye shadow on a stick, very easy to apply. All you need is a steady (or steady enough) hand to put the colour on your eye lids!

info in the smallest font...

what it says (it took a lot of effort looking at the small font! If anyone needs it for their blog, feel free to copy and paste but please link back to me... or credit me please):

Do not apply on swollen or broken skin.

Do not continue to use and we recommend you consult a dermatologist if product does not agree with your skin or if you experience the following problems: you experienced: redness, swelling, itchiness, irritation, and other abnormal reactions.

Continuing use may worsen the symptom. Store away from extreme temperature and direct sunlight. Alway close cap firmly. Keep out of reach of children and pets. May Stain Clothing and so on. 

*Please be careful not to enter the eye. 

*Please perform a patch test. 

Ingredients:

Octyl Palmitate, Hydrogenated Polydecene. Ceresin Wax, Ozokerite Wax. Mica (Bronze), Iron, Oxide Black

Made in Taiwan. 

pigment on hand

Pros:

• strong pigment
• easy to use
• washable
• long lasting (you can use the product for a long time... many uses)
• very affordable (only ¥108)

Cons:

• easy to wash off
• not visible in every lighting (for this colour)

1. without 2. & 3. with eyeshadow in different lighting

I really liked the pigment, it is so pretty and it is visible on my eyelids. The only problem is that it isn't visible in EVERY type of lighting.

It is washable (which can be a good or bad thing), but if you don't "touch" it much, it would last you for quite a few hours... and it is very affordable!

lots of product

I really like this stick, it is easy to carry and very easy to use. I usually struggle with applying eyeshadows with a sponge, but using this stick was so natural. It was very easy to correct (just take a wet Q-tip[cotton bud]) and the mistake is fixed. I liked the colour, it looks natural but ads a special "shine".

I wished it was more repellent to water and the colour was visible in more lightings.

Score: 7.5/10

Website: no website

譚仔雲南米線 review

My friend introduced this place to me... I have been seeing their restaurants all over Hong Kong: from Causeway Bay to Mong Kok to Tsim Sha Tsui... it seems that they are everywhere. My friend highly recommended this place to me... at first, I was quite reluctant to try since it was a "dai pai dong"/ cha chan tang type of place... I generally am not a fan to go to these places.

On a side note... (mainly for my Japanese friends/readers), while I was researching about this restaurant, I discovered that Japanese travel guides have mentioned this chain too!

many choices, look at the tasty pictures

They have a diverse menu of noodles and other small dishes. The prices are also very reasonable (note that $7.74 HKD = $1.00 USD).

our meal... for 2

In the end, we got this "Everything Noodle". Their bowls are so big! And their portions are so big... it is so affordable. We also got a side dish of Spicy Chicken wings.

This bowl of noodle only cost $45! The bowl of noodle was more than enough for both of us to share. The broth was very rich, made with various of meats and fish. There were a lot of pig offels inside. This was so filling that we kept fighting to force the other to finish the rest!

hot spicy chicken wings

These hot spicy chicken wings were good... they were considered a bit on the pricy side (I mean... their huge bowl of noodle was only $45 while these chicken wings were $23). The chicken wings were marinaded in SiChuan style spicy sauce. There were about 5 chicken wings.

Iced Lemon Tea

Like most Hong Kong places, their Iced Lemon Tea was served with 4 slices of lemon and a right amount of sugar syrup was added. 

very affordable

I really liked the food I had here. It was very affordable and very tasty. If you are ever very hungry, you should definitely come here to eat. (Thanks Keiko for the recommendation!)

Score: 9/10

Address: 旺角豉油街 50號1樓

Hours: everyday: 11:30-23:10