Mini Review: Bioderma Atoderm Shower Oil

It's not drying, but I wouldn't call it moisturizing either. The small size comes in a tube which is a bit unwieldy for dispensing the fairly liquid product - a lot comes out. Also, the entire cap has come off the tube before, which is also annoying. The larger size comes with a pump dispenser which sounds much better for the viscosity of this product.

Overall, fun to try and not a bad product but I'm looking for something more moisturizing.

Mini Review: Trader Joe's Mineral Sunscreen Stick

Greasy! I will not repurchase. I keep it in the car as a backup in case I need sunscreen.

whew, June! Mini review: Le Couvent des Minimes Eau Sereine Moisturizing Hand Cream

Smells divine and decently moisturizing.

https://www.lecouventdesminimes.com/us/serenity-hand-cream-25ml.html

Mini Review: Yes to Pomegranate Lip Balm with SPF

It leaves a white cast to my lips so it is not a low-maintenance option.

I won't be repurchasing.

Mini reviews: Lumene dual-phase makeup remover and Vichy micellar water

Lumene dual-phase makeup remover: thumbs down. It burns!

Thumbs up on the Vichy micellar water - works well and gently.

Laneige Good Night Kit (trial size) on Clearance at Target

I went to pick up a few of the Laneige Good Night Kits (trial size) at Target as they're only available in stores although you can see them online. Although they're listed as $5 on the website, they rang up as $1.50 and the cashier remarked that they were on clearance.

Even at $5 it's a great way to try out the well regarded Water Sleeping Mask, and at $1.50 it's a steal! I'm not supposed to be buying more skincare but at this price, I might pick up a few more as gifts. Target says that my store is now out of stock though, which is odd since there were a lot in stock when I picked them up. I did tell the cashier to try them; maybe she spread the word.

Mini Review: Badger Sport Broad Spectrum SPF 35 Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Cream

This sunscreen has 22.5% non-nano un-coated zinc oxide.

Sadly, while this is effective protection and is supposedly ocean-friendly, the super thick texture - thicker than Neutrogena's popular Drytouch sunscreen - makes it a pain to apply. I'll be happy when I finally use up this tube.

The Body Shop Japanese Camellia body butter

It smells great, but when I sampled it I didn't like it as much. Maybe a bit too sweet and buttery. The butter itself is lovely though - moisturizing but absorbs well.
I love the fact that you can ask for samples! Excellent customer policy that encouraged me to buy the Italian Fig products.

Mini Review: MUJI Cleansing Oil for Sensitive Skin

MUJI cleansing oil for sensitive skin is rather thick and heavy in texture. It stings my eyes a little too. I probably won't repurchase. The small bottle is really handy for traveling though! I will probably refill it with whatever cleansing oil I use next.

Mini Review: Beaua 10 Essences Cleansing Oil

Beaua 10 Essences Cleansing Oil smells nice (essential oil frangrance hehe) but stings my eyes. I like it enough to use up but I probably will not repurchase. So many other cleansing oils to try!


Teedra Moses has new music out:

Steam Cream

Steam Cream has a light, lovely texture that seems to absorb well, and I enjoy the lavender scent.
I'm not sure it's worth 1600 yen though - it's lovely to receive as a gift but I'm not sure it's affordable as a body cream that I'd purchase for myself.  This was a gift from a lovely friend.

wishlist

My current wishlist:

• Laura Mercier Mini Caviar Stick Eye Colour Quartet $38.00
• CLINIQUE Airbrush Concealer Illuminates, Perfects $20.00

I've read good things about both products.  However, considering the amount of makeup I currently have, and the things I've already bought this year, I will wait till next year, when I might be able to justify the purchases a bit better (hopefully).

In some mini-reviews:

• Gud Softening Conditioner in Red Ruby Groovy by Burt's Bees: meh.  I don't find it particularly conditioning, and the scent gets old pretty quickly.
• Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Eucalyptus Mint Body Scrub: meh.  It is emollient, but that renders the scrubby bits rather ineffective - especially on wet skin.  It smells nice, but I basically use it as an emollient body wash.

Won't repurchase either product.

Le Couvent Des Minimes, Moomin

Wow, Le Couvent Des Minimes and C.O. Bigelow have reached Japan!

I'm a bit afraid look at the prices, but the local availability is quite welcome!

In other news, Uniqlo has a Moomin collection!  Orbis also has packaged their cleansing oil with Moomin characters (limited edition), and has a set of cosmetic pouches out.
This unrelated masking tape looks so cute! More types here too.

Current skin regimen

For a while my skin was breaking out and out of control - mainly because of stress and lack of sleep.

Now that the stress is more under control, I thought I'd mention my current skin regimen.

• Bioderma Sensibio Derma Water (50ml trial size) - neutral for my skin; I probably won't bother repurchasing
• Astalift Jelly Aquarysta (sample packets) - applied in small quantities, I don't find it irritating, but if I apply too much I find this stings.  It could be helping my skin, but these days I don't look at my skin too closely!
• Astalift Lotion - similarly, applied in small quantities, it's okay, but too much and I find it irritating.
• Leaf & Botanics Essence Lavender serum + moisturizer - it smells lovely, and my skin doesn't seem to get irritated.  No complaints, but , I'm looking forward to trying something new.
• Guinot Creme 888 Vital Antirides (Anti-wrinkle Rich Night Cream) - the scent took a bit of getting used to, but my combination skin rather seems to like it - I apply it to my cheeks at night.  When I finally use up the tube, I'll open up the day version that I also received from my generous aunt.

I'm using a cleansing oil - it works well, but the scent has gone off a little, so I'm looking forward to going back to Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water which is undeniably gentle.

For sunscreen, I'm working my way through Allie UV Moisture Gel SPF 50+ PA++++.  The texture is fine and my skin seems to tolerate it fairly well.

When my cheeks get too dry and irritated (hello SF water!), I apply Yuskin (the orange capped version) - I like it better than petroleum jelly but in all honestly they could both be equally effective.

All in all, my current regime is working, but I'm looking forward to using up all of these products.  Since I find the Astalift products irritating, I may give them all to my mother.

This was supposed to be my last Glossybox, after two mediocre previous ones! But they've thrown me a loop with a box that is definitely worth the Japanese subscription price.

This month's box includes a full Zoya nail polish in a slate greyish-blue, a sedate enough color for work. This is my first Zoya polish so I'm quite happy about it, especially as Zoya is about 1400yen in Japan (a rather kinder markup than OPI, which is like !). The other happy surprise was Kanebo Impress brightener, that Paris has rated quite highly. So I'm looking forward to trying this generous sample (much more generous than the single sachet from Doctor Line). There were also 3 packets of primer and 3 packets of Dewy Foundation from ADDICTION, which was a pleasant surprise but not so exciting for me personally, since I find it sinks a bit into the pores of my slightly dry skin. The Kaotsubo and Valle de Roses samples were rather less exciting, but I will try them out.

However, looking at the Glossybox website, I see that some people got Jurlique this month! I want a Jurlique sample :P

Anyhoo, my experience these 3 months has been so-so. I liked some of the products - I'm still using the Sranrom hand cream - but overall the sample sizes have been pretty underwhelming considering the price of the Glossybox. For example, I liked my experience with Doctor Line's Enzyme Cleansing Water, but with only one sachet, it's really hard to justify a purchase of the full sized product. For a new brand at a moderate price point, I think they should be more generous with their samples, but I suppose that increases the burn rate of the company.

So, should I continue? Should I stop? It's rather fun getting a random selection each month, but I can't help feeling that I should save my money and buy the products that I actually want. I keep eying the lavender sample set from LEAF＆BOTANICS （リーフアンドボタニクス）, but I'm not allowed to buy it until I use up all of my current skin care samples.

Rohto Skin Aqua UV moisture Gel

Air-light texture - no complaints so far.  It's good for the daily commute and easy to apply all over.  I can't really tell how good the sun protection is so far.

sunscreen reviews

I just noticed that I devour sunscreen reviews like nobody's business; having used up my Neutrogena dry-touch sunscreen, I need a Japanese replacement.  I'm using Allie Extra UV Gel Mineral Moist N SPF50+ PA+++ (review at Of Toys and Tokyo), but as Of Toys and Tokyo points out, it's a bit heavy for the humid Tokyo weather so I end up looking quite greasy.

I'm going to try Hada Labo UV Moist Emulsion SPF50 PA+++ next. Since chemical (or is it physical sunscreens?) sunscreens lose effectiveness over time, I like using up a sunscreen before I move on the the next one. If only I could be so disciplined about my other makeup products!

In beauty news, I'm lemming the new cream blushes from Visee and Canmake Whip Mousse Lips.

In general, I've started a major house-cleaning that is rather daunting in its scope so I keep procrastinating:
* need to clean
* need to weed stuff out
* need to throw stuff out
* need to organize so that cleaning is easier in the future

I was hoping to get everything done by the end of Sept. (typo: meant to write Aug.), but that didn't happen!  Anyway, like most things, it's good to just take one day at a time.

On my current playlist:
Teedra Moses - Another LuvR
Tamia - Beautiful Surprise
Crystal Kay - Forever
Brandy - Put It Down
Melanie Fiona - This Time
Miguel - Adorn
Youtube has too many ads. Time to switch.

eczema outbreak

While in California, the wind and dry air contributed to an outbreak of eczema on my cheeks - dry, red, irritated hard patches.  I tried a few things but half a week of Vaseline (using it to remove sunblock, etc.) helped my skin back to normal.


Make sure to moisturize and protect your skin carefully!  I'd gotten used to the higher humidity in Japan and didn't take my regular skin lotions with me to California.

Garance Dore is so charming!

I was reading her post on skin care and it just made me smile. So charmingly girly and yet not frivolous, somehow.

Really, the design on the packaging of pharmacy products makes me want to die.

some small reviews

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes smudge on my upper lids, but they work pretty well on my lower lids. So it's still liquid liner only on the upper lids. Everything else usually smudges.

MUFE HD foundation in 115 is too light for me.

I like My Beauty Diary masks, but the plastic sheet included is a waste of packaging... Anyway, they're not available in Japan so I'm happy to try all the Japanese masks :)

patisserie Sadaharu AOKI paris Earl Grey macarons and La Maison du Chocolat dark chocolate macarons are delicious. The shops in Marunouchi are really nice; I had a pleasant stroll enjoying my macarons and looking at the pretty lighting on the main street. Sorry, no pics of the macarons; I ate them too quickly.