The Body Shop Passion Fruit Body Butter
I usually don't shop at The Body Shop just because their products are not too appealing to me. Their products smell very nice but they all are just basic scents like peaches and mangos. But when I found some British YouTubers talking about this Passion Fruit scented body butter, I immediately went to The Body Shop near my house to see if they had it. But unfortunately they didn't, so I kind of gave up. A few weeks later, I found it on sale on their website. I didn't even heditate to add it into my shopping cart!
Don't you think this plastic jar somehow creates this special feeling? I just love how it looks! It's got this buttery texture which makes it very easy to apply on my body parts. It doesn't make my skin sticky or greasy but I feel moisturised and nourhsed after the application.
The scent is pretty accurate in my opinion like their other body butter. That's another amazing thing about them, when you smell their boddy butter like Satsuma or Peach or Grapefruit body butter, it literally smells like the fruit. Satsuma smells like fresh orange juice, while Peach could be more like a freshly picked juicy peach. This Passion Fruit scent smells literally like Passion Fruit juice that I had in Okinawa on my holiday! It leaves this amazing scent on my skin which lingers for hours.
If you love the scent of Passion Fruit, you need this body butter in your life.
In the beginning of August, I found those new hand cream from Caudalie when I was browsing feelunique.com. I already had the original hand cream from the brand which smells of Grapefruit, but I wanted to try these out just because I am a Caudalie junkie.
Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream Blackcurrant Leaf £6.00
It has Blackcurrant and Bergamot which create this feminine scent. It's not too heavy or overpowering but is a winter scent in my opinion. The scent changes after 10-15 minutes, and it becomes a little big heavier. I smell sunscreen somehow but of course it doesn't have SPF so it's just my nose that is messed up.
Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream Grapevine Honey £6.00
This is more like a herbal scent with a hint of honey. It smells sweet but fresh at the same time. I was expecting this scent is heavier than the Blackcurrant one, but actually it's lighter and more herbal and natural. But the scent lingers on my hands for a long time, which is always a good thing :)
The texture of the hand cream is very light. I don't get dry hands anyway so I use it to enjoy the scent mainly. It leaves my hands so silky without making them greasy because it contains polymer which works almost the same as silicone, that makes the skin surface smooth.
I love using a hand cream right before a work meeting instead of spraying a perfume, because sometimes perfume can be overpowering, and what if the person you are about to have a meeting with hates the scent? You would create a hell for that person! On the other hand, hand cream doesn't smell too much (usually) and they only can smell it when you give a handshake or walk by. If you are looking for hand cream which has an elegant and sophisticated scent, you should give these a go!
Organic Fiji Nourishing Lotion Pineapple Coconut $12.69
I am aware that the summer is almost over. Even in Tokyo it's been pretty cool lately which makes it hard to deny that the autumn is around the corner. I love spring and summer, and HATE winter so much, so it's really hard for me to face the reality.....well, that sounds really dramatic doesn't it? Anyway, I know the summer is gone but it's OK to enjoy the summery scent all the year around, right? This body lotion smells just like Piña Colada which reminds me of a beach.
I got it in the beginning of summer to use throughout the season but unfortunately it was too greasy for the humid weather in Tokyo. It sinks in quickly but leaves the skin surface pretty "moisturised". When the humidity is like 80% outside, you don't even want to moisturise your skin. It was too sticky for me and I stopped using it during the summer.
But now the air is less hot and humid, I am able to wear this body lotion...finally! Who cares it smells summery? Who said that coconut and pineapple are just for summer? I'm loving it!
The only concern I have is that because it's organic and contains oils, it might get oxidised after a few months. I opened this bottle in June or July I can't remember, and now it smells a little bit oily. I hate this oily smell which reminds me of crayons so I'm kind of rushing to finish the bottle before it gets completely oxidised!
They have sugar scrub for your body in the same scent which I'm having my eyes on. It must smell divine, and it won't leave the skin greasy even in summer.
Have you heard of this brand Organic Fiji before?
ETBELLA Aloe Vera Water Gel 1260yen
ETBELLA is a Korean beauty brand which is sold at Seven Marche, a Japanese EC site which sells beauty bits and bobs. I have tried their nail wraps (which I have talked about here before) and now they have sent me this aloe vera gel to try out.
90% of this beautiful gel is aloe vera juice which contains hydrating mucoperiosteum, that creates a thin layer on the skin to protect it against dryness. Also aloe mannan makes the skin softer and moisturised.
It looks like jelly, doesn't it? I just love how it looks as well as how it feels on my skin. It's so soothing and cooking, and what I like the most about this gel is the scent. It smells fresh and clean, which is totally different from the actual aloe. If you have smelt aloe before you must know what I mean, but aloe has this bitter and herbal smell which is not pleasant at all. But this gel (must contain artificial fragrance) smells 100 times better. I don't even need to wear perfume as it lingers on my skin.
It's perfect in summer because it doesn't make my skin feel sticky or greasy at all. Summer in Tokyo is ridiculously hot and humid. It's like 35 degrees in daytime when sunshine is beaming towards you, and it only goes down to 26-27 degrees at night. Humidity is always like 70% which is so disgusting. You can imagine how gross it would be to be wearing greasy body lotion in that weather! So it's important to me to choose a none-sticky body lotion in summer. This gel is seriously perfect because I can wear clothes straight after applying it all over my body!
If you are in a hot country and looking for a light body moisturiser, I recommend you to look for a nice aloe vera gel. It's perfect after burning yourself at the beach or something as well, since aloe is very gentle and calming. Have you tried aloe vera gel before?
Hi there! Today I am going to talk about the products I picked up from a local drugstore. I got them about a month ago I guess but I just didn't have time (and energy) to write a post about them. Sorry for the delay!
Let's start from this product. "Biore powder sheet". It was my first time to buy this kind of product since when I was in highschool but I thought I needed it because it had been really hot in Tokyo and my office is not close to the station. It's not cool to be sweating and melting in the morning, is it? So I picked up the one in "Aquatic Rose".
It feels pretty cool when I wipe my body parts with this sheet, and as you may know it contains powder to make your skin less sticky and sweaty. Actually it instantly makes my skin dry and silky smooth. Plus it smells nice. It's definitely a summer must-have.
Biore pore strips are another purchase that I made for the first time in like 10 years. I loved it when I was younger but I stopped using it after I heard it would damage your skin and also make your pores larger even instead of making them smaller. But I just wanted to try it again because I was sick and tired of my blackheads. This time I bought it with Poretol pore cleansing gel which I head was very effective.
Basically it's deep cleansing gel which warms up when you apply it on your skin, which loosen up your pores. Basically you apply it on your nose, then massage for like 3 minutes and rinse it off. Now your pores are open and ready for a deep-cleansing. Then you wet your nose, then put the pore strip.
This strip is black, which makes it easier for you to see how much of dirt (I know, gross) you've pulled out from your pores. But it works exactly the same as the normal white one.
I'm going to write an in-depth review about this product but CANMAKE eyeshadow base is very nice. It claims to become powder when it's applied on your skin but I don't think it does...it's kind of like a wet and oily texture which you need to work on really carefully, but once it's blended in completely, it doesn't crease at all and whatever you applied on top of it would stay there for hours and hours. It's good quality for 500 yen.
URIAGE lip balm is my holy-grail lip balm for sure! I've used up more than 50 tubes of this product and I would repurchase it until I find a lip balm which works better than this one. It's such a moisturising and gentle lip balm which repairs my chapped lips over one night. It has a very subtle vanilla scent which I love. It's pretty expensive for a lip balm (1040yen) and it only lasts for like a month or so, but I've never seen a lip balm that beats this one.
Last but not least, Lavshuca Candy Bonbon lip in OR-1. I didn't buy this product but I included it here as it's sold in drugstores. I got it as a PR sample before it was launched and I was so excited to see the colour range as it's a pretty nice lip stick! It's a tiny lipstick and looks a little bit cheap (like a toy I owned when I was like 5 years old) but the quality of the lipstick itself is very good.
Mine is in OR-1 which is a very pretty orange shade.
It goes on very smoothly without drying out my lips. It reflects light beautifully and makes my lips look fuller. I guess it's about 900yen which isn't too bad for a lipstick but definitely expensive when I think about the size of it...it's just teeny tiny!
Do you have any Japanese drugstore beauty brands you're interested in?
I've been surrounded by beauty products especially since I started my Japanese blog a few years ago. I've tried more than 200 products sent from PR companies, and of course I've bought many products myself too. But there are not so many products I have repurchased. Or that I'm sure I will repurchase. Today I'm going to talk about the products I really really love.
Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution
I had a small travel-size bottle which I took about 6 months to use up. I wrote my thoughts about the product HERE before so I'm not going to ramble about it here but there is nothing like this product. It never burns my eyes or irritates my skin. I didn't like the smell at the beginning but now I'm completely used to it and don't notice any smell even. It's such a gentle makeup remover!
Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser
You can read my detailed review about this amazing cleanser HERE. When I used up the first bottle, I was so sad and decided to buy as many bottles as I can next time I would go to the U.K.. And I did. I bought two of the 200ml tubes with two of their toner and one jar of their cream. Also my sister in law gave me the tiny tube of the cleanser and recently she's sent me 100ml bottle as well. I don't know how and when I would be able to finish them all but now I feel secure. Their cleanser is not something I use every single day but I use it at least 2-3 times a week. It makes my skin feel so soft and smooth that nothing else does. I also love the herbal scent.
Pangea Organics Facial Mask
I wrote a full review of this product HERE last year, I apologise for the blurry photos. Apparently you cannot buy it from Vitacost anymore which sucks because it was much cheaper on Vitacost. Hopefully it will be back in stock someday soon. This face mask is just amazing. It doesn't have a pleasant scent but it does its job. This mask was the first one I'd felt a huge difference on my skin immediately. If you haven't tried it before, try it. Buy it. You won't regret.
It's a 10 Miracle Leave In Conditioner plus Keratin
This is what I'm going to repurchase once I've finished the current bottle. As I mentioned HERE before, this is such a great leave-in conditioner which makes my hair soft and silky. Although my hair is now much healthier as I chopped 20cm of it last month, still my hair tends to get tangled easily. I spray this leave-in conditioner focusing on the ends before blow-drying. It doesn't weigh down my hair at all but definitely makes them much more manageable and less frizzy. Also it smells heavenly.
Caudalie Divine Oil
This oil is just Divine as it claims. It's such a beautiful product that I don't want to live without. First of all it smells so good. I cannot describe how good it smells but it's one of the best smelling products I've ever used. Secondly it's such a light oil which doesn't make my skin greasy or oily at all, even in summer. It sinks into my skin quickly while leaving this heavenly scent like perfume. Now they've come out with the body scrub and tanning-lotion, and I'm dying to try them out. Let me know how they are if you've tried them!
bliss fatgirl six pack £34
I had been interested in bliss spa for ages. The brand was launched in 1996 in NYC by
Marcia Kilgore who later launched Soap and Glory in 2006. One of their products Fatgirlslim has been very popular and I was literally attracted by the name of it. What a unique name is this for firming cream! So I was very excited to try this another product with a unique and charming name, Fatgirl Sixpack. As you can imagine, it's a massage gel which helps you sculpt a six-pack. It was my first time to see a product specially made for creating a six-pack and it made me curious how it works.
Basically, the formula with 6 different effective ingredients such as caffeine, creatine, oat kernel extract, latex-rich manilkara tree extract, menthol and a special botanical extract work with this bumpy looking applicator. You push this applicator onto your stomach directly and massage with it. On the website they show how to massage (HERE) using this product which is surprisingly simple and easy.
When I push the applicator against my skin, a generous amount of the gel comes out. As soon as I start massaging, I feel this amazing cooling affect on my stomach. It makes my stomach area so cool that I think it's perfect for summer! I also noticed the amazing scent. It smells of menthol but with a hint of something fruity....I just love this scent so much!
While being relaxed by the scent, I keep massaging my stomach area. It's really stimulating and feels very good. I hate to do situps (or let's be honest, I CANNOT do situps) but I really don't mind massaging my stomach with this product to sculpt a six-pack! It smells good, feels good, and leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth.
I haven't been using it long enough to judge if it does sculpt a six-pack on my stomach yet but I make sure to keep using it every day and see what happens. I think it's good for massaging my legs when they are swollen and tired, or my shoulders when they are stiff.
Have you tried this product? What's your favourite from bliss?
AESOP Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm
My mum gave this amazing hand cream to me for my birthday a few months ago. I suck at
developing the habit of applying hand cream every day as I forget somehow and end up with dry hands. But with this hand cream, I just cannot help myself applying it every two hours and keep sniffing my hands!
This is just a simple hand cream. The botanical ingredients such as coconut oil, macadamia oil, sweet almond oil and shea butter nourish and moisturise your hands and cuticles. It doesn't make my hands greasy at all and my skin quickly absorbs the cream and it leaves the skin surface very smooth and none-sticky.
What I love the most about this product is the scent. The blend of Cedarwood, Lavender, Orange, Rosemary and Grapefruit creates this amazing aroma. I smell Lavender the most and it's a very herbal scent which some people might find a little bit too strong. But if you like essential oils and herbs, you will like it a lot. Like I do!
Have you tried any products from AESOP? What's your favourite?
Madre Body Smooth Salt
This salt scrub is a very unique product and I've been loving using it since I got it, so I thought to share my thoughts with you.
Usually I don't use salt scrub because it's too harsh on my skin and it can be quite painful. That is because the grains are square shaped and the corner of each grain hurts your skin. But the grains of salt in this scrub is round shaped and do not damage your skin. It doesn't contain oils which makes it suitable for those who don't like oily residue after exfoliating.
It looks like sorbet doesn't it? It smells of rose which is relaxing for sure.
The grains melt quicker than I expected but still it's good enough to exfoliate my skin. You can use it on your face, body and scalp even to remove dead skin cells! I tried to polish my scalp but I failed, it's very difficult to reach my scalp without applying the whole scrub on my hair!! I used it on my face as well but it suddenly became so hot (yet it didn't damage my skin at all) which freaked me out so now I'm only using it on my body.
I noticed the difference on my skin immediately and now I cannot stop using it! I mainly use it on my upper arms, legs and décolletage to smooth out the skin, and I felt the difference especially on my upper arms as I had dry scaly skin there and now it's completely gone.
I am thinking of purchasing the bigger size which is 400g 3990yen, that's pretty expensive for body scrub. I love my Soap and Glory The Breakfast Scrub too so I might use that one up first and see what happens. But still I strongly recommend this body scrub to anyone who wants smoother skin!
Today's post is going to be all about "How I'm preparing my skin and hair for summer". I feel like we skipped spring this year because it was kind of chilly in April and then suddenly it got pretty hot and humid. I started wearing sunglasses lately after having my eyes sunburned. I started wearing my favourite shoes I only wear in summer. I definitely feel like summer is just around the corner!
Not Your Mother's Texturizing Sea Salt Spray
This is my essential to create the beachy loose waves. I spray it on my hair when it's still wet and dry it with hairdryer like I always do. It definitely gives texture on my hair without making it crunchy. It does dry my hair a little bit so I usually try to put some leave-in conditioner or hair oil at the end. I'm thinking that I might try not to use hairdryer in the summer and instead I put my hair in a bun after spraying it and leave it dry for stronger waves. I love the scent of coconut which isn't overpowering at all. Love love love this product!
Parasola Sunscreen Spray
I picked it up in a drugstore just because it looked pretty. I was looking for a sunscreen spray because it's easy and none-greasy, but they all looked so boring except this one. It can be used on your face, body and hair -literally from head to toe- and also it smells nice. It doesn't have the sunscreen smell and instead smells floral like a perfume without being overpowering. Once you start using a sunscreen spray, you cannot go back using a sunscreen lotion. It's super easy to use, you can reach your back easily and it doesn't feel sticky on your skin even in hot weather!
Nourish Golden Glow Toning Soufflé
I received this product in winter. Although I was very impressed with the product I couldn't use it because obviously my skin wasn't showing much at all. It's got light golden particles
which evens skin tone while giving it a sun-kissed glow. It smells so good of frankincense and myrrh which I love.
Just as the name "Soufflé" indicates, it has got this light moussey texture which is very unique. It's not sticky or greasy on my skin at all but it does feel hydrating.
I hope you can see the golden shimmer in this photo. It's absolutely gorgeous, isn't it? It never makes you look like you're wearing obvious glitters all over your body. I am so looking forward to wearing it on my arms and decollete in the summer!
Weleda Deodorant Spray Small Citrus
You don't necessarily have to use it on your armpits just because it's called "deodorant spray". This refreshing citrus-scented spray can be used all over your body! It smells citrussy and herbal which is perfect for summer! It contains alcohol which feels chilly and refreshing on your skin.
Vera Wang Princess foamy body polish
Because it's super humid in summer in Tokyo, walking outside for 3 minutes would make me sweat a lot although I don't sweat too much generally. But I don't have to worry when the all parts of my body smell good, and to make it happen, using the good-smelling body wash is the easiest way! It smells AMAZING and leaves my skin smooth. It smells a bit lighter and fresher than the actual perfume which is ideal in hot weather!
Devita Solar Protective Moisturizer
This SPF30 moisturiser is perfect underneath makeup. It doesn't leave my skin greasy or sticky at all as it sinks in quickly. Another good thing is that it doesn't contain paraben and is 100% vegan, no wonder why it's so popular on Vitacost!
Etvos Mineral UV Powder SPF40
Etvos
is a Japanese beauty brand specialised in making "mineral" makeup
products. This mineral UV powder is very handy as it has a mirror on top
and you don't have to carry your brush or puff around as it's got this puff
on top of the lid inside. It's so easy to reapply sunblock on top of makeup with this product. It's kind of impossible to reapply normal sunscreen lotion on top of makeup during the day but with this product, you don't have to worry about melting your makeup with sunscreen. It's such a smart idea isn't it!
So these are my summer essential products! What are yours?
NANACOSTAR Hand Cream 2100yen
NANACOSTAR is a Japanese beauty brand launched by a hairstylist who has been working in the beauty industry for mroe than 15 years. I believe it's a new brand as I hadn't heard of them before and also they only have 4 products yet, including 2 shampoos, hair treatment and this hand cream. They made this hand cream from their experiences as hairstylists whos hands are always exposed to water. There are 5 different scents of this hand cream such as honeysuckle fruits, garden rose, the forest rose, gardenia country and jasmine pear which I got.
They have 7 active ingredients including collagen, BG and lpidure which moisturise your skin, and arbutin and vitamin C which have whitening effects. In addition it contains many ingredients I don't necessarily want to put on my skin such as silicone, polymer and artificial preservative.
It does moisturise my hands without making them sticky or greasy so you can use it during the summer time as well as in winter. The scent was something I was really disappointed about. I was expecting floral fruity scent as it's supposed to smell like "Jasmine and Pear", but it just smells like...a hair salon. You know that smell you notice when you open the door of a hair salon, the mixture of shampoos and hairsprays and all that. That's a good smell in my opinion, but you don't want to wear that on your hands...do you?
It smells clean and feminine which isn't too bad but I don't smell jasmine or pear at all. For me a scent of hand cream is the most important part and this one didn't impress me. And also don't you think it's freakin' expensive for hand cream from an unknown new brand? This is what I mean about Japanese beauty products being expensive. They set the prices really high somehow. Anyway, I wish it smelled like pear as I love anything smells like one.
Which hand cream is your favourite? Would you use hand cream smells like a hair salon? :P
In April I've used up quite a few products. Or maybe since I started writing monthly empties posts I've been encouraged to finish up products rather than keep them all in my tiny apartment. It feels satisfying somehow to finish up beauty products and judge whether it was a good product or not.
Redken Scalp Relief Dandruff Control Shampoo (REVIEW)
This was my 2nd bottle and I'm so sad it's finished. I don't have dandruff but I have a really sensitive scalp which gets irritated quite easily by using shampoo which my scalp doesn't like. At worst it gets itchy that keeps me awake all night so I am very picky when it comes to choosing the right shampoo. And this shampoo from Redken is the best so far. It lathers well, it makes my hair and scalp very clean but doesn't make them dry. It contains glycerine which moisturises the scalp. It has a very subtle herbal scent which is pretty nice and I really enjoyed using it. I would love to repurchase again but as YEN is much weaker now I'm trying not to shop much on feelunique and lookfantastic lately...so when YEN gets stronger I'll definitely buy a new bottle.
The Body Shop Rainforest Shine Shampoo and Conditioner
Apparently this shampoo is a best-seller on The Body Shop UK website, but I absolutely hated this series. Before they changed the whole haircare series, they had shampoo and conditioner with honey and I loved the scent of them. So one day I went to the shop and asked for it then they said it was discontinued and instead they had new haircare series, and they recommended this one because it smells similar to the honey one I loved. But in my opinion it doesn't smell the same and the scent doesn't even stay on your hair. Also it's pretty drying and makes my hair frizzy and basically it doesn't do anything to my hair. I just don't like it and I'm not going to repurchase, ever.
LebeL Trie 5 Hairspray
I think I bought this about a year ago after my hairdresser used it on my hair at the hair salon. It smells like green apples which is brilliant but it doesn't do much on my hair. I don't think I'm going to repurchase it but I might have a look at a bit stronger hairspray from the same brand because it smells so good.
Terracuore Jasmine and Honey Body Scrub
Terracuore is a Japanese organic beauty brand which has fields in Italy to grow the herbs which are included in their products. Terracuore is my favourite Japanese beauty brand and their products are very good. Although they are pricey and I can't buy them often. This product was given to me by them when I had a business meeting with them but actually it's 5250yen which is about 35 pound / $52. It's ridiculously pricey but it's VERY good. It contains Jasmine essential oil which are derived from more than 13800 jasmine flowers. I was expecting a strong jasmine scent but it's much softer and sweeter, and surprisingly NOT overpowering. This creamy body scrub contains crushed apricot seeds which exfoliate your skin gently, and believe me it does make my skin so so so soft. And it leaves the pleasant scent on my skin. What more do you want? Another great product from Terracuore I've tried.
Jurlique Rose Moisture Plus Moisturising Cleanser
This was sent from my lovely fellow blogger Mel from The Beauty Dispensary a few months ago. Since the day I received it I had been using this cleanser every single morning. It's such a gentle cleanser with pleasant rose scent. I think I should have used it in the summer time because foaming cleanser tends to strip natural oils on your face and obviously in summer your skin produces more oils than in winter. I really enjoyed using this cleanser, and also I loved the chic packaging so much. Thanks Mel!
Pangea Organics Facial Mask (REVIEW)
The best face mask I have ever used. I literally cannot live without it. Whenever I feel my skin is dry or dull, I use this face mask at night. Immediately I feel the difference on my skin and the next morning my skin feels glowing again. It smells a little bit weird but now I'm used it and I'm more into the result it makes on my skin. I cannot explain how and why it works so well, but trust me, it really does work. I introduced this face mask to my readers on my Japanese blog, and some of them actually tried and they all loved it. If you haven't tried it yet, you definitely should. It's amazing and of course I repurchased it again.
Jason Apricot Scrubble
(REVIEW)
I loved this scrub! It's such a gentle face scrub you can use every day. I only used it 2-3 times a week but it was enough to make a huge difference on my skin. It makes my skin so silky and soft with such a fresh and sweet apricot scent. You would be very surprised to feel your skin after you've used this product, it's such an amazing face scrub. I love it but I'm not going to repurchase now because I have some other ones to use up. I strongly recommend this product if you're looking for a gentle face scrub.
Bourjois healthy mix serum (REVIEW)
I decided to bin it although there's a bit left in the bottle because it's getting old. I used up like 80-90% of it and I liked it very much. Mine is shade 52 Vanilla and it's slightly darker but matches my skin tone OK. It doesn't feel heavy on my skin and I really liked it. I've got the new version of Healthy Mix Foundation and I'm totally in love with it. The review will be coming soon!
BIODERMA Sensibio H2O (REVIEW)
I don't need to explain what it is because you all know what it is. I loved it, although I didn't like the weird smell at the beginning. It takes everything off without being harsh on my skin. It didn't irritate my eye areas which is great, and I'm dying to repurchase but for now I'm not going to just because it's expensive here. I will buy tons when I go to Paris. Someday...
Weleda Wild Rose Day Cream (REVIEW)
This product was sent by my another lovely fellow blogger Zanka from Zanka Talks Cosmetics. As the name is not in English, I don't know what exactly it says but I assume it's a day time moisturiser. I was using it in the morning before putting makeup on anyway, and it worked really well. It smells amazing, of natural wild rose which was pretty soothing in a busy morning. Thanks Zanka so much!
PAUCE Cleansing Butter
I LOVED this cleanser so much! It's got this buttery texture and it melts on your skin turning into an oil consistency. It removes all my makeup including eyeliners and mascara. I didn't even need my BIODERMA to remove my eye makeup because it took off literally everything. And it left an oily feeling on my skin even after rinsing it for more than a minute, and this oily feeling turned into a whole new moisturising feeling after I dried my face. It's such a good cleanser to take makeup off and I'd love to repurchase if it wasn't this pricey. What a shame.
Skin Repair Moisturiser™ Normal/combination
Another product I loved so much. Although I have dry / sensitive skin, this one worked really well during winter. I couldn't stand the smell at the beginning but I think it faded after a few weeks since I opened the jar because at some point I wasn't bothered by the smell anymore. Now I'm using a new
jar and it stinks and I realised that it wasn't me getting used to the smell, it was the smell faded by time. Other than that it's such a nice cream which really is effective. I'll keep repurchasing their products until I find a better brand which I doubt :)
Phew, it has become such a looooong post, you must be bored. Thanks for reading!
The Olive Branch £8.95/250ml
This product had been in my wishlist for ages. I received the small bottle of The Olive Branch many years ago and I totally fell in love with it, but I didn't feel like buying it myself as it was pretty pricey. In Japan 250ml bottle costs 2000yen which is about £14-15. It's not too expensive but not cheap for a bottle of shower gel. So I didn't hesitate picking it up when I went to LUSH in London in March.
It contains rich olive oil and vine leaves to moisturise your skin, and the best part is the scent which is the mixture of bergamot and fresh mandarin. It sounds like it smells fresh and citrussy but actually it's more like a deeper and complicated scent. I don't know how to describe this scent but it smells really unique, there's no other stuff which smells like this product. If you have never smelled it, please go have a sniff because it's THAT good.
Also the scent left on your skin after shower would smell a bit warmer than the scent you smell from the bottle directly. It's not an overpowering smell at all but it leaves my skin smelling divine. It also moisturises my skin really well, I never get dry skin while I'm using this shower gel. It's one of the best shower gels out there and I'll purchase the biggest bottle next time I come to London!
What's your favourite LUSH product?
Neal's Yard Remedies Bee Lovely Hand Cream £10.00
If you're in England, you may know that this hand cream came with the April issue of Marie Claire UK. I was impressed to know that it's actually sold for £10.00 because that's not a cheap product to give away for free! It never EVER happens in Japan! I'm not a huge Neal's Yard fan but of course I'm interested in the brand and their products, so I was pretty excited to try out this hand cream especially after staying in a country where the air is super dry! It made my whole body itchy and it took more than 10 days for my skin to get back to the normal condition. Of course my hands were so dry as well, and my Caudalie Hand Cream didn't work at all, which made me quite desperate to find a better hand cream.
This creamy and thick hand cream nourishes my hands with rich plant oils such as sunflower oil and brazil nut oil. Of course this product contains honey that moisturizes the skin. I realized that my hands feel softer since I started using this cream, which could be another effect of honey. It has a really refreshing scent of orange which I love, it's more like orange candies than a squeeze of a fresh orange! The scent isn't overpowering at all which makes it easier for me to apply whenever wherever my hands feel dry, even before a meal or in the train.
Overall, I really like this hand cream. It's very moisturizing yet it doesn't make my hands sticky or greasy or slippery. And also I can tell you that it's definitely working, at least for me! Because when I came back from England, my hands were miserable. They were so dry that I'd never seen my hands in that kind of condition before. But once I started using this hand cream a few times a day, they got much better and are not itching anymore.
It will be out in Japan on the 24th of April for 2980yen (about £20) which is ridiculously pricy. I am working in the beauty industry in Japan and used to work for an imported organic skincare brand before, so I know that they cannot sell the product for the same price range as in England. But in my opinion Neal's Yard Japan is not a distributor which means that they can import the products with the cost price, not the wholesale price. Though they have some costs they have to cover, it's hard for me to find the right reason of them doubling the price. I would never buy it in Japan, no matter how I liked this product. But if you're in the UK, I recommend you getting your hands on this good-smelling rich hand cream! :)
