1300 dollars worth of haul, Kanebo Sensai Foundation & FOTD

 First of all: an advise to those who happen to put their hands on a bigger chunk of money: Stay away from the internet!!! And most of all: online stores!

In the timespan of 3 months I spent over 2.000 dollars (I haven't counted every single stuff I bought, and to tell the truth, I'm afraid of to do so). That's incredibly much money, and for many-many people too, so I promise to review everything. Sooner or later, that is. *cough*looks away*

It's more than enough to know that all those things you see in the below photo costed a bit more than  1.300 USD! Holy shit! I tried to gather only stuffs I bought in December-January, but some February things got in the picture too.

(sorry quality is not the clearest in full size either, lighting sucks in my bedroom at night. to have a bit of idea of what's in the picture take a look at the tags)

Many of it came in that huge box, with the My American Shipper parcel forwarding service, so sorry for the mess :) 

BTW, My American Shipper is my first experience of mail forwarding services. You know when online stores don't ship outside the US became terribly annoying? Or they set such high fees for international shipping that a trip to the Moon is cheaper.

Few words of My American Shipper:

-shipping fees are not so high like with other services

-first time you ship, the final rate you'll get is decreased by 35%

-they provide pictures of your incoming mails for free

-they send notifying emails when your orders arrive to their storage (however, after my 4th or 5th incoming box they gave up on me and I had to check to see if my stuffs arrived to them)

-customer service is good

-I didn't have to fill in the 1583 form since My American Shipper does not provide mail forwarding service and I'm sooo grateful for it, coz 1583 form is such a pain in the butt ( I don wanna go to the US consulate just for this!) 

-they consolidate your packages (but before they are done with it you won't know how much you'll pay, coz they register only the incoming weight and that's a looooot more than what they'll actually ship out)

-they store your things for 45 days

-they are located in the state California, so you'll have to pay sales tax when paying for your orders

-no sign up fee

So, the above makeup and skin care stuffs were bought from either official brand stores, sasa, cherry culture, Gilt, Adambeauty, etc. Some were picked up at duty-free and some I bought on ebay.

You saw it right, Sasa.com! I had another "who's-the-scam-here" round with them, and this time I succeded to get them to change the payment from credit card to Paypal before they cancelled my order altogether....only for the sake of the Lancome Visionnaire cream. God, I'm so happy I didn't give up! *.* I tell you, Visionnaire is the Holy Grail! I can't live without it!

Finally! I own Making faces by Kevin Aucoin! bwahahahahhaha So cool! Thank you Gilt! I love you! *.* 

And to review something, that became my HG foundation and picked up in Istambul, in the duty-free: Kanebo Sensai Fluid Finish

Color is FF202 Soft Beige

Description: "Deeply moisturising foundation with 55% water content. Sheathes the skin in a delicate veil of moisture to provide daylong hydration while imparting a silky, healthy-looking sheen to the surface. Apply sparingly over make-up base after double moisturising.

Foundation shades may differ depending on region." 

Has SPF15 and holds 30ml of product, which seems less than other 30ml foundations....I'm already at the bottom, after 2,5 months! With other foundations a half year isn't enough to finish them!
If I remember correctly than it was 35 EUR, so not the cheapest foundation ever, but damn, this is on a whole different leven than the average foundations! Totally worth the money!

I love the bottle, so smooooooth! *.* The pump head works fine, you can control the amount of foundation to come out....if you push it carefully. If you're in a hurry, push it fast and hard, and the cap thinks otherwise, you might get foundation on your dress in stead of your brush! HAHA

The coverage is medium to full. The sparing application aids you with a medium coverage that looks super natural, and if you add a bit more, you'll get a natural looking almost/or total full coverage. Some seriously red acnes will break through in color eventually screaming for extra concealer, but this foundation in itself covers 85-90% of discoloration.

Click for the full size if you'd like to see the ingredients.

I love how it does not oxidize over time, or fade. It does hydrate my skin, but not causes my oily T-zone to work on overload making me an oil factory. The oily parts won't become dry deserts, but stay on the moderately oily side.

Did I mention that it has a super natural finish? No mask-like feature and I can't feel it on my skin either 

For color sampling, the above pic is without flash. On the left side the foundation is blended a bit, but not entirely, so you can see the edges.

The below pic is with flash.

And now, something I've never done before, and I don't think it'll make a usual spot for this blog in the future: 

..........

*drumroll*

..........

bare face

..........

holy shit!!!!

Comparison photo: 

left side is with Sensai Fluid Finish and concealer

right side is totally bare face, nothing used but skincare

horror movie! XD Let me tell you, that darkness around the eyes is quite lightened now!^^ Add to this 365167356253682138615 shades more of black and double it, that is the original horrible darkness I sport around my eyes! HAHA

BTW, sorry for the hair, it was half-dried at the time of the shot!

And this is the finished FOTD

Without flash on the left and with flash on the right.

Okay, this isn't the same angle, but I made the collage from this set of photos coz I wanted to show the blush too. >.< 

And here are the things I used (click for better quality):

Face:

Sensai Fluid Finish foundation

Pixi concealer palette

L'Oreal Studio Secrets primer

Scott Barnes Loose Powder (translucent) (review here)

Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki brush

Clé de Peau contour brush

Cheeks:

MAC  blush (Vintage grape) (beats me which LE it was, but I missed it at the time)

BH Cosmetics Contour & Blush 6 color palette

e.l.f. Blush brush

Sigma P84 Precision Angled brush (review here, not shown on the photo)

Eyes:

NYX HD Eyeshadow Base 

NYX Nude on Nude palette (used shades are marked with X) (Hello UD Nude-mania~)

Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eyerow Corrector (color is 0, not shown on the photo)

Shiseido small angled brush (for eyebrown, not shown on the photo)

Etude House C brush

e.l.f. C brush

e.l.f. contour brush

e.l.f. small precision brush

Sigma E40 Tapered Blending brush (review here)

Make Up For Ever Aqua Smoky Lash mascara

Lips:

MAC Lipglass (Rich & Witty)

L'Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Liss Ultime Masque

A while ago my hair stylist (who I had to part with becoz of moving =[ ) gave this hair masque to me to help me starighten my hair.

My hair is wavy, not that oooh-super-wavy, but stubborn enough to put up a nice fight againts flat irons.....so I need every extra means to reach the desired straightness (which I think I never gonna achieve).

I have the 30ml mini version, not the full size, 200ml jar.

The description: "Intensely nourish, repair and smooth your frizzy, unmanageable hair with L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Liss Ultime Masque. This pampering treat works in minutes leaving you with super smooth, luscious locks.

L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Liss Ultime Masque uses its key technology, Polymer AR, to wrap the hair fibre with a special anti-humidity shield, keeping it smooth and glossy while stopping frizz in its tracks.

Directions of use:

1. Apply and massage into shampooed and towel-dried hair
2. Ensure it is distributed evenly
3. Leave for 2-3 minutes
4. Rinse thoroughly"

I said before straightening, but this is an anti-frizz thing which I would be happy with if it worked properly. I'm not saying this does nothing, I say it's not much of a difference......not something I'd expect from a 'professional' product. I'd say it's 'best' point is that the straightness you get after a full styling process remains a bit longer, and the next day it's not a new battle against your hair, it let's you handle it easier.

Some extra information.

Texture is a bit slippery, so it's tricky to get out the right amount. You need a very little (for short or medium hair).

The scent is nice, but my legendarily horrible nose can't describe it.

Lasts forever =)

 

Would I recommend it? Not sure it worths the 30 bucks. (I got mine free, so I don't mind using it HEHE) 

L'Oreal Studio Line Hot Straight

Helloooo~

I'm writing an actual post! LOL

As I'm in good mood to write my diploma work, I picked a short one from my accumulated reviews. I felt bad for not updating, you know? =)

Before, I introduced you my favourite heat protection tool for hair: Tony&Guy Iron-It Heat Defence Spray.

Well, this L'Oreal cream would be the runner up on my list....but then I'd be veeery generous! It's nothing new, been here like forever, but I always need a cheap replacement for my T&G when it's not with me.

I'm using my 2nd bottle of Hot Straight cream.

I keep loosing faith in L'Oreal products >.>

The packaging is slightly different depending on where you're located, but it's very chick thanks to it being pink and the "mushroom". Okay, I dunno what to call the dispenser, but it looks like a mushroom, so that's it!

You pull it upwards then squeeze.

It works okay until you have lots of cream in the tube, but once it starts to lessen, you can't just turn it upside down, since it won't stand stright on your shelf.

I remember this was advertised with Beyoncée. Do you recall her spike straight, healthy, shiny hair? Nice, right? Okay, I didn't like its color, but it was pretty anyway.

So, the question is, would this cream help achieve the same result?

Frankly speaking.......NO

Surprising....

Now you know, so you can stop reading. XD

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If you're still here, then here are the instructions from the back of the bottle:

Let's see what it claims to do:

"Sleek, protected and ultra-glossy hair…simply dazzling!

Hot Straight smoothing creme is specially designed to be used with straightening irons and hair dryers. It promises you a long-lasting, sleek look while protecting your hair from heat damage."

"For short to mid-length hair, apply a single dab of smoothing creme. For long to very long hair: apply 2 dabs of smoothing creme. For use with a straightening iron: apply to towel-dried hair. Work a small amount of Hot Straight throughout your hair but avoiding the roots. "Comb" your hair using your fingers to ensure that the product is well-spread. For long hair, repeat the process using a second blob of creme. To finish, detangle your hair using a brush or comb. Blowdry hair thoroughly."

AHHA Right! Just like that!

Instead of a hazelnut-size, I squeeze out a watermelon LOL just becoz that little "hazelnut" cannot cover my short hair! Physically impossible!

Use it only when blow-drying, or if you have a flat iron that can be used on wet hair!!!!!

After drying you can do your straightening!

You won't have frizz-and-spiky-ends-free hair, but at least you got some heat protection!

Do NOT use it on completely dry hair before ironing! It's super damaging for your hair!

It won't soak in, so when the hot iron touches it, the cream boils/dissolves burning your hair too!

This is the biggest drawback of Hot Straight: I can't use it daily, since I ain't wash my hair every day.

But then, why do I keep on buying it?

Hmm....coz I need heat protection and this is cheap....and I can live with it a few times every month!^^

 
 
 
 
Ahem...about the secret.....still can't reveal it! You know, burocracy is S.L.O.W.!!!!!!

My giveaway prize & FOTD & Bourjois swatches

First of all, the book I won arrived Today! YEY! Previously I mentioned that I had won a book giveaway on Aik's blog!

mmmm Can't wait to start reading it! But first I want to finish the one I'm reading ATM.

It's actually a signed copy! And came directly from the author, Dakota Banks!

Thank you miss Banks! ^.^

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As I went out Today for some shopping (and I mean beauty shopping), and dear Sun cooperated, I took some photos of my makeup:

The weather is snowy and it's friggin' freezing outside, so I went for a cold-ish look.

FACE: Skin79 BB cream Diamond Collection Luminous Pearl

            Sofina Primavista Clear Cover Base

            Kevin Beautymaker Magic Foundation Pen

            RMK Liquid foundation

            NYX Concealer in a jar

            MAC Studio Finish Concealer

CHEEKS: Oriflame Giordani Gold Mosaic Splendor Powder

            Oriflame Visions Pearl Shimmer Poder for Face

EYES: I Nuovi metallogy eyeshadows (Champagne and Oxide)

            KATE Gel Eyeliner

            L'Oreal Accord Naturels (for eybrow)

            MUFE Aqua Smokey Eyes

LIPS: MAC Lipglass (Spirited)

Sooo, bought some stuffs at Müller that I'm not showing here as they are presents, and took the chance to swatch a few things.....and I have photos too! wooow My first attempt at swatching in store! LOL The SAs didn't even care about me. Maybe next time I won't be this lucky.

At first I wanted to swatch the eyeshadow quad of Guerlain's spring collection, but it wasn't there. Maybe it's not supposed to be at counters yet? But the plate with with stock photos and all was up, so where was the actual product? o_O

Thus I swatched the new Kiss Kiss glosses, but didn't make notes of the numbers, as it was labeled as new shades. And here at home, checking the Guerlain site I can't find what were those shades....

No, they weren't the pretty lacy Xmas edition ones.

Stupid me! I should have had to write down the numbers! X_X

BUT! I did some work and swatched almost all of the Bourjois Smoky Eyeshadow Trios!

The ones on my hand: Gris Dandy, Mordore Chic, Rose Vintage, Violet romantic, Bleu Rock, Vert Trendy (From top to bottom, left to right):

The colors came out so crappy! And washed out! So sorry! Wish I could show you how the last two trios (Bleu Rock and Vert Trendy) looks in real life!!!!

As I started swatching the first ones, I almost lost all hope that these worthed a penny, but damn! The blue and green trios are so awesome! Never seen anything like them! *____*

I tell you, if you have a chance, go and see for yourself!

I usually restrain myself from this two colors, but daaaamn! I'm so gonna buy these!

Bleu Rock and Vert Trendy have some golden/green/blue sheen to them, under the main color. Think of....uhm butterfly? You know, those exciting, mixing colors on their wings!?

I was mesmerized!

They are ~£7.30 each (dunno the USD) and they well worth the money! At least the blue and green ones do. The other variations were either boring or sheer.