Review: Daiso Puff & Sponge Detergent

A few days ago, I tried the Daiso Puff & Sponge Detergent for the first time. This stuff was all the rage in the beauty community a few years ago, and it was even sold out for a while. Recently I found a stash of make-up brushes while I was KonMari-ing my house, plus my regular brushes were overdue for a wash, so I decided to test it out. In the past I've used handwash.

It wasn't until just before opening the bottle that I realised it says 'Puff & Sponge Detergent' -- it doesn't mention that it can be used on brushes. But I don't see why it can't.

The Detergent is unscented and has no added colouring. The instructions say to rub an 'appropriate amount' into the sponge, then rinse thoroughly in water. I did as instructed with my teardrop sponge, and gently rubbed the bristles of the brushes into the detergent. I then rinsed them in warm water. I haven't had my teardrop sponge for very long (I bought it from YesStyle in this haul), and haven't used it very much since I've had it, but the water went beige with BB Cream! I use the brushes for eyeshadow mainly, so when I washed them, the water went some lovely shades of bronze and purple.

The Detergent seemed to wash the brushes completely, and got most of the BB Cream out of the sponge with just a tiny stain visible at the tip. (To be honest I probably could have removed this too if I'd spent more time on it!)

The Daiso Puff & Sponge Detergent is probably no better and no worse than using handwash or a similar mild detergent. However, it's unscented and uncoloured, and is therefore probably better for the skin. In Australia Daiso retails at $2.80, which is much more affordable than any other specialised make-up brush cleaning product I've seen.

Would I buy it again? Yes!

Kids' Beauty Advent Calendar

For the 2015 festive season, I couldn't resist procuring for myself this Kids' Beauty Advent Calendar from the local supermarket. I love the idea of advent calendars (I'm very much a calendar nerd) but it seems too much effort to make and fill one every year, so I always end up buying one.

This post isn't a review, just a showing of my treasures, as it seems a bit pointless to do a review of an advent calendar that this point in the year. Unless you saw it on sale and wanted to scavenge the contents, I guess....

I forgot to take a photo of it at the beginning, and I can't find any photos of it online, but here's a photo of it with most of the doors ripped off. I should probably point out that the hairy arm propping it up is Husband's, not mine!

It contained:
❦ flower-shaped mirror
❦ purple sparkly comb
❦ clear sparkly nail polish -- vanilla scent
❦ pink sparkly nail polish -- cherry scent
❦ toe separator
❦ nail file

The nail polish rubs off at the slightest touch, and washes off in water, so it's pretty much useless. I like the comb and mirror, and I've been using the comb a bit. The nail file is the thing I've used most so far!

❦ clear sparkly vanilla-flavoured lip gloss
❦ pink strawberry-flavoured lip gloss
❦ pink sparkly cherry-flavoured lip gloss (I've used this one the most so far)
❦ dark pink cherry-flavoured lip gloss

The lip glosses perform about as you'd expect for a cheap lip gloss. The scent/flavour is not very strong. They all have a little loop on them so they can be hung as a pendant.

❦ hair ties, pink and purple -- they're not big enough to tie up my thick hair, but I use them to decorate the end of my braid
❦ claw-grip hair clips in pink, purple and blue -- these don't really fit in with the way I style my hair, but they make cute decorations at my beauty station
❦ heart-shaped rings in pink and purple -- they go about half-way down my little finger! One day I might wear them if I'm going full Fairy Kei, but for now they make a cute decoration.
❦ star bracelet -- this is way too small for my wrist, so I'm using it as a hair deco.

❦ creme eyeshadow in sparkly pink -- fairly light coverage but adds sparkle to other shadows
❦ eyeshadow in blue -- so 80s!
❦ makeup brush and sponge applicator -- very poor quality, but would be fun for a kid to practice with
❦ salmon orange cherry-scented lipstick
❦ dark pink strawberry-scented lipstick -- the two lipsticks have surprisingly strong coverage and I've used them quite a bit.

I hope you're having a lovely time, whatever you're celebrating!

Etsy Shop Haul : Ananda Beauty

Update: Unfortunately this Etsy shop is now closed.

I'm a complete sucker for a cat-in-need story, and when I heard that Etsy indie beauty shop owner Jill was raising money for her cat Roland's vet bills, I just couldn't resist making a purchase. (~~Note: I placed my order a few months ago, so the promotion is over now.~~) Ananda Beauty stocks a range of hand-made tinted lip balms, mineral eyeshadows and eyeliners, hair balm and other goodies. All products are vegan and tested on humans only. The aesthetic is metallic and sparkly, with shades of grey, bronze, peach, red and pink.

I chose the Lip Tint in Ripe Shimma, Hair & Body Balm in Woodsy Scent, and three eye products: Cumulus and Taupe Eyeshadows, and Black Amber Eyeliner powder. Ordering through Etsy was easy and safe as always - the hardest part was choosing which colours I wanted most! The order arrived quickly. My parcel was carefully packed in a bubble-wrap-lined bag, and the items were wrapped in sophisticated black tissue paper, with a lovely thank you note. There were also 4 free samples, which is very generous: Raw Brass and Blue Velvet eyeshadows, Rosalina Highlighter and Sunset Blush. They are all colours that I can see myself using, so thank you to Jill for choosing well!

The Hair & Body Balm is marvellously thick, and once warmed between my fingers and smoothed on, made a difference to my dry ends. The Woodsy scent, with cedarwood and patchouli, is a delight. The only eye product I've used so far is the Taupe Eyeshadow, and I was pleased with its colour payoff and longevity. Here are some swatches!:

Photo taken indoors in sunlit room.

This was my first purchase of beauty products from Etsy and from an indie beauty brand. I was very happy with my experience and would definitely purchase from Ananda Beauty again.

Glitzology Glitter Nails from Etsy

Update: Unfortunately this Etsy shop is now closed.

Before Christmas I decided to treat myself. After reading a blog pot on independent nail polish creators, I somehow got the idea into my head that I didn't have enough glitter nail polish in my life. After a lot of backing-and-forthing, I finally decided to make my purchase from Glitzology.

There's such a huge range of polishes available from Stacy's shop, that the only thing I could do was get the 6-bottle bundle. And then spend another half an hour deciding which colours to get! It was a lot of fun, though. These are the polishes I chose:

Normally I don't like cheesy names for things, but I found these variations quirky and fun. They are (left to right):
Nebula - a black jelly base with blue, purple and silver hologram pieces. Reminiscent of the night sky.
Cotton Candy - a subtle lavender base with pink, purple and silver pieces in a mixture of shiny and matte textures. A cute and girly look.
Blue Lagoon - a clear base with a mixture of different shades of blue. Like swimming through the ocean.
Sherwood Forest - a blend of green, yellow and brown pieces. This makes me think of looking up through the forest canopy on a sunny day.
Bad Things - a deep red base with silver, pink and black pieces, and red hearts. Inspired by the TV show True Blood.
The Island of Misfit Toys - red, yellow, blue and green pieces set in a clear base with silver micro glitter. It's like an explosion in a toy factory!

I love these polishes so much! The suspension of glitter is extremely generous. Making the purchase was easy, and my parcel came fast. The bottles were carefully packed, and included a page full of tips with a discount coupon for my next purchase. I've decided to showcase each glitter in a separate post. So here's the first:

Single coat; under daylight lamp.
The Island of Misfit Toys is set in a clear base and features the primary colours - red, yellow, blue and green - in various shapes including large squares, medium-size hexagons and small dots. There are also a few pastel yellow squares thrown in. The whole is set on a background of silver micro glitter. As I said before, the inclusion of glitter is much more generous than other brands I've tried - I only used a single coat for this mani!
I have presented the polish here over a neutral-ish base: Adoree Brown Gaucho. The photo was taken indoors under my daylight lamp.

I'm not sure when I can show you the other glitters in detail. My nails are pretty weak at the moment and need a rest. I hope it will be in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, look out for more haul posts and perhaps a review!

Review: W7 Trends Lipstick in Fuchsia

I'm a beginner at reviewing makeup products, and I don't wear lipstick very often, so I apologise if I left out any useful details. I've also never taken such a close-up photo of my lips before, and I had a bit of a freak-out session when I saw the pictures: do I really have that much upper-lip hair? Do I really have that many freckles on my lips??! I hesitated posting this for a couple of weeks because of it. But then I realised: nobody's perfect! So why not?? It also made me realise how little I actually look at my own face when I'm putting on my makeup in the morning. Food for thought. But in the meantime, here's my review:

THE PRODUCT & ME
W7 Trends is a bargain brand from the U.K. It recently appeared on shelves at Chemist Warehouse. The Lipstick comes in 20 shades that I could see in the display. My secret dream is to have a trashy pink lipstick, so when I saw the Fuchsia shade, I made a totally frivolous purchase. It cost $4.99.

PACKAGING
The Lipstick comes in a silver tube with a clear rounded lid. For a bargain bin cosmetic, this looks quite sleek and glamorous. The tube is quite short, so it would fit well in a makeup bag. It feels very light, however the lid snaps on firmly, so the lipstick would be well protected in your bag. The tip of the lipstick is stamped with the W7 logo, which I think is a cute, quirky touch.

Above: bare lips; below: with W7 Fuchsia Lipstick.
APPEARANCE & PERFORMANCE
As you can see, the Fuchsia Lipstick is very highly pigmented. The shade is a bright hot pink with just a hint of orange. It goes on shiny, but then dries to a semi-matte. My lips dried out a little, so anyone with dry lips might want to use a lip balm before applying. The texture isn't very creamy, but it isn't very hard either: I would say it's in-between. It has a light powdery smell which I found pleasant.
I checked the lipstick again after eating dinner, and it was mostly gone. There was only a slight pink stain remaining, and none of the semi-shine it originally had. So the W7 Lipstick is not the best when it comes to staying power.

Pros:                             Cons:
cheap.                            very little staying power.
highly pigmented.                 slightly drying.
nice-looking packaging.                         

WOULD I GET AGAIN? Yes, if I wanted to experiment with new shades of lipsticks without spending a lot of money.

Mini Review: Pola Kalahari Moisture Lotion

THE PRODUCT: Pola Kalahari Moisture Lotion comes from Japan. It contains makataan (watermelon). I received this sample sachet as a gift.

PROPERTIES & PERFORMANCE: The lotion is clear and very runny - it ran straight out as soon as I tore the sachet open. Some of it spilled on my camera! №❢ (Don't worry, it's OK.) I had to rub it in quickly before it went everywhere. That's why I don't have a 'before-blending' shot. Here it is half-blended into my arm:

The Kalahari Lotion is a very light gel; it absorbs very quickly and isn't greasy at all. It smells very faintly of fruity watermelon. It's a yummy smell, but it doesn't really linger. My arm felt noticeably soft afterwards.


GET AGAIN?: Yes! As long as the full size came in packaging that protected it from spilling.

Review of DHC Make Off Sheets

About The Brand & Product:
DHC (which stands for Daigaku Honyaku Center) is one of the top-selling Japanese skin care brands, and is increasingly being seen in other countries as well. Even Beautypedia (home of the Cosmetic Cop) has reviews of some of its products. I am new to this brand - I bought the Sheets because I needed a new pack, and thought it would be interesting to try a new brand.
In Japan, make-up is often just referred to as 'make', hence the name Make Off Sheets. There are 50 sheets in the box. A refill pack is also available.

The Product & Me:
I bought the Make Off Sheets from YesStyle.com.au. They were on sale for $9, normally $12.
I like to have facial cleansing sheets on hand - I use them when I get home at night to remove makeup and clean my face. I only resolved to clean/moisturise my face at night recently, and having wipes on hand makes this an easy and quick routine to follow.

DHC Make Off Sheets in situ in my bathroom cabinet.
Packaging:
The sheets came in a cute box with a flip-top lid, with the normal soft plastic package inside. This is one of the reasons I was drawn to this brand. Call me picky, but I don't like the way the soft plastic packages look sitting on my bathroom shelf. They just look a bit messy. The box is much neater. I also feel that the box will protect the sheets from drying out, which is a problem I've had before.

Appearance/Smell & Performance:
The sheets are made of cotton and are strong and soft. They're wetter than other brands I've tried. There's plenty of makeup remover fluid on each one. Advertised as being fragrance-free, they have a very faint smell of aloe vera (which they contain). Compared to other brands, I find I need to press/scrub harder to remove mascara using the DHC sheets. Another con is that they're noticeably smaller than other makeup remover sheets I've used recently (namely Simple and 10-06) (I think?)). I don't have to resort to using two, but I feel the size could still have been a bit more generous. The liberal amount of cleansing fluid on the sheets offsets this somewhat, though.
I have not noticed any irritation or other detrimental effects on my skin.

The make off sheet at work. Why did I choose candy pink eyeshadow today??!
Beautypedia Summary:
The fact that the DHC Make Off Sheets are fragrance free is a big plus, and they earn the tick that Paula gives to especially preferred products.
[go to full entry]

Conclusion:
The fact that the sheets are quite small was a bit of a disappointment. However, they work well and don't have any irritating ingredients. They were more expensive than many brands available locally, but about on par with the middle shelf brands. The fact that they contain 50 sheets instead of the more usual 20-25 is a plus - I'll only have to refill half as often! However, on YesStyle.com.au, the refill pack is the same price as the boxed pack. So I'll have to weigh up whether I'll refill it with the DHC brand sheets, or just buy a local brand and put them in the cute DHC box.

Review of Yves St Laurent Teint Parfeit Complexion Enhancer

I wrote this review a while back and submitted it to a reviewing site, but I never heard back from them. I hate to waste a piece of writing, so I thought I'd post it here instead.

The Yves St Laurent
Teint Parfait Complexion Enhancer

ABOUT MY SKIN:
skin tone: very fair
issues: combination T-zone; occasional pimples; redness; dark circles

TEXTURE & SMELL: The Complexion Enhancer has a creamy consistency, which is easy to spread with either fingers or a sponge, etc. It isn't too thick or too runny. There is a very faint powdery, 'makeup-y' smell which I thought was pleasant.

COVERAGE & APPEARANCE: This product is advertised as an enhancer and bronzer rather than a foundation, so it doesn't cover up blemishes, but I wasn't expecting it to, so I'm happy with it.
The shade I have is No. 3 Champagne, which is a little dark for my skin, but I only apply a small amount and it looks fine. The cream itself sinks right into my skin, leaving bronzey-coloured sparkles. On my fair skin, it gives a 'sun-kissed' look. It doesn't conceal my dark eye circles completely, but the sparkles reflect light, which reduces their appearance. The enhancer comes in at least 8 shades, so there is one suitable for every skin tone.
I would not use this as a makeup base as the advertising suggests, as the sparkles sit on the skin and this would just knock them off. I found the enhancer stayed throughout most of the day. Re-application was only necessary after I added another product such as re-applying my sunscreen.

OIL CONTROL: I have fairly oily skin, and have never had any breakouts or other problems with this product. As the enhancer is quite creamy in texture, I think it would be suitable for dry skin, too.

VALUE: I was given this by a friend who received it as a free sample. (Hence why I ended up with a shade that was a bit dark for my skin tone.) On Strawberry Net it retails for $42.50 for the 30ml tube, which is more than I'd normally pay for an enhancer. However, the tube has lasted me well over a year, so I think it's good value for money.

CONCLUSION: I used this product nearly every day and was very happy with the result. It was great for an everyday enhancer when I wanted a quick, no-fuss makeup routine, and for special occasions I just added a little more. I would definitely spend the extra money to buy it again.