3-in-1 Hadalabo Perfect Gel ★

I'm a fan of Hadalabo's products, they're effective, good quality and inexpensive. Their Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion was the first ever lotion I ever tried, and the Hadalabo Skin Conditioner was another amazing item I bought a lot of back ups for ★ Now, I've discovered yet another amazing find, the 3-in-1 Perfect Gel. It can be used as an essence, sleeping mask and moisturizer, though I mostly use it as a sleeping mask.

The jar, inside and the gel. 

It comes in a simple plastic cylindrical jar, which I'm not really a fan of due to hygiene hazards...So if you're a stickler for cleanliness and hate contamination like me, use a spatula or spoon to scoop out what you need, and always make sure it's clean before dipping into the jar.

The ingredients list, all conveniently listed in English. Like many of Hadalabo's products, the Perfect gel is mineral oil-free, colorant-free, fragrance-free and suitable for sensitive skin. The expiry date is also a long way away, March 2016. 

More into the ingredients. 

Hadalabo's star product is the Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion, and many of the other items in their lineup also feature Hyaluronic Acid. The Hadalabo Perfect Gel contains 3 types of Hyaluronic Acid: 

★ Nano Hyaluronic Acid

★ Super Hyaluronic Acid

★ Hyaluronic Acid

These deeply penetrates the skin to provide intense hydration. It also contains Ceramide, an ingredient which moisturizes deeply and prevents moisture loss. Another key ingredient is Collagen, which has long been known to improve skin's elasticity and radiance. Combined, the ingredients in the gel penetrates deeply into the skin to provide long-lasting hydration, and forms a barrier on the surface of the skin to prevent any moisture loss. 

Testing the texture.

The gel is semi-transparent and light in texture, applies very smoothly without leaving any greasy or sticky residue, and is easily absorbed into the skin. I do feel that it's too thick/rich to be used as a day moisturizer or essence, especially given Singapore's heat and humidity, but as a sleeping mask it does its job very well. 

Sleep is when our body repairs itself, so what better way to boost regeneration that during the optimal time of the day? I generously apply the Perfect Gel onto my face and neck, massage it in, go to sleep, and wake up to soft and radiant skin! I could really see a difference in moisture levels and skintone the morning after, all my dehydration lines are gone and my skin is smooth and supple.

Retailing at S$35.90 for 100g of product, the Hadalabo Perfect Gel is a steal and well worth its price, given its effectiveness.

The kind folks from Hadalabo also sent this panda eye mask, it's soo adorable! And extremely soft and fluffy, perfect texture to induce sleep~ I foresee this tagging along with me on many airplane trips!

New Diamond Beauty Diamond Eyelash Fixers

As makers of the ever-popular Diamond Lash lashes, and with so many brands coming up with their own versions of lash glues, it was only a matter of before Diamond Beauty added on to its current version. This summer, they've come up with two new items to add to their lash glue line up, bringing the total to 3 types of lash glues. Each retails for 840yen with tax. Most other lash glues (Dolly Wink, D.U.P., Eyemazing) retail at 945yen with tax. The glues are made in Korea.

★ Resistant to water, sweat and sebum

★ Dries clear and unnoticeable

★ Contains hyaluronic acid and collagen

Diamond Beauty's original Eyelash Fixer. It's quite similar to D.U.P.'s Eyelash Fix EX 552 Clear. I've used both, and find that the product itself is pretty much the same, but I prefer Diamond Beauty's version because of the packaging (hehe) and because D.U.P.'s dries up on the tube (glue accumulates and dries at the screw portion) too quickly.

★ Latex-type glue gentle to the skin

★ After removing, glue is non-messy

★ Little burden to false lashes and own lashes, so lashes can be reused more times

★ Dries clear and unnoticeable 

The first of the two new eyelash fixers is a latex type one. My favorite lash glue, Dolly Wink's Eyelash Fix, is a latex type glue, and I absolutely love it except for its not being waterproof...But the reusability part is true, I find after removing lash glues like D.U.P. and the original Diamond Eyelash Fixer, it's still sticky on the lash part, which greatly misshapes them... 

★ Resistant to water, sweat and sebum

★ Black-type glue to fill in gaps between lashes, giving the effect of eyeliner

★ Tube has stainless steel balls to prevent uneven color distribution

★ Contains hyaluronic acid and collagen

The second of the new lash glues is a black type glue. So far the only black glue I've tried is Dolly Wink's version, but I did not really like it as it was hard to remove from the lash...making it not so reusable. Also, this wouldn't work if you don't use black eyeliner, or if you're like me and like to slosh on a lot of glue^^ With latex/clear glues, they dry clear so it doesn't matter how much glue you use, but for black glue it becomes very visible because they dry black... 

What's your favorite type of glue? 

While I did  love the original Diamond Eyelash Fixer (used up 2 tubes) I went back to Dolly Wink's Eyelash Fixer because of the trouble the former posed while removing glue from lashes. If you've read my past post on Caring for Lashes, you'd know that I don't wash my lashes with water/soap/makeup remover, I just pluck of the dried glue from my lashes before reusing. Latex glues are easy to pluck off, whilst the clear non-latex types and black types are not so easy because they are still kind of sticky. I'd love to try Diamond Beauty's latex type glue and see how it compares with my all-time favorite Dolly Wink one! Which would you like to try?

Diamond Lash Rich Brown Series ♡

After over a year, Diamond Lash is finally releasing a new series of lashes, the Rich Brown Series~ (リッチブラウンシリーズ) The name is because all the lashes in the series are all brown! ♥ I love brown lashes, but so far the only ones i use are from the Zipper x Eyemazing collection, so it's great that the selection is expanding. D.U.P. has some brown lashes too, but they're quite on the "safe" OL side and aren't very long or voluminous...

As with all previous Diamond Lash series, the Rich Brown series has 6 types of lashes, and the trays look to be a light light pink, lighter than the Pure series. Each pack comes with 5 pairs, however unlike all other Diamond Lash lashes, these retail at a slightly higher price of 1260yen with tax. Though previous series have all had both upper and lower lashes, this series only has upper lashes. 

レディ Eye / Lady Eye

Diamond Beauty's description: 
The natural bunches from the inner corners to the center and the volume at the outer corners give gorgeous eyes. The brown lashes give a feminine finish that is not too flashy.

Comments:
This is one of the lashes I'm looking forward to, I like gradating lengths longer at the end, and the spreading out of the lashes at the end look more natural compared to fixed interval/shapes like Beauty Eye in the Pure Series. And of course the brown color is gorgeous~ ♥

 アーモンド Eye / Almond Eye

Diamond Beauty's description:  
A natural thick design with extra fine brown bundles in the center, for dramatic cute round eyes. Natural bundles for prettier eyes.

Comments:
This is the other one I'm looking forward to, I like the density in the middle! My all-time favorite Diamond Lash, Celeb Eye, also has emphasis in the middle, to bring out the pupils. However these look kinda short...

バンビ Eye / Bambi Eye

Diamond Beauty's description: 
Closely-spaced fine brown bundles in the center, to give the illusion of wider eyes. For naturally impressionable cute eyes.

シフォン Eye / Chiffon Eye

Diamond Beauty's description:  
The extra fine brown lashes give naturally gentle eyes, as if naturally increasing your own lashes. They casually blend in with your own lashes, for a soft, gentle look.

Comments:
These are seriously some of the thinnest/un-voluminous/un-dense lashes I've ever seen, though I guess they'll look quite natural on!

ロイヤルEye / Royal Eye

Diamond Beauty's description: 
Brown lash bundles that naturally adjust the length of your own lashes, casually making your eyes stand out. A design that blends into your eyes, for an elegant finish.

Comments:
These are partial lashes that you use on the outer corners to emphasize your natural lashes to make them look longer.

クラシック Eye / Classic Eye

Diamond Beauty's description: 
The slightly stiff brown bunches at the outer corner naturally widen the eyes. Because of the moderate length, they adjust your own lashes without being too long, and give an elegant finish.

----------------------------------------------

The 6 styles are: Almond Eye, Lady Eye, Bambi Eye, Royal Eye, Classic Eye and Chiffon Eye. They go on sale exclusively at SBY and the Diamond Lash online store from 12th July 2013. It will hit all other sales channels in August 2013.

The photoshoot was only done recently, so even the website hasn't been updated with promotional images yet, so there are no reference pics to see how these lashes look like on the models/when worn. But nevertheless, this is a series I look forward too! ♥

And if you wanna read the image models' entries on the photoshoot:

中北成美 (Nakakita Narumi/ BLENDA model) 

http://ameblo.jp/nakakita-narumi/entry-11566755019.html

東野佑美 (Higashino Yumi/ CanCam model) 

http://ameblo.jp/yumi-higashino/entry-11566559739.html

宮城 舞 (Miyagi Mai/ ViVi model) 

http://ameblo.jp/maimiyagi/entry-11566495069.html

Jun Jun (Hair & Makeup artist) 

http://ameblo.jp/jun-2-blog/entry-11566562485.html

Loveli (JJ Model) http://ameblo.jp/lovelizm/entry-11566497459.html

Diamond Lash to be launched in Singapore ★

Good news for fellow Diamond Lash lovers in Singapore, Diamond Lash is finally going to be available here,  launching at selected JCosmeland corners in Watsons next week~♪  ♫ ♬ One of the best news I've heard all year, now I can chuck my pathetic last pair of Celeb Eye and stock up! I've been trying to "save" and "reuse" this pair very sparingly for the past 3 months! For the initial launch, only the dark pink, light pink (Pure series), light blue (Volume series) and light green (Little Wink series) will be available. Each box of 5 pairs will retail at S$23.90.

Can't remember how many times I've raved about how awesome these lashes are, but they really are! A favorite of gyarus and eyelash users all over Japan and the world, Diamond Lash offers a large variety of styles (30 types/5 series) at an affordable price. Plus the quality is great, they last really long (personally, I can go 2-3weeks per pair with daily use) and the lashes themselves look great.

Top: There was a time when Beauty Eye was my favorite...

Bottom: But then Celeb Eye took over^^

Looking forward to seeing Diamond Lash in stores, it's great that I can now get my favorite lashes locally instead of hoping to go to Japan and hoarding^^ Because I ran out of Celeb Eye, I bought 811 Strawberry Tea from the Eyemazing x AMOYAMO Collection a few weeks ago, intending to switch to 811 Strawberry Tea as my daily lashes...

Compared it with 801 from the Eyemazing x Zipper Collection and don't they look similar? 811 is just slightly longer. I bought these before finding out that Diamond Lash was coming to Singapore, but now that Diamond Lash is coming, I can go back to using my beloved Celeb Eye! ♥ ♥

My boxes of Diamond Lash, half of them are empty...

(I've used up 4 boxes of Celeb Eye since 2011) 

But I can't bear to throw away the boxes because I love this brand, and it's not often I get to restock. I even keep boxes of my old YSL, Jill Stuart and Paul & Joe items from over 5 years ago^^ In my defence the boxes are pretty!

Diamond Beauty/ Diamond Lash has a Facebook Page here. (In Japanese)

And there's also a Page for Diamond Lash Singapore here. (In English)

2013 cosme.net Ranking (First Half Year)

Revealed last week, the 2013 cosme.net Ranking for the first half of the year is finally out! The rankings are based on reviews and ratings by real consumers who share their experiences on cosme.net, Japan's largest cosmetics community/portal. It's not like an award doled out by magazines/editors, but a ranking based on sentiments of regular consumers of the products, so Japanese companies happily place their cosme.net ranking on their products if they manage to get one. If you go to drugstores in Japan, you'll often see cosme.net stickers on various cosmetic products! Plus they have a good mix of Western and Japanese brands, drugstore and department store brands.

Here are the rankings for the Point Makeup, Base Makeup and Skincare sections. I translated the product names from the Japanese names, so don't blame me if their actual English names are something else, I wouldn't know!^^ Also translated the description of some of the 1st place items, complete with the stars and musical notes they used, so don't think it's just me inserting random comments^^

POINT MAKEUP

CHEEKS

[1] Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact N

Cute and girly case, colors can be used as 4 individual colors or mixed together.

[2] Jill Stuart Layer Blush Compact

[3] Paul & Joe Cheek Color

EYESHADOW

[1] Jill Stuart Velvet Crystal Eyes

A well-received, easy to use 4-color set with pigmented and elegant pearly colors.

[2] Lunasol Vivid Clear Eyes

[3] Visee Glam Nature Eyes

EYELINER

[1] K Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner 24h WP

An eyeliner that stays put. The ease of use of the brush is also highly raved about.

[2] Dejavu Lasting Eyeline RN Brush Liquid

[3] KATE Slim Gel Liner Pencil

MASCARA

[1] DiorShow Iconic Overcurl

Gives a beautiful curl even without the use of an eyelash curler ☆ 

The pigmented color gives beautifull separated lashes.

[2] Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Meister

[3] Guerlain Cils D'Enfer

LIPSTICK

[1] Coffret D'Or Rouge Essence 

Shiny and moisturizing and stays on! Another good point is the lipcare functions.

[2] Aube Essence Premium Rouge

[3] Canmake Stay On Bar Rouge

LIPGLOSS

[1] Dior Addict Gloss

Highly transparent and overwhelming glossiness and volume make it well-recommended.

[2] Lavshuca Flower Nectar Gloss

[3] Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited

BASE MAKEUP

BB CREAM

[1] L'Oreal Revitalift UV Block BB

[2] Kose Sekkisei White BB Cream

[3] DiorSnow Whitening UV Protection 50 BB

PRESSED POWDER

[1] Lunasol Skin Modelling Powder Fountation

Fits perfectly like a second skin, for glossy, poreless skin~♪

[2] Maquillage True Powdery UV

[3] Sofina Prima Vista Powder Foundation UV

LIQUID/CREAM FOUNDATION

[1] Lancome Mat Miracle 24H

Gives a fluffy, matte finish ☆ Gives a natural look, like the appearance of bare skin.

[2] Lissage White Liquid Foundation

[3] Addiction Tinted Skin Protector

LOOSE POWDER

[1]Cosme Decorte AQ MW Secret Glow

[2] Est Long Lasting Loose Powder Lucent

[3] Chacott Professionals Beauty Veil Powder

MAKEUP BASE

[1] Coffret D'Or Full Keep Base UV EX

Gives a silky feeling, and is holds up well against sweat and sebum for a long time ♪ 

A matte base that covers pores.

[2] Chanel CC Cream

[3] Guerlain Blanc de Perles Makeup Base SS

SKINCARE

SUNSCREEN

[1] L'Oreal Revitalift UV Block

[2] suisai Perfect UV Day Emulsion II

[3] Shiseido Anessa Pergect Essence Sunscreen

MAKEUP REMOVER

[1] Parado Skincare Cleansing

[2] Cosme Decorte AQ Meliority Repair Cleasing Cream

[3] White Label Placenta Whitening Cleansing Gel

FACIAL WASH

[1] Lush 毎日が晩餐

(I don't know what the English name for this is, plus Lush products in Japan are made and packaged differently and have a different product texture/consistency from the rest of the world)

[2] Meishoku DETclear Bright&Peel Fruit Enzyme Powder Wash

[3] RMK Sherbet Moisturizing Soap

SHEET MASK

[1] Shiseido White Lucent Powder Brightening Mask

*They only announce 1st place for the sheet mask category

ESSENCE/SERUM

[1] Shiseido White Lucent Intensive Spot Targering Serum+

[2] YSL Forever Light Creator Serum

[3] Shiseido HAKU Melanofocus CR

LOTION

[1] Aquamoist Hoshitsu Lotion

[2] Hadalado Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Lotion

[3] Meishoku Moisture Carbonate Mist

EMULSION

[1] Clarins White Plus Moisture Emulsion

[2] Albion Exage White White Crystal Milk III

*They only announce till 2nd place for this category

These are the rankings for the first half of 2013. Each year there are 3 rankings, the first half, later half and overall whole year. The overall whole year one has more categories, including eyelashes, nails, eyebrows, concealers, etc. And of course as the years pass you'll see more new items, but there are some items that repeatedly make the list over a few years, even after revamped formulas. A good example would be Jill Stuart's Mix Blush Compact, the old version topped the blush category in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 rankings. Another example is Majolica Majorca's mascaras. Though they're different formulas, Majolica Majorca's mascaras have been #2 in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. 

Majolica Majorca Fantastic Fantasy ♪ ♬ Chapter 38, Autumn 2013

Majolica Majorca's Autumn 2013 release, Chapter 38 "Fantastic Fantasy". The collection's theme takes inspiration from Alice's Tea Party (Alice in Wonderland), delivering various surprises in the cute but mildly poisonous world. A girl charmed by a world of dazzling surprises, who gets her wish of transformation fulfilled.

Except for the mascara, everything in the collection is limited edition, and features muted/vintage colors. I love the theme of this, because I love tea, patisseries and tea parties ♪(*´ω｀*) ♬ The collection is slated for release on 21st July 2013 in Japan.

As with all releases this year, the jewel of the chapter is The Little Humming Book III. 

Like the previous two books, it features one cream base, two powder shadows and a lip gloss. The cream base is a pastel pink called Table Napkin. The two powder shadows are a berry pink called Antique Berry and a golden beige called Brick Wall. The gloss is a deep scarlet called Tomato Jam. This retails for 1,575yen with tax.

A new product, Nail Costume. These are nail stickers that can easily be pasted onto your nails. Each comes with a nail file. The three varieties are #1 Teacup, #2 Tablecloth and #3 秘密の住人 (Himitsu no Shujin), which will be sold in all stores that carry Majolica Majorca. These retail for 787yen with tax each.

There's also another 4th design, #0 Omamori, which will be sold exclusively on WatashiPlus, Shiseido's online web store, to be released 21st August.

Majolica Majorca is well-known for their mascaras, and their latest addition is the Lash Expander Edge Meister F, a film type mascara easily removed with just warm water. Majolica Majorca mascaras are well-known for being waterproof, smudgeproof and tough to remove. This version will be removable with just warm water (hope that doesn't include tears!) The mascara features a Duet Comb - a brush with two combs. The main comb is for length and separation, and the little one is for "point catch", especially for lower lashes. This retails for 1,260yen with tax.

Rounding up the collection are two limited edition Artistic Nails (Speedy & Glossy) nail polishes. They are supposed to dry quickly and give a glossy shine, so that you can do nail art soon after. The two limited edition colors are GY971 骨董品 (Kotsutouhin) and RS272 食べ頃 (Tabegoro). These retail for 399yen with tax.

Out of the three 10th anniversary collections this year, this has the quaintest names (to me). Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite stories, and I love tea and patisseries! Tiramisu, Fraisier and Montblanc are my favorite patisseries ♥ (That's why I really liked AMO's eyelashes for the latest AMOYAMO x Eyemazing collection, because the names are derived from Alice in Wonderland and teatime items too (*´ω`*)♪) Can't wait for this collection to hit Singapore!

Anessa Face Sunscreen BB SPF50+ PA+++

Because my Too Cool For School Blending Cream BB was almost finished, I started trying the Anessa Face Sunscreen BB which I bought in Yokohama last September. I can't believe I took so long to start on it, just one use and it became my current favorite BB cream! ♥♥ 

Anessa is made by Shiseido, and is famous for their sunscreens, which have ranked high on cosme.net for many years. I initially wanted to only try the sunscreen, but while I was in Donki I saw the BB cream next to it and thought, why not try it out, since I haven't tried many Japanese BB creams other than Hadalabo's.

I love Donki, because I can spend hours browsing the cosmetics section^^ Lots of items are discounted too, for example the sunscreen was about 1790yen, while the BB cream was 2000yen. The retail price is around 3150yen for the sunscreen and 2520yen for the BB cream. Anyway, I had to try both ♥ 

There was a promotion for the sunscreens, whereby there was an extra mini 12ml bottle of a different sunscreen. I got the Perfect Essence Sunscreen SPF50+ PA+++, and it came with a mini bottle of the Perfect UV Sunscreen SPF50+ PA+++. (I just checked their website, in February 2013 a new formula has been rolled out for all the sunscreens, they now offer PA++++! Even more sun protection, hurray~)

The Too Cool For School BB cream had no SPF, so I'd always use the Perfect Essence Sunscreen under. It's my favorite sunscreen, because it's very fluid like essence/serum, non-sticky and is easily absorbed. I haven't tried the Perfect UV one, though it's recommended for activities like sports, going up the mountains/going to the sea, and it's waterproof too.

Onto the BB cream! I like how the underside of the cap is solid instead of being empty like most screw-cap cosmetics. There's 30g of product and its main function is actually to act as a suncreen. There are two colors - Light and Natural - but at Donki I only saw Natural, so that's what I got. The Anessa Face Sunscreen BB is actually more like a tinted moisturizer than a BB cream, with high sun protection.

Ingredients and benefits.

Main benefits:

★ High UV protection - protects delicate skin against sunburn and sun damage

★ Moisturizing - contains hyaluronic acid and collagen

★ Covers pores

★ Corrects skin tone

★ Can be used as a make up base or as a foundation

★ Resistant to sweat and sebum

Oiliness test.

It's very non-oily, which works great in Singapore's humidity.
It's also very light, so my face doesn't feel like it's smothered by cream :D

I don't know what to call this test, but just wanted to show that it doesn't "melt" or fall off after contact with the environment, or that the more liquid components won't sink to the bottom and cause the blob to fall off the paper?

Consistency test.

It's lightweight and very creamy, but spreads easily and blends into skin without difficulty.

I have a preference for creamier BB creams, because for me thinner BB creams tend to streak...

Color/blending.

The Anessa Face Sunscreen BB is actually a lot darker than most BB creams I've seen, but over time it blends into my skin. The main function is to act as a sunscreen, and it's made to have a "natural" color. Despite claiming to be more for sun protection than makeup, the BB cream's coverage is medium and is buildable, and it's pretty decent at covering redness and evening skintone ♥

The BB cream dries semi-matte, which is my preferred type of finish 　ε(๑^ᴗ^๑)з

When I use this I do not top it off with loose powder, because it sets pretty well. And after 10hours of wear it still stays in place, and doesn't melt or streak. For me, this is a great BB cream, perfect for Singapore's humid weather. It's also lightweight, blends very well and looks natural, and the finish is semi-matte and non-oily ♥ 

I have combination skin and live in extremely humid and warm weather, and I really like the texture of this BB cream. However, for people living in temperate climates of have dry skin, I think you might find this a bit drying?