K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Eyeliner (Liquid and Pencil): Review

Hi guys! Today, I'm pretty excited with the products I'm highlighting in this post. This product isn't actually something new to me but for some reason, I forgot to take nice shots of this particular product when I first got it for myself.

You may have seen this product in so many beauty blogs and I'm sure a lot of beauty vloggers have featured it too. If you're a fan of Asian makeup,  I'm sure you've heard of this product at least once. I'm talking about this Japanese brand eyeliner called K-Palette.

Kate Tokyo Eyebrow Mascara (BR-1): Review

So normally, I would start my blog by writing an introduction regarding the product I'll be reviewing but because today is a special day for one of my greatest friends, I would like to start this particular post differently. To be more precise, I'd start it by sending her wishes on her day of birth. Happy birthday Gel! I've known you practically my whole life and I just can't imagine life without your bubbly personality. I wish that you get everything that you wish for today and more. :)

So here's my review proper... One of my pet peeves includes ungroomed brows. Frankly speaking, I'm not super particular with this. One can have several stray brow strands from time to time and it totally wouldn't bother me at all. What I can't stand is bushy brows. For some reason, I don't understand why the windows to our souls must be framed by a thick presence of unnecessary hair. Thus, I try to make it a point that I clean up my brows from time to time and I make an appointment with waxing salons for a good threading session once a month.

 The applicator

Of course, having it cleaned and shaped is not enough when I go out. I have to redefine my brows just because I feel that my makeup isn't complete without it. Aside from filling it in with brow powder or a brow pencil, I also make it a point that I set my brows in place using a brow mascara.

 Darker shade for a change: BR-1

Up until last month, I've been fond of using light brown eyebrow mascaras. These days, however, I tend to go for a brow mascara that's a little bit darker. It's still lighter than my natural eyebrows, though. I use the one from Kate Tokyo.

 Here's a swatch for reference

If you didn't already know, Kate Tokyo is a Japanese brand. They offer a wide variety of cosmetics ranging from foundations, eye shadows, eyeliners, etc. The brand is already available in the Philippines in several Watsons branches. I got mine from SM Watsons Makati. Well, technically, I asked my sister to get it because she drops by Makati more often than me.

 On me: Kate Tokyo Eyebrow Mascara over THEFACESHOP Brow Powder Duo

Performance wise, I feel that this mascara isn't anything different from the previous ones I've tried. They help keep brow hair in place for the whole day and it coats the brows with a shade of brown. The only difference is that this is a little bit darker than the shades I've used before.

When I first got it, I didn't use it much because I significantly lightened my hair color and light brown brow mascaras matched my hair better. These days, however, I've been more into simple makeup with bold lips (hot pink) and I find that having brows that are a little bit darker would help define the brows and support strong lip colors.

Over all, I'm very satisfied with this product. It's a little bit pricier than the brow mascaras I've tried from other brands (PHP510) but it's not pricey to the point that it would burr holes in your pockets. If you've been meaning to try brow mascaras, especially from a Japanese brand, I would highly recommend that you try out Kate Tokyo. For more information, feel free to visit their facebook page.

Note: This is not sponsored. I bought this with my own money.

Koji Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner: Review

Because today is a special day, I wanted to review a product that I really really like. When I found out that my brother was treating me to a trip to Japan, I swore to myself that I would get this particular product no matter what happens.

I've always seen this particular item being used by a lot of beauty gurus I'm subscribed to in youtube. It really seemed like a high performing product with so many raves and reviews. When I entered Donki in Akihabara, I was crossing my fingers in hope that Dolly Wink is available there. Thankfully, it was! The catch? There were several products that were in promotional packages. (To be honest, I'm not sure if they're promotional packages but it looked that way to me.) This very product is in one. It was packed with a mascara for the price of 1575 yen, which is a good deal. When I saw it, I immediately grabbed it.

I haven't used the mascara yet but I've been using the eyeliner for a couple of months now and so far, I've been loving it! I used this as a replacement for my lost K-Palette eyeliner (to be reviewed soon). It is, in my opinion, equally effective as the K-Palette but with the advantage of cute packaging. Oh, and did I mention this is produced by the famous model, Tsubasa Masuwaka (pictured in the set)?

If I'm not mistaken, Dolly Wink eyeliner usually come in pink packaging but since this is a part of a set, it's packaged differently. The outer cover is in red with gold writings and designs. Although pink is my favorite color, I personally like this design.

It's a pen type liquid eyeliner so you definitely have good control with the product. You can hold it the way you hold a regular pen which is advantageous when maneuvering the pen to create lines.

It also has a fine tip that helps you create defined lines, perfect for winging out your liner. It's very pigmented as one stroke delivers a very black line. It glides smoothly and I have no difficulty using this product. It doesn't smear and is not easily smudged. I'm not sure if it's waterproof but it stays put on my oily lids for the whole day.

 One stroke

This is my eyeliner of choice whenever I try to recreate K-Pop looks or just simply when I want some definition on my eyes. I would highly recommend this product to everyone out there. Lucky for my Filipino readers, Dolly Wink is already available here in the Philippines. Feel free to visit their facebook page and their online shop for more information.

Note: This is not sponsored.

Palty Hair Dye Giveaway!

Hi everyone! For old subscribers/ followers, you might have heard of this at least once or twice from my uploads/posts and you may have been waiting for this for quite a while now. Fret no more, my giveaway is now up and running! For new subscribers/ followers, welcome! Feel free to join the giveaway for a chance to win a Palty Foam Hair Dye in Milk Tea Brown.

For those who are curious about the product, I've posted a review on a similar product (but different shade) in this blog and you can check it out over here. I chose a different shade for the giveaway, particularly Milk Tea Brown, because that's my current hair color as of the moment (only it was colored with a different brand- Prettia). ^^

This giveaway is open internationally so everyone is elligible to join. You will be winning the Palty Foam Hair Dye (Milk Tea Brown) and the Palty Tsubaki Camellia Hair Oil Treatment. Along with these, there are also freebies (cape/ cap) that you can use when you color your hair.

This will be running through rafflecopter so you will have to enter through the rafflecopter below. Note that you DON'T have to do all the entries. The only thing I would require of you is to either subscribe to my youtube channel or follow my blog. If you do at least one of these, then you're good to go. You can, however, do all the tasks to earn more entries and increase your chances of winning. NO GIVEAWAY ACCOUNTS.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will be contacting the winner and announce the winners through my social media (facebook, twitter, instagram), a blog post and through youtube. The chosen winner must respond within 3 days or I will choose another one.

I would also love to hear from you. This is of course, not required. But let me know what you like in my blog/channel and what content you would like to be featured more in them (my social media included) by commenting down below. Thank you! ♥

Liese Prettia Bubble Hair Dye (Milk Tea Brown): Review

About 2-3 times in a year, I dye my hair. I usually go for lighter shades as I find that lighter hair color makes me look younger and more approachable. My friends tell me darker hair makes me look 'too serious'.

It all started about six years ago when I first tried out the Loreal Casting Creme Gloss. Ever since then, I colored my hair with different brands of hair dyes ranging from American to Asian brands. My latest pick is a Japanese hair dye from a brand called Liese Prettia or sometimes referred to as Kao Prettia. I got it during my trip to Japan last December and I only got to use it last month (May). I bought it from Donki in Akihabara.

There were several reasons as to why I chose this particular hair dye. Number one, I heard so many good reviews regarding this product. I was curious to find out if it will also yield to good results if I use it on my own hair so I decided to grab one. Number two, it was so much cheaper in Japan. Prettia hair dye is not available here in the Philippines so you have to order online to be able to try one. But seeing as I was already strolling around the source country, I made it a point to buy one for myself. It was only roughly PHP350, when converted. (Honestly, I forgot the exact amount in Yen so I can only write whatever's left in my memory.) There were so many colors to choose from but I got the ever-so-popular Milk Tea Brown shade because I knew in my heart that this is the lightest shade of brown they have and having tried Medium Ash Blonde from Syoss (and liking the light shade), I figured I should at least get the lightest shade of brown just as preparation for when I need to re-color for my roots.

 

 Photo instructions. No Japanese language knowledge needed. :)

 Hair color chart

 Prettia Shade Brightness Comparison Chart

Contents.

Because I didn't want to ruin my hair from too much chemical coloring, I waited six months before re-coloring my hair. And just as planned, six months after, I colored my hair-- BY MYSELF! I've always had my mom help me with coloring my hair since I knew her obsessive compulsive qualities will prove useful for me to acquire even hair color. I had her help even when I got the Palty Foam Hair Dye, which is supposedly a very easy product to work with alone. But this time, I decided to wash away my cowardliness and take the task of hair coloring by my own hands. Of course, since I deemed the situation to be very notable, I recorded it in a video and made a hair color DIY video (Watch out, Youtube!) to encourage other people that they can also easily do the same. For those who are curious, here's the video I'm talking about:

 

Now I know not everyone wants to watch a 5 minute video so just to give you an idea, below is a photo of my hair prior to coloring. I had about 2 inches of dark brown roots. I was honestly worried that the Milk Tea Brown shade wouldn't be light enough to bridge the difference with my dark brown roots and my medium ash blonde-colored ends. While applying, I noticed a very strong chemical scent. I can stand the scent, just because I'm not very particular with that. I can't say the same for everyone though, as we all have different preferences.

 

 Mega roots!

 Medium Ash Blonde- my previous hair color

 After dyeing my medium to long fine hair, I still had some product left!

 After Photo #1: It's a little bit lighter than my previous color in person.

  After Photo #2: It looks almost the same as my previous hair color in photos.

No more roots

Under artificial indoor lights

Thankfully, I was not disappointed as the color was as vibrant as I hoped it would be. I left the product on my hair for 30 minutes and rinsed it off with tap water. The color is even, I hardly noticed my previous roots. I takes detective eyes to see them! It was just simply amazing!

 After color conditioner

After all the fuss, I used the after color conditioner to... well, condition my hair. But unlike Palty that left my hair soft, silky and manageable, Prettia left a little bit of damage on my hair. My ends particularly looked drier than before. But I plan to take better care of my hair with everyday conditioning and weekly mask treatments. Also, since I noticed that split ends are starting to form, I'm having my ends trimmed the next time I go to a salon.

So for one of the most asked questions regarding Japanese bubble hair dyes, "Which is better, Prettia or Palty?". Personally, I like both for different reasons. I feel that Prettia lifts my color better but Palty takes better care of my hair. So depending on your current hair condition and how well your hair takes color would be the basis for your choice between the two. I highly recommend both, as I didn't have any bad experience with any of the two.

Lastly, for the big reveal, I will be having a hair dye givaway but I still have to film and edit the video to be uploaded in youtube. I hope the weather cooperates tomorrow so I'd have enough light to film my intro clip. Okay, I have to stop rambling for fear that this post might transform itself into a novel. That would be all for now! Bye!

Palty Foam Hair Dye in Marshmallow Ash: Review

Hi everyone! I'm not sure if you follow me on twitter but I recently tweeted that I colored my hair recently. Because I will be doing a giveaway along with that hair dye review (which I will be posting soon-- both in my youtube channel and here), I decided to post a written review of this previous hair dye I used. The thing is, I might give away a hair dye from this same brand that's why I'm creating a post even though it's been a year since I used this.

 The ever so pretty Tsubasa.

 Don't leave this hair dye any longer than 20 minutes.

 I think the warning at the bottom says not to leave it for more than 20 minutes for it will turn your hair black. But I'm no Japanese expert so I'm not really sure. I just read it from other blogs. If you happen to know what it really means, do let me know in the comments down below. Thank you!

 Unboxed. :)

And oh, I didn't use this particular hair dye this time around. I will be posting a separate post about that in the future.

I actually already did a video on this particular product but just to make things official and just so my blog followers don't miss out on this, I decided to make this.

Includes before and after shots. :)

I won't be talking about the brightness of this hair dye because the video above would show you how it actually turned out on my face. What I particularly liked about this hair dye, however, is how my hair feels like right after coloring. It made my hair super smooth and straight! I mean, I have naturally straight hair but this made it even straighter, just like when I blow dry my hair in place. It also looked a lot shinier. I didn't really expect this effect upon using this product that's why I was so surprised when it did my hair so much good.

Also, I won't forget how fun it was to 'create' the foam. Overall, I was really pleased with this hair dye and just like I mentioned earlier, I will be giving away one soon. Be on the watch out for that! ;)

Daiso Ellefar Princess Chiffon Eyeshadow (Twilight): Review + Swatches

I'm not sure if you've already seen my Japan 2013 haul but I included a photo of this particular eyeshadow in that post. This is actually not a personal purchase. My younger sister was the one who bought it. It was super cheap at only 105 yen from Daiso (in Northport Mall, Center Kita, Japan)! She bought four different variants and she was supposed to give them away to friends but she changed her mind and gave them something else. She opened one of the four and she told me I can just use the palette instead since she didn't really like it.

I was actually reluctant in accepting her offer because she was so honest that she didn't like the palette at all. So before using it, I swatched it at the back of my hand. Since it was just a cheap brand and because my sister's response wasn't all that good, I didn't have good expectations towards the product. I, however, was really pleased with it, considering its price. I think it passed my standards for an everyday eye make-up.

To be honest, it's not super pigmented nor very blendable. But it was good enough for me to use. I particularly like the shades as there were nice ones included in the compact palette-- shimmery pastel pink for highlight and a light and regular orange shade (perfect for summer). There was also a dark purplish brown shade, great for creating depth.

The only down side is that you cannot use this eyeshadow alone or creasing will form in just an hour or two (especially in Philippine's humid weather) and blending would be pretty hard. To resolve this, I like to use my Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer before applying it.

Overall, I like this product. It's not outstanding in any aspect but I will be putting it to good use for this season as I am into subtle eye makeup these days.

I'm not sure if this is available in Daiso stores here in the Philippines. If you have any idea, please don't hesitate to comment down below.

Oh, and have you noticed my recent comment box change? I switched to Disqus! What do you think? Let me know in the comments below! ^^

Bifesta Cleansing Lotion: Review

If there's one particular part in my skin care routine that hasn't changed in over a year, that would be my  makeup remover. Ever since I found out about Bifesta Cleansing Lotion, I've never had the thought of trying out other makeup removers. This fact actually says something because I have this I-have-to-try-this-for-my-blog attitude whenever I go out and shop for beauty products. But because of remarkable results, I've never switched from Bifesta Cleansing Lotion ever since. I might have finished 3-4 bottles of this product already.

 Bright Up Cleansing Lotion

 English description and instructions. Yay!

Can you see the bubbles? That somehow gives you an idea of how watery this product is. It's not oily at all!

Once I get home from a tiring day outside, the first thing I do is remove my makeup. With this product, you basically just pump out enough product on a cotton pad or a cotton ball and wipe it all over your face. For eye makeup with stubborn mascara and eyeliner, what I do is I place the cotton ball (with the lotion) over my eye for a few seconds, letting the eye makeup get soaked, then I wipe it clean. I don't usually use waterproof mascaras but I do use waterproof eyeliner and this product removes it well.

The thing that I like the most about this product is that ever since I started using it, my skin has improved significantly (blemish-wise). I know it cleans just as good as other makeup removers I've previously tried but maybe because of the formulation, I feel that it matches better with my skin.

One more thing to note of is that there is no greasy feeling, nor any stinging sensation from using this product. I just feel refreshed after its use. You even have the option to not wash your face afterwards (because it is a no-rinse product) but personally, I still wash my face after because I am a firm believer of the concept of double cleansing.

1 Step Cleansing Lotion: No Rinse Formula

Another good thing about it is that it is reasonably priced at PHP419.00. And because it contains a lot of products in one bottle (300ml), it takes me about 5 months before I need to repurchase. And mind you, my sister shares this remover with me.

This is actually a Japanese brand. In fact, I saw this exact product in Donki (when I visited Japan last year) and the price is quite similar here. Yes, it may be a little cheaper in Japan but really, the difference is not significant. This is widely distributed here in the Philippines so that's a plus. I got my first bottle from Shopwise and the three next bottles from Watsons.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you about how I found out about this product. I first chanced upon this product through Sunny in youtube. I saw this in one of her favorite videos and I was so excited when I saw this particular product in stores here in the Philippines. I first bought the "Sebum" variant. The next two bottles, I bought with the same variant.

 Sebum Cleansing Lotion

This time, however, I bought the "Bright Up" variant. Not for any deep reason, though. I just saw this set of Cleasing Lotion + Travel Bottle set in SM Watsons Makati so I bought it. They didn't have the set for the "Sebum" variant, that's why.

 The set I was talking about

 The small travel bottle

Are you looking for a good makeup remover? If you are, then I suggest you try this one out!

To know more about this brand/product, check out Bifesta Philippine's social media below:

Bifesta Philippines FB

@BifestaPH