Product Review- Gatsby Triple Scrub Facial Wash

Hi everyone!

This blog is for the boys- I picked up some Men's facial cleansers from a Japanese brand called Gatsby. They had 4 different kinds and they were on sale at my Japanese store so I picked up one of each.  I also had a male friend of mine try them too to see if there really was a difference between how men's skin and women's skin react to it. 

Today I will review one of them- Gatsby Triple Scrub

Price: Normal Price: $7.99 Sale Price: $4.99

This particular version of it is very scrubby- lots of "sand" in the soap.  It's meant to scrub out the blackheads and impurities out of the skin and based on my uses of it and my friends, it seems to do the job.  I do see a reduction in blackheads on my face after using it.  I do feel like my skin is a little dried out after using it (that's what moisturizer is for I know) but it does to the job. I also noticed my friend's skin (which is oily and blackhead prone) improved a little bit as well after using it a few times. 

I love the smell too- it smells like lemon soda and doesn't leave a strong fragrance on the skin which a lot of people like. 

I give it a rating of 8/10 because of the dryness factor but otherwise I highly recommend it.

Dolly Wink Review 1 of 2- Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner

Hi everyone!!!

Today, I went to my local Japanese marketplace and came across Dolly Wink products which I have heard a lot about- They are a line of eyeliners, eyeshadows, and false eyelashes made by Japanese cosmetic company Koji with collaboration with famous Gyaru model Tsubasa Masuwaka

I picked up a set of top lashes and lower lashes and found the liquid liner too. This review is about the liner, the lashes are coming later (they look great on, by the way~!)

The liquid liner comes in two colors- brown and deep black, and also in waterproof/non waterproof form. I got the waterproof, since I am prone to my makeup wearing off during the day, especially my liner.


It comes in a very cute package, which in my opinion is a lot of package for a skinny eyeliner pen.

Front (In blue it says 'Waterproof')

Back (The sticker is the ingredients in English)

This is the pen itself. 

The end of the pen- the pen controls the amount of liner, no dipping, no taking out too much, etc.  The end is like a paintbrush, not a sponge type applicator (which I like better because you have more control over the thickness of the line)

The product on my hand- as you can see I was able to create thin, medium, and thick lines and it was quite easy and the black is very vibrant. No real need to go over it a second time.

The major drawback- This stuff isn't cheap!  The eyeliner alone ran me a cool $18.99. I'm sure it can be found somewhere on the internet for cheaper (but not much).  As far as I can tell, it's worth it especially if you're not that good at eyelining. If you are a super beginner at it, I would get the non waterproof version to correct mistakes easier.

I am currently working on my Quite Cute Haul #2, I had a little snafu with one of my blushes (there's a huge chunk broken off on it and it's never been opened so it's going back for a new one tomorrow) but it should be up tomorrow!

Have a great weekend!

Japanese Bath Salt Review #2

Hi everyone!

Here is the second bath salt I bought with a review- 

Bathclin Cherry Blossom Bath Salts

Features: jojoba seed oil and angelica acutiloba root extract for moisture, it turns the water a clear, light pink and has a very floral smell. Guys- you will smell like a lady after using it but your skin will feel really nice!

I love the smell of this stuff and the pink water, and more importantly I like the way my skin feels when I get out of the bath. Not a dry sandbucket but not quite as moisturized as the Pureskin salts I reviewed earlier.  In the end, which is better is really a matter of your preference. These salts, like the previous are not very expensive (10-12 USD) and last a long time when you measure according to the directions. (about 30 baths worth per package) 

I will be trying more salts in the future (there is a wide variety of them!) and will continue posting more reviews~!

Japanese Bath Salt Review #1

Hi everyone!

If you love taking baths, then this post will be of great interest.  I love taking baths too, but most bubble baths dry me out, skin-wise.  Don't get me wrong, they smell good, I love the bubbles, but when I get out I feel drier than a bucket of sand.  I heard from a penpal of mine in Japan that they have many different types of bath salts, from anti-aging to those meant to replicate an experience at a particular hot spring.  This sounded interesting to me, so I went to my local Japanese market and lo and behold, they also had a bunch of different salts to choose from!  I bought two kinds (hence the #1 in the title) and tried them both out.

#1 Bathclin Pureskin Bath Salts

These salts also have Hyaluronic Acid and Aloe, both of which moisturize the skin. In fact, we have Hyaluronic Acid in our skins already but this decreases as we age.  The salts are a dark green, and make the bath water a milky green color but they do not stain the bathtub or anything else.   It has a nice clean scent, I think it could be suitable for unisex use, the scent does stay on your skin pretty strongly, but not sickeningly strong. 

When I get out of the bath after using this stuff, I'm not nearly as dry-skinned as I normally would be coming out of a regular bubble bath.

This is also more cost-effective than bubble bath (I go through a bottle every two weeks or less because I take a bath after my showers almost nightly).  This 660 gram package has enough to give over 30 baths (the directions say 20 grams per bath, which is about half of the cap that is on the package.) and costs between 9.99-12.99 depending on where you get it from. 

You can order it online, or it could be carried at an Asian market in the health/beauty section.


I highly recommend this stuff, will review the next salt, Bathclin Cherry Blossom, in an upcoming post!

Contest winner update!!!

Hello hello!






The winner of my Rainbow contest has been decided! 




YouTube user halaybabyyy is March's winner!




Her video and look can be seen here-


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBVpaouL8HE




Congrats! ^^




I will be having another giveaway for May- It will be Asian beauty based- and I will be giving away up to 3 tubes of BB cream- a product VERY popular in Asia for creating a nice finished, natural look to your skin.  I use it too, and it also makes a great base for under airbrush makeup. ^^  It looks good with most skin tones, it blends in well (Not sure about darker skin tones though.)




I haven't posted in a while because my computer DIED!!!!!! >___<  So while I get that cleared up, I am using other people's computers/laptops/etc so bear with me!




Love




ObeyBeauty

Eyelid Glue and Eyelid Tape

Hello-




This post is mostly aimed toward people with single layered eyes (mostly Asian) who want to achieve the double eyelid look without getting surgery.


There are two main ways to do it- either using eyelid glue or tape.




Here is an example of using glue, you can make your eyelids fold in several ways.

Both ways are equally effective, it really is something that should be chosen based on preference.  Sometimes people say shadow clumps up over the glue. 

Even though I have double eyelids myself, I have tried both tapes and glues even on my own eyes.  I did see a little difference.  Personally, I like the glue better because my eyes got oily and the tape started to come off.

The products I used: 

Koji Eye Talk (Lid glue) 

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://hairbb.com/hair-care-products/images/KOJI%2520EYE%2520TALK.jpg&imgrefurl=http://hairbb.com/hair-care-products/koji-eye-talk-8ml-p-585.html&usg=__tVXppYfOjLz027kqbHlb7OT7kqY=&h=320&w=320&sz=19&hl=en&start=1&itbs=1&tbnid=zKHkRu6T8Xk2DM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkoji%2Beye%2Btalk%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1

Koji Technical Tape (wide)

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://prettyandcute.com/store/images/kojiwide.jpg&imgrefurl=http://prettyandcute.com/store/product_info.php%3Fproducts_id%3D723&usg=__zIed9JOt77xRojKoikVzBA-IK00=&h=458&w=380&sz=217&hl=en&start=19&itbs=1&tbnid=0bPge8GMfYOMxM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkoji%2Btechnical%2Btape%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1

They are relatively inexpensive and have a little tool to help push the lids to the shape you want.

Using either one also takes practice! So if you try, don't get discouraged if it looks funny the first few times. 

Reminder: Contest for a rainbow theme!  Win an 88 Color Coastal Scents Palette!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzec3rAVomA

Contest end 3/31/10 and is open WORLDWIDE! ^^

Love, 

ObeyBeauty

Another product review- 2 biore products, to be precise!

Hello!




I'm back with another product review!  I am going to review two Biore products- the Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub and a product I believe to be available mainly at Asian places- Men's Biore Nose Strips. 

Here's the scrub

The pack of nose strips

Scrub:  I love the way this stuff SMELLS! Smells like melon!   However, I kind of don't like how it's not THAT sandy for a scrub.  You do feel some sand, but I think it could be a little grainer for those with more blackheads.   Still, rinses easily and you do feel clean and a bit of a tingle after it rinses off.  I recommend this for people who have light blackheads, like myself.  If you have severe blackheads, I'd recommend something more powerful.

Strips: Don't let the name fool you. What makes them "Men's" is the fact that these strips are bigger, made for bigger noses.  For me, they extend onto the outer edge of my T-zone so I can grab the buggers from my inner corners of my cheeks too.   I also think this is a mainly Japanese marketed item.  I get mine on Ebay or at  my local Japanese market.

Do they work? You betcha! I even tried them on a friend of mine with severe nose blackheads and we couldn't believe the stuff that got lifted out of there! Also tingles while it works to clean out the pores.   I highly recommend these for anyone. I use them on my chin too, when I get blackheads there. 

My second Video- Cute Japanese Girl Look

Hello!




I have uploaded another video- this time it's a makeup tutorial!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYzouylZNYw




I hope you all enjoy and subscribe, I will subscribe back to as many as I can!




Thanks for your support!




Love,




ObeyBeauty

Shiseido Tsubaki Shampoo Review

Hello~

I was shopping at my local Japanese supermarket, Mitsuwa and came across this shampoo and conditioner that I had heard about online by Shiseido. As a user of one of Shiseido's other shampoos, Aquair Moist Hair Pack (Which I have used for about 3 years now, and LOVE it), I had heard of this Tsubaki shampoo and conditioner which contains Camellia (Tsubaki) flower oil.

This is the Tsubaki shampoo and conditioner. Very pretty bottles meant to resemble the flower itself.




But if you liked the other one, why the change?

I was an avid user of the Aquair because it was VERY good for moisturizing, and for a long time I was horrible to my hair. Always bleaching, coloring, chemically bombing it to hell, and the shampoo managed to keep it soft! Now, my colored hair has all grown out to its natural glory and I wanted to try something not specifically meant for color treated hair (although this could work too!)

It says "Shining" on the bottle, and that is what my hair does when I wash it. Shine, shine, SHINE. ^_^ It also smells VERY pretty, a gentle floral scent. And my hair is really soft too! Soft, smells good, and looks healthy.

It is however, a bit pricey compared to drugstore shampoos. A decent sized bottle with a pump will rum about 12-19 dollars each for the shampoo and conditioner depending on where you get it.

If you live in the Chicago area, you can get it at Mitsuwa Marketplace in Arlington Heights.

If you don't live near a Japanese shop, there is a wonderful site that sells the Tsubaki AND the Aquair, should you want to give it a try.

www.truerenu.com

Another side note: the Aquair shampoo is sulfate-free, the Tsubaki is not. No wonder my hair color stayed well when using it. ^_^

I rate the Tsubaki Shining Shampoo and Conditioner 9.5/10 (-.5 points because it has sulfates in it)