A Little Facial Pampering

I went to my local Japanese store the other day. Because everything is so cheap there ($2 each to be exact!), I always find myself unable to leave without picking up a few items. This is the result of my trip there...

There's always the worry that drugstore/dollar store items will be of cheap quality, but I find that Japanese made products are usually quite good. As we all know, people in Asia, Japan, Korea and the likes put a lot of emphasis on having great skin. As a result, they've put their time into developing quality products. Not everything from a drugstore may turn out to be a great product, of course, but if you look, sometimes you can find a few gems for a really good price.

I picked up the Natural Pack Face Mask and Clean-Up Nose Strips. I thought these looked interesting the first time I saw them, so I looked them up but couldn't find any information about them. I'm not sure what the brand is because it's in Japanese, so it's hard to look them up. I bought it because my sister has used it before and recommended them to me.

This mask is pure black in colour. I'm not going to show you what this looks like on, 'cause this mask looks freaky! Haha :P It seems to work just like any other clay mask to purify and declog your skin. This mask is unique because once dry, you can peel it right off. And when you do that, it actually pulls out your whiteheads/blackheads at the same time! You can see the yucky stuff that's been on your face stuck on the mask after. I find that I do have to use a generous amount for it to work properly. For $2, I can see myself repurchasing!

These nose strips are just like the Biore nose strips I've used before. I haven't used these myself, but my sister has. She says they work alright for stripping away surface blackheads, but don't do anything for deeper bigger blackheads. I think it helps if you prep your pores with a warm cloth beforehand.

I also found these two mirrors - one for my school bag and one for my purse.

Isn't this one cute?! 

I love the detailing on this black mirror.

The pink one is just a simple mirror I throw into my school bag. I really like how both of these mirrors come with a handle. It lets me hold up the mirrors easily and prevent me from getting my fingerprints all over the mirror itself. Love these two designs!

Lastly, I got two different exfoliator scrubs/brushes to try out.

I leave this one in the shower and use it whenever I feel like I need the extra exfoliation. 

The bristles are surprisingly soft and my face does seem to feel softer after using it. 

This pink scrub is my favourite! It's made of soft rubber and you just slip it between your fingers and scrub away in circles on your face. I use it daily along with my cleanser and I feel like it really helps make my skin extra clean (and soft!). Definitely a new-found favourite product! :)

It's interesting that I saw something just like this when I was browsing through a magazine...

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L'Oreal calls this scrub a "Super Soft Scrublet". It's trademarked and everything, which I find funny, because haven't people in Asia been using this little thing forever?! 

The "scrublet" comes with their new
L'Oreal Go 360 Clean Deep Facial Cleanser.  It's advertised to give you "smaller pores & cleaner skin". I haven't seen it in stores here yet, but I think it's a neat idea. Now that they're introducing this, maybe these types of scrubs will be more easily available to people who are interested in it and didn't know where to buy one before! :)

That's it for now! 

Thank you so much for following my blog and for all your lovely comments!! 

I've slacked off a bit in the last week but I'm looking forward to posting more frequently.
Got lots I want to share with everyone. :)
Otherwise, you can always find me on Twitter for quick updates.
I'm on there pretty much everyday. 

Hope y'all have a great week!! :)

♥ Anita

Drugstore Goodies

This is a collective haul of some stuff I picked up over the last month.
I took advantage of the after-holiday sales and managed to find some great deals. I noticed that some of the sales in the recent weeks were even better than the sales during Black Friday (as seen in my last haul) or Boxing Day (for those of you in Canada). When we're talking about 70-80% off discounts..
who can resist?! I picked up a few things I've been wanting to try.


L'oreal Telescopic Explosion
L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black

Annabelle Smudgeliner
I believe these are only available in Canada.

It comes with a brush on one end for smudging.


These pencil liners are quite pigmented,
and similar to Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil.
It looks really nice applied on the lower lashline to give it a bit of colour.

Japanese/Korean false lashes
I haven't tried the ones on top before.
The XL criss-cross ones on the bottom are my favourite kinds.

Hard Candy Baked Blush

Hard Candy Kal-Eye-Descope Baked Eyeshadow Duo (x3)
I'm a sucker for cute packaging and I love the packaging for these. Their products remind me of Too Faced products.


Hard Candy Baked Eyeshadow Duo

Love Bug

Swatch of Love Bug.

Hard Candy Baked Eyeshadow Duo

Blind Date

Swatch of Blind Date.

Hard Candy Baked Eyeshadow Duo

Rock n Roll

Swatch of Rock n Roll.

Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush

Honeymoon

Swatch of Honeymoon
My crappy camera doesn't show its true appearance, but this is a very pretty colour with a soft shimmery finish. It reminds me of MAC MSF blushes. This one is great to use as a highlighter.

Swatches of all the eyeshadow duos & blush together.
I really like these Hard Candy products.
For drugstore products, I'm surprised by their pigmentation, texture and even their packaging. I would purchase these again if I can get my hands on some of the other colours.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear
I've been obsessed with nail polishes lately and found these two.

Gunmetal

I love this colour. It's the perfect shade of metallic dark blue.

Strobe Light
I like the name for this one. A girl can't have too many sparkly nail polishes so I figured I couldn't go wrong getting this one as well ;)

And lastly... TADA!

I finally picked up another set of these infamous drawers.

I was so happy to find this one b/c unlike most I've seen, this one comes with 4 drawers instead of just simply 3.

Having an extra set of drawers sure comes in handy. I love it! :D

Thanks for reading! :)

Until next time,

♥ Anita

The Body Shop.. deal of the week!

Last week, I received the following flyer in my e-mail

from The Body Shop for a special sale they were having.

3 items for only $30.
That is, ANY 3 items you purchase are only $30, regardless of the original price. When you consider the prices of most of The Body Shop's products, you'll know that this was an amazing deal!

I took this opportunity to restock on some items as well as pick up some items that are highly raved and that I've always wanted to try but was hesistant to buy because of the price.
I bought 9 products in total, consisting mostly of bath and body products plus a couple of makeup items. Everything was only
$10 each, what a steal! I've started using some of these
products already.

Spa Wisdom Africa Spa Salts
$28 >> $10

"This luxurious Body Salt Scrub effectively cleanses and exfoliates the skin. Salts gently exfoliate to revitalize dull skin and refine, leaving the skin soft and smooth. Fragranced with a subtle warm
floral, fruity scent. "

This is the first thing I grabbed. It was the most popular item recommended as a must-buy product from The Body Shop... so of course I bought it! This tub is HUGE and will probably last me forever.

Shea Body Butter
$20 >> $10
"Community Trade shea butter has antioxidant vitamins A and E to help protect and nourish skin."

Everyone raves about the Shea Body Butter so this was a no-brainer. I really like that it's barely scented and doesn't overwhelm me with its aroma, unlike some of the other scents from The Body Shop can sometimes. It's great for moisturizing my skin and keeping it soft all day.

Olive Body Scrub
$20 >> $10

"A moisturizing, cream-based, gently exfoliating scrub that helps remove dead skin cells and leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth. Contains exfoliating crushed walnut shells and crushed olive stones to help reveal brighter and smoother skin. "

This is a unique product for me.  It's like a 2-in-1 exfoliator and moisturizer combined. It really does make my skin smooth and soft without drying it out. Usually with other exfoliators, I have to use a separate moisturizer afterwards. I'm sure there's lots of products like this one but it's the first time I've used something like this.

Cocoa Butter Body Butter
$20 >> $10

"An intensive, creamy all-over body moisturizer. It absorbs into the skin easily, helping to condition, soften and smooth the skin. Once you get over the indulgent tropical scent, slick this on and be transported all over again."

This scent reminds me of pina coladas and tropical goodness. Again, its scent is not too overwhelming, so I also like this body butter a lot.

Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask
$22 >> $10

"Community Trade bladderwack seaweed and seaweed harvested from the French coast balance skin tone and purify and clarify the complexion. 100% natural clay complex with China clay, marine mud and thermal clay cleanses and revitalizes skin; negatively charged ions act like magnets to draw out dirt and impurities from the pores.The minerals magnesium, iron and calcium help to rebalance skin and revitalize the complexion."

Honey and Oat 3-in-1 Scrub Mask
$16.50 >> $10
"Triple action in double time. Smoothes and conditions normal to dry skins with natural kaolin clay, oatmeal and organic Community Trade honey. Deep cleanses, exfoliates and conditions all in
one convenient step."

I usually make my own honey and oat mask to use but for just $10, I thought why not?? Saves me the trouble of making it myself and this has added ingredients to benefit your skin.
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And now for the makeup products:

New Eye & Cheek Palette
$15 >> $10
"Each palette contains four smooth wet and dry Eye Colors and one complementary Cheek Color, along with a duo ended eye applicator and a handy mirror for easy application."

Palette 01: Lilac/Silver/Black
When I saw this palette I knew I had to get it. It has all the sort of shades I like and it's perfect to carry around in my purse.

Palette 02: Plum/Chocolate/Caramel
I gave this other palette away as a gift so I don't have a picture of it but this is what the shades look like. Another very pretty palette!

Shimmer Waves in Peach
$22 >> $10

"Sweep colours together for a stunning, all-over glow on the face and cheeks or use each one individually on the eyes or to
accent specific areas."

This is my favourite item out of everything I bought that day.

Close up of the Shimmer Waves in Peach.
It is very finely milled and gives off a really fine shimmer/glow to your face.
I was surprised by the quality of it.

Swatches of the darker and lighter shades within the Shimmer Waves.

When swirled together, you get a soft shade of peach shimmer.
The finish actually reminds me of the
MAC Mineralized Skinfinish.
It blends well over almost any blush I use.
I like using this as a highlight a lot.
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I'm super excited about all of these products, especially the masks and body products. These seem to be the "best of The Body Shop" type of products since they've been recommended so often by multiple people and I'm happy to get the chance to try them out! :)

 The Body Shop didn't advertise their 3 for $30 sale beforehand, so unless you happened to pass by The Body Shop on the day of their sale, you'll most likely  have missed out unfortunately. But if you sign up for the newsletter on The Body Shop website, you'll get regular updates for sales and first-hand notification on exclusive sales such as the one above.

Another tip is to join the
Love Your Body Club to get
10% discount on every purchase you buy from The Body Shop. It costs just $10 and the card easily pays for itself after a couple of purchases.



This was after the 10% discount on top of the 3 for $30 deal.
Pretty sweet deal, no?? :D


Happy shopping everyone!
♥

[Descriptions via thebodyshop.ca]