Review: SkinFood Quince Whitening Sun Lotion

Here are a few of the Skinfood products I purchased in Korea.

Today I'll review the Quince Whitening Sun Lotion SPF34 PA++.  It was W11000 (~$10-11).    The scent is very light, it's not pear-ish really but it's very pleasant and mild. However, just under this light fruity scent you can get a whiff of the typical sunscreen scent. The consistency is a tad thicker than say Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Daily Sunblock SPF55 but it is still very light and absorbs very quickly.  In my opinion, the Ultra Sheer is a better sunblock for days you know you're going to be out in the sun a lot but for every day wear for just going to work, the Quince Sun Lotion is very good since it feels lighter, absorbs just as fast and has a much lighter "sunscreen" smell.

The tip is pretty nice, a smooth stream of sunscreen comes out with minimal smearing all over the cap. The cap is a screw cap that clicks in place.

Sorry it's so blurry.....gahhh

The color is a slight off white with a yellow tinge but it doesn't affect the application or look.  The absorption is fast, all you need to do is just gently rub it into your face.  From test shots, your face does get the white glare when you use flash since it's SPF34.  It's not bad, especially if you are topping it with some kind of powder but :\....my dream would be to find a SPF foundation or sunscreen that doesn't do that...ah, well...hope springs eternal.

Makeup applies over this sunscreen and I've also mixed this sunscreen with the Skinfood Peach Sake Pore BBcream and it worked pretty well but by the end of the day if I rub my neck (where I apply the sunscreen + bbcream as well), I got the "eraser shavings" rolling off and yeah, I rub my neck a lot ^^ must be some kind of nervous habit or something.

I've used it for about 2 months now and I've had no breakouts as far as I am aware and I have very sensitive skin :) I don't know if this is a HG item or anything like that.  After I'm done with this bottle I'll probably explore more sunscreens but for now it's definitely perfectly adequate.

Review: Holika Holika Aqua Muse Watery Lipstick

Holika Holika (KR website, no English) is a Korean makeup brand that just debuted this year.  HH is a sister brand of Enprani but it is much cheaper since it is geared towards younger folks.  They are very new and I know there are 3 stores in Myeongdong, Seoul, Korea but the one I went to was in Busan near the Busan University.

HH's theme is witches, black cats and magic.  The workers all dress in purple witch costumes ^_^  The shop has a vaguely "cosplay" air to it and all the makeup, all designed to look like potions and other magical things, makes the shop very fun to browse.  Since I went into the shop on whim, the things I bought are pretty random :}

I forgot to take a picture of the receipt but the prices were comparable to other brands like Missha and Skinfood.  I only bought the 3 Apple Shine Peel Sheets, the lipstick, and Juicy Hawaii Kiwiade Face wipes, everything else. were free promotional items and samples.  Fyi, all the makeup & skincare stores in Korea give out tons of samples~

Small tangent: my mom has been using the shower cap for about a month and she loves it.  She remarked that she likes how the shower cap has no elastic, the entire thing is 100% stretchy plastic? so it's still as good as new despite getting soaked everyday.  She had a lot of problems with all the shower caps she's bought here in America b/c they have elastic bands that mold after awhile.  I'm not sure if all Korean or Asian shower caps are made this way but just a heads up to those who might be heading to Korea ^_^

Anyway, I will be reviewing all of these eventually but for today I'll just be doing the Aqua Muse Watery Lipstick (link to product page, KRN). 

They come in 8 different colors~ I'm actually most curious about the blue (BL601) lipstick, apparently it's supposed to lighten your lip color!

Cool huh :D?  The packaging is pretty cute, I love the hexagon shape of the tube so it doesn't roll around if it falls.  The plastic has a nice heft and it doesn't feel cheap. The "diamond" on the cap looks a little cheap though, it would've been prettier if was a more opaque color I think.  Love the little witch logo :)  It's hard to see but the plastic tube has a slight shimmer to it, a delicate purple glitter.

This is not a very accurate picture of the tube color. The pic quality is bad b/c I had to enlarge this.

I got color RD805, a reddish color with a coral undertint.   The lipstick truly has a beautiful "watery" sheen to it (most apparent in the pictures above).

RD805 Pale Red

LT: Nude lips. RT: Two coats of HH Aqua Muse Watery Lipstick.

My lips are little chapped ^^ but even so when I apply this lipstick w/o chapstick.  It does sink into fine lines and chapped skin a bit but not terribly so. The application is very slick - watery (hence the name) - and goes on smoothly.  However, the slickness makes this a little difficult to apply evenly. You have to press your lips together to spread it evenly.  Despite this, this lipstick is build-able and and 2-3 swipes are just perfect for me.  Surprisingly, this lipstick is very pigmented.  When you first apply it the color seems almost a little tacky but after it settles in it makes your lips look naturally red, "just bitten."   The staying power is also pretty remarkable considering how slick this lipstick is.  After you eat and such the "glossiness" goes away but the color itself stays - almost like a lip stain.  The lipstick is very moisturizing as well!  My lips actually become less chapped after wearing this.

This lipstick has no glitter, just color.  It's a pretty rich color and the pigmentation for a "watery" and moisturizing lipstick is excellent. It's not quite opaque, but the color is definitely there.

This is the lipstick angled towards the sun after a few hours.  The color stay is quite impressive and see how natural the color is?  And how the chapped look went away?  The glossiness is still there but my lips are just tinted a red tone now.  In real life, the red tint is actually a tad deeper but I wanted to put this pic up to show the lovely watery sheen this lipstick has.  This is my go-to lipstick if I just want to perk up my face with a bit of color without gloss.  Just 2-3 swipes, press lips together, DONE.

Another reason I love this lipstick: it does not have that typical lipstick smell.  It's very lightly scented but I can't quite put my finger on what it is.  It just smells very clean with a light floral hint.  Soap and flowers?  Something like that ^_^ In any case, you can't smell it unless your nose is almost touching the tube.  The lipstick itself doesn't come off with just water, you will need a bit of makeup remover or scrub a bit to get it off.

There is one bad thing about this lipstick though - it tastes like soap.  Exactly like soap. It's not really a good taste but it's not terrible either.  I dunno, I just thought I'd throw that out there :D  Despite that I really like this lipstick. I always get compliments when I wear this and it's long-lasting and easy to apply. 

I've tried several Revlon, Merle Norman, Maybelline lipsticks and this lipstick is much better. I totally regret not snagging a few more tubes.  Currently, it is my 2nd favorite lipstick, my favorite right now is Etude House Orgel Light Lipstick in 07 (Corel Shine). Nonetheless, I wear this color pretty often so I'll prolly do a FOTD with it eventually so you can see what it looks like on a whole face.

More reviews on Holika Holika products:
Mischievous Mack

Japanese Kitkat Bars

These awesome Kitkat bars have been reviewed by almost everyone under the sun but why the hell not throw myself into the fray yea~?  They're crazy delicious and if you can definitely try to get your hands on some.  They cost a pretty penny, unfortunately; at the Narita Airport these babies (the small boxes) sell at Y800 a pop.  That's roughly $8-9 which is a lot considering that each small box comes with only 2 packages of 2 kitkat bars each that are only as long as your index finger.  The big box at the top came with 6 little packages of 2 kitkats each.  Luckily, my friend was nice enough to bring these back as a gift from Japan for me but I feel awful cuz I had no idea that they cost an arm and leg at the time :\ ah well, at least they are fun to eat!

The macro function on my camera is awful so my apologies :\ Starting at the top....

Yokohama Berry Cheesecake (ストロベリーチーズケーキ)  

Apparently this is a rare LE edition flavor.  It's got a delicate strawberry flavor with a white chocolate coating.  I'm not sure where the cheesecake flavor is but I can say it's a freaking yummy kitkat.  The crunch of the wafers is exactly that of an American kitkat but I swear the white chocolate coating is creamier, richer, and smoother than the chocolate coating of American kitkats. 9/10.

Framboise (フラボワーズ味)

Framboise is French for raspberry and boy does it taste like a raspberry. Consequently, I didn't like this one that much cuz I'm not a fan of that fruit. BUT I will say it is a very unique, tangy flavor that pairs well with the milk chocolate coating.  To me this is a mere 3/10 because I dislike the very strong, almost sour raspberry taste but as an overall piece of candy that ought to be tried is a 6.5/10.

P.S. This is a much better picture of this kit kat. Macro hates me.

Semi Sweet Chocolate

Being unable to read Japanese I thought this would be dark chocolate so semi-sweet was a pleasant surprise.  It had a faint bitter edge suitable for semi sweet chocolate.  It's not all that different from the American milk chocolate kitkat though except for the coating.  6/10 cuz it's not "that" special.

 Sakura Matcha

I really liked this one.  It's got a green tea flavored white chocolate coating with a "sakura" flavor between the wafers.  Sakura is a cherry blossom I believe, so I assume they were going for what they thought was the flavor of a cherry BLOSSOM not a cherry b/c it sure didn't taste like a cherry.  It was  lovely, mild fruit (not strawberry) flavor that I think blended well with the green tea.  Some might think this is a little too sweet but I love sweet stuff so to me this was one of my favorites.  It had the familiarity of matcha and white chocolate with a hint of something indescribable...the cherry blossom I suppose~ It's also a very pretty light green color xD 9.5/10

Raspberry & Passion Fruit

Eh, maybe this is my anti-raspberry bias coming out but this dark chocolate coated kitkat was even more raspberry-ish than the Framboise.  It even smelled like raspberry. This time the raspberry was even more sour/tangy because of the dark chocolate.  In its favor the raspberry flavored creme in the wafers give an amazing kick of (raspberry) flavor - it's just so strong.  There is a tart aftertaste that lingers and is the ultimate reason I didn't enjoy this kitkat.  I don't know what passion fruit tastes like so I can't judge that. For those who like dark chocolate, raspberries and tart flavors this kitkat is for you. For me 2/10.  As a candy bar, for it's creativity, a 7/10 since raspberry + dark chocolate isn't that unusual but the passion fruit is a nice touch.

Royal Milk Tea

Ohh, I really liked this one.  It actually tasted like milk tea, though a tad sweeter, probably from the white chocolate coating. Not much to say about this one except melikes :) The only con is that this is a very one note flavor kitkat, no subtlety or complexity in flavor. 8.5/10.

Green Tea (Matcha)

At first bite the green tea is very strong but the white chocolate sweetness quickly overwhelms the subtlety of the green tea flavor.  It certainly is a very green tea-ish flavored kitkat but it's actually overwhelmingly sweet, even for me.  I just feel like they poured as much matcha powder they could into the creme and white chocolate coating as they could without it granulating.  Hmmm...I honestly expected more and like the Royal Milk Tea, it's a very one note flavored kitkat.  For green tea flavored kitkat I'd actually direct you to the Sakura Matcha kitkat.  So it is a yummy SWEET kitkat but one I'd get sick of very quickly.  6/10 (mostly out of sheer disappointment).

So far, the Sakura Matcha and Yokohama Cheesecake is my favorites~ :) Overall, though these were so much fun to eat - an adventure for the tastebuds :D!!

Korea Trip 2010, Part 2: Excel Hotel Tokyu

Continuing from Part 1: Flying to Tokyo....originally we were supposed to have a 3 hour layover at Narita Intl Airport then go straight to Inchon Intl Airport in Korea but there was delay for one reason or another and we got to stay in Tokyo overnight!

We got vouchers for a one night stay at the Excel Hotel Tokyu and for a free dinner and breakfast. We didn't get to go anywhere outside the hotel since we were scheduled for a morning flight to Korea but nonetheless we had a great time~

We were given a paper with directions on how to board the bus to get the hotel, when to return to the airport etc written in English and our new tickets.  Then we were put on a shuttle to the hotel.  It was raining so the exterior shot of the hotel is awfully gloomy. And my stupid camera handles motion shots as well as it handles macro shots so -_-;;

Airport shuttle then a (blurry) exterior of the Excel Hotel Tokyu.  Bottom: the foyer of the hotel.

The hotel had a flower shop and gift shop (selling the famous Japanese Kitkats!) right across the entrance.  The inside of the hotel was quite nice, lots of white marble and everyone spoke English to some degree.  I have the say the service is on a whole new level of amazing in Japan - they actually have people that just greet people at the door :\ At first it seemed like an enormous waste of manpower but then again it's a job. Not to mention, after seeing Korea as well I realized it's simply that "service" has a whole new meaning in Japan/Korea.  Seriously, they just go above and beyond and no tips are expected!  Wait till I tell you about what happens when your car breaks down in Korea....

Anyway, we were quite efficiently booked into a room...

When we first got into the room we couldn't figure out how to turn on the lights or A/C so we had call room service.  As it turns out you put the keychain into the plastic slot by the door and that "activates" the electricity and A/C.  That way when you leave (taking your key w/ you), all the electricity in the room automatically shuts off thereby saving electricity! Whattt?! ahah so environmentally friendly! The only con is that it was bloody humid and hot in Tokyo that day so every time we returned to the room it was like a sauna.  Neway, the room had a robe (wheee) and slippers!  That really charmed me for some reason...The hotel room itself was clean and neat and "American" in many respects excluding the electricity-conserving aspects. I could tell the hotel is on the old side but it was certainly well maintained.  

For me the most fascinating experience was the bathroom. It was legit a hobbit's bathroom. A STARVING hobbit's.  But I liked how everything was made from one piece of plastic?...well there were no tiles and things that involved grout.  I hate tiles in bathroom, in fact I hate almost anything that presents an opportunity for mold to grow between the cracks in bathrooms.  

Tangent: One Japan/Korea characteristic I am very fond of is their penchant for bathrooms that can literally doused in water and not mold.  For example, in Korea (and in this hotel room) there was a drain on the floor for water to drain out; so you could literally just spray the shower nozzle willy nilly and all the water would conveniently go down the drain.  Everything was made of things that could get wet so no worries about mold.  I'm not too sure about Japan but I know in Korea, people do just about everything from laundry to showering in the bathroom so it's a necessity to have a well-ventilated, water-resistant bathroom.   This means no wooden cabinets and painted walls.  And no shower curtains most of the time b/c splashing is no problem. Also all the toilets were the butt-washing/drying kind ahahha. It was an interesting experience needless to say :D especially since I couldn't read which buttons were supposed to do what ;)

OKAY moving on...after we settled in we took our dinner voucher up to the top floor.  We had a choice between Chinese, Japanese or American cuisine and being in Japan we decided on the Japanese restaurant. 

We received this meal and it was quite good~ It was noodles, this soy sauce-y thing you dip the noodles and small dish of fish and spring onions (or was it chives?) on the side. There was also a small bowl of eggs with bits of seafood mixed in. The amount of food was small on American standards but I found it quite filling and felt very light and healthy :D  Also I couldn't take any pictures because it was dark outside but the VIEW was amazing. I think we were on the 22nd floor and being able to eat (for free no less!) in front of a panoramic night-scape of Tokyo was just...wonderful.

The next morning we went to the first floor for a quick breakfast buffet. 

Miso soup + liche.

There was a ton of food, I kid you not.  Rice, scrambled eggs, toast, miso, liche, apples, coffee, water, OJ, and this delicious tea that had a strange name...it was called something that sounded unappetizing (sour vinegar tea or something) but was very refreshing! I was too busy eating to take pics except these two...love the curly float-y things...they looked like hard little spiral crackers but I saw this granny drop them into her soap and tada! I also ate lichebigass seed in the middle miffs me a little.

After eating we strolled around and found the crown jewel of the hotel - a huge garden!

There was also a rock garden (top right) but it didn't hold a candle to the lovely rock-less? garden. Apparently they hold weddings on the porch by the pond.  The porch leads to a wedding hall inside as well. The koi were as big as my arm and little stone path pleases me. It reminds of Miyazaki movies - mysterious and charming...  It's a pity that I didn't take more pictures but there were 3-4 for bridges among the trees, very romantic.

They also had this beautiful purple flowers I've never seen before. It befuddles me why only the buds around the edges open. We also came across this lovely house which was a block away from the hotel. Someone told us it was shrine...?  But it looked very house-y to me as there was laundry hanging up and a lovely veggie garden on the side.

The trees please me. Especially the round bubbly one on the left.  Sadly, afterwards we had to head to the airport.  Overall, our stay at the Narita Excel Hotel Tokyu was quite nice! It got decent ratings as well so it seems they are consistently provide good service.

A quick jaunt in the Narita Airport...

LT: The gift shop right next to Gate 36. RT: cute chickies...I would feel bad to eat them :(

And we were off to Korea! 

Part 3: From Seoul to Busan coming soon!

Moto Jewelry Holly Remixed

This was my first Moto Jewelry purchase: the HollyAnneAeree Earrings, which I remixed with a small color change.   I have bought more since because I was so pleased the first time around :D

HollyAnneAeree Original (LT) Holly Remixed (RT) 

(Photo from Moto Jewelry) 

I just really liked the red, shiny and cranberry-esque beads and although I originally was aiming for a “Valentine’s Day” look it turned out more Christmas-y than anything else – but I still like it a lot!    I didn’t take any pictures of the packaging but the earrings came in a gauze bag with tons of Asian candy, her business cards and two bottles of Cucumber Melon shower gel and lotion!  The candy and bath goods are long gone since I ordered this back in January but nonetheless, I remember being very impressed with the packaging.

I particularly like how theses earrings look good even in the light and under close inspection.  A lot of jewelry with the "tarnished" look appear cheap or used in real life but these don't at all.  These have are a lovely rich, burnished glow.

The quality of the jewelry is very good, it’s been 8 months since I purchased these and there has been no rusting, tarnishing or loose beads to deal with.   Also they are not heavy despite the "heavy" look of the gold heart and links.   Lastly, I have (very) sensitive ears but I haven’t had any irritation or discoloration :) I'm really prone to getting the green ring around my earring hole/itching and many pretty pairs of earrings have been discarded because of that so I'm really happy I don't have trouble with these.

Sarah was also great to work with - sent plenty of follow up emails to let me know when she shipped and ask whether I received it on time.   She's hands down one of my favorite people to purchase jewelry from~

The lighting is not so good today in my "photo studio" of choice aka the the bathroom ^_^ With a skylight and white walls I usually get excellent natural lighting on most days, although not so much in these :P  The neutral background also is a plus. I would preen over this photo all day if I didn't know all too well that I  only look like this in dim lights -_- but YAH for dramatic lighting!

So yep...that's all ^^

Korea Trip 2010, Part 1: Flying to Tokyo

This summer I got to experience my first trip to Japan (albeit for one day :P) and first trip to Korea in 19 years!   I thought it might be fun to do a recap of my whole trip I took a ridiculous amount of pictures and it might be useful to people who visit Korea ^_^

So...let's get started :)!

My feet + favorite sandals (Ann Taylor, last summer) at the airport.

I believe the flight to Korea from the east coast is 21-22ish hours, not including layovers and such.  I love flying though so I don't mind that at all.  I'm not crazy about airplane food and USAirways is especially bad in the food department :P

This is "chicken and rice" and there was a yummy brownie on the side. Plus a roll.

Chicken + rice.

As we approached Japan I guess USAir wanted to be "more Asian" and this was the "snack" we got.  Hmmm...yeah, I think airline food is really about the novelty of eating while flying through the air.

But I did get to take some cool pics on the way~ I took this as we were flying over Alaska (I think).

The "stars" in the sky is actually condensation on the window ^_^

A closeup of the icecaps. Sounds stupid but I kept looking for walruses and polar bears :P

Most of the time we were flying over the clouds so it was nice to get a peek at land below once in awhile :D Anyway after watching a bunch of movies and snoozing I finally got my first glimpse of Japan!

You can barely see land below but I love this picture! The clouds were so fluffy~!  Descending...

Vintage feel :)

JAPAN!!

Closer.....

Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan. Anyone know what the lower LT pic says ^_^;;?

Japan was so beautiful as we were flying over.  I actually must have taken 20+ of Japan while we were still in the air...it was so lush and GREEN.  Lots of patchwork-looking rice? fields and trees arranged in interesting shapes :)  Japan's a lot more mountainous than I imagined but now that I think of it I should have known since it's an island.  Sadly, it started getting cloudy and rainy as we began our descent so that's why these pictures look kind of gloomy.  Actually, it rained everyday while I was in Japan and almost everyday during my first two weeks in Korea :P

Originally we were supposed to have a 3 hour layover at Narita Intl Airport then go straight to Inchon Intl Airport in Korea but there was delay for one reason or another and we got to stay in Tokyo overnight!

Coming up in Part 2: Excel Hotel Tokyu...:)