Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Swarovski USB Robots $180

Look at this bling I've been gazing at all day! They're USB Charms from Swarovski and Philips. I want one so bad but I just can't justify forking over 180 bucks for only 2GB worth of space. They're so darn cute and their little LED ears light up when data is being transferred.

Naughty Raymond


Happy Laura


Dreamy Tina (My fave!)


Clarisonic Plus Malfunction :(

Over the past couple of months I've noticed the number of uses I can get between charges has been steadily decreasing. I thought it was just my imagination and kept using it. I got really suspicious when a couple of days ago I was only able to get 2 uses (2 min each) before the Clarisonic ran out of charge.

After letting my Clarisonic charge a full 24 hours yesterday and I couldn't even get it to turn on. It just keeps beeping at me wanting to be charged. WTF?!?!?! I've combed the web and haven't found any mention of other users with charging problems.

I guess I'm at the mercy of the Clarisonic customer service reps. Wish me luck!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Kinerase C8 Peptide Intensive Treatment $98 Review


Description stolen from Sephora's website:
In a clinical study, Kinerase's revolutionary SNAP-8 neuropeptide was shown to reduce the appearance of wrinkles by 34.9% in 28 days. The added benefits of vitamin C, Kinetin, and green tea form a powerhouse antioxidant complex to provide the ultimate protective and restorative complexion treatment.

I tried this last March at Nordstom on my right hand and the results were immediate! All the little fine lines on the back of my hand were smoothed out and my pores were diminished too. So although I really really wanted to buy the stuff on the spot - I pulled in the reins and restrained myself. O and when I asked the SA to show me this product, she mentioned that my skin was too young to be concerned with wrinkles - I was so flattered! BUT unfortunately she was wrong.

I notice that when I crinkle my forehead, the lines that form take longer to disappear now then before. I took this as a sign that I need to take immediate action. I finally got some of this stuff during a Sephora promotion for 15% off and I've been testing this out to see the results.

The Verdict: B-
I apply this every night underneath my moisturizer on my forehead and neck area. I was tempted to just apply to half my forehead and half my neck so I could see the results and compare but I who wants to have half a wrinkly face? So I talked myself outta that terrible idea.

The consistency of this is a similar to a lotion. There is no greasy or oily feel and it's very fast absorbing. There is a very faint fragrance to it but I can't pinpoint what it is.

I've been using this for about 2 months now and I haven't been seeing the results I'd hope for. Although there was an immediate change in the first week of use, after that initial week I stopped noticing any changes. The changes themselves weren't as dramatic as I'd hoped (or witnessed on my hand) but the wrinkles I saw before were diminished a bit. The lines on my neck are much more diminished than the ones on my forehead. I would re-purchase for use on my neck but I need to look to another product for the baby lines on my forehead. I think this is most effective on deeper set wrinkles and mature skin.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Anticipating Shu Uemura's Tokyo Kamon Girls Collection


I got this teaser in my email yesterday about the upcoming Shu Uemura collection!

The Shu Uemura Powers collaborated with manga artist Moyoco Anno to design the limited edition Tokyo Kamon Girls Collection.


This is Moyoco herself - Isn't she lovely? I love her kimono! The colors and patterns are sooo gorgeous! Reminds me of origami paper.


The main focus of this collection are the Shu Cleansing Oils packaged with the Tokyo Kamon Girls motif. Each bottle is 450ml and represents an individual Kamon Girl with her own personality and an accompanying mini-story. From top to bottom:

TAMAKI(orange)
High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil
Strong willed and energetic, she has straight long hair and a fringe that is reminiscent of traditional images of Japanese female beauty. She lives in a luxurious mansion in one of Tokyo's most exclusive residential areas, Den-en-Chofu.

SAKURAKO(pink)
High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil Fresh
She is a blossom of charm and purity. She sits in Tokyo's Ueno Park on her way back from her frend's wedding dressed in her best kimono and enjoying the stylish springtime tradition of viewing bursts of cherry blossoms at night. Moyocco Anno designed her to encapsulate all that is cute.

MATSUNO(green)
Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/O
Reserved and elegant, she represents the subtle power of this design. A mature Japanese woman, she adores nature but is shy.

KATSURA(purple)
White Recovery EX+ Brightening Cleansing Oil
A coquettish women with side parted hair, she is flirtatious and is intent on stealing hearts from inside the kamon. She is mysterious and alluring.

TSURUHA(golden bottle)
High Performance Cleansing Oil Advanced Formula
A serene girl with bobbed hair, she represents happiness and fulfillment. She sparkles as she drifts through the streets of Tokyo attending a Kabuki performance with her mother and enjoying an afternoon of shopping in the Ginza district.


Personally, I could care less how these are packaged. The brush set and the train case are what I'm really looking forward to in this collection - Scroll down to take a peek!



I love the brushes themselves but I'm not feeling the color on the outside of the case or the lining on the inside. Now if they had designed the case with the lotus/gold foil look on the background of the teaser email and if they had lined it with the magenta-accent on Moyoco's kimono - I'd be drooling all over it.



What a beautiful train case~ I'm so addicted to them but it's so hard for me to commit to purchasing one. I'm always let down either by the look of the case, the construction quality, or how the shelves are on the inside. O and how could I forget the price. Train cases are hella-expensive!

I'm not feeling the way the shelves are only on 1-side of this train and I'm on the fence about the overall look of the case. I love the white on the outside - no problem with that, but white again on the inside? I wish there was more color. More color! Again I'm gonna have to see this baby in person.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

MAC Sumo Savings 25% Off

Wahoo! From 06/16 - 06/18, save 25% off your entire online MAC Cosmetics purchase with code SAVE25.

Plus get free shipping if you spend $60 or more!


Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Epilation by Threading


I confess - I'm a hairy beast. I'm a hairy beast with thick eyebrows! Since 8th grade I've always plucked my eyebrows with my trusty Tweezerman tweezers. I've always stayed away from overplucking and I was pretty smug about my handiwork. Afterall I did get compliments and asked where I get my brows done.

The first time I saw "threading" being performed was at a mall kiosk. At the time, I really wasn't impressed by it and I didn't think it was for me. For some reason, the hypochondriac in me got to thinking it was unsanitary and I just never would give it a shot.

The Verdict: A-
Well, after growing into an open-minded and educated beauty addict I was curious and eager to give threading another shot. I went with a couple friends to Heena Salon in Richardson and now I'm a believer! I got my brows and upper lip done ($7 total) and the results are fantastic! It just makes my overall appearance look fresh and clean.

I'm not gonna lie - pain was involved but it certainly wasn't unbearable. It feels exactly like getting a bunch of little hairs pulled out but it's nowhere near the pain of plucking. The threads snatch up the hair so fast the pain was there and gone lightening quick. Some areas of my skin were irritated and had little pink raised bumps the next day, but it wasn't bad and they went away that night. My favorite part was the fact that it didn't require an appointment and I was in and out in 5 min flat!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Shu Uemura Custom Palette

I love the idea of a custom palette but all the compacts out there seem to be basic black. Black is just fine, but I love color! The colors on Shu Uemura's new custom palette is just perfect for summer!



At the Shu website, you can customize your palette and get the limited edition compact for free (no coupon code needed)! You can choose a palette that will fit:
4 eyeshadows
2 blushes
2 eyeshadows + 1 blush

I wish the compact came in a bigger size to fit more and I wish they had an option for lipcolors too...regardless I'm fighting the urge to purchase this!

Just click on the image above to go directly to the Shu website!