The Body Shop Detangling Comb $7 Review

"Best if you want to: Teach wet hair to co-operate with a wide-tooth wooden comb that evenly distributes conditioner and detangles without splitting ends.Best for: all hair types

Features:
■Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified beech wood.
■Wide teeth." ~from The Body Shop website

The Verdict: A
I like the wooden feel of the brush but now I'm worried it might get water damaged over time? Maybe I'm just being anal but I'm already thinking of treating the comb witn mineral oil every now and then. I know. I'm scary that way.

Regardless of my paranoia, the comb works great to distribute conditioner evenly throughout hair. When my hair gets long, it gets kinda tricky to get conditioner all the way to the ends using just my finger tips. This comb works great to spread the conditioner from root to ends! I also like the spacing of the teeth because it doesn't tug on my hair when it's wet and cause breakage.

I even use it out of the shower to distribute styling products(mostly heat protecting ones) through my hair and so far it's been a great multi-tasker.

PlePle Wrap Pencil Case $16

I'm a hobby generalist. I'm interested in a bunch of different things but I never devote my full passion on any one. One of my many obsessions is stationary. I dunno why but I think it has something to do with being Asian - how nerdy right? Well it's ok because I don't take it overboard (remember I'm only a generalist :)

One of my favorite sites to surf for stationary is at JetPens. They've got pens galore. Pens you've never heard of. Pens you've never seen. And more pens than you could imagine uses for or where to store! It's hard not to covet some of them - trust me it's hard. They've also got beautiful and stylish writing pads and some very innovative pencil cases.



I would like to introduce the PlePle Wrap Pencil Case. I originally bought it to store pens because it made me feel artsy.



But then I discovered it's even better used as a brush roll. Tada!


I mean seriously! It's so different than the typical black MA brush satchel and I personally think it's cuter. I usually keep my brushes in an empty candle jar on the counter but this wrap case works great for transporting brushes.

The outside of the case is made of a thin suede and it feels leather-like. The inside is felt-lined with a polka dot pattern and the felt has a corduroy texture to it. There are also 3 sectioned slots for holding pens....er brushes.



The Verdict: A+
As I mentioned before, I like to use this for travel since the flap on the top of the case protects the bristles from getting frayed and tugged. The length of the case comfortably fits most full-size brushes.

Since it's actually meant for pens not brushes it's hard to fit brushes with different sized handles in the same slot. If you put a fat handled brush in the same slot as skinny handled brushes, they won't lay flat and will start to roll around.

Also the slots can only fit about 2-3 brushes each. If you've got a large collection of brushes, you may have to get 2 cases to fit all the brushes. I only have a small collection of brushes and only a few that I use on a regular basis. So for me this is just the right size for travel.

P.S. If I had a reason to get a 2nd wrap pencil case...I'm eyeing this one.

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.

Evecare Guerlain Meteorites Miniature Sale!

Holy moly! The Guerlain Meteorites Minature Set with a Miniature Pink Brush set 50% off at Evecare.com for the price of $42.95.

If you purchase $45 or more you also get free shipping! That's only $2.05 more to make the cut. A great opportunity to try these out!

Click on the image to be taken directly to Evecare.com.

Sephora Power Perk Haul

Here's my final Sephora haul after buying and exchanging a couple of items. I'm just too indecisive. I will review the Dior Addict Lip Maximer, Kinerase C8 Peptide Intensive Treatment and Korres Love Your Lips Collection in separate posts because I'm waiting to see the results for two of these and the other would have been too long to include in this post.

WARNING: I'm really lazy today so I plagarized all the product descriptions from the Sephora website. Muahahaha!

Bliss Peeling Groovy Facial Serum $65

This is a dermatologist-developed, age-fighting, exfoliating serum. It gently sloughs away dead skin cells and debris, lightens dark spots, and minimizes the appearance of pores and fine lines - providing myriad benefits without drying or irritating. This oil-free formula is infused with amino acid antioxidants and is safe to use on sensitive skin. Formerly known as sleeping peel serum, this "liquid version of a microdermabrasion kit" provides the same results as a multi-step regimen - in one simple application.

It is not recommended for dark skin tones because it has an ingredient that lightens pigmentation and unwanted discoloration may occur.

The Verdict: Bliss Peeling Groovy Facial Serum
I was convinced to purchase this after receiving some samples. The sample packets (3 total) each lasted me for about 2 weeks. I had noticed the fine lines on my forehead did not smooth themselves as fast as they used to and when this popped up as a Beauty Insider sample, I thought "why not?"

I am really amazed by this product! I use it 2x a day (morning/night) under my moisturizer and it's been giving me amazing results! It really does deliver on everything it claims to do. When it's first applied, there is a slight tingling feeling but it goes away after about 5-10 seconds. The serum is very runny and watery in consistency. There is no smell to it and it's easily absorbed. I noticed that my skin was more radiant day after day and that's what convinced me to keep using it.

At first I did not notice it lightening my dark acne scars, but after about 3 weeks of use I noticed that my scars were fading a lot quicker than usual. I've been using this for a month (I still have 1 sample pack left!) and my skintone is super even and my pores are really super clear so they do indeed appear smaller. As far as claims of the microderm effect - I'm a believer! After the first 2 weeks, my skin became thinner and it has developed a healthy glow. I dunno if it makes sense when I say "thinner" maybe a better word would be "youthful".

I still have the fine lines on my forehead so I'm hoping the Kinerase C8 Peptide Intensive Treatment will take care of that but this serum as helped with minimizing those and with all the other great results, this has become a staple in my skincare regimen!

Too Faced Retractable Kabuki Brush $28.50

A perfectly portable retractable Kabuki brush. This one-stop shop of a brush is a serious multi-tasker! It's the ideal tool to apply bronzers, blushers, powders and shimmers flawlessy. Created with Too Faced world-famous "Teddy Bear Hair" bristles that grad and blend coloer without any of the cruelty or hygiene problems associated with animal-hair bristles.

The Verdict: Too Faced Retractable Kabuki Brush
I was looking for sorta an all-purpose brush that I could carry with me and after searching around this one was the winner. The bristles are really soft and they are just the right density. I was worried that the second I put this against my skin, it would just fan out. But no worries! the bristles are soft and deliver blush/powder right where I want it to go. I thought the "retractable" function of this was neat because it's not actually the brush that retracts. You don't rotate the base to cover the brush, instead you pull up on the pink cylinder and shield the bristles. I'm happy with this purchase as it's a light and compact brush and exactly what I need.