Date with Mr. P in Little Tokyo!!

Now that Spring is here, I've been in the mood to experiment with brighter colors like oranges, pinks, and greens.  And there is no better time to experiment than on dates with Mr. P.  **hehehehe!**  So, today we took the train to Little Tokyo in Downtown for some ramen and shopping.  I used my Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends blush on my cheeks and eyes to achieve a peachy pink and orange eye look.  I lined my eyes with dark gray shadow with green sparkles. 


FOTD for my date with Mr. P!

We had ramen in Little Tokyo then walked to Fashion District.  We passed by this store that sold some NYX products and when I saw the prices my heart JUMPED. FOR. JOY.  NYX jumbo eye shadow liners for $2.00 each!!!!  False eyelashes for $2 - $3!  And mascaras for less than $7 - $8! 

Mr. P bought these for me for $13 total!!!

This store also had some really dramatic lashes with feathers and neon colors.  I told Mr. P that maybe those lashes would be better for Halloween.  :-)  The common theme, of course, was that everything was super affordable. 
I'm trying on my my 118 lashes right now.  The only thing Mr. P and I can say right now is, "Wow... It's different!"  Mr. P took pictures of me wearing the falsies.



Was not able to successfully bind my real lashes to the false lashes.



A little glue is showing, but that's okay.  This is my first time.  :-)

 

Not bad for my first attempt at wearing falsies.  Many thanks to my favorite Youtube gurus for showing me how to apply falsies, and many many thanks to Sue Lynn for this video that I remembered all year long!

Product Review: Skin Nature Facial Treatment 100% Collagen Extract

Before I stopped using the term "HG" to describe much beloved products (Arthurian Romance and Grail Legend student here - thanks Professor LG from UCI!) this product was the HG of all HGs!  Unfortunately, I don't know where to get more of it.  I've Googled this and I can't find it, which makes me believe it's only sold to spa establishments.  I got my one and only batch from a friend of a friend who knew somebody.



Box lid.  Sorry that the flash is a little strong.



Comes with 5 capsules and 5 caps.



Clear collagen extract.  Three drops is enough for my face and throat.

Product claims
Facial Treatment Extract is your first step in breaking the age barrier and will visibly de-age your skin in 30 days.  This unique works at night to repair sun-damaged skin.  Fine dry skin lines become less noticeable.  Skin looks firmer, smoother, more radiant.  A beautiful younger-looking complexion is yours.

***Please note that if I can't find anything on this product, I'm sure you won't be able to find other reviews for it either.  But if you're lucky enough to find something on it, please let me know!  As always, my product reviews are 100% my opinion and based on my own experiences.***

Visibly de-age your skin in 30 days
How about less than a week?  If I use this as a night treatment, I see results overnight.  If I use this as a day treatment under SPF, I see improvements within the week.

Repair sun-damaged skin
Anyone who has been following my blog knows that I'm worried about the sun spots on my upper cheek bones.  Since I started using my collagen extract again (been rationing it over the years), I have noticed significant improvements to the hyperpigmentation.

Lines become less noticeable
The fine lines on the verge of developing into full blown wrinkles under my eyes fill up and are almost gone.  I love the skin under my eyes... they look like they did when I was a teenager and a young twenty-something. 


Skin looks firmer, smoother, more radiant
With the lines nearly gone, and hyperpigmentation improved, my skin looks firmer and smoother.  It also looks more translucent and therefore more radiant.

Gripes
I can't find where to restock on my stash.  I can't find this product on line.  The stash I have is really limited.  When I'm done with my last three capsules, I'll be completely out.  ***SADNESS!!!***  The capsules are so small so I don't have a lot of this wonderful product.

If I find more information on this product, I will definitely update this post with where to buy this product because I would recommend this to everyone!  I would pay any price for this product - that is how much I want this product.  If anyone finds out where to get it, please let me know!  

Product Review: Shu Uemura High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil Fresh



Shu Uemura website linked, click on picture.

 This particular cleansing oil is for normal to oily skin types and is a lightweight cleansing oil that leaves the skin clean, fresh and refined. Ideal for normal to oily skin types and acne-prone skin. 

Benefits
Cherry extract - refines skin texture by smoothing skin surface and helps brings radiance
Fresh aroma - sakura, grapefruit, lily
Depsea water - found in sea waters below 200 meters, it naturally provides moisture to the skin, and helps enhance skin transparency and improve skin quality

How to use
Spread 2 pumps of oil over dry face with dry hands.
Add a few drops of water to emulsify, massage face.
Rinse off with lukewarm water.

*Product reviews are 100% my opinion and based on my experiences*

Lightweight cleansing oil
In relative terms of weight, the Shu Uemura cleansing oil feels lighter on my skin than regular jojoba oil.  It has a very pleasant and luxurious scent that doesn't overwhelm you like you'd get with some St. Ives products.  However, after emulsifying, I feel like the lightweightedness works against it as it doesn't completely remove all my makeup (tested with toner & cotton pad)

Leaves skin fresh and refined
The pyschological effects of the scent make me want to feel fresh.  Realistically, this product leaves behind an oily residue, even after multiple rinsings.

Ideal for normal/oily skin types and acne-prone skin
I would disagree that this product is good for oily skin types as it seems to add more oil.  Additionally, I've noticed more cystic breakouts since using this product.  Would it make sense to say I believe this is the culprit?  Open pores, greasy residue that doesn't rinse off, too lightweight to remove all my makeup, a bad combination that makes for clogged pores.

Provides moisture to skin
The greasy feeling I get after using this product should not count as moisture.

Enhance skin transparency
I don't notice any new radiance, glow, or transparency.

Bottom line
I think I'll give this to my brother and see if it works better for him.  I don't want to say anything bad about Shu Uemura, but I don't think this product is working for me.  I've tried using it once, twice, dry and wet, but when I put it to the test, I always see makeup residue on my toner-soaked cotton pad.  And since using this product, I've been getting cystic acne breakouts that really hurt!  These are the worst for me because they leave scars for months and years.  The bottom line, I get a cleaner face using jojoba oil and a hot damp towel, which costs 2/3 less than the SU cleansing oil