Nagoya, Japan (Feb., 2016) Makeup Haul

For those who don’t know, I am actually extremely biased towards Asian makeup brands. I’ve had my fair chances of hoarding them during my trips to Korea, and Tokyo during the past few years, and up until now, I still can’t stop this tendency of buying Asian-brand makeup out of impulse!

The first thing that really gets to me is how they come up with such cute brand collaborations, leading to even cuter packaging! Second, is probably my trust on the quality of the brand, since I’ve had my fair share of Asian makeup hauls in the past. Through that, I was able to find out which products seem to work better for me from certain brands. For example, I prefer the eyeliners from Dolly Wink, concealers from Holika Holika, and then the cream blush tints from Canmake. Though, those are just a few examples of the many good makeup brands out there.

Anyway, for this trip, I wanted to try out brands I haven’t used before. Some, I’ve heard of from makeup recommendations from the blog of my friend, Chai. You should also check out her blog if you want more information regarding beauty products. She really knows her stuff! Some of the other products, I wanted to buy cause of my first impression, or from vague ideas about them from word of mouth.

Skipping straight to the haul, I’ll just briefly list them down for you! Have I also mentioned that I pretty much bought all of these in Don Quijote? That place is just packed with great deals! So, if you’re planning to shop for souvenirs and makeup, I highly suggest you check that place out! Anyway, without further ado, here’s my Nagoya (2016) makeup haul!

1. COSME Ash Brown Heavy Rotation Eyebrow Mascara

I ended up buying this since, if you know me personally, you’ve probably seen me most of the time with blonde hair (instead of any other color in the color wheel lol!). Because of me having an (unnaturally) lighter hair color, I wanted to get a color tone close enough to match the tone of my blonde hair, but also, one that is not too bright to make it look like my eyebrows are fading into my skin’s flesh tone. lol!

I once tried applying a blonde color tone of mascara on my eyebrows. It was… let’s just say it looked like I had no eyebrows. hahaha! I think it only works if you have a really pale skin tone. That way, the blonde color still stands out from your skin. But for someone like me who has tanned skin, a darker shade that’s not too far off from the blonde color works best for me.

The chart on the right explains the color range for the tone (from yellow-brown, orange-brown, etc.)

2. SHISEIDO Perfect Whip Facial Wash

I kind of a have a love-hate relationship with this product. Halfway through using it, I was bent on thinking that we were a match made in heaven, and then I realized how much it’s been drying up my skin. Don’t get me wrong. Perfect Whip works great in clearing away all the pimples and acne (well, it’s worked great for me). As an added bonus, it also doubles well as a makeup remover. I know. Very convenient, right? Saves you money, and time. However, after some added research, this product actually has a pretty high pH level, thus, making my skin dry up faster.

Its compatibility probably varies according to skin type. But for someone like me who easily gets dry skin, I realized that I should only use this product when I feel like my skin’s been extra oily that day (or maybe when I’m just extra lazy to clean off my makeup. heh)

3. K-PALETTE Eyebrow 1 Day Tattoo (Natural Smoky Brown)

THIS. (I praise the heavens for this product!!) I have never ever tried a K-Palette product before, but after tolerating a long makeup process for getting my eyebrows done almost every morning, this has just saved me from all that time consumption!

This is actually more than just an eyebrow pencil–it’s a TWO-WAY eyebrow pencil! (ya heard me rightttt!) I finally have these two functions of getting my eyebrows down compacted into a single cylindrical product! On one tip, you have the pencil liner, and on the other, a soft tip to smudge the tint! This makes it easier for me to draw on the edges, and then spread them out with the soft tip for a more natural finish.

I know I also bought the eyebrow mascara from COSME, but I like having options on makeup application, depending on how much time I have. I guess this one works for when you’re more in a hurry. I tend to use eyebrow mascaras more when I have bit more time on my hands.

4. DOLLY WINK Color Eyeliner (Sugar Purple)

I’ve always been a fan of Dolly Wink. From the very first time I purchased my black eyeliner from them, they have never failed me since. But that only holds true for their eyeliner products. I don’t really have much of a say on their falsies (false lashes), and other products, since I haven’t really tried them yet. Also, since I’ve found my comfort zone in other brands for other products, I’m find with sticking to my bias on Dolly Wink’s eyeliner for this instance.

5. CALYPSO Tint Gloss (Heavy Pink) – Little Twin Stars Collaboration

To be honest, what made me want to buy this was the packaging! haha! I always have this thing for cute brand collaborations. Although, I’m not really a fan of lip gloss, I wanted to give this product a try anyway. (Although, honestly, I though it was lip tint at first. hahaha. fail. I didn’t read the katakana quick enough! degnemmit.)

6. HEROINE MAKE Mineral Base

Although, I’m familiar with Heroine Make for being mostly known for the mascara, I wanted to give their other products a try (also, cause of the girly packaging hahahaha). Another thing that caught my attention was that it was a mineral base. I’ve already tried a bit of it, and what I’m liking about it so far is that it also has some moisturizing effect on the skin (Or, idk if that’s just how I see it haha. But, I really feel like my skin looks more moisturized when I use this base).

7. CREERBEAUTE Super Wet-Proof Eyeliner (Black) – Urusei Yatsura (Lum The Invader Girl) Collaboration

For the last product, I don’t think you even have to guess that it was the anime packaging that caught my attention. haha! Again, I really like picking out brand collaboration products. lol! I’m not too familiar with this brand, but I wanted to test it out anyway. So far, the quality’s been pretty good. The eyeliner dries pretty fast and doesn’t smudge away too quickly. I’ve only used this a few times so far, so I’ll still have to keep the quality in check!

Anyway, these are the makeup  products I was able to purchase during my Nagoya, Japan trip last February 2016! I’ve still yet to properly test out all these products (and am very excited for that!!). Will probably write product review posts some time in the near future! ♥