The Japan Series: Yojiya, Kyoto

You'd think by the time we reached Kyoto that I'd be all shopped out. But me being me, I managed to stumble upon an absolute gem of a store in one of Kyoto's Geisha districts, Gion. We went to the Geisha's autumn dance show and were killing time before our pre-show tea ceremony - this little shop was just around the corner from the theatre.

Yojiya was a far cry from the beauty stores of Tokyo - there's no artificial looking products or flashy signs here.  It has a much more natural vibe, specialising in Aburatorigami - better known as blotting papers. The brand's essence is routed in Kyoto, their products were beautifully packaged with a nod to traditional Japan, and the store was quite minimalist.

They mostly stock skincare, but the make up they had was beautiful and reminded me a lot of the bright geisha make up. I can't find any information online about whether they supply make up to Geiko/Maiko, but I wouldn't be surprised. It wasn't the most practical for those of us that aren't geisha, so I managed to resist it!

I only purchased a few hand creams as gifts from here, but the scent of the product takes me right back to Kyoto.  It's hard to place what exactly it smells of, but its beautiful none the less.  Definitely somewhere to hunt out during a visit to Kyoto - the store was packed with Japanese women picking up armfuls of products, which was enough to convince me!

K x

The Japan Series: Shopping for Cosmetics in Tokyo

It might sound slightly sad...but shopping for cosmetics in Japan was one of my favourite things we did. Their drugstores are crazy, department stores filled with brands unknown to me, and I stumbled across some fab stand alone cosmetic shops too.  Here are my top places to hit up for a make up binge in Tokyo:

Matsumoto KiYoshi: This store was the Boots/Superdrug of Tokyo.  But unlike our drugstores, it was cram packed with products and the point of sale was incredibly flashy and over the top. But I sort of loved it. They stock most Japanese drugstore brands along with more high end offerings from Shiseido, DHC etc. Matsumoto KiYoshi is not particularly foreigner friendly as most packaging is in Japanese, but for an authentic experience this is definitely the place to go.

Harajuku: If you want to shop for anything remotely girly, head to the Harajuku area of Tokyo. Takeshita Street is filled with teenagers wearing the more extreme Japanese fashion, from girls dressed as life sized dolls to cyber punks and anime look-a-likes. It's worth a trip just to see the amazing outfits, hair and make up Harajuku girls wear, but Harajuku also has some great stores for cosmetics. Don't miss Missha, the Korean brand home to some of the very best BB/CC creams.

Just around the corner from Takeshita Street is Omotesando, a really high end shopping street home to MAC and various designer brands with make up lines, so you pretty much get the best of both worlds in Harajuku. PS - if you managed not to laugh at the word Takeshita, you're a better person than I am.

Plaza: Plaza is filled with various products from around the world, including a HUGE cosmetic section.  They had loads of British/US brands, so if you live in Tokyo this is the place to go for Rimmel, Maybelline, L'Oreal etc.  They also stock Etude House, a Korean brand that has great sheet masks and quirky packaging, and Dolly Wink lashes which I'm told are the false lashes of choice in Japan. I saw a Plaza in Shibuya 109, and also one near Ginza Station.


Shiseido Parlour, Ginza: I never actually bought anything here, but it was such a nice store to wander around. Shiseido own lots of Japanese brands at varying levels of luxury, so there was something for all budgets in here. I particularly enjoyed looking at all the whitening powders/creams they stock here - very Japanese.

Mitsukoshi:  Tokyo has HUNDREDS of department stores. Most are run/owned by the transport companies (weird!) so tend to be located near train stations. One of my favourite department stores for beauty was Mitsukoshi in Ginza. Reminiscent of Selfridges or Harvey Nichols this was a typical department store beauty hall.

You could shop in Tokyo's cosmetic stores for weeks and never cover them all. Saying that, there are some pretty special things to do in this wonderful city that don't involve make up, so hopefully this has helped refine your beauty hit list.

K x

A Gift from Berlin: KIKO Luxurious Collection Supreme Eyeshadow

So my lovely friend and fellow blogger was in Berlin, Germany last month and very kindly picked me up one of the new Luxurious Collection Supreme Eyeshadows by KIKO when she was shopping in their Berlin store. And it's an absolute beauty.

The shade I have is 'Posh Crystal Rose' - a beautiful, pale pink-champagne colour with a silver sparkle. The name alone would probably have drawn me to this shade, and the packaging is as special as the name. The pot has a nice weight to it that makes it feel expensive! It's hard to believe these retail for £11 - they really give higher end counterparts a run for their money, not just in terms of packaging but also quality.  The shadow stays on all day - I've mostly been using it as an all over base with a little of Burberry's Pearl Grey shadow in the crease and lashings of mascara. This gives a really pretty effect that works for daytime but can be majorly amped up for a Christmas night out. Perfect!

It's safe to say that more of these shadows have gone straight on my Christmas wishlist, one of which is the shade Exquisite Jasper Green. My friend reviewed this one and it looks beautiful - you can see her post here.

It's a shame that KIKO have a £25 minimum spend for an online order, although it wasn't hard to add some bits and pieces to the list to total £25...

K x

The Japan Series: Asian Beauty Haul

I have made it home from Japan! Had a blogging hiatus whilst I was away, mainly because we hardly stopped to breathe let alone blog. So here starts The Japan Series as I have so, so much to blog about. Japan is an incredible place...just when you think you've really seen it all there's something else that'll blow your mind right around the corner.  

But first things first, I spent a pretty penny (or yen) in the Japanese cosmetics aisles, so I thought I'd kick proceedings off with a haul - expect in depth reviews of these products in the next month or so as I can't wait to try them all out. The Japanese drugstore is a sight to behold in itself with shelves of bright packaging and buckets of products to peruse - literal buckets, the Japanese like to rake!

So what did I pick up? The Pikachus and Wallpaper City Guides in these pictures are just for effect...although I have grown rather attached to my Christmas Pikachu.

In Tokyo I hit up Shibuya 109, a magical mall filled with clothes/make up stores - a general girly haven. The top floor was home to Plaza which has a huge international make up section including Etude House, a Korean brand I was hunting for after seeing Fleur De Force's Asian Beauty Haul. I picked up three of their Sheet Masks: Q10, Green Tea, and White Pearl.

Next stop was the drugstore where I picked up another Fleur De Force recommendation, Majolica Majorca Lash King Mascara. I've not tried this yet but it smells really strong. So slightly worried I might be allergic...

Tokyo ladies are so into their liquid liner and the choice was quite overwhelming. The 1 day Tattoo Liner by K-Palette seemed to be on sale everywhere so I'm going to give that a whirl mainly because it wouldn't come off my hand for two days! I wish I'd picked up one of the SEVERAL liners with cats on the packaging but this one was definitely the most long lasting.

In my favourite area of Tokyo, Harajuku, we stumbled upon a Missha store, an inexpensive Korean brand. A very helpful sales assistant pointed me in the direction of their best BB/CC creams so I picked up their Signature Real Complete BB Cream and their Signature Complexion Correcting BB Cream. One for me and one for a friend and fellow blogger. Plus a £4 lipstick with the prettiest packaging.

Phew...I'm almost done. Last up were some bath salts and blotting papers from Tokyu Hands department store. The Japanese certainly like their bath salts as there was hundreds to choose from with weird and wonderful smells I frankly wouldn't want to soak myself in. However I picked up some lavender salts and some ginger scented ones...brands are unknown since all the packaging is in Japanese! The Japanese also do blotting papers pretty well, so I threw some in to try out for those days when my face has more liquid than your average bowl of ramen.

Interestingly I hardly picked up anything that was originally on my original wishlist! The only thing I'm still yearning after is the Fairy Drops Mascara - this isn't widely available in Japan any longer so I'll be making a cheeky BeautyMart order instead.

I hope you enjoyed this rather long post, stay tuned for product reviews, raves about Asian packaging, the lowdown on the best places to shop, and maybe even some highlights that didn't involve shopping (Cat Cafes...)


K x

My Beauty Wish List: Japan

Tokyo, Japan.

So one week today *eek!* I'll have arrived in destination that's been on my hit list for years, but I never thought I'd actually visit. We're spending 2 weeks in Japan, well known for sushi, gaming, karaoke, sumo and innovative beauty products. Ok the beauty products are probably not what it's most well known for, but proper addicts know that Japan is a haven for weird, wonderful, cutting edge beauty bits!

I've compiled a small wishlist I wanted to share pre-trip, and hopefully there will be plenty reviews on the way once I've got my mitts on some of these. I'm hoping I can widen the net a bit and snag some of Asia's best products as well as Japanese classics, so my list spans further than just Japan. You gotta take your chance whilst you can! 

1. Fairydrops Glossy Black Mascara -So you can get your hands on this in the UK on the BeautyMart website and in their Topshop concessions - but it's sold out online, and living in Edinburgh our Topshop doesn't have a BeautyMart unfortunately.  ViviannaDoesMakeup cemented my decision to pick this up if I can - the girl knows her stuff when it comes to great mascara.

2. Asian BB/CC Creams - So I've not narrowed down to one specific brand quite yet. I've never really got on with western BB/CC creams but after swatching the Korean Erborian CC Cream in SpaceNK I'm definitely interested in trying some other Asian BB/CC creams in Tokyo. 

3. Majolica Majorca Lash King Mascara - Yep, another mascara! But I've heard good things about Majolica Majorca so think I'll pick this up too if I can. I was intrigued to find out that Majolica Majorca is the baby sister of Shiseido - hopefully without the price tag. This one looks to get a lot of hype online, although they also have a mascara called The Lash Expander Edge Meister?! Must try not to get side tracked by hilarious names.

4. An IPSA Palette - Another Shiseido sister brand, IPSA eye shadows seem to get a good write up.  Plus their mini shadow trios look super portable and travel friendly so if I spot these one might make it into my suitcase.

5. Anything with cat packaging - Worst case scenario and there's no English on the packaging and I can't work out what the products are...I'll take anything with cats on the packaging! Tony Moly seems to be the brand to hit for cutesy packaging combined with great quality make up, so I'll no doubt spend a small fortune in there.  Friends, family: you're all getting cat make up for Christmas.

K x

XOXO: L'Oreal's Color Riche Exclusive Reds: Blake Lively Lipstick

I've loved Blake Lively since she graced our screens on Gossip Girl: I longed to eat fro-yo on The Met steps, don fabulous ballgowns on a weekly basis, and wished my poker straight blonde locks would wave like hers do. She's just the ultimate likeable Hollywood starlet. So when L'Oreal released their Colour Riche Exclusive Reds collection featuring a Blake Lively inspired red lipstick, you bet I was first in line to pick one up!

Firstly - the packaging! Chic, black, with a slightly textured leopard print sheen and a really satisfying 'click' when you close the bullet to the lid. Retailing for just £6.99 at Boots, these punch above their weight!  I also got this with my Boots Advantage Card points which made it all the more satisfying.

I had avoided the original L'Oreal Color Riche Exclusive Nudes collection after hearing they don't taste great: and to be honest, the reds don't taste so good either. They're a little bit 'old lady lipstick' in taste. But I love the colour, and the formula is comfortable to wear too.

It almost feels worth braving the taste for? Understated but buildable - I especially like patting the colour in lightly, but you can definitely go all the way with this and slick it right on! Maybe I'm just totally bought into the marketing gimmick of well packaged, celebrity inspired red lipsticks - the Julianne Red is next on my list! 

K x

New In: Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 Hour Leather Effect: Creamy Beige and Vintage Plum

So the new shades of the Maybelline Colour Tattoos were top of my US shopping list...until I spotted these in my local Boots store this morning! Maybelline released the Leather Effect collection of their well-loved Colour Tattoos earlier this year, and they've finally hit UK shores. These look to be the only two available in the UK for now: Creamy Beige and Vintage Plum. Creamy Beige isn't dissimilar to the MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork, maybe not a dupe but not far from it. I think it'll make a lovely matte base shade. Vintage Plum is a gorgeous greyed out lilac - not unlike the Colour Tattoo in Permanent Taupe but with a touch more purple in there. 

After a stark realisation that my face resembled a glitter ball at work last week, I've been looking to pick up some more matte shadow shades and try them out for size. At just £4.99 a pot, these might be the perfect two, although picking these up hasn't put me off the scent of the new Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette when it's released. Perhaps a new love affair with matte shadows is about to begin!   

K x

Long Lasting Eyeshadow Sticks: A Travel Essential.

So it’s 5 weeks until my next overseas adventure, and I’m already starting to think about what I’ll pack in my makeup bag. I’ve amassed a fair few cream eyeshadow sticks and I’m beginning to really love them. Swipe, blend, go. Perfect for the days when you sleep in before work, and equally perfect when you’ve 10 minutes to get ready before setting out to explore on your travels. Plus – you really don’t need to spend much to get your hands on a great one.  Here are some from my collection that have made my travel shortlist so far:

The Original: Clinique Chubby Stick for Eyes in 02 Lots o’ Latte. Clinique led the way with their chubby stick range and other brands were fast to follow suit. This is a solid offering in a lovely cool toned brown - I really love the shade name too! With a primer this lasts about 5 hours on me, and makes a great base to build on with powder shadows.

The One from Across the Pond: Make Up Forever Aqua Shadow in 30E.This brand is on every beauty addict’s US shopping list. I actually picked this up in Copenhagen Sephora, and realised I’d paid a pretty penny for it once I figured out the exchange rate! The shade 30E is a warm rosy gold which is shimmery but not glittery.The wear is excellent on these but be warned: blend the second it hits your eye, as once this sets it Does. Not. Budge. 

The Bloggers’ Favourite: KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 25, 07 and 38.The fact I have three of these is possibly testament enough. These are smooth, long wearing and hold their own used solo, but are easy to blend together for a more dynamic evening look. Kiko’s offering are a strong contender to be the only eye shadows I travel with! 38 is a particularly special shade…it’s a rich, taupey lilac with finely milled silver and gold glitter. Love it.

The Ones I Hunted High and Low For: Smashbox Waterproof Shadow Liner in Chrome and Luminous Fig. The minute I read Sali Hughes’ love letter to the Smashbox Shadow Liner I knew I had to get my hands on these. My Mum found a stash in a Cosmetics Company Store and I swiftly put in my order with her. I must admit I don’t love these as much as I’d hoped, but if Sali loves them then I think I just need more practice. I picked up a grey shade in this formula, which is definitely harder to master than my standard beigey browns!

The Wild Card: Barbara Daly Make Up Long Wear Eye Shadow in Shell and Shimmer Sand. Barbara Daly makeup reminds me of sneaking pastel eyeshadow into my Mum’s Tesco shopping trolley when I was a teen. But a recent revisit to the brand has really come up trumps – these are fabulous. I particularly love shell as an inner corner highlight, but worn all over the lid with liquid liner and a red lip would be a perfect city break look.      

So which am I going to pack for my upcoming trip? Erm…Can I take them all? I guess what I didn’t mention is that they’re so compact that you can definitely pack a few!  

K x

The Glamour Beauty Power List 2014: Latest In Beauty Box

 

In the spirit of expanding my beauty horizons, I decided to bite the bullet and order my first ever Beauty Box.  And what a box this is!  Glamour Magazine have collaborated with Latest In Beauty to create a box with some of the best of their Glamour Beauty Power List 2014.   

My box contained the following products:

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

James Read Sleep Mask 

Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara  

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

Maybelline ColourSensational Nude Lipstick in Sultry Sand 

Eyeko Mascara Off Eye Make Up Remover Wipes

Philip Kinglsey Daily Damage Defense

I think this is an amazing deal at £15.99 for products worth over £80 - plus you get a 12-month digital subscription to Glamour thrown in too. The mascara and primer were already on my shopping list, so to be honest the rest was pretty much a total bonus in my eyes. I'm super excited to try out the original Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish too, being a fan of their limited edition camomile version. The lipstick is perhaps a tad light for me though.  I love the idea of beige-nude lips but this reminds me of an encounter with my Mum's concealer aged 5 - I thought it was a lipstick and thus applied liberally.  So fingers crossed it surprises me and doesn't mimic the result from all those years ago!

K :) x 

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12900747/?claim=t5sz2dpyhpy">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> 

KIKO Daring Games in 30 minutes

So I’m delighted that a recent beauty purchase fuses travel with beauty: my ultimate blog aim that I know my bank balance will probably hinder most of the time! 

Beauty addicts will wonder why I’ve taken my photos of KIKO Milano products a-top a London Underground map, since they’re an Italian company with a distinctly continental feel.  Let me explain, as this illustrates one of my greatest shopping achievements to date.  I had an hour and a half ‘til my train from King’s Cross Station, a day ticket for the tube and failing coffee shop wifi on my hands.  I could sit and wait for the train…or take a speedy jaunt to Regent Street to pick up some of the limited edition Daring Game line.  The round trip took me 30 minutes - I jumped out of Oxford Street tube station, shopped Supermarket Sweep style and hot-footed it back to Kings Cross with an hour to spare before my train home.  I’ve developed a real love for KIKO - there’s just something about getting my hands on products not readily available to me that I just can’t get enough of!

I grabbed (literally!) their Ace of Diamond Lipstick in 27 Defined Burgundy and Poker Nail Lacquer in 24 Intuition Wine - the perfect autumn/winter lip and nail combo perhaps - and they were more than worth the impromptu dash around London.   KIKO polishes last so well on me, and I love the limited edition dice-themed packaging they’ve created.  The lipstick is lovely too and fulfills my annual September longing for a berry stained lip.  If this wasn't matchy-matchy enough, KIKO have released matching lip liners to go with each of the lipsticks...if I make it to London again anytime soon I know what's on my shopping list!

I also added the Colour Up Long Lasting Eyeshadow to my beauty arsenal, in shade 10 Bold Rosy Taupe.  I’ve not used this one enough to give much of a review, but it’s a beautiful taupe-y lilac shade that I think will make the perfect base shade paired with my well-loved Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. 

I’m planning a full post on my favourite beauty items to pick up in London-town, so stay tuned for that!

K x

PS – did anyone else enjoy my Supermarket Sweep reference in the opening paragraph as much as I did when it popped in my head? Dale Winton: quite possibly the original king of the bronzed look.  Ultimate Respect.

An Impromptu Autumn Haul

I toyed with a beauty ban this month with an upcoming trip to save for, but September always brings new beauty launches to draw me in.  Pair that with finally starting this blog and well…some shopping went down.

The product that broke my ban was the Maybelline Color Sensational Elixir.  I needed to repurchase my faithful Maybelline gel eyeliner a few weeks back and the stand was empty in my local Superdrug.  I took a sneaky peek in the drawers under the counter - and there were the Color Elixirs; all ready to be put on stand.  I’m usually pretty aware of upcoming launches, but Maybelline certainly kept this one quiet after the blogger hype when they launched stateside.  So when they finally appeared on counter I was primed and ready for a purchase!  I picked up the shade Signature Scarlet, a bright red shade perfect to match with my standard autumn uniform of brand new tan boots, dark denim and Breton tees.  I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with glossy stain products, so as a backup I picked up another new launch, the Maybelline Color Drama Lipstick in Light It Up – a bold, beautiful matte pencil product.  After a few uses I think this could be a potential pocket-friendly dupe for the Nars Lip Pencil line. I’ll keep you posted.  

So my drawer rummage in Superdrug was to no avail – I may have spied a new launch ahead of release but the gel eyeliner I needed was out of stock.  I decided to try something new having become a little more confident with a cat-eye in recent months, and picked up the Collection Faststroke Eyeliner in Black.  This has proved to be the star of my haul - £2.99, easy to control and stays jet black all day, even on my greasy eyelids.  I think this might be a new love! This paired with one of my new red lip products and lashings of mascara has been a go-to look for me this month.

I rarely go on a Superdrug spree without indulging in a nail varnish purchase…or two.  I picked up the new Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint in Paprika – another new autumn launch – and one of the Tanya Burr Cosmetics polishes in Penguin Chic.  I usually love the Barry M Gelly line polishes, but Paprika reminds me a little too much of Heinz ketchup for my liking when on the nail.  It also chipped within 24 hours even with my usual topcoat, which was a disappointment.  I was pleasantly surprised by Tanya Burr’s polish though which wore for a good 4 days without any signs of chipping, and the colour was a very sophisticated dark grey.  They’re currently on offer in Superdrug for £3.99 which is a bargain – I’m considering adding to my collection. 

I hope you enjoyed this haul, and first proper post on The Lipstick Voyage! Please comment below and stay tuned for the inevitable monthly beauty hauls to come.

K x