Are you glad the weekend is here? I sure am and it’s going to be an activity-filled one for me because Mr BB’s mum is in town and we’ll be celebrating the finale of Mr BB’s 40th Birthday parties around the world (if you don’t know what I’m talk about, you should hop over to my Instagram – luiyuming is my handle – or my personal blog here).

One of my latest additions to my collection is the Stila In The Garden eyeshadow palette and I’m just loving this more and more, especially for this spring. I have been wanting to get some green eyeshadows (but was quite fussy about the shades – am fussy!) and my brain just went, “Dingdingdingding!” when I spotted this palette at IMATS.

Aren’t these colours gorgeous? I love the fact that there are a few neutrals, a blue, and a purple are included as well. The quality of these shadows are soft, quite buttery with minimal fallout, and has good pigmentation. When you glide your brush on the shadows, you might kick up some fallout but application is absolutely fine.

The finish of the shadows are mostly satin and shimmer with only one matte, which is Chinois. On the eyes, these are subtle and not glittery at all that is something I appreciate.

Finally, the other bonus of this palette is a black smudge stick/eye liner which I have yet to use so I won’t say more on that. I’ve got quite a few eye liners going on at the moment so will break this out later.

The only gripe I have is the quality of the palette itself. The paper style format is a little flimsy and I have already stained it. It’s not as solid as the Too Faced palettes but understand that paper palettes would get stained very easily so that is a moot point almost. However, the reason why this palette is way cheaper than say the Naked palette, it’s probably due to the cheaper packaging.

From left to right (first row): Chinois, Breeze, Bark, Freesia, Rosette
From left to right (second row): Nectar, Honey, Sage, Moss, Juniper

At the end of the day, it’s the goods inside that matter, right? And I’m totally in love with all these green shadows, especially Breeze, Sage, and Juniper. Those are my top three faves in this palette. I like Bark and Moss as well. Honey is a gorgeous gold colour which i cannot wait to do a look with.

This is a palette I could travel with for a long period of time but I would tote along my MAC Espresso matte eyeshadow to add a neutral colour to the mix. With the Urban Decay Palette, I do the same simply because there is no deep brown matte shade to add non-shimmery depth to a look.

Here is my Stila In The Garden FOTD where I used Breeze all over the lid, Juniper on the crease, and Moss to smoke the edges out a little.

Makeup I’m wearing:
Hada Labo UV Whitening Sunscreen
Hada Labo Whitening BB Cream Natural Ochre
Stila In The Garden Palette
K-Palette Brown Eye Liner
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Mascara
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
Jill Stuart Mixed Blush Compact Little Bouquet
MAC Tendertone Tread Gently
Revlon Lip Butter Cotton Candy

Have you tried this palette or any of the new Stila ones, like In The Light and In The Moment?

Psst…have you entered my mini giveaway of the moment?

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Since the last mini giveaway was such a success and so much fun, I thought it would be great to toss another personal fave up for grabs.

I have always been a firm fan of Hada Labo’s UV Emulsion SPF50PA+++, and this year, they released a whitening version, Hada Labo UV Whitening Emulsion SPF50PA+++, which has added in a dose of vitamin C to help skin repair.

I’m not sure if this product actually “whitens” your skin (probably not) but it does provide strong sun protection in a light-weight liquid form. There sunscreen doesn’t have ethanol, fragrance, and parabens, so it’s great for those who think this is an important point.

Unless you have incredibly oily skin, this sunscreen is great for most skin types. I find that it sits well under foundation and I only have to blot several hours later.

If you want to try this product, all you have to do is enter this giveaway. This is what you need to do:

❀ Be a follower on the Beauty Box Facebook Page and Twitter. If you are a follower on my Youtube channel, that’s a bonus. Do include your handle or name so it’ll be easy for me to locate where you are following me.

❀ Write in the comments section below on what type of posts and videos you would like to see in this space.

❀ Deadline: May 31, 2012, Thursday, midnight (Tokyo time)

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I was travelling for a month (April-May) and flew to four countries: the US, Germany, Australia, and Singapore. It was fast-paced but a lot of fun — clearly I enjoyed the shopping, eating, hanging out with friends, while squeezing in bits of my regular life like Beauty Box matters and Japanese Skype lessons.

I honestly didn’t think I would haul this much because I have barely touched my New York haul. But a beauty junkie will not be deterred when passing by shelves and counters and duty free shops.

Here is my haul and hope you enjoy watching it!

Makeup I’m wearing:
Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream No.23
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
e.l.f HD Powder
Too Faced Matte Eye (Tufted Suede, Chinchilla, Coffee Bean) + MAC Woodwinked
Dolly Wink Eyeliner Deep Black
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander
e.l.f Studio Blush in Blushing Rose
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark as bronzer
Kiehl’s Lip Balm
Revlon Lip Butter in Cotton Candy
Nails: Essie Navigate Her

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Let’s get started with our inaugural tip, shall we?

Today’s beauty trick focuses on body care. I don’t know about you but I use gallons of this stuff. It’s the one product (besides shower gel and shampoo/conditioner) that has one of the highest turnovers in my bathroom. I can stock up on these bottles without feeling a shred of regret because I know I would use them up.

But I also love expensive body creams/lotions. I dislike most drugstore ones because they are either not nicely fragranced or they just don’t moisturize well enough. Having said that, this may seem like a contradiction but I would combine a luxe body lotion with a fragrance-free drugstore one to make my expensive product stretch a bit longer.

The key is to choose an excellent drugstore lotion, and I would recommend CeraVe, a deeply moisturizing lotion suitable for sensitive skin and has a light texture. If you are in Japan, I would recommend Yuskin (the green or blue versions) as they have phenomenal body moisturizers at a very affordable price. The problem I have with these fantastic drugstore body lotions is that they do not smell of anything and I love slathering myself in scent after a shower.

I squirted CeraVe five times and the Korres one once — this is enough to moisturize both legs. If I just used the Korres one, I would need at least three squirts. And I haven’t even moved onto my arms and torso! So you can see how I could use one of these Korres body butters up in less than a month…

Just swirl the two lotions together and you still get a scented experience without wasting too much of your precious body cream. I have a fascination for high-end body moisturizers by Laura Mercier and Jo Malone and I would do the same for those creams to help them stretch.

What do you think? Is this something you would try or you think it would “pollute” your luxe moisturizer?

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

So to ease back into things, I have a post on nail polish strips…

I was very excited to see these at Sephora and I don’t think Japan has them as yet. But Japan has all sorts of fake gel nails you can buy and maybe nail polish strips would seem a little anti-climatic? I don’t know, but if you have seen nail polish strips here, let me know!

I think the concept of nail polish strips is great — long-lasting, low maintenance manicures, and extremely portable. They are the perfect travel beauty item: flat, not a liquid, and gives variety.

But I don’t really like them, unfortunately. These have been such a success with some folks that I refuse to believe they are not working for me. Basically, it was a pain from start to finish, though to qualify my foray, I only tried this twice. It was hard for me to fit the nail strips to my nails because my nails are abnormally small so every strip was just way too big and it was very hard to trim the edges off. I know Sally Hansen kits include a toothpick-like tool to do just that (I used a nail file, tweezers, and a nail clipper).

Anyway, once I got them on, they refused to stay on for long. I would wash my hair and some strips would fall off! And they chip really easily, too. Perhaps this is just Sephora’s brand at fault? If you have better brands to recommend, I’m all ears because I do like the more complex designs that nail strips offer.

On another note, I prefer nail deco stickers on traditional nail polish. I slicked on Butter London’s Hen Party and used tweezers to adhere these tiny flower and butterfly stickers (also from Sephora) to my nails for a wedding I attended in Sydney. I’ll definitely get more of these for future special occasions.

Are you a fan of nail polish strips? Any tips or tricks to maximize the potential of these babies?

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Hi my lovelies, are you looking forward to the weekend? I’m loving my time in Singapore with family and friends and if you have Instagram, you can follow my adventures if you add me – my handle is luiyuming. I’ll love to look at your photos, too!

Today’s post is pretty simple and straightforward as it’s a show-and-tell of some Chanel products I hauled over a month ago in Tokyo when I had some vouchers to use up. I did consider other brands like SUQQU and SKII but my heart lies with Chanel when it comes to luxury makeup.

I’ve mentioned the Chanel No.19 Poudre Eau De Parfum here so I won’t go into much detail but I LOVE this. I’d actually planned most of my purchases from Chanel but I got this on impulse because it smelled so amazing.

The overriding theme in my choices this time was I wanted to get only wearable colours for daily use. I have learned from past experience that if I get an unusual shade from a luxury brand, I would simple use it once or twice a year on a special occasion. But I decided that is just a shame (and waste) so I was extremely conservative and no guesses that I would willingly wear these anytime…

The Jous Contraste Powder Blush 99 Rose Petale (bottom right hand corner) is a classic warm pink shade that gives a pretty flush to the cheeks. It instantly gives a lovely glow and the brush is surprisingly quite good for a compact one. I’ve tried using a synthetic fluffy blush brush and it doesn’t pick up much colour at all so you need a smaller rougher brush for quickier and heavier application. I love carrying this around to touch up my blush on the go because the compact looks so chic.

On the bottom left hand corner is the Ombre Essentialle Soft Touch Eyeshadow 45 Safari which is a gorgeous taupe great on its own or easily paired with another neutral colour. I like to prime my eyes with the champagne pink Illusion D’Ombre 82 Emerveille (top right hand corner) as a base and then sweep Safari over my lid – it looks like a subtle look suitable for casual outings or for work.

I actually brought all these products on my previous NYC trip where I did have to get ready in a hurry quite a lot of the time and these Chanel staples were great for a fresh, effortless look.

It’s no secret that I love Chanel for the packaging as much as its contents, if not more, because of the sheer luxury it oozes.

What’s your go-to luxury brand that makes you feel like a princess no matter what?

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Hello everyone, how is your week going so far? I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Sydney where we attended a friend’s wedding and held Mr BB’s 40th birthday bash with his family and friends. I always love going to Australia and it feels like it was way too short this time, but we’re going back for Christmas end of the year and we usually stay at least two weeks.

Since I did an updated skincare routine for my face, I thought I would share with you my skincare routine for my body. This winning combination has kept my skin smooth, hydrated, and fairly clear. When I travel, I can’t really keep to this routine so I know when I go back to it, my skin improves by leaps and bounds.

First, I start off with some dry skin brushing. I can’t tell you how important this step is – you don’t see immediate results but after a few weeks, my skin just looks and feels so much smoother and bump-free. So when I travel, I just don’t think lugging around a big long brush makes sense luggage-wise so I use a nylon bath towel which works okay but I think the circular motion of brush bristles somehow delivers better results.

I then lather up my shower gel or cream of the moment with a nylon fluffy scrub. Right now I’m obsessed with Weleda’s Wild Rose Shower Cream which smells just amazing. It’s extremely easy to make rose-scented products smell cheap and nasty but the Weleda one is light and fresh. Also, the shower cream feels luxurious and moisturizing while doing a great job cleansing. I’m currently trying to stock up on this product whenever I’m travelling because it is so ridiculously expensive in Japan (like almost 3000JPY).

After which, I follow up with Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap in Cherry Blossom using my Clarisonic on my chest, shoulders, and back. I like double cleansing these areas because they get clogged very easily.

After patting myself dry, I splash on some Bioderma Sensibio Lotion Normal to Dry Sensitive Skin on my chest and back, and then smear on Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture Sensitive Skin on those areas as well. My chest and back areas are prone to dehydration and if I don’t moisturize them, they would over-produce oil and lead to break outs.

For the rest of my body, I will put on some Jason Natural Vitamin E oil and then layer with body butter or milk by Korres (not pictured here) because the weather is still pretty dry.

That’s my body care routine and I try to stick to this as religiously as I can. I try not to skimp on bodycare products because they really are worth it to maintain healthy smooth skin.

What’s your must-have bodycare product? Do share your routine!

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

However, I haven’t covered every single thing, e.g. concealer, but I haven’t really heard much buzz on them and even in Japan, Bobbi Brown, MAC, Cle De Peau, and Shu Uemura reign supreme in that category. And as you can see these are not drugstore brands. But if you have a Japanese drugstore concealer to recommend, please do so! Or any other type of product you would like me to review.

Here’s a line up of Japanese mascaras from the drugstore that I think are worth getting (from left to right): Dolly Wink Long Mascara Black, Dolly Wink Volume Mascara Black, Dejavu Fiberwig Extra Long, and Majolica Majorca Lash Expander.

I need to throw in a little disclaimer that I have very oily eye lids so I need mascara base to make any mascara smudge-proof, except the Dejavu one.

The Dejavu mascara, 1575JPY, is smudge-proof only up to three months of using it and then it would start to get smudgy but three months is about time to toss out a tube of mascara. This in itself is a miracle for my lashes. For me, I prefer lengthening mascaras though I do have to warn you that you need to really work this mascara to get any decent lengthening effect.

The Dolly Wink Long Mascara Black, 1500JPY, has amazing lengthening effect without much effort so I like to use this if I’m in a hurry. For the Dolly Wink Volume Mascara Black, I like the fact that it gives my lashes some oomph without being too clumpy. For both mascaras, I use Kate Mascara Base, which I have to warn you that past the three-month mark, these would still smudge even with primer.

In terms of results, I still like Majolica Majorca Lash Expander, 1260JPY, that is a cult fave among Japanese cosmetics fans. It thickens and lengthens in a flattering way, but my only gripe is that it still needs a primer and it is extremely difficult to remove.

But in comes the Heroine Make Mascara Remover, 882JPY, which removes stubborn mascara like a charm. The ingredients list is impressive – tsubaki oil, rosehip oil, and royal jelly essence are in the list, while being free of alcohol, fragrance, colouring, and parabens.

This mascara remover has seriously saved my poor lashes from being ripped off and all you need to do is to swipe the wand under your lashes and then press gently with a cotton pad. Then I spread a cleansing oil all over my face, including my eye area, and everything comes off easily.

What is your fave Japanese drugstore mascara? Do you think drugstore mascara works just as well, if not, better than high end mascara?

If you are interested in the other posts in my Japanese Drugstore Hunt 2000JPY & Below series, here are the links: eyeliner, pressed powder, nail polish, lipstick, blush, and lip gloss.

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I thought we might do fun one today – would you use your man’s products?

For me, I only would willingly use his Head & Shoulders shampoo and his favourite Body Shop Coconut Shower Cream. I think both are good solid products in their own category but I would never use his facial products which feel a bit harsh on my skin and I don’t really like their “manly” scent on me. They smell good on him, but not on me. On the other hand, does he use my products? Only when we travel and he’s out of something or other. It’s only then he would put up with floral/fruity shower gels or use my haircare travel packs. I always marvel at couples who share everything, even skincare and it’s not uncommon to share a Clarisonic, as I’ve read in a blog or two before.

This topic also makes me think back to the time when Mr BB and I started dating and I stayed over at his apartment now and again. I never really went prepared with an arsenal of my usual beauty products since it was always a spur-of-the-moment decision. So I used his stuff. I thought his then Body Shop shampoo (remember the dark blue one that was minty?) was too drying and made my hair all frizzy. He had no conditioner so I went without. His facial wash was also quite drying but his moisturizer worked fine in Singapore’s hot weather. I also went without makeup during those early lovey-dovey days and he made me feel like the most gorgeous girl in the world.

Anyway, your turn to spill the beans!

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Mr BB’s dad lives in Germany, in Wiesbaden, which is a beautiful, ancient city just half an hour from Frankfurt so 2.5 days were spent hanging out with him and then we travelled up to Hamburg where Mr BB had an industry trade conference to attend. Here is my love list of my short but sweet stay:

♥ Blooming flowers everywhere. I didn’t realize how gorgeous the German landscape was and spring fever was certainly in the air. People were out sitting on park benches, walking their dogs, strolling with their babies, slowly nibbling on ice-cream all on a weekday afternoon.

♥ Taking a short bus tour around Hamburg and we stopped at the harbourfront area where many boats and ships were floating. Apparently, fish burger stalls line the ports and it’s a specialty in this sea-faring city.

♥ Shopping in central Hamburg where Weleda and La Roche Posay were top on my shopping list beauty-wise. Might do a more in-depth haul post later on.

♥ Snagging a green faux leather bomber jacket and a polka dot navy sweater on sale at H&M for just under 40 euros. Perfect for spring!

♥ Tucking into lots of succulent fish and seafood since Hamburg is right next to the sea.

♥ Admiring German efficiency in all things, from the trains to the hotel service.

♥ Having one-on-one time with the father-in-law which I have never ever done before in our nine year relationship. I got to know what his hobbies are and how he spends his days. He also entertained me with his funny Aussie humour and his thoughts on living in Germany as an expat. Apparently, Germans don’t really socialize with colleagues after work and I find that surprising since they have such a strong beer-drinking culture. It’s the total opposite in Japan and Australia where it’s the norm to go drinking with your co-workers on a Friday night.

♥ Watching German cities and houses and fields whizz by on the Bahnhof (or bullet train).

♥ Taking a picture of the majestic Rhine River from the top of a scenic view point in Wiesbaden.

Have you been to Germany before? What do you love most about the country?

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.