Inspired Scents Etsy Store Perfume Review

So, it's been a while, huh. If you've noticed my absence I apologise; I have been tackling the beast that is the Japanese immigration and all of processes that come with trying to get a working visa in Japan. My beau decided that he wanted to camp out here in my little tin roof flat, so I spent my summer sweating my ass off on a bicycle seat and various governmental offices, yay!  Other than that, I have just been plain lazy, left my blog feeling a tad unloved. But that’s all changing, I promise.

Today I decided to write about a small business I stumbled across on Etsy this summer. Now, if you don’t already know about Etsy, I feel like I should warn you. Access this site only if you’re ready to be sucked into all the handmade awesomeness and be ready to part with your beloved savings account.

I discovered Shelley's Etsy store when I was searching online for a dupe of Elizabeth Arden’s Bronze Goddess perfume. I was desperate for a new summer perfume and Japan’s shops had nothing to offer in terms of summer fragrances. In Japan, their range is focused on citruses and fresh scents, and I was desperate for some coconut action in my perfume, and the Bronze Goddess perfume seemed right up my alley.

Bronze Goddess (TYPE) is a sensuous, sun-drenched blend of Bergamot and Mandarin, cooled with Tahitian Gardenia Petals and Coconut, warmed with Amber, Sandalwood, and Vetiver. All heat, all desire, all woman.

I lucked out because I found a couple of sellers who were selling their own versions of famous designer scents, and BG happened to be one of the ones they made. I was curious about how similar it would smell compared to the real thing, and I also ordered Miss Dior Cherie because that’s a perfume I had owned before and knew what it smelt like. My perfumes were sent lightning quick and I received my package in just less than 2 weeks. 

I was very pleasantly surprised to discover in my package that Shelley had also included a full sized solid perfume in her Coconut Mandarin scent as well! I was absolutely tickled pink.

Store description: This fragrance has notes of mandarin, strawberry leaf, violet, jasmine, caramel popcorn, wild strawberry sorbet, musk, and patchouli.

I was absolutely delighted to find that the Miss Dior Cherie smelt exactly like I remembered my bottle of it smelling! Sweet and slightly floral, it is gorgeous and I wear it almost every day now. My Bronze Goddess I wore almost every day since I received it, and I actually ended up being able to purchase an actual bottle of it through a friend who had gone back to the US for a visit, so I was able to compare the two and found that the likeness was pretty much 100%. Both the oil perfumes are very potent and last at least 4 hours on my skin during the summer, and around 5-6 hours during the winter.

I am so pleased with my perfumes, Shelley is super lovely and the shipping rate was decent! I am so envious of all those people in the US, there are so many awesome Etsy shops that I would be purchasing from if I lived in the States! Here is the link to Shelley's store, if you wish to take a gander.

Tell me, lovely readers, what is your favourite Etsy store? Hope y’all had a safe and fun Halloween/Samhain!

NARS Orgasm Nail Polish Review + Swatch

My favourite blusher is the cult favourite NARS Orgasm, so it only made sense that when I thought I'd lost it, I'd immediately re-purchase another.
So, the last time I bought the Orgasm/Laguna duo, I also got the Orgasm nail polish which I was exciiiiiiiited about because, sex on my face AND nails, it couldn't get any better, right? Hmm, that sounded kind of...dirty...

It looks very chic, and it has the NARS signature rubbery top (we all know what a pain that is when you've got a NARS product in your handbag, eh ladies. All the dirt, assemble!). The brush itself is quite standard and the formula itself is runny. The frustrating thing is that it's very light in colour, so it takes at LEAST 3 layers to become opaque. Even then, it's not completely opaque, as you can see in my next photo.

The one thing I was super impressed with was the longevity of the nail polish. I am a lazy potato-bug and I usually can't be bothered with a top coat (tell me I'm not the only one). Sans a top coat, this nail polish stayed chip free for almost 3 days! How amazing is that? Any other nail polish would chip within the first 12 hours, but this one, ho boy, really stayed strong.

I was a bit sceptical about the colour of the nail polish, i.e. it not matching the blusher, but when I swatched the blusher on my hand, it was pretty much a 100% match! In the pan, the blusher looks a lot more pink, but swatched on the hand, you could see the beautiful coral/golden colour.

I think I'm currently too pale to wear this shade, but it would look absolutely lovely on someone with tanned skin. Nevertheless, it won't put me off wearing it, it truly is a gorgeous colour that I doubt is easy to find.

Tell me, friends, what NARS nail polish do you covet? Are they any good, or are their blushes really only worth the moola?

Smelly Pits: Crystal Deodorant Roll-On Unscented Review

So, being a white person in Japan can get a bit tough sometimes. The things you struggle with the most are always things you wouldn't really think would matter, but actually make a huge difference. So, what is really getting me down, you might be wondering not at all.

I am a sweaty, hairy, smelly beast, and I rely on a good roll-on deodorant to help me through my sweaty, smelly days. However, the majority of Japanese women don't tend to get very sweaty or smelly (here's a neat fact, Japanese are more likely to possess a gene which means they have dry earwax; this gene is also linked to underarm smells, so if you have dry earwax, you don't get smelly!), so their deodorants all fall under the body spray category. I think I have only come across a couple brands which have roll-ons and they don't seem like the type that would be any help to my sweaty pits.

With my pits gobbling down my Rexona roll-on faster than I can eat a taiyaki, I decided to grab myself a more natural and environmentally friendly roll-on from this site after reading a million good reviews for it on there.

Look at it trying to convince you that it's awesome! Flex those biceps, man!

 I decided to go for the unscented version, and I have absolutely no clue why as I prefer my pits to smell like anything other than their stinky selves. I was drawn in by the fact that it was aluminum and paraben free. Aluminum is the reason why you get those yellow stains on the armpits of your favourite white tops, and the reason all your other tops get that stiffness. The sweat mixes with it, chemistry happens, and boom!, you're left with those horrid stains.

I had really high hopes for this deodorant, and I was feeling pretty good about it. But...it just didn't do it for me. At all. It's safe to say that I'm almost better off not wearing this at all, because it really makes no difference to whether I get smelly or not. I get sweaty easily, like, I look at a picture of someone taking a walk and I get sweaty; it's that type of sweaty. It's because I have a very efficient cooling system, mmkay? So I wasn't expecting it to help with that issue, because that's not what it was for, BUT I was expecting it to stop the smellies, and it failed miserably.

I had such high hopes for you!

So, sweaty and smelly beasts, beware! This is not the deodorant for you! My quest for a natural deodorant continues and I cling on to my new bottle of Rexona with the desperation of a stranded islander down to his last bottle of water.

If you still feel compelled to give this deodorant a go, because I am a pretty lost cause, you can get it for cheap here and even cheaper with my voucher code FSK978.

Any recommendations on a good roll-on? Do you get the yellow pits of doom on your white tops too?

Essie Borrowed & Blue Review + Swatch (I'm In Love!)

Guys, I am so excited about this nail polish, I actually can't believe how much I love it. It was love at first sight when I saw it on the absolutely gorgeous Annabelle from Vivaluxury, and I knew it had to be in my life ASAP. When I finally got my sticky little hands on it, I knew this would be the start of a full blown affair with this polish.

How appropriate that my first ever Essie nail polish is one that I absolutely adore but is a limited edition? It's from the 2011 Wedding Collection and it's just the most gorgeous pale blue colour I've ever come across in a bottle. It reminds me of that really pale blue colour that you see when you're looking at the sky on a clear day, and it's peaking off into almost white. That's the sort of colour this nail polish is; basically a sunny day's sky in a bottle. It tends to look bluer inside and outside it washes out to an almost white, as you can see from Annabelle's photo.

Now, this nail polish can do no wrong by me in regards to colour, but formula-wise...it makes for one very frustrated blogger. I imagine because it's an older polish that's the reason why it's thick and gloopy, and it's just a nightmare to apply. I've read a few reviews by other people who've complained how crapola Essie's formulas are; they tend to chip immediately and not last very long. Unfortunately I've found this is very true with this polish, even with a top coat, it lasts a day max without very obvious chipping. Day two, goodbye nice looking nails.

We're going sky high, baby, you and I.

 I didn't get the chance to take a photo of my nails as soon as I'd painted them, so here they are in their couple of days old glory! Keeping it real for y'all!

...I seriously love this nail polish way too much. I've been reapplying it, that's how much I love it! And I can never be bothered to reapply the same colour so soon after I've taken it off!

I bought mine here but if you're living in the States, I bet there's a seller on eBay who's selling it for less. International beauties, this is the cheapest I've found it on the internets.

What do you think of this colour? Are you dying to have it in your life right now? What polish have you not been able to take off?

It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product Review

Buenas tardes beauties!

I hope that everyone in the northern hemisphere is getting more sunshine and warmth than we are here on Western coast of Japan, because it's just been absolutely frickin' cold and I can't imagine what summer feels like any more.
Anyway! I thought I would finally share my opinion on a cult product that has a huge fan base. You've probably seen this purple bottle popping up in numerous beauty gurus loved products reviews and videos. I am, of course, talking about the It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In hair product.

It claims to do "10 things instantly", and although I don't feel I could tick it off on everything, I definitely have noticed a difference since starting to use it. For reference, I have naturally curly hair that is very fine and dyed blonde. Not a fun combination, let me tell you! Life is a struggle with fine, curly hair, it gets damaged and tangled really easily and it's hard to look presentable. *takes a deep breath* Don't let me get started!

Since starting to use it last year October-ish, I feel like it's really helped with detangling, and although it hasn't prevented split ends and breakage, I feel like it has possibly had a hand in reducing both problems a little bit. It adds a bit of shine, I'll also give it that. I haven't used it as a thermal protector as I've been avoiding all hot styling tools since last summer. I definitely have noticed my hair calming down a bit, and dare I say it, becoming a little bit softer.
The consistency of the product is surprisingly thick; it's a spray style nozzle, but I don't spray it directly into my hair. I first spray it into the palm of my hand, rub my palms together, and then evenly distribute it in my hair from the tops of my ears down to the tips.

I am always desperately seeking something that will leave my curly hair soft, full of body, and manageable -- might be a fools quest! I feel like It's a 10 MLIP is something that would only give benefits short term; I'm always dubious when I come across ingredients on products that I have difficulty pronouncing/have no idea what it means. I should really look into oils, shouldn't I?

What are your recommended hair products? What would you say has made a significant difference to the health of your hair?

Canmake Colorful Nails #10 Lavender Milk Swatch + Review

I've never really been the girl that was into nail polishes. Sometimes a certain colour took my fancy, but very rarely did I buy them. 

Until now.

Of course, living in Japan, it's all about the long eyelashes, big eyes and pretty nails, so there are many different brands of nail polish available to the average Japanese girl. After lusting after many a pastel coloured nail polish featured on various beauty blogs, RosyChicc's post on Essie's Lilacism polish really was the last straw for me. I was going to have a beautiful purple pastel coloured nail polish in my life, if it was the last thing I bought!

I went to Daiwa, a big department store, as I recalled them having some Essie nail polishes, but unfortunately the selection was teeny and Lilacism wasn't there. Before I caught the train back home, I went to browse in a beauty shop in the big mall next to the station when, lo and behold!, a beautiful pastel purple polish twinkled out amongst the other non-pastel polishes! At under 400 yen, it was an easy and quick purchase.

 

I am really not with it when it comes to popular beauty brands in Japan, but I've seen the Canmake Colorful Nails a few times, so I imagine it's a well-known brand. They had an array of other colours, and I may have to go back for the pastel green and yellow that I also spotted.

 

The colour is called 'Lavender Milk' and I believe it to be quite an apt name for the shade; a very light and creamy lavender colour. Not so sure about the description of it:"A gentle, sweet lavender like the Little Mermaid." 

Oh Japan. It sure is like the Little Mermaid...

I am sorry about the light, in the late afternoon light, it looks a lot darker than it actually is. During the day time it is a very light colour. The application wasn't bad, I found that I didn't get enough polish often, and because it dried so quickly, I'd get angry at the obvious horrible layering I'd done. It was still very streaky with 2 coats, so 3 coats it was. Even with 3 coats, I still felt a bit underwhelmed with the formula, but I love the colour.

 

So, I've got myself my first spring nail polish, how about some of that spring temperature, ay, Japan?

What is your spring nail colour this year? Any recommendations? Should I be worried that my nail polish addiction will get worse?

 

Rausch Moisturizing Body Butter for Very Dry Skin Review

Lovely ladies of Europe,

I have discovered a must-have product for you. Last year when I was visiting my aunt in Switzerland, I came across this beaut of a product. My aunt is into natural hair and skin care products, and she's a devotee of Rausch, a Swiss company which use natural, raw plants and herbs in their products to provide people with the best care for their scalp, hair and skin. They have a large range of various hair care products, but the product I have been in love with is their body butter for very dry, flaky skin.

It smells absolutely heavenly! It contains extracts of barley, oat milk and Tahitian monoï oil. Barley extract is known to soothe and moisturize skin, promote replenishment of the skin’s protective barrier and renewal of cell membranes. Oat milk is high in Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant that protects and repairs your skin. Tahitian monoï oil acts as an emollient for your skin (emollients are lubricating agents that have a soothing and softening effect on your skin and prevent water loss). So it's jam packed with absolute goodies for skin that is in dire need of TLC.

I burnt myself to a crisp during my holiday in Greece, and while I was suffering I was using this religiously, and it definitely helped to keep my skin soft and completely prevented peeling, which is amazing because I've always peeled after I've gotten sunburnt as bad as I did that time.

Look at how much I've been loving it, almost all gone!

The consistency is very creamy, and although it has a scent, it's not one that I find overpowering. For something that is such a heavy duty body butter, it blends in so quickly to the skin, and there's absolutely no trace of "greasiness" which I adore.

This is a wonder product and even though it is a tad pricey, I would wholeheartedly recommend it to all the beauty gurus out there in Europe who have easy access to it, it's amazing!

Beauties, have you used any products by Rausch? What do you think of this body butter?

Peachy Goodness: The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Butter Review

The plum blossom has blossomed on trees in Japan, and the cherry blossom are about to make their debut. Pretty exciting stuff, this spring weather. Unfortunately, whilst it has definitely become warmer, it's still not time for me to put away my winter leggings and jackets. So my legs have been suffering, and after getting a whiff of the peach body butter in The Body Shop, I knew it was coming home with me come next pay day.

Pay day came and went, and this bad boy ended up coming home with me after I joyously discovered that TBS were having a wee sale. Yes!, cried my wallet, and off I hopped off with this glorious body butter in my bag.

I'm a big fan of fruity, gourmand smells, so of course, this is completely up my alley. Slathered across my desert dry legs, this provides wonderful moisture to them, and I was ever so surprised how quickly this sinks into the skin.

Is that a pumpkin in my fruit bowl? Why yes, yes it is.

 Many of you who are reading this post will already be familiar with TBS body butters, so I don't need to go into too much detail. This body butter is designed for dry skin and it claims to leave your body all hydrated for 24 hours, and I would have to say that I am happy with the state of my skin now that I've been using it. I would even go so far to back the 24 hour hydration claim.

This is a pretty big tub of this peachy goodness, and the cream is super thick, so it would take you yonks to work your way through this whole tub. And did I mention how amazing this smells? Because, oh my lawdie lawd, this smells ever so divine. When I put it on in the morning, my clothes absorb the smell, so even after I take them off, I can smell this wonderful body butter. YUM!

Think I've gone peach crazy and this post by the amazing Cassi from Thrift Thick is definitely not helping. (Srsly guise, go check her out, her posts are incredible, and her videos hilarious!).

Body Shop, you've done it again, another glorious product to add to your ever expanding collection.

So, what products do you think are peachy keen? What's got you sniffing your arm like a dog every 2 seconds? Do share!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micellar Water Review

If I’m the last blogger in the world to blog about it, so be it. But today I wish to join in the chorus of other bloggers squealing in glee over Bioderma. In all honesty, I’d been quite oblivious to micellar water, but having experienced it once, I don’t think I would be able to continue without having it in my makeup removing arsenal.

The stuff itself is of the consistency and smell of what its name implies – water. Except, it does so much more than regular water; it really is a pleasure to see my makeup coming off so nicely when I use this. A cotton pad and a cup of tea is all you need to make this a pleasurable experience.

I know I’m committing a foul beauty sin, but often there are nights where I can’t be bothered returning to my freezing bathroom to wash the makeup off my face, and this is where Bioderma has to step up to do the job *shields herself from storm of stones being thrown*. I’ve used it to take off foundation, blusher, BB cream, waterproof mascara, eyeshadow, and it’s never failed me.

If I recommend this product to anyone, I would say it’s a great pre-cleanse cleanse. Use Bioderma and then proceed with your usual face wash (if you can be bothered, I won't judge!).

Have you had a go with Bioderma's Micellar Water? Or any other brands that sell micellar water? Do share!