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asian cosmetics beauty BNTnews PR Sample review

Review: Catalina Geo Lash Power Volumizing Mascara

21. December 2016

We all know that skincare works different depending on your skintype and skin sensitivity on each individual. How about mascara? Also here, we have the problem, that every person has different eye lashes, some have more and some have less. And also the length of our lashes is different from one another. I have long lashes, but not many. Luckily my lashes are black, so I do not need mascara to make them show up. I need mascara to give volume to my lashes and to give them a nice upward curl. The Catalina Geo Lash Power Volumizing Mascara promises exactly that. Does it also perform like its name?

Catalina Geo belongs to Lamy Cosmetics , a Korean cosmetics company with 6 different cosmetics brands: Renoma, Geo, Sortie, Mennen, Lafine, and Catalina Geo. I reviewed some products of their range already previously. This is the first time trying a mascara from Catalina Geo.

The Catalina Geo Long Power Volumizing Mascara is a 3D volumizing mascara that is supposed to give you a detailled long lash look. The mascara also claims to be long-lasting for up to 12 hours.

The Catalina Geo Lash Power Volumizing Mascara comes in a cardboard box in a golden reflecting paper. You will see fine ornaments on the box too. Inside that cardboard box is the mascara tube. The mascara tube has the same golden color as the box and looks really beautiful. I love the ornaments on both the mascara tube and the cardboard box.

The design of the mascara is so pretty and really looks luxurious. When opening the twist-off cap you will find a straight bristle brush inside. The mascara I received has shade No. 6 which is a matte black mascara. The diameter of the brush is medium and easy to use on most eyes and lashes.

This mascara applies very easy and makes my lashes look more defined and curled upwards. It also makes them appear longer but doesn’t clump the lashes together. The lashes appear thicker than without the coat of mascara, which gives the eyesmore depth. The mascara lasts all day with me and the lashes are still curled in the evening. It doesn’t provide volume to my lashes as the name suggests. but it makes your lashes curled and appear longer. As a last plus, this mascara is easy to cleanse off.

This mascara was provided to me by BNTnews, and I didn’t find them online yet to tell you the retail price. But I do like the Catalina Geo Lash Power Volumizing Mascara! The packaging design is super pretty and elegant and the mascara holds my curled lashes all day long. It also makes them look more defined. Unfortunately, it doensn’t do anything for volumizing the lashes though. What is your favorite mascara?

This product was provided to me by BNTnews for reviewing. You can find my previous reviews for BNTnews >>here<<. And visit BNTnews for the latest Korean news and trends:

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.bntnews.co.uk/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty New Noto PR Sample review

Review: New Noto Moisturizing Cream

19. December 2016

As Korean beauty products become more and more popular all over the world there are also new brands evolving and more countries start to carry Korean beauty products. A while ago I was contacted if I would like to try a Korean product, which has been released in Hungary now. The cream is called New Noto Moisturizing Cream and is a pharmaceutic multi-purpose cream.

New Noto Moisturizing Cream is a cream containing patented plant ingredients and is manufactured by Whimi Pharm, a pharmazceutic company. It is baby-friendly and doesn’t contain steroids, or parabens. It is supposed to provide deep moisture without feeling heavy, reduce wrinkles and tighten the skin and calm and soften the skin as well.

The cream comes in a large tube containing 150 g and it is really a lot. That’s great. because since it is designed as a multi-purpose product it can be applied all over your body, including face and under-eye region, but also as hand cream for example.

The full ingredient of the product is listed below:

Aqua, Glycerin, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Propylene Glycol, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-hexanediol, Polysorbate 60, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glyceryl Stearate, Petrolatum, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Alcohol, Potassium Hydroxide, Carbomer, Centella Asiatica Extract, Stearic Acid, Morus Alba Root Extract, Platycodon Grandiflorum Root Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Allantoin, Parfum, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Edta, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hexyl Cinnamal, Citronellol

You can check the ingredients via COSDNA. The key ingredients of the New Noto Moisturizing Cream are Baikal Skullcap Root, Barberry Root, Morus Bark and Gardenia Extract. Baikal Skullcap Root has been used in Chinese herbal medicine for more than 2000 years. It is an antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory properties. Barberries are anti-fungal and have astringent properties (by the way I love barberries, especially as garnish of rice). Barberry Root is used intraditional medicine on sores, burns, acne and itch…and many more. Morus Bark has whitening properties and enhances the healing capathities of the skin. It can also reduce the appearance of fine lines by restoring fibrillin. Gardenia Extract has a slo a lot of antioxidants and acts antibacterial. Moreover, the cream contains olive oil. Some of the ingredients can be potential acne triggers or irritants, so be sure to patch test before. I was a bit surprised that it contains a bunch of fragnances, but is declared baby-friendly. I’m not sure if it is (?!).

For my personal use I didn’t experience any negative effects from this cream. The white cream spreads easy and feels cooling, but doesn’t leave greasyness on the skin. It fully absorbs and doesn’t feel heavy or sticky either. The scent is a fresh, but nice one. I used the cream as day and as night cream and also tested it on my body. It gives some moisture to the skin, but it is not enough for my dry sintype. I prefer a more heavy cream, especially in winter. I liked to use it on my body though and I guess it will be a good moisturizer for oily skintypes.

The New Noto Moisturizing Cream is a light moisturizing all-purpose cream, which is great for people who like to have as few as possible cosmetics products. The cream can be used all over your body. As a facial cream it is not moisturizing enough for me, although it is nice how quickly the cream absorbs and doesn’t leave a greasy feeling either. I’m using this cream on my body mostly, since I prefer more heavy creams for my face at the moment. This could be a nice cream for people with oily skintypes. The tube retails for 30 US$ including free shipping and Money Back Guarantee. I really like that you have the opportunity to try the cream and give it back if you are not satisfied. So why not give it a chance?!

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://notocream.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

beauty PR Sample review Rossmann

Review: Batiste Dry Shampoo Colour

16. December 2016

Dry shampoo just got its revival some month ago, mainly since brands like Batiste entered the market. In the past women often used dry shampoo, but they slowly disappeared from the market. I remember that I was looking for dry shampoo years ago and there was exactly ONE brand that was available. Today you have a variety of brands that provide you with dry shampoos of all possible scents. Batiste Dry Shampoo is probably one of the reasons for the revival of dry shampoo because of their unique and stylish packaging design. Now, they came up with tinted dry shampoo, the Batiste Dry Shampoo Colour!

Like all dry shampoos, Batiste Dry Shampoo Colour is designed to be used in-between your hair washing units. We all know that washing our hair every day is not good and makes it damaged, but sometimes, after one day the hair can feel greasy already. So, that’s a perfect moment to use a dry shampoo to make your hair refreshed. It is also great to use dry shampoo on travel or especially for camping and festivals, were you have a lack of showering opportunities. Dry shampoo gives volume to your hair, reduces the greasiness and makes it smell nice again.

Additionally, Batiste Dry Shampoo Colour has the property to contain colour pigments. Regular dry shampoos are a white powdery substance, that can leave white residue on your hair if you do not comb it out properly. These pigmented dry shampoos are adapted to a certain hair colour. In my images you see the one for blonde hair and one for medium brown hair. They claim that they can be used to colour your hair line too, if you have dyed your hair. Apart from the two shades you see here it is also available in a dark brown shade.

The Batiste Dry Shampoo Colour comes in a spraying bottle. In order to use it you have to shake the bottle thoroughly, then you spray it to your dry hairline and the parts of your hair that you want to remove the grease from. Distribute the product by massaging with your fingers through your hair and finally comb through your hair and it is done. Your hair looks like freshly washed again!

I love using dry shampoo between two hair hairwashs. It is super quick and convenient to use and especially during winter you won’t have to go outside with wet or damp hair. I know many people have problems with white residues using regular dry shampoos, but it a tinted dry shampoo the perfect solution? For me it is not! I have dark hair and white residues show up super easily, but still, I prefer the regular dry shampoo because of a couple of reasons…actually it is only one reason: it is a mess! While massaging it into your hair usually my nails and fingertips are stained. A good old hand wash removes it of course, but every time I touch my head or scratch my hair I will have brownish color stains on my fingers. Not a lot, but still…the second thing: I prefer to rub my hair with a towel before combing it. It will of course stain the towel as well. I’m sure the blonde version will not be a mess with its stain like the brown one, but instead of the pigmented dry shampoo I’d prefer the regular dry shampoo. I do like Batiste Dry shampoo and also other dry shampoos, but I do not see the convenience in having it pigmented for my hair. Oh, a tip for those you have problems with white residues: Use the dry shampoo before you go to bed and there won’t be any residue left the next morning (this is also not possible with the pigmented one, since it will stain your sheets). The Batiste Dry Shampoos are available at your local drugstore for a couple of bucks.

Did you tried Batiste Dry Shampoo Colour? Do you use dry shampoo at all?

Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.rossmann.de/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty beauty boxes PR Sample review

Unboxing: Inspire Me Korea Cleanse Me Beauty Box

12. December 2016

I’m very happy to present to you a new Korean subscription box service called Inspire Me Korea. You might think that there are already so many subscription boxes, so what makes this one special now?! It is a subscription box, yes, but it does not have only snacks or only beauty products as topic, instead the Inspire Me Korea Boxes are bringing to you a piece of Korean culture. I will present to you a limited box is called Inspire Me Cleanse Me Beauty Box, which was offered to me for reviewing purpose. Although this box is revolving around beauty products I want to point out that the general concept of the Inspire Me Korea Boxes goes beyond beauty.

Inspire Me Korea is a Korean Culture Subscription Box Service. That means that their regular boxes contain Korean products, popular snacxks, Kpop collectibles, Korean culture merchandise, educational and trends magazines, recipes, and many more. There will also be a Korean beauty products included, but the focus lies on the Korean culture in general. There are three different versions: a box designed for female customers, a box designed for male customers, and an unisex box. Additionally they have so-called Taster Boxes that give you a first glimpse into Korean culture and do not contain beauty products at all. They also have limited edition beauty boxes from time to time, like the Inspire Me Korea Cleanse Me Beauty Box here. Previously they had a box dedicated to Whamisa products.

The Inspire Me Korea Cleanse Me Beauty Box came packed in a nicely illustrated box. I loved the post card with the personal message. So sweet <3 Inside the box was a variety of best-selling Korean beauty products for skincare.

The description of the box states:

“The Inspire Me Korea CLEANSE ME BEAUTY BOX: best-selling Korean beauty products to revolutionise your beauty and skincare routine, delivered straight to your door!

The CLEANSE ME BEAUTY BOX is all you need this winter for the complete cleansing routine: the Pure Water Baobab Cleanser for a thorough, effective cleanse along with the Half Moon Eyes soft facial sponge to wash away the day’s impurities! PLUS a gorgeous selection of 4 It’s Real Squeeze facial sheet masks with something to suit every skin need AND 3 Green Tea Nose Pore Packs to unclog those pores.

Discover Korean skincare at it’s best and get ready for glowing supple skin for winter with the Inspire Me Korea CLEANSE ME BEAUTY Box. Perfect to spoil yourself with OR why not purchase as a gift for a loved one this holiday season?”

The box included 9 items in total: 4 Innisfree It’s Real Squeeze Sheet Masks, 3 Etude House Green Tea Nose Packs, 1 Etude House Pure Water Baobab Foam Cleanser, and 1 Half Moon Eyes Soft Facial Sponge.

The two brands represented here are probably two of the most famour brands from Korea: Innisfree and Etude House. For Korean experts these brands are not new, but well-known, and for Korean newbies these two brands are a perfect start to dive into the vast and wide world of Korean beauty products.

The four Innisfree It’s Real Sqeeze Sheet Masks are in Manuka Honey, Rice, Rose and Tea Tree. I tried the Innisfree It’s Real Squeeze Sheet Masks before and I like them. Especially the huge selection of key ingredients is really nice. I think they have 20 or more different versions of this sheet mask. I remember that I loved using the rice sheet mask a lot.

The two products from Etude House are suprisingly new to me and I didn’t use any of them before. I new they had nose packs, but I didn’t know the green tea version, so I’m excited to use them. I also read about the Baobab line, which is designed to provide moisture to your skin. The Etude House Pure Water Baobab Cleanser contains 8.9% Baobab Water. Unlike western cleansing routine, Korean cleansing routine is more gentle to the skin. Instead of lathering up the foam cleanser on your face directly by rubbing your palms against your face, they will use a sponge or bubble maker to lather the foam up first. Then, only use the foam gently on your skin. Foam cleansers are usually used as second cleaning step, which means they are not designed to remove your makeup in first place, but to give it a second cleanse. The Half Moon Eyes Soft Facial Sponge with its cute packaging design works great for lathering up your cleanser.

All in all the Inspire Me Korea Cleanse Me Beauty Box is a super box for people new to Korean skincare. It contains items from the two most popular brands in Korea, Innisfree and Etude House, and it contains some classic skincare products, too. Regularly, the Inspire Me Korea Box can be subscribed for 13.99£ per month (or less if you decide for a 3 month or 6 month plan). The limited Cleanse Me Beauty Box retails for 24.99£. I think these boxes make a really nice Christmas gift for someone you know that is interested into Korean culture or beauty. Oh, and here is a Christmas video ad including some cute bunnies, if you like hop over and watch it ;)

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.inspiremekorea.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty Najoba PR Sample review

Review: Whamisa Organic Flowers Deep Rich Toner

9. December 2016

Good news for my fellow German kbeauty lovers: Whamisa skincare is now also available in Germany through the online store for natural cosmetics Najoba. Apart from the Whamisa Organic Flowers Facial Oil I also had the chance to test the Whamisa Organic Flowers Deep Rich Toner:

The Korean brand Whamisa is relatively young and was founded in 2010 as certified natural cosmetics brand. Their key ingredients focus on plant based fermentation extracts. The brand name is written in Chinese characters which have the meaning of flowers and beauty and the use of four key components of natural materials in their products. The attractive ingredients are combined with a beautiful packaging design in light colors. Some of the products are decorated with flower illustrations, as you can see here, too.

The Whamisa Organic Flowers Deep Rich Toner has been on my wishlist for a long time! Instead of water, you will find here a lot of plant derived extracts and liquids. Similar to the Oolu Moisture Liquids I reviewed previously (Oolu is a sister brand of Whamisa) this toner contains oil to give a special care and moisture to your skin.

Whamisa Organic Flowers Deep Rich Toner contains 97,4 % of pure ingredients derived from nature. It also contains Fermented plant extracts. These ingredients help the skin to protect itself from harmful environment and dryness by nourishing and creating a skin protective film.

By the way, Whamisa products are formulated without Parabens/Synthetic/Chemical Preservatives, Artificial Dyes and fragrances, Petrochemicals, Silicon/Mineral Oils, EDTA, Animal Origin ingredients. Their products are environmental friendly and free from animal testing. The ingredients of the Whamisa Organic Flowers Deep Rich Toner are listed below:

Ingredients: *Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract , *Chrysanthemum Morifolium Flower Extract, *Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, *Lactobacillus/Chrysanthemum Sinense Flower Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Teraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Rhizome/Root Ferment Filtrate, Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, *Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, *Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, *Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, *Helichrysum Arenarium Flower Extract, *Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract, *Glycerin, Propanediol, **Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, **Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, **Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract, Xanthan Gum, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, *Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, ***Fragrance

*Certified Organically Grown **Natural Preservative ***Natural Origin

You can also check the ingredients via COSDNA. Almost every ingredient is green labelled, and it is so pull of natural ingredients, too! The Lactobaccilus ferment filtrate of the plants is nutrients-rich. It contains many vitamins, amino acids and proteins and helps to improve the moisture level of the skin. Aloe extracts and plant-based oils boost the moisture the toner gives to your skin.

The Whamisa Organic Flowers Deep Rich Toner comes in a milky glass bottle. The bottle looks really high-end and pretty, especially with the flower illustrations on it. In order to use the toner, you pour the liquid gel-like product into your palms or on a cotton pad and pat it on to your face. You use the toner after cleansing your face, and in contrast to western toners asian toners are designed to moisturize your skin after cleansing and not to remove left-over makeup. The formula locks in te moisture into your skin and leaves a slightly tacky feeling, making the skin feel moisturized. I love the smooth feeling of the toner, that is provided by the oils in the ingredients. Usually, I do not like tacky or sticky products, but I usually continue to use other products on top and then the stickiness is not noticeable any longer. If you only use toner after cleansing and no other serums and creams you might not like the stickiness. Anyways, apart from that this toner really does a good job in moisturizing the skin.

Whamisa Organic Flowers Deep Rich Toner is my most used toner at the moment. Due to the cold weather I love the extra moisture this toner gives to my skin. There is also an original version and a fresh version of this toner available, depending on your skintype these might be worth a closer look, too! My only downside for Whamisa products in generall is the price, especially if offered by shops outside of Korea. Of course a high price is justified by the origin of the ingredients, since it is natural and organic cosmetics, and for non-Korean sellers they also have to add the costs for export. Still 39 € for 120 ml bottle of toner can be considered quite expensive. You have to see it as a light essence or serum. With this in mind, the price can be considered good actually, since it is really providing enough moisture to skip additional moisturizing essences, and just use a cream on top.

What is your favorite moisturizing toner? Did you try Whamisa products already? What was your impression?

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.najoba.de/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics bbcosmetic beauty PR Sample review

Review: RiRe Lip Powder

7. December 2016

I was super excited when I received this set of RiRe Lip Powder from BBCOSMETIC for reviewing purpose. I tried the RiRe Lipmanicure in the past and did really like it and I heard good things about these unique lip powders aswell. Here is my impression:

RiRe is a Korean brand which is not so widely known. When Clio Lipnicures were hyped they released a dupe called RiRe Lipmanicure. I was not happy with the Clio Lipnicure, although many people raved about it being super long-lasting. As soon as I heard about the dupe I ordered it and tried how it compared with the one from Clio and the result was that I liked it much better (read my review >>here<<). I heard about the new product from RiRe called Lip Powder a while ago, since it was reviewed by some bloggers and I was super excited to give it a shot. Now, I’m even more happy that I could try all 4 shades of the RiRe Lip Powder.

Here is the set I received, containing four shades of the RiRe Lip Powder and a Lip Stain Remover. Everything is packed in a pretty black box, neat and nice! The backside of the box lists the ingredients for all the products in English and Korean, too.

The shades are called 01. Orange Pop, 02. Hot Plum, 03. Sugar Rose, and 04. Fashion Red. They come in small, transparent plexiglass with a black cap. They really look adorable. Through the body of the tiny bottle you can see a fine powder inside the bottles.

Inside the caps are the angled applicators for the lip powders. You have to be careful when opening the bottles because the powder is super fine and may spill, similar to translucent powder you can use for mattifying.

What makes these powders so exceptional is the texture. It is a powder inside the bottle as you can see clearly, but as soon as you apply it on the skin or lips the texture changes and glides onto your skin. The RiRe Lip Powder leaves a soft stain. Depending on the layers you can make the stain stronger or softer.

The colors look distinct when swatched on my arm, but on my lips you will see that Hot Plum and Fashion Red look almost similar. Sugar Rose is a less intense pink/cherry toned as these two. Orange Pop looks like a classy red shade on my lips and on my arm swatch. The stain does not settle into the lips or feel drying, although you might think of a lip powder being drying. As I said, the texture becomes somehow fluid as soon as it touches your lips or skin. It is so magical!

The stain is quite long-lasting and therefore there is also a Lip Stain Remover included in the set. The RiRe Easy Clean Lip Remover doesn’t remove your Lips as the name would suggest, but is designed to remove the stain. It is a super effective oil-gel product and comes in a tube.

Below you can see how easy it was to remove my arm swatches. I applied the remover and rubbed it into the stain and then simply used a cotton pad to swipe off the color makeup. It was super easy and quick!

I love the whole kit! The RiRe Lip Powders have such a unique texture and they feel so lightweight on the lips. I love the light and natural colors of all the shades. I’m also happy about the lip stain remover which does a great job, too! So easy to remove the stains afterwards, too! The only downside I can think of is the short applicator. If they would revamp the packaging design I would wish they would make it longer. You can get the RiRe Lip Powders from BBCOSMETIC and they are really affordable, too! The whole set retails for 16.51 US$, the single shades for 5.71 US$, and the Remover retails for 4.62 US$. All in all not really expensive and worth a try! What do you think?

You can use the voucher Q2C8JX9N45R3O in order to get 10 % discount on BBCOSMETIC.

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://bbcosmetic.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty MeMeBox PR Sample review

Review: Oolu Ginseng Gold Cleansing Foam and Mist

3. December 2016

Here is the last review for the Oolu skincare range I received from MeMeBox and it is about the Oolu Ginseng Gold Cleansing Foam and Mist. I already shared reviews for Oolu by Dr. OhKims and reviewed the Oolu Orchid Emulsion and Toner and the Oolu Moisture Liquids previously, so if you are curious about the brand head over to my other reviews, too.

Oolu is a sister brand of Whamisa. If you know Whamisa you might already have thought about the resemblance in their packaging design and style. Both products are belonging to Dr. Ohkims Cosmetics. That is why both brands are focussing on natural cosmetic products and especially fermented plant extracts. The description for this brand stated at MeMeBox says:

“When plastic surgeons from Korea, the world’s leading nation in plastic surgery, create an organic skincare line, everyone ought to take note. The doctors behind Oolu, by Ohkims Cosmetic, believe natural beauty is the best beauty, so they curated choice floral leaves that help strengthen skin’s self-regenerating powers. A 1,656-hour fermentation process from selection to blending and steeping maximizes the natural benefits of these organic ingredients. Then the premium products, from toning mists to mask packs, are hand-made to ensure the highest quality. As they say, true beauty takes patience.”

Again, like the products I reviewed before both products are beautifully packed in flowery cardboard boxes.

What makes Oolu cosmetics so special is that the key ingredient is preserved in the fluid products. For the Oolu Moisture Liquids there were jasmine and rose petals and blossoms inside the bottles, for the there was one single Orchid Flower inside the bottle of Oolu Orchid Toner. Here, the Oolu Ginseng Gold Mist contains a piece of ginseng! Also, the ingredients used in Oolu Cosmetics are Ecocert and from organic origin and they are free from animal testing!

Oolu Ginseng Gold Cleansing Foam

I will start with my impression of the Oolu Ginseng Gold Cleansing Foam, since cleansing is usually the first step in your skincare routine. I expect from a foam cleanser to create a nice lather and be gentle to the skin by being at maximum pH 7, but even better be slightly acidy. Also, since I have dry skintype I do not like the squeaky clean feeling but prefer some moisturizing, or at least some mild formulation that doesn’t dry out.

The Oolu Ginseng Gold Cleansing Foam claims to be purifying, refreshing and moisturizing. This handmade organic cleanser is infused with Ginseng and Gold as the name already suggests. The ingredients are listed below:

Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Myristic Acid, Palm Kernel/Coco Glucoside, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Panax Ginseng Root, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Leaf Extract, Euphrasia Officinalis Extract, Alchemilla Vulgaris Extract, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Gold, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Rosewood Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil

You can also check the ingredients in COSDNA. The ingredients list is not too long and most of the ingredients are plant derived extracts. Ginseng extract, which is the key ingredient has skin conditioning properties. It is also said that it boosts the collagen production of the skin and has soothing properties. The cleanser also contains Lactobacillus and Bifida Ferment Filtrate. According to COSDNA the ingredients are all green labelled apart from the gold, which is labeled yellow. But mostly the amount of gold is so small that it won’t be responsible for any harm.

The performance of the cleanser is okay for a foam cleanser. It won’t remove your waterproof makeup completely, but all in all it cleanses the skin of most products. I measured the pH at 8 lathered up with water, which is slightly higher than I would love it to be. Still I didn’t experience drying of my skin luckily either. I guess it is an okay cleanser but probably not my first choice, although I like the ingredients lists. The Oolu Ginseng Gold Cleansing Foam comes in a plastic tube containing 130 ml.

Oolu Ginseng Gold Mist

After cleansing your face it is time for a moisturizing toner. The Oolu Ginseng Gold Mist can be used directly after using the Ginseng Gold Cleanser to lock in the moisture in your face, but since it is a mist you can also carry it around, for example during summer and use it to refresh your face. The key ingredients of the mist are the same as with the cleansing foam, ginseng and gold. According to its description it will keep your skin dewy without any stickiness, while helping brighten, firm, and reduce signs of aging. Plus, other natural extracts nourish the skin, strengthening it and preventing damage.

The ingredients of the mist are listed below:

Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Leaf Extract, Euphrasia Officinalis Extract, Alchemilla Vulgaris Extract, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Royal Jelly, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Caulerpa Lentillifera Extract, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Ginseng Root, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Gellan Gum, Adenosine, Sodium Citrate, Gold, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Rosewood Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil

You can look up the ingredients on COSDNA. Again, most of the ingredients are plant-based and green flagged.

I really love this mist! It has a liquid jelly consistency and feels like more than water on your face. It actually makes the skin feel hydrated. You can see a piece of ginseng root inside the bottle, too. The is a clip to protect the pump of the spraying bottle from being released. I kept it, in case I want to carry the mist in my bag sometime. After spraying I pat the moisture until fully absorbed and it doesn’t feel sticky on the skin at all. The pH of the mist lies at 5 which is great, because you can use actives afterwards.

The Oolu Ginseng Gold Cleansing Foam and Mist are another couple of nice products from Oolu. I love the fact that Oolu cosmetics uses natural and organic ingredients and mostly plant extracts. I also love their packaging, especially their cardboard box, design and the idea of the key ingredients inside the solutions. Out of the two products I would love to repurchase the mist! I like its texture and pH and the hydrating effect it provides. Both products are available from MeMeBox for 18 US$ (cleanser) and 28 US$ (mist).

What do you think of Oolu Cosmetics so far? Would you like to try them?

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by https://us.memebox.com/ , which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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Unboxing: YumeTwins Box November 2016 “Breakfast”

2. December 2016

TokyoTreat also offers a subscription box for Japanese cute things called YumeTwins. I received the YumeTwins Box November 2016 a couple of days ago and I’m happy to share its content with you today. The topic of this months YumeTwins Box was “Breakfast”, the most important meal of the day, as it is said!

YumeTwins Box is a monthly subscription box service located in Japan and delivering cute and kawaii stuff from Japan. They state that it centers around the terms Yume Kawaii, which is a new Kawaii movement that has developed, being a mix of cuteness, fairytale and darkness.

Each YumeTwins box contains 8-10 items reaching from plushies, squiechies, collectible keychains and figures, stationary and accessories. The box can be either subscribed monthly, or in packages of 3, 6 or 12 months. The YumeTwins Box November 2016 contains exactly 8 items and revolves around the topic “Breakfast”, since breakfast has an important role in Japanese culture. Traditional Japanese breakfast is very hearty, serving fish, rice, eggs, pickles and miso soup. But of course there is also western breakfast available in Japan.

The box was packed to the top, mainly because it contained a HUGE plushie this time: the Shinada Baby Nature Plushies are suuuper soft and fluffy and there were different types available in the boxes. My box contained a baby alpaca *_* Isn’t it adorable? The plushie is not really related to breakfast, but still it is so adorable..and maybe it can be part of a tea party instead ;)

Another Hit-item in the YumeTwins Box November 2016 were the Re-ment’s Sailor Moon Sweets Mascot. These are blind boxes containing one out of 6 cute and tasty looking Sailor Moon themed charms. In my box the Tuxedo charm was included. Since the charms are designed as sweets this fits nicely into the breakfast topic.

Another charm was also part of this month’s box: the Sumikko Gurashi Sushi Rubber Keychain Charm! In Japan you can have Sushi for breakfast at fish markets, although it is not really a typical breakfast food. Still, the key charms are so cute and I love the rubber material they have.

Japan is known for their adoreable stationary and of course the box needed some notepads, too. My box contained a Obento Mate Mini-Notepad, illustrated with cute pandas/bears and typical food which is part of a japanese bento (onigiri, bunny-apple-slices, octopus sausages…). I love these kind of mini-notepads!

More stationary of course: the Sanrio Kirimichan Post-Its and Sanrio Gudetama stickers! I know you guys love Gudetama and lately there have been so many fun beauty product collaborations with this egg mascot. Egg is the key breakfast product in most countries all over the world, so it is super fitting into the breakfast theme. Kirimichan is not so well-known as Gudetama, but it is also a food themed character from Sanrio, depicting a salmon piece. Fish is very important in traditional Japanese breakfast, so this one fits in perfect, too!

I fell in love with the Rilakkuuma Tea Party Darjeeling Tea Bags at first sight. These adorable teabags have a cardboard Rilakkuuma illustration which acts as a holder for the teabag on the same time. So adorable and perfect for a tealover, especially for breakfast!

The last item of the YumeBox November 2016 is the Enogumasan 2-Way Marker. Enogumasan is a bear character from popular japanese stationary maker Kamio. The marker has two sides, a thicker and a thin side. And of course it is super cute. Not necessarily a breakfast themed products but still I love it!

YumeTwins Box made me totally happy and I love the concept of this subscription box. If you are a Japan stationary and cute stuff lover you will adore this box. I love how they have a theme for it and try to find products that fit to the theme. In the magazine which is included in the box you will find the descriptions from the products but also some more information about the topic, which also gives you more insight about japanese culture. The YumeTwins Box retails for 29.99 US $ including worldwide shipping. The 3,6, and 12 month plans have a discounted price. EDIT: I just read the news that they made a Makeover for YumeTwins Box. The new YumeTwins Box will contain only 5 items, but they will include in EACH Box high Quality plushies, lifestyle goods and premium character goods worth over 50 US$. The new YumeTwins Box changes are based on a survey among their subscribers. For their launch there is a Grand Renewal Sale, where subscribers can get UP TO $60 DISCOUNT on the YumeTwins plans until Dec 8th, 2016 using coupon NEWYUMETWINS! Don’t miss your chance to try it!

If you are interested in TokyoTreat and YumeTwins Box visit their webpage, their instagram, or their facebook page.

What do you think about YumeBox?

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by https://tokyotreat.com which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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Unboxing: Fembox October 2016

29. November 2016

A couple of days ago I received a newly launche beauty box on the German market, the so-called fem.box. This monthly subscription box comes packed with products revolving around beauty, fashion, lifestyle and health. I loved the composition of the first fem.box and here I want to share with you what was inside:

The ambassador of the fem.box is Fernanda Brandao is a brasilian singer, actress, moderator and fitness expert that gained popularity in Germany by the pop group “Hot Banditoz”. She also has hadquite some TV appearances here in Germany within the last years. The fem.box advertises not only to be a box for beauty lovers also, but have more versatile components. And I must say the first box really lived up to its claim.

The products of the fem.box are packed in a square cardboard box. I really liked the blue and purple aquarell design of the box. It came with a description card and a post card saying “being happy”, which is super sweet.

First of all the box was packed with so many products that they did not fit into the box. Secondly, there was really so many different kinds of products that it was really a delight to discover all the single ones. See for yourself how many products were in this box:

And here is the card with the product description and some tips for being lucky:

Since it is a beauty box there were some beauty products included. The new Herbal Essences Clearly Naked Daily Clean Shampoo was the first thing that caught my attention. I didn’t see that shampoo in the drugstore yet and so I was super curious about it. It is free from silicons and free from artificial coloring and can be used daiuly without damaging the hair. I didn’t try it yet, but I will let you know about it as soon as I tried it. The bottle contains 250 ml and retails for 2.49 €.

The fe,box also contained a daily moisturizer, the M.Asam Aqua Intense Supreme Hyaluron Cream. This perfume free moisturizer is directed towards dull and dry skin and makes your skin smooth. As the name says it contains Hyaluronic Acid to giuve moisture to your skin. The jar contains 50 ml which retails for 24.75 €. I’m looking forward to try this one too, as you know I have dry skin and I’m always happy about moisturizing creams.

The Koziol Cotton Pad Dispenser and the Demak’Up Expert Cotton Pads are a perfect team aswell. I never had a cotton pad dispenser before, but now, since I have one, I do not want to miss it anymore. It is fixed in my bathroom now and makes it so easy to take out the cotton pads. And it looks pretty, too! The Demak’Up Expert Cotton Pads are great too! They are quite dense and have a honeycomb pattern, which helps with cleaning the skin even better. The dispenser retails for 22.45€ and the cotton pads (70 pcs) retails for 1.59€.

As for health and fitness, the box came with three products: the #DoYourSports “Black Cat Double Fascia Ball, The Women’s Best High-Protein Pralinées and the Kulau Organic Coconut Water Renew. I never tried a fascia ball before but I heard and can do great stuff for shape and soreness. This ball is designed to massage along your spine. It retails for 12.99€. The Women’s Best High Protein Pralineés are a sweet snack with a high protein content. Perfect to satisfy your sweetooth and still take care of your diet. 8 of these pralinées retail for 2.39€. The Kula Organic Coconut Water Renew is a slightly sweetened coconut water. For sweetening agave syrup is used. Additionally it contains vitamins and anti-oxidants from aronia berry and pomgrenades. It retails for 2.49€.

The highlight of the box is the Welcome Gift they provided with this fem.box: a Paul Hewitt “Phrep” bracelet. This maritim bracelet retails for 29.90€ and looks simply beautiful when combined with the right style and accessories.

According to the maritim colors and the anchor clasp you can guess already that Paul Hewitt is from northern Germany. I love the vibe it delivers and I can already smell the ocean and hear the seagulls :D

All in all, the fem.box October 2016 was really a total surprise! It contained so many items and the price of 19.95€ per box/month is a real steal here. The subscription can also be quit every month if you do not want your box anymore and the shipping costs are included in the price. The box only ships to Germany at the moment, but since it has just launched who knows what the future brings to us!

How do you like this new subscription box?

Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by https://fit.fembox.de which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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Review: Hansaeng Cosmetics Rin Bi-Gyeol Yun Cream

21. November 2016

Another hanbang Korean skincare product review for you! I reviewed a product from this brand and skincare line before so maybe some of you still remember. Today’s review is about the Hansaeng Cosmetics Rin Bi-Gyeol Yun Cream provided to me by BNTnews

Hansaeng Cosmetics claims to be a true oriental medicine based cosmetics company with a know-how reaching back to 50 years experience. Their Rin Bi-Gyeol Yun skincare range is a highly functional oriental cosmetics based on fermentation of ginseng- 6 year fermented ginseng and 15 other oriental medicine extracts to be more precise! The skincare products of this range consists of a toner (skin), essence, emulsion, and a cream. I reviewed the emulsion before and here is now my experience with the cream from the line.

I really like oriental medicine in my skincare and I love fermented ingredients, too, so this line seems to be perfect. The Hansaeng Cosmetics Rin Bi-Gyeol Yun Cream has anti-wrinkle and whitening properties and is supposed to help you with dry and dull skin and vitalize and make your skin feel supple. Already the emulsion fulfilled all these points and I loved to use it as my daily moisturizer. The cream even gives you more of what already the emulsion gives.

The beautifully illustrated cardboard box contains the description of the product and the ingredients in English and Korean. You can check the ingredients via COSDNA >>here<< and you will find some minor potential acne triggers and irritant but most of the ingredients are green flagged. The key ingredients are niacinamide (brightening) and adenosin (anti-wrinkle). Phellinus linteus, Mulberry root, and gold help to strengthen the skin and make it smooth. You will find even a lot more herbal ingredients in the list, which combine to this rich and thick cream. Apart from these ingredients you will also find fermented ginseng (Lactobacillus).

The Hansaeng Cosmetics Rin Bi-Gyeol Yun Cream comes in a yellow colored jar encapsulated by a plexiglass shell. The material and the golden-colored lid gives it a very luxurious appearance. Inside the jar you will find a thick light-yellow colored cream.

The cream is really rich and suited especially for very dry skintypes or mature skin. I have dry skin but the emulsion had been enough in terms of richness, so this has to be applied very carefully. A little goes a long way! Despite being rich the cream doesn’t make the skin greasy but leaves it bouncy. When applying to much you will feel the heaviness though. There is a flowery scent to the cream, which is pleasant, but could be too much for people who prefer scentless products.

I think that the Hansaeng Cosmetics Rin Bi-Gyeol Yun Cream makes good choice for people who have a lot of dryness and flaky skin. It really helps to smoothen out and nourish the skin but is not greasy as pure oil. For normal dry skintypes the emulsion is already more than enough for a daily moisturizer, but people with mature skin and super dry skintype will love the cream.

The Hansaeng Cosmetics Rin Bi-Gyeol Yun Cream contains 50 ml and retails for 40.95 US $ from Kmall24. You can find more information in English >>here<<.

This product was provided to me by BNTnews for reviewing. You can find my previous reviews for BNTnews >>here<<. And visit BNTnews for the latest Korean news and trends:

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.bntnews.co.uk/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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