1. sweet_honeydew says:

   July 23, 2015 at 9:39 pm

   That lip gloss packaging is soooo pretty! And I have something similar to that Pmel under eye color that I got from Tokyo fron canmake. It’s suppose to make your under eye appear more bright and sparkly like in those dolls or animes, lol.

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   • jenny says:

     July 23, 2015 at 10:08 pm

     Baby fat eye bags need to be on point! I have those bags a little but sometimes mine are muuuch larger than the cute baby fat ideal hahahaha! I find that white shadow works better than this beige for really bringing attention to them but this is still nice. What color was your canmake version?

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     • sweet_honeydew says:

       July 24, 2015 at 11:27 am

       It’s light beige and has some white sparkles to it, lol.

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2. Moni says:

   July 26, 2015 at 11:27 am

   You know, I’m not even sure if aegyosal is still a Thing. I feel like it might still be considered cute, but looks don’t necessarily enhance it like they used to? Now I gotta go check out makeup tutorials on YouTube :P

   I got super excited for that Royal Apothic because I thought it was called “Lip Tintin”, LOL

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   • jenny says:

     July 27, 2015 at 10:33 am

     That’s what I figured. I haven’t seen it around much but these days I’m reading Japanese magazines that are more about lifestyle than “fashion” so I’ve removed myself from the trendy life! I actually spent some time today visiting sites of Japanese makeup brands to see what they’re promoting haha *nostalgia.”

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3. Annapearl says:

   July 27, 2015 at 10:04 am

   Jenny, what’s your take on the ingredients Japanese make up brands use?
   I think Japanese manufacturers accross the board have lower standards for toxicity (for example, muji erasing pen was banned in Canada because of toxic ingredients).
   As a person who’s seen the back labels of many many Japanese products, what would you say regarding their safety?

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   • jenny says:

     July 27, 2015 at 11:02 am

     Preface with “I’m no expert” but I have seen things come in, for example, a shampoo I once bought was marked with a warning for California due to a substance that may or may not have links to cancer that only Calf. has warnings for. So, it depends on how cautious you are. Some refuse substitute sweeteners because there’s speculation that they could be a link to cancer but that doesn’t stop it from being on every restaurant table in the US.

     I wouldn’t assume that because an ink pen (?) from Muji (low-cost brand) contained a “toxin” (I could not find news about this to be honest so if you could link me, awesome!) that 1 first-world nation bans but not another that the original nation has toxins throughout their manufactured products.

     I find a lot of Japanese drugstore brands use higher quality ingredients than North American drugstore brands. Less mica, more pigments, etc. They also have “free” products brands similar to Butter London with their “5 free” polish.

     If you’re unsure about trusting these products I’d suggest avoiding them altogether for your own peace of mind. I myself used to squirm at the amount of aluminum in deodorant (may have links to Alzheimer’s) but in the end I’m just /whatever/ and I sweat too damn much to go some all natural route.

     Mmmmm good discussion topic really.

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4. Annapearl says:

   July 30, 2015 at 12:12 am

   Thank you for your reply. About Muji, I got the erasable pen from my Japanese friend and when I went to Muji store and asked about it, the worker said that they won’t be having it ever because some ingredient got banned. Now i have to ask ppl to mail it to me. Bummer. So, yeah, I guess the accuracy of that info depends on that person’s professionalism.

   Well, the thing for me, I tend to break out if products have a lot of “chem goo” (and itchy skin irritations sometimes). Products that have simplier and more natural content work better and just a safer bet (no risk of tossing full bottles) for me.

   Back in uni my roommate was from Japan and we shared some cosme, but fragrances and other additives were too much in them.

   Essentially, i wish i could use innovative Japanese products, but ordering online is gamble. As a blogger you’ve probably tested tonns more stuff than I

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   • jenny says:

     July 31, 2015 at 12:19 pm

     Another thought, because you mentioned innovative products, I find that anything innovative /eventually/ gets copied by western brands. It can take a few years but it happens. Most recently “cushion-compacts” have been picked up from Korean brands that have been doing it for seasons! And I remember years ago not being able to find “lip concealer” or “gel-like top coats” in the US and then they started coming out with them. To this day I still use Dior’s version of Ettusais’s gel top coat.

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5. Annapearl says:

   July 30, 2015 at 12:15 am

   My general sentiment has been that Japanese natural products are as rare as Japanese vegans (lol). Was wondering what your take perspective on that was :)

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   • jenny says:

     July 30, 2015 at 10:54 am

     Oh you just wanted to discuss it?! Because I was surprised to read you still used that pen and went out of your way to order it! I thought you were asking because you were worried about using the makeup, in which case I’d just say skip the hype because it didn’t seem worth it for your needs.

     I’ve seen “natural” sections in about the same amount of drugstores while in Japan as I do in the US. All natural makeup is still a very niche market but some brands are worldwide, like LUSH’s makeup line (which is a UK company.) The only line’s in US drugstores that come to mind is Burt’s Bees and some of Physician’s Formula. Then a few off-hand products within larger non-natural brands that you can find overseas too. The same is for Japan. Even the local Japanese market here carries some all-natural lines. A few skincare items I’ve posted on my blog before. And you can find Burt’s Bees easily in Japan. Even the popular cosme.net is currently featuring organic lines:

     http://www.cosme.net/bloombox/?route=cms/page/naturalbox&1507at_pc_1push

     My perspective is I don’t think there is much of a difference between makeup when it comes to ingredients between N/A and Japanese brands. Brand to brand of course but not overall.

     I see natural beauty lines promoted constantly in the Japanese magazines I read (Lee, Mart) but if I only read Vivi or Popteen I’d never see those lines. It’s about the audience. Veganism is popular in the US because it’s a lifestyle, a trend. That trend is slowly exporting throughout the world. Of course there are people who must eat vegan, for religion, or condition, or truly passionate reasons! But there are many who eat Vegan because it’s popular. Because it’s sold as a trend for health and that it somehow makes the life you live better. More meaningful. And many who have disordered eating pick it up as well. So keeping that in mind, it’s easier to understand the differences between the two countries rather than rating one against the other as “better.”

     Also, I would suggest NOT sharing makeup with anyone in the future /ever/ unless you sterilize with 90%+ alcohol between each use! Bacterial swapping is a quick way to get a breakout or infection :(. Hopefully that never happened for you guys though!

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     • Annapearl says:

       July 31, 2015 at 12:55 am

       Hey! Thanx for the link. I had no idea about these brands. Chant a Charm looks so promising. Yeah, im not a beauty pro so i guess im easily impressed with products like “barrier balm” or “essense” or “body milk” (cuz its not typical western stuff…to me at least). To its great to have an alternative!

       Reply
6. Annapearl says:

   July 31, 2015 at 1:03 am

   Its great that u can read in Japanese and keep up with publications. U always had tons of scans (if im not mistaken, ages ages ago u even had a link with all your scans). I liked Used Mix and i know about because you recommended it :)

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   • jenny says:

     July 31, 2015 at 12:14 pm

     Yeah I used to have a whole site dedicated to scanning then a few years later sites like fujisan and ebay made it easier to buy magazines so I didn’t feel I needed to spend as much scanning them in to share after a while. I still scan sometimes but it seems seasonal now. The actual sites for magazines share a lot of inspiration stuff these days too!

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7. Annapearl says:

   July 31, 2015 at 1:06 am

   In hindsight sharing products is not good. But when you are young and broke the standards get low. Hehe. As for veganism, it was a kind of joke (but maybe not funny) lol srry.
   Anyway, thanx for sharing info! Xoxo

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   • jenny says:

     July 31, 2015 at 12:11 pm

     Hahhahahaha hey I’ve totally been there! You think of sharing makeup as the same as sharing pencils!

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8. ann says:

   August 1, 2015 at 1:29 pm

   i always love heroine make eyeliner as the outcome is bold in single line and so far it’s my fave japanese brand eyeliner !but im kinda intrigued with of what many people say that dollywink eyeliner is the best,have you ever try it ? :)

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   • jenny says:

     August 2, 2015 at 10:17 am

     Yep! I’ve tried both. I found Dolly Wink’s to be a bit better for me than heroine but k-palette was the best I’ve ever tried. My lids gets oily easily even with primers.

     You might like this post:

     http://sushi-cat.net/2014/03/23/lightning-round-of-reviews/#makeup

     Reply

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