I was reading online flyers on Friday morning – as you do! – and I came across this:
Shiseido gift with purchase (gwp) with $43 spend! I’ve been itching to replenish some Shiseido skincare so I hopped over to the counter at Hudson’s Bay on Queen Street.
Happy Labour Day! Hope you’re enjoying the long weekend! And welcome to another collab with the Canuck gang! We are once again, trying to chip away at some beauty products in our stash. This time we are choosing 12 items to try to pan / empty. The length of this project will be for 3 months, all the way until December! 🙂
Today we’ll be introducing you to the items we selected for this project.
It’s Trash Stash time again!
My empties were heavier on the skincare front this month.
Earlier this year, when I asked for suggestions for what to redeem for during the Optimum Points Redemption event, the Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation was a recommendation by Kazzmarie. I originally selected the shade 20 Classic Ivory, but then I was worried it was too light, so I exchanged it unopened for the next shade up, 25 Nude Beige.
It normally retails for C$17.99 for 30ml.
Happy July 4th to my American friends! Hope you’re enjoying the extra day off. We Canadians just came out of a long weekend and are cursing you guys right now… 😆
Since I missed May’s Trash Stash, this is a combined empties post for both months. Hold onto your hats!
I finished some long-time favourites and items that have been with me for years.
Today I’ll discuss some of my observations and experiences in shopping for makeup in Japan. Hopefully this will help someone out there who might be taking a trip to Japan.
First thing. There are SO. MANY. BRANDS.
It’s overwhelming! In an average Canadian drugstore, there may be about 8 key brands. In Japan, there’s at least double that amount. And some of them look so similar, it’s hard to distinguish between them (cue joke about how all Asians look alike 😛 ) I spent some visits in the beginning just surveying my options and noting down potential buys without buying anything – I didn’t want to buy things I’d regret. As far as I know, there are no returns on makeup in Japan.
Yeah you were all waiting for this, weren’t you! 😛
Personally, I didn’t think I went completely overboard with makeup shopping. For one thing, I was supremely worried about wandering around Tokyo at night by myself to go shopping. Why I had to go shopping in the evenings was because my days were filled with sightseeing! And then, by the evening, I was so tired from walking around all day, I didn’t spend too much time shopping. Also, I was shopping rather critically: lots of Japanese makeup is super sparkly and sheer. If it wasn’t something I’d truly use, I passed on it – so that left me with a more narrow band of items I’d spend my money on (not to mention, haul home). Here’s what I got:
CANMAKE
• Marshmallow Finish Powder in MO Matte Ochre and MB Matte Beige Ochre
• Cream Cheek in #05 Sweet Apricot and #14 Apple Cream Red (I swear I had another shade in my basket but it didn’t make it home with me!)
• Gokubuto mascara (volumizing)
• Gokunobi mascara (lengthening)
• Colourful Nails polish in #33 Pink Glitter
• Lasting Multi Eyebase WP (eye shadow primer)
I had some ideas of brands I’d want to look at when I was in Japan. I originally glossed over Canmake as being too girly for me. But it turns out their products are quite well reviewed and very reasonably priced! I ended up researching a lot on @cosme awards (which seems to be the Japanese makeup Bible) to find out which items to try and several of these were award winners. I do wish I’d gotten more cheek products – they have so many cute ones to choose from.
I’m a very light packer when it comes to makeup during vacation. I’ve learned over the years that I end up not using at least half of what I pack when I give myself too many options. While on holidays, I essentially stick to one makeup look. Here’s my makeup menu for the next 2 weeks:
• Lorac Behind the Scenes Eyeshadow primer
• Shiseido Sheer & Perfect Foundation in O20 – I debated about which foundation to bring (the Vincent Long Water Canvas was a contender) and this one ultimately won out because it contains SPF, wears well, and can be applied with fingers.
• Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector – the glass pot is too cumbersome to pack with me so I’ve scooped out a little bit into this tiny sample container (review here)
• Shiseido Natural Finish Cream Concealer in #2 Light Medium – I also debated about which concealer(s) to bring. At first I was going to bring a separate one for under eye and another for general face concealing. This one is a good all-around concealer – I don’t love it for under eyes but it’s workable. Unfortunately, I think this concealer is discontinued.
• MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in NC15/NW20 – I compromised by bringing a concealing pencil – I like this concealer pencil for pinpoint concealing and it’s handy for highlighting the brow area or inner eye.
While I tend to pack light for my makeup, I don’t skim when it comes to skincare when I travel. I am fastidious in my skincare regime and I still maintain separate products for day and night time.
This is why it’s important for me to hoard travel sizes of my favourite products when I find them! If not, I just decant them into travel size containers.
As you may know, I’m leaving soon for a 2 week vacation to Japan! You guys can’t even imagine the excitement of preparing a shopping list for freakin’ Japan! 😀
😮
Before Korean cosmetics took the world by storm, Japanese makeup was the main Asian makeup game in town. I remember pouring over online resources to learn about the various Japanese brands and subsidiaries (Kanebo, Shiseido, Kose and Sana own the lion’s share of brands – Shiseido has so many sub-brands, it’s hard to keep them straight), and placing many orders online for Japanese cosmetics. Now, I finally get to see this stuff firsthand!
stash matters 