Quick review: Sana Namerakahonpo Cleansing Oil

Product Description
Soymilk cleansing oil removes makeup thoroughly, leaving skin soft and supple. Quickly blends with water-proof mascara and makeup in clogged pores and removes makeup thoroughly at once.

At 1000yen for 120mL, its one of the most affordable oil cleansers I've come across. I bought mine from Adam Beauty for US$13.50. DHC would cost $15.00 for the same quantity, while MAC would cost $16.80.

Comes in a convenient pump bottle which doesn't look half bad on your bathroom sink. There is a clip on ring around the pump that you can keep to prevent the pump from being pressed accidentally (resulting in product leakage) when not in use.

Pros
- inexpensive
- easy way to remove base makeup and eyeshadow thoroughly
- packaging is quite nice for a drugstore product
- fragrance free

Cons
- does not remove some types of waterproof mascara completely
- mineral oil based (but then so is Shu Uemura's oil)
- may not clean enough to be a cleanser by itself, I definitely needed to use a separate face wash afterward.

Overall
Great make-up remover for anyone on a budget. Just be prepared to supplement it with a good waterproof eye makeup remover and facial wash as this won't do it all.

Harajuku Lovers giveaway winner!

Quick post before bed.

So in total there were 39 entries that qualified (met the stated criteria). I went to Random.org to pick a number which came up with:



which corresponds to: Danno!

Congrats! Please email me at spicysalmonroll[at]gmail with your Name, Mailing Address, and Phone number ASAP so I can provide them to the Sponsor.


Important - you must send me the information today, as soon as possible the better, as the sponsor wants the winners to be finalized by end of today Oct 23.

Thanks to all who entered! Look out for my blog anniversary giveaway next, which will be open internationally.

cool heat

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my haircut! Actually I didn't change my haircolour at all so its probably just the lighting that might make it seem brownish.

Maya Hair Salon is located in Koreatown, halfway between the Bathurst and Christie subway stations. Here's their contact info:

635 Bloor St W, Toronto
416-588-1480

They do get very crowded on weekends, so be sure to make an appointment! Also they only open Sat not Sun. Even with an appointment once it hits afternoon they tend to fall behind in their schedule, so try to make your appointment in the morning. The name of the stylist I had was Toshi.

There's also an Amore store selling Laneige products that you'll pass if you walk from Christie station to the salon (or the other way around).

***

Anyway enough of hair, back to makeup :P Here's a look I did a long, long time ago, during the summer months.




Eyeshadow was from the Best of Becca Palette, and bottom blue was from Guerlain Terracotta Kohl in Lagoon Bleu (LE colour).



Mascara used was Guerlain le 2 in Bleu Cerise (an LE colour). I know I've said it before but Guerlain mascara is quite possibly the best I've used in a while. It volumizes AND lengthens, and I like how you get two brushes, a regular size for lashes and a mini brush for lower lashes or just for extra definition. If you were to get the Guerlain le2 mascara though don't get a waterproof version unless you are prepared to spend some time removing it with even the best makeup removers. Lancome Bi-Facil is supposed to be the best waterproof makeup remover there is, but on this mascara it still takes a while to get everything off! Usually I'll think its all off but then wake up the next morning with blue under my eyes...lol

Anyway don't forgot that my giveaway for Canadians ends tomorrow night! Sorry to Quebecers and international readers who were unable to enter....but my 2nd blog anniversary is coming up in 2 weeks and there will be some prizes from me personally up for grabs :)

Harajuku Lovers Giveaway Contest - 3 days only!

Here's another opportunity for Canadians* to win a set of Harajuku Lovers fragrances**! Approximate retail value is $250:




How to enter:

1. Be a follower of my blog (feel free to join now if this is your first time here!)
2. Leave a comment on this post, telling me which is your favourite Harajuku girl / fragrance and why.
3. Optional: You may obtain an additional entry by posting about this contest on your blog and leaving a second comment with the post URL.

Contest closes this Thursday, Oct 22 at 11.59pm EST so only a few days to enter!

I will draw a name at random and announce the winner in a new post on Friday Oct 23. To claim their prize the winner needs to provide me with their name, mailing address, and phone number by end of the same day Friday Oct 23. The info is required by the sponsor to ship out the prize pack.

Please read the eligibility rules below before entering. Good luck!

*Eligibility: To enter and be eligible to win, an entrant must be a legal resident of Canada (excluding Quebec) who is over the age of majority in their province or territory of residence. Employees of or those residing with an employee of Coty Canada Inc, the Sponsor or Host, their agents, representatives, parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and dealers, advertising and promotional agencies, sponsors, suppliers of prizes, materials or services related to this contest, including the independent judging organization are not eligible to enter this contest.
This contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations.
Each entrant is only eligible to win one (1) prize during the Contest Period.

**Prizes sponsored by Matchstick & Coty Inc.

*** UPDATE: I've noticed a few comments that aren't entries just questions, or don't qualify (anonymous comments not allowed unless they contact me with a good explanation beforehand). Thats fine just note that comments that don't qualify will NOT be counted in the draw, to be fair to all participants.

Atlantis

Sorry for neglecting the blog for a bit...I snuck away on vacation for a few days last week :) Did quite a bit of wallet damage due to the favourable exchange rate, so I really should put myself on a shopping ban for the rest of the year.

Here are some questions from my last post:

this colour looks very different from the tube, to your swatches to your lips. did your natural lip colour alter it ?

Since the colour is rather sheer yes the shade you get with just one layer will be different. But if you layer it a few times the colour you get will be more like the lip swatch picture. The picture of it in the tube is brighter than in real life due to my camera acting strange. (My camera seems to warp the colour of lipsticks in tube form and make them redder than they really are)

and its just the lipstick? no lipbalm or gloss?

Yep just lipstick :) I actually forgot to bring my lipbalm on vacation but didn't want to buy another lipbalm since I have about 6 lying around the place. So I just used this product for lipbalm and it worked beautifully. Just had to be more careful about application since this particular colour is quite bright.


At Alienman's request here are pictures of China Glaze Atlantis that I picked up from Sally's Beauty Supply with their get $3 off 2 glitter/chrome polishes:



To get this colour / glitter intensity was 2 coats, would be even better with 3. I also used Seche Vite top coat to cut down on drying time.



I don't know what it is with me and glitter polishes, but with me they don't last - Atlantis chipped on me after 2 days, same with my Canmake glitter polish.



Within a few days almost half the polish was gone on some fingers :/ Now it could just be me abusing my nails since I was travelling, so I'll give it another chance. Or maybe Seche Vite doesn't go well with glitter polish because it doesn't really give them a chance to dry?


Also Alienman requested pics of my new haircut. I got my hair cut about a week ago at Maya Hair Salon again. The stylist this time was pretty good. If anyone in Toronto feels like trying the place ask for Toshi. Cost me only $25 for wash, cut, and blow dry. Gotta love Koreatown for cheap haircuts :)



Similar to before, just styled nicer by him with more layers so it doesn't look as heavy.



To show the layers:



Yeah now I just need to learn how to blow dry my hair like that again. Bf commented my hair doesn't look as nice as when I first came back from the salon >.<

Mango Pink

Korres Mango lipstick SPF 10



Packaging is clean and sleek. The tube has a heavier feel compared with the Guava lipstick, which is nice - it feels like you're holding a good quality product.

The colour I got is Pink 17, which looks scarily bright in the tube but is a sheer wearable reddish pink:




Swatch:

Top - one swipe
Bottom - two swipes



The colour is buildable so even with my pigmented lips this shade does show up.


Lip swatch:



Very moist and glossy. Not *quite* as moist as some Japanese lipsticks (i.e. T'estimo) but still pretty darn good for a Western brand. I can't remember how it compares with MAC Slimshines because I don't own any at the moment, but its probably similar if not better.

Price wise it is more affordable than the Korres Guava lipsticks at US$18 for 3.4g/0.12oz. It is also more in line with MAC pricing which is US$16 for 0.1oz of their regular bullet lipsticks.

Overall, its the polar opposite of the Guava lipsticks I reviewed previously. While the Guava lipsticks were pigmented and slightly drying, the Mango lipsticks is sheer and moisturizing.

Any of you tried Korres lipsticks / glosses? What do you think?

Spicy salmon roll

I've changed my blog contact email, as some of my emails were going missing and I had no idea til I was told later...I'm guessing it might be the spelling "watercolour" that may be causing issues...not sure. But just to be safe, I've changed it to something completely different: spicysalmonroll [at] gmail [dot] com.

Also here's an update on my blogsale - if you buy anything between now and Oct 10 (a week from now) you get 20% off your order!


Here's a couple of questions from my previous post:

Chi asked if the Korres Guava lipsticks were hydrating - no actually they are a bit on the dry side, so you definitely need to have lip balm on underneath.

Alienman asked if I have any lip exfoliators I'd recommend - I usually just use a bit of my face exfoliator (Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Refiner / aspirin honey mask) if needed. I'm sure a bit of homemade sugar scrub + honey would work just as well too :)


The past few weeks have been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride for me...so I guess I haven't really felt like blogging or even putting on a full face of makeup. But anyway I'm going on vacation mid-Oct (less than 2 weeks yay :)) so hopefully things will be better once I get a chance to unwind a bit. I do apologize for my absence and thank all those who still check for new posts!

In any case here's a makeover I got at MAC a while back...using products from the Makeup Art Cosmetics collection and Starflash:



I think the cheeks are overdone in my opinion, I blame the Cheek and Cheerful mineralize blush she used on me. At first she only used The Perfect Cheek, which was fine, and then asked me if I wanted her to use a highlighter. Should've said no to that.

In any case the base makeup was done well. Lipcolour was Shy Girl cremesheen lipstick.




The eyeshadow blending was pretty good. I had asked her for a smokey eye but emphasized that I didn't want heavy liner all around:



I think the eyeshadow colours she used here were Vex to highlight and on inner corner, Smoke and Diamonds on outer 2/3 of eyelid, and some Carbon in the crease to darken.



Brun was used to fill in the eyebrows, Blacktrack fluidline to line. I loved that she asked me if I usually curled my lashes, and because I said yes she curled them. In all the makeovers I've ever done the makeup artists NEVER use a lash curler, probably because its hard to use it on someone else (or maybe to save time). Major points for her for doing that :)


Next up - a quick review of the Korres Mango lipstick

Remember, 20% off anything you buy from my blogsale between now and Oct 10 (a week from now) :)