Canmake Cheek Gradation review

The last of my Canmake haul, Cheek Gradation in 04 - Chocolate Stripe and 05 - Peach Stripe.

Left: Peach Stripe. Right: Chocolate Stripe.

Swatches of Peach Stripe. From left: all four colours swirled together; a rusty coral; a dirty peach; a frosty pink; and a frosty white pink. 

From left, darkest to lightest stripe.

The finish is definitely shimmery xD

Swatches of Chocolate Stripe. From left, all four colours swirled together; a chocolate brown; a rusty bronze; a frosty light beige;  and a frosty yellow white.

From left, darkest to lightest stripe.

Close up of all four colours swirled together.

I was originally drawn to these because they reminded me of my beloved Dior Shimmer powders xD
Just like the Dior powders, these are very soft and finely milled, however, unlike the Dior, they are a lot more pigmented and can be used alone as a blusher for those with light to medium skin tones.
You could probably also compare these to the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks, however, the Canmake powder has more of a pearly shimmer finish, whereas Bobbi has more of a frosty finish..
The idea is to use the dark and the light colours separately to create dimension on your face, I'm far too lazy to do this so I just swipe my brush over all four stripes and use it as a blush xD
Peach stripe gives a lovely peachy pink glow that is comparable to a sheerer version of NARS Orgasm. I plan to use Chocolate stripe as some kind of bronzer in the summer months.
The powder comes with a brush, it's flat and synthetic, using it will guarantee you clown cheeks xD I keep imagining it'll be pretty decent as a foundation brush!
Staying power is around 5 hours.

Damage:
I paid about $12 for mine, but you can get it in Japan for significantly cheaper.

Verdict:
If you find Bobbi Brown shimmer brick too frosty and Dior Shimmer powders too light in pigmentation and too heavy in price, then give these a try!

Canmake Nudy Glow review

More Canmake xD
I got Nudy Glow lipgloss in 01 - Rose Macaroon, 02 - Strawberry Whip, and 04 - Sugar Milk Tea.

Swatches: from left 04; 02; and 01. Haha I have no idea why I've got it backwards xD

Natural lip colour:

Lip swatch: 01 Rose Macaroon

02 Strawberry Whip

04 - Sugar Milk Tea

Close up of the brush:

These glosses are really pigmented, semi-sticky, and have a creamy, glossy finish. Lasting time is a good 4-5 hours. The formula is thicker than that of your average glosses, which makes application just that much more tricky with the brush applicator. I hate brush applicators -__- they're so difficult to apply with precision and I inevitably end up with gloopey lips >__> ah well...
Other than the brush applicator, the other thing I dislike about this gloss is that it does tend to settle into my lip lines T.T
I think they come in 5/6 colours which are all in the nude pink/beige family, hence the name?lol xD my favourite colour is Rose Macaroon!
As always, I find a bit to complain about packaging wise; while the bottom half of the gloss is quite pretty, the lid feel really cheap >__>

Damage:

I paid $11 or so, I believe they're like $5-6 in Japan. For those of you who live in Vancouver, Canmake is sold at Aberdeen Centre for highly jacked up prices xD

Verdict:

Other than deducting points for brush applicator and the formula, these glosses are pigmented, creamy and moisturising. They actually remind me a lot of MAC's Cremesheens which are twice the price with much less product. If you can get hold of them, you should really try them out as they are really superb glosses for the price!

How a $2 face scrublet changed the condition of my skin a.k.a. Daiso face scrublet review

So the bf abandoned me at Aberdeen centre the other day when he went to go play hockey >_>....

Ok, ok! I refused to sit in the hockey rink cos it stinks of old socks xD I just like to make out like I was tragically abandoned heehee!

As usual, I ended up browsing Daiso while I was there and happened upon this little gem here:

What is it exactly? you may ask. Well, it reminded me of this:

It's a small silicone pad with tiny silicone bristles.

Directions on back of package. 

According to the directions, you're suppose to pour your face wash onto the pad, mix with a bit of water, rub it on your palms until it foams and then rub it onto your face. It claims to clear away excess oil, debris and dead skin to leave your skin less clogged up and smoother.

So does it work? What do you think of these photos?

I've been using the scrublet for about 2 weeks and I can definitely see an improvement in the texture of my skin! It is brighter, smoother, and even the blackhead colony on my nose has visibly improved!I would say my normally crater sized pores have shrunk a little...or am I just imagining it? One of the negatives of being away from the blogging world for a while is that you have no recent photos of your skin to compare it to -__-

Pros:

Brighter, smoother skin.

Soft bristles, gentle enough to be used daily even on sensitive skin.

Lessens blackheads.

Just use with your usual facewash, no need to buy something new xD

Tightens pores?

Cons:

Small handle, difficult to hold on to when wet.

I have no idea where you can buy this other than at Daiso.

Damage: CAN$2

Verdict: Come on, for $2 what have you got to lose?

Canmake Cream Cheek review

So recently through the kindness of a fellow blogger, I got my greedy little paws on a small Canmake haul xD. I don't want to put her name out here in case others start bugging her for CPs. She does not do CPs, and did this purely out of the kindness of her heart as a favour for me.
Thank you very very much babe! xD
As part of my haul, I got 2 of Canmake's Cream Cheek blushes in 01: Dream Peach and 04: Vitamin Orange.

Swatches: left is Dream Peach and right is Vitamin Orange.

I don't know if I've ever told you guys but for some reason, orange based blushes never work on me. I was probably the only one in the whole world who bought MAC's infamous Ripe Peach blush and then returned it. Orange blush tends to turn rusty on me and make me look like an Oompa Loompa, so it must've been some strange cosmic reason that made me pick out Vitamin Orange, and I'm so glad I did!
It might look really scary in the pan, but it's actually really sheer once it's blended out and on my NC20 yellow based skin, it just looks really natural.
Texture wise, it's really soft and light, and dries to an almost powdery finish. It does take a while to dry though, so unlike the MUFE HD blush (the only other type of cream blush I own) you don't have work fast to blend it out. Finish is matte, but it does leave a glow.
Staying power is a not the greatest, and if I don't touch up some time during the day, nothing remains. I'll say it lasts at least 4-5hours? probably much longer if you use a primer or don't have oily skin.
I did a FOTD with it xD

Damage:
Approx CAN$11 I think? Much cheaper if you buy it from Japan! A blogger that I've been following for a long time has recently opened an online store which stocks Japanese cosmetics. She is located in Japan and her prices are really reasonable!She sells the entire Cream Cheek collection here.
Verdict:
Recommended for cream blush newbies! really easy to work with and gorgeous results! The worst part about this product is its cheap packaging. It has the worst packaging I've ever seen in a blush >_> but then again Canmake IS  a teenage brand xD

P.S.

Caption this LOLCAT xD

Crown brush duo fibre brush review

I finally got around to reviewing this brush a month after I got it -__-
In my defence, I hated this brush in the beginning, it sheds more than my dog, regardless of the amount times I washed it, more hair would inevitable come loose from the brush! For a while, I spent my free time pulling hairs from this brush in the belief that I would be able to save this brush by pulling off all the loose hairs.
This is supposedly Crown's answer to MAC's 187. Both are duo fibre brushes, both are round brushes made from a mix of goat hair and fibre optics

Differences? MAC's 187 is $50.50, and Crown's Duo Fibre is $8. I don't personally own the MAC 187, so I can't tell you whether or not it sheds from personal experience, however, hearsay around the blogosphere is that it also sheds in the beginning.
Both brushes give me an even coverage with an airbrushed finish, and because you're dotting on the foundation instead of painting it on, there's no streaking. I would venture so far as to claim that the effects given by both the MAC 187 and the Crown duo fibre brush to be the same.
To use, simply put a drop of your foundation onto a flat surface, I use a small dish or a metal mixing board, and dip the very tips of the brush into the foundation very lightly. Once the tips of the brush are coated with foundation, stamp the tips of the brush onto the skin. If necessary, blend by lightly swirling the tips of the brush against the skin.

Stamp stamp stamp!

Excuse the eyelash on my cheek xD See the even, airbrushed effect?

Left side of face was done with traditional flat foundation brush, right side of face was done with Crown duo fibre brush. I had to use a lot more liquid foundation on the left side as the flat brush just soaked it up. See how the coverage on the left is not as even or as full as the right?

Pros: 

Even, airbrushed coverage using a lot less foundation than you would with a traditional flat foundation brush. 

Foundation feels a lot lighter.

Cuts foundation application time to mere seconds!

El cheapo.

Cons: 

Sheds A LOT initially.

Brush is too big to get into smaller areas  such as sides of the nose, inner corner of eyes and under eye areas.

Sheds A LOT initially.

Damage: 

$8 I got mine at IMATS, but you can also buy it from the Crown Brush website xD

Verdict: 

If you can't understand why brushes have to be so expensive, and don't mind being patient while the brush goes through it's teenage shedding phase, then you should give this brush a try. It's really changed the way I apply foundation and I truly love the finish it gives me!

FYI it also 

Please forgive my absence...

We've become parents to two girls xD
Please forgive my absence! we are busy keeping them fed and entertained -__- it's a full time job!

Get that camera out of my face!

We caught them in a possessed moment xD

I haz mades it to the top.

Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep!

I haz claimed mum's lap!

A sneak peek of things to come...