I like the eccentric as much as I like the pretty. It’s reflected in the clothes I pick and the friends I have. And the kookiest one I know has a bad habit of buying me a hoard of kitschy paraphernalia whenever she travels to the coolest part of Asia, Japan (my very biased opinion, obviously). Yumi‘s half-Japanese so she visits her motherland once a year. Uh huh, I know right. Most people only venture into Tokyo in their sleep (me included!) and she gets to go there every year.

Still, I can’t whine about it too much since she always gets me a giant goody bag filled with amazing things. Remember last year’s? I have no idea why she spoils me so much. I listed down the pros she might have with me as a friend in my head and apart from “enjoys eating monstrous amounts of pizza and pastries” and “can converse on a wide range of topics from the worsening economy to fat cats”, there is quite little I can offer LOL *shrugs* KEEP ON GIVING, YUMI! <3

See what I mean?? How can you not get excited when taking a peek into this treasureland?

The tote bag that came with the magazine she gave me! Perfect for my grocery shopping :3

This cute skincare trial pack she got for me! It comes with a foaming cleanser for the day and a thick gel for removing make-up at night. I’ve not used the cleanser yet (I am a cleanser junkie and have about 4 more bottles of different cleansers to go through, see below) but the make-up remover gel is great! You spread it on your face and it slowly warms up when you massage it into the skin. Mmm magic thermal heating properties, kinky. And with a name like MARSHMALLOW ORANGE, nobody will dare deny its awesomeness. Yep, it does smell of oranges too :3

Natural Blush by Cezanne, which I believe is a common drugstore find in Japan? This is Shade 01 and is reminiscent of my NARS Angelika blush except it’s warmer and matte. It does have a slight shimmer to it in the pan but the shimmer vanishes once you apply it onto the skin. I wasn’t expecting a lot from this blush because I’m going to say, without an ounce of shame, that I wasn’t too keen on the packaging. There’s nothing wrong with it but once you’ve been exposed to the remarkable packaging design skillz of the Japanese, you kinda expect more than a simple acrylic case. Aah but in this case, simple is good. The blush is beautifully pigmented and in the words of Edith Piaf: Non, je ne regrette rien!

My first product from Japanese drugstore beauty and skincare mogul, SANA! The packaging is so cute omfg, I cannot. Girly ‘kawaii kore!!‘ squeals aside, this concealer is bananas. Like, literally. It is the shade of the palest banana HAHA WTF o_O; The craziest thing is, it fricking works. Admittedly, the coverage isn’t as good as my MAC Studio Finish concealer but it’s got a nice light consistency which the Studio Finish concealer is sorely lacking in. You don’t ever need to worry about putting too much either. Point is, if your undereye circles aren’t as abhorrent as mine, I would definitely recommend the SANA concealer!

THE OBAA-CHAN (grandmother) OF ALL FOAM-DISPENSED CLEANSERS: Softymo’s Airy Whip. I’ve wanted to try this for years! It’s not open yet – I’m saving it for winter. Super huge photo to make up for my lack of review lol.

And the dubiously named Pink-G Body Lotion LOL, oh Japan how you tickle me. Yumi sent me a sexy photo of her posing with this bottle the same day she bought it, yelling with unrestrained enthusiasm about how she found something that screamed ‘me’. It’s got slivers of silver foil trapped in a beautifully rose-scented aqueous gel that transforms into water when coming into contact with your skin . I’ve used it a couple of times and the silver foil actually melts away, leaving behind the barest hint of shimmer. THIS IS THE SHIT RAIT HERE PEOPLE.

Peach-scented hand cream! I know it doesn’t look like your typical tube of hand cream. And get this, the hand cream is dispensed in FOAM. I don’t know what it is with the Japanese and turning everything into foam but GO FORTH AND SOLDIER ON, JAPAN! /o/ It’s like a wild foam party treat for my hands, minus the gyrating bodies and scantily-dressed women, LOVE THIS.

DHC‘s famous lip cream. It’s still unopened, sorry. Again, I’m saving this for winter. I’ve heard plenty of good things about this though, Yumi loves the lip cream as well! I’m going to be so prepared for winter this year; I’ve got different cleansers, lipbalm and slight deviation here, the warmest thermal fleece jacket from UNIQLO <3 WINTER, I WILL OWN YOU.

These product reviews would not have been possible without the extreme generosity of Yumi, THANK YOU MY LOVE <3 <3 I will see you back in Melbourne where we will feast on feta cheese and pumpkin pizza.

ALSO, TEA NOIR’S EPIC GIVEAWAY IS ENDING IN 2 DAYS!! The entries I’ve been getting are such a delight to read, thank you so much for taking part guys! It’s going to be so hard to choose my top faves *_* Please join in the fun, if you haven’t ;D Click here to take part in the giveaway and then you can truly say Non, je ne regrette rien! 8D

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