Japanese lifestyle store cosmetics haul (1/2)

As I wrote in my previous post about the places to buy cosmetics in Japan, you can find Japanese cosmetics in different stores with different styles.

Personally I use all of the stores that I have presented, however my preferences go for lifestyle stores such as Loft or Tokyu Hands, when it comes to shop quietly for trendy cosmetics. They sell a wide range of inexpensive but efficient products. I recently also like Ainz & Tulpe in Harajuku which is not exactly a lifestyle store but it looks quite similar in the selection of products and the lanes style. It’s a 2 floors store selling all things beauty: skincare, makeup, nail supply, beauty tools, parfums, supplements … So I’d add this one to the list of best places to buy Japanese cosmetics:

Ainz & Tulpe
1-13-14 Jingumae Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Open from 10AM to 11PM

So today I’m going to tell you about my winter haul from lifestyle stores.

Visée Avant eyeshadows:

Visée Avant is a sub range from Visée from Kose, launched last summer. It provides with edgy and customizable makeup for fashionable and stylish young women.

Source: http://www.visee.jp/avant/

The “Single Eye Color”, the eyeshadows from Visée Avant are part of the popular products. They were so popular that some of the shades were very quickly sold out!

I bought 2 of them.

Overall, I find them interesting since:

• they are cheap!! 800 yen each eyeshadow
• there is a big variety of shades and very cool stylish shades
• they are creamy, don’t give a powdery look and easy to spread with a good lasting

So a good value for money! Now about the shades I chose:

• Visée Avant, 006 Cosmo Prisme

We heard a lot about this shade on SNS, as it was said to be very similar to Dior Show mono Futurism shade (I have never tried the Dior eyeshadow so can’t compare) and is one of the best selling shades.

It’s blue silver but the color itself is actually subtle when applied. In contrast, the included big sparkling glitters stand out a lot.

Because it contains so many glitters and because they are big, I think it’s better to apply with either your fingers or a silicone chip. The application with makeup brushes won’t give enough deposit on the eyes. Also when you layer it on another pearly or glittery shade, I felt that it just didn’t work out. Nothing stands out. Instead an interesting way of using it is to layer on another matt eyeshadow, actually it may be a surprising combination, but on a brown shade. It helps creating some depth and the glitters from the Visée eyeshadow comes out nicely. Try it!

• Visée Avant, 004 My Dear

This one is a pure pale pink. It’s very creamy and pearly so I apply it with my fingers.
It’s a nice neutral shade that can be used as a base with any other stronger shades that you layer on top.

Heroine Make Long & Curl Mascara Advanced

The second product is the renovated version of one of the most popular Japanese mascaras, launched this year in March.

The new formula combines waterproof and the new Japanese standard: film formula allowing to remove it easily with warm water. Result: a smudge proof during the day in any weather, but easy to cleanse in the evening.

I bought the “long & curl” version. There is also a “volume & curl”. Another reasonable product: 1,200 yen.

I liked how this mascara is creamy and easy to apply. The brush allows to apply from the roots and is easy to manipulate. It does curl up the lashes as you can see on the pictures below; I didn’t use the eyelash curler. Although I chose the “long & curl” version, I feel that it gives a lot of volume!!

One negative point about this product: I find it hard to remove. Even with cleansing oil and hot water, it’s not completely gone. I guess the miracle of the mix technology waterproof and film is not achieved yet.

On my next post, I’ll keep on the with my haul, but it’s a skincare product, perfect for the season!