Natura Bissé Skincare +

I'm not one to discuss skincare on this blog, for two main reasons:

1. I'm not one to really change my routine, I mean my base (staple) skincare hasn't really changed, but it has expanded with serums and other items over the past couple of years.

2. I never wanted this blog to be primarily on skincare, just makeup.  My skin is unique to me and it's still an ever changing, evolving process to figure out what's best for me.

This year I've decided to start focusing more on the anti-aging piece moreso than preventive action. I've realized I'm at a coming of age if I don't start soon, my skin will take a downhill turn. 

My skin is like the worst combination of both my parents -- my mother who wrinkles easily, and my father who had serious acne. Not to mention the fact that I NEVER SLEEP? This insomniac needs all the skincare to compensate for my lack of sleep. I average per day 4 - 6 hours of sleep. Let's just say I'm more towards the 4 hours of sleep. There are periods I sleep 12 hours, but that's rare.  

Some of you may or may not know...I am a serious skincare junkie, just as much as I am of a makeup junkie. Maybe my priorities have changed, but I've been moreso into skincare in the past 1-2 years than ever before. 

So what does this pair of panties use? Well it may be no surprise to some, but I primarily use Natura Bissé (in conjunction with NIA24). 

I may have even influenced some YouTubers and other bloggers to at least experiment with the line. 

My glory skincare line :D Full sized items all around, deluxe samples in the center given to me. 

And Natura Bissé's newest product that will be released soon, High Density Lift. Thank you to the amazing person who gave this to me:

Ingredients of High-Density cream. 

*drools in anticipation* Oh trust me, I'll use this bad boy later in the week. *grins*

So, what are some of the items from the line that I think everyone should at least sample?

Glyco Extreme Peel: I've tried many glycolic acid products (cleansers, toners, treatments, etc). Nothing has overtaken the crown on this peel. I've gone through a couple of bottles of this already (all purchased). It's probably the star of the Natura Bissé skincare line. It pains my wallet, but I do have a backup in my bathroom. It will probably be opened sometime this fall. 

Diamond Ice-Lift Mask: This is one of my recent purchases and so far, this product is amazing. It's applied on after all of your skincare, including moisturizer. The first time I applied it, my skin tingled and I passed out from the Lavender smell. I can't explain how therapeutic this mask is. Your skin feels like a babys bottom, hydrated, soft, and just plush. The one issue I have with this mask is that if you apply it very close to your hairline, pieces of this mask is hard to remove from your hair. The third time I've used it, I had like 2 small pieces of the mask in my hair (practice makes perfect). Not to mention how COOL it looks in your hand (see below).

Ingredients of the Diamond Ice-Lift Mask

Diamond Luxury Cleanse: I know most of us use Bioderma for makeup removal, but for those nights when you need to remove a full coverage foundation, or a heavy duty sunscreen, or just makeup that's overall difficult to remove? (Hello, waterproof mascara) You lightly rub the gel against your face, and literally EVERYTHING just glides off. Your skin feels clean without a separate cleanser. I do take the second step to use Bioderma on my eyes for any trace makeup and lightly swipe my face. There's usually nothing left from my face. This stuff may seem insane price-wise ($135) for a cleanser, but for those who want to indulge on a luxury cleanser that is a no-fuss makeup remover, this is definitely it.

Are any of you familiar with Natura Bissé? If so what are your experiences with the line? Or if you just have any questions, feel free to comment below. :)

Addiction Eyeshadows ++

As some of you may or may not know, my future wife friend Shameless Fripperies made a trip to Japan...like as a random thing. Can I just say how jealous I am (in a loving way) that she can just pack her bags and go on a moments notice? 

I basically told her to buy all the makeup and brushes. I was wanting to see what she would buy, because if you haven't seen her stash already -- it's basically perfect. She offered me to pick up some items from Japan. I was a bit surprised to say the least because it's extra items she has to carry back, but I took her up on it. (Can you blame me? Knowing I have makeup that went to Japan, then Australia, to it's final destination, my home). 

A breakdown of pricing of what the prices of the eyeshadows are in Japan versus online -- 

Ichibankao (where I've purchased my other Addiction items) does sell it for a markup, but let's see how much of a different price points are: 

Ichibankao: Eyeshadows are approximately $30 each. Shipping with EMS (includes faster shipping and insurance on your package) is about $7. 

Total is approx $187. ($30 * 6 eyeshadows = 180) 
$180 + $7 for shipping. 

In Japan, eyeshadows are about approximately $20, but I did pay bit more for shipping since it was sent out from Australia, which was about $20 USD (shipping includes tracking). 

Total = $140 
($20 * 6 eyeshadows =  120) 
$120 + $20 shipping  

Okay, a decent price difference, but I feel like the markup from Ichibankao to some degree offsets the price of shipping (which I find pretty cheap). I've ordered items on a Monday for it to arrive on a Friday. 

Enough about the boring math, let's get to see some pretties :D

My first Addiction eyeshadow was Fudge and needless to say I was totally won over by the brand. I do have some items from them, which you will see at a later date.


BUT NOW....

Top Row: Pink Python, Keshi, Dolce Vita
Bottom Row: Bagdad Cafe, Joker, Chocolat

L to R: Pink Python, Keshi, Dolce Vita, Bagdad Cafe, Joker, Chocolat

same shades, overexposed lighting to see the shimmer factor.

Depotting Makeup:

Over the years, as I've amassed makeup, I came to the inevitable crossroads. The ideal size of my stash in terms of physical dimensions (drawers) started to overflow. I love all of my makeup, but I needed to be creative in terms of storing it.

It got to a point where it became overwhelming and having a hard time finding eyeshadows, palettes, etc. It's even harder when you have multiple palettes of the same brand, and none of them have clear packaging to easily determine which one you are looking for. It got to a point of being so overwhelmed that I didn't even want to wear makeup anymore, because it started to be more of an annoyance/burden than a pleasure.

I figured since my makeup was in storage for quite some time now and I got a makeup drawer solution recently, this would be the time to start purging makeup I hardly used, depot the makeup I wanted to use more often, that I never got to use due to reasons stated above. 

Does anyone else feel like this? Just being overwhelmed by the amount of makeup you personally own?

Finally, I feel like I've reached a breakthrough. I did a round of purging (I have a small-medium sized bag filled with makeup i plan on giving away to friends). There are some more I want to get rid of (but it's a few items at this point). Having all of my items easily seen, just makes it so much easier. 

when i was 70% done depotting. I had thrown more plastic packaging in the trash.

I just need to add the magnets below the eyeshadows. Left are yaby palettes, right are Z-palettes

My e/s drawer. It has a few more items in there since the photo, like lashes, brow items, etc

The casualties: D&G rosebud, two Hourglass duos (thanks to the boyfriend for that mistake). I overcomplicated trying to remove the D&G blush. If you want to depot the blushes, don't separate the packaging like the Burberry method. Just let it sit there on top of an open flame long enough for the packaging to warp. 

For those of you who are curious about the eyeshadow names in the z-palettes, I don't know at the moment either, since I rearranged them a bit since that picture. Maybe another post I'll do swatches for you.

I can finally breathe a sigh of relief now that I can actually enjoy/appreciate what I own. :) 

Le Metier de Beaute Lip Cremes and Glosses:

I finally got a preliminary solution when it comes to my stash and its storage. Downside is that I have yet to organize it all, and to buy some empty palettes for my eyeshadows. Everything is just kinda stuffed in drawers, a rough draft of organization...

In the meantime, I managed to find my Le Metier de Beaute glosses and lip cremes. A bit of a sad part to the story: I had a few more of them, and I was planning on getting rid of them after a while, but my old apartment, my roommate stole my makeup. I had all of the current glosses and a few more exclusives, but alas. They are out of my possession, but it's ok. It's not the end of the world.

If you haven't noticed already, they are my favorite formula when it comes to glosses.  

Toffee, Cafe, Bondi Beach, Sweet Creme, Cebu, Fraise, Framboise, Hibiskiss, Red Velvet, BDR, ITKB, Uma Paro 

From left to right: 

Toffee Lip Creme
Cafe Creme Gloss
Bondi Beach Gloss
Sweet Creme Lip Creme
Cebu Gloss
Fraise Lip Creme
Framboise Lip Creme
Hibiskiss Gloss
Red Velvet Gloss
Bettys Divine Red Gloss
In The Know Bordeaux Gloss
Uma Paro Gloss


Toffee, Fraise, Framboise Creme all apply like liquid lipsticks. Creamy, cling to your lips for hours. Sweet Creme isn't like the others, it's more like a gloss (less lasting power, it's more of a jelly like formula). Sweet Creme is the only one I've managed to finish tubes of. It's my first Le Metier de Beaute lip product, and I love it dearly. 

Red Velvet, In The Know Bordeaux, and to some degree Cebu and Bettys Divine Red: they have the gloss title, but they're more like a liquid lipstick, they all are opaque, have amazing lasting power as well. Cebu and Bettys Divine Red doesn't last as long as the other two, but it's longer lasting than most glosses. 

Cafe, Bondi Beach, Hibiskiss, Uma Paro: definitely less opaque than the ones listed above and have lasting power more along the lines of a lipgloss in terms of lasting power and feel. 

They all definitely have a significant sweet smell, and it may be off putting to some people, but I adore them, since they left my lips more hydrated, and last forever once applied.