Friday, March 26, 2010

March Beauty Magazines

I'm a little late as in posting the March magazines. They have been out for quite a while. Since everyone has probably already read them, I'll just keep it short.


Oh yay the RMK nail polish was featured in Biteki as well along with the red shade. I think I got lucky because personally I still prefer pink over red.


Kou Shibasaki looks innocently cute on Maquia cover. Her makeup makes her look younger than the Coffret D'or ad campaign. Other than that, there's a colored face chart included with the magazine. It's not the first time I'm seeing this, but again I just don't know how to use it? Anyone knows?


Iconiq is all over the place on March magazines covers including Voce. Her album got released in March too. I haven't seen it in Kinokunia bookstore yet. Hopefully they'll get it in next time I visit. This year has really been good to Iconiq, not only Shiseido made her the face for MAQUillAGE, other companies like ANA, Starbucks, Kitson, Maserati and Mu-mo also signed contract with her.




Wednesday, March 24, 2010

AeroGarden vs. Power Plant Professional First Season Finale

It's been almost 4 months since I started growing my AeroGarden and Prepara Power Plant Professional indoor. I feel like doing a final review for my first season.

First of all let's take a look at how they were in early February.

I switched the Cilantro/Parsley and Basils' locations because my Basils grew really fast. I was hoping that they got more space at the side.


Salad Greens were still at early growing stage.


Power Plant Pro after the tangling accident happened in mid January.


The tomatoes got snapped right in the middle. It's very sad.


The following photos were taken today as of March 24th, 2010.

AeroGarden Herbs are almost at the end of their life cycle. I ran out of tablets too. The Basils and Dills were doing good. I got plenty use from them. Cilantros and Parsleys were also OK. The only problem I had with Cilantro is that they tend to knee down on me, so I had to lean them on the Mints. I was too lazy to get a plant tie. My Chives never grew enough for me to use because there weren't enough sprouts to start with. Mints grew the wildest among all the herbs even though I don't find it useful.


AeroGarden Salads are now at their mid growing stage. I still got about a month worth nutrient tablets left. This has been the easy to grow.


Prepara Power Plant Pro (sadly dead already). There was some issue with the watering system. I always filled the nutrient water at the top line and I think it may caused the rotting root problem. I planted Rosemary twice but it never sprouted and over time other herbs also grew molds at the root area. When I noticed the problem, it's already too late. The whole thing never recovered.


Thoughts about AeroGarden:

1. For bushier herbs, weekly pinching and harvest is required. Or otherwise you'll end up having tall and thin plants like me. This is NOT good. My Basils leaves are all burned by the lamp heat.


2. Dry and dead leaves need to be removed promptly before they get out of control. 


3. Of course you need to add water and tablets when needed. In other words you need to show your love to your plants. Other than that there's really not much to do.

Pros:

1. Fairly easy for beginners and lazier people. The seeds are pre-potted.
2. It can grow anywhere even without sunlight. Comes with grow lamps.
3. The control panel is well designed. It tells you when to add water, nutrients, etc. It also works for different types of plants, Herbs/Basil, Salad Greens, Tomatoes/Peppers, Flowers, and even Strawberry.
4. No extra bottle needed for storing nutrient water but tablets could get messy when absorbing moist.

Cons:

1. The lamp hood isn't tall enough even with 4 settings you can't get the lamp to raise very high.
2. 7 pot machine is a little bulky.
3. Lack of built-in stem support.
4. Cost is high. The machine and pre-seeded pots.

Thoughts about Prepara Power Plant Pro:

I feel like I have no rights to talk about it since I'm totally failed at my first season. I'm only be able to share some of the lessons I learned. Hopefully my next season will be better.

Power Plant Pro can be an alternative to AeroGarden. That is when you can manage to make it work. There're a major reasons that I don't like the Pro. One is the spinning technic which supposed to help all plants get equal amount of sunlight. I just think it's a stupid idea. It's not going to make a huge difference if you can get sunlight to start with. If not then you are going to need a grow light kit which will raise the price to the AeroGarden. As for the root rotting problem, I have yet to figure out. Also seeds are going to make a difference. Cheap seeds won't work. It'll only be a waste of time.


Overall:


Which one do I prefer? I say AeroGarden. Simply because it works for me. Remember you get what you pay for.

Are they worth the money? I say probably no. Considering how much money and time it takes to grow your herbs or salads, it's so little. You can't expect to have dinner sized salad every night. It's more for fun and a little home project that you can share with your kids. After all nothing be beat a smile from your kids when they watch their plants grow.

Now time for second batch. We shall see how it goes...


(Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with AeroGarden and Prepara. All reviews are based on my personal experiences with AeroGarden Classic and Power Plant Professional.)


Related Posts:


Updates on Indoor Garden (AeroGarden & Prepara) - Jan 17, 09
Updates on Indoor Garden - Jan 15, 09
Quick Updates on Indoor Garden - Dec 31, 09
AeroGarden vs. Power Plant Pro


Monday, March 22, 2010

Review: Coffret D'or Fluffy Shine Eyes vs. Jill Stuart Jelly Eye Color

Since my previous post about Coffret D'or Fluffy Shine Eyes, some blogger friends were interested in how it compared to the Jill Stuart Jelly Eye Color N. So today I'll be doing a comparison review on the two products. I picked 02 Ruby Pink from the Fluffy Shine Eyes and 103 Snow Parfait from the 2009 Christmas set since they are similar in color.


Availability: 10/10

Fluffy Shine Eyes was released on July 16, 2008 as the 2nd part of Coffret D'or fall collection. Almost a year later Jelly Eye Color N was released on June 5, 2009 which replaced the original Jelly Eye Color. Both are permanent items so they should be easy to locate.


Packaging: 8/10

I like the packaging design for most Coffret D'or items. It's normal for a Japanese cosmetics brand. But I'm not particularly fond of the shape and plastic material of the jar on the Fluffy Shine Eyes. It's somewhat cheap to my liking. However Jill Stuart is one step above. Its glass container with arabesque patterned cap design is cute and princess-y. No other brand can compare to Jill Stuart.



Price: 7.8/8

Fluffy Shine 5g for ¥2000 (¥2100 with tax)
Jelly Eye 6g for ¥2200 (¥2310 with tax)

If you calculate price per gram, Fluffy Shine Eyes (400) is even more expensive than the Jelly Eye Color (367). But it really depends on how you look at it. I don't think I can even finish either of them so the cheaper the better.


Color Selection: 8/9

Fluffy Shine Eyes 5 shades
Jelly Eye Color 10 shades

Apparently Jelly Eye Color has more selection than the Fluffy Shine, but for me it's not a big deal since I got most colors I need from its 5 shades. It'd be nice to have more colors.


Scent: 8/10

Jelly Eye Color really wins on this. It's got a pleasant floral scent which is not too strong either. On the other hand Fluffy Shine Eyes has a stronger alcoholic smell, luckily it disappears quickly.


Texture: 10/10

The texture of both are pretty much similar. They are spongy jelly like and fun to the touch. The Fluffy Shine Eyes seems thinner and smoother though due to its smaller particles.


Application: 9/9

For the cream shadows you really need to dip your finger inside and get stained. It's just the way it is. I wish there's a more hygienic way of doing it.


Finish: 9/9.5

Both have that sparkly finish. The only slight difference is that Fluffy Shine Eyes are more on the shiny side. It contains more silver shimmer. While Jelly Eye Color has bigger pink sparkles. They're both really pretty and I like them both.


Lasting Power 10/8

In order to test the lasting power, I swatched them on the back of my hand without primer. I waited for a minute or two until I rub around. Fluffy Shine truly stays there without budging a bit. Sadly Jelly Eye Color got all smudged up. However if you use it as an eyeshadow base or with good priming, it won't be a problem then.


Overall

I really can't tell you which one is better. It only depends on personal preferences. I'm only doing a review by showing the facts of both products. Both have cons and pros. It depends on what you're looking for, for example color selection and how you stand the smell, staying power, etc.

On a side note, according to product website Fluffy Shine Eyes contains natural collagen (moisturizer) and pure shine pearl while Jelly Eye Color contains pure crystal powder.


Related Posts:

Coffret D'or IV - Fluffy Shine Eyes
Jill Stuart Sweetness Collection


Color of the Week - RMK EX-26 Pink

As planned I'm doing the RMK nail color N EX-26 Pink as my CotW today. A friend picked it up for me from Hong Kong. It's one of the four Limited Edition nail colors from the Spring 2010 line. This is the first bottle of RMK nail polish I got. I have been wanting them for a while. For some reason I just have a feeling that this brand is going to be on my favorite list.


 There's nothing to talk about the packaging. It's quite simple and common for a Japanese cosmetic brand. I'm surprised that it doesn't have the "Choose me, Take me, Open up" showing on the box.





For nail polishes, RMK is on the expensive side among all the brands I own (other than Chanel's Gold Fiction). It beats Lunasol's ¥1500 for 10ml.


There isn't a lot of shimmer in it nor does it look creamy but the finish is definitely classy. Even with one coat the coverage is amazing. It's completely opaque with fine luster.


With two coats the color turns slightly darker but not dramatic. It dries up fast too so that's a plus.


Flash on


When I swatched it on my finger the other day, I noticed that it doesn't scratch off easily. The lasting power is great too. After 5 days it hasn't chipped on me yet. I really think it's a high quality nail polish.



Friday, March 19, 2010

Toys from Hong Kong

A friend of my husband's went to Hong Kong for vacation recently. He was kind enough to bring me back some cosmetic toys. I was super excited to see the Guerlain Pearly White balls and Cosme Decorte AQ palette along with the rest of the stuff.


However upon opening, I got disappointed a bit because they're not what I wanted. But don't get me wrong here. I'm still really appreciate the effort for bringing them back. Originally I want the Guerlain 2009 Pearly White Meteorites 04 but it ends up being the 2010 Absolute White 05 even though it's also called Pearly White on the box. So I did a little research on the 04 Pearly White. It's also called Pastel White. This is so confusing. Why do they give two names to a same product?! Anyway let's look at the difference.


Same with the AQ. I didn't know that Hong Kong has a totally different AQ than in Japan.  Considering the palette costs ¥6000 (most likely more than 70 bucks if bought in the US), it must be something great. Even though it's not the one I wanted, I'm excited to try it. Besides I don't have a similar color combination.


One thing that really make me smile is the new RMK Spring Modern palette and the nail polish. I got 01 Goldish Blue and EX 26 Pink. The color looks even prettier than online. The powder also seems really fine. And finally I got my hands on the RMK nail polish after eyeballing for so long. I'm going to have to show it as my next Color of the Week.



Last but not least I also got the Jill Stuart Berry Scrub after falling in love with her cleansing oil and cream wash. I will start using it for a while before doing a review. The Jewel Crystal eyeshadow palette remains on the shopping list since they're not out in HK.


Related Post:




Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Stuff in the Mail...

As I'm trying to fix the blog layout today, I'm only going to post something short. Finally got the rest of the Coffret D'or Spring eyeshadow palettes and 3 Lunasol nail polishes. I've already got the Jewelcious Eyes 04 because I think it's going to be sold out pretty quickly. But surprisingly 02 is also very hot and I heard it's been sold out in a lot of places too. Luckily I was able to find it. It's actually really nice, softer but comparable to 04.


However I want to wait for later to show the eyeshadows but I will show the nail polishes today =)


They're the LE Prismatical collection, Green, Orange, Pink and Blue. I used the Prismatical Blue for my last Color of the Week. So check it out here.



Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Weekend Getaway

We had a busy weekend but everyone was happy especially my daughter. On Saturday we took her to the Bay Area Discovery Museum after we did some errands. By the time we got there it's already close to closing but the lady said if we waited for another 10 minutes, she could let us in for free. Woohoo even better. So we picked up two sticker books for my daughter at the gift shop while we waited. The museum is pretty small as I thought and a lot of stuff were already put away when we got in. And I didn't see any trains or plan toys for play so it's a little disappointing. But my daughter had fun and that's all it matters so we may take her there again. I'll make sure to bring a camera though.

The day after, the whole family were out again. This time we went south. The weather was really nice for a beach day so we decided to go to half moon bay. On the way we stopped by a little farm/park. I've seen kids horse riding every time we passed it. The place is called Lemos Farm.


The train tunnel that looks "scary".



A peacock showing off her beauty.


This is actually from the park across the road. Not a lot of kids were in there.



This is the horse my daughter was riding on. It's the first time she rode a real horse. She got freaked out but she did wave bye bye to her pony.


Next weekend we need to find some other places to go. Beach? Mountain? Park? Or Museum?



Monday, March 15, 2010

Color of the Week - Chanel Azur

I apologize for not posting Color of the Week during the weekend. It's been fun yet busy. I'll need to post some pictures in my next post. So anyways today's CotW I want to show you another Chanel 2008 Spring Limited Edition color Azur in number 465. I'm also going to show you Lunasol's EX 07 Prismatical Blue which is similar to the Azur.


The color is very very pretty in the bottle but it's so sheer that only giving a tint of clean shine. It's probably not going to be a good choice to use alone for most people.



Azur and Prismatical Blue side by side. They really look alike.


If I didn't remember wrong, Chanel costed $19 for 13ml and Lunasol ¥1500 ($17) for 10ml. So Chanel was even cheaper at that time.


This is the same nail from last week's CotW Blue Satin.


Here I applied Chanel's Azur on the bottom so you can compare the color with and without. This is more like Shu Uemura Nuance Top Coat Clear which gives a subtle change to another color.

To compare Prismatical Blue to Azur, I applied it on the tip. The color is rather bolder and contains bigger sparkles than Azur. 


So what do you think of these colors?


Related Posts:

Color of the Week - Chanel Blue Satin



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