karmicdreaming.

On hiatus

I haven’t used conventional shampoo in quite a long time- a few years- but I got my hands on a number of Japanese hair products and wanted to give them a try.  My favorite of the bunch is Kao Asience Inner Rich Shampoo.  It’s also the one I expected to like the least, since it’s formulated for thick, coarse Asian hair and contains sulfates (ALS rather than SLS).  I was sure this shampoo would cause breakage while leaving my hair limp and greasy.  To my surprise, not only did it leave my hair shiny and full of body, I finished the bottle and am contemplating ordering more.

My hair is baby fine, and has lots of follicles (thick) but since each individual hair is fine, it typically looks thin and flat.  My scalp is oily and my ends tend to dry out quickly.  SLS causes my hair to break and split, and also irritates my scalp and causes flakes.  Switching to sulfate-free shampoo bars solved these issues.  I approached this shampoo carefully, as ALS is also a sulfate and I was unsure how my hair and scalp would react to it.

The first thing I noticed was the fragrance.  It’s a rather generic fruity floral, reminiscent of Aussie products.  I don’t hate it, but it’s not a stand out for me either.  The texture of the shampoo is a bit more liquidy than most American shampoos.  It’s not runny by any means, but it’s not so thick.  I like this texture better, since I was able to easily pour only what I needed without squeezing and having a huge glop come out.  The shampoo itself is a pearlescent color, so nothing out of the ordinary there.  It created lots of suds and washed away cleanly.

Asience Inner Rich contains lots of ingredients that are great for hair.  The press reads:

• Contains natural essences of soy and pearl protein, which revitalize hair that has lost protein
• Camellia oil and ginseng extract help the hair retain moisture, and restore suppleness within the hair follicle. Camellia oil in particular has long been used in Asia to nourish the hair and skin, as it is an extremely well absorbed and natural oil extract from the camellia flower.
• Eucalyptus extract protects hair and restores lost shine, while rice germ oil strengthens and moisturizes

It also contains Royal Jelly extract from bees, so vegans would want to give this a pass.

After drying, my hair does feel healthy and looks shiny.  It doesn’t feel dry or brittle, and my scalp doesn’t feel overly stripped or oily, as some moisturizing shampoos  leave it.  My hair has body and bounce, and my bangs- the first place to start looking oily- are fantastic until my next shower.  It doesn’t cause any issues with my scalp either.

I am surprised at how well this shampoo works for my non-Asian, non-coarse hair.  Kao Asience makes two other lines besides Inner Rich, Shine Therapy and Nature Smooth.  Nature Smooth is designed specifically to work with an oily scalp, so I might try that one before purchasing another bottle of Inner Rich.  I love how this shampoo works for me and will repurchase if Nature Smooth does not work well.  I purchased my bottle from Sasa.com, but it’s also easily found on EBay and Amazon.  Information about the Kao Asience line in English can be found at Kao Malaysia here.

I’ve realized that, for a while now, I reference my “top ten list”, but no one had any idea of what would be on that list, because I’ve never sat down to write it out.  This is another post that’s been a long time coming.  I thought about many things when writing this, from customer service, to innovative products, to how well each product performs, to how often I reach for a company’s products.  I have tons of products from a large number of companies, and even with a collection as large as mine, sometimes I find myself reaching for a company’s offerings time and time again.  Likewise, I have plenty of beautiful pigments that I rarely pull out, even though they’re wonderful and well made.

I wouldn’t say this is a definitive list- far from it, but it’s a list of the companies I shop at most often and whose products get the most use.  It’s in alphabetical order for fairness, otherwise I’d be here all night shuffling the order.

1. Detrivore Cosmetics – Beautiful blushes, sultry eyeshadows, popular primer, and all at a more than reasonable price.  Keep an eye on Detrivore’s sales.  Occasionally Distorria runs 10 for $20 eyeshadow and 3 for $10 face product sales.  Pssst- the next one is coming up November 1st!  If you’ve never tried the products, this would be a great time to jump in.

2. Evil Shades – Andrea’s shadows, blushes, and lippies amaze me.  The color shifts are breathtaking, and the formula is perfect.  The Spectrum Pots are my holy grail indie eye primer.  I have two orders still waiting to swatch for you (I am SO behind!) but they’re so pretty they keep sneaking out of the swatch pile and on to my face.

3. Fyrinnae – The shadows are stunningly complex, and I love Pixie Epoxy so much.  It changed the way I wear my eyeshadow.

4. Geek Chic Cosmetics – GCC fulfils my need for sparkly makeup and geekery all in one fell swoop.  It made me love a matte brown eyeshadow.  Yes, it’s really that miraculous.

5. Haus of Gloi – Gloi’s sugar scrubs are a daily use item in my home, and trying to narrow down my shopping list is always a challenge.  I’ve never ordered a scent I dislike from Gloi, although the seasonal collections are always my favorite.

6. Linnaeus Cosmetics – I browsed, I sampled, I flipped.  I want every single shadow Marin makes, and not just because I fangirl her hard.  Each collection is very thoughtfully planned around wildlife and carefully named to represent a characteristic of the chosen animal.  How cool is that?

7. Morgana Cryptoria – Melissa gets lots of love for her lipsticks, and recently her balms and glosses, and they are worth every bit of praise they receive.  However, her shadows are just as awesome as her more well-known products.  Everyone needs to try a Morgana shadow.

8. One Hand Washes The Other – Black Magic is the holy grail soap for my face.  It cleared up my horrible skin.  Since then, I’ve tried to use other acne products, and the breakouts have always come back.  Black Magic is it for me.  Becca makes fantastic limited edition scents, and hello, loofah soap!  I’ve also recently (as in the last week) become addicted to Flower Balm.

9. Persephone Minerals – I shopped for the Sailor Moon shades and stayed for the incredible duochromes.  Victoria has a great eye for color, and I have to resist reaching for the Sailor Jupiter set almost every day.  It is perfection.  I’ve never been disappointed with a single color I’ve tried.

10.  Shiro Cosmetics – Caitlin makes one of my favorite eyeshadow formulas, and I get a geeky thrill out of knowing that my makeup is named after Pokemon or Zelda.  The meme-themed intertubes are both fun and pretty.

Honorable mention goes to Silk Naturals and Meow Cosmetics, as each of these companies have dedicated drawers in my stash, and I love their products very much and highly recommend them.  If I were doing a top ten makeup companies list, they would definitely make the cut.

What are your top ten companies?

All of you have probably already heard about Team Pink Eye Project, which is being run by my friends Frances Danger and Rebecca Storevik, so I’ll keep my recap short.  TPE is raising money for Susan G. Komen For The Cure.  There are a lot of lovely sponsors and bloggers involved, and the great thing for you, dear reader, is the giveaways!  Every Friday in October, a group of bloggers will be posting pink looks, and there will be a number of giveaways.  To be eligible for that week’s giveaways, just make sure that you’ve donated a minimum of $5 to Team Pink Eye.   (Just click on Frances’ name, then Donate on the right hand side.)  It’s a great way to win some fantastic prizes, enjoy some pretty pink looks, and most importantly, help out a good cause.  Six women in my family have died of breast cancer, so this is a cause that’s dear to my heart.  If you can afford to help out, please do, and don’t forget to visit the wonderful sponsors who are donating to the cause.  There’s a full list of them at the Team Pink Eye blog.

Today is my turn for a look, and keep reading because I’m also hosting a giveaway!

Products used:

Eyes

Evil Shades Spectrum Pot in Vitrum
Persephone Minerals shadows in Eternal Chibi Moon, Moon Crystal Power, Sailor Chibi Moon, and Pink Sugar Heart Attack
Kiss Me Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner
Revlon Fantasy Lengths Lashes in Intensifying
L’Oreal Voluminous  Mascara in Blackest Black
Silk Naturals Brow Powder in Deep Brunette

Face

Lancome Teint Idole Ultra in Buff 4 (C)
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW20
Detrivore Cosmetics Blush in Poison
Everyday Minerals Blush in Email Me (to contour)
Aromaleigh Ultra-Resolution Finishing Powder in English Rose

Lips

Morgana Cryptoria vegan lipstick  in Valentine

Also, one lucky person will win a $25 gift card to Silk Naturals, through Team Pink Eye!  To be eligible for this, and other TPE giveaways this week, be sure to donate at least $5 to Susan G. Komen For The Cure through Team Pink Eye.  Comment here with the name that you donated under (donations can be made using an alias, but TPE needs to be able to match the donation to the commenter for the entry to count).  This giveaway will remain open until 10pm CST on Sunday night.  Frances and Rebecca will tally up the entries and winners will be chosen via random.org.  Winners will be announced Monday.  A big thank you to Karen of Silk Naturals for her generosity, and don’t forget to visit the Team Pink Eye Project blog to see what other giveaways are happening this week.

Korean brand Baviphat stole my heart and bathroom counter space with their adorable line of fruit gels.  Incredibly affordable at about $13 each (which includes shipping to the U.S.), each gel has a different purpose.  The ones I’ll be covering today are:  Apple AC Therapy Sleeping Pack, Peach All-in-One Waterfull Cream, and Paprika Pore Solution Sleeping Pack.

Each of these are housed in an absolutely precious fruit/vegetable-shaped jar.  The jars are incredibly sturdy, and can be washed out and reused.  My daughter has already laid claim to these three.  Each jar is quite large, being roughly the same size as the produce it represents.  There is a small lid inside each, with holds a plastic spoon.  I scoop out the gel with the spoon, and then wash and dry the spoon before putting it back.  It keeps the gel from being contaminated with fingers.  Each gel has a difference scent, and although it’s a strong scent, it does fade, albeit slowly.  However, the scent is a selling point for me because I think they smell delicious!

The Apple AC Therapy Sleeping Pack is scented like apples.  A Sleeping Pack is a mask that one wears overnight, and is meant to be washed or rinsed off the next morning.  The gel goes on clear so it can be worn without staining pillowcases.  The Apple AC Therapy Sleeping Pack is recommend for “trouble skin” and also gently exfoliates, so skin looks bright and soft the next day.  I had no problems with breaking out, in fact, my skin seems clearer when I use it, and while most chemical exfoliators bother my sensitive skin, this one works brilliantly.  The Apple Sleeping Pack made a noticeable difference in my skin’s texture and appearance.  I would easily pay double for it.

The Paprika Pore Solution Sleeping Pack is scented like fruit punch, and is similar to the Apple Sleeping Pack in appearance.  It is for pore tightening, sebum control, and allowing the skin to retain elasticity.  While pores can’t be opened or closed, my pores do appear smaller when using the Paprika Sleeping Pack because the sebum control is exceptional.  I can wear foundation all day long with no breakthrough oil if I use the Paprika Sleeping Pack the night before.  Again, I’ve had no breakouts using this product, and the superior oil control makes this one my favorite for everyday use.  I use the Apple Sleeping Pack about every three days, and the Paprika Sleeping Pack the rest of the week.

The Peach All-in-One Waterfull Cream smells amazing, like peach yogurt.  Although it has “cream” in the name, this is also a gel.  It’s meant to be used in the place of moisturizer.  It’s not a heavy moisturizer, so I would not recommend this for anyone dealing with dry skin.  Also, being a gel moisturizer, it feels a bit sticky on the skin until fully absorbed.  I’ll only use this gel if I have plenty of time to get ready, because sometimes it can take 10-15 minutes for the tackiness to go away.  Of the three, this is my least favorite, and although it works well as a lightweight moisturizer, I have others that do the job better, and I don’t plan to repurchase this one.  The Paprika Pore Solution Sleeping Pack and Apple AC Therapy Sleeping Pack will be repurchased as needed, and I plan to branch out to other Baviphat skin care products.

I purchased these from Bellogirl on eBay.

OK, I am ridiculously excited for this one.  Rocky Horror, you guys!  LOOK AT THOSE COLORS!  Look at that teal!  That rose!  That RED!  *dies*

I’m not one for posting previews of collections because I usually prefer to wait and swatch them if I purchase them, but honestly, I’m so behind on swatching (seriously, I’ve got over 300 colors to swatch for you.  I am a bad blogger.) that I decided to pop this up here.  I am definitely buying this set, and with luck, I’ll have the swatches up sometime before next Halloween.  (I’m only being slightly sarcastic here.  My to-swatch pile is taking over an entire corner of my living room.  I have no excuse.)

(Oh and I got a haircut and it’s really SHORT and I can’t believe I haven’t uploaded a pic here. I am the worst blogger ever. I clearly suck.  Sorry.)

Since I’ve been absent lately, I’m letting you guys decide:  What do you want to see next?  Swatches?  An Asian skincare review?  Hair care review?  Let me know!