Review: ETUDE HOUSE Moistfull Collagen Firming Eye Cream

One of my favorite Korean beauty brand is Etude House and today I will be reviewing their Moistfull Collagen Firming Eye Cream.

The Moistfull Collagen series contains a lot of different products and below are just a few you can use together. In my opinion, this series is really convenient for people not too sure what  cream or essences to get first if they are just starting out. 

For those of you that want to start getting some beauty products, I highly suggest getting the Moistfull Collagen Skin Toner and Moistfull Collagen Emulsion first. If you're wondering where you can purchase products from this series of line, you can get them from Pretty & Cute.

One thing that I really like about Korean beauty products is their packaging. It's simple and cute at the same time! I'm really glad that all of Etude House's products contain English information and directions on it!

The little bottle is so adorable and I love the color scheme of it! The bottle is small enough to bring to travel and it doesn't take up much space!

Texture/Application

I really like this eye cream because it's really soft and easy to absorb and it leaves the skin around my eyes hydrated. Not only that, this eye cream isn't sticky! One thing to look out when you're choosing an eye cream is that the texture needs to be super soft (think of silk) otherwise the skin around the eyes will not absorb it well. This is due to the fact that the area around the skin is super delicate. 

Effect

It may feel a bit sticky at first when you apply it, but once your skin absorbs it you'll no longer feel the cream. I use the cream every other day and have been using a week or two and it has made the skin around my eyes super hydrated! The skin around my eyes have also become a lot more smoother as well.

Scent

The smell is really refreshing and it reminds me of grapefruit for some reason. The scent doesn't irritate my eyes and the smell goes away after I wake up the next morning. 

Overall

I highly recommend this product to people that are looking for eye cream because not only is the price affordable, it is pretty good quality for what you are paying. The only thing I would say is that they should have included a spatula for people to use. This way the cream will not be contaminated with bacteria as easily. 

Let me know if you guys have tried this eye cream or any of the products from this series! That's it for my review :)

Till next time,

<3 Aya

Liese Prettia Foaming Hair Dye (Marshmallow Brown)

While I was back in Asia for the past month and a half, my roots became more and more noticeable. I got pretty annoyed seeing my black roots so I wanted to re-dye my hair again. Since I used Prettia already before, I knew how their product works. While I was in Japan, I picked up the color Marshmallow Brown. I forgot to take a photo of the box before throwing it out... but another blogger, Rose of Pinky Boo, happened to have used this product and took photos of the box!

(Image from Rose of Pinky Boo)

(Image from Rose of Pinky Boo)

The results of the color stayed a lot more true this time compare to the Rose Tea Brown color that I first tried. I thought it might be because my hair was already light and by using this, it'll make it even lighter, though my dark roots were well colored. Sadly I got too busy with my internship that I wasn't able to take a photo what I looked like right after I dyed my hair, though this photo below is almost a 3 weeks after I have dyed it. 

This is what the hair looked like indoors with natural lighting.

This is what the hair looks like underneath bright lights (I manipulated the setting so it'll look just what it looks like underneath room lights).

RATINGS
Easiness: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Since I used this product before, I knew what steps I had to follow! I also had my mom help me with the back of my hair to make sure that the hair on the back were colored.

Color: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
The color this time turned out a lot closer to what it showed on the box. The only problem I had was that the color turned out a bit too bright when I first dyed it. But after a few wash, I have either gotten use to the color or it had faded just a little.

Brightness: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The color is really noticeable whether you're indoors or outdoors. It's a pretty nice shade of brown once you get use to the color.

Smell: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
The smell this time didn't linger in my hair as long as the first time. It didn't smell nice when you're applying the dye or when you're done, though it did go away a lot faster.

Summer in Asia~ Part One

Sorry for the lack of update. I have been doing some traveling in the last 1.5 months and now back in school for summer session :( The first stop I'll be blogging about is Tokyo, Japan.

I went there for 5 days and I have to say... it wasn't enough time. There were just so many things to do and see that you really need to arrange everything well.

DAY ONE

The first day, I got to Tokyo pretty late. By the time we arrived at my relative's place, it was already 10 at night. Luckily one of the ramen store near their house was open. I wasn't too hungry since it was already so late but I ended up getting a mentaiko rice and it was so good!

For those of you that don't know what mentaiko is, it's marinated roe of pollock. These were raw and they were really fresh!

Since my relative's house is right in front of the Tokyo Tower, there apartment view is so beautiful! The Tokyo Tower looks really amazing at night, especially with all the lightings.

DAY TWO

The second day, we traveled to the Ginza area and bought a lot of food. There's a lot of wholesales on food such as seasoning and snacks... and I went a bit crazy and bought a lot -_- 

Afterwards we went to the old Tokyo Station to eat lunch.

Since we were at the Tokyo Station area, I thought we might as well go to the underground shops... and also to find store that I have been wanting to go!

There were so many people there (since it was a Saturday), but I was so happy that I found my Rilakkuma store!! If you don't know, I collect Rilakkuma plushies and I have another blog dedicated just for it!

The underground store had so many character stores! I saw Snoopy, Shonen Jump, and NHK Character (such as Domo) stores and I have to say, it was very crowded! I passed this really interesting looking cat but wasn't too sure where it's from.

Before we concluded our day, I made a trip to Pokemon Center! I never been to the new store after it moved though I got to say it's not as cute as it use to be... :(. 

This use to be the old Pokemon Tokyo Store

(Image from All Japan Tours)

Now... it looks like this. I personally don't like how 'modern' it looks and the store front isn't as cute, though the new location is now located in a office building so I guess they can't renovate the front...

(Image from Tokyo Times)

DAY THREE

The third day we had my relative's friend take us to different places. The first stop we went to was the Sapporo Beer Station. To be honest, we weren't suppose to go here but there was some kind of small event going on in the area that when we past, my uncle wanted to check it out.

We had lunch in that area and the view from the restaurant was really nice! You can get a nice bird eye's view of Tokyo City~ If you look closely, you can spot the Tokyo Tower in the photo below :D

At night, we had dinner in the Odaiba area. One of the main attractions in the area is the replicated Statue of Liberty. The replica seems just like the real one! 

... and this is the famous Rainbow Bridge~ The lights that night weren't that pretty so the bridge didn't appear to be in rainbow colors :P The bridge though was still pretty in the dark and the design reminded me of this other bridge back in Shanghai... haha

We also visited my relative's friend's home and they just so happen to have a dog as well :D Her name is Sherry~ I'm not a big poodle lover, though she is one of the sweetest poodles I have ever met.

DAY 4

Coming to Tokyo means visiting the Sky Tree Tower! To be honest, I was more into shopping than looking at the tower. The design of the tower was pretty neat, though I'm not too interested in buildings because living in a city for almost my entire life, I have seen a lot of different kinds of buildings and towers. I really do like the fact that the mall has so many Sky Tree Tower related merchandises.

That afternoon when we returned back to my relative's house, a rainbow appeared right next to the Tokyo Tower! I really wished it was right behind the tower 'cause then it would have been a really pretty shot! But it was still pretty exciting to see a rainbow =u=

DAY FOUR

The last full day before leaving Japan, my relative's friend's daughter took us to DisneySea. I've been to Tokyo Disneyland several years ago and didn't quite like it because it was a lot smaller than the one in California, though the merchandise they sold were so much better! 

The entire design of the park was really unique because it's different from California's Adventure Land. My favorite parts would probably be the 'Mermaid Lagoon', 'Lost River Delta', or 'Arabian Coast' because of the building designs.

When we went, it just so happened to be Tokyo Disney's 30th Anniversary. There were a lot of limited edition merchandise. Also one of the special things you can get there is Duffy and Shellie May (which is only exclusive in Tokyo Disney).

DisneySea was a lot more fun than what I have expected! I think one main reason may have been due to the fact that the lines for the rides were so short! Never have I ever gone to a Disney park without having to wait at least 45 minutes for a ride!! That day, the longest line I waited in was like... 20 minutes~ :3

Well here's my short entry of my trip to Tokyo~ There were a lot more photos but spamming everything with photos can be boring sometimes. Next up will be about my trip to Taipei :D

Liese Prettia Foaming Hair Dye (Rose Tea Brown) - Two Months After

I had dyed my hair for a bit over two months already. The color seemed like it did change a bit to a lighter orange color, though I'm surprised that the color did not fade that much.

For those of you not up to date, I used Liese Prettia Foaming Hair Dye in the color Rose Tea Brown.

Here is my current hair with normal lighting (sunlight through the window).

The color isn't quite visible in indoor lighting though you can tell there's a hint of coloring in the hair.

Here is a closeup of my hair in indoor lighting. My roots is pretty visible now under bright lights and the sunlight, though this is close to the true color you see outdoors. So much for having purple hair :P

I wouldn't recommend anyone with dark hair to use this dye unless they decided to bleach it. I have gotten a few people telling me that they got similar results when using this dye on dark hair. I am definitely planning on using another Liese Prettia Foaming Hair Dye, though definitely not this color again. I think I might try some brown color next time (:

Snow Miku: Then and Now

I'm somewhat a big vocaloid fan and I like listening to their songs, especially Kagamine Rin and Len. There are many companies that make figurines based of them and my favorite ones are Nendoroids. If you don't know what Nenoroid is, it is created by Good Smile Company, and the characters are made into chibi size figurines where you can pose them.

So in early March, Good Smile Company announced that they were taking pre-sales of Snow Miku 2013 Nendoroid. Each year, they hold different contest design for people to create a Snow Miku.

The first Snow Miku that ever came out was in 2010. The design she had was similar to her original attire, except they changed everything to blue and added snow flakes. I remember seeing it originally and thought it was super adorable~

Original Snow Miku from 2010 (Photo from Good Smile Company)

In 2011, they redesigned the Snow miku and added more features. The color scheme became more metallic, though her entire attire is still similar to the 2010 one. I like her accessories such as the mittens, ear muffs, and scarf. 

Snow Miku: Snow Playtime Edition from 2011 (Photo from Good Smile Company)

Starting in 2012, they had a design competition for Snow Miku and this is the winning design for that year. Her entire attire has changed though her hair still remained the same. I really loved this design when I first saw it! But by the time I saw the announcement on Good Smile, I was no longer able to pre-order it anymore.

The winning design (Image from online)

Snow Miku: Fluffy Coat Version from 2012 (Photo from Good Smile Company)

For 2013, the entire outfit of Miku's changed completely. I know some people were really sad that it did not follow the traditional blue shade outfit or hair, though I think the change was really cute. The winning design consisted of Miku in a kimono. I remember first time seeing it online and knew I had to get my hands on it. It is very beautiful and really elegant. The original design may seem a bit plain but I thought the nendoroid was really amazing!

The winning design (Image from Alafista)

Snow Miku: Strawberry White Kimono Version from 2013 (Photo from Good Smile Company)

Isn't it elegant? I really love her hair style! I think for me, the main thing was that this Nendoroid is completely different from the other Miku Nendoroid designs. I'm so happy I was able to pre-order one! Crossing my hands now that this thing will be successfully delivered from Japan to America in June-July. 

Also you can take her 'hat' off. I really like this pose because it looks so Japanese and reminds me of the New Years a lot!

(Photo from Good Smile Company)

For those of you that are wondering, the winning Snow Miku design for 2014 have already been chose. I think the design is super adorable too! I seriously cannot wait till the Nendoroid comes out! This time they even have another contest for the winning animal!

(Image from Alafista)

(Image from Alafista)

She's like a school girl magical witch. I really love all the small details that the artist put into this drawing. If you are interested in the future to design a Snow Miku, here is the link to the official website. I believe contest starts in January of each new year and ends in early May.