Kawaii x Couture Decoden New Website Launch & 20% OFF Promo Code!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to pop in to announce the grand opening of my new online storefront for my decoden shop, Kawaii x Couture! We have moved from our Etsy Site to Storenvy at:

www.KawaiixCoutureDecoden.com!

 

 

I specialize in custom decoden phone cases, jewelry, and accessories. All handmade in Hawaii :)

 

In celebration of the launch of my new webstore, 

I'm having a promotion for the ENTIRE MONTH!

 

Use code: KXC20 To get 20% OFF your order!

 

Valid throughout the entire month of December.

Happy Holiday Shopping and thank you so much for your support!

Product Overview and FOTD: Tokidoki Prisma Lip Gloss in Strawberry Latte

Tokidoki Prisma Lip Gloss in Strawberry Latte over
Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick in Pink Please

Just wanted to do a really quick overview on this gloss! I got it from Sephora when I was in Vegas and it was on sale for $5! Score! Although adorable, I would not have paid the original price tag of $15 for it, nor do I think it is worth that much!

The good stuff:

• Adorable packaging
• Has a sweet flavor
• Nice high-shine gloss

The low-down:

• Has practically no tint to it at all. Basically a clear gloss
• The scent/taste might be too sweet for some
• The lasting power is really bad

Overall: 

I love this gloss because it adds beautiful high-shine to any lip color! Unfortunately the wear-time is very very short. I'd say an hour tops. So if you want it to last, you have to keep reapplying. I don't have a problem with the candy-sweet scent & taste, but if you're not a fan of flavored glosses then I'd steer clear of this. It also is basically just a clear gloss. No tint at all to it. So mainly I just use this gloss to add a pop of shine to any lip color for a short while!

What am I wearing?

Eyes

• Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer
• Maybelline Eyebrow Pencil in Medium Brown
• Stila Eye for Color Eyeshadow Palette - Coffee all over lid
• Stila Eye for Color Eyeshadow Palette - Burgandy on outer-v
• Stila Eye for Color Eyeshadow Palette - Porcelain below the brow
• Wet N Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow in Trashed on outer-v
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Perversion
• Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen in Black
• Velour Lashes in Lash in the City

Lips

• Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick in Pink Please
• Tokidoki Prisma Gloss in Strawberry Latte

Face

• Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer
• Dermablend Smooth Indulgence Concealer in Almond
• Lovely Me:Ex BB Cream
• Revlon Photoready Pressed Powder in Light/Med
• ELF Bronzer in Sunkissed

 

NOTD: Black & Nude Stiletto Nails

I've been obsessed with the pointy nail look lately :) 

Growing out my nails just so I can do stiletto nails!

 Black & Red Louboutin nails I did for Halloween
Nails Inc. Patent Black Taxi and a rusty red polish, Seche Vite

Nude & Gold Glitter nails I'm sporting currently

ELF Desert Haze and NYX Mushroom Glitter, Seche Vite

Check out MissKiraKira on Etsy for kawaii handmade crochet beanies & more!

 Want an awesome 100% handmade crochet beanie like these? Check out my friend Kristina aka Miss KiraKira’s ETSY SHOP! She makes adorable completely custom handcrafted crochet beanies, as well as lovely jewelry and adorable clay charms, keychains, magnets, and more! For unique and sweet kawaii items you will not find anywhere else!<3 p="p">

SHOP: etsy.com/shop/misskirakira

Review: Velour Lashes in Lash in the City

Hey everyone! This review is for these voluptuous Velour Lashes! I decided to buy these because I have a huge lesbian girl crush on LOVE Dannie Riel ;) I really wanted to know what kind of false lashes she uses, because they look amazing! A little googling and I found out that one of the brands she uses is Velour Lashes :) So naturally, I hadddd to try them!

Price: $34.99 (regular $64.99)

I opted for the style "Lash in the City"

 

What they say:

"Girls just wanna have fun! These lashes perfectly compliment a dark smokey eye. Designed with extra fur on the entire band to provide a dramatic and full look. This style also adds a touch of “wing” to the corner of the eyes. Shoes and martini’s shouldn’t be your only accessory."

More from their website:

Inspired by mink eyelashes custom-ordered by celebrities, Velour Lashes is dedicated to offering only the finest lashes on the market. Our mink lashes are individually handmade and guaranteed to be 100% authentic mink fur. We at Velour strongly believe that you shouldn’t have to be a celebrity to look glamorous like one. Synthetic eyelashes, although cheaper, are irritating to the eye, fake and unnatural when worn. In comparison, luscious mink fur looks and feels amazing; with proper care, mink lashes allow for up to 25 uses and last much longer than synthetic ones.

Lastly, our exclusive line of Velour Lashes is custom designed to offer a wide range of styles to achieve your desired look – at Velour, our goal is to make every woman feel that extra bit of beauty, confidence, and ‘oomph’!

You can keep your lashes in the cute packaging when not in use :)

  

The good stuff:

• Comes with its own super cute sturdy storage case
• Made from 100% mink fur, cruelty free (brushed from the live animal, then sterilized)
• No chemical processing or dye
• Super lightweight
• Flexible but stiff lash band
• Easy to apply
• Reusable up to 25 times
• This style is very long & full, yet "natural"

The low-down:

• Expensive!!!
• The length of the lash is very long. I had to trim of a lot to make it fit my eye.

My take:

I was expecting these lashes to be super luxurious because of the price, and of course they were! The shipping was pretty quick, less than a week via Fed-Ex w/ tracking from Canada. They come in a super cute and sturdy case which you can also use to store your lashes when not in use.

I chose the style Lash in the City because I read Buzzed for Beauty's review on this style and the Oops! Naught Me style, which I was originally thinking of getting. But Lash in the City seemed to be a better choice for me because they didn't look as uber long as Oops! Naughty Me.

I'm glad I went with this choice! These lashes are quite long and voluminous, yet natural in the sense that the spacing and wispiness mimics that of real lashes (or at least in my opinion LOL). I absolutely ADORE the look. I love long, bold lashes, so these fit my style perfectly :) I love how they curl upwards beautifully. 

 

The lash band is still yet flexible so applying these was a breeze! I favor stiff lash bands (most asian brand lashes) because it's a lot easier for me to apply and the lashes "stand up" better VS lashes with a flimsy band (most american brand lashes). The lashes are very very lightweight and I practically forget they're there (compared to the lashes I normally wear) because they're so light and comfortable!

My usual fav lashes are NYX Exclusive and Nostalgia layered together. I like these because they give a full and bold effect, but not necessarily a "natural" one. These lashes are "natural" in comparison because of their spacing and wispiness.

I love the length. Vavavoom :)

The main downside is the price and the length of the entire lash itself.

They are supposed to be regular $64.99, which I think is outrageous for one pair of lashes. I cringe when I spend over $5 on one pair of lashes. I wouldn't even go near Dollywink lashes which are around $15-18. So this was a HUGE splurge/risk for me (although they do have a 100% satisfaction guarantee and return policy). 

Since they were "on sale" at $34.99, I bit the bullet and bought in... and don't get me wrong, I am totally willing to pay ridiculous amounts for beauty products :P It seems like this "on sale" price is just the regular price, since they've been that way for awhile now. Not that I'm complaining of course! If it was $64.99 I most likely would NOT purchase. My gripe with this price is I think it's only that expensive because it's being touted as the new celeb "in" thing... Admittedly, it is supposed to last up to 25 uses, which is about 5x as much as regular lashes last, so if you look at it that way, it's like you're paying for, say, 7 pairs of regular lashes at $5 x 5 uses per pair. I personally usually get more uses out of my regular lashes, so we'll just have to see how long really these last me.

My other gripe is that the length of the lash itself is VERY long. Not made for asian eyes. So I had to cut off a very sizeable chunk off each lash in order for it to fit my eyes :( I cut off at the inner corners so now it does not taper off very nicely at the inner corners of my eyes. I guess this isn't a huuge problem in terms of the way it looks, but I just like the lashes at the inner corners to be a lot shorter in comparison to the rest of the lash... because I had to cut off so much it doesn't taper at all. So I would suggest to Velour Lashes that they make the length of the lash shorter, so people with smaller eyes like me don't have to cut off so much!!! It's like you're cutting off $$$ ;(

Would I repurchase/recommend?

Overall since these are supposed to last up to 25 uses, I don't see myself repurchasing these soon. I would only repurchase if they stay at the $34.99 price. I love this style because it is long and full. If you don't like length and volume in your lashes, I would not recommend these. If you're looking for a super luxurious and glamorous lash that will open up your eyes and add lots of length and fullness, I would highly recommend these!

The Rundown:  

 Packaging: 5/5
Comes in its own convenient storage case.

Product: 4.5/5
I love these lashes! But the major downside is I wish they were smaller so I didn't have to trim them!

Price: 3/5
VERY expensive. While you are paying for quality and luxury of the product, I still think this is a bit over the top.

Overall:
    

[ click here to read about my Review & Rating System ]
 

EOTD/FOTD: Halloween Purple Glitter Smokey Eye & Cat Makeup!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

I didn't get to dress up for work but I did a little fancier-than-usual eyemakeup to get in the spirit ;P I did a purple glitter smokey eye using Maybelline's Eye Studio Color Explosion palette in Amethyst Ablaze (my fav purple palette!) I used pink glitter from NYX's glitter cream eyeshadow palette in Sweet Chocolate Browns.

These circle lenses are EOS Adult Violets (the new version). I did a review on them here. They are really not at all that bold except in pictures/very direct sunlight. Overall they just make my eyes look "dark." But they photograph nicely :)

Lippie is Maybelline ColorSensational Lip Color in Pink Please with Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Peach Petal over it.

Later when I got home I also decided to do some cat makeup just for fun :)
All I did was add on a nose & whiskers with dark brown eyeliner. Then touched up my makeup a bit to add a dramatic wing with a light black eyeshadow on the outer and inner corners of my eyes.

Mrawrrr! Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween!

FOTD: Curls & Marilyn Monroe Inspired Makeup

Hey everyone! I haven't posted a FOTD in awhile so just though I'd share this one :) I was bored last night and decided to play around with my hair and makeup. 

First I think I should note that I am completely inept when it comes to anything hair-related. The only thing I can safely do is thin my hair out with a razor and flat iron it :( I cannot, for the life of me; curl, braid, up-do, hair bow, etc. I try to watch tutorials but never can get it right -_- Anywho last night I decided to give curling my hair another shot. I watched Kandee Johnson's tutorial for curling hair with a flat iron. I don't have a curling iron (yet) so I wanted to try this method out! Her video was easy to follow even for a hair novice like me :)

After much trial and error, I got this far! Which I think was pretty good considering I've only tried to curl my hair maybe 2 other times in my life, which were completely failures XD

I did it in small sections, and after I had done majority of my hair, I bunched some of the small sections into bigger sections and re-curled them all at the same time.

Then lots of hair spray!

 

I also played around with a Marilyn Monroe-inspired look just for the fun of it :) -- Red lips & a classic cat-eye, and I added her beauty spot too ;P I don't wear red lipstick ever (I actually borrowed my mom's for this!) But I think sometimes it can be fun!

Here's a list of the products I used for this look:

Face:
- Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer
- Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation in Nude
- Dermablend Smooth Indulgence Concealer in Almond
- ELF Blush in Gotta Glow to highlight & ELF Bronzer in Sunkissed to contour

Eyes:
- Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in Perversion
- Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen in Black
- Wet n Wild Color Icon eyeshadow in Trashed all over lid
- Stila Eye for Color Eyeshadow palette - Burgundy in outer-v
- Stila Eye for Color Eyeshadow palette - Porcelain to highlight below brow
- NYX false lashes

Lips:
- Lancome Color Design Lipstick in Sugared Maple
- Colortrend Lip juice in Cherry Truffle

- - -

Some highlights about the makeup I've been loving lately:

• I really like the Revlon whipped foundation because it covers imperfections and photographs really well, but it is also heavy and can be cakey. I also don't use it very often because when I did, I feel it was the cause of some breakouts because it is so heavy and doesn't let my skin breathe. Other than that though, it is a great foundation for photos and does last allll day :)
• The Wet n Wild Color Icon eyeshadow in Trashed is my favvvv black eyeshadow right now! It is black with silver sparkles :) It is nicely pigmented and you can easily build the intensity for a very dark black, or use just a little for subtle touch of darkness. Plus it's only like $2!!!
• If you have a choice between Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in Zero and Perversion, GET PERVERSION! If you like the blackest black eyeliner, go with Perversion. It is wayyy deeper & darker than my old fav, Zero. I also feel like the formulation is better & lasts much longer without smudging. Love it! Also (not used in this FOTD) I'm in love with Smashbox's Limitless eyeliner in Onyx. Also very black and long-lasting. Goodstuff!
• Dermablend concealer is pretty much my new best friend. I thought I'd never find a product to cover up my horrid dark circles, but THIS IS THE PRODUCT!!! It is very pricy for a tiny tube ($22 for 0.3 oz) but it does the job perfectly. Completely covers up dark circles, pimples, and redness, AND wears all day! 

Hope everyone's having a great October!

Review: Cetaphil DermaControl Oil Control Foam Wash

Price: $9.87 from Walmart

What they say:
- Clinically proven to effectively remove excess oil, impurities and make-up that can clog pores and lead to breakouts
- Gentle enough for everyday use
- Formulated for acne-prone skin
- Calming formula won't over-dry skin

What to do: Massage foam onto damp skin. Rinse.

What's in it: Water, Zinc Coceth Sulfate, Glycerin, Peg-75, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Zinc Gluconate, Peg-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palate, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Peg-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Sodium Benzoate, Masking Fragrance, Disodium Edta.

The good stuff:

• Pump dispenser
• Gentle foam
• Leaves skin feeling clean and refreshed
• Does not dry out my skin
• Definitely helped control my oily skin
• Helps cut back on shine
  

The low-down:

• None!
  

My take: I bought this because (as I've mentioned previously) I'm battling with terribly oily skin and breakouts since being off BCP for the past several months. In an attempt to get my skin back under control, I've been actively seeking out oil/shine-controlling products and I came across this at my local Walmart!

I cannot stress enough that I am SO glad I came across this product. It has worked WONDERS for me. Before, not even a 2 hours after applying makeup, my entire face would be a shiny mess. After using this foam wash for a few days, there was an IMMEDIATE difference in my skin. The oilyness was dramatically cut back and I was no longer shiny after only a few hours. As long as I set my face with powder, I have little-to-no shine all day. I have been using this for the past month or so and it has really helped my skin!

I use about 1 1/2 pumps of this face wash. It's nice and foamy and lathers well. After using it, my skin feels clean and refreshed. It also leaves my skin feeling a bit "tightened," but not stripped and dry. Even after continued use, this does not dry out my skin or have any other adverse effects. One thing to note though is that although it says it is formulated for acne-prone skin, I cannot say it helped decrease my breakouts though. But I think that is just another thing I'm going to have to deal with until my hormones stop fluctuating :x

Would I repurchase/recommend?

I would without a doubt repurchase this face wash! I absolutely love it and it has made such a difference in my skin. I would highly recommend this cleanser to people with oily skin and who want to control shine.

The Rundown:

Packaging: 5/5
Easy pump dispenser bottle.

Product: 5/5
Worked excellent for me! Definitely helped control my oil and made a difference with the condition of my skin!

Price: 5/5
Affordable.

Overall:

[ click here to read about my Review & Rating System ]

Homemade gelatin pore mask VS pore strips

I've touched a few times upon the chaotic state of my skin lately -- VERY oily, clogged pores, breakouts all over, etc. -- I recently started a new BCP, which I'll probably share my thoughts on later... It's my (I think?) 4th or 5th attempt at battling my PMDD (see this post for more info about PMDD) and I'm hoping it will start helping with clearing up my skin soon :x

Anywho, I just wanted to share my experience with a homemade gelatin pore mask. I had seen various youtube videos and read posts on this method of unclogging pores, and decided I'd give it a shot since I had Knox gelatin at home. When it comes to food-stuffs for your face; I'm pretty willing to try just about anything as long as it doesn't seem dangerous :P

All you need for this is:

• 1 tbsp powdered unflavored gelatin
  
• 1 tbsp milk

You're supposed to mix the aforementioned ingredients in a microwave safe bowl, throw it in the microwave for 10 seconds, then apply to your face in the desired areas with a brush (preferably one you don't mind getting gunky and/or throwing away). Then leave on for 30 minutes or until dry, and peel off.

I've read numerous reviews saying warmed milk is absolutely rank smelling and other people said they substituted plain water or green tea for the milk. So I opted for green tea since it has antioxidant properties. Unfortunately for me, IT STILL SMELLED TERRIBLE :| I'm not sure if it's just how it combines with the gelatin... but Idk, it smells grossss :( In hindsight, I think I should have waited awhile longer for the tea to cool down after I brewed it (I only waited about 10 minutes so it was still pretty warm -- figured it would be the same as if I had used cold tea & microwaved it) before I mixed it in. The gelatin pretty much instantly started to congeal and I had sort of a hard time evenly spreading it on my face.

Once on my face, I had to deal with the smell :x I got used to it but it was still not pleasant. I put the mask on/around my nose, on my chin, and on some problem areas on my forehead and cheeks. A lot of it was sort of clumpy and not evenly applied but it did dry relatively quickly, faster than 3o minutes but I just lounged around with it on anyway :P

Now peeling it off was the traumatic part. IT WAS SOOO PAINFUL!!! I think if I had a better consistency to start with, I would have been able to apply it more evenly and would have had an easier time pulling it off. But it was still really sore.

The "good" thing is that it feels like it ripped out every single baby hair on my face, so my skin was really smooth and clean looking afterwards. Surprisingly, it did not get red or itchy like I usually get with pore strips. The disappointing thing though, was that it did not seem to pull anything out of my pores!!!! When I use regular pore strips, I don't get a lot of gunk coming out; but at least I get SOMETHING. I couldn't seem to detect anything at all on the peeled-off gelatin mask. A bit bummed because the "fun" (okay maybe that's kinda gross but it is interesting!!!) part about doing peel-off masks is seeing all the stuff it takes out of your skin!

So overall I was pretty disappointed with my experience with a homemade gelatin mask. For the amount of pain involved in peeling it off, I was sure it would have really cleaned out my pores. But it seems that it didn't do anything.

On a whim, I decided I'd try to use face strips right after and see if it could pick anything up. I had one last Biore face strip so I cut it into pieces and put one on my nose, forehead, and chin. The forehead and chin strips came out clean, but the nose strip did in fact pull out some gunk!!!! I put it in the same area as the gelatin mask, so I KNOW the mask was not effective at pulling it out.

So overall I'm under the impression that the homemade gelatin mask is NOT as effective as actual pore strips. The biore pore strips are less painful also. I think I'd rather spend the extra cash and get actual results rather than waste gelatin and not get any results. From what I read of others experiences, it seems to work for some people, but just not effectively enough for me. I'd say it is worth a shot though if you have clogged pores!

NOTD: Revlon Whimsical over Hard Candy Sky

My sister from another mister Serenie gifted me with Revlon Whimiscal polish! It looks so pretty and cute in the bottle but it's very VERY sheer and the glitter comes out really sparse so it requires a few coats to get a nice distribution of glitter.

Whimsical is made up of a super sheer milky blue base with pink and blue chunky hexagonal glitters and blue microglitter. I layered it over Hard Candy's Sky which is a pretty pale baby blue with very fine shimmer. I love baby pink/blue combos so I think it came out pretty cute with some added deco :)

On another note, I need new topcoat! Definitely going to pick up a bottle of Seche Vite. The topcoat I have now has a lot of bubbles :(

Sophie & Toffee 10% OFF coupon for all your decoden supply needs!

Here's a code for 10% off any order from Sophie & Toffee! They are my #1 recommended decoden supplier for their huge variety of cabochons, fast shipping, and excellent customer service!

Click the link below to get the code!
(code is only valid if the website is accessed though the click-through link!)

http://sophieandtoffee.refr.cc/LTZ7V8D

This offer expires on 7/23/12. Happy shopping!

You mad? I do what I want!

A recent obsession I've developed recently has indubitably been over Loki (from Thor & The Avengers) aka Tom Hiddleston -- The man is a spectacular actor (and always so crushingly polite and charming in interviews *fangirling*), not to mention his portrayal of Loki was perfect to the T. So of course, I've been amassing obscene amounts of Loki'd/Hiddlestoned memorabilia... I regret nothing :P

#idowhatiwant, à la @twhiddleston style!

Obviously I don't have Tom's reach (the guy is over 6 feet tall!) :P

You can get this awesome shirt from

Welovefine.com!