Contact lens Review : Dueba Puffy 3 Tone - Brown (PICTURE HEAVY)

Yo! Hope you're all doing well!

This will be the first time I'm doing a contact lens review and the first pair of lenses I'll be reviewing is the Dueba Puffy 3 Tone.

Also did a video review on the len which can be viewed her :

I ordered these lenses on Honeycolor originally retailing for $25.90USD, but now on sale for only $20.72USD in the color brown. 

To make it short and easy to read (hopefully), I'll post the details in points.

• Diameter (DIA) : 14.5mm
• Base Curve (B.C) : 8.6mm
• Water Content : 38%
• One year expiry
• Comes in 6 different colors: Blue. Grey/Gray, Green, Brown, Pink, Purple
• Comes in different prescriptions.

Before I start with the lens review, lets quickly (okay not so quick) talk about HoneyColor's service.

Honeycolor was recommended to me by a good cosplayer friend of mine (Thanks Pina!) and ever since 2009- I've been ordering my contact lenses from HoneyColor, so it's been approximately almost 4 years now and their service has never failed to deliver.

Variety & Price : There is a wide range of variety of lenses from different brands such as GEO, Beaucon, Dolly+, Dueba etc and each is quite reasonably priced in my opinion. Honeycolor do tend to have sales on different lenses every month and especially on newly released lenses. Who doesn't love sales :P

Processing orders : They are really fast on processing orders, especially if you order your lenses on a weekday. I ordered my lenses on the 18th May 2013, which was a weekend so they couldn't really respond and prepare my package until the weekday. Tuesday I receive an email confirming that my package have been shipped.

Shipping & Postage : They have two range of shipping, the normal shipping which is $9.00AUD, and the express for $12.00AUD. It wasn't until this order that I realised that the shipping price for the standard shipping was jacked up by $3.00AUD as it used to be $6.00AUD. To be honest $6.00AUD for postage was kinda killing me already since I'm quite tight on that. BUT let me just say that the normal shipping is great unless you're in super desperate need. On average the package arrives no later than 2 weeks, usually its 1.5-2weeks on the dot. Sometimes when the offices and posts aren't busy and sends out the packages instantly, you may even receive your package within a week. 
My package was shipped on the 21st May, and I received it on the 24th-25th May which was very unexpected considering I payed for the standard shipping. Both shipping do come with a working tracking number which is very reassuring.

Packaging : The packaging is secure and safe to ensure the lenses and products arrive in one piece since the lenses do come in small glass viles. Typically for small orders you will receive lenses in a small orangey-yellow bag that's lined with bubble wrap. 

Inside the bag you will receive your free contact lense case thats sealed up to ensure that the cases are brand new and free from contamination. Along with the case is a small box in which your lens vile is stored and stays put in place.

Service : The service in terms of contacting them is alright, I wouldn't say the best as there have been past experiences where I tried to contact them via email to resolve an issue I had (apparently they were out of stock on the lenses and they asked me to contact them about it) and they didn't reply at all. BUT I've been told that Honeycolor is more active on Facebook and that they reply very quickly.

ANYWAY! That wraps up for Honeycolor, let's get back onto the contact lens review.
The contact lenses comes in sealed viles that labels "DUEBA MESSISH". I don't know why it doesn't say Puffy 3 Tone or even Barbie like other reviews I've read, but oh well.

I ordered the lenses in the color brown with no prescription. Originally I wanted to get my own prescription on it which is ±0.50-0.75 but apparently the lowest prescription you can get apart from ±0.00 was ±1.00 which was too strong for my eye, so no prescription for the best.

From looking at the lens alone, they looked very similar to the GEO TRICOLOR series however the centre color of the lens is darker than the GEO TRICOLOR series which blends into the pupil. What I love about this lens is the outter rim not being a black ring, giving it a more natural look. The pattern seem to look quite natural and the fact that it has 3-tones of one color gives is a natural appeal.

New lenses when first opened should be stored in new contact lens solution for a minimum of 6 hours as the sterile buffered saline solution in the vile has been stored for too long which can harm the eyes despite it being sterile.

After putting one lens in, I was actually surprised by a couple of things.

1. The color was surprisingly vibrant and showed up. Thought it would've blended in with my natural eye like GEO NUDY series.
2. Thought the enlarging effect was large but it was pretty good, not as bad as other 14.5mm lenses I've tried
3. Lens was soft and easy to put it and extremely comfortable

Natural naked eye on left, Lens on the right. Derpy snapshot from Review Video

Natural naked eye on left, Lens on the right. Sorry out of focus. Snapshot from Review Video

The lenses surprisingly showed up on all different lighting, from dim rooms and of course bright daylight lighting. 

Daylight with closed blinds for dim room.

Flash Photography

Outdoor Daylight lighting

One thing I've noticed from looking at it especially up close is that it does kind of look poppy like the GEO TRICOLOR but not as much since the color is more darker. From afar I guess they do look somewhat natural, but surely up close like casual conversation- people would notice they're lenses (maybe?).

So I wore the lenses for the whole day (6 hours is the average time frame lenses should be worn before they start to get dry) and I honestly did not feel any discomfort until the 5th-6th hour. Faced many weather challenges as it was cold and sunny and also super windy while I was driving which I would expect my contact to dry out, but it didn't. It may be because these lenses are brand new and I've only worn them twice (second time for this review) but yeah.

Here is what my eyes look like 2-3 hours after putting the lens in :

Here are my eyes at the end of the night after having the lens on for approximately 6 hours. By this time my eyes felt slightly dry, especially when I was so concentrated making some cosplay props (as seen behind) which I didn't blink as often as I should. But yeah my eyes did sting only a tiny bit hence my eyes are abit red.

Verdict? 
I definitely do recommend these lenses. 

• They have vibrant colors that show up quite naturally. Which can be worn normally and for cosplay purposes.
• They're super comfortable and soft which allows my eyes to breathe.
• They have a slight enlarging effect with its 14.5mm diameter.
• They come in 6 different colors.

Here are my ratings:

Color : 4/5

Comfort : 4/5

Englarging : 3.5/5

Price : 3/5

That concludes the first contact lens review, sorry for the babbling along the way- will try cut down on those~  Here, have another pic of me (to eat your internet) with flash with the lens on taken tonight after an outting  O3O)/

Hope this review was somewhat helpful, please do leave a comment on what you think and also your thoughts and opinions on the lens as well. Would love to see it :)

Until then, stay well and take care!

Review : Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery BB (PICTURE HEAVY)

Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well!

Not long ago I needed to restock on my usual sunscreen by Biore and while browsing, I thought I'd order a couple of other products in their UV Aqua Rich line. I'll do reviews for each of them after I start testing and trying them out. :)

I really love the Biore UV Aqua Rich line especially their Watery Mousse sunscreen and their Watery Essence sunscreen as it does wonders for my normal-combination skin, leaving my skin feeling protected from the sun, hydrated and finished with a velvety powder finish.

The first thing I was really eager to try was the Biore Aqua Rich Watery BB which was their latest releases from their UV Aqua Rich line and also because it's a BB (assuming its a BB cream).

Retail Packaging.

This BB cream comes in a beige tube containing 33grams of product retailing online on Ebay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Biore-KAO-Japan-Biore-UV-Aqua-Rich-Watery-BB-Cream-Face-SPF50-PA-33g-/221208045088?pt=US_Skin_Care&hash=item338106e620) for approximately $13.50 AUD and comes in only one shade. This water-based product has a SPF of 50+ / PA+++ consisting of Hyaluronic acid and many citrus extracts of orange, grapefruit and lemon. Claims to protect the skin from UV rays whilst evening and brightening skin tones leaving the skin feeling refreshed and light. The only concern I have is that Ethanol is the third ingredient on the list, which may be a concern for those with dry-sensitive skin.

Just a side fact about Hyaluronic acid; It is commonly used in conjuction with vitamin C to help penetrate the skin further for effective results and is also commonly used for anti-aging purposes to correct or 'reverse' aging skin. It is also a common substance used to treat dry or damaged skin (such as eczema).
For the citrus extracts, citrus is a great source of Vitamin C being ascorbic acid which is commonly in skincare products to help stimulate other substances to make it more effective such as the synthesis of collagen. In this case, It helps the Hyaluronic acid to penetrate deep into the skin. Vitamin C is also known to help fade scars, and minimise wrinkles and fine lines.

Back onto the review, the squeeze tube comes in a nozzle after removing the twist cap off which is excellent as it is hygienic, not messy and also distributes the product easily. Upon swatching the product on the hand, the salmon-pink tinted cream is super lightweight, wet and very easy to spread- almost felt like a water gel. The cream did have an odd scent unlike the other products in their UV Aqua Rich line which had a subtle lemon scent. The BB cream smelt like PVA glue, which wasn't really pleasant. Once the cream was blended, a white sheen finish could be seen which did brighten the skin and did leave the skin feeling hydrated. After the cream settled after 3-5minutes, the cream had a nice velvety powder finish without being sticky.

First swatch test- consistency and texture.

Upon testing the coverage on the upper exposed wrist (as shown in image below - click to enlarge) the coverage is very thin, it did even the skin tone out and brighten the skin as it claimed to but didn't really cover.

Now it was to try on the face. Lately the weather in Sydney has been quite relatively cold which leaves my normal-combination skin dry in some areas such as the sides of the nose and cheeks whilst still have some oil in the T-zone area. I apply the BB cream by dotting and then blend it out through the face and down the neck like any other BB cream.

After blending and waiting 4 minutes for the BB cream to set, I would say that my skin has definitely brighten up and that it really did even my skin tone and cover up the redness around my nose but It didn't have enough coverage to cover the redness of my pimple below my lip. 
There were some difficulties in blending the product as it kept leaving patches of the cream behind which required me to literally rub into the skin. Even with further rubbing in, there was still residues hidden in my eyebrows which looked really awkward up close. Not sure if the skin where my eyebrow lies was dry or not BUT it did leave my cheekbone area and the sides of my nose some dry patches.

Applied it on the other side of the face and I can say that my skin definitely did feel hydrated as it has this cold sensation as if you have the air conditioner blowing into your face, despite leaving some dry patches on the areas that was already dry. I'm guessing this was the result of the ethanol being third in the ingredient list. 
After allowing the products to settle in, there were still some white residues of the product on my eyebrows. On the positive note, my skin tone was really evened out and also brightened and surprisingly with flash photography- It didn't really leave such a harsh white cast as most sunscreen would've. Also my skin felt quite firm and had this plumpy feeling to it which was great.

Got my day started and ran around doing errands outdoor in the sun with the cold weather.  Got back after 5 hours of application of the BB cream and this is the result: 

You can kind of see the redness of the sides of my nose peeking through which shows that some of the cream or the tint of the cream has faded. My T-zone area was only abit shiny but definitely not as oily as when I go without it. My skin at this point still felt dry and powdery and still had that plump/firm feeling. The dry patches on the side of the nose, the pimple and the cheekbone area was still there and the residues on my eyebrow was still there. 
In terms of hydration and moisture, I'd say only 40% of it was left because my skin did feel abit tight in such that slightly on the dry side; but my skin did not feel heavy at all.

So lets sum up on the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery BB.  
Pros : 

• Did evened out skin tone as claimed
• Did brighten up the complexion as claimed
• SPF 50+/ PA+++
• Lightweight cream and refreshing feeling
• Non sticky & Non greasy
• Dry velvety powder finish
• Cooling sensation upon applying
• Comes in a clean squeeze tube
• Not much of a white cast
• Controls oils quite well

Cons: 

• Didn't hydrate the skin very well
• Left some dry patches and residues
• Requires alot of blending and rubbing in
• Comes in one shade (quite light as well)
• Very little coverage
• PVA-glue scent
• Slightly pricey, almost $14.00AUD for 33grams (excluding shipping price) [Though I'm sure it's heaps cheaper in japan]

Final verdict :

I probably wouldn't really recommend this product if you're looking for an actual BB cream that moisturises the skin, has some coverage. I wouldn't even say this product is a tinted moisturiser and it doesn't really moisturise the skin. ALSO, definitely wouldn't recommend for those with dry-sensitive skin as it left me dry patches in some areas and my skin is normal-combination, wouldn't want to imagine what it would be on dry skin. Not recommended for sensitive skin because the ethanol content may be harsh for your skin. 

Not sure if I'd recommend it for oily-combination skin users but I'm guessing it'd be great to  keep your face less shiny.

Probably would use this more in summer where the sun is more harsh and my skin gets more oily. But $14.00AUD for this product, I'd probably prefer other products to be honest. Quite disappointing really because I'd expect it to be great like the other products in the same line.

Anyway hope this review is somewhat helpful. 

Please leave comments on your thoughts of the cream and the review, would love to hear it.

If you would like to purchase this product- I purchased it from Yoicho29 on Ebay (http://myworld.ebay.com.au/yoicho29) which situates from Japan, and delivers great service. [Not sponsored] And hey, Hello Kitty stamps! *^*!

Until then, stay well & take care!

Belated Mother's Day

Happy Belated Mother's Day everyone! Hope you wished all your mom's a happy mother's day and celebrated with her (and him since there are men who take on both roles) well!

My family was quite busy so we didn't really have time to have a proper outting besides having dinner over at my grandma's house to celebrate mother's day but yeah, didn't get to do anything with my mom so I decided to take her out today (Tuesday 14th May 2013).

Mom felt like going to the city to roam around like we usually do so the city it was. We roamed around in the city with only 2-3 hours of sleep since we had to say goodbye to my father who was leaving to overseas for family reasons. 

But yeah, left  the house at around 10.40am and we drove to our local train station to catch the train. UNFORTUNATELY we were behind schedule because for some reason every parking lot was extremely packed, including the pay ones which is extremely rare especially on a weekday as well. We eventually spotted one and zoomed into it haha! Got our train tickets and waited for the train.

We bumped into one of our family friend's daughter who was on her way to university which was great seeing her looking well and hearing her parents are doing well as well. 

Got to Central at around 12pm - 12.10pm and we started trecking towards Chat Thai, the casual authentic Thai restaurant that our family loves. Surprisingly the restaurant wasn't so packed when we got there despite being lunch hours but hey, not complaining so we got our seats instantly :D

We ordered four dishes in total, started off with mhu bhing which was grilled pork skewers which you don't really find in other Thai restaurants because it's one of those casual authentic dishes sold in carts on the streets of Thailand; in otherwords street food. This was delicious as always and actually may even be better than we usually have it because it was really tender and still moist unlike other times due to incoming customers.

For main we ordered kana mhu grob which was under the wok fried section which was chinese kale stir fried with crispy pork belly. Unfortunately this wasn't so great because it was quite salty and also the pork belly was not crispy but rather really tough and dry. So was slightly disappointed but still tasted alright to accompany our fried rice dish.

The fried rice dish we ordered was khao padt bpla khem which was fried rice with salted mackerel. This dish was satisfying since it had a good balance of flavors, though best accompanied with another stir fried dish. Adding a dash of lemon to the rice really did add a nice zest to it. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of this because was too busy eating haha!

Lastly there's dessert which we ordered the coconut ice cream which sounds simple but there's more than to the name. It's a young-coconut based ice cream consisting of sweet sticky rice, and the two scooped ice cream is topped with candied palm seeds and peanuts. Truly is satisfying. Also unfortunate that I didn't take a picture.

After lunch we roamed around from centres to centres to browse at clothes and stationary stores and kitchenware etc etc. We didn't buy anything as we just like to window shop and browse the stores as if it's a museum haha! 

We did stop at Priceline at World Square to look around at the perfume section and the cosmetic section. I tried on some testers on my inner wrist and mom was trying out some foundation on her inner wrist and yeah. 
Once again didn't buy anything :D

Took a break at around 4.30pm and chilled for some coffee and drinks. Ordered mom a cappuccino and got myself a fresh blended juice.

During this chill moment we were deciding whether to eat dinner or not because we were just sooooo full from lunch. Eventually made the decision that we'll go eat dinner at home and have dinner in the city or dinner outting another time.

Before leaving the city, we stopped by at our usual japanese grocery store Maruyu to stock up on japanese grocery and products since alot of the products are hard to find in my area and it's heaps cheaper there.
Pretty much like every other city trip, we always end up going home with groceries LOL!

Bought some panko, frozed mixed vegetables and lotus root slices for hot pot, aburage tofu, japanese mayonnaise, miso pastet, dashi stock powder, and we bought some natto and pickled plum to try. I've tried natto before but had a super bad experience because of the smell, hopefully the experience will be better now that I'm at a more mature age who knows more about food then back then and that I'll mix the seasoning in this time haha!

But yeah, got home safely and relaxed for the rest of the night.
Overall it was a great day, the weather was great despite it was raining in the early morning but it was really nice and sunny when we were out. Except late at night (currently) it suddenly became super cold. More the reason to snuggle up in bed and sleep in!

Until then, stay well and take care!

Lack of updates. Will post regularly soon.

Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well.

Super quick post but I apologise for the lack of posts lately.
Been kinda busy with helping my parents with their work, along with sorting some documents and files for family, preparing my dad's work trips overseas and also rearranging my room. 
And of course been too busy gaming on the new Aram on League of Legends along with playing Ragnarok Online 2 NA server.

Shouldn't be too long until I start updating regularly on the blog and YouTube. Though for YouTube I want to record and post a video first just to grab suggestions and opinions. But yeah! Won't be long. 

I've been somewhat good, just busy as mentioned above but things should die down after Tuesday. Have been quite laxed with the job hunting so I'll be honest that I've been slacking off with that, so I know I'm at fault with that. 

Been catching up with my high school friends alot lately which is super good; attended a graduation, go out for dinner altogether then chill at a bar for some drinks and good music. Lots of gossip and chit chats.

Oh right, I never ended up finding my phone so I'm still using my Iphone 3GS which is cool but it's slow so I haven't been able to post on Instagram as much as I usually do, nor have I been able to return hearts on Lineplay. Will eventually get a new phone but maybe later on, I'm in no rush since I'm happy with my Iphone 3GS.

Have been doing quite alot of DIY things especially for my room and for an upcomming photoshoot. For my room, made some storage boxes using ventilation shutters that we had spare boxes of laying around; reorganised my makeup kit and made use of my candle jars; made use of my corkboard and moved all the letters, gifts and coscards from the small corkboard onto the large corkboard and organised my accessories onto my small one. My room looks more tidier and somewhat less childish. Loving it.

For DIY for upcomming photoshoot, planning to have a child-theme photoshoot so similar to what you call in japanese shota or loli shoot. Just dressing super cute and bright and preppy. So been making some accessories to prepare for that photoshoot. 

Haven't been working on any cosplay because I'm just so lazy haha! Better get started on it real soon though since I have about a month to go.

So that pretty much sums up what I've been up to.
Until then, stay well & take care~