Hokkaido 100% Pure Horse Oil vs. Eczema

Imagine my surprise when my eemo handed me a bright, red box with the label "100% Pure Horse Oil" on it. 

Trying my best to be as polite as possible, I feign a smile and graciously accept the gift with open arms. My eemo is a tour guide for Koreans who visit Japan so she flies to Japan every other week and often picks up things that interest her. This week, it had to be horse oil.

Not gonna lie, I felt pretty disgusted when I found out that horse oil was being used as a beauty product. But then I realized that I was just being a culturally insensitive little bitch. (Hey, don't get me wrong if you don't support horse oil if you're vegan or if you care for animals. I'm just saying that if you're alright with other animal products don't hate on the horse oil.)

Horse oil blew up last year in Korea as an alleged cure-all for acne, eczema, and other skin conditions. It's been used for hundreds of years across Asia and the first account of it being used was 

found in an ancient Chinese medicine book called Bencao Gangmu.

This seems to be a no-brand horse oil but since it just appears to be horse oil with no other ingredients, it should be the same as other horse oil brands. Thanks to my boyfriend (he's starting up his cooking blog so please check him out!) for translating the Kanji, which says: Hokkaido Pure Horse Oil Highest Quality.

This 70 mL glass jar came in a nice box but I lost it since I received this last year :( The price was 3,500 yen. 

The consistency is very similar to coconut oil, which I've also used as a moisturizer. It melts into a liquid at body temperature yet maintains a creamy, solid state in the jar. I really hate putting oil on my face so I reserve this only for the eczema on my face and body. The oil just sits on top of your skin and takes the longest time to soak in.

Last year, I had an unknown skin rash (probably eczema) that grew on my eyelid overnight. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING I did would help it go away, even pills or steroids. This is where my eemo comes in, swooping with her horse oil. I was pretty desperate at this point to get rid of the rash so I slathered a layer of horse oil onto it before I went to sleep to dream about normal looking eyelids. When I awoke, my eyelids looked significantly better and were not flaking! They still didn't feel like normal skin, but I was happy to know that something was working.

I don't use this oil anymore after I discovered ceramides, but it was one of the products that helped my weird eyelid rash. It's an alright moisturizer/oil for super flaky skin but I wouldn't recommend it for daily wear if you don't have the patience to let it soak in. Putting makeup on top of the unsoaked oil will result in your face looking and feeling like a greasebomb.

Left: unmoisturized eczema

Right: eczema after leaving a layer of horse oil on overnight

On application, it feels like nothing. But then my eczema slowly starts to burn (not in an unbearable way, it's just common in my experience whenever I put a moisturizer on my eczema). As you can see, the photo on the right is less flaky and scabby than the photo on the left but it's nothing dramatic or life-saving. 

I'll stick to my ceramides, thank you very much. 

Anna Sui Glittering and Protective Lip Gloss Review

Hey everyone, it's been a super long time. In short, I've just been focused on school work but I've gained enough motivation to start blogging again! I also bought a new camera (coughitsjustaniPhone6cough) so I thought I'd test it out.

My family friends recently gifted me this beautiful Anna Sui Glittering Lip Gloss in 600 and Protective Lip Gloss in 302 from Japan. I think the box is super pretty! These are my first Anna Sui products but I know she's famous for her elaborate packaging.

Some info on the products from Anna Sui:

Glittering lip gloss- "Dazzling brilliance and shimmering hydration all in one amazing lip gloss!

Anna Sui's Glittering Lip Gloss offers a translucent base with a sparkling finish all in a light, refreshing texture."

Protective lip gloss- "A colorful lip gloss that protects delicate lips from UV rays and dryness. SPF 20 keeps lips protected from UV rays while ultra-hydrating Plumping Oil wraps lips in a veil of moisture to keep dryness at bay."

Each lip gloss is 8 mL each (0.24 oz) and $22. Glittering comes in 14 colors while Protective comes in 9.

Glittering Lip Gloss Ingredients:

Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Triethylhexanoin, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Dextrin Palmitate, Diisostearyl Malate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Diphenyl Dimethicone, Ascorbic Acid, Ascorbyl Dipalmitate, Honey (Mel) Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Tocopherol, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Barium Sulfate, BHT, Calcium Carbonate, Dimethicone, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Lecithin, Methicone, Perfluorooctyl Triethoxysilane, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Silica, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Tin Oxide, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum), Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool, [May Contain (+/-) Iron Oxides (CL 77491), Iron Oxides (CL77499) Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CL 77891), Red 7 (CI 15850), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140)]

Protective Lip Gloss Ingredients:

Polybutene, Polyglyceryl-2 Tri Sostearate, Diphenyl Dimethicone, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Dextrin Palmitate, Phytosteryl/Behenyl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Caprylic/Capric/Myristic/Stearic Triglyceride, Dextrin Palmitate/Ethylhexanoate, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Paraffin, Ascorbic Acid, Ascorbyl Dipalmitate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Honey (Mel), Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Tocopherol, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Barium Sulfate, BHT, Calcium Carbonate, Dimethicone, Dipropylene Glycol, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Lecithin, Methicone, Silica, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool, [May Contain(+/-), Iron Oxides (CL77491), Iron Oxides (CL 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CL 77891), Red 7 (CL 15850), Yellow 5 Lake (CL 19140)]

The lip glosses themselves come in a small, beautiful plastic tube. It feels very hardy and travel friendly. Protective is on the left (a hot pink color in the tube) and glittering is on the right (a sparkly coral color). It seems like the protective lip gloss line has a white cap while the glittering lip gloss line has a black one.

Each lip gloss has a doe-foot applicator.

The lip gloss is extremely sheer, thin, and shiny. Both give the lips the wet, juicy look that is sought after in Japan but the glittering lip gloss obviously has glitter in it. In comparison to other lip glosses I have tried, this isn't very sticky and the consistency is rather "oily" but I do feel that the oil does keep my lips moisturized throughout the day. The protective lip gloss is definitely tackier and sticker than the glittering lip gloss.

They don't smell or taste like anything though I detected the faintest bit of lychee-scent in there. I might be lying to myself so don't quote me on that!

As you can see, there isn't much of a difference between the two. The protective lip gloss looks wetter and shinier than the glittering lip gloss. Because I have pigmented lips in the first place, I never really use lip glosses for color-- just shine. These lip glosses literally add no color to my lips.

The difference between the glittering and protective lip gloss is very little. You can barely see the glitter so if I had to choose only one, I'd go with the protective lip gloss due to the SPF it has.

Lasting power: Nothing extraordinary. It lasts until before you eat and afterwards, it's completely gone.

Color: Pretty sheer. Nothing too pigmented which is okay for a lip gloss.

Moisture: Didn't dry my lips out...hoorah!

All in all, these lip glosses are okay. They're nothing absolutely fan-fucking-tastic but they do the job. I'd rather buy a cheaper lip gloss from the drug store because the formula feels the same. Spend the extra $10 if you wanna pay for the fancy packaging haha. Would not purchase again simply because it is not worth the money.

A Day in Japan (Pic-Heavy)

Hi everyone!

I'm finally back from Korea and Japan~

I apologize for the lack of updates as I had no access to the internet during the majority of my trip >: I also apologize for not telling you guys in advance, because I literally found out like three days before the trip e _ e I'll be posting some reviews soon, but for now, I'd like to talk about Japan!!

I went to Japan for only one day, as my parents were really paranoid about eating the food there...they heard that the water and seafood weren't safe because of radiation so it was kind of a bummer that I was there for only 5 hours = _ =

All the photos taken in this post (and the majority of the upcoming posts) are with an iPad2!! I never thought that the quality would be so exceptional ; u ; I lost/forgot my camera at home in the US, so I had to use an iPad or my phone u n u;;

My mother, brother, and I arrived at Narita airport and since we only had 5 hours to spend in Japan, we decided to wander nearby the airport. We took a train to Narita station and from there, we walked around town into Narita temple. It was really beautiful, and I think it's a lot prettier than the Korean temples I saw (though the buddhas and demons are a lot scarier LOL).