A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Take a stroll through Soho and you’d be hard-pressed not to end up in Japanese store MUJI…  There’s something about that small store on Carnaby Street that draws passing foot traffic like bees to honey.

Inside, shelves are packed from floor to ceiling with countless arrays of practical and simply-designed products that are guaranteed to make your life a little easier.

One of the latest installments in the “making life easier” category is a new range of skincare that I first talked about a couple of weeks ago.

As a bonafide cleansing oil addict (I currently have 6 bottles on the go) I was keen to see how the new MUJI Cleansing Oil stacked up against some of the more established market leaders.

MUJI were good enough to send me out a couple of pieces from the new range, and I’ve been using them for nearly a month now.  I know there’s been a lot of interest in this product particularly so I wanted to get my thoughts ‘out there’ without too much delay.

MUJI’s offering is cheap.  Not the kindest way to open a review, but I am talking money!  In a world where you can easily pay £35 for a simillar sized bottle of  cleansing oil, this is a bargain.  Hand over a tenner and expect change.

MUJI’s Cleansing Oil comes in a standard, no frills bottle… the emphasis is on functionality rather than aesthetics, although many would argue that the minimalistic design is more aesthetically appealing than many alternatives.

The biggest draw for many will be the fact that this cleanser contains no mineral oils.  A plus point indeed!  Mineral oil is one of the world’s cheapest substances and is a cause of skin irritation and dryness for many.  I’ve moaned previously how one of the most expensive cleansing oils in my bathroom cabinet is full of mineral oils, to see that MUJI (with such a low price point) has taken the care to avoid such fillers, impresses me.

So what does it contain?

Well, the most active ingredient is Hydrogenated Polyisobutene which from my (very limited) research (thank heavens for Google) appears to be a far more sensible alternative to mineral oil. It’s colourless, odourless and tasteless. Non comedogenic, non-irritant, non-toxic, emulsifies in water and is also used in many emolliating products for it’s hydrating qualities. This is all sounds good to me. The other less active (but more recognisable) ingredients include olive oil, jojoba oil, peach leaf extract and orange flower water. Unfortunately, it’s one of the (few) products in the range that does contain parabens, so if that’s something you’re trying to avoid, the MUJI Cleansing Oil won’t be for you.

It’s a light feeling oil, practically colourless and certainly odourless.  Two pumps is plenty to cleanse a heavily made up face.  The oil spreads smoothly over my skin thanks to a fairly thin texture, dissolving my foundation as it goes.  It’s easily as good at removing all powders and lipsticks as any I’ve tried… mascara takes a touch more work, massaging it gently into my lashline does the job after a little while.

The first couple of times I used the MUJI Cleansing Oil, I did feel a little bit of eye-irritation which was very disappointing.  I experienced a slight sting and eye cloudiness as I was cleansing, which although didn’t last longer than a couple of minutes, left me feeling thoroughly disappointed.  However, it’s important that I state that I haven’t experienced any irritations since those first few days of using.  I can’t explain what caused them, perhaps my eyes were suffering from some irritation already without my knowledge.  It’s something I want to make you aware of incase you have particularly sensitive eyes.

The product emulsifies nicely in warm water, though not completely… I need to follow this up with a cleanser (which I always do anyway) and there’s only ever been one cleansing oil that I would happily use without double cleansing (and I must review it soon!).

This is also one of the least drying cleansing oils I own aswell.  For the price and availability in this country, I’d put this in my top five cleansing oils quite happily.

MUJI Cleansing Oil is available in store and online from MUJI.  It’s priced at £9.95 and quite frankly, is a jolly good buy.

I first read back in January from the inimitable BeautyWooMe that kings of minimalism Muji were introducing their skincare line into the UK and as a huge fan of Japanese skincare, I was chomping at the bit for the release.

Comprising of two core product ranges:

Sensitive Skin: A hypo-allergenic skincare range formulated for delicate, sensitive skins.

The range is:

• Alcohol-free
• Paraben free
• Unperfumed
• No artifcial colouring
• Free from mineral oils

High Moisture: An intensive moisture rich skincare range formulated for dry skin.

• No artifcial colouring
• No added synthetic fragrances
• Free from mineral oils

The High Moisture range also contains Hyaluronic acid known for its moisturising properties and Lipidure ® (Polyquaternium -51), for locking in moisture, protecting and softening the skin.

In addition to the two core ranges, the skincare line also offers a Cleansing Oil (yippee!), a Cleansing Milk and a Cleansing Gel aswell as some rather nifty facial tools such as a Massager, Face Masks, Eye Masks and ever-useful Cotton Pads.

The skincare range starts from a very reasonable £7.95 and combined with the aesthetically pleasing packaging and somehow satisfying experience I always get from shopping in Muji, I’m gonna be making a beeline for the store every opportunity I get.

Or I could just be lazy and order online.

I have a couple of items that I’m testing at the moment so expect a review shortly!

Want it!

My cuticles are a mess… I’ve lost my little v-shaped trimmer thing that I normally use every couple of weeks to tidy up the edges before moisturising and my lemony flutter doesn’t seem to be making the difference it once did.

Yu-Be is the #1 selling medicated skin cream in Japan and contains the following skin-loving ingredients:

• Glycerin – Natural “Humectant” attracts and retains moisture in the skin, making it softer.
• Vitamin E – Natural anti-oxidant and skin protector.
• Vitamin B2 – Helps to smooth rough or damaged skin – also gives Yu-Be it’s yellow color.
• Camphor – Helps soothe minor skin irritations – mild scent fades in minutes leaving skin feeling healthy.

It contains no: Sulfates, Synthetic Fragrances, Synthetic Dyes, Petrochemicals or Phthalates

Available from Zuneta, priced at £11.74

I’ve been waiting to write this review for a long time, I’ve owned the SK-II Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil since the summer, but was being a good girl and using up my Shiseido Perfect Oil before commencing a new product!

The SK-II Cleansing Oil is another string to the bow of the Japanese Skincare Line SK-II (owned by Procter & Gamble) – the USP of SK-II is a single “anti-aging” ingredient called Pitera which they claim works to allow the skin to rejuvenate more effectively.

For your money (and rather a lot of it, I might add) – you get 250ml of oil, which, thankfully… is a generous sized bottle.  The packaging itself is plastic but at a glance looks like frosted glass.  I prefer the fact that it’s plastic, which allows for safer transportation.

They say:

This delicate oil with Wild Rose Extract and Pitera emulsifies with water and ‘Lifts and Locks’ onto hidden sebum and impurities. The ‘Lift and Lock’ formulation allows oil to transform with water to gently lift away make-up and impurities from the skin. Leaves it soft and fresh.

I never notice any discernible scent when using this (unlike the NUDE Cleansing oil – review to come soon!).  It’s a clear liquid of medium consistency which spreads quite easily over my face.  It’s lighter than the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil but heavier than my Shiseido Perfect Oil.  A happy medium!

I’ve never had to use more than 2 pumps, 1 pump will suffice if I’m not wearing mascara.

As you can see from the above list, mineral oil is the central ingredient… which is a shame, and at over £30 a bottle, I’m disappointed to see that they’re using such a cheap filler that is widely known to cause skin congestion thanks to it’s pore-clogging abilities.  Did you know that mineral oil is a byproduct of the distillation of gasoline from crude oil and that it actually costs more to dispose of it than it does to purchase it?  Now, I’m no Organic junkie… sometimes, chemicals just work and I admit to being endlessly suspicious that Organic products in general don’t work as effectively as their chemical-laden alternatives… but in this case, I’d rather my £32 bottle of cleansing oil wasn’t full of one of the cheapest substances on earth.

But, how does it clean?

It cleans well… It removes all mascaras (inc. waterproof) and leaves my face feeling fresh and (as promised) soft.  As with most cleansing oils… I do however, find it a little drying with continued use.  It also doesn’t emulsify as well as my DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, leaving a slightly oily residue behind untl I’ve followed up with another cleanser (which I always do anyway).

This puts it in the same category as the Shiseido Perfect Oil… but let’s remember… gram for gram (or ml for ml) the Shiseido would work out less than half the price of the SK-II for the same quantity.  The DHC Deep Cleansing Oil also works out cheaper, and thus rendering it still my #1 choice for cleansing oils.

I mustn’t forget the Pitera… and if I were comparing anti-aging night creams, I’d have a harder time eliminating it as a reason for purchasing.. but to be honest, I want my cleansing oil to clean – I’m not fussed about it’s anti-aging, skin regenerating properties.  I’ll save those concerns (and money) for my moisturiser.

You can purchase the SK-II line from Harrods, both in store and online.

I bought the SK-II Air Touch Foundation back in May.  I was beyond excited to get my hands on it after it had been sat at the top of my wish-list for nearly 6 months, and that’s a long time for an item to remain on my wish-list.

I’d tried it a few times and had been disappointed with the result.  I’d found it simply too sheer to be of much use to me.

It’s a beautiful little thing isn’t it? And look! You can see me in it!

SK-II is a Japanese brand whose USP is a little ingredient called Pitera, you can read more about Pitera here – I’m far too lazy to go into all that now.

Anyway, bollocks to Pitera, all I was interested in were the words “air touch” – woo hooooo!

I was immediately picturing myself with perfect, pore-less radiant skin.  Woah, I was gonna need a 10ft ladder to get this little product down off that pedestal I’d placed it on.  Secretly, I envisaged it turning me into sodding Snow White.

Where’s the bluebirds? Oh! Here they are!

Back to reality for a moment…

The basic premise is simple.

You get a teeny tiny sachet of foundation (and I’m talking wincey).  To get hold of refills in the shade you want, you’re gonna have to do some kind of deal with the devil whilst remortgaging your house.  We’re talking £45 for 5ml.  I’d sell you my eggs for cheaper than that.

Anyway… before I digress into full-on human trafficking…

Still sexy isn’t it…

That droplet icon is the one you set it to if you haven’t used it for while… it pushes out a single droplet to clear the nozzle.

The “business” end…

I’ve read loads of “how to” tips and watched many guides for this and the general consensus is that you hold it about half an arm’s length from your face and make smooth zig-zag motions back and forth until you’re happy that you’ve got enough coverage.

Which is exactly what I did.  Or at least, I thought that’s what I was doing.

See, subconsciously I was really going…

“£45…. for 5ml? Feck, better not use too much of this then.”

Which probably goes a long way to explaining why I felt I wasn’t getting enough coverage from this little marvel.

Today, after GraceLondon gently urged me to try again, I may have been in a slightly different frame of mind…

“Bollocks to it… if it’s shit again, it can go in a blog sale.”

See the subtle tonal shift there?  Look closely, it’s easy to miss.

Ugh, another one of them no makeup faces and I didn’t even warn you it was coming this time! Bwahaha.

I put the SK-II Airbrush Foundation into action again.  This time with a little more gusto, a little more confidence and a great amount of careless-ness.

I love it! It’s smooth, even, non-cakey but sheer.  Sod “my lips but better” this is proper “my skin but better”.

The redness around my nose has been evened out and it’s given my skin some luminosity that it was previously lacking.

Unfortunately, these photos aren’t the best.  The sun was being an arse and the lighting was rather uneven so you’ve got some over-exposure on the before image which conceals some of the unevenness.

Can you see it though?  Tell me it’s not my imagination!

I’m sneakily borrowing the below image from a FOTD that I’ve got coming up at the end of the week… but I wanted to show you how my skin looked with the SK-II Airbrush Foundation after it had ‘set’ (it takes 5-10 mins to dry) and I’d added a little powder and some blush.

So pleased with the results…

Nevertheless, I’m gutted to admit that I won’t be anouncing “Holy Grail!”… despite my new found adoration for Pitera.

It’s with absolute hand-wringing regret that I have to face up to the fact that £45 a pop is a lot of money for me.  Granted, if 5ml lasts me 6 months of daily use then I may rethink my stance but even then there is another obstacle… availability.

I know the refills are sold in Harrods, but they don’t stock my shade online…  they occasionally crop up on eBay (but are they genuine?)

However, I can happily conclude that until the day that last nectar-like droplet has spritzed the last red blotchy bit, I shall continue using this with joy and reckless abandon.

Want one?

[starreview tpl=14]

…look what I’ve got in my grubby little hands!

Hello lover, please don’t disappoint me.  Anyone got one of these little beauties, any tips?