Sasa haul and other cuties

Before I show you my new haul, I want you to meet my new friend: little Miffy.

I bought this cute Mifster this week when I went to see the Miffy museum. Miffy originates from the Netherlands, and the city that I study in has a Miffy museum, and giftshop. In order to relax a bit, and buy some cute items for some of my blogfriends, I went to the museum.

Back to the Sasa haul. So, my hauling feelings are still present. I was, as a true addict, very pleased to find a Sasa box waiting for me when I came home from a long day.

The European crowd have to buy for at least $100 to get free shipping from sasa.com; it was $75 before, and I believe the American shoppers still have the $75 minimum. Anyway, I do not have trouble at all filling up my card until the minimum.

I am always amazed by the amount of products you can get for $101.60. Look at the previous picture, that is a cart full of niceness! Let me sum up the things I bought:

• B & C CELEBLOUS Gelina Cheek (Macaron Pink)
• Sana KONUKA Milky Lotion
• Shiseido Water In Lip (Pineapple)
• Kose FASIO Double Dazzling Eyes (Gold & Silver)
• Kanebo KRACIE MOISTURE MASK (5 piece)
• Arezia Rose Cleansing Water
• Shiseido TSUBAKI Tsubaki Conditioner
• Kose SOFTYMO Airy Whip
• Kanebo NAIVE Deep Cleansing Oil
• Sana NAMERAKA Nameraka Honpo Essence
• Skin Food Black Sesame Hot Mask

I bought the Kanebo Krazie mask after reading a review on lotuspalace about the black mask. I figured the red package would be similar. The Kose Softymo Airy Mousse was bought because of MusingsofaMuse ravings on this product. The Naive cleansing oil on the ravings on MUA and Skinfood Black Sesame Mask on the reviews of several bloggers.

Do I have something I bought based on my own ravings or intuition? Yes I do have a opinion of my own, LOL I really liked the Celeblous blush in Naked Skin I bought in my previous haul, so I wanted the Macaron pink as well.

The Fasio Double Dazzling eyes was one product I really enjoyed before, so I picked up this set op colours as well. Also, the Arezia Rose Cleansing Water and the Shiseido Water in Lip-lipbalm in pineaple was bought on pure curiosity.

This week I received my firs haul from Etsy shop Elladean. Elladean has quite a cult-following in my country. Her lipbalms are known to be really nice. And look at the cuteness of the packaging. Anyway, enough reasons to try out the 'Couples in Love' set that was released this Valentine.

She was so sweet to add another two balms as freebies. That is an amazing haul, considering I had to pay $16.25 (+ 2.70 shipping). I already like the watery consistency of the balms, so it is really a worthwile collection.

So, that is my amount of hauls for this week (so far). It is not Fuzworthy yet (a term coined by Jamilla Camel, LOL) but it was satisfactory.

Skinfood Black Sugar Wash Off Scrub

I think I have done most of my SkinFood reviews from the batch I received from Sasa in January. The only exception is the Black Sugar Mask, the one you can wash off.

Scrubbing is an important tool to keep your skin in a good condition. It should not be done in excess, because your skin will become more sensitive. If done wisely, which depends on the kind of skin that you have, it will be beneficial for both your unmade face as the face with makeup on. Your makeup will look better and more flawless on a smooth canvas.

Those were my words of wisdom for today...he he, I will not 'preach' too much about skincare, as most of the followers of my blog are already skilled in the art of beautifying themselves. You are probably a lot better than I am...

Back to the product. The can is the same size as most of Skinfood's products size, except for different products such as the Herb Salad moisturizer and the Milk Mania Cleanser. Again, I put a Mac lipstick next to it for comparising.

These jars are used for several types of masks, scrubs and some lotions. They come with a plastic shield on top with the words Skin Food on it. This is a handy tool for preventing your lovely goodies to expire too soon.

I scooped a bit of Black Sugar scrub on my hand. It looks more like brown sugar paste and it actually smells like brown sugar with a hint of cream. I like the natural, sweet smell of it.

In the close-up you can actually see the little grains of sugar inside. They are not coarse for the skin, however, they are not as sophisticated as the microdermasion beads you find in microdermasion scrubs.

In a way it reminded me a lot like the highly coveted Mac Black Vocano scrub that was for sale last year. I should compare both in a post soon, or update this post with some extra pictures.

After adding water you see that it spreads out on a large part of my hand. You can scrub for about 1 or 2 minutes before the sugar dissolves.

Afterwards, I loved the improved texture on my hand. There is not a obvious cream inside the scrubs texture, but it still is quite moisturizing...I think it could suit both combination to oily skintypes as the ones that are a bit dry.

I used this on my face as well, and I did not experienced any sensitive reactions from it. Moreover, my skin felt a lot smoother.

It retails for $12.30 at sasa.com. A bargain, in my opinion, as a tiny bit of product is sufficient for scrubbing the whole face. I think this scrub would last me for at least 4 months if I would scrub two times a week. Perhaps it would even last me longer.

Overall, I am quite happy with this Skinfood item.

Skinfood Milk Mania cream cleanser

Almost one and a half month after I received my Sasa haul I finally took the time to review the Skinfood Milk Mania Cleansing cream. It is about time.

Skinfood is a Korean brand that prides themselves of being 'natural'. Ofcourse, the term 'natural' is not something very valuable in the cosmetic world, as any brand can put that term upon its products. But indeed, the products have a natural vibe, and they smell quite realistic too (realistic in a natural sense, not in the chemical, perfumed sense). Most often, I find their ingredients to be on the more wholesome site: Not that they are on the extreme side of organic, but they are rather ok.

Milk Mania, Milk Mania...it sounds a bit like a mad cow that produced maniacal milk, LOL What is it? It is a creamy cleanser that comes in a very big hard plastic jar. I compared it with the Mac lipstick again, so you can estimate its size. For the calculators among us: it contains 200 grams or 7 fl. oz.

The tag on the jar looks 'wholesome' as well, as it seems to be made of recycled paper.


I love that little cow on the tag...

Underneath the jar you can find a description in both English as Korean. I cannot say much about the Korean description, but the English description mentions Cleopatra's love for milk, the vitamins A & D in milk, and...oh...click on the picture for a better view.

The jar is really full with the creamy cleanser. It is not one of those product that has such a large glass/plastic wand that the jar looks big but the content is actually very small. No, this baby is packed with cleanser.

The scent is a suble, or faint, one. It reminds me of boiled milk. I find this very soothing and not obtruding at all. I can be sensitive to perfumed products, but this scent is really nice.

It applies like a cream: thick. However, it does not absorb like a cream...as...well, it is a cleanser so it should take off the layer of makeup/sebum/etc, that you accumilated earlier, off your face.

A blob of product spreads easily on the skin. You can remove it with a cotton pad or tissue; I would not like to depend on water only, as it stays on the skin.

I prefer to use a toner afterwards, in order to remove the leftovers. I am not sure if that is just me, or absolutely necessary.

I think it is a product suitable for dry skin and slightly sensitive skin that demands a light/waterfree manner of cleansing, and that keeps the moisture locked into the skin.

Do I use it a lot....ehm, not yet. I am rather accustomed to my Kose Softymo cleansing oil right now for removing makeup, as it is so easy to remove your eye makeup with it as well. In the morning I rely on toner only.

However, I am still glad that I bought this product. I can tolerate it on my sensitive skin, it does the cleansing in a soft way, and it seems to be moisturizing as well. Nevertheless, it is not a superfast way to remove your makeup...

I bought this at sasa.com for $ 11. And joy, it is still available!

Sasa is a wonderful shop, however, its stock is not always as consistent: products are often out of stock and you have to wait (forever?) for them to return.

I spotted a Milk Mania Cleansing Emulsion as well that comes in a bottle with pump. It will probably be of a lighter consistency.

Skinfood Herb Salad Emulsion and Herb Salad Mist (for sensitive skin)

I have been a bit late with reviewing some of my Skinfood items I collected during my last Sasa.com haul. But better too late then never, right?

The true reason for reviewing these product a bit later is that I wanted to take my time testing them for a longer period and take my time integrating each product into my current skincare. It is not advisable to change your skincare regime 360 degrees...your skin needs to adjust itself to something new: skins are creatures (or organs) of habit.

I was particularly interested in the sensitive skin line from Skinfood. I ordered some products from other skintype ranges as well, but only the ones that seemed suitable for sensitive skins.


Skinfood prides itself as being a natural brand and even its logo is in the form of a guardian angel, as Skinfood claims the guardian angel "was designed in mind to symbolise the goodness of purity of our products." With this idea in mind, the positive reviews I already read on several blogs on Skinfood items, and the relatively low price on Sasa.com made me want to order a couple of products...at least, it is not Creme de la Mer-priced (and I hated that...even if it claims to be God's gift to skincare).

Anyway, my first reviews will be about the two products I picked up from the sensitive line. I start off with the Herb Salad Emulsion. It arrived in a glass bottle and was quite large. In the next picture I put a Mac lipstick next to it in order to compare the size. Most people are familiar with the size of a Mac lipstick.

There is the gold little bugger...ooops, guardian angel! Funnily, Skinfood put the words 'for sensitive skin' between brackets...

The emulsion has to be 'poured' out of the glass bottle. I don't think this is a very handy way of applying lotion. It is really easy to 'throw' out too much product, just like ketchup in those Heinz ketchup bottles.

I was able to pour out a little blob of the emulsion. Emulsion is a thinner consistency than cream, and for that reason I picked the emulsion over the cream version. It makes a better product for warmer summer months, because it is a light and airy formula. And indeed, it is very lightweight and liquidy.

The scent is something I like: it is slightly citrusy, which again makes it suitable for the hotter summer months. On the other hand, I do not consider it to be completely suitable for very sensitive skin, for the exact reason that it is scented: real sensitive skin can hardly tolerate fragance. I can say this because right now I have overtly sensitive skin as well, so I cannot use this product right now :(

Therefore, it is a nice product for skins that are not very dry or sensitive, or as a refreshing moisturizer in the summer months. I think normal to combination skin could use this as well.

One of the products I have been using a lot lately is the Skinfood Herb Salad Mix tonic spray. It smell exactly the same as the Emulsion, but does not seem to irritate my skin...the opposite, it is very soothing and refreshing.

The bottle itself is a plastic one. I find this a bit inconsistent compared with the glass bottle for the moisturizer. Why is the moisturizer in a glass bottle and the spray in a plastic one? Anyway, I prefer the plastic version, because I am less afraid to drop it.

The little arrow shows how much I have already been using from the spray. I already used 1/3 or 1/4, and that is quite a lot for an cosmetic addict with lots of facial sprays to choose from.

I could not photograph all of the ingredients on the bottle, because the bottle is round (doh). Still, you can see some valuable goodies inside, such as Camellia Leaf Extract, Aloe Vera, Chamomilla, Calendula and Hamamelis....all these ingredients are super soothers.

I will definitely reorder the Tonic in my next sasa.com order. As for the Emulsion...I have to wait until summer to see if my skin likes it, otherwise it will be used for my hands or legs...LOL.

I paid US$ 8.90 for the Skinfood Herb Salad Mist at sasa.com and US$ 9.90 for the Skinfood Herb Salad Emulsion (which is not available on sasa.com anymore, but ebay will probably have it).

sasa haul: skinfood!

After Skinfood made its introduction on the sasa.com site, I was able to fill my cart to the necessary $100 in order to obtain standard free shipping...LOL, who said that the Dutch love to get a good deal?

This haul was my first purchase in 2009: No, I did not make any resolutions to shop less...:P. Anyway, this was my fastest Sasa turn-around-time ever! I normally have to wait a month for sasa to arrive (with standard shipping, that is). I ordered the first of January and it arrived the 8th of January...pretty amazing!

My order: half of it is skinfood, the rest are items that were 'hanging' in my sasa cart for a month or two.

My skinfood haul consists of:

• Herb Salad Mist
• Milk Mania Cleansing Cream
• Black Sugar Mask Wash Off
• Banana Yogurt Mask Wash Off
• Herb Salad Emulsion

And the other goodies:

• Shu Uemura Glow On Blush (Pulse)
• B & C CELEBLOUS Gelina Cheek (Naked Skin)
• B & C MAKE MANIA Make Mania Lip Gloss (Milky Pink)
• TONY MOLY Berry Berry Lovely Stick (RD 02 APPLE BERRY)
• Mook Yogurt Mask Sheet Aloe

I think it will take some time to review the skincare items: I always incorporate a new product very carefully in baby steps, which means that I do not change my complete regime in one day, I 'blend' the new items in carefully with the old, so I can see which product makes me break out or such.

Nevertheless, you will see some reviews popping up @ birkinbagbeauty soon.