Glico Caplico

Posted by: Jennifer
Glico created this "ice-cream" like snack in various flavors, but I could only get my hands on vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. They come in various sizes, both small (about 4 1/2" length) and big (5-6" length).

Review/Taste:

I suggest everyone to try Caplico because it is just that delicious! (okay, maybe im slightly exagerating a little...) With an outer layer made of cracker and an inside filled with mousse-like textured dried ice cream, it will definitely make you addicted. It's like eating an ice cream that never melts! I would say its sweet at a moderate level and the filling is smooth, but won't instantly melt in your mouth like how "astronaut ice cream" would. I believe the air bubbles in the filling is what makes it light and airy. You would think all of the cones are filled completely with the same flavor, but their not - except for the chocolate. Strawberry and Vanilla stops midway and the rest is chocolate. I am not saying chocolate is not delicious, but I would of loved to continuing consuming the rest of the cone with the same flavor. But besides that fact, if you want to try something new and quite different, you should give this a go!

Enlarge to see the filling in more details.

Purchase/Price:

Caplico Box - $4.49
Caplico Stick - $1.89
Can be found at Asian supermarket.

Read more...

Meishoku Organic Rose Moisture Lotion

 

Posted by: Emily

“This super new series Japan skincare enriched with organic high quality of Damask rose water for sebum control, hamamelis extracts for pore refining, skin nourishment and coix extracts.With romantic damask rose fragrance.”

Review:

I picked this up from the shelf because of it’s cute pink packaging. I never heard of this brand before but I tried it on my hand in the store. It was pretty moisturizing so I decided to give it a try, despite that I still have a lot of unopened facial lotions at home. Ultimately I just couldn’t get over the cute girly packaging. I tried really hard to like this product. 

I like the pleasing light rose smell the most other than that it was an average product.There are definitely better lotions out there with greater moisturizing effects. I rotate between using this and the HadaLabo Hyaluronic acid at night, but I find myself reaching for the HadaLabo Hyaluronic Acid Lotion a lot more. Sometimes I don’t have to apply any other moisturizer after the HadaLabo Hyaluronic Acid Lotion but for the Rose facial lotion, I always had to. It’s not as moisturizing as I would like it to be. Also it leaves my skin feeling a bit sticky. It’ll probably be more suitable for the summer. I hope I can finish this bottle. 

Overall Rating:

3/5 - Average, would not purchase again.

Purchase/Price:

$13.95 - Ebay
$13.99 - webichi.com 

(I purchased this around the same price in a store.)

Read more...

LoveMore Gold Magic White Power Lifting Mask

Posted by: Jennifer

This "3D" mask extends 5cm towards your neck and hooks behind your ears unlike the usual facial masks. It contains an additional 50% Q10 moisturizer (Q10 is known to be effective as an anti-aging and anti-wrinkling treatment). This mask also claims to whiten and firm your skin, thus brightening your complexion and is suitable for all skin types. Some of its main ingredients are stated as "gold ion, wheat stem cells, royal jelly and bird's nest extraction," all which will regenerate the skin's beauty.

Origin: Taiwan
Product: 35mL/pack

Review:

The mask does brighten and whiten dull skin temporary. It relieves my skin from any redness and stress, giving a healthy glow. It also calms pimples and smoothens skin but does not remove acne scars/marks. In addition, it hydrates and moisturizes without leaving your skin too oily or dry. You can actually notice the difference of your skin afterwards. Also love the fact that the mask also treats your neckline. The lifting effects are not so much visible. There are no tingling sensation nor irritations experienced after removing the mask and leaving the essence on the skin. The mask only comes with just enough essence and not much extras to store or use afterwards. The material of the cloth used is thicker than other masks and quilted as well.

Overall Rating:

4.5/5 - Would purchase again.

Purchase/Price:

Purchased from Sasa.com for $11.00 (1 box, 5 masks), but apparently, they either do not sell this mask anymore or out of stock. 

Read more...

Mochi Ice Cream Creme Glacee De Mochi

Posted by: Jennifer
Another Asian favorite... MOCHI ICE CREAM! (Especially green tea flavored) Mochi is a Japanese rice cake that consists of an outer layer made of rice flour and wraps around various fillings like ice cream, red bean paste, etc. It is known to be a Japanese celebratory food that can also be eaten anytime of the year. Mochi is famous throughout other Asian and foreign countries as well. This brand in particular is a product of USA distributed by "Mt. Fuji" under Alice Corporation. It comes in five different flavors: Strawberry, Green Tea, Vanilla, Red Bean, and Mango. I purchased and will be reviewing four different assorted flavors (Strawberry, Green Tea, Vanilla and Red Bean).

Origin: USA

Review/Taste:

The skin of this mochi was neither too thick nor too thin and the ice cream was creamy and tasted exactly as it's flavored. This was actually larger in size than another popular mochi brand (Mikayawa). Personally, I love both brands, but I feel Mikayawa may have a stronger taste (green tea mochi in particular). Although I am unsure rather the "artificial flavor added" statement printed on the Mikayawa box is the reason for the stronger flavoring, but there was no such statement printed on the Mt. Fuji box. Now back to Mt. Fuji, the good part of this product was the packaging. The mochi comes individually plastic wrapped which is convenient to eat without using your hands or placing it on a plate. The downside was that the ice cream melted quite fast. The strawberry had few pieces/specs of tiny strawberry in the ice cream and as for the red bean; there were pieces of red bean.

Overall Review:

Delicious and convenient packaging, although it did not WOW me, but I still love it and would purchase again.

Purchase/Price:

$4.99/pk (8 pieces - 4 flavors, 2 each)
Can be found in any Asian supermarket.

Read more...

TheFaceShop: Lovely Me: Ex Waterful Grapefruit Mask

Posted by: Emily

Review:

Who could resist such cute packaging? It’s conveniently packaged, adorable, and smells great. When Jennifer and I saw it at a new Face Shop location, we were sold. I purchased the pink one which has moisturizing properties for dry skin, meanwhile she bought the blue one that calms troubled skin. (She should be reviewing it soon.)  Anyway, outside of the cute packaging we didn’t really expect much from this product. To be honest I have yet come across a product from The Face Shop that I was impressed with. However, I’m really interested in their Chia Seed line that was launched recently.

According to the directions, you could either wash this mask off after about 10 minutes or leave it on overnight. I usually leave it on overnight because I feel like that would be more beneficial. The mask is clear, smooth, and easy to apply.  The scent is not too heavy and really does smell like grapefruit. It does moisturize my skin and leaves it softer the next morning. I bought this for the winter when my skin was really dry and needed some hydration. The results aren’t wowing and I would say any other mask I use makes my skin feel the same way. 

Overall, it’s not a product I would repurchase. I don’t use it often because I have better masks to choose from. 

Overall Rating:

3/5 – Average product 

Purchase:

I purchased this for about $14 at The Face Shop. You could probably find it on Ebay for a similar price.

Read more...

TheFaceShop White Tree Snow Exfoliating Foam Cleanser

 (화이트트리 스노우 엑스폴리에이팅 폼 클렌저)

A gentle scrubbing cleanser infused with white fine beads to remove any dirt or dead skin cells from the surface of the skin, leaving it smooth and refined. Suitable for all skin types.

Origin: Korea
Product: 140mL / 4.72 fl. oz.

Before Foaming

After Foaming

Review:

Although this product looks like it will guarantee whitening, I did not see any dramatic whitening effects. The cleanser only slightly foams, but not into huge bubbles and it is not a creamy type of cleanser. I purposely bought an exfoliating cleanser to remove dead skin cells and the appearance of acne scars. As a result, this does make my skin look smoother without having to dry my skin or break me out. I have used this product for a few months already, but there is no drastic changes in my skin (in whitening or fading acne marks). The scent is soft and smooth on a low note with a velvety texture.

Overall Rating:

3/5 - Just a regular scrubbing cleanser, nothing spectacular.

Purchase/ Price:

TheFaceShop Stores.

Read more...

Lion Ramune Soda Kids Candy with Xylitol

Posted by: Emily 

Package of Japanese hard candy with 6 flavors: Grape, Apple, Lemon, Orange, Cola, Ramune

“The original ramune flavor is lemon-lime. The word "ramune" is derived phonetically from the English "lemonade" - Credit: Wikipedia

I’m usually not much of a hard candy eater but the packaging was so cute so I couldn’t resist. I haven’t ate soda candy in a looongg time too. The shape of the candy is exactly the same as the cartoon on the bag. As like any other soda candy, when you put it in your mouth it fizzes as though you’re sipping on soda. I was so wowed by that as a kid.

The great thing about this candy is that it contains xylitol.

“Xylitol is a naturally occurring alcohol found in most plant material, including many fruits and vegetables. It is extracted from birch wood to make medicine.
Xylitol is widely used as a sugar substitute and in "sugar-free" chewing gums, mints, and other candies. However, sorbitol is the most commonly used sweetener in sugarless gums because it is less expensive than xylitol and easier to make into commercial products.
Xylitol is added to some chewing gums and other oral care products to prevent tooth decay and dry mouth.” - Credit: Webmd

So its not a candy you would feel guilty giving to kids.

I won't be buying another pack of these for myself though. The flavors were true to taste, but none were particularly memorable.My favorite flavor was grape.

Purchase/Price:

$2.69 at a local Asian market. 

Read more...