Sixth Sasa Haul and Review! =)

Hi Everybody!

Here is my 6th Sasa Haul and Review! =D

I bought the following products:
-Kai Hair Pins (M)
-Kai Hair Pins (L)
-Suki Angel Long & Uplifting Mascara
-Suki Devil Volume & Curl Mascara

I have used these products for about 2 months and here is the review!

Kai Hair Pins in medium length

 This product costs $2.60 US. It is 5cm or 2in long. It is black in color.

What do I think of this product?
I really like these hair pins. Even though they are not very long, they are very strong and grip well. The material is very sturdy and long lasting. The paint does not chip and the metal does not become weak and soft after use. I like the ball-point ends of the hair pins because they do not scrape my scalp when I putting hair pins in. They slide in easily and smoothly when I need to pin back my hair or put it up in a bun. And when I pull them out, they glide out easily without painfully pulling on the remaining strands of hair. They are so strong that I only need to put in 4 pins for a very secure hair bun and my hair is about 12 inches below my chin, it is very long!

Do I recommend this product?
If you are looking for strong, long lasting, smaller hair pins, I recommend this product! These are great hair pins to invest in if you don't need to go to the trouble of looking for them.

Kai Hair Pins in long length

This product costs $1.80 US. It is about 5.5 cm or 2.13 in long. The color is black.

What do I think of this product?
This hair pin isn't much longer than the version in medium length, just a tad bit longer. It is also very sturdy and strong, with good metal that is not soft and does not weaken. The paint does not chip.
It is easy to slide the hair pin in, BUT: my main issue with this hair pin is that at the tips of the pin, there are no round ball-points which can scratch my scalp or skin, which can be a bit painful and annoying. And, the hair pin is so tight that when I pull it out, it can painfully pull on one or two strands as I take it out.
Because of the sharper tips I do not use these pins to put my hair into a bun and I just use it to bobby pin the sides of my head or pull my bangs out of my face when I need to. When I pull it out, I just pull them out slowly and carefully so that I won't rip a couple of hair strands out. However, the tightness on those remaining strands will end up damaging the hair, which I don't like.

Do I recommend this product?
Even though this is a very sturdy and strong hair pin, I do not recommend this product because of the hair pin ends have no ball-point tip to protect the skin when you put the hair pin in your hair and also because it can tend to painfully pull on hair when you take it out.


Now, before I review the mascaras I have to show you how cute they are!! XD
The only reason why I bought these mascaras because I thought they were sooooo cute! haha

These mascaras were sooooo pretty! I loved the packaging and the design! Apparently the angel and devil wings on the mascaras are rings that you can take off and wear on your fingers! But I really love them when they are just on the mascaras.

Suki Angel Long & Uplifting Mascara

This product costs $9.90 US. It contains 8mL of product.
It is said to lengthen and curl lashes to give you the innocent and pure look of an angel. It is said to contain repairing ingredients to prevent lashes from breaking and moisturize the lashes.

What do I think of this product?
To be honest I did not use this mascara very often, because I found it difficult to use. The wand shape was hard for me to brush through my eyelashes and it was hard to go from root to tip with this particular shape. After I did apply it to the best of my ability, my eyelashes were darker but not that much longer and did not really curl much and I felt it did not do much to lengthen and curl my lashes. About the repairing ingredients, I do not know because I did not use it that often, so I cannot say.
The formula is on the drier, stickier side because it is a water resistant mascara. And overall, it does last for a long time without flaking or smudging. Only until the end of the day do I see some smudging. Also, this formula does not irritate my eyes or the skin around my eyes. But because of the drier formula, it is easier and faster for this mascara to dry out and it needs to be used often to get your money's worth.
Overall, this mascara doesn't work for me, but I really like the design because it is very cute and it is more of a novelty item for me.

This is the applicator wand shape. It kind of reminds me of a caterpillar? lol Has bulbous waves or bumps.

Do I recommend this product?
If you have shorter, more spare lashes, I do not recommend this product. It will probably not do much for you. However, if you have longer thicker lashes and you do not mind the applicator shape, this might be a good product to try for fun. I can't really guarantee anything because it did not work for me, but I will say it is very cute! XP


Suki Devil Volume & Curl Mascara

This product costs $9.90 US. It contains 8 mL of product.
It is said to thicken and curl the lashes to give a bewitching and alluring look of a devil. It is also said to contain repairing ingredients to prevent lashes from breaking and moisturize the lashes.

What do I think of this product?
I like this mascara much better, especially because I love the mascara wand. It is a bit curved but not too curved so it fits my flatter  Asian eyes better than curved American mascara wands. It was very easy to apply and of course, I loved the design too! =P
This does curl, thicken, and lengthen my lashes a little. However, it is not a dramatic effect. I will not look different, just a little more enhanced. You could also say that this means that it doesn't really do much for my lashes, but I do prefer a more natural enhanced effect.
The formula is a drier and stickier formula because it is water resistant. However it does not clump my lashes together and does not irritate my eyes. It does not flake and barely smudges for most of the day. If I wore it starting at 9am, it would only start smudging around 5 or 6pm. And it does not smudge too much. This is a drier formula, so it will tend to dry out faster, and needs to be used often enough so that you won't loose any product once it dries out.
Overall this mascara worked better for me that the Angel version, but it does not give much of a dramatic effect and is a lot more subtle. However, I love the design!

This is the shape of the applicator. You can see that it is slightly curved but not very curved in shape.

Do I recommend this product?
If you are looking for a way to softly enhance your eyelashes, then I recommend this product. The mascara wand design makes it easy to apply the mascara and it does not smudge a lot. Please just keep in mind that this mascara does not change the length and thickness of your eyelashes a lot, so if you are looking for a more dramatic or more visible effect, then this may not work for you.

So I hope you liked this review. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write in the comment box below! Thank you so much for reading and I will see you later! =)

Third Sasa Haul and Review!!! =)

Hi Everybody! Today I will talk about and review on my 3rd Sasa Haul! XD

I bought 3 products:
-Mentholatum Acne Point Clear
-Mentholatum Oil Control Film
-Smart Cute Bobby Pins

I have used all of these products for over 2 months and here are my reviews!

Mentholatum Acne Point Clear

This product cost $5.70 US and contains 9mL of product. It is meant to spot treat acne and reduce swelling, redness, and reduce pore sizes.
Ingredients: peach leaf extract, bio Antiage B, witch hazel extract (I asked a Chinese friend of mine to translate it and yep, that's the ingredients)

What do I think of this product?
The product is a liquid that dispenses in by a metal ball roller to be rolled onto acne spots. I chose to try this out not because my Clear and Clear Mark Advantage is not working well. It works great! I wanted to see if I could find something that either works better, or something I can use during the day. Because the Clean and Clear spot acne treatment contains salicylic acid with can cause hyperpigmentation of acne and acne scars. So I only use it at night before I go to bed. If I found an acne spot treatment that would work during the day, then it would be great!
This product has no fragrance and comes out as a clear water-like liquid. It does not feel sticky on my skin and does not irritate my sensitive skin. I think it is great for treating redness and swelling. However, I'm not sure about treating acne. I did not see immediate results after the first few times I used it, unlike my Clean and Clear Mark Advantage. But it is really good for redness and swollen skin. One time, I was pinching a lot of small acne on my face and my face became really red and swollen, kind of like a tomato. =P And I put this on my face, and the swelling and redness disappeared within half an hour! It was great!
Today I use it almost everyday in my skincare regimen! After cleansing my face, I roll the product over the red areas on my face and allow my skin to absorb the product. As it absorbs into my skin it has a nice cooling effect which feels great after the shower. Then I apply my moisturizer. It makes my redness disappear very quickly, it easy to use, and very portable. The roller allows a thin film of product onto my skin without using too much product.

Do I recommend this product?
If your skin is prone to redness, then I really recommend this product! It does not irritate sensitive skin and the roller allows the least amount of product to be used with good effect, so it will last for a good amount of time. This is great to use as part of your daily skincare routine, or if you are attending an event or going out and you don't really want to wear makeup to cover the redness, this really helps calm down redness and some swelling! It also great to use during the day if you tend to get red like me from all of the sun and heat outside. Just roll onto the red parts of your face and leave it alone. The skin absorbs it quickly and the redness disappears in about 30 minutes. If you are looking for an acne spot treatment product, I would not recommend this because it doesn't really treat the acne itself. It helps with redness and swelling but it won't shrink acne dramatically or help prevent acne.

Mentholatum Oil Control Film

This product cost $2.20 US and contains 50 sheets. It is said to be for combination skin/oily and acne prone skin. It has a sticky spot on the inside of the lid so everytime you open it, it pulls a sheet out for you.

What do I think of this product?
The paper is green in color. The material of this oil-blotting paper is so interesting! It is almost cloth-like and very soft and flexible.

It absorbs oil very well, and when it absorbs the max amount, the paper becomes clear! It absorbs alot of oil without making my skin feel or become dry.

Do I recommend this product?
Well, I had a post talking about oil-blotting sheets. And I said, the majority of them are pretty similar and it's not worth it buying one more than $5. And yes, I still think that. I think if this product is available near you then I recommend it to try. It is pretty cheap. Though it can probably be only found in Asian countries and cosmetic stores so don't go out of your way to buy it if it costs too much trouble.

Smart Cute Bobby Pins

This product cost $2.60 US and contains 10 pins. Each pin is about 7cm long. It is said to keep any hair in place.

What do I think about this product?
Wow, this bobby pin really hold my hair very well. I have very long fine hair, but I have a lot of hair, which makes it hard to put into a bun. However, the bobby pin is great! I only need 1 bobby pin to hold up all of my hair! I also really like the curved shape because it fits well with the shape of the head. The bun is very snug and secure and lasts all day for me. This is great when I need to put up my hair quickly and I'm walking around all day.
Just like any bobby pin, if you put too much hair in it, it will pull the metal bars apart and loosen the pin, making it unusable. If you are putting hair in the bobby pin that causes it to spread apart 5mm or more, then that is too much. You don't need to put in a lot of hair to make this bobby pin fit well.
How I use it: I twist my hair into a bun and while holding the bun in one hand, I open up the bobby pin. Then I will turn the pin upside down so that the shorter bumpy part is leaning against my head, grab some hair, and push it in foward and down. What I get is the longer smooth curved part resting against my head. Sorry if this seems confusing. I will probably do a very quick tutorial on how to use this bobby pin.

Do I recommend this product?
If you have difficulty securing your hair into a bun then I definitely recommend these bobby pins. They are very affordable and you can find them online at Sasa or at Marukai Lifestyle. They work very well and come in two colors: black and brown. The bun lasts all day, is secure and firm! =D

So I hope you enjoyed my Sasa haul post! If you have any questions or comments feel free to write in the comment box below! Thank you for reading and I will see you later! ^_^

Where to find Sasa products? (besides buying from the store or the online store)

Hi Everyone! =)

Today I will talk about and tell you where else to find Sasa products and other popular Asian brands besides going to the store or buying from their online store!

Sasa is a popular beauty department store in many Asian countries especially in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. However, many of their products are made by Asian companies in China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Therefore, these products are rather difficult to find in other countries such as the US, Europe, South America, Canada, Africa, India, etc.

So, I have been looking around locally, where I live in California, to see if I could find stores that sold many of the products that Sasa sells. Given I can't travel around the world and it's only in Southern California, I have a limited selection. However, the store names that I will list here may be somewhere nearby you and you may not even know it!
Also, California is a special place =) (not just because I live here and I like it XP) but it's special because it is so multicultural in a sense that it is more influenced by other countries than the rest of the US (in my opinion) and therefore, you can find a wider variety of culture, entertainment, art, ethnicity, food, clothes, languages, people, etc. So if you would like to go to on a vacation to the United States, please come to California =) And you can also buy stuff that you want in Sasa XD.

This post is to help people who are looking for the many popular skincare and cosmetic products that Sasa sells, that they see on Youtube, blogs, etc. that is difficult for them to find/buy. If the stores that I list here are no where near you, you can always go to Sasa's online store, which has good sales and many days (especially on holidays) that they have free shipping!

Okay, onto the stores listing from least expensive to most expensive! =P

Daiso
Daiso is a $1.50 store. It sells a variety of things and everything is almost $1.50. It's really great for cheap things from utensils, to folder, ceramic plates, arts and crafts, random cute things etc. Their cosmetic section has a lot of cheap things and you will never find any popular brand name cosmetics, skincare, or haircare products. So, if you like to try cheap makeup and $1.50 won't hurt you're pocket you might want to try this. But I can't guarantee anything will be of good quality because it's so cheap. Also, I probably would not recommend any of the hair and skincare products they sell.
What I like to buy in Daiso the most and what I recommend to buy in Daiso is the body wipes, cosmetic cotton sheets for removing makeup and putting on toner, Q-tips, and tissue packets. There are also a lot of great small travel bottles, travel sprays and little containers for creams etc. Also great to buy, because they're so cheap!

Marukai and more specifically Marukai Lifestyle/Living
Marukai is made up of 3 stores, the Marukai $1.50 store where you can find super cheap makeup, cheap false lashes and eyelid tape. Then there's the Marukai Lifestyle/Living where I recommend to go for haircare and skincare and Marukai Market, which has food. If you are looking for Shiseido hair products and skincare products, Lucido-L hair products, Tsubaki products, Essential Rich Premier, and the Juju Aquamoist brand this is a great place to go. There's also the famous makeup brands Dolly Wink and K-Palette with their eyeliners, eyeshadows, and eyebrow pencils and powders. There are also masks, but there's no My Beauty Diary. And there are cheap oil blotting papers, body massages, underarm roller massages, face massages, etc.

99 Ranch/Ranch 99
99 Ranch is a Chinese supermarket. It mainly sells Chinese food and Chinese fresh meat and vegetables. However, if you go to the beauty/skincare row in the market, they do sell a handful of products. I definitely know that they sell the My Beauty Diary masks, for a bit cheaper than most places. Other than that, I'm not sure what is there, because I don't go there often to buy beauty/skincare products. However, this market is probably the most popular and most common market in the United States compared to the rest of the stores, so I do recommend to go and take a look, especially for the My Beauty Diary masks. Don't be shy, okay, lots of Asian people speaking Asian languages may weird you out, but really, to those of you who know who you are, go out there and be more cultured. =P I'm not saying this as a foreigner, I was born and bred in the US and I like living in this country, but seriously, some people need to be more educated in more than just reading, math, and science.
Quick story: In northern CA and southern CA, there's like this debate about which name is correct for this market. In reality, the stores are actually labeled differently north and south. So, in northern CA the store sign in Ranch 99 and in southern CA the store sign is 99 Ranch. So, people, you are both right and be happy and get over it!

Tokyo Lifestyle
This store is more known for selling anime and manga related things, Japanese cooking utensils, and cute random Asian things XD. It does sell mostly Japanese products so you won't really find other Asian products besides Japanese things. I recommend to go for the haircare and skincare products in this store. They have Shiseido, Tsubaki, sometimes NYX products. They also sell oil blotting papers that are much cheaper than Sephora or Ulta. They also have really cheap makeup like eyeshadows and false lashes there, but I have never tried them. =P I think this is a fun store to go to, they have lots of cool things so it's also fun to take a look. You can probably find this store in a mall in Los Angeles. There is one store in Irvine as well near UCI.

Beauty Diary
I have recently found this store and this store is actually from the brand My Beauty Diary! It is located in Arcadia, California, next to Pasadena. This store sells a variety of BB Creams (all the well known and famous brands), My Beauty Diary masks, Dolly Wink false lashes, eyeshadows, and eyeliners. It sells Juju aquamoist and Shiseido I think . It also sells other higher end brands such as dermalogica and For Beloved One (which has good eye masks). If you are looking for more brand named Asian skincare and cosmetic products, I recommend this store. However, it is a small store, so there might be a limited variety for some things.

Mitsuwa
This is a popular Japanese supermarket, that mostly has Japanese food, food courts, a bookstore, etc. Depending on the setup of the market, the skincare/cosmetic products are either in one of the aisles or in a section of the market. I recommend this place for Japanese brands/products such as Shiseido, Tsubaki, Essential Rich Premier, Lucido-L, Gatsby hair wax, Juju Aquamoist, Dolly Wink and K-Palette. It will be on the pricier side but Mitsuwa has opened many markets and branch markets throughout California.

Takashima
This is a new store that opened in Irvine and the original one is in Rowland Heights. This is like a version of Beauty Diary but even better. The problem is that they are more pricey, maybe $1-5 more, generally. This store has a large selection and great variety of products. You can find, K-Palette, Dolly Wink, Sasa products (like the Sasa brand), Tsubaki, Lucido-L, Shiseido, Juju Aquamoist, My Beauty Diary, Mentholatum (a popular acne treatment brand in Taiwan and China) and a lot of other Asian brands especially Japanese, Taiwan, and Korean.

Maneki Neko
This is a new store that just opened in Pasadena/LA area in the Westfield Mall in Santa Anita. The main store is in Little Tokyo. This store sells the largest and greatest variety of NYX products I have seen! It also contains many popular Japanese makeup and skincare brands such as Dolly Wink, Shiseido, Tsubaki, Essential Rich Premier, Juju Aquamoist, etc. It sells a large variety of My Beauty Diary masks as well as Japanese and Korean BB creams. However, this store is pricey, I would say it would be $1-5 more expensive than what you can get at other places.

So, I hope you like this post and I hope it helped you. I'm sorry if this doesn't seem helpful to you because most of these stores are in California. I'm also sorry if it seems like I am repeating the same brand names over and over again. It is because these brand names are very popular, good quality, and many of them are the leading skincare and cosmetic brands in Asia.

If all hope is lost and going to Sasa's online store won't work for you, try Amazon. It has good prices and you might be able to find some things there. I don't recommend eBay since there is a higher chance that people will sell you fake products.

Thank you for reading =) I am thinking of doing a video blog and take you with me into these stores to get a better idea of what they look like and the products they sell. If you want me to do that, please tell me! XD If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write in the comment box below! I'll see you later!