Woeful Windsdays

12:57 PM Moi Sanom 0 Comments

Illustrated by Jason Angelone

Today is a special Woeful Windsday!
Amazing artist Jason Angelone surprised my husband and I with this wonderfully quirky illustration of us. Jason is a constant inspiration to both of us and we can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
Thank you so much for this wonderful surprise, it will soon be hanging on our wall!

Sunshine Blogger award

12:48 PM Moi Sanom 0 Comments

I just read Samples Himes sunshine blogger award post.
I had many guests in the past few weeks that I couldn't keep up with reading my favorite blogs, so I am a little late for this.
She didn't nominate me per se but sort of Auto nominated everyone that read it.
And since I found the questions interesting I thought I should give it a try.
These might be old news for some but hopefully some of my new readers will find this mildly interesting

11 Facts about me


* I am obsessed. It usually is pretty consistent but also rotates a little. Currently I am obsessed with Asian Skin care and Quirky Gothic movies

*My husband is immortal

*My life goal is to build a time machine!

Best show evah!

 *I have been going crazy for a new episode of Bee and Puppycat! Best Pilot ever!

*My favorite type of meat is Lamb and Duck, they can’t compete!

*I can only fall asleep listening to Audiobooks

My favorite Audiobook readers Neil Gaiman and Stephen Fry!

*I have a secret (not so secret) crush on Neil Gaiman because I believe he is the coolest guy in the world (besides my husband of course!) It's not like I would want to date him, just have him as an uncle or best friend or something like that

*I have a wetness and moisture phobia. If I could be dry forever I would!

*I have moved 17 times in the last 10 years

*I have been told that I make weird little noises all the time like Kira from the Dark Crystal

*I can’t eat Garlic even though I used to be obsessed with it years ago and ate it raw sliced on bread! One day I just couldn’t eat it anymore, I wonder why...

Mina Harker

Here are Sample Himes questions:

What is your guilty pleasure that you wouldn't otherwise admit to anyone?
I have watched every episode of Smallville, besides the last season, since I am scared that it will be the end of it!

If you were an animal, what would you be?
Bat, they are adorable, and they can fly!

What's your current ringtone?
I actually don’t have a ringtone right now. My husband promised he would make me one from an episode of the Beetlejuice cartoon I requested. I am still waiting.

Lydia Deetz, one of my all time favorite characters

Love or money--choose one.
I already got love, now I just need money ;)

Who is your favorite villain?
Jared the Goblin king! *swoons*

If you could invent any beauty product (as magical as you wish lol), what would it be?
If that includes skin care, then it would be a cream that actually moisturizes my face to be smooth, plump and flakeless and it would also not break me out. It would have Brightening properties of the kind that makes you look glowy and would make me be able to look whatever age I want depending on how I feel. Also if I smear it on my hair it would do whatever I wanted. Grow, change color, texture anything!

But Coeur d'Coeurs is!

  If you could visit anywhere (fictional or real), where would you go?
To Coeur d'Coeurs and the world of Pushing Daisies

If you could change one thing about your appearance, what would it be?
I would make my hair curly, pretty curly not sort of wavy frizzy.

What brand do you wish you liked more?
Cheap drugstore brands :)

What is the worst skincare or makeup product you've ever tried and why?
Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner  or Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel . Not sure which one did it but it messed up my face really bad! I never broke out from anything before but this happened almost a month ago and I am still fighting the damage.


What's your favorite book?
Salamander by Thomas Warthon


My questions are:
What's the origin of your Blog/Blogger name?
What is the last book you read?
What is your secret talent?
Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
What are you craving right now?
What was the last song you fell in love with?
Do you read/watch Anime or Comics? If so which ones can you recommend?
What is the oldest item you own and how old is it?
What or who is your favorite thing at the moment?
If you would have a secret box of secrets, what would be in there?
What are your top 5 favorite films of all time?

To me it also applies to films!

 I wont nominate 11 Bloggers but I will nominated a few bloggers I have discovered the past two weeks
They are:
Sister Rex
Pico Prince 
Bunny Kiss
Go Hálainn  
Unfade what fades
Shopping Escapades
Adventures into Obscurity
Cousingblogkorea

Johnny Clyde reviews: The Face Shop Herb Day 365 Cleansing Foam in Spearmint For Man

12:43 PM Moi Sanom 4 Comments

Promotional picture from Honestskin

 The Face Shop Herb Day 365 Cleansing Foam in Spearmint For Man (170ml)

It originally comes with a plastic wrapper that I already took off. Also say Hi to the Tweedles.

Do you like tiny bubbles?
Do you like tiny bubbles that smell good?
Do you like tiny bubbles that smell good and wash your face?
Do you like....ok I'm done.


My wife was forcing me to use cleansing water to clean my face. She was assuming I hated foam cleanser like she does. She couldn't have been more wrong.
I love foam cleanser. In fact, I live in foam cleanser.
One day, I'm going to have a house made out of foam cleanser, and there's going to be a freak accident that makes my future children be human/foam cleanser hybrids.
I personally enjoy a foam cleanser because it just feels right. It's really easy to apply, and it's honestly just like washing your face with a really smooth lather of soap. I actually feel clean when I use foam cleanser, I don't feel that clean with liquid cleansers. I just feel wet. moist, even.

I have large hands, so this tube is Humongous!

This particular brand comes in a pretty big tube. I like that, because if something isn't sitting on the counter screaming at me, I'll assume it's lost forever. The product itself seems never ending since you barely use any each day.


So you squeeze that delicious green stuff (don't eat it. Seriously) onto a sponge. And you start squeezing that sponge like it's a tomato you hate.


After some time (when the guts start spilling out AKA the soap lathers) you realize you never really hated that tomato (soap) and you want to rub those sick remains all over your face.
Ok, actually don't listen to me.
Just lather up that cleanser and rub it into your face skin.


It feels nice.
Really nice.
You might spend hours purring nice. It's actually really refreshing in the morning.
If your significant other is kind of hating you when you wake up, at least your soap will still love you.
The little bubbles are like a cloud.

Cloud bubbles!

Just don't ruin the lovely feeling by using super hot water to rinse it off like I always accidentally do. Then you'll go about your day ACTUALLY hating tomatoes!

The foam cleanser has a spearmint flavor to it.
I sound like an aroma expert but really that's just what it says on the bottle.
I don't think I've ever actually smelled real spearmint, but this bottled soap version of it smells pretty nice.
Not the greatest, or even minty, but I don't really care so much.

So basically I've found that this foam cleanser is quite effective. I feel so refreshed afterwards and my skin feels great for the rest of the day. I use it twice a day, when I wake up and when I go to sleep.
I eat a lot of popcorn. When I say that you might be thinking "Oh he must eat everyday" 
NO.
I eat everyday, but I make a separate portion for my wife, and then I eat 3 times as much as her, and the rest of her portion when she's not looking.

actual size

 So after I eat a ton of popcorn I feel a little bit like a disgusting human being.
So I tend to wash my face directly after my last food of the day. Makes me feel all refreshed again for sleep.
So overall, I would totally recommend this foam cleanser to everyone. It only does good things for you.
It cleans your freaking face.

Rating:
I give it a 5/6. Not a perfect score because I'm saving that for some unholy godlike product of the future
1.Blegh  2. Pff  3. Meh  4. Oohh  5. Awwyeah  6. Wooha

Put some product in your hand

Foam it up with some water

Mois thoughts:
I bought this specific foam cleanser to help cleanse my husbands pores out. It promises to do so specifically for male pores! But it does no such thing.
So to me its a good cleanser that cleanses. But I will continue looking for one that actually helps with the pore issue. Specially one that has a lower PH.
                           

 Rating:
 4 for good cleansing abilities and not stripping skin of moisture
1.Blegh  2. Pff  3. Meh  4. Oohh  5. Awwyeah  6. Wooha


Ingredients: here
PH: 9

Purchased at Honestskin 
Available on Ebay

Three Benton Essence and Steam cream testimonials

1:56 PM Moi Sanom 0 Comments

Full size Benton Snail Essence and Snail Essence and Steam Cream samples

Instead of reviewing these 2 products thoroughly, since there is many many out there already (I recommend this one by Kerry) I will just tell you about 3 different experiences.

Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence Box

Mois story:
I actually bought this since I wanted to try snail products and due to my facial eczema I had at the time, I thought it would be perfect to help heal my skin.
When I received the sample, my moms face was in catastrophic shape due to an incompatibility with Misshas MISA Geumsul Rejuvenating Cream.
I decided to give her the samples instead.
I then ordered another sample pack to try on myself.
My eczema was gone by that time but left me with teeny tiny bumps around my eyes, the combination of the Benton essence and the steam cream made them disappear within 2 weeks.

No more bumps!

I went on to buy the fulls size Essence and it has helped me keep my skin in check and heal random eczema bouts in a jiffy.

Mothers face for future references

 Mothers story:
After the Missha disaster she started using the Essence and Steam cream samples and her skin improved visibly within 4 days!
And she ended buying the full sized products of course.
Her skin is normal but dehydrated due to age, she has few wrinkles for a 50 year old, and an uneven skin texture due to adult acne. Her concerns are mainly acne care and hydration. Benton definitely provided for the first but it's unfortunately not hydrating enough.

Mother says:”I received some samples from my daughter and she recommended to start layering skin products. I have to say I never liked any kind of serum or extra skin products then the basics.
I started using Benton Snail Bee High content essence and Snail Bee steam cream.
In about 10 days my skin looked much more even and bright.
Yeahhhhh I felt like 40! (ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ
( I know this might only be in my head) but it makes me feel that way.
But my aim is to feel like 30 now  ｡^‿^｡
Inside I feel like a kid and I wish my skin would match how I feel.
I definitively will continue with these Benton products but will look for a much more moisturizing cream to add since the Steam cream doesn't provide enough moisture to my skin.”


Johnny Clydes story:
My husbands skin is weird. It isn't really dry or sensitive, it is quite normal and easy to handle actually. But sometimes it acts up in all kind of strange ways.
Like when it got a bad reaction to Tony Moly Tomatox mask of tiny red bumps all over his face. He started applying the Benton Essence and Steam cream and his skin went back to normal within 3 days.
In his own words:  “It was as if thousands of tiny snails crawled over my face and with their tiny magic wands made soothing phenomenons of wonder.”

not so tiny snails working magic

So to me this is pretty solid stuff, specially for those days that my skin is being ueber sensitive and reactive to air and things.
The rest of the gang seems to agree since they keep calling it miracle stuff

Ingredients:
Benton Snail Bee high Content Essence
Benton Snail Bee High Content Steam Cream

PH:
Benton Snail Bee high Content Essence 5.5-6
Benton Snail Bee High Content Steam Cream 5.5-6



Rating:
1.Blegh  2. Pff  3. Meh  4. Oohh  5. Awwyeah  6. Wooha

Woeful Windsday

11:06 AM Moi Sanom 0 Comments

Which movie am I gonna watch tonight?

2:11 PM Moi Sanom 0 Comments

Nymphomaniac Volume I
2013
Written and directed by Lars von Trier
Starring:stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Connie Nielsen, Uma Thurman, Willem Dafoe
 
I only watched the long version of Volume I which is suppose to be more explicit, and still it wasn't porn. I really am not a fan of movies using exploitation elements, I am looking at you Antichrist, but I didn't feel like that was the case with Nymphomaniac. Yes there were lots of genitals and lots of sex scenes but hey that is what the film is about, right!
SEX!

There I said it, now lets move on to more important things.
Volume I is surprisingly funny! It is interesting and different, the format how the story is being told is a classic one for a very un-classic story.
Even though I am not a fan of Lars von Trier I had a very pleasant watching experience.
I was actually surprised how much I liked it! And I cant wait to watch Volume II, even though I have the feeling it might not be as light hearted as this one.


I feel like Charlottes story needs to be told and it might give people some insights they never might have had otherwise.
So now go watch it, you might even enjoy yourself!

Roseroseshop order revealed and reviewed

2:06 PM Moi Sanom 4 Comments

Today is a good day!
Any day is a good day if you have a parcel from Korea standing at your door step!


This is the second time I have ordered from Roseroseshop, well third if you count the ebay purchase I did from them before.
So far I have been pretty satisfied.
I chose to order from them since they often have the best prices, sales at all times, and not too unreasonable shipping costs. For my packages I only order so much so I pay the cheapest shipping cost of 13.15$. This doesn't seem to depend on the weight but on the item number in your cart. Either way I fill my cart with bits and bobs and add and take away things until I have a reasonable variety that stays within that shipping cost.

Elwood is as excited as I am!

Another reason why I like to shop there is that they have a large variety of samples and trial sets available. And to me the best way to try out a new line of products is trial sets!

If its samples it wouldn't be a nightmare!

The other thing is samples. I love samples and I like to get lots and lots, and in the end bath in samples like Scrooge McDuck.
Roseroseshop does give you samples, but only if you request them. And since I assume everyone wants samples it seems like an unnecessary step to add. Just give them to everyone and all will be happy.
A few days ago they seem to have implemented a new rule that the more you spend the more samples you get, I just dont know if it will be automatic or you still have to request them.


I placed my order the 7th of April and received the shipping notification on the 9th, which is pretty fast and efficient. Tracking number was included of course, even though the German postal system seems to not keep track of Korean parcels at all and they always arrive to my house before they appear in their system. I received my order today the 22nd of April which is totally reasonable from an order from Korea. I ordered a parcel a few days earlier from another shop and am still waiting for it.

First layer

The items are very carefully individually wrapped in bubble magic and the samples are inside a little bag.

Honestly I don't even know how Anais could get into the box so fast and start sunbathing!

The only problem is this, and unfortunately I have heard this complaint before.
I carefully choose all my items to get the most out of my shipping. I spend a lot of thought and time on that. But on April 11th I received an email telling me one of the items I purchased was sold out. It seems to be the norm that Roseroseshop sends those notifications out after sending out your parcel, which gives you no chance to change your order. If I would know that in advanced I would have added another item to my order to replace the one that was out of stock. I would much prefer that my order is shipped out a few days later with all the items I want, then to rush it out making me feel like I missed out on something.
I really do not think it is ok. There is only so many times I can order stuff from Korea and I want it to be perfect! I am not blaming them for out of stock items, just for illogical organization.



So without the whole communication fiasco I would give these guys a 6 out of 6. But knowing that in this case my face is missing out on some serious sleeping pack action I must say 5 out of 6.

All my pretties!

I purchased the following:
ETUDE HOUSE Don't Worry Hand Cream - No.03
MIZON Twilight Volume Cream
ETUDE HOUSE Moistfull Super Collagen First Trial Kit
IT'S SKIN Power 10 Formula LI Effector
ETUDE HOUSE Color Pop Tint Mini - No. P10
INNISFREE Olive Real Skin Care Samples Kit
ETUDE HOUSE Missing U Hand Cream I can fly No.02 
ETUDE HOUSE Eyelash Curler 
MISSHA Natural Soft Jelly Cleansing Puff No.2 Charcoal  
ETUDE HOUSE I Need You, A to Z Mask Sheet No.Job's Tears 

The samples are:
Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer
Etude House Collagen moistfull cream
Missha Signature BB Cream
Holika Holika Honey Sleeping Pack Canola
The Face Shop Core Seed Purifying essence

The good news for you guys is that some of these items are actually for an upcoming Giveaway!
So stay tuned for that.

Giveaway party!

If you would like any of these items reviewed please let me know in the comments and I will proceed to do so.

Have you guys have had issues with Roseroseshop yet or did everything go hunky dory?

Which movie am I gonna watch tonight?

2:30 PM Moi Sanom 1 Comments

Only Lovers Left Alive
2013
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
starring Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright

The most gorgeous and sweet couple!

 I love vampire movies!
One could even say I have a slight obsession with vampire movies.
Yes i do want to have seen every vampire movie ever made one day...
But most vampire movies have a lot in common, one of the films that stand out to me are films like Thirst and The Hunger. But even those two are kind of exploitative.
I mean Vampires are usually fangy blood thirsty creatures, that do get sooner or later a little campy in their need for blood.


Even the beautiful and sophisticated types like in Coppolas Dracula or Interview with a Vampire get a little blood crazy and violent at times. I am not saying any of these attributes are bad things, I really do love all the films mentioned above.


But there comes Jim Jarmusch, a director I have been a fan of for years and makes a Vampire movie.
And of course he somehow manages to make a beautiful, slow, intimate and sophisticated version of the Vampire film, a type I haven’t seen before.
The film was quite reminiscent of Anne Rices Vampire chronicles to me. The characters were educated in arts, threw in little tidbits of history and cared for antiques.

"That coat must be at least a century old"

The cast is great, the sets and costumes are gorgeous, the dialogue is oh so slightly poetic, and the plot is entrancing without falling into the exploitative or seizure inducing kind.
I really really loved this film, and there is too many little points I enjoyed to write them all down.
To me it is an instant classic that I know I will watch many more times.
A great film for everyone who loves some charming characters and some gorgeous images, even if you aren’t into Vampire films
Oh and by the way, the music is fantastic!

Mmmhhh Bloodsickle