Yay! So I went to Daiso Japan for the first time....FINALLY! If you're not familiar with Daiso Japan, it's a store that sells items for $1.50 (unless marked otherwise). I've seen a couple hauls from Daiso, so I knew I had to go and check it out for myself! So many goodies :) Watch the video below to see all the items I bought! :)

After trying out a couple of the products I bought, I decided to do a quick review! I noticed these products got a lot of hype, so I was excited to pick them up and see if they are worth the money (Hey, a $1.50 is still $1.50!)

So let's check out the BREAKDOWN of all the products I bought at Daiso Japan :)

First, let's look at the PORE CARE PACK...

As you can see, the packaging shows a dramatic difference between the "before" and "after" picture. Yuck! This package also came with 4 nose strips.

As instructions describe on the back, I clean the my skin around my nose and got it slightly damp. I then removed the strip from the transparent sheet and placed it on my nose. The strip did stick to my nose securely, and I did not feel like it was going to fall off.

After 15 minutes, I removed the strip like the instruction said to. This thing hurt a little! It was similar to taking off a band-aid. Because of this I was hopeful and was confident that it would remove my blackheads.

 WRONG! As you can see, there is literally NOTHING on the strip (the little white dots you see were actually there originally.) I was hoping to see a dramatic difference in the appearance of my skin, but it looked exactly the same as before. Wah :(

I did try these strips a second time and thought maybe I had to get my nose wetter. That didn't help and the results were completely the same. I even forced my boyfriend to try the strips because his pores are a little bigger than mine and we couldn't seem to get these things to work for us! 

Pros: 

- well... it did stick to my nose! 

Cons: 

- didn't remove any black/white heads

- smelled funny

- skin looked exactly the same after 

Next, let's look at the breakdown of the Collagen Face Mask... 

Because I can't read Japanese, I'm not actually sure what the benefits of using this product are (if you can read Japanese, feel free to enlighten me in the comments below! :) ). I'm assuming since it's a collagen mask there would be firming, tightening, anti-aging, etc. This pack came with 3 sheets. As the directions stated, I cleansed my face while showering and applied the mask to my face for 20 minutes. Simple enough!  

This thing looks so scary!

After removing it, my face did have a little bit more of a glow and felt refreshed. I didn't see anything dramatic but I enjoyed the fresh feeling it gave my face! 

Pros:

- left my skin feeling refreshed

- relaxing 

- cooled my skin down 

Cons: 

- didn't fit my face well (you can see in the picture how it's almost falling into my eyes!)

- no long term benefits

Next, the Cosmetic Paper "Heart"...

While shopping at Daiso Japan, I was overwhelmed by all the blotting tissues they had! They had so many to choose from! I ended up picking this one because I liked the design on the box and because it came with 250 sheets!! I feel like it's pretty difficult to mess up blotting tissues so these get an "A" from me!

Pros:

- cheap

- blots excess oil

- will last FOREVER

Cons:

- not travel friendly (box is too flimsy)

- slightly bulky

Alright, on the the Mascara Base Coat...

I LOVE this packaging! It's so cute :)

 I was really excited to try this because anything that makes my lashes look nicer is awesome to me. I tried this 2 ways: 1) I applied it before my normal mascara, let it dry and then applied mascara on top 2) I applied this base and before it dried, I applied my normal mascara. However, this sadly flaked on me :( It did build my lashes and make them look fuller, however, it just didn't look that nice. A little too clumpy for my liking :( Below, I got a close up so you can see what the brush looks like!

I actually really like the brush!

Pros:

- nice brush

- super cute packaging!

Cons:

- flaky

- clumpy

- doesn't lengthen 

Finally, the Eyebrow Pencil...

This is something I also saw on other Youtube channels a lot! I'm big on making sure my eyebrows look perfect so I was very interested in this pencil. It has a slated pencil on one side (picture below) and a spoolie on the other side (sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it :( haha )

 For me, this was ok. It's a little difficult for me to work with because it's very light so I have to kind of "layer" it on to get the desired eyebrow shade. Also, once the slant has worn away, I also had a hard time filling in my eyebrows neatly. It's just not precise enough for my liking... I also don't like that I had to press hard to get it to work.

The top swatch is just one swipe on the pencil and the bottom swatch is FOUR swipes.

Pros:

- comes with a spoolie

- a natural looking color

- slanted edge

Cons:

- you have to press hard

- not precise after you wear the slant down

- takes multiple swipes to get it dark enough 

Conclusion: Unfortunately, I didn't fall in love with anything :( Although, the packaging of all the products are super cute and girly and make me happy :) It's also fun to try new things, even if they're not all winners. 

But Morgan... is it worth the money?

Kinda. I mean, all the items were only a $1.50 each but that still $1.50 I could've spent elsewhere. The only thing I would repurchase would be the blotting tissue because they're effective and you get so many! 

Well that's my review :) Let me know if you tried anything from Daiso Japan you love because I want to check them out!! 

xoxo, Morgan 

Avril Lavigne "Hello Kitty" Makeup and Hair Tutorial + OOTD

Avril Lavigne's new music video "Hello Kitty" has created a lot of backlash for the Canadian rockstar. However, I personally loved the style of the video and the colorfulness of it. So I decided to recreate her look in this video from head to toe! First...her makeup and hair in the Hello Kitty music video!

Here's detailed pictures and more information about the products I used in the video! 

I started off my obviously priming my eyes. I made sure to prime under my eye really well because we will be smudging a ton of eyeliner and eyeshadow along our lower lash line. Next, I took a lighter and warmed up the eyeliner. This made it more smudgy and easier to work with. *Be sure to test the liner on your hand before you put it directly onto your eyelid! You don't want to burn yourself!*

This is the dark eyeshadow I used to pack onto of the eyeliner I put all over my eyelid and along my lash line. This is the Kat Von D eyeshadow in "Motorhead". 

I took this silver color from the Tarte "Art of Giving" Pallete and put in on the inner corner of my eye. This particular color is called "Staci's Charm Bracelet".

Taking this Stila eyeshadow in "Heather", I used my finger to pack this on my eyelid. *It's ok if it's messy! That's the point :)*

Once I lined my eyes, I applied my mascara. I used Revlon's Lash Potion in the video. 

 I put my concealer on after I'd finished my eye makeup. I did this because this look has a ton of fall out. Be sure to brush the fall out away before applying concealer. I recommend a liquid concealer under the eye because it overs good coverage but doesn't get cakey in the little fine lines :) 

To finished off the rest of my face, I applied MAC's "Pink Swoon", which is a sheer pink blush. For her nude pinky lips, I used Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipstick in "Demure" and put this pink Tarte lipgloss on the center of my lips.

All done with the makeup! For the hair, be sure to watch my video!

Now for her outfit! These are just pieces I'll pulled from my closet, no purchasing necessarily! :) 

To replicate her look, all you'll need is...

A cropped black jacket...mine just happens to be leather! This one is from Forever 21. 

Avril Lavigne rocks pearls throughout her Hello Kitty music video. This necklace I got from Forever 21 a couple years ago too but any pearl necklace works :) 

Combat Boots! So comfy and they toughen up any outfit! Even a Hello Kitty one!

 Last, but not least, a pink tutu :) Avril Lavigne has cupcakes on hers in the Hello Kitty music video but you get the point!

Let me know what you think about this makeup + hair + ootd video and blog post! I had a lot of fun working on this and would love to hear you feedback. As always, don't forget to tell your friends (send them the link! It's quick and easy!) and subscribe to The Beauty Breakdown! See you next time :)

xoxo, Morgan