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Cute DIY Tip for Securing Your Makeup Palettes (For Under $2)

Purchased by Me 

Tired of using rubber bands to secure your makeup palettes when you travel? Here's a suggestion...

Keep reading for this cheap and easy (and cute!) tip...

Attention Texans: You're Getting a Daiso!

If you're in Texas and you haven't heard the news, hold on to your wallets!

image source: Daiso US Instagram page

Grand opening of the first Daiso in Texas is August 1st

Daiso, or otherwise known as my home away from home, is opening their first location in Texas on August 1st! It is located at 2540 Old Denton RD, #100, Carrollton, Texas. If you don't live close to this location, please note that Daiso stated on their Instagram that this is their FIRST Texas location, which I'm guessing means there will eventually be additional locations in your great state.

If you're new to Daiso or haven't seem my previous posts about this little wonderland of affordable products, Daiso is a Japanese retailer that sells primarily Japanese goods (although they have the most excellent selection of Kleancolor cosmetics that I've ever seen). Everything in the store is $1.50 unless otherwise noted. They sell Japanese cosmetics, housewares, snacks, crafting supplies, kitchen gadgets, organizational items, gardening supplies and much more. Basically, I like to call Daiso "the home of everything I never knew I needed...but totally need." Daiso is the place where I found that great DIY silicone brush cleaner I reviewed HERE, by the way.

So yeah, CONGRATS, Texans! And seriously, hold on to your wallets because a few minutes in this store and the next thing you know, you'll have $50 worth of irresistible goodies in your basket. Oh, and Daiso mentioned that they'll be doing giveaways on opening day, so definitely try to stop by on August 1 if you can (and arrive early because I'm sure it will be crazy).

Thanks to reader @rashi on Instagram for sharing this news with us!

Review: K-Palette Lasting Eyebrow Pencil in 03 Grayish Brown

Purchased by Me

I receive quite a few requests for affordable Asian beauty product reviews, and I promise I'll be bringing you more of them! I adore Asian beauty products, but I want to reserve my reviews for items that are truly my favorites, which brings me to this eyebrow pencil from K-Palette.

Most of you know that my Holy Grail eyebrow pencil is Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Dark Blonde. I love everything about that pencil and, most importantly, Dark Blonde is a perfect match for my brows.  I have dark blonde/light brown hair and the natural color of my brows is actually quite cool (as opposed to warm). As those of you who have looked for medium, cool-toned brow pencils at the drugstore know, there are NOT many of them. In fact, Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Dark Blonde is one of the only ones I've come across at the drugstore. Most drugstore brow pencils designed for those of us who have lighter hair are usually very warm-toned. That's great for those of you with warm-toned brows, but what about those of us who have more ashy-toned brows?

Since Maybelline reduced the shade range in the Define-A-Brow line (they discontinued a few colors last year), and this pencil is becoming harder and harder to find in stores, I have been forced to start looking for alternatives in case the unthinkable happens. The very best alternative that I've found for my beloved Dark Blonde shade from Maybelline is this one:

 K-Palette Lasting Eyebrow in 03 Grayish Brown

(retail: around $7, 0.018 oz)

I buy this pencil at my local Mitsuwa Marketplace, but I've also seen it at Nijiya Market and Marukai Living here in San Diego. You can also purchase it online at Sasa.com for $7.10 (they only have two shades at Sasa but one of them is Grayish Brown) and on Amazon, and I'm sure there are other Asian beauty product etailers that carry it as well.

Review: More milky glitter polishes from pa

Purchased by Me

If you caught my last pa polish review of shade AA66 (aka Cookies & Cream), then you know that pa released some milky glitter polishes several months ago. What I didn't know until a few weeks ago was that certain Japanese markets in my area offer even more pa milky glitters than what you saw in this display. So I'm not really sure how many milky glitters pa has in total, but I know it's over ten!

With all of these milky glitters on the market right now, I can actually be a little more discriminating in my choices (there was a time when I would buy any and all of them, out of pure desperation). Since Hard Candy unleashed a full line of milk glitters recently, I tried to select the milky glitters from pa that did not resemble anything I have seen before (there may be indie polishes similar to these, but I'm only referring to polishes you can find in retail stores here).

pa Premiere Lame Grande Nail Colors in AA59 and AA57

(retail: around $5 each)

I have yet to see a neon yellow/chartreuse milky glitter, or a straight-up red milky glitter (correct me if I'm wrong!) so these two polishes came home with me the last time I was a Mitsuwa.

As I mention in all of my pa reviews, there is no unit weight printed on these bottles, but pa polishes are very small and equivalent to a US mini polish for sure. The milky glitters fall under the "Premiere Lame Grande" collection which also includes lots (and lots) of other types of glitters, metallics, jellies, etc. The Premiere Lame Grande section of the Dear Laura site (makers of pa polishes) only shows a tiny fraction of what you can find in Asian markets.

Swatches, after the jump...

Review: Naive Rose Facial Cleansing Foam by Kanebo

Purchased by Me

A top seller at Marukai (which is where I purchased this tube) and arguably a top seller at most Japanese markets, Naive Rose Facial Cleansing Foam by Kracie (a division of Kanebo) is an extremely popular drugstore-level facial cleanser in both Japan and the US.

 If you don't have a Japanese market in your area (for my fellow San Diego peeps, this product is sold at just about every single Japanese market in SD  including Marukai Living, Mitsuwa and Nijiya) you can also purchase it on sites like Sasa, as well as on Amazon, etc.

Naive Facial Cleansing Foam in Rose

(retail: around $7, 6.7 oz)

Naive Facial Cleansing Foam comes in several different scents/formulas, but the Rose formula is the most popular, so that's why I went with it (I had to see what all the fuss was about!). I've been using this product off and on for about three months now, and I definitely have a strong opinion about it. Keep reading for my full review, after the jump...

Eye Candy Alert: the pa nail polish display

After my post last week about the milky glitter polish I bought from pa (click here for all the details about this Japanese beauty brand, including swatches of the polish I purchased), I though I would go back to the store where I bought this polish and get some pics of the other five milky glitters in this collection. Hopefully this will help you determine if these are worth the hunt!

Before I get into the pics, I want to let you know that tomorrow I'll be doing a "milky-glitter round-up" type of post with more drugstore alternatives, in case you're like me and currently obsessed with milky glitters.

As you can see, the milky glitters are on the top shelf of the display, followed by the chromes, iridescent jellies, and so many glitters it would make your head spin (more on that in bit).

Keep reading for more pics...

Review: DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

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pa Nail Color AA37 from the Premiere Lame Grande Collection (baby blue flakie)

The other day I was at my local Mitsuwa Marketplace here in San Diego and I noticed that the pa Nail Color display contained a new collection of FLAKIES! So naturally I had to get one and I couldn't resist the baby blue shade, AA37.

For those unfamiliar with pa, it's a Japanese line of nail polish by the brand Dear Laura. You can view all of the shades of flakies in pa's Premiere Grande Lame Collection by scrolling to the bottom of THIS PAGE. Since I saw all of these shades up close and in person, I can tell you a few things about them in case you're looking to make a purchase (more on that later in this post).

pa Nail Colors are made in France and I think they have the cutest packaging of any nail polishes I own (you can see swatches of the other pa polish I own--AA32--which is a chunky holo glitter polish, here).

pa Nail Color in AA37 from the Premiere Grande Lame Collection

(retail: $5.99 at Mitsuwa)

My favorite cotton pads

For many, many years now, the only place I will purchase my cotton pads (for nail polish and eye makeup removal) is at my local Japanese dollar store. I used to buy just any ol' cotton pad that happened to be on sale at the drugstore, but then I tried one of the various Japanese versions on the market and I was hooked.

I've tried high-end cotton pads in the past, including Shiseido Facial Cotton, and I've got to say, for quality and value, I always go back to my Japanese dollar store cotton pads.

Review: Biore Marshmallow Whip Facial Cleanser

Let me start this review by telling you that this is a Japanese product from the Japanese division of Biore. I know, I know, I WISH they sold this in US drugstores, but the good thing is that you can find it at Mitsuwa and I'm sure you can also find it in other Asian markets that carry Asian beauty products. I think you can also get it on Ebay and websites that sell Asian beauty products, but I haven't looked into that.

So even though it's not as easily accessible as US Biore products, I still wanted to review this product because, as many of you already know, I'm obsessed with Japanese beauty products. I even have a category on this blog for all of the goodies I've found at my local Japanese dollar stores.

I purchased this at my local Mitsuwa a few weeks ago, and I was delighted to find it on a sale table in a little bag that also contains some Biore towelettes. The price of this set was $12.99, which was a good deal since the Marshmallow Whip Facial Cleanser retails for $11.99 by itself at Mitsuwa.

The bottle itself has a pearly pink pump and a cute round shape to it. I remember seeing this review on Cosmetic Candy back in 2009, and at that time I filed this cleanser away in my memory banks (as I do with anything that has the word "marshmallow" in the title). But then when I saw this tempting review on Musings of a Muse, I decided to check my local Mitsuwa for it and BINGO! Found it!

OH HOLY LUXURY!!! The foam of this cleanser surpasses any other foaming cleanser I have ever used! I am not kidding when I say that this is the most dense, springy, luxurious foam on the planet! There is a "bounciness" to this foam that really is like a marshmallow. I swear to you, when I cleanse my face with this stuff, the foam never seems to thin out or dissipate, even as I'm working it into my skin. The whipped, bouncy texture feels utterly amazing as I'm cleaning my face and I can't think of a single US facial cleanser I can compare it to.

Look at this foam!!

Can you see how dense it is? It makes my Aveeno foaming cleanser seem like a watery, sad weakling in comparison.

This cleanser has a light, floral type of fragrance (oh how I wish it smelled like marshmallows!) but I find it mild and pleasant.

As far as performance goes, this cleanser is a dream to use, and it leaves my super-oily skin feeling incredibly soft and clean, yet not dry or tight in the slightest. In fact, I swear it gives my face a slight glow and my skin seems to be a bit more even than it did a few weeks ago. My one complaint is that it doesn't fully remove all of my eye makeup, so I would suggest using it after you've used eye makeup remover. I love all-in-one cleansers that remove my eye makeup, so this is a kind of a bummer for me. But that foam really makes up for it and I've found myself actually looking forward to removing my eye makeup with makeup remover just so that I can use this cleanser afterward. If you're a longtime reader of this blog, you know that's a big deal for me because I generally hate using eye makeup remover.

And in case you want a closer look at the towelettes, here they are (I haven't used them yet so I can't give you an opinion):

FINAL VERDICT: If you're a foaming facial cleanser gal, I think you owe it to yourself to track this down. The foam is something I just cannot accurately put into words, but just trust me when I say that it makes all other foaming cleansers seem very weak and flat in comparison. This stuff is pure decadence and, unlike other foaming cleansers that tend to dry out even my oily skin, this one is so gentle that I'm almost positive it will work beautifully for you dry-skinned gals as well. The only two faults I can find with this cleanser are: 1) it doesn't fully remove eye makeup, and 2) it's not easily available in the US. Boo to you, Biore, for not putting this on American drugstore shelves!

Have you tried Biore Marshmallow Whip Facial Cleanser? If so, how do you like it? If you don't already own it, does it sound tempting to you? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

More adventures at the Japanese dollar store...

I know I just got done saying that I don't normally post pics of items that can't easily be found in most areas, but I know that a lot of you enjoy seeing what I purchase at my local Japanese dollar store (Diaso) and, since I purchased some LA Colors products (widely available at Dollar Tree and other places) at Daiso in addition to the harder-to-find items, I figured what the heck!

So last week the boyfriend and I went to Daiso and Marukai Living. Daiso is a dollar store (actually everything there is $1.98) and Marukai Living has a TON of Japanese makeup and skincare products (some are very expensive while some are quite reasonable).

So at Marukai Living, I finally broke down and bought one of the zillions of glitter polishes they have on display by a company called Dear Laura. Dear Laura has a nail polish line called "pa" and the bottles are tiny and ADORABLE (even the packaging is adorable). One of my lovely readers, jbrobeck, just let me know that there is a website where you can see all of the colors in the pa line (click here to see them). The color I purchased is AA32, and it is from the "Lamé Grande" collection (the glitters). AA32 is a clear base that is packed with round holographic glitter and also holographic microglitter. The price of this polish was $5.98 at Marukai Living.

At Daiso, I purchased two LA Colors metallic nail polishes: Metallic Pink and Metallic Green (retail: $1.89 each). These were my first LA Colors metallic polishes and I have to say that I love them so far. I've washed the dishes twice so far and not even one chip. They're wearing like iron! (Of course I used my holy grail combo of Orly Bonder base coat and Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat.) The pics above were taken with just one coat of LA Colors Metallic Pink and Metallic Green (these are super opaque!) and one coat of AA32 on each of my ring fingers.

Another thing I love about these LA Colors metallic polishes is that they do not feel gritty to the touch. At first they seemed streaky, but everything leveled out once the polish dried and I applied my top coat. If you see these at your local beauty supply or dollar store, definitely check them out.

Also at Marukai Living, I purchased this long-wear automatic pencil eyeliner (my favorite kind of eyeliner ever!):

Koji-Honpo Spring Heart Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Dark Brown (retail: $6)

I could not resist getting this Koji-Honpo Spring Heart Eyeliner for a number of reasons. First of all, you know I love my long-wear automatic pencil liners. Second of all, look at this cute packaging! Third, and most importantly, look at the pencil! The end of the pencil has not only the exact same smudge tip that the new Cover Girl Liquiline Blast eyeliners have(!) but there is also a sharpener on the other end of the smudge tip! And the entire thing fits snugly into the end of the pencil. Japanese design is amazing in general, and cosmetics are certainly no exception (another example? The L'Oreal Scrublet is a knock-off of Japanese facial tools, and the Japanese versions have a far better design, in my humble opinion).

Lastly, I purchased an LA Colors eyeshadow single at Daiso ($1.98):

I absolutely LOVE all of the LA Colors Eyeshadow Palletes I've purchased from Dollar Tree, but this is the very first eyeshadow single I've ever tried. I will let you know how it goes--I'm really hoping the texture and quality are as good as the shadows in the palettes.

So after Mr. G so patiently waited while I purchased my beauty products, we headed over to Mitsuwa to eat lunch and do some shopping:

Ramen from Santouka. I got the regular size (on the right) and Mr. G got the large. We also got a side of rice with leeks and it came with a pickled egg (I don't eat the egg but Mr. G likes it).

If you're in San Diego, you must try the ramen at Santouka (located inside of Mitsuwa). There's a reason why it's got 171 ratings with an average of 4 stars on Yelp. It's authentic and it's deeeelish.

Then we went shopping and got in not one, but two minor arguments. The first was over which brand of nori to get (we like to make our own sushi). Looking at the variety of nori offered at Mitsuwa, you can understand why we argued. I'm not complaining, but there are just TOO many choices:

This pic shows only half the assortment of different brands of nori they sell!

Fight number two erupted when we tried to decide which green tea to buy. I am obsessed with finding the perfect genmaicha tea (green tea combined with roasted brown rice). I love the flavor of the roasted rice mixed with the green tea, but it's hit or miss with certain brands. So looking at the assortment of green tea available at Mitsuwa, I think you can understand why another small fight broke out:

Again, this is only half the selection that's available.

If anyone has any suggestions as to their favorite brands of nori or genmaicha for me to try, I am all ears!

Thanks for reading about my latest adventure at the Japanese stores in San Diego. Do you like to shop at Japanese markets in your town? What are your favorite goodies to purchase?

Review: Japanese Dollar Store Products

First let me start by saying THANK YOU to the three readers who posted about some great beauty deals they've spotted recently! This makes me feel like my new "Beauty Deals YOU have spotted" feature (located in the right-hand sidebar) is going to be a success, and I cannot wait to see more comments from you as you find great deals in your town and/or online. Please, please share what you're finding with us so that we can all benefit! If you haven't seen the great deals contributed by Nouveau Cheap readers yet, click here to check 'em out (they're fantastic!).

OK, onto my review. This review is a long time coming, because I purchased these products from my local Japanese dollar store back in February (click here for my original post).

First up, the Japanese version of the L'Oreal Scrublet:

I purchased this scrublet-type facial cleansing tool for $4.98 at my local Marukai Living store. Marukai Living is not actually a dollar store, but let me explain. Marukai is a chain of different Japanese retail stores. In San Diego, Marukai has a dollar store (called Daiso), a home-furnishings/beauty product store (called Marukai Living) and an Asian grocery store (called Marukai). All three stores are in the same strip mall (which just so happens to be across the street from Mitsuwa!) and this strip mall is a bargain shopper's paradise! Especially Daiso, which also carries beauty products (nail polishes, makeup, beauty tools, etc.) and everything in Daiso (unless otherwise specified) is $1.98. If you have a Diaso in your city, you will go nuts in this store. I promise.

So anyway, I purchased the scrublet-type cleansing tool at Marukai Living for around five bucks, but I have heard that similar products are also available at other Japanese stores (in the US and in other countries) and that you can also find them on ebay. So if you don't have a Marukai in your area, but you want one of these, you can probably find one pretty easily.

The first thing I noticed about the Japanese version was that the surface area is bigger. Also, the fish-type shape made me go, "Huh? How is THIS going to work?" But honestly, it's pretty freaking fantastic once you get the hang of it.

Check out the other side of each product:

The number one complaint I hear about the L'Oreal Scrublet is that it's hard to hold (especially when it gets wet). I can't count how many times this little sucker has popped out of my hand when I'm washing my face. In fact, I told you in my original review of the Scrublet that you can really only hold it a certain way to ensure that it doesn't go flying out of your hand (click here if you missed it). But with the Japanese version? Form and function come together beautifully, my friends. There are two "straps" on this product, and you just slip your fingers inside of them (I put my index finger in one strap and my middle finger in the other). How brilliant is that? This will never, ever slip out of your hands, period.

And do you see the little suction cup on the right side of this tool? It's GENIUS! This little part of the tool is for use on those little crevices of your face that are too small for the larger part of the tool. It's ideal to use on the sides of your nose, around your hairline, etc. Think of this as the part of the tool you use for "detailing" your face.

Another thing I LOVE about the Japanese version of the scrublet is that, despite the fact that it's made from essentially the exact same soft, pliable, rubbery material as the L'Oreal Scrublet, the actually scrubby nubs are more exfoliating than the L'Oreal version. If I were to rate the exfoliating power of the L'Oreal version on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 5, while the Japanese version is about a 7. Don't get me wrong--neither tool is harsh on the skin AT ALL, but the Japanese version just ha a little bit more "oomph" when it comes to cleansing my face and getting every little bit of makeup off.

I have found myself reaching for the Japanese version almost every single time I wash my face these days. No, it does not come with a bottle of cleanser like the L'Oreal version, but who cares, really? You can use this tool for a very long time so it's a great investment. It's just too bad that I love the actual Sensitive Skin cleanser in the L'Oreal version, which means I'm going to one day end up with more L'Oreal Scrublets than I know what to do with. Maybe I'll be forced to do a giveaway for just the Scrublet someday!

Moving on to this little wonder:

This caught my eye when I was shopping at Diaso (remember: that's the nothing-over-$1.98 store owned by Marukai). At first I thought it looked like a pink plastic ear. LOL! But then what really captured my attention was the tagline at the bottom of the package: The Raid Article of the Nail. What the heck? Something definitely got lost in the translation, because I can't even infer what they were trying to say. But that doesn't matter because the photo at the top of the package totally explains its use. It's a nail file for your keychain! I had to have it.

The Raid Article of the Nail (retail: $1.98 at Daiso)

I'm totally going to admit to you that I had a "Doh!" moment with this little gadget. I kept it on my desk for a few days and every single day I'd pick it up, run it across my nail, and NOTHING. It felt like I was running my nail across smooth plastic. I mean, every time I felt that one of my nails was a bit jagged or rough, I'd run and get this thing and try again. Every time, it did nothing. Finally I just totally forgot about it and I figured one day I'd write a review and tell you it was a total waste of money.

But then one day, I felt a little jagged edge on one of my nails and I reached for it again, but I noticed that there was something weird about it. The metal edge had something stuck to it. Wait, was that a protective coating? OMG. Yes! There was a protective coating on the metal strip the entire time I was trying to use it, and I guess all my repeated uses finally made the coating start to peel off on its own. So I peeled the rest of it off and PRESTO! This thing totally works. All together now, let's say it: Doh!

It's not a true nail file, but it's perfect for those times when you're out and about and you feel a little roughness on the tip of your nail, and it drives you crazy because you don't have a nail file to smooth it down. I know that's happened to all of us, and this little "pink plastic ear" is the perfect thing to have on hand for that very situation. Hey, it was a $1.98, I'm keeping it in my purse whether I use it or not! Ha!

I hope you enjoyed my little adventure at the Japanese dollar store. Do you have any Japanese stores in your town? Do you have any favorite beauty products you'd like to share with us? I'd love to hear all about them!

How do I store my coupons?

You'd think that someone who calls herself "Recessionista" would have a pretty fancy way of keeping coupons organized, right? Well you are so wrong! I have dreamed about owning one of those fancy accordion-style contraptions that has multiple sections for each coupon category (food, cosmetics, etc) but the truth is, I'm pretty low-tech when it comes to how I keep my coupons.

A while back, I found a really cute little makeup bag at my local Japanese dollar store. I initially purchased it to hold my feminine products (it's the perfect size for those types of things) because, well, I'll come clean and tell you I'm really lame when it comes to keeping feminine products in my purse. I can't count how many tampons I've wasted because I was in a hurry, threw a few in my purse, only to dig them out a few months later with wrappers tattered or totally destroyed. So anyway, I bought this bag thinking I was going to use it to keep my feminine products nice and pristine, however the bag had other ideas and eventually became my coupon holder:

If you've never been to a Japanese dollar store, a lot of the items have cute sayings printed on them. Sometimes the sentiment gets lost in translation, but this one makes perfect sense. It always makes me smile when I see it:

Let's have a happy time every day.

Wanna see inside?

So the challenge with this bag was that, after a while, all of my coupons would get mixed together and I'd find myself having to go through every single coupon to find the one I was looking for. Luckily, Mr. R came up with a great DIY idea. I used an old file folder and it cut it down into strips that fit inside the bag. The paper used to make file folders is sturdy enough to use as separators, but it's not so thick that it adds a lot of extra bulk to the bag. To jazz it up a bit, I covered each strip of file folder with some leftover vinyl cabinet liner paper (pink gingham design) and presto! Coupon separators!

Now I've got sections for cosmetics, bath and body products, food and household items. Yay!

It is SO much easier to find exactly what I'm looking for now that I've got these little separators to keep everything neat and tidy.

I also am trying to make it a habit to go through my coupon bag every Sunday and toss out all my expired coupons, and also pull the coupons that are about to expire and move them to the front of the bag just to remind myself that I either need to find a way to use them, or toss them to make room for new ones.

I hope this post has inspired you to create your own coupon organizing system. It literally can cost pennies to do this, and the rewards are tenfold. If you use a bag that fits easily into your purse, you'll never be without your coupons again!

If you've already got your own system, I would LOVE to hear all about it. Please leave a comment on this post and let us know how you work your coupon magic!

My Japanese Dollar Store Haul (and some Valentine's Day pics)

So as I mentioned in my post from yesterday, Mr. G and I went out for the day and hit up several Japanese markets to get some things to make ourselves a yummy sushi dinner for Valentine's Day. We went to Marukai/Daiso (the Japanese dollar store--everything's actually $1.98) and also Mitsuwa and a few other places. And you know I hit up the beauty aisles at every store, so I wanted to share with you what I got!
From Marukai/Daiso (the dollar store where everything's $1.98)

My favorite, favorite cotton puffs! They are sooooo soft and sturdy. Love 'em for nail polish, eye makeup remover and toners.

My Japanese dollar store nail polish haul...

I'm 100% obsessed with my local Japanese dollar store (actually, I don't know why I call it a dollar store because everything there, unless otherwise marked, is actually $1.98). I imagine there are Japanese dollar stores in every large city, but the one in my town is called Marukai, which is a popular chain found in San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles. If you have the opportunity to visit a Japanese dollar store, whether it be Marukai or any other, I highly suggest visiting, and definitely check out the cosmetics aisle.

I can't even get into all of the wonderful Japanese beauty products you can find at Marukai (my location has the most amazing skincare products and tools, as well as a full display of L.A. Colors including eyeshadow SINGLES, which I never see anywhere else). But this recent trip I took a few weeks ago had me all giddy because Marukai now has some pretty amazing new nail polish lines (all polishes are $1.98).

Here are three that I purchased, all made by a company called "Winmax".

First is Winmax "Nail French" (sorry, none of these have names for the shades in English so I don' know the names):

How cute is the design of the glass on these bottles? And check out the design on the top of the brush handle:

Next I purchased Winmax "Pedicure" Nail Enamel (not sure why it's called "Pedicure" since I plan to wear this on my fingers. lol.)

A nail polish bottle shaped like a guitar? I am SO in!

And lastly I purchased Winmax "Delicia" Nail Enamel:

OK, you can't really tell in these pics but the lid on this polish is almost as gorgeous as the polish itself. It's such a pretty iridescent lavender shade--I love it. But let's talk about the beauty of the actual polish. It's a milky pastel lavender with very fine gold shimmer and silver micro-glitter. I've never seen anything else like it. Love love love it!

I swatched each color on my nails (sorry it's so sloppy but I did it as quickly as I could):

The "Delicia" polish is definitely my favorite but really, I love 'em all!

Have you ever tried Winmax polishes? Do you have a Japanese dollar store in your area that you love? I'd love to hear your thoughts!