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darkelfshadow · 7 years

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Session Summary - 30

AKA “One Door Closes and Another Door Opens”

Adventures in Taggeriell

Session 30 (Date: 9th September 2017)

Players Present:

- Rob (Known as “Oloma”) Human Female.

- Bob (Known as “Sir Krondor”) Dwarf Male.

- Phil (Known as “Nac”) Half-elf Male.

- Paul (Known as “Labarett”) Elf Male.

- Arthur (Known as “Gim”) Dwarf Male.

- Travis (Known as “Trenchant”) Human Male.

- Sean (Known as “Seanicus”) Elf Male.

Absent Players

Nil

NPC

- (Known as “Naillae”) Elf Female. <Controlled by DM>

Summary

- Moonday, 8th of Kuthona in the year 814 (Second Era). Winter.

- The party begin this session, in the early morning of a cold day, having just left the premises of Yonochen the Wizard to accept a quest.

- The party start to walk back to the Crouching Bear tavern to retrieve their war horses. On the way a street urchin runs up to Naillae and the young boy hands a note to the Elf Rogue. Naillae informs the party it is a note from the Lington Thief’s Guild. She reads it out aloud:

“Naillae, last night guild agents patrolling the roof tops for Cultists observed something moving fast, leaving the vicinity of the Theatre District from your tavern, two Guild agents attempted to intercept the thing. Their bodies were found this morning, dead on a roof top. Their clothes had been torn, large red circular welts were all over their skin, which had turned a pale white colour along with their hair which is now grey. Take care Naillae The Robber. Something is tracking your party, something that was able to slay two skilled agents of the Guild, an Unseen Hand and a Manipulator.”

- Nac looks annoyed, “That’s the thing that tried to break into my room twice! It’s that bloody Korvin! If he wants a fight I say bring it on, I’m ready!”

- Trenchant sighs, “Another misunderstanding?”

- “No,” replies Nac, “Korvin was with our party, a Warlock, was friends with Valder. They both had these dam ancient books of shadows and were trying to unlock the power in them or something. One night, here in Lington at The Crouching Bear tavern, they unlocked the books and they both got possessed by something. Valder managed to break out of it, eventually, but Korvin turned into something. There was something moving under his skin, which had turned grey, and his hair was falling off. When we tried to stop him, long black tentacles sprung out from his body and attacked us. He was stronger too. Balasar hit him full on with his acid breath and it did little to him. He threw Balasar out the window of the tavern, knocked Naillae aside like she was made of paper, grabbed both the books and then left the tavern so fast he was a blur. His last words to us were, I must go to help my master but I will come back. And I will kill you all.”

- Trenchant asks, “So why target you in particular Nac? He’s tried twice now, and just you?”

- Nac, thinking, replies slowly, “I don’t know. Maybe because I’m one of the original guys in the party. Most of you are new, he wouldn’t know you.”

- “Or maybe you just pissed him off Nac, you seem to have that talent,” suggests Trenchant.

- Pressing on to the Crouching Bear tavern, after retrieving their war horses, the party ride over to the Palace were Sir Krondor and Trenchant walk into the Palace compound and over to the Royal Library. Simimar The Wizard and Chief Librarian takes the pair over to where Valder is studying the book “Dragons Of The Council”.

- When Sir Krondor attempts to get Valder to leave to join the party to help with the quest for Yonochen, Valder informs the pair that he has decided to give up the adventuring life as he no longer has the passion for it, having seen his friend Rathan leave to join the Harpers and his other friend Korvin being turned into a tentacle demon of some type.

- Sir Krondor and Trenchant try to convince Valder to change his mind but the Elf Wizard tells them he has taken up a position as Assistant Librarian and will stay with Simimar. The library here has more books than the Elf Wizard could ever read and the secured section has a treasure trove of arcane books and lore. Valder has found his dream position.

- Valder confirms that he will keep researching the book “Dragons Of The Council” and will send updates to the party regularly. Trenchant plays with the heart strings of Valder (successful Persuasion check) and Valder tells them that he will give them one of the two staves he has, as it will be of more help to the party then with him now. Trenchant and Sir Krondor decide to take the Glass Staff of Defense.

- Sir Krondor and Trenchant leave the Library and tell the party that Valder will no longer be adventuring with the party.

- The party are disappointed to hear the news but carry on. Oloma hands out a some of coins to each member of the party as the party share of selling some of the party treasure (77gp and 24 sp).

- Deciding to leave the town and head off, the party ride to the east main gate. On the way, they see a shop keeper from an upmarket tobacco and snuff shop being dragged away by the “Black Hand” Knights in a black wagon. A crying woman is spoken to by Sir Krondor, Vinesha, and she tells him that the man taken away was her husband, the owner of the shop. There have been a lot of arrests lately of people being accused of having ties to the Cult. The woman claims her husband is innocent.

- The party press on and leave the town, taking the main road for a short time and then leaving the road, to head due east as per Yonochen instructions. The party make good time, and move twice as fast as normal over the wilderness, thanks to the presence of Labarett (Aspect Of The Elk ability).

- They continue east, heading into the Changrove Forest, keeping the same rapid speed thanks to Labarett, which after an hour turns into a much thicker and darker forest. The trees are so thick that the sky can not be seen and the forest ground is only in dim sun light like on a very overcast day. The ground in the forest is thick with plants and the many old trees have large roots breaking the ground, forcing the party to dismount and lead their horses.

- After half an hour the party can just hear the sound of a river much further to the east, just as Yonochen advised, and press on. A moment later, the sounds of battle reach the party. They leave Naillae behind to look after the horses and the rest of the party press on cautiously. Sir Krondor takes a moment to listen carefully and then tells the party he can hear some type of loud chirping sound from the battle as well.

- The party move forward to see the battle with Sir Krondor, Gim and Labarett in the lead. They come across the battle happening before them. Two male hunters, one old and one young, are crouched on the forest floor with obvious bleeding wounds. Standing in front of them, is a strange figure, 5’ in height and with a masculine figure wearing a dark hooded cloak over armour of an unusual design. The hood is drawn up and the face and hair is not visible as the hood, a face mask and strange pair of metal goggles obscure it. In one hand he holds a shield with a symbol of a sword and moon and in the other hand he holds a beautiful looking golden warhammer that is engraved with symbols and runes.

- Off to the other side, about 60’ away, are are group of eight frog like men, standing about 4’ tall. The frog men are armed with daggers and bows. It is apparent that the strange hooded figure is protecting and defending the two hunters from the frog like men.

- Gim, Sir Krondor and Oloma recognise the frog creatures as Grungs (successful Intelligence History check), which are evil and nasty creatures. Oloma warns the party to avoid touching the creatures due to the poisonous oil that their skin excretes.

- Labarett recognises the symbol on the shield of the hooded figure (successful Intelligence Religion check), as that of the Goddess Eilistraee (Chaotic Good), of singing, dancing, sword play, hunting, moons, goodness and beauty. Labarett advises the party that the stranger is a follower of a good Goddess.

- Just then a deep male voice, calls out in Dwarvish, from the direction of the hooded figure, “Knight Of The Anvil! Rally to my aid and help me save these two humans!”

- Only Sir Krondor, Gim and Trenchant understand the Dwarvish tongue. Sir Krondor yells back in Dwarvish, “Yes I am Sir Krondor of Clan Dwgyth, Knight Of The Anvil, Royal Envoy Of Fanur, Friend Of The Crown Of Tyriba, Field Warden Of ….”

- But the loud Dwarvish voice coming from the hooded stranger interrupts, “Less talking Knight! More killing! What do they teach Knights these days? Back in my time an Anvil Knight would have already killed three of these villains before saying a word.”

- Now Sir Krondor looks closely at the hooded figure and the golden warhammer he holds. Sir Krondor’s eyes open wide as he recognises the weapon as the legendary sentient warhammer, “Nedumlin” The Drow Slayer (successful Intelligence History check). It was wielded by the first Knight and Lord Commander of the Knights Of The Anvil, Sir Krafulim Longshield. The Lord Commander started the Order and lead the Dwarves on a great war against the Drow, but the weapon was lost when the Lord Commander was killed deep below in the Underdark nearly 4000 years ago. Sir Krondor knows that the warhammer chooses the wielder and only someone who is worthy can possess it.

- The party move into battle. Gim, Sir Krondor and Labarett charge forward to engage the closest Grungs, whilst Trenchant, Oloma and Nac give ranged support with crossbow, psionics and spell.

- The hooded stranger yells to the injured hunters to stay put and keep under cover to avoid the fight, strangely the voice is no longer deep or in Dwarvish and sounds very different, more Elvish. The hooded figure calls forth a Darkness spell around the hunters to hide them and then moves forward towards the Grungs, firing spells as he does so.

- The combat is going well to begin with as the Grungs are quite weak. The only issue is their ability to jump long distances and their poison which Labarett manages to get on him. The Elf Barbarian is immediately sickened and unable to effectively fight (failed Constitution save).

- The arrival of six more Grungs that jump into the combat, larger and more muscular, from the rear catches the party unprepared and Nac finds himself surrounded. These Grungs are making a loud chirping sound, so loud and so high pitched that Nac has to force himself to move away and not succumb to the pain (successful Wisdom save).

- Regrouping to deal with the new threat, Gim and Sir Krondor move fast to take out the smaller Grungs as Labarett is still poisoned and finding it hard to protect himself. Nac uses his Boots Of Striding and Springing to leap into the air, through the thick trees, to join Oloma and Trenchant, who has hidden himself using his Cloak Of The Elven Kind. Nac casts Protection From Poison on himself. The Bard enchants a spell and spends forth a Stinking Cloud to appear and cover the entire group of the larger Grungs but the cloud of poison has no effect on the Grungs who are immune to poison.

- The larger Grung all jump forward, incredibly far, seemingly unconcerned about the trees. They land near the party and immediately start their loud, painful chirping again. Most of the party manage to withstand the sound but Gim finds the pain so unbearable that he is stunned and can not do anything (failed Wisdom save).

- The party find these larger Grung are no push over and can take and give a beating. The fighting becomes frantic now that these new foes are a challenge. Sir Krondor, seeing his Dwarf cousin in trouble, runs over to attack the Grung next to the stunned Gim and manages to get an excellent strike in (Critical Hit for Triple damage and pinned one of the Grungs to a tree). Nac uses his shield to bash and keep down one of the larger Grungs, allowing him to rain blows down upon it with his Talon Longsword.

- Trenchant casts a Fear spell at the Grungs and two of them succumb and turn and jump away (Failed Wisdom save). The remaining Grungs again jump towards the party and engage them, including the hooded stranger. The hooded stranger yells out in pain as the Grungs plunges a dagger into him (Critical Hit - Skewered for lingering damage).

- In return the hooded stranger points a hand the Grung yelling, “I curse you!” and a red glow, that only the hooded stranger can see, appears around the Grung. (Hexblade Curse).

- Gim manages to overcome the pain of the chirping (Successful Save) and joins the battle too. Nac swings his Talon Longsword into a Grung for a deadly hit (Critical Hit - Triple Damage). Unfortunately, when Trenchant moves forward to attack one of the Grung who Nac bashed to the ground, the Bard loses his grip on both his rapier and his Glass Staff and they both go flying into the thick forest under bush (Trenchant had advantage on the attack and rolled two “1”s - Fumble). Gim too, back from being stunned, swings his Royal Greataxe of Lington and cuts open the leg of one of the Grungs (Critical Hit - Double damage and permanent Leg Wound for reduced speed).

- Eventually the Grungs are killed one by one, until the last one, the one next to the hooded stranger drops dead as the stranger’s golden warhammer, now bathed in green flames, smashes into the creature. As the Grung drops to the leafy ground dead, the faint red glow around it leaps towards the stranger and heals the hooded figure (Hexblade Curse).

- With the battle now over the party decide to take a short rest.

- Oloma goes back to get Naillae and the horses. At the same time Nac searches the dead Grungs, as he still has the protection of his Spell against the poisonous oil on their bodies. During the search Nac also tries to gather some of the poison for use later on but only manages to ruin his own waterskin as he poisons it but is unable to gather enough for any use. The poison affecting Labarett fades after a minute.

- Sir Krondor is intrigued about how the hooded stranger come to have the warhammer Nedumlin The Drow Slayer. Sir Krondor spends a few minutes talking to the hooded stranger, his face still hidden behind a face mask and goggles, as the deep male voice speaks to him in Dwarvish. Sir Krondor is getting more confused from the answers until after a time Sir Krondor realizes that he has been talking to the warhammer Nedumlin, who is intelligent and can speak, when the stranger holding the warhammer finally tells him, “You are speaking to my warhammer. I speak little, I am not used to people. My name is Seanicus.”

- The hunters, whom Trenchant gives first aid to and bandages their wounds, tell the party they are from Lington but do not normally come into this part of the woods as it is too dangerous. They had been following a golden stag, a magnificent beast, whom they had been tracking for two hours to this spot. The hunters tell the party that if not for the golden stag they would not have been here and would never have run into the Grungs to be attacked.

- The party also speak to Seanicus. The stranger introduces himself as an Elf, a Warlock, a hermit and an explorer. The stranger does not remove his hood, face mask or goggles so they do not see his face. Seanicus tells the party he was wandering the forest and was heading south when he heard the sound of battle and the cries of help far behind him, so he turned around and headed back north until he found the two hunters being attacked by the Grungs. He tells you that if not for hearing the battle he would not be here and would never have meet the party.

- Seanicus agrees to join the party after Trenchant asks him to join and Nedumlin says to Seanicus in Dwarvish, “Yes, if this group has a Knight Of The Anvil, then join in their quest as it must be a noble one.”

- At the end of the rest the Hunters, now bandaged up, thank for the party and offer them a small coin pouch with 10 gold coins in it, for saving their lives. All the party turn the offer down and say that it was the right thing to do, except Nac who walks over and immediately grabs the bag of coins with a smile. The Hunters ask if someone could walk them back to the west for five minutes to make sure they don’t run into any more Grungs and Nac offers to do so. After ten minutes Nac returns to the party.

- Before Nac gets back, Sir Krondor exclaims to the party that his shield, has started to talk to him. No one else in the party can hear the voice and so just ignore the Dwarf Knight. No one notices Oloma, the telepath, is silently laughing.

- Once Nac gets back the party once again set off east towards the sound of the river. Sir Krondor tells the party that his shield wants him to lead the way on this quest so the Knight bravely goes forward.

- Nac turns to Oloma, “What’s up with that?”

- Oloma smiles, “Oh who knows with those whacky Dwarves.”

- After a short time the party come to a path in the forest made of flat black stone pavers. Nothing grows near the stones, so there is a 8 foot wide path. Up ahead the party can see the black path will branch off into three options where the path will continue east, north east or south east. At this junction the party can see 6 large black stone pillars that have engravings on them.

- The party pause and give Seanicus some time to perform a ritual of Detect Magic. The Warlock informs the party he can see the black stone pavers are slightly magical and are preventing any plant life from growing around them to keep the path clear.

- As the party discuss what to do, Trenchant impatient with the delay, walks over to the junction and the stone pillars. He looks closely at the nearest stone pillar that appears engraved with a pattern all over it and engraved with five symbols, from top to bottom, a frog like head, a wave, a crocodile like head, a cat like head, and a gorilla like head.

- Trenchant turns to the party and tells them it’s safe and to come see the engraved symbols but when he looks back the symbols are gone.

- Sir Krondor tells the party that his shield is now glowing and has told him it wants him to lead the way via the east path and to hold his shield up high, so the Dwarf Knight does so. No one else can see his shield glowing or hear any voice from it.

- Oloma is laughing and holding her hand over her mouth.

- Trenchant and Nac look over at her. Nac speaks, “This is your doing, is it?”

- Oloma just shrugs.

- The party follow the black stone path east, with Naillae leading all the horses at the rear of the party. For the next ten minutes the sound of running water gets louder until eventually the party arrive at a 80’ tall cliff face running north and south. The path goes to the cliff and then turns south to follow it. Coming from the top of the cliff is a wide waterfall, that comes out about 10 feet away from the cliff to land on the other side of the path, which goes behind the water fall. The water crashes into a large white mist, from which a wide and fast moving river continues away from the cliff in a south west direction.

- Sir Krondor, still holding his shield up and out, walking in the front of the party, proceeds along the path and behind the water fall.

- Again Sir Krondor hears his shield talking, “It’s really cold and dark in here. The water looks nice why don’t you go for a swim!”

- Sir Krondor turns back and sits down just to the side of the water fall, “That’s it, no more. Either I’m going mad or I have a cursed shield that is a trying to kill me!”

- Trenchant moves up to the Dwarf Knight and crouches down to look him in the eye and grabs his shoulders, “Sir Krondor, you’re not going mad and your shield isn’t cursed. Look over at Oloma, the only one in the party that has Telepathy.”

- Oloma is bending over, laughing so hard she can barely breath.

- Sir Krondor gets up, his face red with anger, “You young, insolent wiper snapper! I’m going to shove my war hammer so far up your ….”

- Trenchant grabs Sir Krondor, who has taken out his war hammer, and stops him from moving towards Oloma. The Bard quickly speaks, “Sir Krondor, I know you are angry, and justly so I might add but we are in the middle of an ancient ruin, facing dangers all around and we can’t afford to fight amongst ourselves right now!”

- Sir Krondor starts to slow down and lowers his silver war hammer, “Fine. She can wait.”

- The party continue and see that in the middle of the cliff wall, behind the water fall, is a small square alcove that has a small metal chest, about 10 inches wide, sitting in it. The party get Naillae to examine the chest but as she approaches she says, “If the chest is metal, why isn’t rusted by the water moisture here? You think it might be magical? I can’t detect magical traps.”

- The party decide to have Seanicus take the time to perform the ritual of Detect Magic and as he completes it, he detects that the chest is indeed magical and has some type of Summoning trigger tied to the water fall. With that Naillae says she can’t disarm a magic trap so there’s no point in her trying to examine it.

- Whilst the party decide what to do with the chest or even if it is safe to cross the water fall, Gim who is bored just walks across and passes by the chest, not giving into the temptation that the chest is giving everyone else, and moves to the south side of the path past the water fall and waits. Once the party see that it is safe to cross everyone else moves to the south side of the path and then Seanicus tries to lift up the chest with his spell Mage Hand but is not able to do so, as it appears that it is fixed to the stone alcove.

- Whilst the party decide what to do next, Oloma walks up to the chest and opens it and sees within a handful of about thirty small different coloured gems. Immediately the water fall behind her starts to move and form into 3 large figures, with arms the size of a person and a head made of water; Water Weirds. All three heads turn towards Oloma and lean forward to attack the Mystic.

- The first Water Weird hits the Mystic with a solid arm of water but immediately the Mystic teleports ten feet away towards the party (Psionic ability Defensive Step). Gim and Labarett move up next to Oloma and stand to face the coming Water Weirds that have moved along the water fall to the south side to be within reach of attacking.

- Sir Krondor jumps onto one of the horses, “I’ll check the cliff face for a any buttons or levers to stop the water fall. Help me Naillae!”

- The Dwarf Knight rides off following the cliff face whilst Naillae quickly ties the horses off and follows to help.

- Meanwhile the three Water Weirds are punching and grabbing the three front line defenders of Gim, Labarett and Oloma. Every time the watery arms grab onto Gim the Dwarf smashes them off and every time the watery arms grab Oloma she quickly teleports away ten feet; back and forth. During the battle, Oloma gets herself wrapped up in her own cloak (Fumble attack) and wraps the cloak and hood around her head, blinding herself, and has to spend some time to free herself.

- From the safety of the rear ranks, Seanicus is firing force beams of Agonizing Blast at the water and Nac is casting Destroy Water spells at it. In firing his spell however, Seanicus accidentally puts too much energy into it (Spell attack Fumble) and ends up trapping some force energy into his own hands. This random and unpredictable energy could destroy anything in his hands so the Warlock quickly puts away his shield and war hammer, as he does not know how long it will last for.

- Oloma has more bad luck during the battle (Fumble) and accidentally hits Gim with her soul blades injuring the Dwarf.

- Most of the physical attacks of Gim and Labarett are proving only somewhat effective, even with Labarett spending forth flames from his longsword. Oloma’s soul blades are effective at hurting the creatures. But most of the damage is coming from the spells of Seanicus and Nac who are blasting huge chunks off the three creatures and evaporating water. One by one the three Water Weirds are broken apart and destroyed.

- Sir Krondor and Naillae return and inform the party there was no buttons or levers to be found on the south cliff wall.

- Labarett speaks, “Well if I were going to have a button to stop the water fall I’d put it behind the chest.”

- Sir Krondor huffs, “Really, behind the chest, I think not.”

- Oloma walks over to the small chest and leans in to look behind it, “Yep there’s a button here. I’ll grab the gems first and then press the button.”

- The party all yell at her not to touch anything and instead arrange for Seanicus to check it first. During the time it takes for the Seanicus to perform the ritual of Detect Magic, Nac takes the time to perform the Prayer of Healing to heal some of the wounds from the last battle, in case more Water Weirds appear. Seanicus declares the button itself is not magical and neither are the gems. No one thinks to ask Naillae to check the button for traps.

- After Oloma grabs all the gems the party all move to the south of the water fall. Seanicus presses the small button behind the chest using Mage Hand and there is a loud noise of moving chains and grinding stone from above. Soon the water fall slows down and eventually stops except for a few drops of water.

- The party press on following the path to the south for fifteen minutes until it eventually comes to an intersection where there is a choice of heading west or east. The party decide to go west and proceed through the intersection to their right. As the party are half way through the intersection the bushes around erupt as four large black cats, with tentacles on the back, burst forth and leap towards the party; Displacer Beasts.

- Everyone except Oloma, Seanicus and Nac are surprised. Oloma has a moment of panic as she realises that her Cloak of Displacement, made from the hide of Displacer Beast, will not protect her against the beasts and then she remembers the Blink Dog boots she is wearing. Displacer Beasts hate Blink Dogs and will attack them on sight to the death. Just as Oloma begins to wonder whether the smell of her boots will attract the Displacer Beasts, her unspoken question is answered as all four beasts leap towards her, jaws snapping and tentacles lashing at her.

- The battle is a strange one sides affair as the beasts keep trying to attack Oloma, who keeps teleporting away (Psionic Defensive Step). Some of the slashing tentacles do manage to rip open wounds on the Mystic before she teleports however. The rest of the party are free to attack and engage the beasts that are hell bent on killing Oloma. The only time the beasts attack anyone else is when they get in between them and Oloma.

- During the fight Seanicus grabs hold of two tentacles from one of the beasts and keeps hold of it sending lightning energy down into the beast (Lightning Lure). Eventually, one of the tentacles explodes off as the trapped force energy in the Warlocks hands randomly erupt from his previous misfired spell.

- Oloma gets an excellent hit on one of the beasts (Critical Hit - Max damage) and so too does Gim who delivers a devastating series of blows (Critical Hit - Max Damage and another attack).

- The battle is over quickly, thanks to the beasts being focused on trying to hit the one person in the party that can evade thanks to her Psionics.

XP Allocation

Group - Combined (This is equally divided by the number of players who were involved)

Quests (Only quests that are completed or rendered undoable, during this session, are shown here)

- Enter The Trials Of The E????? I????? = 800 XP

- Pass The Test Of Temptation = FAIL

Creatures Overcome

- Grungs = 400 XP

- Grung Elite = 2700 XP

- Water Weirds = 2100 XP

- Displacer Beasts = 2800 XP

Individual (This is only given to that person and is not divided amongst all players)

Special Bonus (Outstanding Role Playing)

Nil

XP Levels and Player Allocations

Player : Start + Received = Total (Notes)

Phil : 22687 + 1100 = 23787 (Level up to Level 7)

Rob : 27437 + 1100 = 28537

Arthur : 19389 + 1100 = 20489

Bob : 16649 + 1100 = 17749

Travis : 17203 + 1100 = 17313

Paul : 14060 + 1100 = 15160

Sean : 14000 + 1100 = 15100

NPC (Naillae) : ??? + (550) = ???

#D&D #DnD #5th #HOTDQ #RPG

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uyuro · 7 years

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UYU REVIEW: GUDETAMA jelly dough blusher + egg bun puff keep reading for the review! ⬇️

Hello again everyone, and happy new year! I hope the end of 2016 was great for you, and best wishes for 2017! Personally I’m glad that 2016 was over, it was a brutal year for me, and I’m hoping for the best for 2017. Anyway, today is the last part of my Holika Holika x Gudetama review in which I’ll be reviewing the Lazy & Joy Jelly Dough Blusher and the Egg Bun Puff.

I’m sure you all have seen or heard of Gudetama before. He is the most adorable, lazy egg and the embodiment of me during the semester basically. He’s tired, lacks motivation and best of all, he’s an egg. He is one of Sanrio’s newest characters but he’s blown up in popularity, with heaps of merchanise everywhere and he’s one of my favourite characters (as you can tell, since I bought so much from this collection). 🍳

As for Holika Holika, they are a pretty affordable roadshop Korean brand with a few cult classic products over the years. You may have heard of the Aqua Petit BB Cream, Jewel Light Gel Pencil Eyeliner and the Pig Nose Blackhead Kit! I don’t think this was a super popular product, but my absolute favourite BB cream was their Baby Bloom BB which was discontinued long ago 😢 They also used to be known for their cute witchy packaging and logo, although it seems like they’ve strayed from that nowadays.

Disclaimer: I bought these with my own money and I am not being compensated for this review. I always try to keep my opinions 100% honest and unbiased regardless.

ABOUT THE ITEM: Lazy & Joy Jelly Dough Blusher

The first item I’ll be talking about is the Lazy & Joy Jelly Dough Blusher! Holika Holika also released a Jelly Dough blusher in the first Lazy & Easy release of Gudetama items, but I personally think the packaging design of the Lazy & Joy edition is a lot cuter. The Lazy & Joy edition focuses on desserts, while the Lazy & Easy edition is a close-up of Gudetama’s face with the different colours on the cheeks.

The Lazy & Easy edition: #CR01 Grapefruit Jelly (red-coral colour), #PK02 Plum Jelly (bright magenta-pink colour)

The Lazy & Joy edition: #CR01 Grapefruit Jelly (red-coral colour), #PK02 Plum Jelly (bright magenta-pink colour), #OR01 Apricot Jelly (light orange colour), #RD01 Cherry Jelly (red-pink colour)

By the looks of the names and swatches, the two colours from the original release were brought back as the first two colours, #CR01 and #PK02 in the Lazy & Joy release.

Features courtesy of Beautynetkorea

A jelly-dough type blusher that provides moisture, while maintaining smooth and perfect skin.

No powder = no fallout, the colour melts into the cheeks.

Jelly to powder, smooth and fluffy perfection

Contains skin-friendly amino acid coating powder.

Ingredients

The ingredients are taken from the official Korean Holika Holika website and translated. These ingredients are for #OR01 Apricot Jelly, there may be slight variations in the other colours’ ingredients, due to the different fruit extracts.

Titanium oxide, Triethylhexanoin, Mica, Methyl methacrylate crosspolymer, Boron nitride, Dimethicone, Lauroyl lysine, Silica, Dimethicone / Vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, Quaternium-18 bentonite, Prunus armeniaca fruit extract (Apricot fruit extract), Aluminium hydroxide, Tin oxide, Capryl glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, CI 15850:1 (red pigment), Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Fragrance

I bolded the apricot fruit extract which has been highlighted by the marketing, and also italicised those ingredients that came up as weak acne triggers / irritant in cosDNA.

Price

Like with everything else from the Gudetama Lazy & Joy collection that I bought, I bought this blusher from Testerkorea.

Beautynetkorea: $9.99 (free shipping worldwide)

Holika Holika’s official site: 8,900 won / $7.57 (Korea only)

Jolse: $11.18 (free shipping worldwide)

Testerkorea: 8,900 won / $7.57 (shipping by weight)

PHOTOS + DETAILS

Here is the packaging of the Jelly Dough Blusher. As I mentioned before, I got #CR01 Apricot Jelly, and the front of the case features a cute apricot dessert. The Korean on the front means ‘fresh apricot’.

The size is quite small and cute, roughly half the size of a cushion so it’s quite easy to take with you and reapply.

The puff inside looks like a lil Gudetama face~ It’s actually not the same as a cushion puff, it’s more like a tacky feeling material, almost rubber-silicon feeling? It works well with the Jelly Dough Blusher though, and doesn’t absorb any product.

I absolutely love this little illustration of Gudetama climbing onto an apricot.

Here are my finger swatches~

TRY-ON + FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Here are some photos of me wearing it. Unfortunately, while it gives me a very natural and healthy glow in real life, it doesn’t seem to show up in the photos well unless I pile it on 😕 The second photo is completely unedited, not even retouched, and I think you can kind of see the colour?

In my opinion, this isn’t a blush that can be applied heavily. Since it’s quite a pastel colour, if you try to build it up too much, it makes your skin look really textured. It’s definitely best to stick to a soft look.

If you try applying it with your fingers, it’s not as easy to get an even colour as it is with the puff. The blusher is super fun to play with due to it’s jelly texture though!

OVERVIEW + THOUGHTS

Lazy & Joy Jelly Dough Blusher: 4 / 5

Packaging: 5 / 5 As is with everything else in this collection, the packaging is adorable. I really like the extra detail that goes into everything, like the new art on the outside case as well as on the air lock (or cushion shelf as I like to call it). The small size and cushion packaging is also really nice and compact, which makes it easy to take on the go and apply throughout the day.

Scent + colour: 4 / 5 There is a very light, sweet fruity smell, although it’s not distincitly apricot in my opinion. It’s not overpowering, and not noticeable at all once you actually apply the blush. The colour is quite soft, in the pan and on the face. The pigmentation is average overall, but I think that's good if you don't want to be too heavy-handed with your blush.

Formula + longevity: 3 / 5 The formula is not bad, but like I mentioned earlier, it gets a bit ashy and drying if you try to build up the pigmentation too much. With that said, it's good if you want a subtle blush but if you want a colour that's the exact same as in the pan... it probably won't look that good. The longevity isn’t great or terrible either. The colour tends to fade after around 4 hours which can be a problem since the colour is quite subtle already, however, the cushion packaging makes it easy to reapply throughout the day so it’s not a huge issue for me.

💖 Pros: Cute packaging, small and compact for portability, good if you like subtle colour, easy to apply and reapply on the go. 💔 Cons: Probably will not be pigmented on darker skin, meh longevity.

Overall, not the best or worst blush you could get. Of course it’s great if you’re a fan of Rilakkuma or if you like the handiness of cushion packaging but I wouldn’t reckon it if you have a deeper skin tone or very dry skin as it might bring out some texture.

ABOUT THE ITEM: Lazy & Joy Egg Bun Puff

Next up is the Egg Bun Puff, which is a sponge that was released alongside the rest of the products in the Lazy & Joy collection. It’s a bright yellow sponge with a curve for ergonomic design, and it has Gudetama’s face on it of course.

Features courtesy of Beautynetkorea

Smooth and chewy egg bun puff adheres base product onto skin lightly, and gives you smooth skin!

Non-latex texture puff = no worries for sensitive skin.

100% made of polyurethane in Korea!

Flat part can be used to cover wide parts of the face, ie. cheeks and forehead

Sharp edge can be used for eyes, nose and curved areas.

Price

Unlike the other items from this collection, I had to buy this puff from an eBay seller since Testerkorea was sold out at the time. I didn’t link the seller since the listing has since ended, but I purchased it for about $5 USD. Anyway, here are some pricing comparisons with a few different sites.

Holika Holika’s official site: 5,900 won / $5.09 USD (Korea only)

Beautyboxkorea: $2.88 USD (shipping by weight)

Beautynetkorea: $5.30 USD (free shipping worldwide)

eBay (rinishop): $5.09 USD (free shipping worldwide)

Jolse: $4.48 USD (free shipping worldwide)

Testerkorea: 2,800 won / $2.43 USD (shipping by weight)

PHOTOS + DETAILS

Here is the puff in it's dry form. It initially arrived in a small bag, which I unfortunately didn't capture since I wasn't planning on reviewing this. However, Testerkorea has a video unpackaging this puff so you can view it here if you're interested.

One of the reasons I bought this initially is because it was so cheap, and I had lost my other puff, the Too Cool for School Marshmallow Puff and this seemed like a good replacement.

Here is a before and after of the puff, Shiseido Perfect Whip tube for reference.

Here's the image from Holika Holika, the growth looks about the same. When it's dry, it's super dense but as you can see, the size increases a lot once you wet it and it becomes really soft and squishable. Here’s a video from my Instagram of me squishing it ☁️

I actually like this a lot more than the Too Cool for School Marshmallow Puff that I had previously. That one didn't really increase in size that much when wet, and it was a lot denser than the Egg Bun Puff too. That's the only puff I can compare to unfortunately, as I've never tried a Beauty Blender or anything else.

OVERVIEW + THOUGHTS Lazy & Joy Egg Bun Puff: 5 / 5

💖 Pros: Cute design, very airy once wet, good for sheerer coverage 💔 Cons: Not as good for full coverage application

Overall, I'm very happy with this puff. Considering how cheap it was, the performance is a lot better than I expected. Once wet, the puff is really soft and easy to pounce on the skin to apply BB cream. As I mentioned above, it's not quite as full coverage as if you used a brush since it does absorb a lot of water, so it's best for a natural look. If you're in need of a new sponge, I would definitely recommend checking this one out since it's pretty affordable and cute as well.

Thanks for reading my review today! I've been working on a few reviews lately, and next up will either be an iBuyBeauti review, Wish Formula products review or reviews for items from the Etude House Pink Bird box! I hope you all have a wonderful day 💕

#review #gudetama #holika holika

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listofxlovers · 7 years

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Rose / Rosehip Oil

Whether you’ve got dry or oily skin, including an oil of some sort in your routine is a brilliant idea. Rose(hip) oil has helped my very dry skin settle down. I can now use powders without worrying that they’ll crack throughout the day. My skin is also softer and smoother, which is a dream for applying make-up on.

Essano Rosehip Oil / 45ml

Too Faced HangoverX Primer

Primer has become so important over the past year and my favourite is the HangoverX because of it’s ridiculously hydrating formula – it feels like I’m applying another moisturiser! It doesn’t extend the wear of make-up by that much but if my skin is hydrated I don’t find my make-up moving around anyway. Discovered this lifesaver thanks to KathleenLights on youtube!

Too Faced HangoverX Replenishing Face Primer / 40ml

Urban Decay Primer Potion (anti-age)

After coming to the revelation that I have hooded eyes, an eyeshadow primer has been a must. The Primer Potions by Urban Decay are the best I’ve tried so far. I currently use the anti-age formula because I read somewhere that no matter how old you are, using something anti-age on your eyes is a good idea – so why not kill two birds with one stone right?

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Anti-Aging / 10ml

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

How could this not be my favourite foundation of 2016?! It’s a cult fav. I love a dewy look because it balances out my naturally dry skin and gives that healthy look. Sheer Glow is also a great buildable foundation – 1pump is light, 2 medium, and 3 high coverage. It also doesn’t settle in lines (smile, forehead, etc.) as quickly as others I’ve tried.

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Mont Blanc / 30ml

NYX Contour Wonder Stick

So easy to use to contour without any hiccups. It’s smooth formula and stick design allows the product to be drawn on without having to worry about a heavy hand. The formula is so blendable that even if too much goes on it’s easy to blend away without looking muddy. I discovered this gem thanks to GinsMakeup on youtube.

NYX Wonder Stick Highlight and Contour Stick in Light/Medium / 4g

Too Faced Cocoa Contour Kit

My favourite for the second year in a row! I don’t like powder contour because of my dry skin – I steer away from powders as much as I possibly can – but this one ontop of the NYX Wonder Stick is a dream combination. The light cocoa powder is perfect for under the eyes to brighten and to use to set the T-zone.

$40USD

‘Chiseled to Perfection’

Too Faced Cocoa Contour Face Contouring and Highlighting Kit / 20g

RCMA No-Colour Powder

Powders aren’t my favourite because of my dry skin but this one is a BLESSING! How RCMA managed to make a fine loose powder that doesn’t cake up or suck the moisture out of my skin is a complete mystery! I again discovered this one through KathleenLights as well.

RCMA Make-up No-Colour Powder / 85g

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer

Another dream product discovering thanks to KathleenLights; a bronzer and a contour all in one! I usually struggle with bronzers because of my pale skin, sometimes they look muddy and sometimes my face ends up being darker than the rest of my body – which is not good! But this bronzer is just the right amount of cool tone that it can pass for a bronzer if used with a big fluffy brush and all over the face, but can also pass for a contour if used slightly heavier in contour areas.

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer in Bronzer / 11g

Mac Cosmetics Soft & Gentle Highlighter

Another cult fav; this highlighter used lightly (with a fan brush) can be natural and used a little heavier (with a more dense brush) can be a ‘night-out’ kind of glow. The natural effect is down to the fact that there is no chunky glitter in the powder and it is a mineralised finish.

Mac Cosmetics Mineralise Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle / 10g

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette

This palette, pictured on the left, is one of a kind. No matter how many pop up because of the trend this started, none will compare. The shades such as Golden Ochre, Vermeer, Raw Sienna, Burnt Orange, Red Ochre, and Buon Fresco I have not seen in any other palette I’ve come across. They are such unique and renaissance shades. I get so much wear out of this palette. Vermeer is my go to inner-corner highlight shade, even if I’m using a completely different palette for the look.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette / 9.8g

BH Cosmetics ShaaanXO Palette

If you want a sunset on your eyes then this is the palette for you. The colours go on smoothly and don’t crease for a substantial amount of time. The shimmers are not too intense which makes them everyday wearable (if you don’t like full glam everyday). One side (shown) has 9 eyeshadows the other has 9 lip colours. The lipsticks I don’t use as much but there is a good mix of your standard pinks, reds, and nudes.

BH Cosmetics ShaaanXO 18 Colour Eyeshadow and Lipstick Palette / 24g

Mac Cosmetics Fluidline Brow GelCreme

This stuff has been with me almost 2years and it’s still going strong. The gel consistency gives ease when apply with an angled brush and allows me to nail the gradual hair like strokes at the front of my brows and the sharp point at the end.

Mac Cosmetics Fluidline Brow GelCreme in Deep Dark Brunette / 3g

Sephora Outrageous Curl Mascara

This mascara holds true to it’s name, the curl is outrageously good. Although the plastic applicator may be key to the formula working it’s a wee bit of a nuisance as you can’t shimmy/redistribute the product once it’s applied – I use an almost empty mascara wand or just a spare spoolie to feather out the lashes. But apart from that this is the best mascara I’ve ever used (and combined with Benefit’s Roller Lash Mascara, your lashes will be out of this world!)

Sephora Outrageous Curl Dramatic Volume and Curve Mascara / 15ml

Mac Cosmetics Fix + Spray

This spray is so refreshing and helps make-up fight the day and stay in place. It does what it’s supposed to brilliantly!

Mac Cosmetics Prep+Prime Fix + Spray / 100ml

Mac Cosmetics Stripdown Lip Liner & Velvet Teddy Lipstick

An iconic duo I bought thanks to GinsMakeup on youtube. These two are my go to brown nude everyday lip look. They both last the day and you only need a little top up of velvet teddy after eating.

Mac Cosmetics Velvet Teddy Lipstick & Stripdown Lip Liner.

Colourpop Liquid Lipsticks & Lippie Sticks

These liquid lipsticks took the world by storm this past year, and with all the hype I had to get my hands on them… now I have an obsession. Colourpop just does lips so well.

The mattes stay on all day (even through eating) and the formula is so thin that after a while you forget you’re even wearing it – some shades are more drying than others, but I’ve personally never had one that has been uncomfortable.

Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks

Creeper, Notion, Love Bug, Mama, Beeper, Chi

Knotty, Midi, Bad Habit, Viper, Chaps

Shades bottom to top; Creeper, Notion, Love Bug, Mama, Beeper, Chi, Knotty, Midi, Bad Habit, Viper, Chaps.

The satins are my favourite of their liquid lips because they stay on like mattes but are softer and less drying – the sheen they have also makes lips look more ‘plump’.

Shades left to right; Hutch, Wink, Baracuda, Calypso, Point Zero.

The gloss’ are so pretty are go great over any of their other lipsticks or any other brand you have in your collection, but they also look stunning on their own – a softer everyday look.

Shades left to right; My Jam (Metallic), Piranha, Fairyfloss, Hack, Nonsense, Kink, Furry (Metallic).

The Lippie sticks I originally didn’t like – I had first order a satin one and, although their colours are unique to the brand, the formula just feels like any old bullet lipstick with a creme or stain finish but slightly wetter. The Lippie stick mattes though..OH MY! Now they’re something to yell about, they’re not near as drying as the liquid ones (in fact not at all), and they don’t budge through eating and THEY DON’T BLEED! I ordered a red shade and red always, always bleeds on me (no idea why) but this one didn’t AT ALL! Truly magical.

Shades left to right; Aquarius, Trust Me…, Poppin’.

What was your favourite beauty product you discovered in 2016?

Love,

Geena xx

2016 Beauty Favourites | Some purchased thanks to @KathleenLights1 & @GinaShkeda | #nzbloggers Rose / Rosehip Oil Whether you've got dry or oily skin, including an oil of some sort in your routine is a brilliant idea.

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