Perfect Summer Makeup with Etude House's Summer Collection

For this month's pink box, Etude House sent me some of the new summer releases – including a new long lasting cushion, their new lipstick formula and a few limited edition shades of the Play 101 pencils. There are two summer makeup trends in Korea right now – matte makeup, and "juicy" makeup using vibrant, fruit coloured shades. The pink box hit both these trends, as well as a more Western one – Kylie Jenner's infamous brown lips.

Lips Chiffon Talk

Let’s start with my favourite product from Etude House’s summer – the Lips Chiffon Talk. I received two colours BE109 and PK027. Etude House says the lipstick is meant to be matte, with the "comfort of chiffon”. They didn’t lie. The formula does start off with a bit of sheen, but quickly mattifies within five minutes or so. I found PK027 took a bit longer to mattify than BE109 (it was probably closer to 10 minutes). Neither one accentuated my dry lips (yay allergic reaction to the EOS lipbalm!) and the colour was long wearing – a full five hours without any noticeable fading despite my constant need to sip coffee. It did come off after a greasy lunch but that’s to be expected. It was super comfortable for four hours, and then I noticed my lips starting to feel dry. Nothing too bad though - I didn’t even really feel the need to apply lipbalm. If I wasn’t recovering from the dryness of contact dermitis, I’d guess it would have felt comfortable for even longer.

BE109 is a brown toned lipstick. Very Kylie Jenner and very trendy right now. Despite being a matte formula, I don’t find it to be too drying on the lips. I’d prefer this type of lipstick in the fall, as it’s a bit darker, but sheered out with a bit of lipbalm (I used Smith’s Rosebud Salve), it turns into a honey toned rose brown that’s a perfect neutral for the summer.

RD is a bright red toned pink lipstick — my favourite type of lip colour. It’s a bit cooler toned, so it doesn’t work on with my warm undertones as well as I would like. Like BE109 it sheers out beautifully with a bit of lipbalm underneath, making it much more wearable. This is also the perfect colour and formula for gradient lips as it’s so vibrant and long lasting.

Long Wear Cushion

I received this in the colour “natural beige” and immediately thought it would be too dark for my skin. While it initially looked that way after swatching it, I noticed it lightened a little bit after a few minutes (rather than oxidizing darker). Right now I’m between a 21 and 23, and this is a perfect match after a few minutes. It does have a bit of a pink undertone, so if you're super yellow like me, you may look slightly ashy. In all honesty though, it's still a better match than most other cushions I've tried. 

This cushion has a beautiful satin to matte finish and the coverage is amazing. It's a liquid to powder formulation, and blends easily. Even though the coverage is buildable, I wouldn't suggest it as it does start to look cakey after more than one layer. Wear time seems to depend a lot on how much I'm sweating. If it's super hot out, I sweat this off within a few hours. Indoors with a bit of air conditioning and this lasts all day. It does accentuate some fine lines in my forehead (those dehydration wrinkles T_T), as well as the dry areas around my cheeks around hour 4, so I wouldn't recommend this for dryer skin types or for a dry climate. You also might want to refrain from touching your face too much, as there is a bit of powdery transfer (not too much, especially compared to the any cushion).

Play 101 Pencils

As expected from the Play 101 range, these two eyeliners are amazing. I actually really love all the glitter formulas in this line. They glide on so smoothly and make the perfect wing. Shade 77 is no exception. It’s a beautiful gold bronze shade that works well as an all over colour, as an inner corner highlight, or even for a super subtle winged look. Shade 79 is a bright, sparkly coral that looks amazing as an all over lid colour. The two shades work well together, and last all day – no creasing, very minimal fading after 10 hours (79’s wear time is shorter than 77, and lasted closer to eight or nine hours on me).

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Review: Etude House Bubble Tea Sleeping Masks

How cute are these? Etude House launched their Bubble Tea Sleeping packs in three different "flavours" meant for different skin types. Black tea for firming, strawberry for moisturizing and green tea for oil control. There's boba capsules that contain the main hydrating ingredients and a little straw/spoon to scoop everything out hygienically.

So, as cute as they are, how did they perform?

Let's start off with the ingredients. Every pack contains glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and the respective extract (strawberry, black tea, or green tea) within the first 10 ingredients. Awesome right? Not so much for sensitive skin. Alcohol is fifth ingredient, above all the ingredients previously mentioned except glycerin. In theory, the alcohol will help the mask to absorb without such a sticky texture, hence it's inclusion. Unfortunately for those of us who need to avoid alcohol in our skincare diet, this can prove irritating at worse, or lacklustre at best.

Boba with a spoonful of gel, and a smooshed boba to release all those hydrating ingredients.

The idea behind these masks is that there is a lightweight gel, and then boba that contains higher concentrations of active ingredients (in this case, the tea and strawberry extracts). You grab a bit of the gel and a boba capsule or two, break the boba, then apply to it your skin. I find there's a lot more gel than boba whenever I try to use the attached straw/spoon to grab the boba. Since it's kind of unhygienic to put the extra gel back, I just use it all on my face. The results with lots of gel and two boba? Nada, unless you count a sticky face for a few hours. The results with less gel and two boba (I used the extra gel on my legs)? Nada, although everything absorbed a lot better. In the morning, there was a coating of something on my face that rinsed off easily with warm water. But I didn't feel more moisturized.

The black tea pack felt slightly more moisturizing than either the strawberry or green tea, but not by much. The green tea felt the most lightweight, and least moisturizing of the three.

My skin doesn't agree with alcohol – it'll start off ok, but I slowly get dryer and dryer, until irritated spots show up. Despite that, I used each of these for a week to see how my skin fared. I didn't get any irritation, and surprisingly I didn't get any dryness over the month either. On the other hand, I was not nearly as moisturized and glowy the next day from these sleeping packs compared to others I've tried.

Would I recommend these? Not if you have dry or sensitive skin. On the other hand, if you get results from sheet masks with a high alcohol content or creams and packs containing a lot of alcohol, you might still enjoy these.

Etude House Berry Delicious Review

Another month, another cute Pink Box from Etude House! For February's Pink Box, I received the new strawberry themed spring collection. Not only does everything look adorable, but it all smells delicious too (like strawberry candy)! An added bonus? It's probably my favourite collection of products from Etude House I've used thus far.

Precious Mineral Any Cushion in Light Beige

Precious Mineral Any Cushion

I received this cushion in the lightest colour, "light beige." I've never actually tried Etude House's cushion foundations before this, despite owning many from various brands. The colour is a perfect match and a pleasure to use. The formula is moisturizing enough for my dry, winter skin, doesn't look patchy or caky as it wears throughout the day, isn't too dewy and not too matte, and it wears for a solid 10 hours. Colour me impressed. I do find cushion foundations to have the best wear time in terms of how they wear down (haven't had one go patchy or caky on me yet), and Etude House's version is no different. There is a bit of transfer due to the more moisturizing formula, but a powder takes care of it if this bothers you.

Colour in Liquid Lips

The day before I received the pink box, I had actually just snapchatted about finding a new, perfect red lipstick. And then of course, what was included in my box? Another red! Would it match up to Kat von D's Countess or Nars's Dragon Girl? At first, I wasn't sure, as Etude House's Liquid Lips seemed to be a glossy formula, and I usually prefer matte. However, I soon found out they're somewhere between a lip gloss and lip stain, rather than the usual matte, non-budging liquid lipsticks you find in Sephora. But that's what makes it the third perfect red.

Like the rest of the collection, it smells like strawberries. Now, the great thing about it? It stains the lips. And not a different/more muted colour like a regular lipstick normally would. The Colour in Liquid Lips stains your lips the same colour as when you first applied it, just without the original glossiness. I could get a solid eight hours of wear as long as I wasn't eating saucy jajjangmyun (it held up well to gamjatang though). It's amazingness in a bottle I tell you. I want to pick up the entire collection.

Berry Delicious Cream Blusher in #1, Colour in Liquid Lips RD305

Berry Delicious Cream Blusher

Another amazing product from Etude House. Normally I avoid cream blushes (ok, I only avoid the drugstore/roadshop ones) – the wear time tends to be short, they're not super pigmented, and on occasion, they're hard to blend or go on patchy. Etude House has none of these issues. I received the colour #1, and while it looks like a bright, strawberry red in the pan, it looks very natural when you apply it and blend it out. It's super pigmented, so you will have to use a light hand (my first trial run with it and the Liquid Lips made me look like I came out of a French academic style painting. Or like Juliet from Romeo and Juliet. Or maybe Snow White. The point is, my cheeks were really rosy (but in a very pretty, glowing from a confession of love sort of way)).

Rather than patting the puff directly into the blush and then onto my skin, I use my fingers to dot the blush on, and then blend with the puff. It's easier to get more subtle results this way, and you can always build up to get that dreamy, romantic painted look.

Wearing the Berry Delicious cream blush #1 and Colour in Liquid Lips in RD305

Fantastic Colour Eye Palette in Chocolate Fondue

Hazelnut Chocolate, Berry Milk Chocolate, Sugary Chocolate, Cheese Berry, Fresh Strawberry, Dip! Dip!

Berry Delicious Fantastic Colour Eyes

This is by far one of the better eyeshadow palettes I own. The mattes are pigmented and smooth (the Berry Milk Chocolate and Fresh Strawberry are actually a lot more pigmented on my eyelid than in this swatch), the shimmer is shimmery but not too glittery on the eyes, and the one glitter shade doesn't even have a ton of fallout. When I first looked at this palette, I was a little worried about using all the pink shades. Pink eyeshadow can be difficult to use, as it can make your eyes look puffy or like you've been crying. Surprisingly, I haven't had that issue with this. I usually apply a wash of pink all over the lid, and apply a brown on the outer v. My coteacher said it looked charming and not to worry since it didn't look like I had post breakup eyes. PS. He was ten feet away and could still tell I had Berry Milk Chocolate on my eyes, so there's your demonstration of how pigmented these shadows are.Hazelnut Chocolate, Berry Milk Chocolate and Sugary Chocolate are the longest lasting, looking fresh after a 12 hour day teaching and hanging with friends. Cheese Berry, Fresh Strawberry, and Dip! Dip! are slightly shorter, lasting about 6-8 hours before starting to fade, but still very visible by the time I took my makeup off and went to bed.

Etude House Big Cover BB Review

Happy belated lunar new year! February 8th marked the start of the year of the monkey, which means I’m getting old. It will be my second monkey year, which means I’m getting old. And to think, I could have celebrated it in Taipei too, if my co-teacher had remembered it was a holiday and instead of telling me I had to be at work that day (I got back a week ago, and spent a very boring new year binge watching Face Off and Master of None). Not exactly pleased with him.

But enough with my grievances. For the lunar new year, Etude House has launched a new base makeup line, as well as limited edition (super cute) eyeshadows. 

Etude House sent me the new Big Cover Concealer BB and Big Cover Cushion Concealer to review, along with three shades of the limited edition eyeshadows. Compared to the Play 101 multi-sticks, I’m loving everything about this line.

Let’s start off with the Big Cover Concealer BB. I received the shade Vanilla, which is a tad too light for me. This is a buildable coverage foundation. One layer gives you medium coverage, and a second layer is meant to act as full coverage or even as concealer. Two in one products are always awesome, right? Less for me to travel with. It wears well (about 6 hours) before I noticed some patchy areas. I didn’t powder it, and it wore well over my facial oil without sliding off. Hell, it was still there after an eight hour day (patchiness aside). The Concealer BB has a satin finish on it's own, and is a bit dewier with the use of an oil. My only issue is that it transfers easily when I use a facial oil underneath. It sets quite quickly if I don't use an oil, but then it looks a tad dry.

It does set quickly on it's own, so you'll need to blend it out quickly. I prefer to use a sponge, but fingers get the job done easily as well. The foundation is a bit dryer, so I find it works best on ore humid days. It was a dream in Taiwan (no oily skin from the humidity!). Oily skin will definitely like this foundation, but dryer skin will need a bit more prep work (I like the use of a facial oil, but my heavy duty Guerrison 9 Complex Cream works well too). 

BB Concealer in Peach, and the BB Cover Foundation in Vanilla

The Big Cover Cushion Concealer is Etude’s new line of concealers and colour correctors. It comes in six shades. I received it in peach, which is meant to correct dark circles under the eyes (or any skin discolouration with a purple undertone). There is also a green shade to correct redness and "illuminate" to brighten. The other three shades are meant as concealers rather than colour correctors.

The peach shade works well to brighten my dark circles. I don't usually bother to use a separate concealer as this offers enough coverage for a regular person's lack of sleep. If you do suffer from extreme dark circles, you will probably need to use another concealer on top for the best effect.

The eyeshadows are another great product. I’ve used Etude House’s eyeshadows before and I’ve always been impressed with the pigmentation and shade selection. These limited edition shades are no different. They’re highly pigmented, velvety and long lasting. I received three shades: “Pay Day,” “Cheer Up,” and, “Exam Passed,” each of which are great for everyday looks, and come with a cute Korean new year’s message (which I can’t read, but maybe one of my Korean readers can translate). They’re embossed with an adorable monkey face, which I’m super sad will eventually disappear. I have used Exam Passed everyday though, and the face is still there, so that’s nice.

Pay Day, Exam Passed, and Cheer Up

"Pay Day" is a neutral, light brown. It leans a bit cool toned, but it's perfect for contouring the outer v of of the eye for a natural everyday look. There’s a slight shimmer to it, but it’s definitely not glittery. Applied with a finger, the shade is richly pigmented and easy to blend. Application with a brush lends a lighter finish.

"Exam Passed" is my favourite shade out of the three. It looks khaki in the pan, but on my eyes, it turned into a lovely dark brown with green undertones and green-blue duochrome glitter. It’s gorgeous. Despite the glitter, I didn’t experience any fallout. It’s easy to use and works well as an everyday shade. I just use it as a wash of colour on my lids, but with a bit of black, it would make an amazing smokey eye.

"Cheer up” is glittery, frosty pink shade. It’s actually almost white, with just a hint of pink. I use it on the middle of my lid, as well as to highlight the inner corner. Just be warned, this one is a glitter bomb, and does have a bit of fallout. It’s not as pigmented as the others (you’re more likely to just get glitter with a hint of colour), but I think it’s perfect as a finishing touch to add dimension to the eyes.

All in all, loving this new collection from Etude House. You can find everything on their global shop.

Naked Bonding... Aka. The Jjimjilbang

When in Korea, do as the Koreans do. Ie. Get naked with some of them.

Gongju is full of foreigners (many of my Korean coworkers are always surprised by how many there are here when they visit) and some of the girls decided to visit our local jimjilbang. Many of us had never been, including myself (I have gone to Japanese onsen before though, and it's very similar), and we decided to do the whole shebang – Saunas, baths, scrubs, and of course the traditional baked egg and shikhye. Don't worry, Conan exaggerates about the scrub (or the ajummas went easy on me).

Eating baked eggs and drinking sikhye. Or you can just sleep.

So, what is a jimjilbang? Well, if you didn't watch the video (and you should, because it's hilarious), it's a Korean bathhouse, and some even offer spa services as well. The baths themselves are segregated by sex, and theres a common lounging area as well. They're usually open 24 hrs, so it's the cheapest way to stay in another city as well. You can find mats, pillows, and usually blankets in the communal area. The one we went to even had secluded alcoves for individuals to sleep in undisturbed. The entrance fee was 6, 000 won ($6 USD) to enter the baths, and another 2, 000 ($2 USD) for the communal area.

The baths are the best part though. There are five in this particular location– a hot bath, an even hotter bath, a cold bath, a scented bath, and a bath with jets. There were also three different saunas – a dry salt sauna, a dry charcoal sauna, and a regular wet, salt sauna. Both the saunas and baths are great for your health and detoxing. Because you will feel detoxed after spending time in the jimjilbang. First, you should rinse off in the showers, because everyone's dirt in the same bath is gross. When you're nice and clean, head to the baths! It's recommended to start off with the warmer baths or saunas first, and then take a plunge into the cold pool. And then you repeat the process. This helps to improve blood circulation. The cold water is also supposed to help firm the skin (albeit temporarily), so you should definitely end with a cold plunge, rather than a hot sauna. 

Now, let's get to the fun part. The scrub. In every jimjilbang, there are some older Korean ladies, usually in the corner. This is where the spa services are. They'll scrub you down, give you a massage, wash your hair and apply a deep conditioning treatment, or even give you a mini facial. These services usually start at around 20, 000 won (about $20 USD) and can go up to 60, 000 won in Gongju ($60 USD) My friends and I all opted to get the traditional scrub (this is the part with Conan screaming). It's not nearly as bad as Conan makes it sound – I found it to be quite relaxing. The ladies water you down and start to move up and down your body rapidly with an abrasive mitt. It takes about 15 minutes for a full body scrub, and you'll be disgusted when you're done. There will be piles (piles!) of dead skin all over the bed and on your body. If you've ever used a Korean or Japanese peeling gel on your face, it looks like that. But larger. Like the size of a fingernail large. Then they apply some wash off lotion, give you a one-minute facial massage with cleanser (or at least I think it was a cleanser), and rinse you off a final time. 

If you want to be even more traditional, you can buy the mitts or a special cloth yourself, and scrub your friends down. They only cost a few dollars, and I use one all the time at home (but not hard enough for piles of dead skin to be scrubbed off). I'd really only recommend the ajumma style of scrubbing once a month, since it takes about 30 days for new skin to form and dead skin to slough off anyways. So no need to scrub so hard everyday, you'll only irritate your skin. 

After your baths, you can change into some pajama like shorts and a t-shirt and head to the communal area. There are usually some snacks for sale, tvs in enclosed rooms showing Korean dramas or k-pop videos, and private sleeping rooms (caves really). We grabbed some baked eggs and sikhye, both common jimjilbang fare. Oh, and baked eggs are way better than hardboiled. Why, I don't know, but they are. Sikhye is a sweet, occasionally fermented rice drink which is really refreshing after the steamy baths, or on a hot day.

So that's the story from last weekend. Naked bonding with a couple of girls I was close to, and a couple of new friends I just met that day. No better way to get close to someone than to strip down with them, right?

Etude House – Play 101 Multi Stick Review

Makeup trends are always changing, and I think we had three major ones this year. Contouring, instagram brows, and strobing. 

Now, Korea has it's own makeup style – it's very fresh and light, and emphasizes glowy skin. I'd say they strobed before strobing ever became popular in the west. However, contouring has just made it's way over here. Earlier this year, Missha released a set of cream blushes and contouring sticks, and Etude House has also followed suit – creating an entire multi-colour line with their multi-use Play 101 formula. You'll know the Play 101 pencils are very multipurpose – they can be used as eyeliner, shadow, blush and lip colour, and the multi-sticks (minus the foundation) are no exception.

Etude House released four foundation shades, as well as five multi-colour sticks to go along with the Play 101 pencils. I received the foundation shade in 02, which is a perfect match for my fair yellow toned skin (ok, it's slightly pink, but you can't tell once it's been blended in). There's also a shading contouring stick in a medium brown shade, and four blush colours, coral, pink, purple, and orange. A duel contouring and highlighting pencil was also included. The shades are a slightly darker brown than the shading stick, and very light, almost white colour to highlight with. The cream formulas go on quite dewy at first, but quickly dry down to a satiny, almost powder finish (honestly, this might just be because my skin is so dry this winter). They're easy to blend out with either the Etude House brush, or a sponge. I prefer to use a sponge as I feel I have slightly more control. When I use a brush, I blend everything out too much and lose the definition!

Formula wise, I both love and hate these? The shading stick (#11) is amazing – it's smooth, easy to blend (almost too easy, so it's best to use a light hand or it may get everywhere) and doesn't go powdery or patchy on my dryer skin. The same goes for the darker end of the duel pencil.

Play 101 Foundation #2 Vanilla, Multi-colour #11 Shading and #13 Rose Gold, and the Duo Contour Pencil

The foundation is a bit harder to use. Maybe it's because I use it all over my face, where as the shading stick is really only used on the sides? Either way, I find it wears off patchily, and feels a bit drying after an hour or two (when I touch my face, it feels like it's turned into a powder, vs the original creamy consistency). The easiest way to combat the wear down and dryness is to bring a facial mist. It helps to eliminate the dryness, add a bit of glow so I don't look powdery or cakey, and just overall renews the foundation throughout the day. Going without a mist though... I end up with weird, cakey foundation patches along with foundation-less patches. I think, because this dries to a more powdery finish, it might be better for oily skin, as I've had similar wear problems with liquid to powder foundations. I'm gonna blame this on my skin, and not the foundation formula itself. 

The duo pencil is another love-hate affair for me. The contouring side is amazing. Easy to use, easy to blend (again, too easy to blend, so be careful or blend get it everywhere). It's great for a contouring noob like me. The light, highlighting shade though... It just sinks into my pores. Ie. it highlights too much, nuff said. On that note though, it does work really well on my cheekbones and chin, where I don't have any almost invisible pores for it to define. I don't know if it's the formula itself that causes this, or if it's just because the colour is so light (ie. foundation that sinks into pores doesn't matter, because it's the same colour as the surrounding skin, but this is white, so it doesn't match and only emphasizes?). This is sort of fixed with some facial mist though, or at least fixed to the point of being wearable.

Moving onto blush. This is another multi-use shade like the Play 101 pencils. You can use it on the lips, cheeks and eyes. I received #13 which I only like to use on my cheeks and eyes. It's slightly dryer than the foundation or shading stick, so it doesn't crease on my eyelids, and it doesn't settle into my pores like the highlighting pencil. On my lips though... it's a bit chalky. It'll work as a lip colour for some people, but definitely not for me. While there is glitter in the formula, it doesn't show up at all on my cheeks. Wear time is only a few hours though, which seems to be the usual for most of the cream cheek formulas I've tried (Tarte, Maybelline, and another Etude House product). 

Since I'm not the best at makeup, I'm not going to show you how to use these. Pony has already done it for you, and she's far better (and prettier to look at) than me. She created two tutorials specifically for Etude House. There's also a picture tutorial in case you don't want to watch a video.

As always, you can pick these up on the Etude House website (and they're on sale!).

Etude House - Snowy Dessert Collection Review

Hi everyone! I have some exciting news to share with you! I've been chosen to participate in Etude House's international blogger program! Etude House makes some of the best Korean roadshop makeup products I've tried (you can read my reviews on their primer and lip tint), and since arriving in Korea, it's been my go-to shop for makeup. 

This month, Etude House sent me a few pieces from their Snowy Dessert Christmas collection to test and review, as well as their new Honey Cera collection. Unfortunately, the blush they sent shattered during transportation (despite the bubble wrap and paper fluff in the box), but everything else arrived intact and ready to experiment with. Etude House also sent a mini magazine full of makeup and skincare tips, and a guide to the best desserts in Seoul (so you can see, I'm excited).

Let's get started shall we?!

A full look using the Etude House Snowy Dessert collection. It's a bit washed out from the bright sun, but you can see a bit of pink on the eyes, and the pudding tint in a sheer wash on my lips. You can also see another full (more natural look) in my last post.

I'll start off with my favourite product – the Snowy Dessert Pudding Tint in grapefruit. I love a good lip product, and this hits all the sweet spots. Great pigmentation, long lasting, low transfer (it is a tint after all), and non-drying. My only complaint? Like a lot of lip products, it'll accentuate any dry flakes you have, so make sure to exfoliate first!

The pudding tint comes in four colours and one clear finish. They're super soft, and come with a spatula to help pickup and spread the product on your lips (but fingers work just as well)! While the spatula is great for controlling the amount of product you apply (I use it a lot if I only want a more natural but bright lip, or if I'm doing gradient lips), fingers are the way to go if you want the full pigmentation in the least amount of time. You can dab what's left on your cheeks as well for a healthy flush.

Play 101 pencils in #71 and #73, Pudding Tint in grapefruit

There were two Play 101 pencils included as well – I received the colours 71 and 73, both shimmering colours.

#71 is a gorgeous pink with gold shimmer. Think a pinker version of Nars Orgasm for your eyes. I've been wearing it everyday for a wash of colour on my lids and my co-workers love it. It's long-wearing, and doesn't budge once it's set.

#71 is on the left, and #73 on the right. You can see #73 is really close to my skin colour.

#73 is a light beige with shimmer. It's perfect as an all over base on the eyes, as well as to highlight the inner corners and "aegyo-sal" (that little fat pocket under your lower lashline. It's popular to apply shimmer on it here in Korea for a doe-eyed effect). This one doesn't show up on my skin too well (it's literally the same colour as me, except shimmery), so it provides the most subtle of highlights. I do like to use it to add a little bit of shimmer over other colours on the centre of my lid though., as well as to brighten my waterline. It's also great to add a subtle highlight on the cupids bow, since the pencil is so precise. Like #71, it's long-wearing and doesn't move around even after a long day (and on an oily lash-line).

Finally the ginger cookie blush. Ah, this is a sad tale. Etude House packed everything really well. The blush came in bubble wrap, in a box filled with paper tinsel. But apparently Korea Post is just as rough as Canada Post, and the blush was shattered when I opened it. It's so cute too! The blush is separated into two parts – a pastel coral (which works well as a highlighter), and a more burnt orangey gingerbread man. Swirled together, the two colours provide the most gorgeous warm winter flush. It's like summer for your face! My only complaint is that it fades after about four hours or so. It does seem to fade less quickly if I don't apply foundation  (mine is fairly dewy as I have dryer skin, so matte foundations may work better with this blush).

Top highlighter on the left, bottom orange on the right)

You can find everything on Etude Houses's global shopping mall.

http://www.etudehouse.com/

Belif True Cream Moisturizing Bomb Review

Introducing my new favourite cream for sensitive skin – Belif's True Cream Moisturizing Bomb. Belif says this cream coats your skin in comfort, and they weren't lying. Belif uses simple ingredients and says it's uses a 150 year old processing method to create it's skincare goodies. How true this is, I don't know, however it comes with rave reviews from Korean bloggers and has been featured in magazines and beauty shows. My Korean friend says it's a good line if you have sensitive skin – kind of like Korea's version of Avene or La Roche Posay.

This is a great occlusive cream, that while being heavy and efficiently sealing hydration in, feels fairly lightweight on the skin. Despite it's heavier texture, it dries matte on me, and doesn't feel greasy at all. It's comparable to the Innisfree Green Tea Seed Deep Cream, but doesn't feel quite as lightweight once applied. At first they feel the same, however, I feel that the Belif is better for dehydrated skin, whereas the Innisfree is best for true dry skin types, as it leaves a slight oily feeling after.

The Belif True Cream Moisturizing Bomb actually lessens my overnight oil production... the more I apply. When I first tried it out, I thought it would last forever, since it was heavy and I could get away with using a tiny baby pea-sized amount and feel properly moisturized. However I was a super shiny oil slick by the time I woke up. Okay, with this, a little goes a long way, right? Nope. One night I accidentally scooped too much out and decided to just go with it, as if I were applying a sleeping mask. And hey, normal, even slightly dry skin in the morning. A couple more nights of experimenting and now I'm using about two normal pea-sized amounts every night, in addition to my hydrating masks and essences. 

Notable ingredients include glycerin, which is a humectant, and macadamia oil, which serves as a moisturizer and occlusive. It also has a ton of fermented ingredients to help brighten the skin and allow the ingredients to be absorbed better, as well as comfrey leaf to help detoxify the skin.

The cream has a slight gel texture to it – it's not super thick and creamy, but not a gel either. There's a light citrus scent that's pleasant and not overwhelming at all. It spreads and absorbs easily, leaving behind a velvety finish with no shine. This is perfect for girls who love matte skin rather than the dewy look. 

I have noticed that as the weather get's dryer and dryer, I'm needing to use more of this cream. This may be because I'm not using a sheet mask everyday, or maybe it simply can't handle the change from summer to fall. Still, I find the Belif cream to be comforting to my dry skin, and does an adequate job at sealing everything in and keeping me relatively moisturized throughout the day.

I bought this for around $33 from 11 Street, but you can pick it up at Sephora for a reasonable price as well (because shipping from Korea will tack the extra on anyways)!

Pros:
Great for sensitive skin
Absorbs easily
Heals

Cons:
Unless you live by a Sephora that sells this, you'll have to order online

Mizon Hyaluronic Acid 100 Ampoule Review

As someone who constantly deals with dehydrated skin, I'm always on the lookout for good hydrating serums to add to my routine, especially ones that aren't going to break the bank (seriously, a very basic hyaluronic serum is at least $20/oz Cad). This is probably why I started to get into Asian cosmetics when I was 18 – everything was more reasonably priced, and they just seemed to work better.

The Mizon Hyaluronic Acid 100 Ampoule is a no frills serum. It only claims to provide lightweight, yet lasting hydration, and it performs quite well at that. Because of how sensitive my skin was at the time I purchased it (acne, over-exfoliation, rashy and eczema patches), I was looking for some key ingredients including ceramides (healing) and hyaluronic acid (hydrating).

Notable Ingredients

Hyaluronic Acid: This atttracts and maintains water in the skin. It can hold up to 1000 times its weight in water, making it a great ingredient for dehydrated and dry skin.

Copper Tripeptide-1: Increases collagen and elastin production and promotes skin regeneration

Cholesteral: Helps to restore and maintain the skin's barrier, maintaining normal skin function.

Ceramide 3: Helps to restore and maintain the skin's barrier.

Beta Glucan: Has anti-oxidant, wound healing and moisturizing properties.

Adenosine: An anti-aging ingredient that promotes collagen and elastin production, as well as having anti-inflammatory properties.

Full ingredients list here.

Performance

I bought this to provide extra hydration for my poor dehydrated skin around the same time as the Hada Labo Perfect Gel (it came in the mail about a week later). It too has hyaluronic acid and ceramides to help with my dehydrated skin, as well as anti-aging and healing properties to help with my acne and acne scarring. Mizon is known for providing quality products that are full of plant extracts (these often provide anti-inflammatory, brightening, and antioxidant properties), for a cheap price. I've actually used a few other products from them that I never got around to reviewing (namely their snail lines).

This particular serum is just a basic hydrating serum. It doesn't make any other claims, and for that, it performs its job well. Combined with the Hada Labo Perfect Gel, I almost had enough hydration to last a full day (assuming I was at home and not dealing with air conditioning). It's very lightweight and silky, absorbing easily. Seriously, my skin just drank this up and sighed happily, like it just had a sip of a well-made cup of tea. Like the Perfect Gel, I feel like this helped my skin to better retain moisture so that I wouldn't get that uncomfortable tight feeling, or overly oily (both signs of dehydrated skin) quite so soon in the day.

This isn't the best at "long lasting hydration" like it claims (okay it doesn't claim to be the best, but I've used better). Mind you, for half the price, I can't really complain either. It lasted about two months with twice a day usage (three quarters of a dropper each time).

For the price, I don't think you can get a better hydrating serum, especially if you're not in Korea. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I'm always looking to try something new.

Pros

Cheap, unless you buy it from Urban Outfitters. I got mine for about $12/oz Cad with free shipping on Roseroseshop.com

Does what it claims

Not only hydrates, but as anti-aging ingredients as well (long-term benefits as well as short term!)

Cons

You'll need to wait in the mail for it (if you want it immediately, it's available at select Urban Outfitters stores for a very marked up price)