Giveaway!!!!!

Etude house Giveaway!!!

Included-

Pearl Essence Mask

Collagen Essence Mask

Aloe essence Mask

Juicy pop lip gloss 

Robins Egg blue nail polish

Etude House Black butterfly mirror

Collagen Moistfull essence Large

Collagen Moistfull essence - small

Collagen Moistfull cream - small

Collagen Moistfull freshner (toner) - small

Collagen Moistfull emulsion (moisturizer) -small

Moistfull Toner - small

Moistfull essence - small

Total Age repair Toner- small

Total age repair Emulsion - small

 Precious minerals bb creams -sample

Total age repair Royal Essence - sample

Collagen Moistfull cream -  sample

The Giveaway closes November 30th . I won’t pick the winner until December 1st, so anywhere in the  world that it’s still November, you can still enter!

Rules (They suck but…. It’s free stuff!)

1. You must be a follower!  (So you need to be logged in when you leave your comment so I can identify you!)

2. Please leave a comment, stating what item is your favorite to read reviews about! (I like to read about new skin care gadgets!)

3. The contest is open world wide!

4. The winners are chosen by random.org

5. Winner please contact me by the end of December 4th, or I will redraw!

Rimmel Glam eyes

Price: ~7.25

One might wonder why I bought the Rimmel Glam eyes mascara when I already am in love with the CG lash blast. It might seem like a waste of money.

… Well, there was a cute little crown on the mascara, and it came with a free eyeliner….

Damn gimmicks, they get me every time,

Anyway…

The Rimmel glam eyes does come in adorable tube. Its black with a matte black lattice and a shiny pink crown.

Inside the brush is silicone and curved.

The little spokes though are very short…. Especially compared to other Mascara’s. I have no idea why this is…

The result though, is barely done eyelashes.  It does darken them, and thicken them a little. But not much. Not much at all.

The composition of the mascara is pretty good though. it’s a good dark color (sometimes black just isn’t very black), it doesn’t clump, and it only smudges minimally. It’s not waterproof, so crying/ rain does make it run some, but not terribly, and it isn’t advertised as waterproof, so really this is to be expected.

I think the issue is mostly the brush.

In the end the mascara isn’t terrible. I keep it in my car for emergencies (*laughs*). I wouldn’t buy it again.

Maybelline pulse perfection mascara 

(Vibrating)

Price: about $15 (ewww for a drugstore brand)

Ok. Ok. I was taken in by the glittery and new…

And its maybe line. I don’t know why I even buy their mascara, I hate them ALL.

This one is the worst though.

The whole gimmick is the brush vibrates, separating the lashes, supposedly making them fuller.

It doesn’t work. My cover girl BIG LASH gives me bigger fuller lashes.

I can’t even tell the difference between using the mascara with and without vibrations.

One thing that the mascara does well, is it clumps very little, even with a couple of coats.

The vibrating helps with this, but barely….

The reason I hate this Mascara though, it flakes.

It flakes like crazy.

I admit, I tend to rub my eyes. But this is ridiculous, After like an hour my boyfriend is saying I have black stuff all over my face.

And I do… It’s so bad.

Even when I don’t rub at my eyes at all, the stupid stuff still flakes.

It’s so bad it’s un-usable.

CG exact eye lights 

(black ruby) 

Price: ~6

Cover girl has never let me down when it comes to mascara, well, that it until the exact eye lights collection.

They SUCK.

The brush design is basically the same as CG’s Lashblast. So really there are no complaints there.

But the mascara itself is Shit.

It wasn’t worth the money I paid for it.

I have Hazel eyes…. Which I know can mean pretty much anything. Technically they are blue and brown, but they come across green. So my eyes look fantastic with subtle red. I have a gorgeous liner by Sheer cover that’s subtle, but makes the green POP.

So when I bought the  Eyelights in Black ruby, that’s what I was hoping for.

I didn’t expect to open it up and find a tube of red mascara.

 I didn’t expect dramatic results.

But I had hoped for something. 

For my whites to look just a bit whiter, and the green a bit greener….

No…

In fact, the color, though slightly red, tends to turn ashy on my lashes.

So they end up looking like I have white primer on my lashes.

It looks wrong.

I’ve even tried putting it over/under other mascaras.

With no success.

The Eyelights line is a complete rip.

CoverGirl lash exact 

Price: $6
Until Cover Girl came out with their Lashblast mascara, this was my go to Mascara.

I think the brush design is amazing. It applies a good amount of product, while separating the lashes.  The result, longer fuller lashes, with minimal clumping.
Now of course the soft silicone brushes are everywhere.
But even still I  keep a tube of this around.
The mascara itself is dark, long lasting and doesn’t flake.
I find the non-waterproof version to be better than the waterproof. They seem to be equally long lasting…. But the water proof is hard to take off, even with make up remover, so I always end up with raccoon eyes when taking a shower, because there always seems to be some I missed….

Covergirl lash blast

Price: $6

This is my FAVORTIE mascara.  I’ve used everything from wet n’ wild to Lancôme and Buxom (from Sephora). But I always always always come back to Cover girl Lash blast.

Why?  It’s cheap, and it always works.
I get consistently big, beautiful lashes, with almost no clumping. With barely any smudging ( I am  an eye rubber) and NO flaking!
This mascara gives as good as any of the Big name mascara’s! I was hooked on the comb mascara by Elizabeth Arden for quite a while. But CG is just as good, at nearly a quarter of the price!

Maybelline intense xxl  volume +length micro fiber mascara

Price: $6.34 @ Walmart US

Since I madly love big full dark lashes, any product that promises to make my lashes bigger, fuller and/or darker is a must try.

Since maybe line isn’t a brand that I normally like for Mascara I’m not entirely sure why I even bought this particular one… 

It’s the standard duel mascara, a white base coat, that adds length and fullness to the lashes, and a second, black coat to make them dark.

The base is pretty good. It goes on smoothly, and does add a bit of length, and a tiny bit of fullness.

It’s not exceptional. But it’s good.

The mascara portion, alone is also pretty good. It’s a nice deep black, it clumps some, but nothing major, and it adds some fullness on its own.

Perplexing the base and Mascara are not a good combination…

With the addition of the base, the mascara all of a sudden clumps like crazy!

I’ve tried letting my lashes dry after the base, gently combing them through before and/or after they are dry, then applying the mascara.

Still, they clump, a lot.

The Mascara worn alone,  fairly rub and smudge proof. It lasts a whole day, then removes easily with make up remover.

With the base, all of a sudden it flakes…. And smudges.

Its idiotic.

Mascara mascara mascara!!!!!!!

In honor of my obsession with mascara, this week I'm doing All Mascara reviews! There are a number of normal back home brands, cover girl, Maybelline; including the latest gimmick, vibrating mascara! But I've tossed in a few Korean Mascara's too.

So enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

Etude House- Baby Skin Base

Price: 6000 won ($6.00)

Size: 30ml

I’ve been dying to try some of the weird colors of make-up bases available in Korea.

It’s true that some brands like Make Up Forever, offer bases in colors other than white…  But considering how expensive MUFE is, I’m not spending my money on something I’ve never tried before.

So The first thing I bought when I got to Korea - Etude house  baby skin base in - GREEN!

I tend to get red and blotchy, and my nose is red all the time (*sigh*).

Green promises to even out redness.

The Baby skin base comes in UGLY packaging.

This is super surprising considering that just about everything in Etude house is adorable…

But it has a hygienic pump top, with cover, so I guess I can’t really complain since it is functional.

Inside, the base is green.

Not just green tinted, or slightly colored, but Green.

It reminds me of Witches make up for Halloween.

Luckily, when applied most of the color dissipates.

Personally it leaves me very very pale.

It doesn’t leave a green cast to the skin, but it does make me look ghastly pale. Sickly almost.

I think someone darker than me might not have that problem…

And if it’s used just on targeted areas, like the nose and blemishes, it’s not a problem.

(Can you see it? If you look carefully you can see the difference between pink and green!)

The texture is soft and smooth, but not like the usual silicone base. It applies smoothly, but only moderately fills in pores/smoothes out skin texture.

If it weren’t for the inexpensive price and the green color. I wouldn’t buy the baby skin base again.

But since the color itself really does  vanish the redness of my nose (Goodbye Rudolph!)

I will definitely be purchasing the Baby skin base in purple soon!!!

Later note: There is no purple baby skin base. Only in the dream base. *sigh*

Happy peppero day!!!!!!!!!

I got tons of peppero/Pocky from my students today!!!!!!

Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream - Sheer silky Skin

Price : 13500 won ($13.50)

Size: 50g

SPF30/PA++

One of the first things I did when I got to Korea was went searching for somewhere that sells Skin79. Having tried out mini’s of 4 different kinds of BB creams, I had fallen in love. And I really really wanted the full size.

To my dismay, I have unable to find anywhere that sells skin79.

So, in the meantime I’ve been using  make up  that gives me ok, but not amazing results.

The Cover girl tru blend foundation. It’s fine, it’s a good color, but it has no added benefits, no skin whitening, or even sun protection.

So, seeing on Lotus palace that the Precious Mineral  BB cream by etude house looked approximately my color, I went out and swatched it.

To my excitement, it was an excellent match.

I’ve now been using it almost daily.

It comes in nice packaging, The tube, with a hygienic pump top and sturdy cover, so it can be stood up. A fact I appreciate.

The appearance of the packaging, while not adorable is a one up on Covergirl.

The color is good. It looks dark when first squirted, but lightens a lot when spread out. Its kind of weird how different it is when blended in.

The color is very beige, with no yellow undertones.

However if applied all over the face it does give a bit of a sallow appearance. Almost as though the base tone is grey instead of yellow. But if you’re not looking for heavy coverage all over the face, this isn’t a big issue.

It’s a thick BB cream. With a nice smooth texture, it spreads nicely and evenly. It gives good coverage I’d say medium, with a little flexibility either way.  There is minimal clumping in fine lines or pores. If applied correctly, and set with loose powder it lasts all day, and is good against a light sweat. 

It does wipe off pretty easy though.

Though the BB cream lists a number of benefits, I haven’t notice any affect on my skin as of yet. Except for sun protection though, I feel any other attributes are a bonus.

Most important is it’s quality as a foundation and a decent SPF level.

Still, I do love the Skin79 BB creams even more than this. So given the choice I would go for them.

However notably there is a significant price difference. The Skin79’s being listed at 3000 won ($30.00) and Etudes house Precious mineral BB is only 13500 won ($13.50) that’s a big difference….

Lots of new items from Etude house!!!!!!

Etude House Juicy pop Tube Lipgloss.

Price: 2500 won (Less than $2.50)

Size: 10g

Comes in 6 colors

I bought two different lip products from Etude house. A tube of sparkly pink lipgloss. And the magic tint balm.

Sadly the Magic Tint balm disappeared before I ever had a chance to use it.

And believe me, I searched for it. But its gone gone gone….

The Etude house Tube lip gloss, is basically what it looks like….

A sparkly pink lip gloss. It was exceptionally cheap at only 2500 won (US $2.50). I really didn’t expect much.

It’s glossy, with a slight rose pink, and scattered sparkles. The sparkles are small and refined, so there is no feeling of rough bits. 

The texture is smooth, and not sticky.

Like similar glosses of this sort, there is almost no lasting power, Maybe an hour or two if one doesn’t eat or drink.

Generally its cute and unexceptional, except for one point, the smell.

I LOVE the smell. It  a subtle sweet lemon scent.

Oh, it’s so good. I love the smell of lemons, and this is light and sweet enough not to smell like cleaner, and subtle enough that only the person wearing it can even smell it.

Etude house moonlight shimmer blush

Price: 8500 ($8.50)

Size: 7g

Comes in 4 colors.

I love highlighters. A highlighter and a coat of mascara go a long way to making skin look even and beautiful.

I don’t find that north American make up brands offer than many highlighters.

At least not in the cheaper, low to mid-range brands.

A few brands like Guerlain (like meteorites line) and Lancôme have beautiful ones, at exorbitant prices…

So finding a good highlighter that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg… Not the easiest.

My old stand by - benefit high beam.

For a highlighter its kind of expensive at $24.

In comparison the Etude house highlighters are a lot cheaper at around $8.5

The Etude house moonlight blusher comes in  a pretty, girly pink compact. It’s small, light and in my opinion cute but not so cutesy as to be tacky (although I am sure tons of people would disagree)

Inside there is a mirror and brush in the same cute style as the compact.

As a general rule, I never use included brushes or applicators. Since they tend to be of super cheap quality, and I have an assortment of beautiful brushes.

However, in this case I make an exception.

The Included brush is beautifully soft. Feels like natural hair rather than synthetic(though I don’t know what it actually is.)

but mostly the wide but flat brush works really well for apply the highlighter.

Its narrow enough to sweep highlighter on the brow bone, without getting it every where. The bristles are soft enough to apply the highlighter lightly, so the application doesn’t look obvious.

And since most of my brushes are either face brush size, or smaller eye shadow sized, I don’t have a brush quite so well suited to application of a highlighter.

As you can see from the pictures, the highlighter is divided into 3 bands of color, white,  pale blue and lavender.

The stripes are wide enough that you can puck up individual colors if you desire, but upon application they all just look white so it’s pointless.

The color of the powder is very WHITE, and cool.

If I apply more than the tiniest bit, it looks like I’ve covered myself in white powder.

The highlighter is also oddly matte.

Honestly, I’ve never come across a matte highlighter.  So the effect is different than I’m used to.

When used sparingly, its one of the subtlest highlighters I’ve ever encountered.

Its subtle enough to work with a soft natural daytime look.

Based on that, I like it. But Its almost unusable for a  glowy face. It’s too white to be applied more than sparingly.

I think on someone darker than I the effect would be even more pronounced, in a bad way…

Benefit - High beam

Price: $24 US at Sephora
Size: 0.45 oz
Even though Benefit is a bit of a cult favorite, it’s not a favorite brand for me. The kitschy packaging is attractive but holds absolutely no appeal to me.  More importantly,  the products  are both unappealing and in my opinion unremarkable…
So other than a few star items, I don’t even bother with benefit.
But I have been trying to find a good, and I mean really good highlighter for ages.
When using Mineral make up, my appearance tends to dry and powdery. So adding a powder highlighter, it doesn’t’t really enhance  a  natural appearance.
I’ve wanted a cream or liquid highlighter.
And if you ever looked for one…. They not exactly easy to find. Everything is powder.
After reading soooo many glowing reviews of High Beam on Sephora, I was stoked to try it..

High beam is  in a clear bottle,  very much like a nail polish bottle, with a similar applicator.  

It’s a light pink. It applies shimmery, but not glittery.

It’s easy to apply.  When applied lightly, is easily subtle enough for day, but an be applied more heavily without looking fake.
Overall it gives the skin a nice dewy look without being obvious.

The only noticeable issue is its weak staying power. It wears of really quickly… Like an hour or two at best…
Still, its definitely a nice product, and a wonderful alternative to powders!

For the next few weeks I'm going to be doing a bunch of reviews on similar items. First up, 3 differnt brands of Highlighters. Soon to come, Mascara, Face masks and Nail polish!

Sheer cover Lip to Lid Highlighters

If you’ve ever used one of the MAC pigments than you know what to expect from the Sheer Cover Lip to Lid Highlighters.

They are basically mineral loose powders. The selling point is the “lip to lid” factor. They can basically be used anywhere! 

They come in three colors

Bronze

Pink

Peach

They are very smooth, lightly pigmented, and very sparkly.  The sparkles are very finely milled mica to compare it to MAC’s pigments, they aren’t nearly as pigmented. As you can see from the pictures of me using them as eye shadows, there isn’t a whole lot of color pay off...

The Bronze color is supposed to also act as a bronzer, to compete with other Mineral lines that have bronzers. But it’s so sparkly I can’t see how anyone could use it as anything more than a highlighter.

EOTD in Bronze and Peach

The peach and the pink work well as highlighters though. I actually love the peach for adding a tiny bit of sparkle to my cheeks. But I think the pink would be really nice on darker skin tones.

They can also be used as lip pigments. Just mix with any lip gloss (clear or translucent are best) then apply with a lip brush.

They work surprising well as a lip color! The colors come across as more pigmented (although they produce a frosted look); they are not too glittery on the lips. Best of all they wear really well, and once the top gloss has work off, they are kiss proof! 

Seriously, the pigment smooth coats the lips (not rough or scratchy at all), so even when you kiss and eat, the pigment stays fused to the lips.

It’s really cool.

Last, but not least, my absolute favourite thing to do with the LTL’s is to use them as a lip highlighter. I take a little of the pigment (peach usually), and line the top inner bow of my lip, then dab a little in the center of my bottom lip. Then top with gloss. Or, if wearing lipstick, apply it for then the Ltl.

It gives an effect just like in magazines, and wears really well.

Banilla co - goodnight kiss

Banilla co is definitely not a cheap brand… I haven’t found a stand alone store for it yet in Korea, but have only encountered it in department stores (never a good sign!)

Anyway, I’ve been dying to try Banilla co’s Goodnight Kiss since I read a review of it on Lotus Palace. Most lip treatments I encounter are day time treatments… or mentholated, or just plain suck.

*sigh*

When I travel my lips get super chapped, and remain dry for up to weeks after. I bought Nivea’s kiss care out of desperation. But it sucks! It barely helped at all.

My lips remained chapped even days after I had settled in here.

The remained chapped until I found Banilla co, and bought goodnight kiss.

Then poof, the morning after using, My lips were no longer chapped, no longer peeling, and completely normal.

Thank god.

The product comes in a squeeze tube, but its sooo thick its really hard to get it to come out.

I prefer a squeeze tube to a little pot for lip treatments, but in this case, the product should have been put into different packaging.

It’s not a big issue though, just irritating.

The product itself is milky white and very different than a Vaseline based lip treatment. Its smooth and silky, but the texture is different somehow.

There is almost no taste, and I can’t detect a scent.

One minor issue though, is unlike Vaseline, this stuff disappears quickly.

I presume it’s being absorbed by my lips, but sometimes you want a oil based layer to seal the outside of your lips, especially for a night time treatment.

This lead me to the discovery that the product works best when worn to bed under a layer of Vaseline.

You get the best of both worlds really.

And the combination of the two is the best lip treatment 

Nature reserve -facial mist  

Morocan Rose

60ml

Price 3,300 won ($2.76 US)

I don’t usually use a face mist.  In fact, I don’t know anyone who does….

But since using Sheer cover, and mineral foundations, I’ve found that what I once though was completely unnecessary can actually be pretty useful.

A face mist can be used to hydrate the face before applying make up, it helps create a moist canvas so make up sticks better and lasts longer

Or to refresh dried out make up.

With drying mineral powders, a face mist works super well. When my make starts to not looks so fresh and pretty, a quick squirt and it moistens the face powder, making my make up look closer to flawless.

Although…. Since discovering BB creams I use my Mineral makeups less and less.

But it’s still nice after a long day at work, a quick spritz is kind of like a jolt of coffee, perks you up so you can make it though those last few  hours.

I have an aversion to anything that smells like old lady or baby powder. And generally anything rose scented falls into one of those two categories.

But I LOVE the scent of the ‘ Morocan rose’. (That’s how it’s spelt on the bottle… I thought Moroccan had to cc’s but hey…)

It smells almost like real roses. Like I ‘ve just stuck my head into a dozen beautiful blooms.

Ah…

I even chose this scent over the other, Love Hawaii. Which is coconut and tropical. And when you consider that nearly half of all my perfumes have coconut or pineapple notes,  and NONE have rose, this scent has to be pretty special.