The broken :(

I haven't had much luck with eyeshadows. Singles tend to be of terrible quality, quads and trios are much nicer, but then, there is always one color I use more than all the others. One color that I always want in a single.

This Trio was finally one that I loved each and every color. They blended seamless, and looked fantastic.

But.... It broke, and It's skin stopped making it....
So There is no EOTD, because I dropped the compact, and it turned to a powdered mess.

But I wanted to show you what once was a lovely compact, and share my woe.....

It's skin - Color play - Trio Eyeshadow

Price : 6000won I think....
 It's a baked shadow, with a light, dark and in between shade. I got a trio of cool bronzes. The compact is super simple, a mirrorless matte black.

The show really doesn't look like much.... But trust me, it was gorgeous....

*sigh*

Skinfood Biscuit Eye shadow Duo

Skinfood Biscuit Eyeshadow Duo

Price 5,900won (Less than $6)

Color : 3 - pink and gold

Color: 6 - green and copper

Do you see the adorable little biscuit shaped eyeshadow? I squealed when I saw it! It is Sooooo tiny and adorable!

It is in the shape of a little Korean biscuit. The kind that comes free with Alcohol sometimes. Usually with delicious fresh fruit juice and soju!

I had to snap one little compact immediately.

Inside the golden biscuit, are two colors of shadow, imprinted with stars. On  the top, there is a teeny tiny mirror.

The mirror is almost too small to be useful. But I like that fact that Skinfood included a mirror. I feel it shows quality.

Obviously there isn't any room for a brush. So when I bought my first biscuit eyeshadow, it didn't come with one, but I noticed later that little sponge applicators were included within the plastic wrapping sealing it shut. I ended up with an applicator when I bought the second shadow. Then promptly lost it, since there is no room for it inside, and no way to attach it outside.

I picked the pink and gold duo initially.  Texturally the shadows are Gorgeous, smooth and silky. They feel like really good quality shadows.  The pink and gold are really nice. The pink is of average to medium pigmentation, and the gold is sheer. Both have little  gold sparkles and are shimmery. The sparkles are tiny, and the shimmer isn't too pronounced.

Later I bought the dark army green and copper. Even though the green looks really dark, it comes out kind of sheer! It's kind of odd.... The green also has a gold sheen to it.  The copper is just how it looks,  and very similar to the gold. I don't really like the green and copper duo..... But it's because I don't like how the green looks on me. I feel it makes me look drab and old...... Blah.

The pink and gold duo I love.  The colors look really pretty on. It is the tiniest eyeshadow compact I've ever owned, and makes for the easiest eye look. I took it with me Backpacking, along with a cream eyeliner, highlighter and BB cream. It was super minimal (for me.....)

This eyeshadow is sooooo perfect, because it is soooo tiny.

Holika Holika Single shadows

Holika Holika Single shadows

Price: 4000 won ($4)

Every Korean brand has its own line of single shadows. I  find, they suck. Even a normally nice brand cheaps out on its singles.

But, I like singles. Almost every time I buy a duo, trio or quad, I use up one color LONG before the rest.

There are just some colors I use a lot. So I have been in search of decent Korean singles. (lol) My search isn’t over. Holika’s singles are ok looking. The packaging isn’t bad. A clear top with a silver or black bottom (silver is for the metallic shadows). Their logo is imprinted into the powder.
They are also designed to be easily depottable.

Inside the shadows are pretty generic, but the quality is pretty good. Better than I usually see in singles. The colors are nicely pigmented, apply smoothly and last well.

I bought two colors, both are copper, in the same tone, that coordinate beautifully. One is a dark copper, the other is a lighter copper. The colors in the silver case, the 'metallics' are more pigmented. It is the darker and slightly more orange of the two. I use it as a liner and for shading. The lighter color is less pigmented, and applies a lot lighter than it looks in the pot. 

The colors are nice, not that exciting, and tend to be a little orange. The overall quality is decent, they last, and have decent pigmentation. They don't sound amazing, but.....honestly, they are the best Korean single shadows I have encountered.

The Face shop - Prorance – eye shadow

The Face Shop - Prorance – eye shadow

Price : Forgotten... But it was between $4 and 6

So this little white eye shadow is a bit of an aberration. The face shop has lots of different eye shadows, in lots of different packaging. But his white eye shadow was the only one in the whole series. I noticed it not long after it came out, sitting next to all the other types of eye shadows, in very different packaging. Every other line of eye shadow at the faceshop has Numerous colors.  They even have a sample board, with one of every color de-potted on it, for testing (rather than having the single pots you open yourself). This wasn’t part of any of the color lines, any of the eye shadow lines, it wasn’t on the sample board.

Sure there was lots of the white shadow, but no other colors.

I just found it really odd.

So, I had to buy it. Without testing it! Something I almost never do!

And it is exactly as it appears, a white eyeshadow. With a pressed diamond imprint (which is different from the pressed pattern on all the other shadows!)

But truly, the white shadow is unlike any I’ve encountered. It is VERY white. It is VERY opague. It is the perfect white shadow. I find white shadows are often soft, so when applied to the corner of the eyes, they blend in, or it takes coats and coats to get it to look really white.

This is the perfect white for in the corner of the eyes, or lining beneath the eye. It does have a bit of a pearly sheen to it, and some white sparkle, but since I never use it as an all over shadow, the sparkle is minimal, and the pearly sheen is lovely!

Favorite Makeup of 2010 !!!

Favorite Makeup of 2010

Mmmmm Makeup. I think I've bought more Makeup in the past year the the sum of my entire life... Korea has such a wealth of inexpensive, but amazing make up. It felt like every time I left the house I would run into something amazing that I just had to have.

But I had a hard time making this list. My favorite skin care list was Easy. Makeup, is harder. Even though I tried lots of things, and liked many of them, a lot of them weren't things that I would go back and buy again and again.....
But there are certainly a number of amazing things I've found :)

Foundation/ BB

Let me introduce you to the BEST BB cream ever!!! It's the 'Absolute total BB' by Skin79.

It's super expensive at 29900 won($30!!), but on g-market it can be  as cheap as $9 :).

It is light, but with great coverage, super natural, makes my skin feel better after using it, has an SPF of 37 PA +++. It's AMAZING. I am almost done my second tube!


Highlighter

I'm willing to bet most of you have heard amazing things about Benefit's liquid highlighter (high beam and moon beam). I myself thought it sounded so good, I bought it. It's true, It's lovely. But this, Lime secret shine base by skinfood is SO much better! For one thing, it's huge, 30g compared with High beam at 12g(.45oz)
For another, Skinfood lime shine base costs only $7 less than 1/2 the price of Benefit's($24)!
Plus it has a more liquid consistency (easier to blend), looks more natural, comes in 3 colors, and smells lovely.
I use it every day, I mix a little into my BB foundation, and I get SO many compliments on my skin. I have bought all 3 colors, and doubles of those.... It's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Awesome!


Eyeshadow

It's skin Color play trio

I had a lot of trouble picking out a favorite eyeshadow this year. I found lots of nice ones, ones I liked. But some how all of them were less than exceptional. But then I remembered this BEAUTIFUL eyeshadow that I bought at It's skin. This gorgeous baked trio that was so smooth, so fine and blended so beautifully. It broke after I had used it maybe twice, then I couldn't it in stores... :(


Mascara

Holika Holkia -Enamel Magicara

For a long time Majolica Majorica has produced my Favorite mascara's. Their Mascaras are always exceptional. But Majolica is Japanese, and I have been living in Korea.
So when I encountered this mascara by Holika Holika, that looked freakisly similar to my fav from Majolica, I was sold.
And while the brush style is different, the mascara is exceptional. Big full lashes, long lasting, and not quite as hard to take of as Mojolica's.
It's a winner.

Lip tint

Etude House's Fresh Cherry Tint

When I was young, and I first got into make up, I thought lip tints were amazing. But as I got older I began to notice how immature the results were, how patchy, the colors odd, few choices, and a funny taste. 
The Fresh Cherry tint is beautiful, creamy, goes on evenly, has a lovely color (there are 3 options) and generally looks nice!


Nails

Face shop nail polish

Finally, my favorite nail polish.  There isn't just one..... Korean nail polish is cheap, good quality and comes in a million colors. It is an addiction.
Shown is one of my favorites, a subtle gold glitter(who would have thought), that is subtle and work appropriate. It just always looks beautiful!


So, that's it for my favorites of 2010, but coming up next, my MOST HATED products of 2010. Disasters, wastes of money and break outs galore!

Holika Holika Aqua jelly Trio!

Greetings Bloggers!

I’m Back officially!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It took me a while to get here, I am no longer in Korea, and am now in the possession of a new Laptop, with which to blog.

But as exciting as all this is, here is My first post.

With a little bit of the peculiar from Holika Holika!

 For the summer season(2010) Holika Holika released a new line called Aqua Jelly.  The colors and look, bright pastels, all done in cheap plastics, did not suit the style of Holika Holika at all. But then again, Holika Holika has tons of stuff that doesn’t suit the witchy, border line gothic style.

The selling feature of the whole Jelly line is awesome, its all about moisture J. I personally have dry skin (ugh which is s so irritating). So a line of moisture enhanced beauty products, sounds good to me!

But does anyone else think it’s a bit odd for them to be releasing a moisture line for the summer? Don’t most brands do that for the winter?

The line included, foundation and highlighters in jello type molds (cute and different). I tested the foundation out, and it’s lovely, it smooth, and the texture is quite unlike a jelly, but it is very moist . I really wanted it, but the lightest of the two shades was WAY too dark for me. And the highlighter was far to similar to other highlighters I have to justify bothering….

Lip glosses, in totally boring cheap looking packaging.

And this thing…. The Aqua petit Jelly – Triple kit.

I was shopping at the new Holika Holika store in Ulsan(korea) with a friend, and I came across the triple kit in a display. I picked it up, tested it on the back of my hand, and was suitably puzzled.

What in the world is it for?

So of course I had to immediately buy it and find out!

What it is, is an eye cheek and lip kit.

It has three products, purple sparkly, peach sparkly,  and green gloss.

And when you mix the purple and the peach, you get pink.

So you can where these products anywhere. The purple and the peach can be applied directly onto the eyelids as a cream shadow, or on the checks as a blush. The green gloss, is meant to go on the lips. When applied alone, it applies clear, or when applied in combination with the other colors, it goes on colored.

The little tube at the top of the case, is a double ended sponge applicator.

So, what do I think of the kit?

It’s stupid.

Here are the colors swatched. The colors are accurate(My skin is currently really pale...)

After the three colors, the shiny bit, is the gloss...

The purple and peach colors are boring and weak. The texture doesn’t work well as an eye shadow at all. It’s better as a blush, but still very weak.  They are creamy but dry, very much like other bad cream eye shadows I have tried, and they dry out, with a tendency to clump. The gloss itself isn't glossy, it's more like lip balm.
And the colors mixed with the gloss are too dry to be a gloss.

The whole kit seems like something you get for kids. You know the kind, with magic makeup that changes color, and is easy to wash off…

What a waste!

Tony Moly- Backstage self smoky eye collection.

Tony Moly- Backstage self smoky eye collection.
Price: 14500won ($14.50)

Ah, I have a fetish for packaging. Mini things, or  travel sizes, or multiple items, or compartments. That's the sort of thing that makes me snatch up the most un-necessary things.

The Tony Moly Backstage self smokey eye collection is a black cream eyeliner, with two baked (i think) shadows, and a brush, all in one sleek compact.
And since I ADORE cream eyeliners, and smoky looks, I had to buy this!

Luckily for me, the eyeliner, while you basic black cream is lovely. It's NOT the perfect balance between wet and dry. More dry creams are longer lasting, whereas wetter/looser cream shadows are easier to apply(dry ones clump and flake sometimes.) it's not the Best cream eye liner I have, it's too creamy, too wet. It tends to smudge.      Of course all creams do when first applied... But this one never really dries down.  So I can smear my eyeliner half way through the day. That just sucks.
But tony Moly liner is smooth, deeply pigmented and lasts quite well. As long as I don't rub my eyes, or I set it with a bit of shadow, it's fine. And really, I'm picky about my creams, and it's not actually bad.

The shadows above, are in dark brown and taupe. The box didn't claim baked, but other than the name, there was no English on the box, so I can't be sure.
The colors are lovely, if on the cool side. The create a nice natural look. Both are pigmented, with a nice shimmer.
The eyeshadow's are really nice quality. They aren't flakey, or dry, they apply smoothly and last well. Generally to the end of the work day.
The price is a lot for an eyeliner and eyeshadow here in Korea.  Eyeliners are usually between 8and 10, and bake eyeshadow around 7-10, but considering the liner is half the size of my Etude house liner, and the eyeshadow is less than half the size of the baked trio from face shop....  It seems like a bit much.

All in all I really like this little set. It's a nice 'collection' great for a clean professional look.  But for the price, and the quality, it's more of a gimmick that a worthwhile buy.

Banilla co lip scrub, gloss and eye shadow!!

Banilla Co

Rub me -Lip scrub

The Secret gloss

Eye love -Aqua shadow

The Secret gloss: 7,500 won ($7.50)
Rub me -Lip scrub: 7,500 won ($7.50)
Eye love -aqua shadow: 8,500 won ($8.50)
I was in Seoul last weekend with some co-workers, and I got the chance to go to Banilla co. Here in Ulsan, there is only a stand in one of the department stores, and the sales ladies are super pushy! So I actually Hate shopping there.

But in Seoul the store was so packed, the sales people were too busy to dab a gazillion things on me.


I only picked up a couple of items, Rub me - Lip scrub and the Secret gloss in Horrible (not really, actually its 03 Cloudy Pink) The Eye love -aqua shadow was actually a free gift! and since it's retail price is more than either of the items I actually bought.... Yay!

Rub me -Lip scrub

As I adore the Banilla co kiss me lip treatment, I thought I would pick up the coordinating lip scrub.
I really like the packaging on the scrub. It's pretty in metallic, with lovely script, but completely functional. It's not in some deep pot that you have scoop out, or some other pretty but non-functioning packaging. 
The scrub itself is white, creamy, with small scrubbing particles. The scrub/ roughness factor on this scrub is really low. It works, but not stupendously. I'd like something a bit more intense. The cream to exfoliant ratio is too high (too much creamy base) to be a really good scrub.
and since my yogurt cleanser from Etude house tastes yummy and is a great scrub, I just use it instead! (Plus the whole giant tube from Etude house is about the same price as the tiny one just for your lips from Banilla co!)

The Secret gloss in 03 Cloudy Pink

I HATE the color of this gloss. UGH.. I only bought it because a saleslady applied it on me. 
It looked gorgeous then.... In the store, over top my already colored lips.
Ugh. It is, as it looks in the tube too milky white, so it makes my lips look pale, but since it's a gloss and not a lipstick, it looks uneven, pale in some parts, and pinker in others where the gloss is thinner. Even with a beautiful application, or a super thin layer, it still looks wonky :(.
The compostion of the gloss though is really beatiful. It's thick and glossy, without being too sticky, and has a pretty long staying power. I will definately rebuy this line of glosses, and just pick a better more flattering color for me!

Eye love - Aqua shadow

This eyeshadow is an awesome freebie, it's a full size product, in an atrocious color. I'm sure there are talented people out there who can really work with this baby blue color. I can't. I can't help but think Mimi from the Drew Carey show....

However, despite the color this is a beautiful cream eyeshadow. Possibly the best I've ever encountered. It is cream, well pigmented, and applies smoothly. There is some sparkle, but it's not too heavy.
Once the cream dries, it is immovable. It's quite amazing. It will last all day (I've worn it a couple of times under other colors), and when I applied it to the back of my hand, it even remained through a hot shower!!!!
If I can find this in another color, I will definitely buy it, and maybe a few of them. Just not in blue...

Missha -Easy styling make up kit in retro scarlet

Missha -Easy styling make up kit in retro scarlet 

Price :15000won($14.99) on sale 8000($8)
I hate pre-assembled make-up kits with cream/gloss and powder products.
The only way an eye and lip palette works is if the products are all creamy, with no powders.
And to make things worse, now there are eyeshadow palettes with creams and powders!!!
It doesn’t work! The powder crumbles, or creates dust, even if you are super careful!!!!
So why in the Hell did I buy a kit containing lipstick and powder eyeshadow?????
Well….. My Korean is not very good.
In the Missha store this is this whole little counter with single eyshadows in disposable packaging. They are meant to be inserted into an empty palette.
Right next to they eyeshadows, there are the empty palettes, two types, a big one and a small one.
And oddly, right mixed in was the Makeup kit….
Huh?
There is nothing else on the counter but these eyeshadows and empty palettes.
Quite honestly I had no idea.
So I got home, and was perplexed. This is the sort of thing I would never buy, in colors they I am not inclined to use… But considering I was expecting it to be an empty palette, I can’t complain too much.

The easy styling makeup kit contains two lipsticks, one in red and one in orange.

There is a cream eyes shadow in a sparkly mauve, and two powders in a light purple hued blue and a dark purple.

To me it seems like a weird combination.
The red lipstick is a nice retro color. But the bright bright orange? And to put the two together?
Then the pale blue eyeshadow along with the mauve cream?
I mean I get some of the colors together.
But wouldn’t a black cream liner have been a better choice? Or something that goes with orange???
I mean picture the blue eyeshadow with the orange lips….

Also included in the kit are two brushes. A dual eyeshadow/cream eyeshadow applicator and a lip brush.
The lip brush is a good addition because the lip colors are lipstick, not lip gloss, not even lip creams.

With a gloss you can get away with applying it with your fingers (although that’s another reason I hate combo kits). If you attempted to apply these lip colors with your fingers you would make a serious mess.
With all that said the composition of the lipsticks is really nice. They are quite dry, and very matt.
This works for the retro look in my opinion. The red color is actually an excellent red. The tone is a bit cool, although neutral enough that my warmer tones can wear it attractively.
The orange possibly might have been included to warm up the red…. Maybe? When mixed though the red is pretty fluorescent.

Because the lipsticks are so matt the wear time is amazing. They lasted through eating and being out for a few hours, without reapplying.
The cream eyeshadow also fared very well in the wear-ability. It lasts for much much longer than cream shadows usually do.
It is also a very dry cream. It’s also quite translucent.
I find this odd, I assumed it would act like an eye liner.
But maybe it’s meant as an eyeshadow base.
The color in the pan is really pretty, but when applied it kind of looks like a sparkly bruise.
This is mostly due to the transparency. With a couple of layers the color does show true.
The powder shadows are silky smooth and really beautiful . When applied to the lids and shaded together they are really really beautiful.
They do not last as the rest of the make up in this kit.
So oddly you have to reapply the powder eyeshadow before the lipstick…
I think this is mostly because they are so silky and soft.

Conclusion: Though this kit is not something I meant to buy, and the colors are a bit odd, I liked the actual components so much I bought the kit as a gift , in a different set of colors!

Missha single eyeshadows and palettes

Missha - Single Eyeshadows and empty Multi shadow case

Small shadow -3500won, ($3) On sale $1
Large shadow - 4200won ($4) On sale $2
Small Palette- 9000won ($8.5) 0n sale $3
Large Palette- 1500won ($14)  On Sale $5

I adore pre-made eyeshadow palettes. I think my eye for colors is pretty good, but with most pre-made palettes they are quick easy and create beautiful results. Well, when you get them from good Makeup brands.

The make your own eye shadow palette thing is not something I’m really into… There are a few colors I use a lot, but then I just buy a couple of singles.

The Missha single eyeshadows and empty palettes were on sale, for 50% off.

That’s sooo cheap. Plus the brand’s few pre-made sets looked…. Ugly.

So I bought two empty palettes, a small and a large, and an assortment of colors. I bought a couple that I use all the time, and some random colors just to mix things up.

The palettes themselves are really nice.

The large one is a pale(almost white)sparkly pink on top, with the usual Missha mirror finish on back.

The palette is sturdy plastic. Inside the mirror takes up the whole of the cover. Large enough to actually do ones make up.

The case fits 4 large eyeshadows and four small. The liner that holds the shadows in place is a stiff sponge, making them stable but relatively easy to switch out.

Also included is the standard eyeshadow applicator.

The smaller case is done completely in the mirror finish. Which of course picks up finger prints like crazy.

But when it’s polished it looks so sleek….

The inside is hard plastic, unlike the larger palette. But the back has small holes to depot the eyeshadows. I prefer this personally, even though use eye shadows tend to make a mess when tipped upside down. Still it’s better than the sponge, because I tend to be clumsy, and more than a few times have I accidentally gouged a chunk out of an eyeshadow.

The mirror and applicator are also included in this size.

Both were on sale. I paid $5 for the large and $3 for the small. Completely different from the original price.

I purchased 11 eyeshadows in total.

Small -VL207 (dark purple with small blue sparkles)

- BR204 (Bronze with gold sparkles)

- GL202 (Acid green with white sparkles)

-WH301 (white with white sparkles)

-KH201 (looks wine in the pan but applies as a dark slightly metallic brown)

- Unknown number (dark slate grey)

Large- No. 10 (grey/ midnight)

-GL02( warm shimmer gold with some white sparkles)

-BE01 (Shimmer bronze with no sparkles)

-08 (Dark shimmer bronze and light shimmer pink)

The main difference between the small shades and the larger, is the fact the small ones contain sparkle. The only larger shade I bought with sparkle, the gold, has barely any.

And I realize I bought two nearly identical colors, but bronze is the color I wear most. So it only makes sense!

The shadows are smooth and silky. They apply beautifully. They are a tiny bit powdery. Though this varies by color. The two liner colors are of a different composition and apply almost like a cream. They are not at all powdery.

The most sparkly are also the most powdery, the small green, bronze and white.

The shadows in general have very good color pay off. The bronze and white being the least. As for lasting power, they are pretty average. The last the whole day for me, fading somewhat but still looking lovely.

Though I really like my new shades, and the palettes to put them in, they aren’t special enough to pay full price for. If they ever go on sale again, I will definitely pick up more shades.