Showing posts with label black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black. Show all posts

Friday, April 30, 2010

Tony Moly Nail star - Two way Nail art pen and brush

Tony Moly Nail star - Two way Nail art pen and brush
Price: 3000won


The Nail star nail polish is really cool. It's both a tiny pen and long thing brush. perfect for Nail art. Or at least it would be if I was any good at nail art....
It comes in two colors, black and white. I picked up the black. Mostly because tony moly was out of white when I was there.
That's fine. I'm bored of white French tips, and black is way more fun :)
The super thin long brush is designed for doing tips, or long thin lines. Since I'm not very good at doing tips, my results are... Ok. The best I could hope for really.


I like better than the brush, the teeny tiny little metal tip. With it I can do really lovely drops, and even designs. With actual successful results. (yay!) Plus, attached to the bottom of the bottle is a small metal wire for cleaning the tip when it gets clogged (which doesn't happen too often).
The black polish is thicker than regular polish. But it's also really weird. It's kind of like black tar, and I have to be really careful with it. It's incredibly staining. If it get in on my cuticles, or the skin on my fingers, they will remain stained for days.... Even when applied over polish and a base coat this stuff will sink though and stain my nails. It's really intense.  And these stains will not rub off with regular nail polish remover....


I will not be buying this nail art polish again. I really love the bottle, the brush and tip. But I do not like the polish inside!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Etude House- Code B strong eyes cream eye liner

Etude House- Code B strong eyes cream eye liner

I have been a loyal user of Kate by Kanebo’s (Japanese brand) cream eyeliner for a long time. It is, in my opinion, the best eyeliner ever.
But, being here in Korea, Kate isn’t a brand easily available. Sure I could ship it in, but I’m trying to use more local stuff.
So when Etude house came out a combo pack with the  Code B eye liner and a mini of my favorite BB cream, I bought it almost compulsively.
There’s something about mini’s that just does me in.

The liner itself is boxed in a cute box, the look of the Code B item’s is very different from Etude House’s usually pink and frilly style. To me it looks a little James Bond.
A weird, but not bad, departure from the norm.
Inside is a little Jar, that looks very similar to Kate’s liner and nearly all brands of cream eye liner. But unlike Kate’s, this jar is.
This is a huge improvement in my opinion.
As some one who gets a lot of stuff over the internet, from half way across the world, plastic makes shipping cheaper. and really, what good are glass bottle anyways?
And once, I dropped one of my kate jars, and chipped a huge piece of glass from the bottom. The jars are super sturdy, considering the whole thing didn’t crack, but a huge chip f glass is pointlessly dangerous.
Another plus of the packaging, the brush is attached right to the lid of the jar.
Now this feature also drives me up the wall. It makes screwing on the lid needlessly complicated, with the brush flinging every where. Now, I flip the whole thing over and screw the bottom into the cap.
With the Kate line, I have bought, I think 6 jars of the liner. Currently I have 2 brushes….
So, it’s worth putting up with the hassle of an attached brush, simply to prevent me from loosing it.
The brush itself…. It’s not very good.
The quality is fine. The brush tip is soft, and tight. The handle can be pushed into the cap to lengthen it(then you have the cap dangling from the end, so I don’t).
But the brush tip is super wide and thick.
It’s way to wide for a liner.
I use the side, the narrowest side.
But still! It’s almost big enough to be an eye shadow brush! It’s absolutely ridiculous.
The liner inside the pot, is a good solid black.
The consistency is thinner and creamer than Kate’s, and a lot less dry. Because of this, the liner is easier to apply (slightly), and the jar last longer, because Kate’s has a tendency to dry out.
This thinner wetter consistency does mean a slight compromise in staying power.
As some one with a tendancy to rub my eyes, I need a liner that stays put. This liner barely flakes with even intense rubbing.
And stays put for all of a work day. But you will probably have to reapply before going out.
With Kate, you’re good all day, all night, and into the next morning.

Code B hasn’t converted me, but with that said, I definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn’t need intense lasting power, or doesn’t wear liner everyday, or  has any issues with products drying out.
Plus, since it’s almost half the price of Kate’s liner, it’s a great buy.