[REVIEW] The Face Shop High Lighter Beam

The Face Shop ~ The High Lighter Beam 13ml ~ around 7 000 Won($7 USD)

As one of The Face Shop's best selling products, The High Lighter Beam should be familiar to most Korean beauty lovers. My first impression of this was that it looked a lot like the Benefit's High Beam. The entire bottle looks the same and even the name sounds the same. I've never tried the Benefit's High Beam before so I can't compare the two.

There is also a gold version called the Gold Highlighter Beam. I believe that one is for darker and warmer skin tones.

The product comes in a glass jar with a plastic lid. It reminds me very much of a large nail polish jar.

 The nail polish- like applicator is okay for precision. You can apply the highlighter to specific areas but it can often apply on too much product.

 The actual product is a pinkish pearl. It's a nice consistency that is not too watery nor thick. It doesn't contain any noticeable shimmer.

It blends out easily. However, on my face, especially on top of makeup, I can feel this product blending a bit patchy. It definitely looks like I've got noticeable highlighter on. As a result it really looks like I've product on my face rather than the glow from within lit.  I would say the finishing result of this product appears more like a powder highlight than a liquid highlight. For a more flawless application, I recommend that you mix a bit of this into your foundation before you apply it. The staying power of this product is really nice. I could still see the product at the end of a long day.

Over all, I think this is worth a try if you are looking for a cheap liquid high lighter. The finish is a little bit too noticeable for my taste so I will just be sticking to my regular high lighters.

Thanks for reading!

2 comments highlighter, review, The face shop

Dior Addict Lipstick in 554 "It Pink"

The other day, while I was swatching some of my newer lipsticks, I reached over and picked up my Dior lipstick in the color "554 It Pink". It's my only Dior Addict lipstick. What makes this lipstick so special that it cost so much more than my other lipsticks? I wondered. Upon swatching it on my arm, I found new admiration for this lipstick. It glided on my skin easily with what looked like a gel base - unlike any lipstick I currently own. I decided to go on the Dior website to find out more about it.

The Dior Website describes it as:

Dior ushers in a new era in lip makeup with the breakthrough creation of a lipstick that boasts a hydra-gel core with a top coat effect for sensational mirror shine. 
Concentrated in the shape of a CD at the center, the ultra-moisturizing soft core runs the full length of the stick. Application after application, it works like a top coat, adding an extra dose of shine and lasting colour with unbelievable comfort.

This lipstick range in their Hydra-Gel Core Mirror Shine range - something I didn't know. The claims are pretty spot on. I found 554 It Pink to be extremely comfortable on the lips. It glided on without any tugging and didn't cling onto any dry patches. There is a shine that comes from the lipstick but it's nowhere near the effects of a lipgloss. This gel formula really makes my lips look plump with hydration. Surprisingly, I found this lipstick to be pretty long-lasting as well. It does come off onto cups and stuff but it still gives colour.

554 It Pink is a really natural colour on my skin. It's a beautiful sheer pink with a touch of coral. It's definitely on the sheerer side. The opacity of the lipsticks range from colour to colour.

Even after swipes on the lips, the colour is still quite sheer. It really reminds me more of a lip balm because the colour is so sheer and it's so moisturizing.

I haven't picked it up (along with the blush) this year because of a negative mugging experience that happened last Christmas. Perhaps it's time to shake off that negative experience and take this lipstick out again.

Thanks for reading!

Leave a Comment Dior, high end, lipstick, review

[REVIEW] Origins Bestsellers Set + Bite Beauty Kir Royale Swatches (250 point reward)

Oh Sephora, how you tempt me so with all your fabulous holiday gift sets.

As I've been quite preoccupied the past month, one of the things I've neglected was skincare. As a result, I didn't notice that I was running out of everything - eye cream, moisturizer, cleanser, etc. So when browsing Sephora one night, I saw this skincare set. It had everything that I needed so I didn't hesitate in making a purchase. 

The Origins Bestseller Set retails for $42 USD / $50 CDN (and is said to be of $100 USD / $125 CDN value) on Sephora.com - just enough to also qualify for free shipping!

Read more »

Leave a Comment Bite Beauty, cosmetics, haul, Origins, sephora, skincare

[REVIEW] Tony Moly Crystal Blushers #3,4,5,12,16

If you're a blush lover and want to collect many different colors for your collection, Tony Moly Crystal Blushers are a great option to consider. They currently have 16 colors in their collection.

When I first started purchasing Korean makeup I was looking for a good bronzer. Since Koreans don't wear bronzers the way that women in North America did, I had a hard time finding one. There were many options for glowy skin, but each Korean store I visited seem to only have one shade suitable for bronzing. At that time my friend recommended me #7 which had just won the Get It Beauty Blind test award. 

Read more »

8 comments blush, blusher, cosmetic, Korean, Tony Moly

Finding Treasures... in My Own Treasure Chest

Our society is so fast paced these days. There's constantly things to do, goals to achieve, and new things to buy that we often forget to appreciate the things we already have. 

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada and to celebrate, in a beauty sense, I'd like to share with you some of the treasures I've rediscovered in my collection. These are things I used to love, people used to hype about, used to use, and then forgotten when new collections came out. 

Some of these things may be discontinued, but the purpose of this post is not to encourage you to go buy it but rather to look into your collections and rediscover things that you used to love. 

MUA MAKEUP ACADEMY PROFESSIONAL: Heaven and Earth Palette - in 2012, after the hype of the Urban Decay Palettes, these were said to be the next best thing in the drugstore makeup realm. I purchased quite a few during their sale and in the picture is one of my backups. The quality is decent but the plastic case is just weak.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain: Smitten - moisturizing, longlasting, highly pigmented and still one of the best drugstore lip products.

Nature Republic Nature Island Eye Shadow: PK104 - one of the prettiest individual shadows I own

Wet n Wild: Silent Treatment and Walking on Eggshells - still the best drugstore eyeshadows I've used. I've completely fallen back in love with these - esp. the taupe in Silent Treatment. After shattering two of these palettes, I've gotten quite a few more stashed away.

Sasatinnie Oil Blotting Paper - smells like roses and does its job

Innisfree Mineral Glow Base - at one point, this used to be quite raved upon. It doesn't have any shimmers in it but gives a "moisture" glow.

Thanks for reading~ I'd love to hear what you've discovered in your treasure chest.

2 comments Holiday, Innisfree, MUA, Nature republic, revlon, Sasa, Wet n' Wild

[Review & Dupe Alert] Banila Co Style Eyeliner in Deep Black. Dupe for Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On in Perversion

Banila Co. is one of my favorite brands in Korea. They are well known for their amazing primers like Its Shiny primer and their cleansing balms like Clean It Zero (reviewed here). Their prices fall in the mid range – more expensive than the average road shop but not as expensive as department stores (although you can find Banila Co at some department stores – but it’s likely that it’s on the women’s fashion floor rather than on the first floor with all the other cosmetic brands like Sum37 and Hera).

Today, I will be reviewing one of their eyeliners: Style Eye Love Eyeliner Pencil Deep Black.

Claims

·      Easy drawing

·      Water-proof

·      Longwearing

·      Smudge-proof

Banila Co Style Eye Love Eyeliner is a traditional pencil liner that has intense pigmentation and dries to a matte finish.

How does it perform?

I had a lot of expectations from this liner as it’s from Banila Co. It’s richly intense and easily one of the darkest blacks in my collection. It’s also really smooth.  However, here is a problem. The pencil is so smooth and buttery that it’s hard to get a sharp thin line. The tip gets blunt easily and the pencil needs to be sharpened regularly - even then, it's still hard to get a sharp tip. It does not twist up.

With one stroke, you can get a very dark black line which dries down to a matte finish. My eyelids are really oily and tends to smudge most eyeliners. This one smudges on me. I notice, the liner transferring onto my bottom lid within three hours. Because of that, I wouldn't say it's smudge proof nor long wearing on me. When I swatched this on my arm however, I notice that it was budge proof  so perhaps if your eye area isn't really oily at all, this will have a better staying power on you. I've tested this liner under running water, and it's true to it's waterproof claim.

The biggest problem of all? It gets on my contacts! This is a big issue because, once it gets onto my contacts, my vision gets all blurry to the point where I can’t really see and I have to wash my contacts. I wore this out one day to a park and every half hour, I had to wash my contacts. This has never happened to me before so I was both confused and annoyed. Contact lens wearers, you’ve been warned. I always use black liner for the upper waterline and the top lid. I've never had this problem before. Perhaps if you don't line your waterline, you can avoid this problem.

The consistency of this eyeliner really reminds me of the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils.  Upon comparison, I've found that they perform exactly. This is an exact dupe if not even the same product just in different packaging.

Here are the similarities between the Banila Co’s Deep Black vs. Urban Decay in Perversion. 

• They are both intense black liners that glide and melt on the lids.
• Both pencil liners that need to be sharpen regularly
• They have the same wet surface when first used and dry to the same matte look
• They flake the same way and at the same time
• When being removed, they both have the same dark ivy green base
• Wear time, water-proof, smudging is exactly the same
• Both are Made in Germany
• Both shrink away from the wooden part of the pencil
• Both can get onto contacts and create blurry parts. I've personally experienced this with the Banila Co. I haven't worn the UD Perversion with contacts so I can't say for that one from personal experience. However, reviewers on Reddit, Amazon, and Sephora have mentioned that UD Perversion creates blurry spots on their contact lenses as well. 

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On retails for $20 USD for 0.04oz on Sephora.
Banila Co. Style Eye Love Liner retails for 14 000 Won (around $14 USD) for 0.04oz in stores and $18.60 on Amazon.

I haven't actually discovered anything different about them besides the packaging.

BC = Banila Co - the top line is purely with Banila Co Eye Love

UD = Urban Decay - the bottom line is purely with Urban Decay Perversion

I rubbed the swatches about 15minutes after they were applied. Both didn't really budge but I did notice a bit of greenish shadow coming off. Neither of these pencil liners have glitter in them. The random glitter must've been from my hand.

Overall, I would not repurchase either of the liners. I've had pretty good results most Banila Co items, including their gel liners in the pot form, but this Style Eye Love Eyeliner just didn't. I am used to products smudging on me but getting onto my contacts and blurring my vision? I just can't deal with that. It's also pricey compared to other Korean eyeliners that have worked better for me - like The Face Shop Make Me Star Waterproof Gel Liners (around $7 USD).

Leave a Comment Banila Co, Dupe Alert, eyeliner, Korean, review, Urban Decay

[REVIEW] THE FACE SHOP: White Tree Snow Exfoliating Foam Cleanser

Hi everyone! How’s your day going? Today I will be reviewing The Face Shop White Tree Snow Exfoliating Foam Cleanser which is part of the White Tree Snow line up which describes itself as "The Face Shop White Tree Snow is a revolutionary whitening skin care line that contains vitamin A, B, E and also 200 times more vitamin C than apples, boosts an outstanding whitening effect while maximizing skin hydration. Mineral rich hot spring water soothes troubled skin, promotes skin renewal and protects skin from radicals and environmental damage.” 

"Rich foam cleanser with gentle micro granules lifts off debris and traces of makeup for thoroughly cleansed, lucent skin."

Extract of vitamin C-packed Finnish Vitamin Tree is fermented maximize its benefits. 

Mineral rich Spa Water of Yukawa, Japan, moisturizes thirsty skin and adds a dewy glow.

DIRECTIONS: Dispense a small amount into wet pass and lather up. Gently massage all over face and rinse thoroughly with warm water.

CAUTION: For external use only. Keep out of reach of children. Do not use on broken or abraded skin. Keep entirely clear of eye area. If product entered eyes, wash immediately. Do not rub. If irritation occurs consult ophthalmologist or physician. 

EXFOLIATING FOAM CLEANSER: Luminous revealing foam cleanser

Although it comes in a squeeze tube, I haven't had any issues of the product building up and sticking to the opening like I do with some other cleansers.

The micro granules are so fine that at a first glance, it looks like a regular foam cleanser.

Even spread out, it's still hard to spot the granules. 

You can kind of start to see them now.

Although it is a foaming cleanser, it only creates a little bit of foam. However, it's still milky and slippery when you add water to it.

PERFORMANCE

It’s important to note that this cleanser has real, solid micro granules. Although they are so small, they can still feel abrasive if your skin isn’t wet when you use them. This is why it’s really important to foam up this cleanser with water before applying it on the face. The foam makes it more more slippery on your skin and it’s less abrasive. 

Although I am not the biggest fan of exfoliators with granules, I find this product is pretty nice to use because it’s quite gentle and I can really massage the tiny granules into small areas like the sides of my nose. The granules are so small that unless I rub hard on my face (which I shouldn’t do in the first place), I can hardly feel them. It rinses off easily and doesn’t leave my skin feeling tender or squeaky.

Does it make my skin brighter as it claims? Most if not all exfoliators will claim to make your skin brighter - that’s the purpose of exfoliators! They remover dead skin cells and that alone allows your skin to shine. Despite having claims of vitamin extracts from a Finnish Vitamin tree and mineral water from Japan, I'm not quite sure how much these can do for your skin as cleansers tend to be only your skin for only a brief amount of time. If you're trying the whole range from the White Tree Snow line, then it's likely that those ingredients will be beneficial but as I am only trying the exfoliator, I'd say those claims are almost negligible.

Despite that being said, I would say that this exfoliator is one of the nicer ones I’ve tried. It gentle, non stripping, and not overly abrasive and it makes my skin look and feel nice and soft afterwards,If you are looking for an exfoliator with granules, I’d recommend this. 

If you're looking for exfoliators with granules that melt, I'd recommend trying the famous Skinfood Black Sugar Honey Mask, which I've reviewed here or the Skinfood Lavender Tea Salt Mask Foam which I've also reviewed here. 

Thanks for reading!

Leave a Comment brighten, cleanser, exfoliator, skincare, The face shop

Yong Pal Kim Tae Hee/ Yeo Jin Inspired Dark Lips with Wet n' Wild Photobomb Lipstick

I’d like to think that October is the month of trying new things. To start it off, I will be doing a Kim Tae Hee Dark Lips look with this Limited Edition Wet n’ Wild lipstick in Photobomb. I’ve always wanted to try a dark lipstick. Without entering into the higher price ranges, it’s been hard to find. That’s why when I was strolling through my local pharmacy and I saw this, I knew I needed to have it. Dark and bright lips also reminded me of Yeo Jin (played by actress Kim Tae Hee) in Yong Pal. I've been watching the drama on and off since it began airing and tonight is the finale. 

Read more »

Leave a Comment drama, Lip Stick, Wet n' Wild