[REVIEW] MISSHA M MATT ROUGE IN MBR01 MAPLE LATTE

A while back Missha collaborated with Line to create a series of really cutely packaged makeup products. I was so busy at that time that I completely missed out on it. Lucky, the colours from the collaboration was part of their permanent line. Though, not as cute, I've finally gotten my hands on Missha's Maple Latte in their original packaging. Remember my review on the Missha M Glossy Lip Rouge? The packaging is identical so it's got a friend now :) Although the packaging is mostly plastic, it's got a real sturdy feel and weight to it. It's one of those caps that you know you can count on not to fall off and make a mess in your purse. I also really appreciate that the lipstick twists all the way. No one want's lipstick all over the cap, especially a clear one.

 The colour sticker at the top shows the colour of the lipstick. 

and... also on the bottom of the lipstick. It's great if you store your lipsticks upside down. You'll know exactly what colour it is.

The bullet of the lipstick is pretty accurate in colour to the stickers and the swatches. Although it falls in the Matt categories of the Missha M lip rouges, it's got a bit of a cream finish. It dries down to a matte eventually though. 

Maple Latte is usually described as a pumpkin brown. I agree with it completely. It's quite warm with just a tiny hint of red, brown, and orange. However, the strangest thing is that in certain lighting, it pulls a slight mauve on me. I've seen this happen on Camera and the promotional picture as well. Where does the mauve come from?! Maple Latte is definitely more of a fall colour, though you can wear it year round. The warmth of the colours reminds me of Maple leaves and the name "Latte" reminds me of Pumpkin Spice Latte. None the less, it's a beautiful, wearable daily colour.  

With one swipe, there is pure pigmentation. I wouldn't say that the lipstick is moisturizing as it can tug just the slightest if you're lips are dry but it's not drying at all either. On my lips, it lasted pretty really well despite transferring onto napkins.

Overall, I really like this lipstick. The packaging is classy and sturdy, the colour is unique and the formula is great. I am definitely considering getting other colours from this line. 

1 comment Korean cosmetics, lipstick, missha

Innisfree Melting BB Cushion Review

My first BB cushion was from Hera and my second BB cushion was from Iope. While both of them are nice they never really impressed me the way this one has. This review comes a bit late as this product has been discontinued and replaced already. I never expected to like it as much as I actually do right now. It is the Innisfree Melting BB Cushion. (There's a chance that you can still find this on online stores ).

Innisfree has released two new BB cushions for the summer: Long Wear Cushion and Water Glow Cushion. They are highly promoting the Long Wear Cushion for the summer. I've tried it out on my hands so far and I found it to be a bit dry. However, that might come in handy to combat humidity.

Price: 20 000 Won (no refill) - 15g of product

12 000Won / refill

When I first tried BB cushions I really loved how convenient it was. As someone who wakes up at dawn for work, I like to sleep as much as I can (they're not exaggerating when they say Koreans sleep very little).  BB cushions saved me so much time because I didn't need to blend. All I had to do was pat - pat - pat - then I looked somewhat more awake and presentable. 

When you open the case, it looks just like the others. You see a special puff.

Under the puff, you'll see a plastic cover.

Lifting the cover, you'll see a seal - which you remove completely after the first use. It's not really sticky. So even if you wanted to keep it on the product, it's not possible.

Performance: 

Whereas both the Hera and Iope cushions made my skin look dewy and radiant, this BB cushion actually makes my skin look a lot more natural. It doesn't have as much of a dewy shine as the other ones have but it's not completely powdery matte either. It just looks like natural skin. I would say it gives light coverage - enough to even out skintone and light dark circles but not even to cover blemishes. I suppose you can build it up but at most it can only be medium coverage. I've got some pimple scars along my chin and no matter how many layers I pat on, I cannot cover them at all.

Although it can't completely cover my dark circles, I love how this product doesn't sink or dry up under my eye area. For some reason, it just seems to airbrush that area the way no other product has done before. Also, this product really covers my pores really well. It seems to cover the pores on my cheek really well and makes my skin look so flawless. 

Although it claims to be longlasting, I found that it lasts about 4-5 on me. Reapplication and touchups are quite easy to do. 

I think matching your makeup and skincare to the season is really important. Something that you hate in the Winter, you might love in the Summer and vice versa. Take my Hera BB cushion as an example, I loved it in the Autumn and Winter but once it hit summer, it was completely useless. Under Korea's intense summer humidity, it would lift up from my skin and be a very obvious white milky cast. It's summer here and I find that the Innisfree Mineral Cushion also lifts but it's not as severe as the Hera.

The Innisfree Mineral Melting BB Cushion has a slight herbal scent. It's noticeable in the product but not on the skin.

The Good:

- natural finish

- lasts longer than other BB cushions that I've tried

- reapplication is easy

- convenient to use

- saves time in the morning

The Bad:

- only light - to almost medium coverage

- discontinued

- lifts slightly under sweat

Leave a Comment amore pacific, base makeup, bb cream, bb cushion, cushion, foundation, Innisfree, Korean cosmetics, makeup

3CE 3 Concept Eyes Creamy Lip Color in #9 Kitsch Biker Review

Hello everyone!  I'm sure if you are into Korean beauty products you must've heard of Stylenanda's 3CE (3 Concept Eyes) make up line. It's been wildly popular here on the blogosphere and  amongst many foreigners. I think even more so than amongst Koreans. Whenever I go to Stylenanda, in Hongdae or in Young Plaza, the makeup booths are always, always, jammed with international visitors. I'd say their most popular items are their lipsticks. They've got two lines for their lipsticks - the regular line and the cream lip color line. 

The gorgeous Park Sora modeling this color. 

(The above four pictures are taken from Stylenanda's website - en.stylenanda.com)

A sleek black box for a sleek metallic black case.

Today, I'll be reviewing 3CE 3 Concept Eyes Cream Lip Color in #9 Kitsch Biker. There are currently  twelve colors in this line. At 18 000Won (around $ 17 U.S.D.) it's more expensive than the other 3CE lip products. 

A security seal! I'm always so happy to see one of these. 

It has a flat round top which is very modern feeling but very impractical in terms of application.

Isn't the color just gorgeous? It's an incredibly bright red based orange. Honestly, this is my go - to - night time - sexy lip color. I'm pretty pale so this looks brighter against my skin than someone who's a bit darker. I'm not daring enough to wear it in the day time yet. I'm fine with bright pinks but red and orange is a whole different matter.

I've got another picture with it on me, on my Instagram but since the photo quality wasn't that good, I didn't want to include it in this post.

The color is definitely true to the bullet. It's a bright red based hot orange. It has a glossy finish. The color is so intense that I can't even tell which is swatch is with one swipe and which is with two... can you? 

Performance: This lipstick is so opaque and creamy that one layer is all it takes to get full blown bright and wild color. It's creamy enough that it won't accentuate any dry areas. Although it feels pretty light and not sticky, I definitely feel like I'm wearing something on my lips.  For the first two hours after application, my lips feel relatively moisturized.  After that, it starts to feel drying but the color still holds strong. After an hour or so of talking, the glossiness does deminish by a lot but the color still looks good and solid.  It is highly transferable so if you decide to give someone a peck, they will have a red tell-tale sign. However, even after doing so, color still looks rather solid on the lips. Without eating, I'd say this actually lasts for a good few hours. After eating, I'd say a lot of the color comes off but it does leave your lip with a slight bright pinkish red tint (with no signs of orange).  

Because it is so creamy and opaque it's hard to get a nice and precise application. I highly recommend using a lip brush. 

The Good:

- very creamy

- very opaque

- not sticky

- won't accentuate dry lips

- unscented

- long lasting

- moisturizing

The Bad:

- highly transferable

- expensive (18 000 Won is around $17 U.S. which is similar to MAC lipstick prices)

- need a brush for precise application

Overall: I'd say this is a pretty impressive lipstick. I'd love to it out in other colors as well but Kitsch Biker has definitely earn a unique spot in my lipstick collection. 

4 comments 3 concept eyes, 3ce, higher end, korean brand, Korean cosmetics, lipstick, makeup, red lips, stylenanda

Missha The Style Green Tea Lip & Eye Makeup Remover

While I was in Missha picking up the Fresh Bouquet Cleansing Oil, I saw this and made a random purchase. I guess the words Green Tea appealed to me so I picked it up! This is one of those dual phase removers where you have to shake the contents to mix the liquids. It's half clear and half lime! When you pour it out onto a cotton pad, it's just clear.

Claims:

"Green tea lip & eye makeup remover helps soft cleansing, containing pure and fresh green tea extract."

- containing pure green tea extract, it removes impurities and makeup residues on the sensitive lip and eye areas, leaving your skin refreshed with its mild texture

- green tea extract with mild oil and abundant moisture leaves your skin moisturized

- containing mistletoe extract and portulaca oleracea extra, it helps reduce irritation while helps softly cleanse makeup on sensitive lip and eye areas.

- containing camellia extract and chamomile extract, it helps reduce irritations on the skin with a soothing benefit.

Price: 5 000Won for 90ml

Packaging: It's a funny shape bottle. It looks like a leaf from the top and it's super easy to hold because of that. After removing the lid, there's actually another stopper. It's a white, delicate bit of plastic so you got to a bit careful when removing it.

Scent: It has a soft, typical, sweet artificial smell. I can't notice it unless I deliberately bring my nose up to the bottle.

Performance: Honestly, since this was a spontaneous purchase, I had pretty low expectations for it. However, it really blew me away! I always wear waterproof and smudgeproof eye makeup (to prevent panda eyes) but this took everything off. After shaking to mix the liquids, I put a bit of this remover onto a piece of cotton pad, and hold the cotton pad to my eyes for about 30 seconds, when I removed the pad, almost all of my eye make up was off. I flip over the cotton pad, and massage gently to removed the remaining makeup. Then, all my eye makeup is off!

My eyes are really sensitive. Sometimes even water irritate it. This product did not cause any discomfort whatsoever. Even when it got into my eyes, it didn't make my sight blurry not did it sting. I'm really impressed.

This product feels like really light on my skin. It's not as oily as other removers I've tried in the past. It definitely didn't leave behind nearly as much of an oily residue as any of the other make up removers I've used before. My other favorites include: Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye and Lip Makeup Remover and the Innisfree Apple Juicy Makeup Remover. Those work really well but they do leave your eyelids with some oily residue.

Picture Time - gross, I know, but it's necessary to show the effectiveness of this product. 

On my eyes:

1. Aritaum Wannabe Longwear Eyeshadow stick

2. Maybelline Quad in Chai Latte

3. Physician's Formula eyeliner in purple and black - water resistant and smudgeproof

4. Tony Moly Gel Fit Eyeliner in Black - waterproof

5. Benefit's They're Real mascara

6. Kiss Me Long and Curl mascara - waterproof and layered over the Benefit's They're Real mascara

7. Iope BB Cushion XP - for the undereye area

The Good:

- light consistency

- no oily residue

- removed everything with ease

- affordable

- didn't sting my eyes

- didn't make my sight blurry

- Missha is against testing on animals

The Bad:

- green tea extract is only 1%. Although I really like this product, I do find this to be disappointing because the name is misleading. 

Overall:  I've tried a lot of make up removers, and this is definitely one of my favorites, simply because of the way it feels like water. It's like cleansing water that removes all kinds of makeup!  I highly recommend it!

3 comments cosmetics, green tea, Korea, Korean cosmetics, makeup, makeup remover, missha

Nature Republic Botanical Real Slimcara Review (Dupe for InnisfreeSuper Skinny Microscara)

As you may know by now, my eyelashes are extremely short and sparse. The bottom ones are barely in existence. Sometimes when I try to coat the bottom lashes with mascara, I end up making a mess or poking my eye because the bristles are too big. I've found a solution.

Short Story (you may skip this and jump down to the review is you want ^^)

Many of you may have heard of the Innisfree Super Skinny Microscara but have you heard of the Nature Republic Botanical Real Slimcara? I'm sure the Nature Republic is a dupe for the Innisfree product as the names and wand are just way too similar. Innisfree Super Skinny Microscara was the first mascara I purchased here in Korea. The wand was crazy slim which made it amazingly easy to handle. I never had to worry about poking my eye with the bristles because the wand is only 2.5mm wide. It held my curl and decently and naturally lengthened my eyelashes. After that, I discovered the Majorica Majolica Lash Expander Frame Plus and I never looked back - til now. The MM Lash Expander Frame Plus is no longer sold in Korea and the bristles of the Heroine Make Long and Curl tends to poke my eye when I try to coat my lower lashes, so I need a new mascara with smaller bristles and there is no mascara wand smaller than the Innisfree Microscara. However, as I was browsing through Nature Republic one day, I noticed this mascara with the very similar - 2.5mm - sign. It was on sale for about 4 800 Won (not on sale it would be around 6 900 Won). Innisfree Microscara costs around 9 800 Won. I checked the tester, the wand is the exact same. For the half the price, I gave the Nature Republic Slimcara a try.

REVIEW

Packaging: The Nature Republic Botanical Real Slimcara has a simple white and brown packaging. It doesn't look like a mascara at but rather like a liquid eyeliner.  Wand length is the almost the same as my Heroine Make mascara but the handle (part you can hold) is longer. As advertised, the width of the wand is about 2.5mm, and the bristles are tiny. You can easily reach any sparse eyelash area and not have to worry about poking you skin. On the bristles of the wand, you can see tiny bits of fiber.

Performance: I wasn't expecting much from this product but it really impressed me. As I coated my eyelashes with the mascara, tiny fibers latched onto my eyelashes making them decently and naturally longer (almost as much as the Heroine Make Long and Curl). It also volumized my eyelashes by just a little bit which I was not expecting at all. The mascara is very black and does not weigh down my eyelashes. I would say this is a pretty dry and waxy mascara. It dries within 5 seconds of application. If you apply a second coat after it dries, it gets a bit difficult and clumpy. I guess this drying speed is a bit of a positive and a negative. Positive that you don't have to worry about the mascara making a mess after application and negative that you cannot build on the first layer of mascara. 

It lasts all day with no smudging (really impressive as I have extremely oily eyelids). My eyelashes would look almost exactly the same as when I first applied the mascara. There was no irritation at all throughout the day. 

I can see that this tube of mascara will only last me for around a month because after just two weeks of opening, the product is already noticeably drier than before. It's a good thing that it's in a tiny tube.

Two Coats - Without Mascara Primer - you can see it started to clump because I added more than one coat.

Removal: Here comes, the one main fault of this product... It is extremely difficult to remove - even more difficult than the Majorica Majolica Lash Expander Frame Plus and the Heroine Make Long and Curl. The longer you have it on, the more resistant it is to removal.  I used a cotton pad soaked with makeup remover and held it over my eye for 10 seconds, which usually gets rid of most of the eye makeup, but this time, it only took off part of the mascara. A lot mascara was still stuck to the base of my eyelashes. I had to massage my eyes with cleansing oil thoroughly to get everything off.

The Good:

- gives very natural looking eyelashes

- lengthens decently

- holds curl well

- doesn't smudge

- wand is easy to handle

- bristles can reach sparse and short eyelashes without poking skin

- really dark black color

- cheap

- doesn't clump

The Bad

- really difficult to remove

- hard to apply a second coat

- boring packaging

- doesn't say how much product is in the tube

- overall product dries out fast

Overall:

I prefer this over the Innisfree Super Skinny Microscara. It's darker in color, lengthens more, definitely volumizes more, stays smudge free longer, and is cheaper. Definitely a win. It's one of the cheapest mascaras I've ever bought but it has definitely outperformed many of the others I've tried. I highly recommend this product to you if you're looking for naturally looking eyelashes with a bit of length and volume or if you have really sparse lashes that are reach.

Leave a Comment cosmetics, Korea, Korean cosmetics, mascara, Nature republic

Collective Korean Skincare and Cosmetics Haul: Dr. Jart, Skinfood, Kiss Me Heroine Make, Innisfree, Missha

As you all know, Spring is coming around and so many stores have launched their spring collections. They've done an amazing job as well. Among my favorite collections are Skinfood's Milky Rose Collection and Missha's Lotta and Wanna collection. Everytime I walked into those stores, I can't help but want to pick up something. Here are some of the things I've picked up over the past two weeks. Some products are repurchases. 

Skinfood Rosy Essence Moist Make-up Fixer: When Skinfood's Spring collection first launched, I knew I had to get something. I really love the packaging. I needed a makeup fixer for the humidity of the summer anyways.

Skinfood Rose Essence Soft Cream Blusher in 02: I'm a big fan of this color because it's so natural and beautiful. It's a cream that once applied and spread becomes matte. It's incredibly easy to use and easy to spread out without losing it's color. You can also build up color.

Missha Time Revolution Aqua Youth Cream: I've ran out of my Primera Watery Cream so I thought this might be a good replacement. Boy was I wrong. I tried this twice before I gave up. Both times, my skin stung. I love the classy packaging though.

Innisfree Eco Science Eye Cream: This is the third time I've repurchased this. It's my favorite eye cream so far. I really like how it feels and the convenience of the pump dispenser.

Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara: This is a repurchase as well. It came with a box of three Smooth Gel Shadow Pencils. The packaging says Made in Korea but I'm pretty sure this is a Japanese brand.

Missha Glossy Lip Rouge in Wanna Coral: I've finally gotten over my fuschia lip phase and entered a pink-coral phase. This is the color chosen for their Wanna Coral Collection and it was the initial lipstick that sucked me into Missha. There are three in the Wanna collection: Wanna Orange, Wanna Pink, and Wanna Coral. This lipstick is really smooth and glossy. It doesn't last long at all though.

Missha Signature Glam Art Gloss in Lotta Coral: While I was browsing around Missha, I found out that they had two main collections: Signature Lotta and Wanna. This is the gloss chosen for the Lotta Coral collection. I debated in getting this or the color above but I ended up getting both. This is a beautiful pink with coral undertones. It's not sticky at all.

Dr. Jart Ceramidin Cream: This product has been raved about everywhere. I've seen it on a few Korean beauty shows now and on tons of blogs. After I had that stinging reaction with the Missha cream, I decided to try this out instead. It's made in Korea but I've heard that you can buy this at Sephora as well.

6 comments blush, eye cream, eyeliner, haul, Heroine Make, Innisfree, Kiss Me, Korean, Korean cosmetics, makeup, mascara, missha, moisturizer, skincare, Skinfood, spring collection

Etude House Color Lips-Fit in PK003 Fantasy Fit Pink Review

Hi everyone, for the spring collection, Etude House came out with a line of lip liquids for matte lips. Matte lips seem to be the it item of Spring 2014 because it seems like every brand is coming out with some kind of product for matte lips - Skinfood, Innisfree, Etude House.

I was really excited for this product since I'm usually a fan of matte lips. Being in Korea, matte lip products were kind of hard to come by until last year when Aritaum released their Wannabe Tint Cushion Sticks. I was also excited because Sulli from FX girl group looked absolutely amazing with this on.  So naturally, I got the Etude House Lip-Fit in PK003 Fantasy Fit Pink - Sulli's pick.

Claims: "This is a revolutionary liquid type Lipstick that moistly glides onto lips with its vivid color and finishes off with a weightless powdery texture."

Directions: 

1. Shake well before use

2. Apply smoothly with tip. Lightly dab onto center of lips for gradation. Delicately apply for full cover

3. Apply a layer of Color Lips -fit WH901 after color for a moist gloss

         

Performance

Lesson: You need to exfoliate and prime your lips before you apply this product.

One of the things I really like about the product is that it's buildable. If you want a sheer pop of color, just add a tiny bit of this product. A little goes a long way. If you want a bright pop of color, you can slowly add more. The moment the you spread the product on your lips, it becomes powdery matte. It feels like powder too. As a girl who is used to moisturizing lip products, this feeling is quite new to me and I'm not I like it. If you smack your lips together, it feels like powder too. Although the surface of the lips become dry, the product itself does not make the lips feel drying until a few hours later. It also wears off slowly as the day goes on, like most products.

That being said, with all matte product exfoliation is essential. For this product, it is even more so. However, as I've experienced, even if you do both of those things, this product will still cling onto anything that's not smooth. It will also make little bits on the lips, as if you've got dry skin. To completely, get rid of that you need to apply a balm or  a gloss on top. You'll get smoother looking lips but they're no longer matte lips - thus defeating the main selling point of this product.

First Impression: I absolutely hated it. My lips aren't chapped nor dry but when I put this product on, it clunged and accentuated hundreds (maybe an exaggeration - but definitely a lot of dry bits on my lips. It was nothing like any product I've ever tried. I took the product off, I exfoliated my lips, put a lip balm on, shook the bottle, and applied it again. The dry bits disappeared by a lot but still this product found and clung to the edges of skin I had exfoliated. I applied gloss on top, and it made the edges less accentuated but my lips were no longer matte.

Although I have moisturized and exfoliated my lips, there are still many bits that appear. This makes this product a pain to use.

The Good:

- beautiful color

- affordable 

- very pigmented

- completely matte lip color

- gives the lips a nice tint

- buildable

The Bad:

- it will accentuate every broken or dry piece of skin on your lips

- difficult to get a smooth lips look even with exfoliation and priming

- if you apply too much, it will get on your teeth

- has a powdery feeling on the lips

- artificially sweet smell

- drying after a few hours

- its messy to apply a second coat after the first coat has completely dried

Overall: I think Etude House makes many good products but this one didn't really work for me.  I'm really glad that I didn't pay full price for this and waited for the Etude House sale. It takes too much of my time to make it work for me. I love the appearance of smooth lips but no matter how much I exfoliate or prime, this product creates bits on my lips and that's not ok for me. The color is truely lovely though. 

6 comments etude house, Korean cosmetics, lip product, lip tint, makeup