Your Muse hasn’t blogged BB Creams as of yet since her experiences with them haven’t really been the greatest however since I mentioned them once or twice I ended up getting many e-mails and comments about them. I recently reviewed Kevyn Aucoin’s Sensual Skin Enhancer which reminded me of BB Cream so much in texture and formula that I was kinda of inspired to write about BB’s soon after!
What’s a BB Cream? How do I use a BB Cream? Where can I purchase BB Creams? These are some of the daily questions I get in my inbox!
The US market, as far as I know, has not yet been exposed to BB Creams. I imagine we are all somewhat obsessed with our skin within the US but I personally feel like the Asian population is more so and that obsession accounts for the mass amount of products released within Asian countries. For me and other skincare junkies this is pure nirvana!
One of the latest, greatest, popular, and hyped products to hit Korea are BB Creams which is short for Blemish Balm Cream. The craze began in Korea but has since hit Japan, China, Etc…
So what is a BB Cream anyway?
BB Cream is pretty much the end all of foundation, concealer, moisturizer, etc….It’s a combined product that eliminates many products from your daily makeup routine and not only simplifies foundation but also offers key ingredients that we all look for in makeup and skin care.
BB Creams are highly moisturizing, contain SPF, have acne fighting and anti-aging ingredients, plus conceal and lay a foundation for your other makeup.
What BB Cream Eliminates from your daily routine:
Moisturizer
BB Creams are so highly moisturizing you may or may not wish to apply a moisturizer prior to using!
SPF
BB Creams contain doses of 25+ SPF so you don’t need an extra SPF product to protect your skin from harmless sun rays!
Acne Treatments, Lotions, Etc…
BB Creams contain active ingredients for fighting off problem areas!
Anti-Aging Lotions, Potions, Etc…
BB Creams contain anti-aging ingredients to prevent wrinkles and also treat any fine lines you may already have!
Concealer
BB Creams act as a concealer for concealing under eye circles, baggage, etc…It also concealsr acne, blemishes, red areas, etc…
Foundation
BB Creams act as a foundation for prepping the skin for makeup and creating a flawless finish to skin!
Whitening Lotions, Fluids, Etc….
BB Creams contain whitening agents to lighten the skin!
You can see why everyone is so hyper and excited about BB Creams. They are virtually the superman of foundation however they are not without their flaws.
Your Muse has tried about 8-10 brands of BB Creams now and I’ve been disappointed about 95% of the time. BB Creams are NOT without one major problem.
My god Muse what do you mean?! They sound like skin care perfection!
The problem with BB Creams is color selection. BB Creams are not like foundation where you walk in and have an array of colors to choose from. Most BB Creams offer one color option only or sometimes, if you’re lucky, two color selections.
Right off the bat I’ll say if you’re a deeper, darker skin tone I’m highly doubtful that BB Creams will work for you although I can’t be sure as I don’t have experience with application on such a skin tone.
I’m fascinated with the excitement over a product that only comes in a dull beige color. Many Asian girls do have a yellow tone to skin and beige is not only unflattering on yellow tones but just, in my opinion, unflattering on ALL skin tones. Thus my amazement over the hype that surrounds the product in Asian countries. BB Creams are so pigmented that the color will look very unnatural on any and all skin tones at least this has been my experience with the brands I’ve tried.
Another surprising thing about BB Creams is the fact that they seem to be best suited to dry skin. I have many, many Asian friends and about 95% of them have oily skin. BB Creams do not dry matte in my personal opinion and they feel very moisturizing when on so I’m curious how those with oily skin feel about the formula and texture of such a product.
I was recently contacted by a reader who recommended me a few brands I hadn’t tried before that made some high end BB Creams. After discussing it with her I decided to give BB Creams a much needed revisit.
You won’t be hearing about the bad. When it comes to Asian cosmetics and skincare it’s difficult for the Muse to trash it. It’s simply too high quality to snark at which accounts for my lack of posts regarding BB Creams. However, I have decided I’ll start reviewing brands I have tried and the pros and cons of each. I’ll also have an upcoming review on a brand of BB that I do LOVE and again this is thanks to the reader that recommended it! That review is coming shortly so thank the gods we finally have a good BB Cream to rave about.
BB Creams are a welcome edition to the makeup world and an innovation in skin care and makeup that needs a bit of tweaking. The potential for greatness is already there and with a little work we’ll have pure perfection.
It’s hard not to notice that I littered my blog entry with difference adverts of BB Creams. As you can see many, many, many companies in Korea have out various brands of the popular product so sometimes it’s difficult to weed through the bad to get to the good! However, that’s what you have the Muse for! I’ll be sharing the best and not so great with you very soon!
Well lookiee what the Muse came across on the Laneige Singapore site!
It’s the Summer Collection!
I was shocked to see the Laneige site had updated for Summer on the Singapore site only and not the Korean! I was thinking I’d see the update on the Korean site prior to any of the other global gateways!
Go Singapore (lately you guys have been really up to date with the cosmetic collections!)!
The release appears to be very small with some shadows and a lipstick but I’m unsure of all the details as of yet! As soon as I know I’ll definately keep you posted!
As always the promo model image is gorgeous! It’s a very edgy look they created using soft colors. I think perhaps the edge comes from the haircut the model is sporting!
I’m interested in getting my hands on some of this collection to review for you guys so stayed tuned!
On a side note I’m behind on comments please know I’ll get to them soon! Sorry for the delay! Life sometimes gets in the way of blogging on occasion! Love you all!
Click here to check out the Laneige Spring Collection! Click here to read my review of Laneige’s Darling Big Eyes Palette! Click here to read why I was so excited about Laneige’s Pink Sliding Compact!
Click here to read my review on Laneige’s Snow Radiant Blusher!
Blues and Aquas are hot this season and one of the Muse’s favorite Korean brands jumps right on that bandwagon and takes blue to a smoking hot level!
Check out the Blue Collection from Banila Co! Sweet right? I’m loving the promo images for this one and I’ll definately be indulging in most of the collection!
Six colors of a cream eyeshadows are being released entitled Eye Love Aqua Shadow. W8,500 per a color which rounds out to a little over $8 USD! I’m particular in love with the colors Aqua Ice and Mint Ice!
Also released are the Lip Love Aqua Gloss which is available in 4 shades! Each color is W8,000 which converts to a little less than $8 USD! I love the nice natural glossy color on the model’s lips! Yum!
And finally two eyeshadows were also released with the collection! I’m wanting both! A pink variation and a blue! I’m picturing these will be go very well together!
Some very promising releases for Summer from Banila Co!
I’ll be reviewing these items for you shortly but for now you’ll have to drool over these images!
Do pop back soon as I post more details about HOT new collections popping out of Korea this Summer!
Here in the US we aren’t privy to many popular products available within various Asian countries such as Japan and Korea. One such product that isn’t as popular here as it is abroad are facial masks. Face masks are a very popular item that come in a number of different formulas and are available from many popular brands such as Kose, Kanebo, and in the case of my review, Etude House.
What exactly is a face mask?
I think here in the US we are pretty much conditioned to associate a face mask with something you’d get in a tube. Something you’d apply and either peel off, scrub off, or wash off. The most popular form of facial masks from Asia are actual masks! As in a mask with holes cut into it for your mouth and eyes. The masks are pre-soaked in different skin treatments such as whitening agents, lotions for dry skin, moisturizers for wrinkles, etc….different masks cater to different skin problems! Each mask is made of a linen like paper that is shaped and contoured to your face. You leave the mask on for anywhere from 5-10 minutes and allow the contents of the mask to sink into your face. It’s a beautifully relaxing experience that’s also very beneficial to your face. I’ve found masks are very helpful for my dry skin in the winter!
You might recognize the brand Etude House if you’re from Korea or you might remember it from a blog entry I did recently! Etude House makes a line of skincare entitled Moistfull. It’s a rather wonderful line of product with a nice, inexpensive price tag!
I’m particularly in love with the masks! The masks are packed full of a moisturizing lotion that makes your skin feel positively spoiled for 5 to 10 minutes with long term benefits! The mask is heavily saturated with a combination of lotion and serum that will make any dry, flaky patches on your face disappear!
I can’t begin to describe to you how amazing the mask feels when it’s on and how wonderful your skin feels after use! The mask fits perfectly over your face and I adore how it contours the shape of my under eye perfectly. Why is that important? This is the perfect solution for getting more moisture under my very dry eyes!
After 10 minutes of leaving the mask on my skin feels cool, refreshed, wonderfully soft, and moisturized! I normally do this treatment before bed while reading a few chapters of a book. The best part is when I wake up in the morning my face is literally glowing and I feel like I can go without makeup!
Etude House Moistfull Facial Masks definately get a hearty Muse Approval for purchase if you can find them! But fear not if you’re unable to locate them you can always use any number of the facial masks available from different brands such as Kose, Kanebo, Sofina, and more!
Facial Masks are a wonderful, and for me, essential part of good skin care!
Since using the Etude House Peach Skin Pact and Pore Erasing Peach Base I felt like the two items deserved a revisit and deeper review than the short blurb I posted in my original post.
Yesterday morning as you may have previously read I used just the Peach Skin Pact and Pore Erasing Peach Base as my sole foundation routine. I did use a touch of concealer under my eyes but aside from that I only prepped and primed my skin with the base and set it with the powder.
To my delight the entire look I created came out very fresh, fun, and natural it also happened to last all day long which is why I felt the two items needed more of a detailed review.
I’ll start with the Etude House Pore Erasing Peach Base which everyone was quite excited about in my comment box. You’re right to be excited as it’s a wonderful, brilliant primer and the price is ridiculously inexpensive for such a great product.
I had the original idea that this might be like Benefit Erase Paste doubling not only as a primer but also as a concealer. Turns out that’s not the case at all. It’s very difficult to explain the exact texture and formula of this product. It’s a cross between matte and moisturizing. It’s of medium thickness and works well when “warmed” prior to use. I found that working it into the back of my hand and applying to my face seemed to make the blending process a bit easier.
When it first touches your face it feels very moisturizing and it quickly blends into the skin and has a similar texture as Smashbox Photofinish Primer however it does not pill like Photofinish does. If you’re unfamiliar with the term “pill” it simply means that the primer “balls” up and rolls off the skin in gross, sort of flaky balls. Photofinish does this for me constantly and it also happens to break me out rather badly. Pore Erasing Peach Base does not do either. No break outs and no pilling as I blend. It simply seeps naturally into the skin creating a smooth, flawless finish to the skin while prepping it for your foundation or in my case the Peach Skin Pact. As I had mentioned in my previous post the primer does carry the scent of peaches which I don’t mind in the least however if you’re sensitive to scents or just don’t enjoy your products scented this might be something you wish to avoid.
I don’t have particularly large pores however I can imagine this will do a brilliant job of filling pores while allowing your skin to breath. It feels natural and fresh on and is in no way heavy! If you have oily skin this will be an excellent solution for creating a matte finish.
With my first application of the base I did notice that my skin turned a ghostly white but after applying the powder it seemed to settle down well. I didn’t mind so much as I am always looking for ways to whiten up my skin as you already know from reading my previous article on whitening your skin!
The Peach Skin Pact is the perfect follow up treatment to the base. After applying the base I simply pat the powder on top to create a beautiful finish to my skin. I can already see that both the base and the powder will become a daily part of my routine in the Summer when I don’t want a ton of foundation laying on my skin!
The powder, like the base, carries the scent of peaches. The color is a universally flattering beige with a tiny hint of peach to it. It should work well on cooler skin tones including fair and medium but won’t work well on darker or tanned skin.
The powder is very light, airy, and silky. It applies beautifully and blends well. You can happily use it as your sole foundation when paired up with the Pore Erasing Peach Base which is exactly what I did yesterday morning!
The good news is I applied my makeup at 5:45 AM in the morning and it lasted, without touch ups, until about 6:00 PM in the evening! It began to fade a bit around 6:30 or so. I was shocked as I’ve never had my makeup last this long!
All and all I’m extremely pleased with both products and they are, as of now, most definately holy grail products for me!
On a different note I know many of you are wondering where I got the haul and such. I briefly explained to a few commentors that I had got my items from a friend who lives in Korea. I did some research around and I haven’t located a single online shop that sells Etude House cosmetics sadly.
However, the good news is I did run across several sellers on E-bay. The best one I came across was GinsengSeafood Beauty HK. She appears to be in China and has a small stash of Etude Cosmetics for sale. Her prices range seems to be about $5 USD on top of retail. If you’re interested you can click here to browse her selection of Etude House.
The other option I suggest is checking MUA and seeing if anyone would be willing to do a CP that is located in Korea.
Finally I would suggest visiting Facial-Shop as per my recommendation of this online shop in my Guide to Shopping for Japanese Cosmetics. The girl who runs the shop, Vivian, had once offered to have some Etude items but I never took her up on the offer. Maybe visit with her and ask if she has anything available.
I hope this helps!
Happy Shopping!
UPDATE: Thanks to one of my gorgeous readers, Humming, we now have another E-bay Seller. It appears this seller has the entire Peach Collection. Sadly the prices are SUPER jacked up but if your lemming is strong have a click here to gather up the Etude House Peach Collection for yourself! Example: The Pore Base is $34.99 USD and retails for $11 USD. Ouchy!
Etude House released a rather interesting Spring Collection this year and of course the Muse couldn’t resist picking up most of it for herself!
The Collection consisted of an array of “Peach” Themed items. One item in particular that caught my eye was the Pore Erasing Peach Base. This quite reminded me of Benefit Erase Paste which I didn’t have the best experience with. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment but I decided that I needed to try the Pore Erasing Base because I had convinced myself that it had to be better than Benefit’s version! It’s 11,000 Won for the entire jar that’s under $10 USD! It’s freaking huge at 0.88oz!
I tested it this morning and it’s not anything like Erase Paste. It’s a pre-makeup primer through and through and sadly my hope that it would have some concealing benefits were quickly dashed as soon as I got it on my skin. I don’t have large pores however this is perfect for creating a smooth, matte finish on your face prior to foundation and makeup. This carries a beautiful scent of peaches as well. Understandably some girls prefer cosmetics without scent but I don’t mind in the least! Whether this allows my makeup to last longer throughout the day remains to be seen but right now I’m loving this as a pre-foundation prep! The texture is quite like Smashbox Photofinish Primer but I felt like it was a bit more moisturizing and blended easier plus I didn’t get a breakout after using it where as with Smashbox’s primer pimples crop up! I did notice although it wasn’t concealing it did lighten my face up a tad bit and almost made me appear ghost like but after applying the next stage of my makeup that effect was gone thankfully.
For the price I think it’s well worth looking into and trying out if you can get your hands on it! The good news is I got a small sample of this with my purchase and I’m giving it away to the first person that comments and is willing to review it for Musings of a Muse. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this so if you’re willing to review it give a yell! The first person who comments I’ll ship it out to and I’ll expect a review back within a week or so explaining if you loved it, hated it, etc…!
Sample of Etude House Peach Pore Erasing Base for Review!
I also got the Peach Skin Pact which is best used for setting the Pore Erasing Base. The formula is obviously very good for oily skin types and offers very nice matte coverage. Good for touch ups and setting your foundation plus the compact is so bloody cute it’s no great chore to tote this around with you! I’ll make proper use of this come Summer when my skin decides to take a field trip from dry and venture into oily!
My entire routine for makeup this morning consisted of using the Etude House Pore Peach Base and setting it with the Peach Skin Pact. I used no other foundation in my makeup process as I wanted to dupe the entire look from the video how to on the Etude House website. I don’t normally use powder as my sole foundation since I feel like I need better coverage plus powder wears off very quickly throughout the day! I’m curious if the base will keep the powder intact all day which is why I’m experimenting going without my normal foundation! If it works I’ll be doing this all Summer long as my makeup feels very light today which will be perfect for Summer! This, like the pore base, carries the sweet scent of peaches which I absolutely adore!
I got two of the Peach Cheek Blushers as well which are basically an exact dupe of Lorac’s Cheek Stamp that was released last season. These appear to be very sheer but they are not. They hold a beautiful pigmentation for an item that’s so cheap! The formula is a bit chalky but that’s simply because it’s catering to an Asian skin type that may be oily. The concept and idea of a cheek stamp is of course awesome not only for ease of application but for the cute factor! I’ve personally never tried Lorac’s version so I couldn’t say how good it is but I’m glad I decided to give these a shot. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept I’ll briefly explain. Basically this is a circle sponge that has blusher in the lid of the product. The sponge is saturated with the powder and you can pop it out and “stamp” it onto your cheeks for a pinch of color!
Lorac’s Cheek Stamp
I ended up purchasing the eyeshadow quad that was used in the Etude video as well. It’s actually not LE and is part of the normal collection but I was so juiced over the look they created using everything that I wanted to try and dupe the entire look thus this palette got tucked into my shopping list! It’s basically a quad of four shimmering shades that are very sheer but can be built up. They have about the same pigmentation as a Majolica Majorca Majolook palette. The shades in this particular palette are white, baby pink, light blue, and yellow. The shadows do have the standard chalky texture most Asian brands sport but I don’t mind as I’m used to this from various Japanese brands. They hold a beautiful shimmer and blend very well!
I also got the Peach Beam Blusher which reminds me of a MAC MSF. It has a metallic shimmer finish that’s applies as a highlight but is pigmented enough to act as a blush! The effect is a beautiful glow! If you enjoy tanned skin during the Summer I imagine this will be very fitting for not only highlighting your cheeks but giving you a beautiful peach kissed look!
Color Me Nude Lip Concealer also ended up on my shopping list! MAC makes a similar lip concealer but in a pot form. Basically it concealers your lips and primes them for lipstick or gloss. Supposedly when your lips are primed with a concealer your glosses and lipsticks appear more vibrant and bright! As I said MAC’s version comes in a pot and this just seems easier and convenient in stick form! I haven’t yet tried this and will be doing a review of it shortly!
Staying on track with dupes Etude House also released Tear Drop Lash which is identical to Givenchy’s Lash Sparkles and Dior’s Lash Pearls. This is basically a wand that distributes little tear drops onto your lashes for a bit of an interesting “teardrop” effect! The applicator appears to be thought out a bit better than both Dior and Givenchy’s version! It’s a flat square plastic applicator with a tiny hole. It works quite well at disturbing the product and applying it right on the tips of the lashes! Very nice effect! I wish I can get a really close up image of my eyes so you can see the effect!
Finally I got the Peach Water Gloss which smells amazing and tastes just as good! I used it this morning and I love how well it applies. It’s a bit sheer but the formula is nice and watery which makes it feel very light on the lips and not tacky or sticky on the lips!
I got some cool freebies as well which were a cellular phone charm that houses an Etude gloss and a mini toner/lotion set.
All and all I’m thrilled to bits with the collection and it cost me under $85 USD for the entire lot of goodies I got. Inexpensive cosmetics that actually work well totally make the Muse’s day!
This morning as I mentioned I used almost all the collection to create a beautiful peachy pink look that’s both fresh, fun, and girly! I love how the peach contrasts so beautifully with the pink in my FOTD! I’d normally never pair up peaches and pinks but this came out so well that I’ll be doing so from now on!
My attempt to dupe the Etude look as seen on the video!
What I Used:
Eyes Etude House Cute and Sexy Eye Quad KATE Gel Mascara Etude House Tear Drop Lash
Face Etude House Pore Erasing Peach Base Etude House Peach Skin Pact Etude House Peach Beam Blusher Etude House Peach Cheek Blusher
Lips Etude House Peach Water Gloss
The Peach Makeup Collection from Etude House is most definately Muse Approved!
Click here to learn more about Etude House and other brilliant Korean Brands!
One of my readers had requested I do an entry on a few brands to look out for in Korea. I don’t purchase many Korean brands but I do enjoy looking out for exciting new Asian Brands as you know be it Japanese, Korean, or Chinese.
Korea is a place that is near and dear to my heart simply because of it’s vast entertainment selection. Aside from Japanese pop culture I’d say that Korea definately holds plenty of appeal for me in the entertainment field. I adore Korean dramas as you may already know and some pop music as well (I’m more of a J-Rock girl but popular Korean music definately gets some of my attention).
Do keep in mine prior to reading this that the post will probably create some hardcore lemmings so don’t hold the Muse responsible
One of my all time favorite Korean brands which I haven’t be able to locate anywhere aside from Korea would be Clio.
Clio reminds me of Bourjois Paris with it’s cute packaging and baked eyeshadows and blushes. I’ve done an entry on Clio prior to this but it deserves a revisit in this post. Clio is actually made in Italy but distributed in Korea. As I mentioned I haven’t seen Clio distributed anywhere else in the world aside from Korea but I could be wrong! From what I understand Sasa carries the line but I’m not sure where else in Korea you can purchase it.
The line contains plenty of beautiful, funky cosmetics that are sure to appeal to those who love a bit of color. If you’re looking for a natural, neutral look Clio isn’t something you’ll want to look into however if you love a bit of color this will be something you’ll enjoy!
Price is midway in my opinion with blushes running from about $19 USD and eyeshadows at around $14 USD. I’ve had little success locating Clio in online shops or on E-bay so if you want the line you’re either hopping a plane to Korea or asking a mate to pick you up some!
Overall, it’s possibly one of my favorite brands. I own about 6 of the shadows or so and two of the blushes (I wish I had more) and they are all very pigmented, silky, and beautiful more so then Bourjois Paris if possible.
Should you happen to be wandering around Korea another cosmetic line to keep your eyes on would be Laneige. Laneige falls into the luxury group of cosmetics in my opinion but the price is tiny in comparison to some lines. Laneige sells outside of Korea and can be found in Singapore and China however some of the better items pop up in Korea and later are distributed to other countries at later dates. I haven’t seen Laneige in Japan but again I could be wrong.
Palettes are about $23-30 USD some lower. Prices vary from country to country and of course it remains cheapest within Korea.
The line is extensive, covering point, base, skincare, and other bits and bobs. It definately has some very interesting items and if you have access it is worth looking at!
Next up Etude….
Let me introduce you to Etude. Now Etude is truly an awesome line. It’s girlishly sweet with some seriously awesome packaging. It definately falls into a favorite category for me. The brand is available in drugstores and price wise isn’t too bad. The range is very extensive and includes a variety of cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and other bits.
The beautiful commercials and adverts are especially appealing and cutesy! In the video below I’m especially in love with the makeup from the Peach collection which is a new collection for Spring!
Palettes range from $9 USD and up which isn’t bad at all. The shadows fall into the MJ line in my opinion which means they are pigmented as you make them out to be. It takes a bit of work to build up color but in the long run you can get a beautiful look using them!
The new Pore Erasing Peach Base is something to keep your eyes out for. It quite reminds me of Benefit’s Erase Paste but looks like it’ll work much better plus it’s only $11 bucks!
Etude is definately Muse Approved for purchase! If you’re in Korea you’ll definately want to keep your eyes open for products from Etude’s range!
Banila Co is another girlish brand that I adore! The new Spring Collection looks much like Clio’s dual shadows but the price is a bit lower at about $9 USD per shadow. The highest item cost wise is about $20 USD.
The line also includes a variety of items from base cosmetics, point, tools, skincare, and even body care!
Banilia is available in drugstores and quality is excellent for the price!
A higher end of cosmetics within Korea is Vidi Vici. Vidi Vici is created by Lee Kyung Min a famous makeup artist in Korean. The line for me is a bit unappealing due to the elegant packaging. I’m more for cute packaging which could be why Vidi Vici fails to wow me. The line up is geared more towards the working class lady and has that air of elegance minus the kawaii feel about 90% of cosmetics in Asia incorporate into their collections! As you may have suspected the price range is also geared towards the mature woman.
Last but not least is VOV. VOV for me has the feel of Kose as some of the palettes resemble those in the line even the Spring Collection has the feel of Visee with it’s mirrored compacts! The prices are about the same as Kose as well with palettes ranging from $17 USD or so. The line up is appealing to all with it’s beautiful compacts and color combinations.
The line isn’t as extensive as some brands but does have it’s fair share of point, base, skincare, etc….
Overall, it’s definately geared towards the fresh twenty something but the Muse isn’t twenty and she adores it!
Well…That’s all folks!
I hope you enjoyed this little adventure into Korean cosmetics! Do feel free to share some of your favorite Korean brands!
I’d especially love to hear from those of you within Korea about prices, favorite brands, etc…..
I was browsing around the Laneige site a few weeks ago and I came across the The Secret of the Snow Crystal Snow Radiant Blushers. Sounds like an epic motion picture! Now playing The Secret of the Snow Crystal starring Bai Ling!
I’m not entirely sure if these were from the Holiday Collection or not and after much discussion and debate with a friend we decided that maybe they were something available from the Korean side of Laneige only!
Anyway!
I ended up getting the entire three that were released because they simply reminded me of MAC Mineralized Skinfinish and I rock Mineralized Skinfinish so that meant I’d be sure to shower love all over these!
These were about the same cost as an MSF and honestly they have the potential for converting non MSF users. Some folk hate Mineralized Skinfinish because they are glittery and shimmery. A wide range of the colors released thus far have contained chunky bits of glitter and not everyone likes to hose themselves down with glitter the way the Muse does!
Those of you who may have ranted that MAC’s powders have some major shimmer will be delighted to know that these perform the way you probably hoped for from MAC. They highlight, create a soft glow on your face, and enhance your blush minus the shimmer and glitter.
The powder is soft and silky and easy to blend. The effect that these create is what I call a sort of photo finish glow. You can use these on natural bare skin or over your blush. I personally like to use them over my blush. You can also contour areas of your face for extra highlighting if you prefer.
Laneige Snow Radiant Blusher in Snow
Laneige Snow Radiant Blusher in Gold
Laneige Snow Radiant Blusher in Pink Prism
I think they are quite a nifty powder to add to your beauty arsenal and a wonderful alternative if you’re not loving the amount of shimmer you get from a MAC Mineralized Skinfinish!
MAC Shimpage vs Laneige Gold
MAC Glissade vs Laneige Pink Prism
MAC Lightscape Vs Laneige Snow
Click here to read my review on Laneige’s Darling Big Eyes Palette!
Click here to read about Laneige’s Snow Bloom Collection!
Click here to read about Laneige’s Slick Sliding Foundation Compact!
I adore stains! Big time ! I love the natural, flushed look you can get from a stain. I’ve been a big time user of Benetint for ages but in all honesty I’ve found far better alternatives. Benetint is a bit sheer for me and I can get a deeper color from other brands. Good quality stains don’t come cheap however I’m about to show you an inexpensive, high quality one!
I got this off of JPmon but believe it or not I’ve also seen it in various Asian supermarkets in the US. Fact is I never knew what it was prior to seeing it on JPmon. When you’re in an Asian supermarket surrounded by stuff you aren’t familiar with you practice caution when making your selections. My main reason for not purchasing it was the fact that I wasn’t sure what it was for. Sure it has a beautiful geisha-like girl on the cover but that doesn’t mean anything! This could be dip for chicken or something how could I know it was cosmetic? Seriously have you been to an Asian market before? EVERYTHING has cute labels! Packages of Baby Star (this is a snack) have really cute images on it! The US is not yet exposed to the kawaii packaging of food and just about everything else. Hell, the only thing cute about our food packages would be cereal. America wants to shove cereal down the throats of babes so they showcase cute tigers, tucans, and three strange little elf like chefs named Snap, Crackle, and Pop. Hey, I never claimed we were creative in the US!
Anyway!
I was ordering some Kose Airy Whip on JpMon as the shipping is a bit cheaper for a few cans in comparison to my friends buying it and shipping it over (because you have to stock up on Airy Whip like it’s the end of the world as we know it) when I noticed that this same cheek stain that was available in my local Asian market was here at JpMon! Hmm! After being hypnotized by the delightful animation of the cute girl applying this I knew I must have!
So on with the review after all that babbling…!
I can’t recall how much I paid for this on JpMon but it was cheaper in the store I believe at $6 bucks or something like that. I just added it to my cart at JpMon as I was doing an order anyway so why not!
This is a bit thicker then Benetint but easy enough to blend. Three dots across your cheeks, smile, blend, and perfect flushed cheeks. A tiny bit lasts all day, literally. As with all cheek stains it’s virtually waterproof, smudge-proof, and atomic bomb proof! This stuff isn’t going anywhere unless you take it off!
This will work well enough on medium light skin tones like my own and it’ll also flatter a medium dark skin tone. My sister is what I call a coffee skin tone and it looks beautiful on her and even more flattering then on my own paler skin!
This is something you might want to nosy around your own markets or small shops for if you have any local ones! If I can find it here I’m positive you’ll be able to find it in similar markets! Who doesn’t have a local Asian market around?
If anything it’s probably the best cheapest brand of tint I’ve come across and I’ve tried them all! Works way better then Benetint that’s for sure!
Laneige’s Spring Collection has launched in Korea and is making it’s way across the Asian board. Most of the Laneige sites haven’t yet been updated with the new collection but it is out and available in Korea (lucky you if you live there!)!
It’s quite a beautiful collection!
Although, I want some of it I may refrain as I haven’t even dug into my Winter Collection from Laneige yet!
The collection consists of a loose powder, eyeshadow palette, and blush palette! The packaging is quite beautiful and I’m having a hard time not purchasing all of it!
I’m not sure which Asian countries are getting the update aside from Korea and China. I’m also unsure what the import to Singapore will be and if available the price range as sadly Singapore gets hit with a bit of a price jack.
The Loose Powder 30,000 KRW (approximately $31-$33 USD or so). The blusher carries the same price tag while the eyeshadow palette is a big lower in price at 28,000 KRW (approximately $29-31 USD).
Expect to pay a raise of about $9 -$11 USD per item online. I’m noticing the powder popping up online for $39-40 USD and the blush and eyeshadow palettes at around the same.
Point makeup instructions are available on the Korean site if you want to know what was used on the model and how to achieve the look.
One of my fav brands in the cosmetic world is a little Korean brand that goes by the name Clio (Actually it’s an Italian brand thats sold exclusively in Korea! Go firgure!).
Clio hasn’t updated it’s site since it’s Fall 2007 Purple Collection and I’m longing rather badly (and hopeful) for a Spring Collection of some kind!
I thought I’d drag you all into my melancholy and let you relive some of my old Clio posts!
Enjoy!
Click here to read my review on Clio Blushers! Click here to see some Clio Eyeshadow Duos in an old haul post! Click here to see an FOTD using Clio Blush!
ZOMG! How much do you love the baby pink slide compact from Laneige? I freaking adore this thing!
I have the standard boring blue slide compact but I so want the baby pink one as it goes so well with my iPod and iPhone!
Ooooo so pretty!
This compact is so geeky chic! I really like the formula of the moisture foundation plus it has SPF which makes me a happy Muse and now even better we got the awesome pink sliding compact!
Cyber Color is a Korean brand that’s pretty much available all over Asia such as Singapore, Japan, Etc…
It’s a pretty inexpensive brand of cosmetic and I have some of their shadows and can say they are pretty pigmented for the price!
Sasa just got in some of the new Holiday Collection Eyeshadows which are entitled Jewel Amour. I must say I am pretty tempted by these and they look yummie!
Cyber Color Jewel Amour Eyeshadows Available from Sasa.com
Some colors that are tempting me:
Amethyst
Aquamarine
Peridot
Citrine
These are a whopping $11.30 which is quite expensive as they are about 75% cheaper if you purchase them in store but I have a funny feeling after the holidays they’ll be marked down! So as tempting as they are do wait on these if you’re wanting them as they’ll be on clearance sooner or later!
Although, the colors are making me want them right now rather badly!
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