Sephora + Pantone universe make up set

The moment I saw the promo pictures for this babies... I totally drool for it. After a month plus of waiting... I got my very own set! I cant be more excited!

Prior to Pantone universe, I never thought poppy bold unapologetically tangerine would be wearable to mere mortals like myself. But hey... This set changes my mind. It contains a lippie, lip gloss, 4 colors eye shadow palette, 3 shades of blush and an eyeliner.

The first thing I grabbed is the lipstick. Housed in sturdy metal tube, the lipstick in tangerine tango cream is sheer yet build able bold tangerine shade with dash of little shimmer. One swipe is all it needs to give you glossy poppy tangerine lips. It glides nicely and have sweet fruit scent. To make it more wearable, I blot my lopsided lightly, and it makes my lips just nicely tinted.

 (wearing lipstick in tangerine tango cream)

The lip gloss in tangerine tango luminous has then same scent like tie lipstick. The color is similar to the lipstick, but with more golden shimmer. This baby is totally opaque.

 (wearing lipgloss in tangerine tango luminous)

(lippie vs gloss swatch)

My favorite item in this set is the blush duo in desert flower and coral. Both color are so pretty and wearable. Unfortunately i destroyed my lovely coral when I stupidly picked it up by the lid and subsequently poked the coral side of the duo with my nails. Sad sad sad. After this hard learnt lesson, I realized, that the best way for me to open my palette safely is by carefully twisting the lid to loosen the magnetic closure. Well well...

 (the blush duo & prisma)

Now the color.. Desert flower is pinky apricot that gives my cheeks health flush. It offer sheer satin finish. My favorite coral is wearable coral with a hint of pink and pretty gold shimmer,very pigmented. You don't have to buff your brush too hard with coral, just tap it lightly to pick up little color. Trust me, little goes along way... I can see working with coral as a pretty eye shadow too!

(blush swatches)

The other blush is called prisma chrome blush in apricot brandy. This baby is housed in much more travel friendly and safe compact with a mirror inside. The shade is tangerine apricot with lovely shimmer. More sheer than coral and less buttery.

(eye products)

The eye shadow quad is another wearable piece of this set. Colors are wonderfully coordinated. Scallop shell is light shimmery champagne. Carnelian is soft blendable sheer tangerine with shimmer, my favorite color in the quad. Sparrow is darkened plum with little shimmer, unfortunately this one is little sheer. Too sheer for my liking to be used as liner, just gonna wear it as crease color. Pavement is black with little shimmer, another sheer color in the quad.

(eye liner in tangerine tango, shadows in scallop, carnelian, sparrow & pavement)

Eyeliner in tangerine tango twist is one of the hardest piece to wear for me. It is a pigmented tangerine with silver shimmer. It doesnt budge once it is applied, even on my oily lids without primer. I usually use it to line my lower lid. Or Couple it with urban decay eye liner in rockstar.

I do think this set is one of the most economical I have ever encountered. The quality is good, the colors are surprisingly wearable. Totally worth it!

Etude House Dear My Nail Polish in #1 and #4

This nail polish line is released with the un-bearably cute Dear My Blooming Lip talk lipsticks. Were it not released with the super cute lippies, I dont think I will grab it. The collection consisting of 6 peach or pink themed colors. very spring/summer appropriate!

The bottle design is a departure from Etude's usually heart shaped or curvaceous bottle. this one is much simpler flattened round glass bottle with the Dear My heart logo on the front. One thing I immediately noticed from this polish is the big, wide brush. I like the brush design at first swipe.

both #1 and #4 look very very similar on the bottle, i really need to take a look twice to ensure they are of different color. both are pastel pink-peach kind of color. #1 being more peachy (left swatch), while #4 is more cold pinky (right swatch). The difference is more apparent after application.

unfortunately the polish itself is a disappointment. Unlike the usual consistency of the gradation sets Etude usually releases, this one sports thin, streaky formula. rather sheer too. Drying time is average and looks best when topcoat is used.

bottomline...
not my favorite release from Etude House. The streaky formula is just too annoying for me.

Etude House Dear My Blooming Lips Talk Lipstick in OR204, PK004 and PK006

I have been smitten by this latest release from Etude since the first time I saw the promo pictures!

Starring Sandara Park and famous Korean boy band SHINee, this lippie line is heavily promoted. Etude even made short movie featuring each color group (pinks, reds, oranges, beiges). This time, I managed to pick only 3 colors... OR204, PK004 and PK006.

Ahh... I cant stop swooning over the ultra cute tube! iridescent baby pink tube with pink metallic bow on the bottom is just too too cute! The box though... I received 2 different design, one with big heart on the front and the other with sketch of the cute tube on the front. rather queer... but, nevermind...

The lipies has very light -nearly unnoticeable tangerine fragrance. each bullet has the 'Dear My' release heart logo embossed... adds up the cuteness a notch!

Now, the colors...OR 204 is pale pink-peach color that's a little sheer. This color is actually pretty easy to wear, but it is just so unforgivable on my unprepped dry lips... it just makes the dry patches appear even more obvious.

PK004 is bright borderline neon fuchsia pink, the kind of pink I am loving these days. good pigmentation on this one, single light sweep will be enough. it might be too bright for office though.

PK006 is creeping into my staple lippie! Cheerful pink with a hint of peach. very lovely. good pigmentation too. totally office appropriate- it just seem to add a dash of sunshine when I am wearing this one!

all formulas are pretty consistent. they glides nicely, feels light on lips and dont feel drying at all. compared to Etude's earlier release (Look at My Lips lipsticks)- these are much better.

Madison Street Beauty Mineral Eye Shadows

Recently I activated my etsy account in search of a dose of cute food miniature jewelry. Instead, I found Madison Street Beauty shop. They were having 60% sale, and I tought…hm…I could use a few more purples in my collection… (which of course, I ended up purchasing more than purples)

The company claims that all the products are natural. Etsy site displayed that MSB have thousands sales record, so I figured this must be a trusted company. Aside from the eye shadows, they offer powders, blushes, lip balms and more. 

I got a few of their mineral eye shadow sample sized tub. One lovely thing from them is the tub! I cant imagine purchasing samples in plastic bags! How on earth am I going to keep them, or take the product out of the bag? Messy messy I envisioned… so, yes, the tub is a great help and another reason why I go on purchasing this as well. 

First, the purples…

038 Wisteria is sheer pinkish purple duochrome with shimmer – easy to pick and breezy to blend

035 Japanese Lily is sheer matte baby purple – I find it hard to pick the color out of the tub of this one. And it seems to sink in my skin and make it appear like bruised skin…not flattering on me at all

036 Amethyst is dark deep purple with shimmer- almost duochrome – I love this one as liner color, very easy to work with

040 Heliotrope is matte neon deep purple – another hard to pick hard to blend color. May be I just don’t have any idea how to use this kind of color. Again, it looks like bruised skin on me.

Now the Blues-Greens …

016 Electric Periwinkle is a truly electric matte cobalt blue. Pigmented and I find it not so easy to work with.

050 Mermaid is shimmery teal. Medium pigmentation. Of the whole lot I got, this is my favorite color

068 Emerald is deep mossy forest green with shimmer with good pigmentation. Another love for this one

076 Enchanted Forest is forest green with a dash of slate and shimmer. Lovely color and consistency!

Finally, the random colors I picked just because…

055 Apricot is apricot-tangerine shimmering color. Another one with lovely texture

002 Celestial Silver is pigmented shimmery silver, most pigmented silver I owned so far. But it doesn’t give the molten metal effect.

026 Skyline is black with silver shimmer. Just like milky way in dark black sky. Another lovely one, even though I don’t have any idea what to make of it 

Across all colors I owned from MSB, I find the matte pigments to be harder to blend – they tend to form soft tiny balls in the tub too.  The metallic and shimmers are lovely.

The Etsy shop has swatch of every colors, however I do think at times the swatches doesn’t do the lovely shadows justice. I do recommend purchasing the sample sizes first before plunging to full sized items. 

Another lovely thing… they ship ultra fast! I think this is the fastest Etsy shipping I have ever received!

Heme Pore Perfect Purifying Gel

I am obsessed with pore care products. The moment I saw this in Sasa Taipei, I just get to grab it...

Heme is Taiwanese brand offering various skin care products. From peel of masks to... Pore Purifying Gel! This product is supposed to conceal pores, enhance firmness and elasticity of skin making skin appear smooth and dewy. Oh... since it contains Witch Hazel-it is also supposed to help with your acne! Sounds heavenly...It is supposed to be applied after cleansing, followed by your regular skincare regime and make up.

first of all, I have to talk about the adorable tub! It is made of clear plastic and has this cute design on top of it. The whole design, color and translucent design makes me feel so calm. I do hope it calms my pores as much as it calms my eyes.

The gel is totally refreshing. it has light minty fragrance and feels immediately cooling after application. I just love using this as light moisturizer on hot days.

But... I dont see it helping my acne or clearing/purifying my pores or whatever... just fun cooling gel. So, unless you dont expect anything else from your gel, this one is perfect for you. If you are like me, expecting some pore cleansing/shrinking action... as far as I'm concerned, I dont see much/any of it.

My Beauty Diary Orange Blossom & White Lotus Sleep Concentrate

My Beauty Diary is one famous Taiwanese brand for its sheet mask. They truly offer good quality wide range of cute sheet masks! And cuteness is one of the main factor I grabbed this Sleep concentrate from Sasa Taipei.

Sleep Concentrate is said to be highly moisturizing and soothing, also protecting your skin from environmental damage. They come in Orange Blossom & White Lotus (peach box), Rose and White Peony (pink one) and green one (I forgot the extract they are using here). Orange blossom & lotus promises me translucent, 'sleek' skin.

This baby is a versatile one! You can apply thinly in the morning as moisturizer, then apply more generously at night as overnight mask. 

The peach colored gel is housed in plastic tub with a tiny plastic spatula for hygienic scooping. I totally enjoyed the fragrance of this mask... it is sweet (not candy sweet) refreshing floral.

It gives cooling effect when applied. I totally enjoyed it during hot humid summer days... be it in the morning or afternoon on in-house lazy days. But it doesnt provide enough moisture for drier days or the air conditioned office. As overnight mask, I find it fun to use, but doenst give me much benefit.

Bottomline,
cute, fun addition in my mask/overnight treatment collection during hot summer days-if you can get it at retail price. but it is not really worth it if you are looking for very moisturizing product, especially if you need to pay for the jacked up online prices!

Nature Republic Fruits Mousse Therapy Pore Tightening Orange Mousse Pack

Nature republic is Korean brand that loves it's fruits. I have a few of their fruits themed products! This one included.

The idea of this stuff is pretty cool...mousse textured mask (or pack, as the Koreans like to call it). This mousse is said to contain orange and made with water from alps Matterhorn glacier water. Nature republic really love to mention wher does their water comes from. I am not sure if the souce of the water really matters as much....but, let's see when i tried this one on!

Of course, as the name suggests, this also contains vitamins and nutrients extracted from fresh fruits. This mousse is supposed to revitalize oily and combination skin. They also throw cooling and sebum regulation too. Sounds like exactly what need.

You use this just like regular mousse- shake the bottle, dispense the white soft bouncy orange fragrances mousse and poly on your face. Don't forget to massage! Leave it on for 10 minutes or so, and then wash with warm water.

It is certainly cooling and fun to use. Makes my skin feel soft and fresh after application. Sebum regulation... Not so much.... My skin gets oily again as usual...

Bottomline....
This is a fun mask to use to refresh yournskin mid week. However dont expect much of sebum regulating action here. Don't think it is worth it if you have to pay so much to it shipped to your country,if your country dosnt have nature republic around.

Skinfood Red Orange Jelly BB SPF 20 PA++

This one is part of skin food's red orange series. I just can't stop adoring hr orange-rose gold design of this series.

This essentially a jelly pudding textured bb cream. The texture really remind me of soft chocolate mousse dessert. Yum! And I just love the fact that it sits in a frosted glass jar. The bb jelly promises moisturizing benefits.

Now, one thing that really disappoints me is the fact that it doesn't come with it's own spatula or something I can use to pick up the jelly with. I just don't like the idea of dipping my fingers into a jar of foundation.

My disappointment aside, I actually love this product! It is light and blends nicely and smoothly. I just love to play with the texture.it gives me light medium coverage, just the way I like my bb cream to be. However, it is not as moisturizing as I expected moisturizing products to be. Yet, I enjoyed it...since it gives me fresh yet matte skin.not only looking fresh, but also feeling fresh! I need to blot only after 3 -4 hours.

 Sensitive skin, please beware, as this product is scented with fresh orange fragrance. The scent disappears after blending thou.

Bottomline,
This is really something I am going to wear daily. The texture is fun, the finish is matte and fresh. I am soooo going to repurchase. Unfortunately it only comes in 2 shades...just like most other Korean brands. So, deeper skin toned beauties won't be able to enjoy this as much as I do...what a pity