The Skin Food Merry Christmas, My Honey Winter 2013

Who doesnt like holiday season and honey? The Skin Food combines both theme this year. Presenting you: Merry Christmas, My Honey!

the collection includes lipbalms, body wash, hand and foot care, moisturizing cream, lip and cheek balm. I'm interested in the lip and cheek balm... is it really balm?!?

picture from theskinfood.co.kr

Etude House Winter 2013 Princess Etoinette

This winter 2013, Etude House is continuing on its PrincessEtoinette winter 2012 theme. The packaging is now pearly white instead of matte pink like previous Etoinette theme.

The collection includes all over powder, mirror, perfume, lipsticks, candle, hair mist and hand cream. Anything catches your fancy?

pictures from etude.co.kr

Etude House Minnie Touch Blusher, Minnie Touch Highlighter, Kissing Minnie Lips Lipstick in #02 Bubble Pink

I am on make up diet… i have way too much make up in my drawers, I need to stop buying them. But… how can I say no to Minnie Mouse… Etude House, I blame you!

Of the complete Minnie Mouse x Etude House collection from2013, I decided to grab the highlighter, blusher, lipstick, few nail polishes and the loose glitter for nails.

For packaging, picture is worth 1000 words… there goes…

Look at that cute Minnie shaped design! The pan is made of matte plastic, but it feels quite sturdy.

The highlighter contains 3 colors: light lavender, warm beige and pale pink pastel. All with lovely iridescent glow when applied. I cant seem to capture the subtle color difference between all three on my hand swatch, but trust me, the difference is there. It feels soft and lovely when applied, you don’t have to dig with your brush to get colors. When applied, it doesn’t make my face look oily, just add nice glow on my morning skin.

In similar fashion with the highlighter, the blusher has 3 colors: pink, peach and light lavender. The texture is similar with the highlighter… soft, don’t dig too much with your brush. This one is matte and very sheer. I am not going to use this as blush; this is more suitable as all over face color when my skin feels particularly pale and colorless. Doesn’t appear chalky when applied.

Now, the lippie in #02 Bubble Pink. Polkadot tube with matte finish… love! The color… even better…. Lovely creamy MLBB pink that’s creamy and easy to apply. No tugging, just nice slip. It gives me medium coverage, lasts for about 3 hours on me. After that, I got a nice stain left behind. Just like the highlighter and blush, it has no fragrance.

I’m not going to review the nail polish here… one one note: don’t expect coverage from the glitter as it is meant to be used as top coat, giving your nail splash of polkadots and Mickey faces. It is kinda hard to get the mickey faces, so when I used it, I ‘fish’ them with toothpick…

Bottomline…

Cute design aside, I am adoring the highlighter but don’t care about the blush, since the blush is so sheer. The lipstick is lovely, especially when I want to just perk up my lip color.

Holika Holika Sweet Treats Lip Balms and Penguin Hand Cream 2013

I haven't been checking out Holika Holika that frequently lately... Kinda missing a lot of cute stuff from this Korean brand....

Cant resist the cuteness that is Sweet Treats Lip Balms and Penguin Hand Cream. Oh, dont forget the I Want Chu lipbalm set

Because I need more food themed make up... I say almost edible...

More birdie themed hand creams, please...

I Want Chu... a set of lip balm for him and her! how cute...

pictures from holikaholika.co.kr

The Skin Food Queens Baking 2013

The Skin Food goes to the cute, yummy route this time... Welcome Queen's Baking collection for 2013! These has been launched for a while, I just havent been around much to post this one...

It includes contouring pacts, lip colors, lipsticks, eye brow pencils, eye shadow palettes, eyeliner, mascara and brow highlighter. 

Yummy....

pictures from theskinfood.com

Etude House Dont Worry Lip Balms & Hand Cream 2013

More cuteness from Etude House this fall! Dont Worry line! 

What's to worry when you have these happy flowery color changing lip balms and hand creams...

(pictures from etude.co.kr)

Etude House XOXO Minnie Collection 2013

Etude has done it again! It does what it does best, making cutest make up and tempting me! This time, it is with its ultra cute, super irresistible Minnie collection. Minnie who? Minnie Mouse of Course!

The collection includes line up of lipsticks, highlighter, blusher, nail polishes, nail glitter, eye shadows, eye liners and mirror. Wait... Minnie has major eyelashes... of course we have to have mascara and faux lashes in the collection too!

Very very tempting indeed! I am coveting over the pretty pink lippie, highlighter, blusher and nail glitters! What about you? 

(pictures from etude.co.kr)

Etude House Color Pop Shine Tint in 09 Wonder Pop Bling in The Sea

I am not denying it … I am in love with glossy stains the moment I tried YSL’s original version. And I bet the Koreans agree with me…. Look at the variations each brand seems to be churning this summer… from Etude House to Innisfree … all offers you varieties of colors!

The Color POP starts as pre fall collection from Etude House encompassing variations of oranges and tangerine colors (review here). Now, I am thrilled to know that they come in variety of pinks! How I love pinks! This baby I picked, belong to Bling in The Sea Summer 2013 launch

As the previous Color POP Shine Tint, the plastic bottle is white in color. It has heart shaped applicator for precise application. I have no complaints against this, as the application takes enough product each time.

09 Wonder Pop is lovely bright and glossy fuschia pink… the type of color which will brighten up my face the moment I apply it! I am loving it. Pigmentation is lovely… it wont apply as creamy as it appears in the tube, but by no means the pigment is diluted.

When applied directly, on lips it appears super bright. To get more office friendly subtler color, I apply it with my fingers. Yes… it results in pink finger tips… but the I am loving the color on my lips when applied like this. This lip swatch below is made with fingertips application.

The glossiness stays up to lunch time on me… and I drink lots of tea in between! After lunch, the glossiness is gone and the stain appears faded, but for those loving subtler color, I do think you don’t have to re-apply, as the color faded evenly.

The color is no doubt super staining. The right most hand swatch shows the pigment left after I wiped out the product of my skin only after leaving it here for approximately 10 minutes. It certainly stains fast.

Unlike YSL or L’oreal version, I don’t find the color of this Shine Tint to develop over time. It stays the same if not fading as time goes by. On me, this baby stays glossy until lunch time. Glossiness went away after lunch, but the tint is still there, albeit faded. It doesn’t feel dry or moisturizing either.

Bottomline,

Vibrant color and gloss is what you will get from this baby! It is pretty neutral to my lips (not drying or not moisturizing). 

Etude House Proof 10 Bling Eye Stick in 5 BL801 Bling Wave

Since I saw the advert in Etude House website, I am itching to try one of these Bling Eye stick myself. The name itself sounds fun… and the color looks super interesting! This Eye Stick is part of Etude’s 2013 Summer release Bling in the Sea.

These pencil shadows / highlighter is currently available in 5 colors. All appears white, but when applied nuance of colors will appear. Super interesting… Etude recommends to use this as lower lash liner for outer part of your eyes. But I also see its use as highlight for eye lids shadow, to be applied in the middle of the lids to make more 3D eyes.

I am loving the packaging color of Bling in the Sea series. This pastel seafoam blue is simply irresistible… making me want to head to the nearest beach (or at least pool) and have my own little holiday! The pencil is twist up, no sharpening… yay!

The color…. As you can see… it is nearly white on the pencil, but it becomes clear with hint of glistening color when applied. Bling Wave BL801 is cool purple-bluish in color. There is very very little white or milky pigmentation… it is mostly pretty sheen of shimmering color. Unless you are applying loads of it, like the swatch I made on my hand, I don’t think you will get the whitish cast.

This pencil is creamy, you only need a single swipe to get the shimmery colors. It takes a while to set, this gives plenty of time to blend and work with the color. My lids and eye area is super oily, hence only the most bulletproof eyeliners and shadows will stay put (hey… MAC Aqualiners and UD shadow pencil!!!)… this one, clearly don’t fit the bill. It travels a little, and I can remove it easily with wipe of my bare fingers after lunch… again, thanks to my oily lids. Thankfully the shimmer doesn’t travel or fall on my cheeks.

Bottomline,

I’ve enjoyed playing with it as accent color… it makes my eyes appear brighter, thanks to the bluish cast. Applied on eyelids, it makes eye make up look more 3D too. Longevity wise, it is not one to count on. Thankfully, the simmer doesn’t travel or fall on my cheeks. Removal is super easy. 

Make Up Academy Gel Eyeliner in Glitzy Ensemble

Another one from Make Up Academy! I am currently exploring this budget Brand and so far, I had fun! This time I’m playing with Gel Eyeliner.

The gel eyeliner is supposed to be super pigmented in a slick packaging. MUA claims the product will not budge once it is applied! I am excited! For my oily lids in humid weather, this might be an alternative to my trusty MAC aqualiners!

One thing for sure, I totally agree that the packaging is super practical. The brush is hidden nicely within the cap of the bottle. This way, I wont be worrying about lost or forgetting bringing my gel liner brush while travelling.

Now the color… it is not exactly pigmented, but it is indeed sparkly. The texture is creamy and glides easily. Piling up color can be a challenge, as the liner is more to the sheer side.

I was rather disappointed with the longevity. Usually gel liner lasts longer, but not this one. It easily glides off my eyelids by lunchtime. Good thing is, the sparkles doesn’t fall on my cheeks in the progress.

Bottomline,

Sparkly pretty color, too bad it doesn’t last long enough on my oily lids. 

Make Up Academy Liquid Eyeliner in 4

I’m always up for a good budgeproof eyeliners! Since MUA promises bright colors and long lasting wear with this one… I definitely will try!

First, the packaging… it is simple and made of light plastic. With the price, I cant complaint for this minor thing. It is the content that is of importance. Just one thing… it doesn’t close properly. As the shape of the tube is square, you can easily see if the corners are not aligned properly.  And that’s what happened… just aesthetics… but I find it a little annoying.

The applicator is made of stiff brush. I find it a little too stiff or my taste. But also, thanks to the stiffness, I can draw super fine line with this one.

(L: MUA gel liner, R: MUA liquid liner in 4)

Moving on to the color… I picked color number 4. Interesting that they don’t give name to shades as most of other brands are doing now… anyway… number 4 is metallic gunmetal that doesn’t disappoint! Super metallic, super sparkly, just how I wanted my gunmetal eyeliners to be!

And yes, it is long lasting too! I swatched it on the back of my hands and then do my usual household chores, which includes lots and lots of washings and cleanings. To my surprise, the color stays put. It does faded a little but it stays put in general. On my oily lids, however, it becomes dry and flaky. With a little rubbing, the color just flakes off. It doesn’t make it past lunch time.

Bottomline,

Pretty color, unfortunately it flakes on my oily lids, and pretty much removed itself before lunchtime…

Make Up Academy The Artiste Collection Palette

When I am trying a new brand, I just have to try their palette. I guess it is just my lazy bones telling me that I need more palettes to carry when I’m travelling. All in one… shadows, blush, highlighter… BUY NOW… hahaa…

Okay… now, the Artiste… just like other products from MUA, it is housed in light, simple plastic casing. It offers eye shadows, blushes, bronzer and highlighter too! sounds like heaven to me…

You can count me disappointed in the first three colors… the pearly mint, pearly ivory and satin sky blue. It is not easy to pick enough pigment to get it to appear on my skin. The rest of the shadows… are different story… the deep purple with hint of shimmer is truly wonderful. The color just pops and it is pigmented! Ditto with the sparkly bronze and satin brown. These three colors make it worth it to purchase in my opinion.

(2 blushes 2nd color in pan then left most color in pan, 6 eye shadows, bronzer & highlighter swatches)

The blushes is another disappointment… their color is certainly pretty… fresh rosy pink and fresh rosy coral. But the pigmentation is just blah. Which is a pity…. The colors are super easy for daily use and totally bring fresh to otherwise muted face.

The bronzer is pigmented too… but may be a little too deep for my skin tone. The highlighter is ivory colored and it is wonderful. I can see myself wearing this a lot.

Bottomline…

It is okay for the price. First three shadows and the blushes are disappointment, but the rest are wonderful.