Skin 79 Color BB Cream

It's really been a while since my last blog post. And as I am quite busy with work, which is just an excuse, I wasn't really able to write anything.

Another post on BB cream. I have tried several BB creams from Skinfood, Innisfree, Missha, Hanyul etc. and one of my all time favorite BB cream is from Skin79. I first came to know this brand from a friend. She asked me to get this for her so I purchased one for me to save delivery charge. And since then, I have been using this everyday as my skin is no longer flawless and going to work without any, well it's not going to happen anymore.

There are 5 color for different skin types. Pink, Orange, Gold, Purple, and Green.

Orange is for those who have a lot of blemish; Gold for skin with no elasticity; Purple for rough and dry skin, Green for uneven skin; and the one I use always is PINK which is for oily and wider pores.

I usually don't repurchase BB creams as I want to try new ones. But for this brand I repurchased after I used up my first.

Why I like it:

1. Has a good coverage for both my blemishes and pores

2. As it is for oily skin, my skin doesn't get oily at the end of the day

3. Easy to apply (but not too watery)

4. Reasonable price ($25 for 40g)

5. Love the pink color bottle (if you don't like the pumping bottle you can always get the tube type).

6. Blends well with your skin

7. It doesn't feel sticky.

There isn't one thing I don't like about this BB cream actually but for those who have darker skin, this only comes in one shade so it might not work well with you.

CO2 Face Cleanser

There's a fad going around in Korea with CO2 or Oxygen facial Cleanser.
It is said that it removes dirt and dead skin while leaving your face soft and making your face brighter.
And since the weather is cold and my face tends to dry out easily, I've decided to try it myself.

Oseque CO2 Melting cleanser

My colleague used the CO2 Melting Cleanser and recommended that it is really good especially for a sensitive skin like mine.

The Melting Cleanser as it's name says, melts the dirt on your face. One good thing about this is that it melts any makeup you have on your face. All you have to do is apply the cleanser on your dry face (using dry fingers) and massage a little to apply all over. Then leave it for a while. You will be able to see white foam forming around the face and feel the popping feeling.

What I like about this product:

1. I don't have to use any makeup remover and my face feels really clean after wash.

2. Some of the blackheads and whiteheads are gone (only some~)

3. My sensitive skin doesn't get irritated

4. Doesn't dry up my skin too much (as compared to other cleansers)

What I dislike (but not hate):

1. It takes a while before all the popping finishes :(

Gel Nail Polish with LED lamp

My company is currently developing a LED lamp to cure gel nail polishes so I have been testing applications of the gel nail polish and using regular nail polishes, glitters, etc. 

The pros of the gel nail polish cured under the LED lamp is that it dries up quickly (unlike the regular polishes). It takes only 30 secs. and chips less faster. It has a "glass" like finish. 

 The cons, well it's not easy to remove. You need to soak the nails in acetone for about 3 mins~5mins or wrap it in acetone soaked cotton pad with foil.

Used regular nail polish (which needs to be completely dried) and added glitters and topped with
gel top coat.

Used regular nail polish as the base, added dried flower, glitters then topped with gel top coat

Just added the glitter nail polish (transparent) and added the gel top coat.
Arranging the glitters to the edge was quite a work.

Makeup Brush Cleaners

I have tried cleaning my makeup brushes in different ways. And even though some people say it's okay to use baby shower soaps, mild shampoos etc... but I find using brush cleaners is the best way.... although of course it's not very cheap and hard to find the best one with so many brands out in the market.

I have tried using 2 brush cleaners. The first one I have tried is from Lioele (Korean brand). It's Metome brush shower cleanser. It's approximately $10 per 190ml bottle (image below). Pros and cons... well I didn't really like this cleaner at all. It's quite small, the bottle is hard and the opening on the cap is so small it takes forever to fill a container enough to wash the brushes. I had to remove the cap in order to pour the cleaner into the container. Also it smelled like a bleach cleaner. Really strong scent, I even had to dissolve the cleaner with water because it was too strong. It cleans the brush okay, but even after rinsing it on a running water several times, the smell doesn't go away at all.

Lioele's METOME brush cleaner

The second one I bought is from Missha. It's called the Perfect Brush Cleaner. I was hesitant to buy at first since when I googled it, the first review expressed how she was never going to buy this again and that you get what you paid for. The brush cleaner is about $10 (a little tiny bit cheaper than Lioele) but it contains more since it's a 250ml bottle.

What I liked about this brush cleaner is that the bottle is soft, the opening on the cap is big enough and it smells quite good. Unlike the bleach like smell Lioele had. It does clean the brush well. Another good thing is that this cleaner comes in a refill pack (sold online only) so I don't have to buy a bit more price bottled ones.

Missha's Perfect Brush Cleaner

For now, unless I find some problem with this cleaner, I will stick to it. I have not tried MAC cleaners but I am not willing to spend that much money on a cleaner so this will have to do.


**THIS is just my own opinion, it might be different for every individual and the type of brush one has....

My Gyaru Makeup

Gyaru fashion is a type of Japanese street fashion that originated in the 1970’s. Gyaru is most commonly referred to as ganguro, but ganguro is actually a subculture of gyaru. Ganguro was popular in the 1990’s, but shortly died out in the early 2000's. Gyaru is a girly-glam style, breaking away from traditional standards of beauty. Dwelling on the man-made (wigs, fake eyelashes, fake nails, etc). Gyaru fashion does not fit with traditional, and media portrayed ideals of Japanese women. It is often identified as a sign of rebellious youth

During my makeup classes one of the makeup technique I learned was the Japanese Gyaru makeup. There are different types of gyaru. But two of the most commonly known or popular are the Ganguro, where the girl has fake dark tan and bleached hair, and Hime gyaru, and princess or doll like makeup. And thank goodness I learned the hime garyu technique, since I don't think it would be easy to evenly put dark foundation on my model. 

Used really long and thick false lashes
The shadow seems uneven but it's important when the eyes are open...

For the hime garyu look,  I used pink face powder with a bit of glitter, and for the eyes pink smokey eyes, and pink blush and of course pink lipstick.

The most difficult for me was to put the lashes. Since they are thick and long, it wasn't as easy as putting on regular lashes. Plus the under lashes were quite hard to control and put.

I guess since my model was just 15, this look suits her well. Good thing that I wasn't a model for this one :D 

Summer Look

I learned on last Friday's class, summer look. When you say summer look, it doesn't necessarily mean you should wear these colors in summer, but it should look like summer when people sees it. Gets? heheh 

For this look, I used 4 shades: base color- pearl white, up til the crease- sky blue and pearl blue, and last the matte blue (sorry don't really know the names... they use Korean)... after blending the colors, I've added loose pearl pigment of white and blue on respective colors. Drew the eyebrow and pink lipstick. No blush necessary for summer look :P

Makeup Lesson

I have been wanting to study makeup artistry for quite some time now.. and I just recently enrolled in a beauty school. At first, since I had some makeups already, I told the admin that I won't be buying the set they are selling. But as I attended my first class, I realized I need the whole set since my purpose to study isn't just purely to satisfy my want but also become a professional makeup artist... thus I will be taking the license exams. If you read some blogs about makeup school (esp. in Manila), all you need are some of the basic makeups. Unfortunately, I needed more than the basics.... which meant more expensive :( 

It was my 4th class today. On the first day, the instructor introduced me to the makeups we are going to be using and practiced application of creme foundation, shading and highlighting on a mannequin. On second day, the same thing but on an actual model. We don't have to provide models but we practice on each other. Third day, was semi-smoky, but I wasn't able to take pictures :D hehehe

Today we studied triangular pattern eye makeup. I used 5 shades of green and cake eyeliner. 

I still have to practice with gradation... as you can notice the right side lacks gradation.... :D ehhehe but for just a first try... I think I did ok. 

Stila ColorWheel

My biggest ever haul in regards to make-up. I don't really buy expensive make-ups since they do have a expiration date and I don't wear much make-up. But I decided to give myself a Christmas gift, and bought Stila's colorwheel on beauty.com. 

I actually ordered it around December 19th, but I just got the package yesterday. But that's really okay for me since buying it here in Korea would mean paying double the actual price, and no shipping fee whatsoever.

I haven't really used all the colors and actually put them on after full make-up (meaning with foundation and primer, and all)... but I am quite satisfied with my haul. You do need to use eye-primer so that they will stay on your eyes and the color looks much better. In regards to pigmentation, it's good, I think, since I don't have any other brands to compare it with. I just used cheap drugstore products so I can't really compare them :D.

Maybe when I use these colors, I will update with a photo...... or not :D

Innisfree- Eco Natural Green Tea BB

Although there are a lot of cheap cosmetic brands in Korea, I am not very aware of those brands and their products but a friend from US asked me to buy some for her, I came across a BB cream, that's nicer than the one I am using, which is Skinfood's Aloe BB. 

I am not saying Skinfood's BB cream I am using is not good, it's just that, my skin gets oily after sometime. The only BB cream for oily skin is the Peach Sake and I haven't had the chance to use it yet.

The specs of Eco Natural Green Tea BB Cream:

• 40% Moisture making the skin moist and not sticky
• Makes the skin clear and translucent
• Green tea water instead of just simple water
• Has SPF 25 PA++
• Contains Chamomile to relax the skin, green tea extract for moisture, lavender extract for hypo-allergy, and camellia flower to give brighter skin tone. 

Pros:

• I like the tube, it has a pump so it prevents from excess pouring 
• There's no strong scent. I don't really like cosmetics with strong scents and so I do like this one.
• Easy to apply, it's a bit watery so spreading is easy.
• Makes the skin looks moist and not dry. (but not oily)
• It seems a bit dark but once applied to the skin, it blends well.

Cons:

• It's a bit too watery compared to other BB creams so it might drip on your clothes while applying.
• There's only 1 shade, no other option.
• It's a bit pricey compared to Skinfood
• It doesn't have good coverage

There are a lot of BB cream out here in Korea, and being in my 30's it's a have must since you don't have the clean, flawless skin you had when you were in your 20's :P. Which one do you like?

Egg Pore Blackhead Out

I have a lot of blackheads on my nose and I am not the most diligent person to take care of my skin. A friend of mine from US asked me to buy some Korean cosmetics for her, and while shopping I found this Egg Pore Blackhead Out Oil Gel from Tony Moly. There are 3 eggs, white, beige and gold but I just bought myself the first phase- getting rid of the blackheads.

Tony Moly's Egg pore blackhead out oil gel

It's really simple to use, all you have to do is put the contents on your nose and massage it lightly for

3~5 minutes. The next photo shows the gel.

So here's my review for this product :P

I like:

• It's quite affordable, around $8 each.
• There are tiny bits of gold thingy inside, it helps in reducing the blackheads and whiteheads... I think.
• The instruction says if you massage the gel on your nose, it turns white as the dirt melts, well it really turns white.
• I've notice the reduction of white and blackheads though you won't notice it until you've used it 3~4 times.

I don't like:

• Since it's made of egg, you would imagine the smell.
• The looks big, but if you look at the photo on top, the bottom part is the only part containing the gel. Such over packaging. (Accdg. to instructions, you can break the yellow part on top and use this as a mini pot.
• 3~5 minutes massage is too long, at least for me. Even if you lightly massage your nose, it will turn really red. :D

Overall, 10 out of 10, I give this product maybe a 7 or 8. The following 2 products of the same line tightens the pore and covers up the pore. I actually have another product that tightens the pore so I won't be buying this. I guess. 

Gel Eyeliner

I am not a make up guru, and I only have a bit more than basic knowledge of how to apply make up and everything about make up. But I have enjoyed applying make ups to my friends and myself, ever since I was in high school. Although back then it wasn't as complicated as now with so many add-ons. 

Korea has a lot of cosmetic brands. They are quite affordable and for someone like me, who isn't a professional make up artist, those cheap ones will work fine. And maybe when I am better in applying, I might purchase something more expensive :P

My first ever make up review is about gel eyeliner. For me, my make up is not complete without any kind of eyeliner, since I don't have double eye lid and without it my eyes looks bloated. I have used pencil, liquid and gel eyeliner and I find gel eyeliner to be most convenient of them all.

Tony Moly

Tony Moly Gel Liner - this is the first gel liner that I bought. The one i bought was actually with the brush. There are about 5 colors such as black, pearl brown, purple, navy and forgot the other one. And since it's summer they have like a shade of pink and light blue. Well for it's price, less than US$6, it's quite good for me. I bought the pearl brown and one apply is not too dark, good for a day look and additional application makes it good for night look. With regards to whether they are waterproof or long lasting, well, it stays long enough.

Innis Free

Innisfree - I didn't actually purchase this one but when my friend from Philippines came to Korea, I went to their boutiques. They had I think 3 shades,  I think. And when I tried it on my hand, it glided quite well compared to Tony Moly's. The price is similar to the Tony Moly and I think it contains the same amount but to consider that the tester stayed open for quite some time, I think it's better in quality. But then again, it's just my opinion.

Skin Food

The Skin Food - my friend bought this one, and according to her, it doesn't glide smoothly. Though she's a newbie in make up, but well her sister said it doesn't glide smoothly so I don't think it's so good. I also read some reviews(hope there were more reveiws before my friend purchased it), and it doesn't have many good ones. Mostly they say it does not apply smoothly and too light.

Well, there are other gel eyeliner brands such as Nature's Republic, Face Shop, Missha, and a bit more expensive brands such as Lacvert, and so on but I haven't tried them. So maybe next time I do try it out, I will write about it.