Missha The Style Jewel Star Eyes in Pecan Pie

Glitter, glitter, glitter. I'm in love with glitter, especially neutral glitters for everyday. The Missha The Style Jewel Star Eyes in Pecan Pie ($13.99 on ibuybeauti) promises shining, moisturized and glossy eyes and delivers. I'm happy to say that I've found a shimmery shadow that's not too shimmery and appropriate for all day and all night. 

The Missha the Style Jewel Star Eyes come in 9 colours - Champagne Pink, Havana Coral, Orange Lady, Apple Blossom, Pecan Pie, Lovely Chocolate, Midnight, and Moonray. By the looks of it, all of them are a sheer coloured base with a boatload of gold or silver shimmer. 

Pecan Pie is a warm medium brown with golden sparkles. The glitter is very concentrated in the product and provides a shimmering, foiled look to the eyes. The texture is a light, slightly mousse-y cream-to-powder finish. With powder shimmer shadows, there's usually more fallout than I would like to have. However, with the Style Jewel Star Eyes, there's much less and it's easier to work with. 

Lasting power is pretty average (6 hours) and I don't find it to crease on my eyelids (yay!). In any case, can we just take a moment to awe at the glittery goodness of the Missha the Style Jewel Star Eyes? 

To apply the Missha The Style Jewel Star Eyes in Pecan Pie, I like to do one of two things: (1) fingers, fingers, fingers can pick up a product with ease or (2) a flat shadow brush to avoid getting your fingers all glittery. 

In general, wearing this product all over the lids is totally appropriate for day or night. The shimmers look different around certain areas of the eye, so it can be worn on it's own. For a bit more depth, you could add a touch of a matte dark brown in the outer corners. 

If you're into glitter, this one's for you. If not, you're probably going to want to avoid this product. One thing's for sure, the Jewel Star Eyes are unicorn-worthy. For twinkly star-like eyes, try the Missha The Style Jewel Star Eyes in Pecan Pie! 

Shimmer or no shimmer? 

Press samples featured. This post was originally written for beautifan.com

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Etude House & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencil Liner in Sunset Brown

I'll always choose pencil liner over liquids. There's more room for error - you can sharpen the pencil to a precise tip and any mistake can be fixed with a little smudging for a more sultry eyeliner look. For this purpose, the Etude House & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencil in Sunset Brown ($11.99 on ibuybeauti) is the perfect eyeliner. 

For reference claims include "creamy texture and amazing adhesion, waterproof and long-lasting"

There are 4 colours available - BE103 Creamy Rose (nude) , PP501 Dust Purple (mauve purple), RD304 After Blossom (deep pink), and BR404 Sunset Brown (warm chocolate brown). There's no staple black, white, or taupey brown colours in sight. While the selection isn't the best, the shades that are available are on the unique side of eyeliner colours. 

The Etude House & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencil in Sunset Brown comes in no box, just some simple plastic wrap. The pencil casing and lid is made of a plastic material, much more reliable than the clear plastic caps of North American pencil liners that break easily and annoy me to no end. It's your standard pencil liner. 

If I were to change one thing about this liner, I would want it to be twist-up because twist-ups are 1,000x more efficient and time-saving than busting out the sharpener every time I want a precise tip. 

Sunset Brown is a rich, warm brown shade. The pencil is very smooth and soft in texture and (thankfully) doesn't pull at the eyelid during application. The liner sets quite quickly (within a minute) but can be easily blended out for a softer effect. 

As someone with extremely oily skin and hooded eyelids, I can truly appreciate this eyeliner. One of my biggest beauty issues is that I'll apply a pencil liner on my top lashline and by the middle of the day, I'll have not just one line of liner on my lashline, but most liners will transfer into an awkward line in my crease. The Etude House & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencil liner does not do this. It stays put all day long until I feel like taking it off and it's not at all hard to remove. 

Overall, a great pencil liner. Disregarding the lack of colour selection, the only factor that could possibly prevent you from purchasing the & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencils is the price, but the staying power and creaminess is always preferred over hard, crumbly eyeliners (wet n wild) or overly creamy racoon-eye-inducing eyeliners (urban decay) which makes this liner pencil totally worth it. 

What's your favourite basic pencil liner? 

Press sample featured. This post was originally written for beautifan.com

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Mamonde Real Skin Founder in 02 Natural Beige

Most foundations I've tried and enjoyed previously fall along the lines of (1) sheer, lightweight BB cream or (2) super flawless matte foundation. The Mamonde Real Skin Founder in 02 Natural Beige ($27.99 on ibuybeauti.com) is somewhere in between the two. Apparently this product is all the rage in Korea, so I thought it might be nice to see what the hype is about. 

So, what the heck is a "skin founder"? Well, here's a little word math for you... Foundation + Powder = Founder... and the Mamond Real Skin Founder is born! The thin coverage of a foundation, and the lasting power of powder. According to Mamonde the Real Skin Founder contains Edelweiss, gold and pearl extracts for a soft, glowy radiance. 

The product comes in a large, bulky yet sleek-looking, refillable compact similar to the likes of the Face Shop Screen Cell Cushion. It also comes with a sponge-puff for easy application. The only difference between the two is that the Skin Founder is not a cushion foundation. Instead, it's more along the lines of a compact cream. 

The Mamonde Real Skin Founder is available in 2 shades - 01 Light Beige (for NC15 to NC25) and 02 Natural Beige (for NC25 to NC35). Unfortunately, 02 Natural Beige is the correct undertone but appears to be slightly light. This foundation shade is much better suited for me in the winter. 

There's a light "skincare" scent to the product, which is only noticeable during application. From there, it's scent-free and hasn't broken me out thus far. 

In terms of results, I'll start off by saying this stuff makes my skin look like I woke up flawless. It makes my skin look near-perfect and naturally so. It's medium and buildable to full coverage with a very slight radiant finish. The lightweight creamy texture is very easy to apply, as it smooths over the dry patches on my nose but at the same time, it doesn't appear to be overly dewy or wet. 

The only gripe I have of this product is that it doesn't wear away gracefully. After 6 hours, the foundation breaks up and begins to look patchy on my nose and forehead. It's not what I expected considering the beautiful, radiant finish that it gives my skin immediately after application. I guess I'm just super oily. 

Overall, the Mamonde Real Skin Founder is very unique in texture and formulation, definitely the kind of product I haven't seen this from other brands. My only wish is that it would stick around for just a few hours longer on my skin. Though this one isn't for me, I can see why there's so much hype around the product. I'm sure it will make someone with dry or normal skin very happy! 

Would you try the Mamonde Real Skin Founder? 

This post was originally written for beautifan.com. Press samples featured. 

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Etude House My Jelly Lips Talk in Plum JOR203

Lately, I've been loving orange. In particular, sheer orange. With today's array of lipstick, balm, and gloss combinations and options, the Etude House Sweet Recipe My Jelly Lips Talk in Plum JOR203 ($13.99 on ibuybeauty.com) is just another fish in the sea of sheer lipsticks.

Perhaps the difference between this and others is the classic and cute Etude house packaging, along with the strange jelly formula that glides over your lips with ease. Despite the name sounding lost in translation, the name "My Jelly Lips" is pretty darn accurate. The texture of the lippie is weirdly jelly-like. It's not as thick balm nor is it like a creamy lipstick. It's more slippery and slick but not wet like a gloss either and it's extremely comfortable on the lips. Furthermore, not surprisingly, the sheer texture results in a lack of staying power. 

For some reason, this product appears ridiculously bright and intimidating in the tube but translates to something much sheerer when worn on the lips. It's a pop of colour without being ostentatious about it. The name of the colour was also totally lost in translation. JOR203 is also known as "plum". Dearest Etude House, plums are not orange, so I'm a bit confused. Other colours in the line include Lychee (JPK001), Strawberry (JPK002), Orange (JOR201), Mango (JOR202), Lemon (JBE101), Cotton Pink (JPK003), and Grapefruit (JPK004). 

Ignoring my dislike for the colour name and product name, the Etude House My Jelly Lips Talk in JOR203 is a fabulous product. It's not better or worse than my other sheer lippies but it gets the job done in a colour that I love. 

Have you tried the Etude House My Jelly Lips Talk? 

Press samples featured. Originally posted on http://www.beautifan.com/

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The Face Shop Cushion Screen Cell Foundation in 02 Natural Beige

I'm embracing my "Asian" side by trying something from all the way across the ocean. The Face Shop Cushion Screen Cell [Foundation] SPF 50+ PA+++ ($23.99 on ibuybeauti.com) is my attempt at venturing into parts unknown. Yes... the cushion foundation is popular in Korea, but the screen cushion is even more new and innovative. 

What is a cushion foundation? Instead of bottled packaging, the product is soaked in a cushion compact. You're meant to press a puff onto the sponge and then use the sponge to apply foundation to your face.Supposedly, the cushion creates a more natural, even coverage on the skin. 

Like a little child playing with lego, I took apart the pieces of The Face Shop Cushion Screen Cell. Essentially it's made up of 5 parts. (1) a large, bulky compact with mirror, which houses all the other pieces (2) a puff applicator (3) the "sponge"/cushion (4) the screen (5) the screen holder. The difference between the Face Shop Cushion Screen Cell and your ordinary cushion foundation is this - the 0.028 mm screen almost filters the liquid foundation so a lesser amount of the product on the puff applicator for a more delicate finish. 

The product housed inside the foundation makes 5 specific claims - coverage, sun protection, whitening, anti-wrinkle, and moisturizing. In my experience, I found the Face Shop Cushion Screen Cell to be medium buildable coverage and smooths over imperfections without emphasizing dry patches. The finish is extremely dewy and almost gives a "wet" look to the skin. The product feels lightweight on the skin (as expected of dewy finish products). Wear time is about 5 to 6 hours on my oily face. 

Natural Beige can mean many different things. In the case of the Face Shop, natural beige is the darkest colour and still too light for me. Even worse, since it contains SPF, there's a lot of flashback in photos. 

Overall, I'm not a fan of this product, as it's not suited to my skin type at all. It gives me the classic dewy, healthy, perfect Asian skin look, but it doesn't last for long and the colour is way too light. I can't say much about the skincare claims, but the suncare seems to work just fine. The Face Shop Cushion Screen Cell is best suited for those who are dry to normal skin types and looking for a lightweight dewy-finish foundation. 

Want to read more about the Face Shop Cushion Screen Cell Foundation? - Check out my in-depth review on Beautifan.com

Have you tried cushion foundation?

Press sample featured. I received this product as a contributor to the Beautifan blog. Check it out here. 

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