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April Glossybox!
It's almost been a year since I subscribed to Glossybox. I have one month left before my subscription with Glossybox ends. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be resubscribing to them this time. I haven't been exactly all that impressed with their latest boxes, but neither were they bad. Because they were just "decent" I don't feel compelled to spend over $100 on a subscription that is merely "decent". However, I will say that if I had the luxury of spending $100 anytime anywhere, I would subscribe again. (Confusing much? Sorry! haha) It was definitely fun and exciting to see what's in the box each month, that is for sure!
- Alterna Haircare Bamboo Style Boho Waves Tousled Texture Mist
- Bvlgari Tea Bag for Bath
- The Honest Company Lip Balm
- Tigi Cosmetics Glow Blush
- Wash With Joe Body Wash
- Le Metier De Beaute Replenishing Daily Solution w/ Voucher
I'd rate this box a 7/10. My favorite product has to be the lip balm. I follow The Honest Company on Instagram. It's a company represented by Jessica Alba (I believe she's the CEO? I could be wrong). It's known for using safe and organic products. I just tried it and it's pretty nice! Just all natural and easy to use, the classic lip balm.
I know the glow blush by Tigi has been promoted a lot by Glossybox this past month. Hmm... not too sure how much I like it. Recently, the makeup products that they have featured in the boxes have been so-so, like the eyeliners and whatnot. This is a very shimmery orange/peach blush.
I have yet to try the rest!
What do you guys think? x
The Answer.
Get ready. I'm about to reveal the secret, the answer to clear skin and magically erasing blemishes. Here it is...
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| $45 |
So, that being said, my unwavering trust in their brand drove me to give this a go. I remember reading somewhere that Vitamin C was good for skin scarring. Hey, I've got tons for that!
Within one day (I wish I was exaggerating!), I saw a difference in my skin tone. It was brighter and my bumps were instantly sunken in. But, at that time I was also trying this and that so I wasn't sure if it was due to the serum. It could also just be a "good day", you know? So, I kept at it. I was using it morning and night, after the toning stage. I would add a moisturizer or a night cream on top of it.
In one week, my face looked as if I had laser peeling done.
In two weeks, I was brazen enough to walk out of my house with just a very small amount of BB cream.
By the third week, I am unashamed to erase my makeup and go out to public. Even though it is definitely not flawless, my scars have diminished by 90%. Some are even gone. Even the most gruesomely dark scars left over from my puberty years have disappeared. My overall skin tone has become brighter. Pores have shrunken.
I almost feel like this is magic.
Then the final bang was when random people at school were commenting on my skin and how much clearer and brighter it's gotten. People have commented and asked whether good things are happening in my life (they are actually) and if that was the reason for skin improvement. Some people comment saying I must be getting really good sleep.
Whatever their assumptions or guesses are, the answer is only one. Mario Badescu's Vitamin C Serum.
Oh my gosh. This oil-like serum sometimes tingles my skin, and sometimes it just feels like lathering my skin with very light oil. It may feel slightly sticky for some people, although I didn't catch any of that. I even apply it in the morning, religiously. I cover my whole face with it, then tap it in. I finish it off with either Mario Badescu Buttermilk moisturizer or the Seaweed night cream at night.
However, any dermatologists out there (or skincare gurus!) does Vitamin C dry out your skin? For such an oily-skinned person like me, my skin has become really dehydrated! Currently, I am trying out different skincare products to really deeply hydrate my skin. I totally miss my ATOMY "Again" serum. I haven't found the time to search for the product and get it! That completely hydrates my skin like no other serum.
Yet, even though my skin has been feeling tight and dry, I have not for a single day stopped using this Vitamin C serum. Amazing. I have finished one whole bottle of it (it was only 1/3 full from the start), and just bought another one today.
This is a must have. I swear by it. If this works on a skin like mine, the chances it'll work on yours is pretty damn high! :)
Keeping Makeup On All Day: HOURGLASS MINERAL VEIL
I did one of these "Keeping Makeup on All Day" posts last year. Well, I'm going to do it again this year, but this time introducing a new product that really works.
Recently, my sister had her wedding. No one warned me that even the people around her would become completely captured in the craziness. Somehow I got caught up by time and soon, I found myself having to do my entire makeup in just 10 minutes.
Sure, I'm not the bride. But still, it's good to look nice on someone else's wedding, especially if that someone is your sister! So, I knew I wanted to look nice and so I knew I had to use the most fool-proof beauty products to create that look. The most important part is to make sure I was priming my face so that my makeup would last all day.
I bought this Hourglass Mineral Veil Oil-Free primer in my recent Sephora VIB shopping. I had a whole blogpost and video dedicated to the things I bought, and I promised I'd do a review on them once I knew enough about them. Of them was this Hourglass product, my first Hourglass product in fact.
I heard much about the primer, but in all honesty, I have tried both Makeup Forever HD primer and the Smashbox primer and I don't recall liking them much. The whole idea of these invisible powder like liquid primers confuse me. They are so velvety and soft, and you spread them all over your face. Because they are invisible and so powdery, you don't know if you've done a good job evening them out. They kind of sit on your skin and you wonder how this will help your makeup sit on top of this later of softness you've created. I always feared that adding a liquid foundation on top of the primer would make the primer beneath smear all around as I'm working in the foundation.
Anyway, but I gave it a go. At first, I used it with my This Works primer which I love and swear by. I was worried that the Hourglass primer wouldn't work and so as a backup, I'd have my fool-proof primer to help me through the day. I found though that when I used this primer, my skin that day looked... pretty nice. The fine lines were slightly less visible. My makeup lasted all day, without any touchups needed. At all.
I tried it again the next day. Same. So, I took the next big leap and decided to use it on its own.
My makeup lasted all day. And my skin looked really nice. Velvety. Smooth. Matte.
Whoa. This was a discovery!
So on the wedding day, I gave it a really test. It was so good! Unlike other primers (like the oil-free NARS primer) this wasn't irritating or sticky at all. I was seriously more than impressed. Yes, I should be though. It is a whooping price of $52! Of course now, I bought the smaller size which is $18. Because I only need one pump, I think $18 is a pretty good deal. It's also so travel friendly.
They have a different kind, meant for more mature skin for nourishment. But, as I'm still young (yes!) I went for the oil-free. It truly gives you a matte, natural, and oil-free priming to the skin, all day!
In addition, I have here two other products I know are really good at what they say it does. PRIMING and LONG-LASTING. This Works primer/tinted moisturizer is a cult favorite of mine. Then Skindinavia is also good. Just give that a slight spritz of an X and T motion. Then, this Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. Awesome!
Perfume Collection #1: DIPTYQUE (Part One)
Ramble is what I do, especially when I am talking about fragrances. I somehow can't seem to stop going on and on about how much I love them. In all honesty, I've tried filming and writing a blogpost about my perfume collection over ten times in the past year! It's failed every time. But, with celebration that I have finished an extremely rigorous first year of my course, I decided to sit down and get business done.
I am basically going to divide this collection video into about three parts. The first part, this one, is going to just be on Diptyque fragrances, of course mentioning only the ones I actually have! I've incorporated some of my sisters' fragrances as well because even though they aren't mine, I thought it'd be a good idea to tell you guys about as many as I can. However, on that note, I must say I didn't do the greatest job in describing each scent. I am no perfumist but I will say that I tried to tell you why I love them so much.
My all time favorite, my signature scent is Diptyque's Eau Duelle. This babe has been around and about in my blog posts and videos since the beginning of time. It is an absolute marvel. There's not a single time I pop open the bottle and with the first waft of scent I think I could have made a better choice. It is perfect. It is sweet because of the vanilla note, but with the peppery spice on top, they develop into this amazing sophisticated feminine scent. It is truly sexy, warming, comforting, yet still fresh and light. I was no fan of vanilla, but this one is nothing like I've experienced before!
Ofresia has an instant picture in my head. The first sniff and I immediately imagined a young girl running through the hills, gathering wild flowers to make a crown of flowers on her head. She runs through the forest and down the hills, coming home to her sweet wooden cabin with a bouquet of fresh flowers in her arms. She smells of fields, of flowers, and of the wind. Her eyes are smiling, her cheeks are flushed, and her breath is the smell of freesias! That. This is what Ofresia means to me. It is a poetry in one scent!
Finally, there is Olene and 34 boulevard st germain. Olene is a floral scent with definitive notes of Jasmine. It is a calming scent, with floral notes that remind you of tea! 34 Boulevard St Germain is named after the first Diptyque store in France. It is a woody scent, deep, seductive, mysterious, and heavy.
Have you tried Diptyque? What are some of your favorite scents? x
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Illuminating Powder Gelée
This product has been approved by my sisters who are now literally obsessed with it.
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| Bronze Goddess Illuminating Powder Gelée |
I am growing my Estee Lauder collection because they are that worth it. Everything I've tried from them so far has been impeccably satisfying, all in its content, packaging, pigmentation, and results. Now, I don't have too many of their products because I'm late on the bandwagon but now that I've had a test with a few of them, I know there might be more bits and pieces being added to my collection.
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| without flash. |
One of my favorite products from their brand is their "Gelée" line. I don't know the whole science behind them, but what I do know is their gelée line is this powder product that transfers like metallic gel on the skin. It gives you this wet-look effect because of the high metallic-shine and pigmentation. Their bronze sand eye palette I bought last year is amazing. Following that, I bought this illuminator/highlighter.
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| This is a really really small amount! |
I've been "digging" (do people still use this word?) highlighters recently. It adds "youth" and "radiance" to just the right places, making you look so perked up and "put together". I love it.
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| under a harsh light |
When I swatched this illuminator at the store, I thought-WOW. Their gelee technology enables just the slightest amount of product to transfer triple that amount. Meaning, it is effective and deeply pigmented. The finish of these powders are just amazing. It's not sparkly shimmery shine. It's rather a metallic sheen finish. It gives you this dewiness without looking cakey or too powdery.
Although the color looks "brown" and can be found under the "bronzer" category on their website, (on top of that, is called "bronze goddess"), it is nothing of a dark bronzer. It is a highlighter, and it isn't dark at all. The color is a barely-there on the face. What you see, though, is the effect of that top-notch shine. The color, I would describe, is an icy-gold, whereas my Benefit Watts-up highlighter is a champagne gold.
It comes with their little sponge that really packs on that product on the face. At first I was scared to use that because I thought it'd pack on way too much, and this product already being so super pigmented, I was sure I didn't want to beam like a sun everywhere. So, I had used a fluffy brush to apply this. But, when I found that in fact, I didn't have enough on my face, I tried this sponge and found out that this actually did the best job! Take this sponge and add product and sweep it on the tops of your cheeks and under your brow bones! So pretty!
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| nice packaging huh? :) $40 |
If you're on the search for a new edition illuminator to your collection, check this one out! My sisters reach for this all the time, and when my sisters approve of it this much, I know I've done a good job finding the "it" product :)
b e a u t y h a u l : M A C & N A R S & H O U R G L A S S
Here is a haul of my recent beauty purchases! I know it looks like I've hoarded an unnecessary amount, but I had two gift cards with me and I'm not going to lie. I do have an obsession with makeup. So, where would I spend that gift card than on spending it on the few products I've been eyeing! Also, Sephora has started their VIB 15% sale. That gave me reason to stock up on "essentials"-- foundation, primer, and contour powder. With the VIB card, you also get a plastic bag of samples and a free tote bag!
Watch this video to see the overall:
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| MAC blushes: Well-Dressed, Melba, Mocha, Blazing Haute, Blushing All Day |
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| Sunny in Seoul, Cremesheen formula/ lovel pink coral :) |
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| When I went to the mall first thing in the morning, MAC counters JUST brought out this new collection. It's their mineral blush! This is the color Blazing Haute :) |
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| Soft Blush Brush (Angled) #168 |
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| I've finished my first bottle, and I had to stock up on my now second Nars Sheer Glow! |
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| Nars Laguna. It was essential :) |
2 comments
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DIY Tea-Puff Facial Mist!
Have I ever done a DIY post? I don't think I have but today's post is just that! It's a really super easy but really effective way to "depuff" the face. It is this homemade facial mist targeting those days when you wake up to a thick layer of cushion on your face. Your eyes are about to disappear, and your nose has mounted some extra skin. Perhaps you've eaten pizza the night before, our Chinese take-out? Whatever the case, most of us suffer from swollen and bloated faces. This DIY is perfect for those kinds of days, and really all kinds of days!
All you need is either green tea or oolong tea, both known to have high percentage of caffeine. As you all know, caffeine helps depuff. A lot of depuffing products therefore uses caffeine to bring about those results. So, green tea and oolong would be perfect for this.
Brew it completely in really warm water. Make sure you leave the tea bag in as long as you can. The longer the better because that much more caffeine comes out. For drinking though, it is recommended that you brew only for about 2 minutes for that reason. I chose this tropical green tea because the tropical part of it just makes everything better because it smells so fresh and nice when you spritz it on your face! After you brew it, let it cool. You can either cover it and leave it in the refrigerator or let it cool naturally.
Then what would be great is if you had an empty bottle of spray. I had an empty spray bottle I bought from CVS but right when I needed it, I couldn't find it! So, I emptied out this certain bottle and made sure to clean it nice and well (since the product in it will soon be going on your face!). Then, I carefully poured the tea into the bottle.
It is ideal to leave this in the refrigerator and to wake up every morning and mist your face with this. The caffeine plus the coolness will further help the depuffing process. You can take it with you throughout the day and mist it whenever. The great thing about this is that it leaves no stickiness and it's so cost efficient! I decided to paint my bottle so that I can easily find it amongst all my products.
Just for bonus, I also added a certain ph- water. I honestly forgot what PH this water was, but it's a PH level that it supposed to be ideal for the skin! So along with depuffing the face, this facial mist will also help the skin. And plus, it's always nice to keep the face hydrated :)
Do tell me if you try this out and what you think of it! I've been spritzing this all day and I've seen the effects. Of course, it's not going to shrink your face immediately and so obviously.
I'm going to call this my Tea-Puff Facial Mist!
KORRES Lip Butter in Wild Rose
The great thing about having two sisters, both older, is that you can often cruise into their rooms and take a good look at their topshelves and makeup collections. Then, when they aren't looking, you can kind of steal it and use it. If they notice, oh well you'll return it to them. If not, it's kind of yours to keep forever! And sometimes, they even abandon some of their beauty products by letting it just sit in my room! Then, I'd casually snatch these bits and pieces up and try them. If I like them, in my pocket they go! If not, then I place it nicely back onto their topshelf :)
Okay, so getting past the story of sounding like a selfish sister, in all honesty having girls in the house means getting to try that much more products! The one I recently found in my sister's room was this Korres lip butter. She just left it on her desk, and it well, seemed "abandoned". So, I snatched it and tried it. She had this Wild Rose shade as well as this pink nudey shade. I opened the pink nude first and I thought... yucky.
The reason being was because it was this really pastey thick looking nude shade. I didn't like the smell of it and when I did poke my finger into it, it just didn't seem that nice. Then, I smeared it on my lips and thought... no.
But, this shade in Wild Rose was quite the contrary. Now of course, the consistency is the same. I saw my sister use this time to time and each time I thought, nah. But as you know, there's quite a hype around this item. I applied some on my lips and I liked the way it went on my lips. I found it really hydrating and just easy to bring out a nice rosy lip shade without looking overdone or underdone.
I honestly don't like lip "pots", especially ones with color. Most of my lip products are all sticks or tubes. The whole poking into a mess of color doesn't seem pleasing. This product is quite gel-like in that when you do poke it and give it a swirl, it feels like jelly and is a bit bouncy! It doesn't seem like the usual lip tints that we know of (or rather, what I know of!).
However, besides the stain I get on my ring finger after applying it, I have enjoyed using this product for a week now. I haven't gravitated towards any other product. It's just so easy to use, carry around, and bring some life back to your face. Because it is in fact quite hydrating, you don't have to worry about getting streaky or chapped lips after application!
So in summary (since that was quite rambly!):
PROS:
- Lovely shade. Your lips but better kind of red :)
- Easy application
- Hydrating
- It's a tint kind so you have this pretty decent lasting color on your lips!
- Smells neutrally floral, and nothing too empowering.
CONS:
- This is totally subjective but I just don't like poking my fingers into a color pot for lips! It leaves a stain on my finger and I hate having to wipe the excess product on the back of my hand to take it off.
- Don't like the other shades, especially the nude one!
Mini Shu Uemera Haul!
I successfully posted/recorded my Makeup Collection here. That to me was quite an accomplishment because it took me awhile to be satisfied with how I had set it up, and even though it wasn't ideal, I had got it going somehow. Anyway, there's another mountain to climb and that's a post on my recent Korean Beauty Haul that I've bought when I went to Korea last week. I took so many pictures and had bought a few, but somehow I can't seem to manage to organize them into a single post! So, while I procrastinate on that, let me show you what I had picked up in the Incheon Airport Duty Free.
It is two Shu Uemura beauty products. As I said in my last video, I have come to love their lipsticks. It's so super hydrating and pigmented as well. Since it's hard to get a hold of these products here in the US, I thought I'd get something at the Duty Free store. What I picked up was a lipstick and their new edition blush.
The lipstick is their PK 325. PK = pink. The lipstick I had before this one is under the CR category, which stands for Coral (click to see swatch/review of this one). This lipstick is a purpley-pink and I really love it! It's almost a barbie pinky shade and I think it would be perfect for Spring, maybe a bit too much for the Winter though!
look at how super-moist it is! It helps the lipstick not look cakey or thick on the lips :)
This is the blush from the new Summer edition! It's a light orange in the shade M Soft Orange 542. It is basically a matte shade (I think that's what the M stands for) although there is a slight pearl to it. I tried this color and it really helps the face look fresh and aglow! You don't see too many light oranges making big trends here in the US, but in Asian countries, I've seen this shade go on trend. It really flatters the face, strangely enough :)
For the blush, you pay $8 for the case. If you have enough cases, you can just buy the refills :) What do you guys think?
my Makeup Collection #1
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| In this video, you can get a glimpse of my ever so presh topshelf too aka perfume collection :) |
Here's my first ever Makeup Collection video! It's taken me awhile to actually pucker up the time and mentality to film this. Reason being is because when I thought my collection was organized well enough, I had new products coming in soon. And when I thought I had just about a stable collection, my topshelf/room/collection was a mess! So, when I organized it a bit and thought it was "stable" enough, I thought: this is the time! So, here it is. Again, not ideal but will it ever be? :) Also, I numbered it #1 because as you know, makeup collections will never stay the same. At least not forever because there's always new ones coming, old and used ones leaving!
Apologizes that the video shakes so much! :/ I should've set it up with my tripod. Sorry! I hope no one gets sick watching it... But still, hope you enjoyed it :) It'd be awesome if you liked and subbed to my channel!
March Glossybox
Rating 8/10
Here's what I got:
Here's what I got:
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| Model Co "Cheek & Lip Tint", Prestiche Body Soap, Sebastian Hair Spray, Elite Intensity Eyeliner, Koh Gen Doh Emollient Cream |
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| Model Co "Cheek & Lips Tint" |
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| A bit blended. |
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| Completely rubbed in! |
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| The intensity eyeliner pencil by Elite is a really sparkly dark gray/charcoal eyeliner. Seems OK! |
