Makeup Tools⎪BeautyBlender Review

12:08 PM

There are some products you put away because it doesn't work out the first time, but then for some reason you pick it up again and find that it works miraculously! That was the case with this small makeup applicator - the famous BeautyBlender.
I'll tell you why I love this thing, what I don't like about it, and how I use it to make it work for me.



How to Use: It's pretty simple. When you first buy it, it is literally one third the size of what you see in these pictures. You kind of pump it under running water, and it expands. After that, you can squeeze the excess water and then go straight to applying makeup.

How to Cleanse: This is where I found it so hard to keep using this the first time around. I felt like it was so hard to completely wash this clean because it kept soaking up the soap and foaming up more and more. But with the Dr. Bronner's cleansers, I just rub and pump until I find that the visible signs of makeup are gone. It might take more than a single rinse to get all the soap out. It takes me about five pumps and squeezes to make sure that all the cleansing foam is removed. (Beauty blender do their own cleansers, but I find that what you use for makeup brushes also works well with this sponge)

What I love about it:
  • Great when applying heavy coverage foundations, something like my all-time favorite Estee Lauder Maximum Cover Foundation 
  • When using foundations that are high in coverage with a more matte/velvet finish, this applicator makes your skin look more bouncy so you don't look too dry
  • You know how annoying it is to wait for your brushes to dry after cleansing? Well, I love that you're supposed to use this damp so right after you cleanse it, you can go straight into applying makeup with it! 

What I don't like so much about this:
  • Not a lot, I have to say. But I do find that I use a bit more product than I would if I used a brush. 
  • I don't recommend using this with really watery foundations, but that's just my preference.
  • Not the best kind of shape to place it anywhere on your vanity. I find it rolling around everywhere. 
  • The pink coloring still comes out every time I cleanse.
This is definitely coming out in my January favorites! 




1 comment ,

The Body Shop⎜Eyeshadow Shimmer Cubes

5:33 PM

Today I want to talk about The Body Shop eyeshadow cubes. The only other makeup I've tried from The Body Shop was their honey bronzer which I didn't have that many great things to say. But after doing some research, I thought I'd give these eyeshadow shimmer cubes a try. 

The palettes I purchased are: Palette 06 called "Chocolate Box Shimmer Cubes" and Palette 30 "Spring Bronze Shimmer". 

The palettes come with four individually packaged eyeshadows. With the price and the deals that The Body Shop always offers, you get so much product! Because each eyeshadow is individually packed, you can switch them around and make your own palette. 


The eyeshadows are extremely pigmented and so easy to blend. All of them are shimmery and they catch the light in beautiful ways. I found that the Palette 30 was easier to work with my skin tone. I personally love palettes that have a frosty white shade to add some shimmer in the inner corners and a beautiful yellow-toned gold shade for all over the lid. 

Here are the swatches from Palette 30 - Spring Bronze Shimmer




The Palette 06 "Chocolate Box Shimmer" has much warmer shades. You can definitely create a warmer smokier Autumnal or winter look. The shades in this palette are so pretty. The lightest pink shade is my personal fave! 

Here are the swatches:





I want to give these shimmer cubes and double thumbs up! I will try to create a look using these palettes. I'm trying to learn how to take pictures so that the makeup actually shows vividly on camera! So, until I learn bear with me :) If you've ever created a look using these palettes, let me know (leave a link?) so I can check it out!
2 comments , , ,

PONY x MEMEBOX⎪Shine Easy Glam Palettes One & Two

10:10 AM

With Lisa Eldridge's approval of Korean beauty products, I thought I'd go with the flow and post this hot product from Korea. 

Sometime in the near future, I want to post a tutorial (or something like a tutorial) using these two palettes and kind of spend a whole video talking about my obsession with a makeup artist who goes by the name Pony. She is a young Korean makeup artist and recently a Youtuber (who doesn't actually post videos herself; just films and has the production crew do the editing and uploading). I have been gushing over her unbelievable talent and kind of went all ways to get her bestselling books and her collaboration palettes.

What I want to share with you today are the two palettes Pony has collaborated with Memebox to make. I never heard of Memebox before, until I searched up where I could get her palettes. Memebox has a website where they curate their own boxes and sets of skincare and makeup. I didn't spend too much time on their website. I just went straight in for these palettes and that was pretty much all.

I will try to post pictures of my makeup using these palettes. 

Shiny Easy Glam Palette 1
To start, I will begin with the first palette. The first one is the bigger sized one. It is divided into two compartments. The left side is the semi-matte shadows, and the right side are ones with shimmer and glitter. 

I love how the palette comes with basic descriptions. I prefer to keep that plastic labeling with my palette. I especially love how pigmented the shadows are. Also, Pony created the matte shadows for more than just eyeshadows. Especially the Easy Shadow shade is the perfect shade for contouring the eyes and nose. The Easy Base is great to give the subtle highlighting. It is semi-matte with fine, very little shimmer. I've also seen Pony use the Easy Brown to shade the hollows of the cheeks. If you have a darker skin tone, you can use that shade to contour the eyes and nose.

The other glitter and shimmer shades are beautiful. I find that the Shine Rosegold shade has slightly larger shimmers than most of my other eyeshadows. I find that Korean eyeshadows have generally larger shimmers than the more finely grind palettes from the Western brands. 

The colors are intense, pigmentation great, and you just have all the shades you need for all kinds of brown even resold looks. You can go sweet to smokey with just this palette! 


Here is the link to my Pinterest with the pins of Pony and her makeup looks using these palettes. Pretty stunning!

Shine Easy Glam 2
The second palette is smaller, but colors more vibrant. The palette has generally tones that are more fun and feminine. There are shades or pink and purple. You can stick to the brown tones, or mix in some of those pinks and purples for the more fun and pretty look. 

Even though the palette is smaller, there is a hefty amount of eyeshadows in here. None of them matte. The glitter is more obvious in this palette. When I saw Pony with these colors on, she went for the more galaxy-mysterious look. 


I've actually gone a eye palette spree. The next post will probably be also on these new eye palettes that I bought recently! Stay tuned :) 



1 comment , , ,

Discovery Product #8⎪SebaMed Cleansing Bar

7:12 PM

I'm adding to my "Brand Discovery" / "Discovery Product" series. This time, it is not about makeup . It's a skincare product, and in a bigger sense, about their skincare line that I've never heard of before. It is called SebaMed. My mother knows how much I ail about my skin and in her random shopping, she came across this brand and thought I should try it. 

I've used two Cleansing Bars already, and recently I've gone on their website to really check up on their brand. I am enjoying this cleansing bar a lot. I love how it washes off the residue of makeup after using Bioderma to erase the first layer. Also, I love how my skin glows right after I wash my face. It's a feeling that I've thoroughly cleansed my skin and brought back a kind of youthfulness. At the same time, it doesn't dry out my skin. But what I really like about it is that it makes my skin feeling so soft and moisturized.

Like for most skincare products, I can't swear by it yet but I do like it very much and I thought I'd let you in on this brand so some of you guys can check it out. 

Basically, SebaMed is a brand dedicated to keeping skin healthy by making all its products exactly made to the ideal PH level for the skin- which is ph5.5. Supposedly, based on research, this is the ideal ph for the skin, and their products are made to that ph level and therefore helps your skin maintain that ph. 

All of their products are completely soap-free, alkali-free, paraben-free, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, etc., etc., etc., You know the drill. Kind of the ideal list for those with sensitive, break-out prone skin!

It really seems like a simple and efficient product, and that's why I love it. I checked their website and found that they sell in most drugstores in the US. Price? Very affordable. 

This brand was dedicated for patients with skin disease, and after finding how effective they were, starting selling to non-patients. I have to say it is pretty darn good, and I intend on trying more from their brand!

Leave a Comment , , , , , ,

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet⎪La Romanesque (No.50)

9:32 PM







This lipstick is beautiful in every way. The Rouge Allure Velvet has a semi-matte finish but it was so surprisingly smooth! It does not hug to dry patches and it definitely didn't dry out my lips. It is velvet by its very name.

The color "La Romanesque" is such a beautiful shade. It looks like a dark pink-rose but once you apply it to the lips, it looks quite vibrant. The color is neither too pink nor too red. It has a rose tone mixed with a raspberry shade. It looks both classic and young.

And need I talk about the packaging? I love it that you could click the product out. It makes it extra special indeed!
1 comment , , , ,

Definition Makeup⎪Eyes & Lips

11:54 AM

I received a gift from a friend and used it for the first time on camera. It was the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet "La Romanesque". I loved, loved it so much!

Anyway, this time around I'm being brave and experimenting with the whole "doing-my-makeup-on-camera" thing. This meant exposing my bare naked face. I had to add some filter because my bare face is really... ha! But still, to show the effect of makeup, I thought it was best to show it.


It's a short clip, but hopefully you get the gist of how I did my makeup. I called this the Definition Makeup because it is a general makeup I would wear to emphasize my eyes and lips without looking overdone.

Because I filmed this with my iPad, I thought I'd show you with a high quality picture what my eyes looked like after makeup. I used MAC Soba all over the lid, and then Laura Mercier Gilded Rosegold to contour the eyes. Then, I added MAC A Natural Flirt on my brow bone and inner corners to kind of brighten and blend everything together.

I'm going to do a separate post for just the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet lipstick because it deserves a post of its own! In the meantime, you can watch the video here. If you enjoy it, give it a thumbs up and hopefully I can continue to improve the videos!


1 comment , , , , , ,

Makeup Inspiration #1⎪Natural, Fresh & Flushed

10:46 AM



Foundation: Innisfree Water Glow Cushion (No.23) 
This is great for the light and glowy face. It also has a medium coverage, and it also helps with brightening the face, so you don't have to use a separate concealer for the under-eye.

Blusher: Missha The Style Defining Blusher (PK 02)
This is a product I've never spoken about before but recently, I've pulled it out and gave it a try. It's really pretty. This sweet pink adds a beautiful flush to the face. I like to use this on a wide surface of my cheeks so that the entire cheeks is kind of glowing from within.

Eyeshadow: Benefit Long-Wear Eyeshadow (It's Complicated)
When you want the natural fresh faced makeup look, you want to keep the eyes simple. I've chosen this eyeshadow that has a natural shimmer and the shade is a beautiful beige peach-pink. It helps emphasize the eyes so that when you add mascara, you get that extra effect.

Mascara: Lancome Hynpose Doll-Eyes
Love, love this mascara.

Lips: Jouer (Wind)
Keeping lips simple with a natural beige-pink lip gloss. You want that gloss on the lips for that fresh face. It's soft and moisturizing and not sticky at all!

Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte (Translucent)
Great setting powder if you feel that the foundation is too glowy! You can just set the T-zone and keep the cheeks nice and dewy.


swatch of the Missha blush



Leave a Comment , , , , , ,

RIMMEL Stay Matte⎪Real Techniques Face Brush

10:12 AM


The Rimmel Stay Matte Setting Powder is a pretty talked about deal.
I bought it almost a year ago, and I've since left it in the deep ends of my makeup drawer. But recently, after trying on foundations that were more dewy and moisturizing like the Hera UV Mist Cushion Foundation I've been needing something to set that foundation in. I've been using the Mario Badescu Special Healing Powder as a primer to help with the foundation from melting, but I've found that this Rimmel Stay Matte Powder has been doing a good job indeed!

But the magic seems to come from using a different brush. Previously, I've used brushes that were fan shaped and fluffy so that I can kind of dust this all over the face. But, with the Real Techniques Face Brush, which is more dense, I've been able to pat this on only areas I needed and it's kind of locked in everything. It's also helped with the coverage of pores!

The shade I have is the shade "translucent". You can get ones in other shade colors.


Leave a Comment , ,

Life Update #7⎪Year 2015

4:17 PM

It's year 2015. Crazy.
I'm not one to do the whole "new year, new me" thing. I stopped doing that a long time ago. Instead, I take the time to re-energize myself to work harder. Ever since I started a new chapter in my life, life has been too overwhelming to even think any further than a week or a month down the road. I don't sit and plan my life five years from now, let alone even six months ahead. I am getting by by doing what I need to get done and concentrating on small immediate next steps. That has made me productive and efficient in my work. It has also helped me calm down and not get so anxious about all the things ahead.

Indeed, 2015 has been the year I have been waiting for. It is packed with big "chapter" and I am quite worried about how I will manage them all. But I've gone through twenty-some years of my life, so I know that I will get by this year as well. Not just "well" I hope, but "great".

Every year, to help manage my time and to-do's, I have been relying on pretty Moleskin notebooks. I don't like the already drawn dates and lines as my calendar. I like a regular notebook that I can fill in myself. There is fun in picking out "the year's" notebook, and this year I've picked Le Petit Prince limited-edition notebook to help me get through the year.

Now, plans for my blog. Not much really. I hope to blog more, but that is always a challenge given the amount of work I have in my normal day-to-day life. But I hope to do more creative blogposts and bring to you, my dear readers, more product and brand discoveries - as well as makeup inspiration and ideas. My Youtube Channel is a bit down as well, but I will definitely try to get more things uploaded on my channel. I can tell quite readily by the statistics that people prefer to watch than read. Still, this blog is my baby and I hope more of you will enjoy this creative little space! :)

I'd love to know what some of you wish to see on my blog or Youtube channel. I know there are a few of you who always stop by my blog and leave little comments. I truly appreciate your feedback and hope more of you will interact with my blog! Again, I'd love to know what you wish to see and any other random bits. Leave my a comment down below :)

And Happy 2015. Welcome to the New Year :)

2 comments

Recovering Skin from Holiday Madness⎪Facial Masks

10:58 AM

We are two days into 2015. I spent the holiday season with family and friends, and there was not a day when I didn't wear makeup. And then, there was the food. My holidays were spent eating, eating, and eating some more. Not only did I put on some holiday weight, but I also neglected my skin a little bit. So last night, I took the time to put on some clarifying mask and bring my skin life again.


To be honest, I haven't been using a lot of facial masks. That's because my skincare has been doing a good enough job in keeping the acne at bay. But there are those unavoidable times when the skin really needs that extra help. I've brought out my current favorite masks.

An oldie but goodie is the Origins Clear Improvement Active charcoal mask to clear pores. It is one of those intensive oil-pulling masks that tighten your skin and begs for moisture after you wash the mask off. The great thing is that it really helps clear the pores, but I prefer to use this on days when I know I can keep using it for more than just once a week. Why? Because sometimes, very rarely though, the intensive oil-pulling can cause some pores to turn into pimples if you don't take care of it. It's not that often, but there are times when I don't want the intensive detox for fear that it'll instigate for acne trouble. But the good thing is, if you keep us with it, it'll die them down and turn your skin into a really clear one!

So, for times when I don't want to much detoxing to go on and I just want the entirety of my skin to look better and clearer as a whole, I like to use the GlamGlow ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment. This isn't necessarily to clarify the skin, but I often find that injecting hydration into the skin leaves the skin feeling much more healthier and softer-- and therefore generally clearer and better! This mask has got to be the best out of the GlamGlow masks. I love that you can leave it on for hours on end, and you can either rinse it off, massage it in, or wipe it off. I prefer to rinse it off, but in flights, I'd probably leave it on during the whole flight! It smells of coconuts and it really is a easy effective mask to use because you don't have to rinse it off after ten minutes. #lazygirl

Another easy facial mask is the Dr.Jart+ Pore Medic Pore Purifying Mask. This is serum-infused to tighten and tone the face. When I think of detoxing and clearing out the pores, I don't usually think sheet masks will help. But I was wrong with this. It doesn't suck out the oil out of your face, but it does the clearing and tightening the face thing. You wake up with a more ready set face. How it clears the face is by reducing the excess oil without overdrying, and that's a good thing.

Finally, another soft detox mask is one from ISOI. It is again from their "1st class Bulgarian Rose" line and it is called Oil-Control Pink Pack. I love slathering a thick layer of this on my face. Unlike the Origins detox mask, this ISOI mask is a milder kind. I know I can use this without any concerns that it'll overdry or instigate the undersurface pores to turn into pimples. It truly helps the excess of oil the next day without feeling that your skin is too dry. The consistency feels like Dr. Sebagh's Breakout Powder and Cream and in some sense it does a similar job.

Last night, I actually used the ISOI Oil-Control Pink Pack and this morning, I am feeling all energized and clear and my skin is feeling great! I am slowly recovering from all that holiday eating.

How are you recovering from the Holiday season?
Leave a Comment , , , , , , , , ,
Powered by Blogger.

Copyright #beautyshelfie. Designed by BloggerTemplate