Korean Makeup Review: Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint

This review is SO overdue! I'm sorry for my erratic posting recently, I've been so busy, my birthday was on Saturday so there was a lot of shopping and I'm going on vacation in a couple of days, so more shopping, gathering and packing going on! Sigh!

Anyway, this is my first time trying a lip tint and I have to say it has been a novel experience for me! I feel like in situations where lipstick or gloss maybe too heavy or sticky lip tint will come through for you!

The lip tint I'm reviewing today is the Etude House Fresh Cherry Lip Tint in "Cherry Red." It was sponsored by the lovely Taisoon from Two Face Mall!

 Thanks Two Face Mall! ^w^

About Two Face Mall:

Two Face Mall is a Korean skincare and makeup store based in Korea. It stocks not only some very popular brands of cosmetics but also has great deals and discounts like:

• Free Shipping with tracking!
• $5 off on signing up
• Free Skinfood Avocado lip balm on purchase 

The store also has a new "Buying Service":

The customer gives the details of the products and their own contact and address details, the store gives them an expected price on the products, the customer pays and the "buying" proceeds. 

So you can find any products you fancy, ask for a price and get them delivered to you! A great way of finding products that are new or not yet available online outside of Korea!

Shipping: Shipping took less than two weeks and the products were packed well with bubble wrap. There was a tracking number so I could neurotically check my shipment every few hours, as usual! Lol!

Taisoon also sent me an extra Laneige sheet mask which I can't wait to try! 

Now on to the product review!

Price: 

$10.90 for 9.55 g! 

Packaging: 

Etude keeps updating their packaging ALL the time! It is very hard to keep track of it! >.< The lip tint has a newer packaging now, the one I have is the older version. 

The bottle it comes in looks a lot like a fat nail polish bottle, the colour is red like the contents. It has a doe foot, lip gloss like applicator and the bottle is packed in an adorable cardboard box. 

Colour:

The Fresh Cherry tint is available in 3 (now four) shades. This colour, "Cherry Red" is a pinky red with a little coral quality thrown in. One swipe is sheer and gives a natural flushed appearance. Two swipes gives a lovely almost opaque colour.

What I love is that the tint has a glossy effect initially but even after it fades, the colour stays strong for hours!

Smell/ Taste:

The scent of the Fresh Cherry lip tint is definitely that of cherries and the taste is minty, the minty flavour gives it a tingly sensation on the lips too! Very cooling! ^_^

Swatches:

You can see in the hand swatch that even after washing off the tint leaves a rosy stain.

On the lip swatch you can see how it adds a subtle yet bright wash of colour. 

Overall:

As a first time lip tint user I must say I am very impressed with the Fresh Cherry lip tint! I will be using it again and again, especially for casual occasions. I like that the quantity is big and the product is pretty long lasting, so I feel like I have gotten a good deal. I will probably be buying the Peach colour soon too!

These tints are a big part of the ulzzang makeup, especially for the gradient lips look, I'll try and do a tutorial on that soon!

with two layers of tint

As for Two Face Mall, they are generous sponsors and I will be buying from the store as well! I do hope that the site is tweaked a bit so it is easier to navigate but the deals that they have and the buying service makes me a very willing customer!

Have you tried lip tints? What do you think of the Fresh Cherry lip tint?

Korean Makeup Review: BRTC Gold Caviar BB cream

This is my second Korean makeup review, the first being Etude House’s Sweet Cupcake eyeshadow review. I also want to say that this is my second BB cream review but I won’t. Reason?

The first BB cream reviewed by me was NOT a BB cream. It was Maybelline’s BB cream, which as much as I love, I can safely say, it is not what makes a BB cream at all. Maybe tinted moisturizer is the right term.

This here though, BRTC’s Gold Caviar BB cream, is the real deal! 

About BRTC:

BRTC stands for Bio Remedies Therapeutic Cosmetics. It is a Korean company certified by the KFDA and is compliant with FDA rules. They say that they are Korea’s premium brand of botanical skincare and medical grade of BB Creams.  I can totally see why. Their innovative Science meets Nature ingredients have really blown me away.

The Gold Caviar BB cream is great for:

• Dry skin
• Dark, worn out skin
• Aged skin with low resilience
• Skin that needs constant nutrition
• All skin types that need vivid and healthy presentation.

Apart that it also has an Optimal Cover Rx, which soothes and repairs sun skin damage and it has a special Tannin Pore Complex to reduce pores. 

That and the fact that it has a SPF of 50 was the main reason I decided to try it! :D

Ingredients:

Customer Service:

The customer service at BRTC was very fast. Replies were given in 24 hours or less and even shipping was speedy! I had my package in 15-20 days by first class mail all the way from the USA. ^_^

Price:  $28 for 35 ml.

Packaging:

The tube

The BB cream comes in a blue and silver squeeze tube which has a sealed nozzle. 

The packaging of BRTC’s BB creams is very professional and medical looking. It doesn't conform with other Korean brands that try to exude a cute or pretty image in their packaging. I feel like it gives them a mature and trustworthy image. The packaging to me, even though I am a lover of cute things, shows they mean business!

Hygienically sealed nozzle

Colour, Smell and Texture:

The Gold Caviar BB cream is pretty thick, like glue. I was afraid that it would be a pain to blend but I was so wrong! It blends like a dream although you have to work fast otherwise it’s going to stick and not budge.  You don't require a lot, a pea sized amount covers the whole face. :)

I can’t explain the smell of this stuff, it is a medicinal, yet flowery smell. Not appealing to me but bearable.

The colour is beige with a slight pink tone. There is only one shade so it can be a problem for people with duskier skin tones.

Swatch: Unblended and slightly blended

Laurel from the store advised me to mix it with my regular foundation if it was too light; lucky for me it was just right for my skin tone. Initially it has a whitish cast but it settles in a few minutes to match my skin!

Efficacy:

This BB cream promises SO many things I don’t know where to start, so I’m just going to tell you my experience and compare it to what the cream says.

As you can see from my very embarrassingly zoomed in untouched skin pictures, I have really big pores, dark post acne spots, under eye circles and redness around my nose, plus a few small blemishes. -__-

This is my bad side! Lol! I think I get those blemishes from sleeping on my right side too much. 

My skin: What it looks like REALLY up close!

The first layer of BB cream definitely covered my redness well. It also managed to cover my pores and dark circles to a certain extent.

The second layer hid my pores some more, I know in the photo they still look pretty big but you have to understand that, that image is VERY upclose. From a distance, they were barely visible! The lines under my eyes were “plumped” out to some extent. I need more sleep, jeez…

Lasting Power and Finish:

The Gold Caviar BB cream did NOT make my skin look overly oily, not more than it usually gets, even though it is a very rich and moisturizing cream. It has a dewy finish but powder can take care of that. 

No photoshop! :D Only the magic of BRTC's BB cream and powder!

This stuff lasts for hours! In fact, don’t work fast enough and it won’t even budge to blend. It doesn't come off on tissue when I wipe off sweat and neither on the nose piece of my glasses, which always get covered with gunk from foundation! It comes off when YOU want it to come off. 

No sliding off! Even on my glasses! :D

Use a strong cleanser because otherwise it will not leave your face.

Overall:

I am very pleased with the Gold Caviar BB cream, it delivers what it promises. I can see my pores look smaller and redness disappear. The lines on my face, though not many, seem filled, I have more than adequate sun protection and my dark spots seem lightened too.

My simple mind doesn't understand how gold and caviar work together but I do know that they make this BB cream awesome! And I plan to use it for a long time because can see how well my skin does with it on and hopefully I’ll see some long term improvement as well! :D

Hope you enjoyed this review! Do check out BRTC store for the Gold Caviar BB cream and other awesome futuristic skin products!

Thanks for reading!
♥

Maybelline Color Tattoo Review/ Swatches: Edgy Emerald

I cannot get over the Color Tattoo range! Why you so amazing Color Tattoo? I want them ALL!

I did review Painted Purple in September and mentioned how I was smitten with Edgy Emerald  so I finally picked it up! I wanted to get the Bronze one too but it was sold out! I can imagine it IS the most popular because it seems to be the only neutral one. Why Maybelline? Y U NO HAS MORE NEUTRALS?

Anyway, here's my review for Edgy Emerald! I'm not going to go through all the details again because I already did that here! This is going to be a very colour specific review. ^_^

Edgy Emerald is a brilliant blue green colour with gold shimmer. It shifts from turquoise to a greenish gold with the light.

You can blend it from a heavy, thick finish to a thin sheer one. I did find that this colour was more prone to cracking than painted purple and needed thin layered applications. 

Even so, if applied properly, it had no problems and refused to budge for hours! No creasing, nothing!

Swatches:

natural light (more blue)

with flash (more green/gold)

I couldn't get the swatches off my arm with two showers and much rubbing! 

In fact even the next day I had hints of shimmer on my arm. So full marks for lasting power here!

Here's my EOTD:

I used the browns from the Coastal Scents 88 palette and Edgy Emerald.

I also did another simple EOTD, the idea of using the Color Tattoo as a liner was niggling at my mind, so I tried it on my other eye! 

AND It works! :D 

I had some cracking at my inner corner because I layered it too thick. But it CAN totally be an eyeliner!

So, I'm still in love with the Color Tattoos! I think, even more since it can double as liner. >w<

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

What do you think? Will you be trying it that way?

Sorry if this review was short-ish btw, I mean, I would just be repeating myself right? :/

Anyway, hope you liked it!

♥

Circle Lens Review: I.Fairy Binky (Blue)

This is a looong overdue review! The initial photos I took for it got corrupt! >.< 

I had to do them all over again! But I'm happy with the new ones! And I'm happy with these lenses too!

They're from the very creative circle lens brand I.Fairy! From a series called "Binky." 

These lenses were kindly sponsored by ♥Apple of Your Eyes♥ 

Thank you ♥Apple of Your Eyes♥!!

The Binky Blue lenses are not a natural type of lens. They're more of a costume type lens but if you're a little more adventurous, you can wear them on a normal day. They'll get people lost in your eyes! ;)

Brand: I.Fairy (SUNnBON)

Water content: 55% 

Diameter: 16.2 mm

Base curve: 8.6 mm

Prescription available:  0 to -7.00

Expiry:1 year disposable (3 years if unopened)

Place of Origin: Korea

About  ♥Apple of Your Eyes♥ 
This is a blogshop where you can find lenses ranging in every price and design.
 It is run by the very lovely Allyson, she's a real sweetheart guys. 
If you have any problems she won't hesitate to help you out! 
She double checked everything with me before sending the package and the shipping was fast!
Got to me from Malaysia in a week!

She sent a really sweet note with the lenses, everything was wrapped in bubble wrap and the vials themselves were gift wrapped! ^__^ 

Things like that make such a difference. ♥

The vials were super cute and tiny!

Close up

with flash

natural light

One in, one out

Design: ♥♥♥♥♥
The design is so complicated and gorgeous! I love the spirals on the rim and the whirl wind design! The bright blue definitely stands out on my eyes, a lot like the Jewel blue. But like the Jewel blue, my one complaint with the design is the abruptly made pupil hole. I prefer gradual pupil holes, they blend better! But apart from that, the pattern is so unusual and pretty! 
It looks almost normal from afar and becomes a conversation starter up close! :D

Comfort: ♥♥♥♥♥ 
The comfort too was very similar to the Jewel lenses. It took some time for my eyes to adjust to the lenses and they dried up in about 5 hours, but didn't become unbearable. Again I must add that the reason is probably the concentration of pigments, the lenses are very opaque and that can be a bit of a problem in comfort.

Enlargement: ♥♥♥♥♥ 

Oooh boy! The Binky Blue lenses are huge! The black ring makes my eyes look huge! Look at that in and out picture! Wonky eyes? :D Good!

But I don't think it makes them look alien. The jagged ring does look unusual but not jarring. At least not to me. 

Overall: ♥♥♥♥♥♥

If it wasn't for the comfort I would have given these lenses a 4! But 3.5 ain't half bad! The design is gorgeous and the colour stands out so well on my poopy eyes. I totally recommend these if you want to do a Lolita, doll look! Even for some fun occasions, I would recommend them!

Likey? Wanty? Then check out ♥Apple of Your Eyes♥  and fill in your order here!

You can use my special discount code to get 5% off each pair!

AND
You can like ♥Apple of Your Eyes♥  Facebook page and get an extra 2$ off! >w<
Awesome right?!

I almost forgot! Here are some shots of me with the lenses on. I know my skin is mad photoshopped. The weather here is so terrible right now, so hot and humid so all you could see in the pics was sweat! Not pretty! >.< Don't mind! I haven't shopped the lenses though. :)

Hope you liked this review! It took me so long to get it up (that's what she said), the fonts were being horrible, some words small, some normal, alignment screwing up! Grr!!

Anyway, see you later! Do leave me comments! I've missed them. ;n;
♥

Manicure Monday and Sneak Peek

I've been a very lazy person recently.. Barely blogging! All I want to is sit on my chair, watch Doctor Who (David Tennant ♥) and feel my butt grow bigger! But all that must change! Right now! Except for Doctor Who.. Still watching that!

Anyway, here's a lovely manicure I did using Ulta3's Mulberry, a very dark wine colour, great for fall! And NYX's Enchanted Forest, my bottled forest of unicorns! Reviewed here.

A bit about Mulberry:

I've reviewed Ulta3's Pepper Pot before as the red that gave me new faith in red nails! So, i think I should give you a little bit about Mulberry too! Mulberry is an amazingly Goth, vampy, fall colour. It goes opaque in 2 coats (or one thick coat.) And it lasts a loOoOoOoOong time on my nails! Wore it for 5 days without so much as tip wear! Man, these Ulta3 polishes are amazing!

I wasn't sure how these two would go together, but I'm glad I tried! The effect is lovely. The green glitters of Enchanted Forest really stand out on the dark plum colour!

Natural light

Close up: Look at that glow!

With flash

Tip: 

Glitter polishes with big pieces like Enchanted Forest tend to flake off easily, i.e. the big glitter bits just peel off! So, you need to have a really thick coat of top coat on for these polishes and you won't have the flaking problem. ^_^

As my sorry for being such a horribly erratic blogger, here is a sneak peek into reviews this week. ;)

Just some starters! Lol!

Yes! Edgy Emerald, finally! :D

A lovely pair of lenses from Apple of Your Eyes! ♥

And that's just the beginning! Much more to come. ^__^

Hope you liked my simple manicure today! Thank you for stopping by!

♥

Korean Makeup: Etude House Sweet Eye Cupcake- Chocolate and Banana Review!

Sorry for being gone awhile everyone! I hope you missed me! I missed you. ♥

Today's review is for the CUTEST product I've ever reviewed on this blog! Seriously! 

It's obviously a Korean product, as if any one but the Koreans could make something so adorable, right?

It is the Etude House Sweet Eye Cupcake in Menu 01 Banana Chocochip. 

Thanks to the very lovely Cosmetic-Love for sending over this beauty! ^w^ 

I'm so sorry for the late review! ;A;

About Cosmetic Love:

Cosmetic-Love is an online store (you can also find them on Ebay), they sell Korean products and are based in Korea! They have some of the best prices out there and some of the best variety in products too! The customer service is pretty fast and so is the shipping! 

My package reached me in less than 3 weeks safe and sound!

I'm planning on doing some birthday shopping there too! Lol! Especially since they have amazing  gift on purchase options! Not according to the cost of what you buy BUT the quantity! ^_^  They also have free standard shipping!

How cool is that?

They sent me two BB cream samples with my package. :)

Okay on to the review! :D

Price:

$8.93 (INR 464) A bit on the pricey side but I have paid more for eyeshadow!

Packaging:

ADORABLE! It's a round metal tin, made to look like a cupcake! There is no brush or mirror, so that maybe a problem for some. 

There are 5 varieties, each have different "flavours" and colours! >u< Including Peach & Honey and White & Blueberry! The metal tin comes in a little box that looks so much like a pastry box! 

I'll just show you...

Kayoot right?! :D

Colour:

This is a baked eyeshadow duo, and in Banana Chocochip, there is a light golden colour and a greyish brown colour. They are both shimmery shades and do really well for a smokey look. 

I like using the light shade for my inner corners and the dark one on the outer corner.

Swatches:

You can see why the light Banana colour makes a great inner eye shadow! And see how shimmery they are. Great for night time but go a little easy during the day.

without flash

with flash

On the Eyes:

They are both different EOTDs. >.<

no flash

flash

Lasting Power:

Without primer, the shadow creases and fades in 4 hours on my oily lids. But with primer it lasts a good 7-8 hours with little creasing. :) There is some fall out though since it is so shimmery!

Overall:

More than anything else, this eyeshadow is a great novelty! The packaging is just precious, sitting on my dresser! I would like to try more colours in it though, like Lavender and Grape. Banana and Chocochip is a great neutral combo to take from day to night but I feel like maybe they could add one more colour in there which isn't shimmery for the crease. But I can still use just these two and do a good look!

Like it? Buy HERE.

FOTD:

I'm wearing Banana and Chocochip on my eyes, some Body Shop Honey Bronze and MAC See Sheer (♥) with Jordana's Watermelon Punch lipgloss on lips!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

One point for fallout and too much shimmer.

*product sent for review