Review: Real Techniques Stippling Brush and Powder Brush

I'm a huge fan of the pixiwoo sisters and when I heard that Sam was launching a brush line, I knew I had to check them out. Before they were released, the only brushes I owned were the Bare Minerals Kabuki Brush, Concealer Brush, and Flawless Face Brush. They work fine for mineral foundation (obviously) but they weren't the softest brushes in the world and I really wanted to experiment with a stippling brush to apply my Lioele Triple Solution BB Cream.

Pricing: When I saw the Real Techniques Stippling Brush and glanced at the price on Ulta's website, I was a little shocked that it was only $10. Ulta usually has coupons that you can use on non-Prestige Cosmetics items and I was extremely excited to find out that you could use their coupons on Real Techniques Brushes. So really, you're only paying about $8 for each individual brush instead of $30+++ for others. Many people like to assume that a more expensive a product is going to perform better than a cheaper one, but that's not necessarily true. Granted, I've never tried out any of the expensive brushes so I can't really compare Real Techniques to any other brand aside from Bare Minerals, but I can say that I'm not tempted to shell out $30 for a brush. It's just too much! You could buy three of these brushes for $30.

Performance: Anyways, aside from the awesome price point, the brush itself is REALLY soft and made from synthetic fibers. I've washed my brush several times and I haven't experienced any shedding whatsoever. The stippling brush works wonders for me whenever I apply BB cream to my face. Before, I used my fingers but now I always use this brush to apply it to my face. It blends the foundation into my skin and gives it a flawless finish. I also use the stippling brush to apply powder blush and it works beautifully. I absolutely adore this brush. After falling in love with my stippling brush, I also decided to buy a powder brush to apply my MAC blotting powder and other translucent powders. This is a pretty large brush compared to the stippling brush, and it does the job. It is too big to use to apply blush, so if you're looking for a multitasking brush, like the stippling brush, the powder brush is probably not the one to get.

Both of these brushes have a rounded wide end to the brush that allows it to stand up on a flat surface. Lots of people think it's a neat feature while others think it's unnecessary. I personally like the fact that it can stand up on its own but I also recognize that the wider end makes it harder to carry it around if you're travelling. The ends probably won't fit into the slots of some makeup brush roles which could be a turn off for some. I personally just use a cosmetic bag to store my brushes at home and while I'm travelling.

I'd definitely recommend this product to anyone who's looking for a good quality makeup brush without a hefty price tag. Thank you, Sam Chapman, for making such awesome and affordable brushes.

Review: Etude House Fantastic Rouge LuciDarling Lipstick/Lip gloss and Darkness Lashes

I must say that the Korean cosmetic stuff I've tried so far has really impressed me. Here's a pic of my small collection of Asian cosmetic products.

I'm definitely looking forward to trying new products from these brands soon!

On my way back to the States from Thailand, my flight stopped at Korea (I took Korean Air) and took advantage of the cheap cosmetics there. I bought a couple of lip products from Etude House and I absolutely LOVE them all. I bought two lip glosses, one in the shade No. 4 and the other in shade No. 2.

I got these for $8 USD each. They have a nice scent to them that's not too nauseating or strong and they taste really good! Below are some swatches.

No. 4 and No. 2

These glosses are pretty pigmented and they're by far the best lip gloss I've ever tried. I heard a lot about Etude House products on YouTube and many people said that this particular brand has some really awesome lip products. I was a little skeptical at first, but now I totally understand why people like them. This lip gloss glides on smoothly and doesn't leave a greasy feeling on your lips. It feels very moisturizing and looks good on its own or on top of a lipstick color.

These are two of the lipsticks I bought from the Korean airport as well. I think these were $6 USD each.

No. 9 and No. 3

I love No. 3 because it's a nudey pink and it's very similar to my MAC Shy Girl lipstick. My sister really likes No. 9. I find that No. 9 is a little too bright for my taste but I still love it. These lipsticks don't crack my lips or make them feel chapped/dry throughout the day. In one of the swatch pics above, you can see some glitter in both lipsticks but it doesn't have a frosty overly glittery finish to it at all, which I love. The packaging of these lipsticks is also super adorable. If you're looking for a new lipstick or lip gloss, I'd definitely recommend checking out any of Etude House's lip products. I only own the ones from the LuciDarling Fantastic Rouge collection but I've heard a lot of good things about the Miss Tangerine line as well.

Last, but not least, Darkness Lashes!! I spotted these inside H-mart and paid $4 for each of them. I like them, but I'm not really loving them all that much. I have to cut a little bit off because it's a little big for my eyes. When I wear them, I feel like they're really long and dramatic lashes, so if you're looking for some natural looking false eyelashes, these particular models are not the ones to get. I find that they're really great for a night out but not so much for everyday wear. I won't repurchase these again but I am willing to purchase other models from Darkness like the WOS one that Jen (frmheadtotoe) mentioned in her Nov. hits and misses video.

What are your favorite lip stick product/color and what are some good natural looking pair of false eyelashes that you've tried?

K-Palette 24Hr Eyeliner and Dolly Wink Eyeliner Review

Hey everyone! I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I've been meaning to get this review posted but I've been super busy with family stuff and law school applications. Before I get into it, I wanted to share some things I did over the summer.

I went to Thailand this summer for a vacation with my family and for a wedding. I can't even begin to describe how much fun I had on this trip. My aunts and uncles live in Bangkok and we usually never travel outside the capital, but this time I visited Trang, Phuket, Hua Hin, and Pattaya. Here are some photos from my trip:

View from my room at Aleenta Resort in Phuket. It's breathtaking.

The bed that my sister and I slept in.

This picture was taken during my trip to Trang. The water is sooooo pretty!!!

The beautiful sunset in Trang.

View from Aleenta Resort in Phuket.

This was taken in a temple located in a remote cave in Trang.

My trip to Thailand was amazing! I'm so grateful and blessed to be able to visit and experience so many things while I was there and I hope to go back soon. I encourage anyone who wants to travel to Thailand to take the leap and go! You won't regret it. Now, onto the review!!!

While I was in Thailand, I took the opportunity to check out some of the Asian cosmetic brands that many people have been raving about such as Lioele, Etude House, Dolly Wink, and K-Palette. I wasn't able to find any Lioele products while I was there, however, because I believe the company focuses on selling their products over the internet probably to save on costs. I also wasn't able to find the Dolly Wink Eyeliner myself but lucky for me, one of my cousins is a flight attendant and she offered to get the Dolly Wink and K-Palette 24Hr eyeliner for me while she was in Japan. Here are some pics and swatches:

The swatch on the left is Dolly Wink and the right is K-Palette.

To me, the Dolly Wink eyeliner seems to be more pigmented than the K-Palette. I prefer using the Dolly Wink over the K-Palette because the Dolly Wink eyeliner is blacker and the pen is slightly bigger. The K-palette eyeliner I have isn't waterproof, so I can't really comment on how it stands up to water but both eyeliners last forever without smudging. They also have a fine brush tip that's perfect for making very thin and precise lines. I do, however, line my eyes heavily because of my monolids but I still love both of these eyeliners. Whenever I'm done with both of them, I think I'm going to purchase the K-palette waterproof version from Sasa and see if its lasting power is all it's cracked up to be.

I hope this little review was helpful and if you have any questions just let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.

Skincare products for winter and random thoughts

It's starting to get pretty chilly now and my skin gets pretty dry and itchy around this time of the year. Moisturizing is a must for me and my go to facial moisturizer is Olay's Active Hydrating Beauty Fluid - Original.

I have dry flaky patches around my face because of my acne and I find that this moisturizer makes the flakiness disappear. It doesn't leave a greasy or oily feel to my face either.

My all time favorite moisturizer is the Rice Face Lotion from Bath and Body Works, but they discontinued this line. I just got done using my last back-up bottle of this lotion a few days ago and I was soooo sad =[. This lotion is for Normal to Combination skin types, so it suited my skin perfectly. I got the right amount of moisture and it felt so light on my face. After I put it on, I my face feels so smooth and this lotion doesn't make my skin more oily throughout the day. *sigh* Maybe I'll get lucky at a Bath and Body Works outlet store and find it again.

Another skincare product I've been loving is the Neutrogena Wave. A lot of people have been raving about the Clarisonic Mia and I've been itching to try it but I just can't bring myself to spend that much money on a tool that requires you to buy replacement heads (which aren't cheap) every three to four months. So for now, unless I hit the lottery jackpot or something, I'm pretty content with the Wave. I've used the regular cleansing pads and I'm currently using the exfoliating pads which are amazing! This stuff takes off my foundation so well and afterwards, my skin feels smooth, clean, and refreshed. If you're like me and can't afford to get the Clarisonic, try the Wave out and see if you like it. I'm not saying that they're the same thing, but I feel that it's a cheaper alternative that will help you to exfoliate your skin and remove makeup. I also noticed that after several weeks of use, this product helps make my skin look brighter and more refreshed.

Despite the beating that my skin is taking from the rapid change in weather, I really love the Fall and Winter season. Whenever I think about this time of year, I think of these things:

Lord of the Rings marathon

a bowl of hot, steaming Thai noodle soup (guay tiew)

Pho

Christmas

Turkey

presents

family

love

Black Friday

movie nights/drama marathons

hot tea

pumpkin pie

apple pie

books

shopping (lots of shopping)

scarfs and gloves

SNOW!!

I love this time of year =] What do you think about when fall/winter rolls around? I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us all.

Monolids and Double Eyelids

This past year, my cousin had surgery on her eyes to change her monolids to double eyelids in Thailand. I've thought about getting the surgery done on my eyelids as well, but I have a very low tolerance for pain so I always balked at the thought of actually getting them done. Another thing that concerns me about the surgery is the fear that I won't like the way my eyes look afterwards or that something could go seriously wrong. After all, you only have one pair of eyes and you can't exactly change it back to the way it was before. I've discussed the surgery with my mother and she told me that if I really wanted to get it done, she didn't have a problem with it. My mother had her eyelids changed when she was younger so she understands the inner conflict I have about my eyes.

This is a before and after pick of a person using double eyelid tape.

My recent trip to Thailand this past summer made me think about eyelid surgery even more. Big eyes are the trend in Asia so it's no surprise that almost everywhere I looked, I saw products advertising big doll-like eyes. Sure, there are things out there such as circle lenses and double eyelid tape/glue that help to create the illusion that you have double eyelids instead of single lids, but my experience with eyelid tape has been frustrating. It's hard to put on and I've also heard that it's not good for your eyelids in the long run.

Many people use circle lenses to help make their eyes seem bigger. The down side to these lenses are that they irritate the eyes because not enough oxygen is passing through the lens and into the eye.

I've never tried circle lenses because I need to be able to wear them all day. I currently wear clear prescription contact lenses and I knew that circle lenses are not meant for all-day wear, so I just didn't bother.

I know a lot of people wonder why people would want to change their eyelids. I personally think big eyes are more attractive than small eyes. Whenever I smile in pictures, you can barely see my eyes. It's also frustrating when I try to put on eye makeup. When I line my eyes, I have to use a lot of eyeliner so that the line would be visible whenever my eyes are open. I also find that because I need to thickly line my eyelid, most of my eye shadow color is barely visible. I'd be lying if I said that a part of me doesn't want double eyelids because I do want them. On the other hand, a part of me thinks that I should be happy with the way my eyes are now and just be grateful that I can see through them. I've gone back and forth on this issue many times in my head and for now, I'm just going to try to be happy with my monolids. I'd love to hear other peoples' thoughts on this as well so feel free to comment below.

Sephora Friends and Family Sale Fall 2011 and other deals

The Sephora Friends and Family Sale started on October 20th and runs through November 2nd. This sale could end earlier because the online coupon does state that Sephora reserves the right to end the sale whenever they want. Here's the link to the webpage where you need to enter and submit your email address to get the promo code for 20% off your entire online purchase (no exclusions): http://www.sephoralove.com/friendsandfamily/

The promo code is good for one use only, but you can get up to five promo codes using different email addresses on one computer. Shipping is free if you spend over $50 prior to applying the discount code. This sale is a great deal since I believe it only happens twice a year and you get the chance to save on high end products that usually never go on sale. If you have wanted to try a certain makeup brand/product or need to buy a gift for someone that likes makeup, now is definitely the time to buy!! Here are a few of the things that I've already bought from the website:

Makeup Forever Mat Velvet Plus in shade No. 40

Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer in shade Ivory 7

Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Palette

Tarte Clay Amazonian Blush in Blissful

Another awesome deal that is going on right now is at American Eagle Outfitters. They have an online printable coupon that you can use in store or online for 20% your entire purchase. I used it in store to get a sweatshirt that was already on sale and saved about $10 on it. Oh, and did I mention that all their jeans are $10 off? If you're a fan of AE jeans like me, this is definitely a deal you don't want to miss, especially since winter is just around the corner. Aerie also has a bra sale where all bras are 30% off plus you can use the 20% coupon there as well. Paying half price for a good quality bra sounds like an awesome deal to me. The coupon expires on the 25th.

Anyone interested in finding out about other ways to save at different stores should check out slickdeals.net which usually has posts on the latest deals. My boyfriend and I use that site all the time to get free movie rentals from Blockbuster Express or Redbox.

Feel free to share your makeup wishlist or any other wishlist for that matter and happy savings!

BB Cream Review Missha Perfect Cover and Lioele Triple Solution BB Cream

During the past year or so there's been a lot of talk on YouTube about BB creams from various makeup gurus (Bubzbeauty, Frmheadtotoe, and hollyanaeree). My sister introduced me to their channels and ever since then I've been hooked. Before I get into the review, I want to give a little background on why I was interested in BB creams. I personally do not wear makeup on a daily basis for a number of reasons. One, I believe that putting makeup on would only make my acne problems worse so I just didn't experiment too much with makeup. Two, I'm just too lazy to get up early and put on makeup every single morning. I slowly got into makeup during my last year in high school. I tried out Bare Minerals because I thought it was the best foundation for my combination/acne prone skin type. The coverage wasn't that great but at that time my face didn't have a lot of acne so I didn't really need a full coverage foundation. Over the past two years, however, my face began to break out a lot more (probably due to stress) and I started searching for a new foundation. Several makeup gurus mentioned how great BB cream was for acne prone skin and that it even had some whitening properties that helped to improve the appearance of acne scars so, naturally, I wanted to try it out.

With that being said, I'm a total noob when it comes to makeup/fashion and I'm definitely NOT trying to become a makeup artist/guru. I just want to share my experience with BB creams and other Asian cosmetic products for those of you who are curious about trying them out. Now, on to the products!

The first BB cream that I purchased was the Missha Perfect Cover in #23 Natural Beige (for MAC products, I'm NC30-35 depending on the season). I heard about this product from Bubzbeauty and decided to do a little bit of research on it as well before I purchased it. I heard a lot of good things about it but I was worried that the color would be too light on my face. Eventually, I convinced myself to buy the 20ml one from a top rated seller on ebay (I'll list where/who I bought each of the products at the end of this post) for about $11 with free shipping and 3 random samples of other Missha products.

I squeezed out a small pea size amount on the back of my hand and used my finger to dab spots onto my forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin area. I used my hands to evenly spread out the BB cream over the rest of my face and immediately noticed the grayish cast it left on my face. I wasn't too alarmed by this because I had read that this particular BB cream would oxidize after a few minutes and blend in with your natural skin color. I used the Bare Minerals Mineral Veil to set it and noticed that the gray cast was gone. The shade matched my skin color perfectly. I also noticed that it did an amazing job of minimizing my pores and I didn't even use a primer. It didn't give me the full coverage that I wanted (it was more of a medium coverage) but my initial impressions of the product were positive. It didn't give me a shiny or overly matte finish but after about 4 hours of wear I started getting oily around the forehead and nose area. As far as the smell goes for this product, it has a nice flowery scent to it that isn't too strong or overpowering. The product claims to have SPF 42+, anti-wrinkle, and whitening properties. I don't have wrinkles and I can't really say much about how good the UV protection in this product was but I can say that I didn't notice my acne scars getting any lighter. After trying the product out for a month, I broke out in areas close to my hairline and ears. I wasn't sure whether it was stress, hormones, or the BB cream that was causing my to break out, so one day I decided to just use a small amount of the product on one side of my cheek. The following day, there was a pimple on the same spot I had applied the BB cream. I'm not going to say that the BB cream caused me to break out, but I will say that this correlation was enough for me to stop using it altogether. I was extremely disappointed because I really liked the product, aside from the break outs that seemed to crop up every time I used it. This BB cream might be better suited for dry skin types, but I do realize that not everyone will have the same reaction to this product that I did. I just want to let you know about my own experience with this product (and others) to help you make your own decision about whether to try it out or not.

Needless to say that my experience with the Missha Perfect Cover made me wary about BB creams, but I was still determined to try out other BB creams before giving up hope on them. After watching hollyannaeree's video review on products that she used to help fade acne scars, I decided to purchase Lioele's Triple Solution BB cream. Below are pictures of the tube and swatches.

This product contains SPF 30, whitening, and wrinkle improving properties.

The texture of this BB cream is pretty thick compared to the Missha Perfect Cover.

Gently blending into skin.

Fully blended into skin.

I've been using this product for about a year now and I love it. The coverage is medium but can be built up to full. A little bit goes a long way. I like the pump dispenser of this product because you can control how much product you want to use. I use half a pump of this product to cover my whole face. I tried a variety of ways to apply this product and found that I liked using a stippling brush because I feel it gives the most even and natural finish. I put a small amount of product onto the back of my hand, dab a few spots onto my face, stipple the product evenly and blend. There was one time where I used almost a full pump of product and it made my face look really pale compared to my neck area so I don't use a lot of this product on my face. I also notice that it helps to lighten my acne scars as well. After about 4-5 hours of wear, I need to blot my face but I don't believe this product makes my skin any more oily than it normally is throughout the day. I have noticed that whenever I set it with my Blotting Powder from MAC, my face doesn't get shiny for 8 or more hours so if you're worried about shine, I'd definitely recommend the Blot Powder. Overall, I really love this product and I'd definitely repurchase it.

Missha Perfect Cover: bought from ebay seller named Ruby http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/RubyRubyshop__W0QQ_armrsZ1

Lioele Triple Solution: purchased from ebay seller named BELLOGIRL
http://stores.ebay.com/BELLO-GIRL?_trksid=p4340.l2563

NOTE: All of these products were purchased with my own money. I am not paid to review any of these products. Everything I write is my own opinion and what works for me may not work for you.