Saturday, November 29, 2008

Hanskin: Caviar Gold BB Cream

Remember how I got a sample of the Caviar Gold BB cream from Hanskin? One pack is good for at least 5 uses and I've been using it in replacement of my Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream and I'm liking it.
The Caviar Gold BB Cream is actually geared to people with dry skin and I have oily combination skin. Lately my cheeks have been dry so my face hasn't been an oily mess from using the BB cream.
I'm sure the BB creams only come in one shade, but they work like magic! At first when I apply it, my face looks pale and it didn't seem to reduce any of the redness, but as it settles in, the color magically blends with my skintone and reduces the redness.

The sample I received has a slightly pink tone to it and I like how it blends with my skintone quite nicely. I use a patting motion to spread the BB cream, otherwise it makes my face flaky looking. The texture of the BB cream is similar to body lotions but probably a wee bit thicker. There's no detectable smell which is nice.
The BB cream is light-medium coverage, depending on how much you apply. I only apply a thin layer so it doesn't look to heavy on my skin.
I'm surprised at how it controls oil as well. My skin didn't appear as oily as if I was using the Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream and I think the Skinfood one is supposed to be good for oily skin.
I'm not too sure about the staying power. Since I apply only a light layer, I can't really tell how long it lasts.

Here's one of my 21 classes. These students drive me crazy, I wished the class numbers were smaller, it's quite difficult to control 35 students XD

I had to go to Outback to spoil myself. Tim got the rib and chicken combo. So cute how the chicken breast looks like a heart. The chicken breast was surprisingly juicy too.

I ordered a grilled chicken breast with bacon, cheddar, montery jack cheese and mushrooms with honey mustard dipping sauce. This is the BEST tasting chicken I've ever had, it was breast meat but it was soooo freaking juicy and tender!! Even the side veggies were so damn good, they were steamed and I thought it meant bland, but these veggies had butter melted all over it and they were deliciously soft. What a healthy dinner XD

Friday, November 28, 2008

Sana Eye Concealer

I've been looking for an undereye concealer for a while. I tried the Shu Uemura Pro Concealer, but it was too orangey. I bought it online and it was just a guess on which colour would suit me. Toronto didn't sell Shu Uemura products at that time, but a few weeks later, I saw it at Holt Renfrew, argh! However, I'm sure Holt would have jacked up the price. I got mine for $19.99 from Facial Shop.

My search for an undereye concealer went on, until I saw this Sana Eye Concealer on the Muse and Lotus Palace's page, I decided I had to try it for myself.
I bought this from Sasa for $11.30CAD for 12g. According to the Sasa website (which I'm sure they translated from the packaging) the description of the concealer sounded wonderful.

"Sana Make Essence Eye Concealer completely cover unpleasant dark circle. Light Yellow concealer allows natural result.
4 whitening ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, Collagen, Blueberry Leaf Essence, Carrot Essence. They nourish eye contour areas and restore elasticity of skin. Fatigued eyes are relieved. They also boost metabolism to ease dark circles.
Dense Flexibility Formula brings long-lasting wear."

Sounds great right? I just hope it does help with nourishing my eye as I don't use an eye cream at the moment.
The concealer comes out of a small aluminumish tube with a pointed tip for easy application. The concealer is bright yellow, there's no noticeble smell and it felt like a light cream to me. It made my eye area feel quite smooth.
Sometimes my undereye is bad, depending on how much sleep I get. This product worked at covering the dark area just slightly. It wasn't the best at covering everything, but it did neutralize the darkness a bit. I've read reviews saying how it doesn't do anything, but it worked alright for me.
When I have to go to school, I wake up at 6:30am and I do my makeup at 7:00am. Then my day doesn't end till I get home around 5:15pm. The concealer stayed on pretty well.
The only time there was a slight problem was when I got home at 8:00pm after eating dinner. I noticed a slightly dry cakey look which couldn't be rubbed away by my finger. I have an oily face so this could have contributed to the problem. However, I don't usually have makeup on for such a long time and this is probably because my face was getting all nasty and stuff from a long day.
All in all, I wouldn't buy this concealer again because it didn't really cover much, but I know it'll last me a long time because I just needa tiny bit to do the job.

The colour of the concealer is the exact same colour as the tube. Just a little bit is needed, or else it'll start to sink into my tiny lines and look cakey.

You can see there's only a slight difference. As long as it lightens up the dark circles a bit then I'm satisfied for now. XD

Coffret D'or and Aube Couture

I'm soooo freaking excited about Coffret D'or and Aube Couture's spring collections!!!!
Here's a blog with some close ups of the Coffret D'or Spring collection. It's in Chinese and my Chinese is too crap to translate anything. Also take a look at the Aube Couture Spring collection. The Aube Couture (previously known as only Aube) website currently features only the lipsticks, but the blog has some close ups of the palettes and the blushes.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Barbie: The Makeup

Did I excite you with the title? I think every MAC addict will fall in love with this. I'm not a big user of MAC except for their fluidline, even then I don't love it. I first heard of the Barbie line when MAC released their limited edition stuff, of course not being a MAC fan, I didn't buy any of the products. I was browsing around blogs and noticed on Makeup For Life that there was a new makeup collection by Barbie, except it's its own brand rather than teamed up with MAC. I went to search for Barbie and found it at a drugstore. However, for a drugstore brand I think it's quite pricey. I can't remember the prices so you'll have to check out Makeup for Life.


All of the items have a sleek black look to them. The SA put the Sheer Glow Foundation, primer and powder on my hand. There was a set that had the hand cream and powder in it so I asked the SA how much. She told me it was 20000 won. I was so retarded (this is what I get for not knowing Korean), I found out at the cash register that if I get the hand cream and the powder, it would be 20000 won cheaper, kind of like a coupon promo thing. So I ended up not getting either item as the powder was 34000won whoa! The SA probably felt bad so she gave me some samples of the Sheer Glow Foundation. I haven't really tested it out on my face because it's too light for my skintone. The SA kept talking to me in Korean and we had such a hard time understanding each other. She was quite happy to let me know that it was made in Italy and pointed to which shade would suit me. However, her choices were based on the fact that most women liked to have a whiter skintone, so all the shades she chose for me to test were way too light.


So pretty right? I have no clue if it's #1 or #2 shade. I know there are more shades as well, and I'm sure the sample is the wrong choice for me. The SA tested the pressed powders on my hand as well. Sadly it only came in 2 tones: Light Beige and Peach Beige, neither of which suited me. It has a light almost baby powder scent to it. She also showed/told me that I should apply the powder on in sweeping motions and not patting. I also tried the primer. It's a white transparent primer. It was kind of watery, similar to the Laneige emulsions. I'm not sure if there's a scent to it as she put foundation on top already.


I have not tested this on my face as I've already mentioned. Judging by the testing on my hand, it's quite a watery foundation. I put this on the bottom of my forearm when I got home and it kinda slid around a bit if I moved my arm. Even though it had a watery consistency it's not that bad because you know it's a light foundation. It doesn't have super coverage and I believe it's got light-medium coverage. It spreads very smoothly and leaves a dewy almost shiny finish, even though the pamphlet says it's a matte finish. It feels very silky when it settles down though.
I think I'm gonna stick to looking for my HG BB cream first instead of purchasing these XD

My Sasa package arrived! The new Sana undereye concealer and my LE Winter DejaVu Fiberwig *drools*. Will post a review later on.


Remember how I mentioned that a waffle store had a promo? The promo was if you make a 10000won purchase or more, you get a free sample of a Hanskin BB cream. Turns out this sample was a full sized tube of the Super Magic BB Cream (30g). Hanskin has 2 sizes and the waffle place gave out the smaller size. I can't wait to try it!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Shiseido: Ma Cherie Jelly Wax

Here's my latest hair product: Shiseido's Ma Cherie. I've seen these products in some Japanese magazines but I haven't seen it for sale in Canada so I was quite happy to find this in Seoul.
Look at this pretty pretty bottle, how could I not buy it?? I know some of the products are available on Sasa.com but I'm not sure about this one. I got this for 8500 won and there is 120g of product in it and it's got a light cherry scent to it.

My hair styling routine and products are quite simple. I spritz on some Sunsilk Volume spray (which I'm out of now and I gotta find a new replacement), put on 5 curlers, spritz on my HG hair spray, which is Osis by Schwarzkopf, rub in some Gatsby Wild Shake putty then finish with some more Osis hairspray. This routine has worked well for me for the past 6 months when I switched my hair putty to Gatsby, I can't remember the previous one, but lately my hair has been falling flat! I'm sure it's the Gatsby moulding putty as it's a tad heavy on my hair, and also because my hair is starting to grow longer which is why I decided to find something new to try.
So far the Jelly Wax has been doing its job well. I flip my head upside down and rub in a dime sized amount of this product. My hair does kinda fall flat during the late afternoon, but this always happens anyway. The Ma Cherie Jelly Wax has helped a bit with the volume because it's lighter than the Gatsby stuff.
I like this stuff because it's not super sticky, it's light weight, it smells nice and it also gives my hair that bit of oomph. It's nothing like the Lucidol gel that Pink used, but it's a good alternative since I couldn't find the Lucidol volume gel. All the stores sell the curling products but not the volume stuff! GGAAHHHH!!!


Smells yummy! The texture is, how should I put this, it's got a snot like consistency and it even has the stringyness when you squeeze it out the bottle haha. Delicious...

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I've Found It!!!!

I wanted to get some new winter clothes since my wardrobe was lacking. I went to an area in downtown Seoul that's supposed to be a great shopping area: Myeong Dong. I also read online that the Hanskin store was there. I didn't know that Sunday was a big shopping day for many people, so it was quite crowded on the streets. I also found the Tony Moly store, another Korean skincare/cosmetics brand, I first heard of it on Lotus Palace's blog. The products looked quite appealing and they were cheap, I'll be heading there next time to try out some of their items.

Started my shopping trip with some Poouni, some deliciously sour lemon candies. It's by a Japanese candy brand called Pinky which also makes some yummy fruit flavoured mint tablets. Tim's papa sent it over from HK.

Some people moving a new food stall on the sidewalk. There are so many of these stalls on the sidewalk selling magazines and newspapers to snacks and misc hot foods.

One of many Skinfood stores in Myeong Dong. It was soooo crowded on the streets. There were many stalls selling accessories, shoes and various hot snacks as well so a lot of the people stopped on the streets to shop.

Laneige store with a poster promoting their new 2008 winter collection. It didn't look very appealing. There were 2 new eyeshadow palettes, pressed highligher powder and 2 lipglosses.

I've found it!!!!!! (Thanks to Yumeko for telling me about Hanskin, otherwise I would have walked right by) I found 2 Hanskin stores, both located on the same street in Myeong Dong. If any of you ever come to Seoul and head to the Myeong Dong station, you just need to go with the crowd and right out the station exit is the street that cars are generally not allowed to drive on. That's where the goodies are located. Myeong has at least 2 Misshas, Etude House, Face Shop, Banila Co, Hanskin and TONS of other skincare/cosmetics stores. They are all really close together as well.
Now the high light of my day. XD Samples galore! I also got the Ma Cherie Jelly Wax which I will review later this week.
I was so confused when I went to the Hanskin. There were just too many BB Creams and I couldn't decide which one to try. They're all kind of pricey as well for such a small tube. I asked the SA if there was a sample of any of the BB creams and she was nice enough to give me a whole bunch of samples of BB creams, face wash and shampoo to try first. I think she gave me all the BB creams they have except for the newest one called Water Action BB Cream.
I'm not too sure if the BB creams are all one skintone. I saw the testers were in separate pump bottles and there was only one bottle for each type of BB cream. On the back of the samples, it didn't say #1 or #2 to differentiate between skintones.
The SA gave me their BB cream guide in English so I can give you all a description of the BB creams from the pamphlet. It'll make deciding easier if you order online.
The pamphlet says Hanskin is the original creator of BB cream and one of their best sellers is the Super Magic BB Cream.

Super Magic BB Cream 43.5g/53000 won
This multi function cream with excellent sun protection and covering power of skin flaws is the perfect skin care product for this hot summer.
SPF30 PA++
Anti wrinkle
Whitening
Cover power 5/5
Skin Revision 5/5
Combination to Dry Skin

Premium Magic BB Cream 50mL/45000 won
KFDA certified, three layer function product (UV block SPF 15, whitening and anti wrinkle) covers skin flaws effectively and protect skin from sweat and sebum.
SPF 15
Whitening
Anti wrinkle
Long lasting 4/5
Covering power 4/5
Combination to Dry Skin

Caviar Gold BB Cream 43.5g/27000 won
KFDA certified, three layer function product (UV block SPF 15, whitening and anti wrinkle) with caviar and vegetable components, it provides natural covering and it also moisturizes your skin.
SPF 21
Whitening
Anti wrinkle
Nourishment 5/5
Covering power 3/5
Combination to Dry Skin

Water Shining BB Cream 43.5g/23000 won
Benefit from the reflection of the sunlight, this BB cream covers skin flaws effectively and the slightly pearly feeling brightens the skin. (The SA told me this was a highlighter in the form of BB cream)
Whitening
Anti wrinkle
Shining 5/5
Lighting and lifting effect 5/5
Covering power 2/5
All Skin Types

Control Skin BB Cream 43.5g/29000 won
Skin protective BB cream with skin care effect. It is specially made for those who have skin troubles and is sold only in pharmacies. (I didn't notice if it was on the shelf of the Hanskin stores, guys can use this too!)
Soothing effect
Sebum control
Mattifying
Unisex
Natural finish 4/5
Combination to Oily Skin

Magic BB Cream 50g/27000 won
The skin protective cream which has basic skin care and makeup function, it covers skin flaws very naturally and it nourishes the skin providing elasticity. (Also recommended for guys)
Soothing effect
Hydration
Skin protection
Unisex
Natural finish 5/5
All Skin Types

*New Water Action BB Cream 43.5g/29000 won (not shown)
When applying this BB cream, some water drops show up on the surface of your skin and immediately disappear during the make up. It's non sticky and protects skin from sweat and sebum. (I have a feeling this will suit me the best, but I didn't get a sample. This also reminds me of the cucumber and lettuce water drop essence from Skinfood which has water beads as you put it on, then it disappears.)
SPF 27 PA++
Sebum control
Water drop
Unisex
Natural Finish 4/5
All Skin Types

There is also a 4 step skincare routine on the pamphlet. It says to use the cleanser, emulsion, lotion and BB cream (day or night depending on the time). Sounds interesting, but I wouldn't use BB cream when I'm sleeping.
I've tried the One Stop cleanser today. It's a combination of cleansing oil and foaming face wash. There is a light flowery scent to it and it's a clear gel. It washes off with a slightly squeaky feeling and my face felt a bit dry right after.
I have yet to try the shampoo samples. It's supposed to be for fine to normal hair and it claims that it is gentle to the skin.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Lazy Bum


Ahh...I'm a bit lazy to write a new post today, so I'll just leave you with a picture and I'll update later XD

Waiting for the bus and I got bored.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Skinfood: Sugar Bloom Shadow Box

Yay! It's friday, this makes me happy because it means I'm a bit closer to going out to look at some new skincare/cosmetic items!
I was browsing the Skinfood website when I noticed that they came out with a new eyeshadow palette: Sugar Bloom Shadow Box. I think it's the first eyeshadow palette they released, but I could be wrong. I'm also not too sure when it came out and whether it was for fall or winter.
I purchased this for 8500won, pretty cheap for such a cute eyeshadow palette.
The palette comes in a yellow tin case on the edges it's got a designed stamped into the tin. It kind of reminds me of the tin cases like Altoids. I'm not too fond of the tin because you need to press it quite hard to snap on the lid and this might affect the shadows at some point or another.
Inside, there is a mirror that I like because it's big enough to see my eyes. It also comes with a double ended sponge applicator. It's actually quite small so I needed to swipe on the shadow a few times to get it all over my eyes.
The shadows are in metal pans which sit in a yellow plastic holder. They're 2cm x 2.5cm in size. I'm not too sure about the depth though. Sadly, there were no instructions included, but I did use the tutorial from a Vivi magazine (Aug. 2008 see below) as a little guideline. However, the shades do not appear as pigmented as the Visee shadows.



I originally saw the palette in their newsletter and they were advertising the 03 color, which consisted of brown shades. The 01 palette has a coral, lavender and goldish shades. The palette I purchased was 02.
The 02 palette has a highlighter shade that's gold with glitters in it. I find that the texture is a bit chalky and with the glitters, it was a touch gritty. The liner shade is a coffee brown and the main shade is a warm cooked salmon pink haha...my strange description. The liner and main shades are all smooth and silky. They aren't as chalky as the gold shade. If you kind of look closely at the gold shade, it looks slightly chalky in the picture.



I guess there are many ways you could use this palette. I used the gold shade as a highlighter, the pink shade all over my lids and then I blended the coffee shade halfway up my lids. It creates a beautiful natural look with some hints of color. Unfortunately, I didn't do an EOTD with this palette because I had to rush off to catch the bus. Looks quite nice with the MAC Blitz and Glitz.

I don't really love this palette, I mainly love the colour combo. You can see from the swatches that these are quite sheer. I find that only the coffee shade can be intensified with layering, the other 2 shades are kinda..meh.. They're also not as shimmery as I'd like.
I did my eyes at 7am and by about 11am, it faded quite a bit, even when I used the UDPP. I wore this for at least 8 hours a few days ago and I did have to do some touch up which was annoying. I didn't notice any creasing, but by the end of the day it looked kind of cakey. I do have oily eyelids so this might have contributed to the cakey look. This doesn't usually happen with my other shadows though.


I'm sure the Visee palette is a lot more pigmented than the Skinfood one. Maybe I should try this XD
Monday is pay day! I can't wait! That means I gotta celebrate with a makeup/skincare haul maybe??
I have to eat more waffles. There's this (I'm assuming popular) waffle place near me called Deliatti and they are giving away a sample of Hanskin's Premium Super BB Cream with a purchase of 10000won or more. What a name.. it's supposed to have whitening, anti-aging benefits and sun protection. Sounds good, but I'm not too sure if it's the whole tube or not. I noticed the sign saying it was 22000won, so it might be the whole thing.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Magazine Goodies

I got bored so I took a few pictures from the December issue of Seventeen magazine (from Japan). The mix and match pictures are like Fuzkittie's Mix and Match Challenge. I wish I had the magazine before I entered the contest, all these looks were so cute and great ideas! So cute for winter but maybe not warm enough for me. I'm still in search of the perfect winter clothes. I can't over indulge on clothes if I want more makeup hehe.

My favourite is the dark blue/black sweater with the red and white patterns, it's just so wintery.

I'm starting to think whether I want bangs again. But I have these thick black framed Prada glasses and it looks funny when I wear them with bangs haha, and I don't think I want to wear contact lenses everyday. Actually, now that I'm thinking about black framed glasses and bangs, about 90% of Korean girls have that kinda thing going on.
I think bangs are hard to maintain, especially for me because I have an oily t-zone which makes my bangs look funny after some time. I don't like the growing out process, it makes me look funny. But I am indecisive so the decision on whether to cut my bangs will be lingering for a while.



I don't think I had my bangs cut properly the last time I did it, which was back in Hong Kong. The lady kind of rushed it and it was uneven. I wish I was back in Toronto with my regular hair dresser and then fly back to Seoul XD
I have a preview of my newest makeup addition. I recently purchased Skinfood's newest eyeshadow palette (Sugar Bloom Shadow Box) and it looks faaabulous. I'll show you swatches and more pictures later this week when I test it out. There are a few magazine pictures that I took from Seventeen and Vivi. The tutorials in the magazines use similar colours to the Sugar Bloon Shadow Box. I promise it'll be good and up later this week.


Speaking of Skinfood, I tried out a new sheet mask, the Seaweed sheet mask. My skin doesn't feel any different aside from the fact that it smells a bit funny hahaha.
I also got some samples of the new Gold Caviar Lifting Eye Serum, toner and lotion. The toner has little gold flakes in it. I personally don't feel like it does anything. It has a strange perfume scent to the lotion and toner. So far my skin has responded nicely to it. It feel so smooth! I'd say smoother and slightly less sticky than the usual Laneige emulsion that I use. I'm sure it's also cheaper. Whooohooo! I don't think I'll have enough of the Lifting Eye Serum to see/feel a difference. Maybe I should just go buy that whole line to try it out =p I'm starting to feel a Skinfood craving!

Anyone looking forward to Majolica Majorca's winter collection? It doesn't look too exciting to me. The Majolook palettes look like the older ones they had, with the rectangular highlighter shade on top and 3 shades on the bottom. It's kinda blah and they're just brown palettes anyway. (There's 2 new palettes)

To you: I'm making too many excuses in my mind, how I thought I still meant something to you....why do I even bother...is it even worth my time..? You're too busy to notice anyway...in a way, I'm glad I'm not there.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Skinfood: Aloe Sun BB Cream

First things first. I got an email today from Benefit telling me that they're sorry about some ordering error with international orders and I get a free lipgloss out if it. I didn't even place an order with them before haha. I think I have until the end of this week to use this code. If you are ordering something from Benefit this week, try it out. It's for "the gloss" lipgloss.
Code: GIFTGLOS

I finally jumped on the BB cream bandwagon. I just HAD to purchase a BB cream when I went to Skinfood.
Skinfood came out with 3 different BB creams: Aloe Sun, Gingko Green and Mushroom. I purchased the Aloe Sun one because it has sun protection. The Gingko Green doesn't have it and the Mushroom one has whitening and anti-aging. Aloe Sun is pretty much for all skin types and it provides nutrients and moisture to your skin.



The downside with Skinfood's BB creams is the fact that they only have 2 shades to choose from. I can't read the Korean so I can't tell you what the shades are called, except for 01 and 02. I purchased the 02 which is the darker of the 2 selections.
The shade matches me very well. It's only got a light pink tone to it, while compared to my Etude House Speedy Mineral Base 02 which has a deeper yellow tone. Both do suit me quite well. However, I prefer the color of the Skinfood BB cream.
The product spreads very nicely and it makes my face feel sooooo smooth. I didn't notice any sort of mask look either. This is also water proof. I put some on my hand and poured water on it and the water just beaded off. I also like how this BB cream covers my redness quite well, this makes me happy!! But it doesn't cover any of my freckles or the dark eye circles.

*Edit: This morning when I used the BB cream, it came out slightly streaky as I was spreading it. It required extra smoothing/blending to get rid of the streaks. I wonder why. I hope it doesn't happen again.


A tiny bit goes a long way for me. Probably pea sized amount is enough. There's 1.76 ounces in this tube and it should last me quite a while.
Another good thing about this BB cream is how it seems to give my skin enough moisture so it didn't produce as much oil. Well other than my t-zone, I didn't notice a lot of excess oil on the rest of my face except for smooooothness. I did use my Lavshuca loose powder on top so this might have helped with oil absorption too.
So this BB cream sounds quite good doesn't it? Nope! I do have one major rant about this product, the smell!!!!!!
It smells like....errr...what aloe soaps would smell like. The first time I used it, it kinda hit me in the nose. The smell doesn't last very long, I'd say 10 mins or so, but it was kind of unbearable. The next time I use this product, I think I have to hold my breath and fan at my face in hopes that the smell with disappear faster. Now that I'm talking about the smell of this BB cream, I can start to remember it. I just wished there was no scent to this product. If you're sensitive to smells, you might want to steer away from this BB cream.
Other than that, this is quite a good product for its price, if you can get your hands on it, I definitely encourage you to try it.



I found a book store (Bandi and Luni) that sold Japanese magazines. I know it's kinda 6 years too young for me (Seventeen) but I just had to get it. It came with a free Peach John cosmetic pouch, plus I could get an idea of what to wear for winter. If I'm not mistaken, Peach John is a Japanese lingerie brand which sells some gorgeous things.
There's some pages in this magazine I wanna take pictures of to show you all. Will do that when I have time.
One more thing before I sleep, tomorrow is my last after school class. YAY!!!! No more planning my own material to students that don't even want to go to begin with!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus an extra 1 000 000won.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Chilly and Rainy

Ugh, I hate it when it's cold outside AND there's rain. It totally ruins my mood. But, since Tim is teaching the afternoon Saturday class, I'm home alone and I can play around with my makeup without him looking at my weirdly hehe.
I just did a quick FOTD, my undereye area is horrible. I haven't found a perfect concealer yet or an eye cream. I'm one of those people who won't spend a fortune on eye creams, or anything else for that matter. I prefer to buy what I need and not over spend, especially if I want to go to Hong Kong for my trip or trying to pay my tuition. Well of course there are some things that I feel I must have XD
I need to learn to take better pictures with my cell cam or get a digi cam -__-' I just can't get the angles right.


What I Used:
Etude House Speedy Mineral Base 02
Lavshuca Loose Powder
UDPP
T'estimo blush PK-18
MJ singles in WT920 and BK922
MJ Jewelling Pencil in SV802
Coffret D'or Shining Eyeliner WT04
Diorshow mascara
Fiberwig mascara
Coffret D'or lippy BE-178

I think some of the people that know me probably think I'm frugal. I like to watch out for my spendings especially if I still have tuition to pay. So most of the time I oogle makeup instead of buying it.
Anyway enough of that.
Around where I live there are 2 universities. There's one that's got tons of stores and restaurants surrounding it (Kyun Hee University) so I go around that area quite often to eat. It's only a 10 minute walk from home.
A few months ago, I discovered a lingerie store that sells some cute and colorful things. To my surprise, everything is cheap, cute AND good quality! This makes me happy.
The bra and panty sets are no more than $34ishCAD and they're super cute. Of course there are other varieties which steer away from the cute side.
The bra itself doesn't cost more than $25CAD, which is quite a bargain, IMO.
Here's 2 that I bought! Uber cute. There's matching panties with it too. The store also sells men's wear too, but the strange thing is, Korean couples like to match when it comes to their underwear! That's weird... Imagine those bras that I have but in boxer form. o_O


Another Skinfood haul. I caved and just had to buy a BB cream after reading so many reviews on other BB creams. It was either Missha (another populare Korean brand) or Skinfood. I decided to go for Skinfood first because I was stocking up on sheet masks, so I might as well get a BB cream. The Missha one I looked at was about $14CAD and the Skinfood only cost a little les than $9CAD for 1.76 ounces. I might go back to a Missha and grab the BB cream though.
Will review it later on!



One more piece of good news for today, I signed up for a Costco Gold Membership with Tim last week. Guess how much?!? Less than $35CAD for the both of us! But it's out of the way to go there by subway. I have yet to learn how to take the bus.

Friday, November 14, 2008

A Peek Into My Box

I regret not bringing my Lavshuca 2007 winter palette, I want to use it so badly!! I think it'll be kind of pointless to get my mom to send it to me, but if I don't get it sent to me, the lipcolors won't be usable when I get back to Toronto next year, what to do...
I believe I mentioned before that I live in a box with Tim during my stay in Seoul. Everywhere we turn, we can see each other haha.
Here's a peak into my box!
The walls are paper thin, so if I'm not careful, the neighbours can hear my nightly activities. I can also hear people talking next door, take a shower..etc. Good thing I'm living at the end so I'm not surrounded by 2 other boxes.

Sitting on the bed.

If I get desperate, I can take a shower AND take a dump at the same time! Hey, it saves time.


View from the door.


I brought my blanket as a replacement for my lounging sweater, but it has another use now.




When I purchased my blanket here, it came in a plastic bag. I decided to cut the bag yesterday to make curtains for the shelves. I couldn't stand how it got so dusty very quicly. There's even a pocket on one of the plastic sheets so I can leave msgs to Tim! hehe

Majolica Majorca: Jewelling Pencils

I just realized I haven't done a review in a while! Well actually, I didn't bring all my makeup with me so I'm kind of limited. If I do the reviews all at once, thenn...for the next 3 months all you'll see are just my day to day babblings.
Today's review will be Majolica's Majorca (MJ) Jewelling Pencils. For those of you who don't know what MJ is, I did a mini post about it a while ago. Well there's a tiny review of it too, but this time, I bring you swatches!!
I have the MJ pencils in BL503 and SV802. SV802 is a gorgeous gun metal grey and BL503 is a navy blue. I got the SV503 when MJ released its spring/summer 2007 collectiong, titled "Beauty in Black". Both contain silver glitters which don't feel overly gritty.



These are super soft and silky liners, great for smudging, though I don't really smudge. I only use them for my upper lash line as I don't like e/l on the lower lashline.
I wear the SV803 when I don't want a heavy black e/l look. I actually used it everyday when I went back to HK in May. It doesn't stand out too much but it still gives your eyes that extra bit of pop. I don't use the BL503 often, except when I use my Coffret D'or palette in 02 blue variation.
They don't irritate my eyes at all and I wear contacts too. The pencils are quite pigmented and you can layer it for extra color. The only downside is the fading. Even if I use my UDPP, there's still some fading after about 5hours or so. But I always bring the e/l out with me for touch ups. Another bad thing about these liners are, if it gets super hot and humid and you're out all day, there's a chance that it'll travel to your lower lash line. I've had this happen a couple times before, especially if I stay out a long time. However, with a slightly dampend Q-tip, you can get rid of the excess smudging/racoon eyes. Well not THAT extreme =p Even with the minor smudging, these liners do stay put pretty well.

Eeww....I got gross under forearm skin lol
I got my first one for $10CAD at Pacific Mall in Toronto. They taxed me as well, damn them... and Ontario with my 13% tax. Hmmm..now that I think about it, it wasn't too bad. On Adam Beauty, they sell it for $8.50USD, but for over seas you gotta add an extra $2, then convert that to Canadian...oh dear...
Anyway, to conclude, I think you should go get them!! They're also available on Sasa.com.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Drink Of The Day

Does everyone know what these are? They're dried Chinese red dates or jujubes. Ladies, if you get disgusted easily, I urge you not to read on because I'm gonna get into a bit of dirty details of the female body =p
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Do you ever have weird stuff in between your period but it's not a yeast infection? Most likely it's due to your va-jayjay's self cleansing stuff. If you sometimes have to use panty liners during these weirded up days, here's a natural solution to reduce your va-jayjay from overly cleansing and releasing grossness!
With that said, this is what my mama taught me, you know how mothers seem to know so many things. She said that your va-jayjay may release excess stuff between periods because your body has a lot of "hot air" or excess heat. (yeet hei in Cantonese) and also because your body isn't balanced. My mom has trained in Chinese medicine, mainly with reflexology, where you would get pressure points on your foot massaged to help certain parts of you and your body get better. (it hurts like a mofo btw) So to help reduce this problem she says to use red dates and make a drink out of it. As gross as it may sound, I have had this problem before. I'm not ashamed to admit it, not everyone is perfect. I've started drinking this for a few days and I have seen immediate results, although not totally gone away with, but it helps. I've been to the doctor about this but she just tells me to use a yeast infection kit, which doesn't do anything.
I'm not expert in this, but it is what I use as a natural remedy to help solve my problem, so it you're iffy on this, then don't try it.

Here's how to make it:
10-12 dried pitted red dates
2 mugs of water
A squeeze of honey (optional, if you are picky about the taste of red dates)

It is important to have the dates pitted. The seed will make your throat sore (I don't know why), so you don't want to boil it into the drink. Boil the water and add the dates and let it simmer on medium for about 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover for another 5 minutes, drain, let it cool and drink up!
I only use 1 1/2 mugs of water, it boils down to about half a mug so it's pretty concentrated, plus I don't use honey in it either. Depending on the amount of water you use, it'll look golden to a deep amber colour. I'm drinking this every other day or so.
BTW, the smell of the boiling red dates will be strong. If you don't like weird smells, just pop open a window.
Even if you don't have this problem, red dates are still good for you anyway XD

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Peppero Day

On November 11, it's a major day in Canada: Rememberance Day. I'm not gonna go through with what it's about.
Here in Korea, November is an important day too, a rather strange one: Peppero Day. For those of you who don't know what peppero is, it's a Korean version of Pocky, but it doesn't taste as good IMO.
Last week, almost all the convenience stores, grocery stores etc were selling and advertising peppero like mad. The companies or the stores would tape the boxes in a way so it would resemble a flower, heart or a star. It wasn't any cheaper though. Of course I didn't know why and who, but after today....it explains a lot.
The point of Peppero Day is to give peppero to those you care for. I got a few from my students, including a box of hazelnut cream wafers.
So why Peppero Day?? Apparently the date 11/11 looks like the peppero cookie sticks. So the company came up with the idea with some students to make it sort of a Valentine's Day. What a way to earn money for Lotte lol.



I saw the kittens again today and I gave them half a crab meat stick. I think they were starting to trust me a bit because they came out of their hiding place and gave me the long inspection look, kinda bad. Tomorrow if I see them, I have to try to ignore them because the kittens must learn how to get food some other way. But it's not like I fed them many times, only 3...

Why doesn't Canada have Cold Stone?? This is the uhhh.. crap I can't remember, some peanut mud pie thing with coffee ice cream.

This is the SHITS! Cold Stone cookies and cream milkshake *drooooools* It tastes so fatteningly good, if that were ever a word. It's kinda small, can't remember the ounces..it was about $4.50CAD

Guy or girl????? A girl...there's actually another poster that I saw (and couldn't find) where she poses with a guy in the same position, and the guy looks SO damn fruity.


Here's one of my uber disgusting barf looking dinners I made. My one pot meal... I bought a pack of mushroom soup mix hoping to make it into a cream sauce by adding less water. When it said "pasta soup" on the box, I should have known there was pasta IN the soup mix. I thought the "soup" was the sauce for regular pasta.
I got mini fusillies yay, with super bland and tasteless cream sauce. The tuna added all the saltiness....all the tuna cans I've had so far, it's salty. What happen to "tuna packed with water"?! I also added some Spam. It's really popular here, especially during major holidays where you gotta get your in-laws a present. I saw a gift pack/box of Spam for $35 for 6-8 cans. WTH???
If only Campbell's cream of mushroom didn't cost $2.30CAD, if only processed cheese was cheaper, if only I had a toaster oven, I could make a damn casserole instead of that!