Palgantong - Theatrical Powder (Face Powder) Review. Like second skin!

Face powder is one of the products I HAVE to put on before I leave the house. As I have combination /oily skin it is detrimental to maintaining my matte skin. On weekends if I don't plan on wearing any makeup, I still put on a bit of powder.

Back when I was in University, when I was getting into Japanese cosmetics I would spend hours just browsing different products. Palgantong Theatrical Powder always popped up. I never took the plunge to purchase, despite all of the raving reviews.

Fast forward to last October, when I was shopping in Tokyo, I saw this and grabbed it immediately.

The history of the brand is rather interesting. As per their website, Palganton means "Red Box". The brand is know to be "born in Korea, grown in Japan".

Taken from Beauty and Minerals website:

With over 5 million units sold in Japan, this loose powder is a big favourite among Korean movie stars with the flawless finish it gives the face, when worn on top of foundation/makeup!

I'm really glad I picked this up, because it has become my new favourite setting powder.

Kat Von D - Studded Kiss Creme Lipstick in Misfit - Review + Swatches

I've gotta say, my interest for lipsticks has been reignited. This time it's not just for nude shades! I'm venturing out and dabbling in reds.

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll have noticed I've been wearing a lot more reds. The lipstick I'll be reviewing today isn't the usual type of red I wear, but it has piqued my interest in Kat Von D.

Kat Von D's newly reformulated Studded Kiss lipsticks were released last month.

The lipstick line offers a ton of different shades to play with. Anything from wearable nudes to fun bright colours like green and light purple!

I've always heard great things about Kat Von D. I hear their eye liner is one of the best out there. So when I received this new Studded Kiss Creme lipstick, I was really excited to try it out.

Bite Beauty - The Lip Pencil Swatch + Review: Honeycomb & Whiskey

Even though I don't wear lipsticks often, I'm always on the lookout for new shades or lipsticks to buy. I even keep a little mini makeup bag of lip products in hopes of wearing them more.

I was chosen by Influenster to try Bite Beauty's new lip pencils they released this past February. I've only tried their Lip Crayons, but if the pencils and the Amuse Bouche lipsticks are anything like the crayons, then I'll probably love them.

044/Whiskey and 022/Honeycomb

Influenster also included deluxe sizes of their Amuse Bouche lipsticks in Honeycomb and Whiskey. The same shades that match The Lip Pencils.

As I've mentioned in my previous posts, I've been really into nudes, so I was pretty excited to receive Honeycomb. Whiskey on the other hand gave me a little heart attack. This will be the first time I'll have ever tried a shade that dark.

2016 Makeup + Skincare Favourites!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and not too hung over from this past weekend?

I can't believe it's already 2017! Do you guys have your resolutions set up? I don't usually have any because I always break them within the first week anyway. But I'm going to *try*, key word 'try' again this year. What about you guys?

I'll be doing a year end review of my favourite products of 2016. There were a few I found literally during the last 2 months of 2016. There's quite a lot of products so I've broken them down between skincare and makeup.

2016 was when my skincare routine really expanded. I found a lot of great products I want to share with you guys.

Berrisom - Lip Tint Cleanser Review

Hey everyone!

It is getting pretty darn cold out. Just last week it was fairly warm out but this past week it's been consistently 5-10 degrees. I'm not ready for winter yet! I'll have to bust out my thick moisturizers in another month or so.

Continuing the theme of lip products from last week, I thought I'd review a lip cleanser from Berrisom.

I know, just use a makeup remover. Why do we need a lip cleanser?

Well where's the fun in that? Besides, this also doubles up as a lip scrub.

Heimish Mini Lipstick Palette Review + Swatches

A few days ago, I posted a photo of this lip palette I received in my PinkSeoul subscription box a while back on my Instagram. A few people asked for swatches, so I figured I'd post a review and my lip swatches in one post.

I actually hadn't heard of Heimish until I received this palette sample. They have a cleansing balm that is really popular in the KBeauty community.

While I'm curious to try out more from Heimish, spoiler alert: The pigmentation for these lipsticks are not consistent.

CoverGirl - TruBlend Liquid Foundation Review

Now, I'm not one to wear much foundation. Main reason being, I sleep in so majority of the time I wake up too late to bother. Or simply because I rub my eyes and touch my face too much (I know, really bad habits, I can't help it!).

But every once in a while, there are a few new releases that capture my attention and I pick it up to try. At this moment, including this bottle I have three foundations in my collection. I mean, I'll never use them up before their expiration dates, but at least I have them!

For this particular foundation, I was chosen by BzzAgent to participate in their campaign for CoverGirl. If you're curious what BzzAgent is, the short answer from their website:

Try products and services, then share your honest opinions about them with people you know. 

They gave us a few different foundations to choose from:

- Tru Blend Liquid Foundation

- Clean Oil Control

- Simply Ageless Foundation

- Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation

- Outlast Stay Fabulous

A few of the lines did not have my shade, so I was a little limited. In the end, I went with Warm Beigh L-7 from their TruBlend Foundation line.

Etude House: Goodbye Pore Ever: Pore Primer Essence Review

I've actually had this particular product for a while now. I just never got to reviewing it till now unfortunately. 

I really like Etude House. I only have one lipstick of theirs, so majority of the products I've tried are skincare items. 

So when I began caring for my skin around last year, one of the biggest things I didn't like about my face was my pores. Granted, they're not as big as others, but enough that I get a really oily face. 

A friend of my recommended I check out their pore cleansing line to help combat my pores. 

As you know, I have tried their pore toner and I love it! But you can check out the other products they have here.

Shiseido Perfect Rouge - PK 249 Swatch + Review

Over the past couple years, I took a liking to lipsticks. I have a handful I want to purchase but as I don't wear them that often, I've been refraining from purchasing too many at a time. I try to save it for end of my school semesters, so it feels like I'm rewarding myself. And within those few months, try to use up the ones I have.

Back in December, I purchased this Shiseido Perfect Rouge lipstick. The shade is PK 249. It looks like a really bright pink in the photos, but it's a lot less bright when on the lips.

I read a number of reviews, and every review I found was positive.

Lancome Colour Design 'Ooh La la!' Metalic swatch

Hey there, long time no post.

My apologies. I'd like to make the excuse that I have school and it's taking a lot of my time; but considering I'm writing this instead of doing my school work... you can easily conclude that I procrastinate a lot. And I mean a lot.

Anyway, onto my post!

I have had this lipstick for a while now. But since I got this in a gift bag during a time I wasn't yet confident enough to wear any other lipstick colours aside from nude, this has been collecting dust.
Granted, I haven't worn it too much, I still quite like it.

Lancome's 'Oh la la' shade came in a gift bag as I mentioned above. I wasn't too keen on it, since it's metallic, but after trying it on again, I found it's great for the fall!

Asian Beauty Haul!

Finally! Look what came in the mail! Took a little over 2 weeks, which isn't too bad, since it is shipped out from Asia. 

My friend and I were browsing yesstyle.ca and we found a few beauty products we wanted. Yesstyle currently has a free shipping promotion going on. I recommend checking them out. They also have tony moly makeup, all of it 20% off. They have a large selection, but I found the items I purchased from ebay, are cheaper than on this site. Only certain products though. The reason we ordered the products we did, was because they are more expensive on ebay. 

The two things I bought:
1. My Beauty Diary facial masks (we are actually sharing. So we get 5 of each mask. One box: $15 CAD for 10 pcs
2. Kao essentials hair masks - I cannot WAIT to try this! I tried the other one many years ago, shea honey mask I believe and I loved it! This one is supposed to give me more volume. $12 CAD. Ebay sells for $20 or so

My friends purchases:
1. Another beauty mask
2. Missha bb cream. No. 23. She's tried samples in stores and she really likes it. She had been waiting for it to go on sale, but then saw that yesstyle was selling it for a really good price! I would like to try missha bb creams also, but No. 23 is a little too light for me. Not to mention, I get lazy with applying bb creams or liquid foundations.

Future reviews to come!

Have you tried any of these products before? Thoughts?

Tony Moly Cat Chu Wink Lipstick

I have been waiting for this lipstick to come in the mail since I ordered it in the beginning of July! I have a cat and I of course love them, so when I saw this lipstick, I knew I had to get it!

For those of you unfamiliar with Tony Moly, it is a Korean cosmetics brand. This is only one of their lines, so not all of their products are cat themed. They do have a few lip stain sticks that are bunny themed. I may buy one of those in the future.

I chose #4 in Coral Pop and I purchased this through ebay for less than $9, free shipping included.

Pros:
Great colour pay off
Can build up colour intensity
Smooth application
Moisturizing
Glossy finish
Affordable
Incredibly cute packaging
Nice fruity scent

Cons:
If you have dry lips, will emphasize them more
Package can bee a little tricky to use. It can lock when you turn the product back into the tube. Have to keep turning to get lipstick to come out

Have you ever made purchases purely based on packaging?

L'occitane haul

As I've recently got into skincare, I splurged on L'Occitane items, which I have been excited to try. Detailed descriptions and reviews will follow. Back in June, I used a coupon from a previous haul. Free cleanser or toner with the purchase of a moisturizer.

Of course free shipping was only included for $60 or more, so I bought a few more things.

I purchased:

Angelic Hydration Cream

Immortelle Precious Cleansing Foam

Almond Delicious Soap

Bonne Mere Honey Soap

Magic Key - Press Tub

Have you used L'Occitane products before? Any favourites? Or products you want to try?

Instagram: joannm27

Twitter: joann_m

Feel free to ask me any questions.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog. As my blog title says, I post about serendipities.
I've recently got into skincare, thanks to my friend Sylvia.
This summer in particular I started somewhat of a skin routine. Specifically for the night. My morning routine is still a work in progress. But baby steps, right?

Follow me on instagram and twitter. I will likely post on those two a little more frequently.
Instagram joannm27
Twitter joann_m