OPERA - Lip Tint Rouge Review and Swatch

When I was in Japan, I only bought a few lip products. Majority of the lip products I purchased were actually lip care. 

The past year I've slowly began to go through the products I've purchased and this one is a huge stand out of all of my purchases. 

I mentioned in my 2017 favourites that I LOVED Ettusais' lip essence. I used it everyday and I've already finished it.

But move aside Ettusais, there's a new lippie in town! I have been OBSESSED with this lip tint by Opera. It was also ranked #1 best selling product by Cosme in 2017. Cosme is a Japanese cosmetics shopping site (they also have a few stores around Tokyo) that also releases a list of their best selling items every year.

Opera is a brand that mainly focuses on lips and only sells two lip products. After reading their concept, I completely relate to their concept and what they're trying to achieve.

Taken from their website :

Our lip makeup easily and instantly achieves the ideal beauty of modesty and charm. Be effortlessly attractive with the sensational it Lady lips

I have been using this exclusively everyday at work. I am in LOVE with this lip tint.

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.

RiRe Lip Powder Review + Swatch in Sugar Plum

I received this a while back in one of my subscription boxes. I had never heard of RiRe up until this point. 

I'm no longer subscribed to a skincare box, I have far too many products and need to use up at least... half of my stock before I can even think about re-subscribing to another. I still have so many products to use up! It's just never ending. But the boxes were one of the main ways I got to try new products. 

RiRe boasts their Lip Manicure and Lip Powder are their best sellers. I've had this since last summer and I've been using it on and off. 

It's a pretty new brand having been established in 2013. They offer a variety of makeup and skincare which are all made in Korea. Price wise all of their items are pretty affordable as well. 

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.

Miracle 10 - Botanical Oil & Fruit Enzyme Scrub Reviews

Can you believe there's less than a month until Christmas? Where in the world did the year go??

It's been getting a lot colder out I've had to bust out my two humidifiers already. With colder weather comes dry skin.

Similar to last weeks post, I'll be reviewing another facial oil alongside a facial scrub by Miracle 10.

Miracle 10 (also Canadian!) is a cosmeceutical skincare line that was developed by The Plastic Surgery Skincare Clinic. They're located right in Toronto too!

Taken from their website:

Miracle 10 formulations were developed to stimulate and "exercise" the skin with a combination of the highest quality active ingredients available. [...] formulations are proprietary, fragrance-free, paraben-free, not tested on animals, and made in Canada. Proven to reduce and slow the signs of aging, minimize pore size, heal the look of acne, and greatly improve skin elasticity, texture, and tone.

While both products are good, one definitely stood out to me more.

MAMO Botanics - Oro De Cacay Facial Oil Review

As much as I enjoy the Holiday season (mainly the atmosphere not so much for the stress of buying gifts) the cold weather almost makes my skin react badly. Every year my eczema flairs up which is always less than ideal.

Facial oils are always my go to once the weather gets colder. Even though my t-zone area is still oily, my cheeks become really dry. Doesn't matter how much or how thick the moisturizer I apply, my face still becomes dry and pulled.

MAMO Botanics reached out to me back in October and offered to send me their facial oil called, 'Oro de Cacay' to try. The oil is made from cacay nuts which are grown and native to the Colombian Amazon rainforest. What I especially like about MAMO is that they work together with the farmers in Colombia.

Taken from their website:

MAMO works with indigenous farmers that wild harvest tree-based ingredients to conserve Amazon forests and indigenous traditions. 15% of MAMO's profits are invested in biodiversity conservation [...] Environmentally sustainable sourcing that promotes reforestation. Generations incomes for small and indigenous Colombina farmers

I love Josie Maran's Argan Oil as much as the next person. But if you're looking for a good facial oil for the winter that also gives back to the community they source their ingredients from, MAMO Botanics is worth checking out.

The Face Shop - YEHWADAM Pure Brightening Serum Review

Brightening products have always been popular in skincare. For some reason, when I first started using skincare, I was under the impression that brightening meant whitening. Which it really isn't. Brightening products are focused more towards exfoliating in order to enhance the skin. Whereas whitening products include bleaching agents to remove dark spots. I'm not into using whitening products, but I am definitely interested in having brighter more youthful looking skin.

Since I don't wear a lot of makeup, brightening serums or creams kind of act like a base for my skin. I find any blemishes are sort of blurred away with the brightening products. So overall, I don't have to wear a lot of foundation. 

So if you're like me, and you're more au naturel, then you might be interested in the this new product line by The Face Shop.

The Face Shop recently launched their YEHWADAM line. On their website, they currently have YEHWADAM revitalizing line which incorporates Ginseng. 

Launching on October 5th, The Face Shop will be releasing their Pure Brightening line. Which focused towards brightening and anti-aging:

Specifically developed to reveal skin's brightness and radiance by reducing the appearance of pigmentations, dark spots, and dull skin tone [...] The forumula, which contains the natural ingredients of Chilbaekseolyundan*, improves the appearance of dull, pigmented skin by creating a brighter, more radiant complexion

*Chilbaekseolyundan - patented brightening ingredients formula that includes 6 pristine traditional herbs harvested in Korea.

By Wishtrend's Mandelic Acid 5% Skin Prep Water Review

There are times when I'm really diligent with my skincare and I have multiple steps. Though a lot of the times, I get lazy and my routine is very basic and I use the bare essentials. So during my lazy times, I enjoy using products that pull double duty.

Let me introduce to you By Wishtrend's new prepping water with Mandelic Acid.

This is a new product that was recently released By Wishtrend. Lazy skincare people rejoice! This is a hydrating and nonirritating exfoliant which is suitable for all skin types.

So is this a product worth trying?

BITE BEAUTY Amuse Bouche Liquified Lipstick - Review + Swatches

I consider my first beauty love to be skincare and my second love to be lipsticks. I will admit, I've had a rocky relationship with lipsticks- with the past couple of years I just stopped wearing them. But this year I've found some great lip products that I've been totally obsessed with.

That being said, within the past couple of years, liquid lipsticks have become really popular. Every brand has come out with their own version of a liquid lip.

Most recently, Bite Beauty has come out with their own as well. A liquid version of their Amuse Bouche (which are also incredibly popular).

I've tried a few of their Amuse Bouche in stick form and I really like them. They're pigmented and incredible creamy. I am happy to report that the liquid version is just as amazing!

I'm From - Gingseng Serum Review

As I've gotten older, I've begun placing importance on anti-aging products. Incorporating creams here and there. I'm really off and on with it, even though I know I should use them more often. Luckily, I don't have any wrinkles just yet, but it's never too late to start! Especially now that I'm in my late 20s. It only goes downhill from here!

Ginseng offers a lot of benefits. Aside from brightening and improving skin elasticity, it also offers nourishment for those who have dry and tired skin.

Wishtrend offered to send me their newly released Ginseng Serum from a brand called I'm From.

I've never tried any Ginseng product before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Of course one of -if not the best known Ginseng serums is Sulwhasoo's First Care Activating Serum. It's the HG for so many people! But for 60ml it's about $105 CAD + taxes. I know, it's incredibly expensive. (I ended up getting one myself, but that's another story).

This serum from I'm From is $28.80 USD for 30ml. How does it fair as a more affordable Ginseng option? 

Laneige - Serum Intense Lipstick Review in Sheer Beige

Happy day! I had been searching for this lipstick line by Laneige for years and finally during one of my shopping trips to Pacific Mall, I was able to find it! Not sure why this particular line isn't as popular. Sephora has the two toned lipsticks available, but they don't actually appeal to me. Mainly because they don't look too good on me. 

The lipsticks are available at Laneige/Amore Pacific stores (certain ones. I found this at Market Village right beside Pacific Mall. The actual PMall location only has the two toned lipsticks IOPE). Or Sephora Singapore, which doesn't help me either.

The colour payoff is exactly as they advertise - intense!

Cougar Beauty Products - Anti Oxidant Defence Serum with Hyaluronic Acid Review

I've mentioned it a few times, but I love serums. I love trying new ones and I also enjoy layering them in my skincare. I've realized over the years that relying on just face cream alone just isn't enough. 

If you're not too familiar with Cougar Beauty Products, they're a company that is based in UK and all of their products are manufactured there as well.

Taken from the Cougar Beauty website:

Designed for those who enjoy high quality products and are not prepared to compromise [...] all products are new, edgy, of the highest quality and most importantly, they work [...] all ingredients are sourced locally [...] cruelty free formulas, that are never tested on animals. All of our packaging is recyclable and any mark marketing material is made from recycles material

I really love Cougar Beauty's vision. High quality ingredients are very important, but knowing that their packaging is used from recycled materials, is also an added plus.

As skincare and makeup are becoming incredibly popular, it is nice to know that there are brands out there that focus on quality all the while reducing their carbon footprint as well.

March 2017 - Empties and Declutter

It's already the end of March. With Spring just around the corner, I figured this is a good time to post my most recent empties. This is an accumulation from fall to winter. I've noticed online some people have started 1 year empties, saving their products for an entire year! I certainly could not do that.

Even with these products in my bathroom closet, every time I saw the bottles I itched to get rid of them. 

I've cleared out a lot, but when I look through my stash of unopened items, I still have so many! I need another face.

Also, I realized after the fact that I organized my empties incorrectly. I usually separate them by empties and the declutters. This time around, I organized them by types of skincare and ended up mixing the empties and throwaways together. Oops.

CY' Lab - Crithmum Maritimum Callus Culture Filtrate Repairing Essence Review

Since becoming a skincare junkie I've mainly focused on Korean products. So I haven't really ventured out into other Asian brands. The only other Taiwanese brand I've tried is My Beauty Diary.

I know there are plenty of great Asian brands out there. There are still a ton I want to try from Japan (I love using their lip products) but I just haven't taken a dive into them yet. This summer, I definitely plan on trying the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence Sunscreen. It seems to be a lot of peoples holy grail product. I am intrigued!

But anyway, am I ever glad Amabie sent me CY' Lab to try. I've mentioned this everywhere, but I'm obsessed!

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.

Smile Brilliant - Professional Teeth Whitening at Home

Hey everyone!

Hope you had a great week. We just had a blizzard, where the heck did the snow come from? I'm ready for Spring to come now. Who's with me?

A couple months back, Smile Brilliant reached out to me and inquired if I wanted to test out their Teeth Whitening kit. Unfortunately, I personally can't because I have invisalign and I need to keep them on as long as possible everyday. So while I couldn't use them, my boyfriend could. So you're going to see some close up shots of my significant others mouth/teeth!

My boyfriend Jason's teeth aren't too stained, but he was still pretty excited to try this out.

What's great about the whitening set is that it offers professional results from the comfort of our home. I know this is what appealled to Jason because he's a homebody. Also because I basically prepared everything for him. He's not going to say no to that.

Be sure to check out the end of my post to enter in a giveaway as you can win the exact whitening kit I received (Value of $139 USD)

Bite Beauty - Matte Creme Lip Crayon Review + Swatches: Torte & Cafe

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

For those of you who celebrate, did you have a good weekend? I didn't do anything too interesting. Went out to eat with some family, which was nice. But aside from that, basically a regular weekend.

During my lipstick obsession phase, I had wanted to try a lipstick from every brand. Luckily, Sephora helps feed this obsession by releasing lipstick value sets throughout the year. I currently have my eye on the "Give Me Some Nude" set right now.

Originally, this set came with 4. But the other two colours which was a purple and red appealed to my friend more, while the colours above appealed to me. So when we purchased this set, I took these two and she took the other two.

After trying these out, I can see why Bite lip products are so popular!

Skin18 Masks Galore: Part 2: Luke Hydrogel Patches, Mugwort Nose Patch & Inoface Modeling Cup Pack Reviews

Part 2 the conclusion of the second package of skincare products from Skin18. If you haven't read part 1, you can find it here

Masks being reviewed in this post:
Luke Mugwort Nose Strip
Luke Vitamin Hydrogel Eye Patch
Inoface Modeling Cup Pack - Tea Tree

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.

Skin18 Masks Galore: Part 1 - Cracare: Snail Repairing Mask, Luke: Hyaluron Essence Mask and Purederm: Grape Yogurt Pack Reviews

 ♫ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go ♫

Ain't that the truth? Snow everywhere! Also, exactly 7 days left until Christmas! Is everyone done all of their shopping? I still have a few things to pick up. I'll be spending this Friday mass wrapping all the gifts I bought. I should... I have enough wrapping paper? Maybe I should buy another roll just in case.

I'm back with another review set courtesy of Skin18.

If you haven't read my 2 part review of the previous masks I received, check them out below:
Part 1
Part 2

Just in case you're not familiar with Skin18, taken from their website:

Our mission here is to bring you products that will make you look forever 18[...] our guarantee is the ensure all products placed in our website is good for your skin

 I've split the posts into 2 parts again and reviewing 3 masks per post.

Today's part 1 masks: Cracare: Snail Repairing Mask 3 step, Luke: Hyaluron Essence Mask and Purederm: Grape Yogurt Pack