♥

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[stephanielikesyourface]

Hey everyone!

This is a bit irrelevant to cosmetics but I'm currently trying to get my Society6 (prints, phone cases/skins, laptop skins, etc.) and Storenvy (pin-back buttons & greeting cards) some traffic so I'm adding links to both onto my sidebar :)

Check my stuff out if you have time! It'd be much appreciated ♥

If you have any questions, head on over to my main blog, stephanielikesyou !

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Bite Beauty Bite Size Discovery Set

I'm finally on summer break! Which (hopefully!) means more free time to actually review all the stuff I've been buying over the past year.

A recent purchase I made was the Bite Beauty Bite Size Discovery Set, a set of five mini Luminous Creme lipsticks made by Bite Beauty. I was thinking about getting the Cuvée set but ultimately decided $72 was a pretty hefty price to pay. 

The Bite Size Discovery Set comes in this adorable little tin with a mirror inside:

And when they say "bite size", they seriously mean "bite size".

The colors included are: Retsina, Musk, Shiraz, Fig, & Pomegranate

(shown in alphabetical order)

Here are some swatches on a piece of paper:

And now applied swatches!

Quite honestly, there isn't much of a difference between some of them but they're all pretty good for every day, casual wear. 

Fig is a very natural-looking nude rose; Musk is a darker nude pink with some gold/brown undertones; Pomegranate is a fun cherry red; Retsina is a pretty light nude pink with light brown undertones; Shiraz is a subtle plum. 

I really liked all of them except for Retsina - it was a bit too light for my taste. 

As for lasting ability, they - like most other lipsticks - rub off pretty easily. The pigment comes off on food, drinks, and anything else you put your mouth to. Here are some photos of a blot test I did with a piece of paper:

While it may seem like the Pomegranate came off the easiest and Retsina the least, I think it's more that the bolder colors were easier to see. For the most part, they all come off fairly easily. 

Bite Beauty advertises them as "long-lasting" and "moisture-rich". The pigmentation stays for awhile on your lips even while it comes off easily so I suppose that fulfills "lost-lasting" on some level.

As for "moisture-rich", it is an extremely creamy lipstick and it does slide on very well. However, don't mistake this for "moisturizing". I can't tell if they're drying out my lips but they definitely do not moisturize them.

Overall, I'm glad I bought this set!

It was $20 on Sephora.com,  which was quite a deal for me because one full-sized Luxurious Creme lipstick is $24. I do wish they had a better variety of colors because the Luxurious Creme ones have a pretty wide range but I'm not complaining - they're great for a nice, classy look. Truly lip-hydrating, long-wearing lipsticks are hard to come by so these will just have to do for now. It's not a bad trade-off for the amazing pigmentation. 

Unfortunately, Sephora is currently sold out of the Discovery Set BUT I hope the swatches might help you buy a full-sized lipstick :)

Anyways, I hope everyone's enjoying their summer!

I'm just glad finals are over :D

♥, stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Skinfood Vita Water Drop CC Cream SPF 35 PA++ (D1 Smile Water Drop)

My very first CC cream!

No lie, I chose this one over the ones by Nature Republic, Etude House, and Tonymoly because of its super cute packaging ♥

I believe the only difference between D1 Smile Water Drop and D2 Shy Water Drop is the different packaging designs. They're both super cute but only D1 was available on eBay when I was looking for it so I didn't even have to make the choice lol. 

CC creams are trying to overtake BB creams these days and they're supposed to be better for natural-looking coverage. The CC usually stands for Color Control but some companies use different words like "Color Correcting" or "Complete Correction". 

This CC cream promises to whiten, be anti-wrinkle, moisturize, improve skin tone, and protect from UV rays with its SPF & PA++. I believe the CC in this case stands for Complete Control (aka it's skin care and make-up). 

The package is a pump tube that has a very small opening which should allow for better control. This is good because the consistency of the CC cream is wetter and more fluid than most BB creams so it has a tendency to squirt out too much if you aren't careful.

This fluidity lends itself to a nice, sheer look, as you can see. 

Vita Water Drop CC Cream only comes in one color and it is an apricot/peach-like beige tone with a slight pink undertone. 

When blended out, it becomes far more sheer and less pigmented so I think the color would be fine for most people a couple shades lighter or darker than my skin tone. 

The color is a little lighter and less yellow than what you can see in this photo.

(Also, this stuff smells really nice! Not sure how to describe it though. Fresh? Reminds me of clean laundry or something.)

Disclaimer: My skin is pretty bad this week. I've had three all-nighters in the past five days and it's pretty apparent I am not in good condition ):

There's a good amount of pinkness near my eyebrow and my skin tone in general isn't particularly even.

Now, after applying the CC cream ...

Because the CC cream is so light and fluid, there is very little pore/blemish coverage, which I expected. Primer usually gives me more pore coverage than my BB creams anyways. 

What you do see is a brighter skin tone and more even coloration. While the area near my eyebrow is still pink, it is less obvious, at least in my opinion. 

The lightness is also great because it feels like I'm wearing nothing but maybe moisturizer. 

Oil control isn't amazing but, again, that's what primer is for. 

Overall, I probably won't be using this again till my skin recovers a bit from all these stupid papers I'm writing this week but, when it does, I look forward to applying it frequently for a light, bright look :) 

I won't be getting rid of my BB cream collection any time soon but I foresee this CC cream getting just as much action.

There's currently one seller on eBay whom I bought mine from and they now offer both designs for the same price of $12.99.

It's currently out of stock on the Skinfood website but I believe it's about $12 in Korea as well.

One of my favorite products so far and it's cute! Go for it, especially if you're a noob to CC creams like me :D

Wish me luck on my papers!

♥, stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters (Pink Truffle, Tutti Frutti, & Candy Apple)

I've really been into lip colors lately and the CVS near my school was having a sale on Revlon products (Buy 2, Get 1 Free) so I picked up some of their famous Colorburst Lip Butters in the following three colors:

To be quite honest, these are not colors I would have bought in the past. I'm a big fan of peachy, natural blush tones so these were more for experimentation's sake, especially the coral-orange Tutti Frutti.

Here are some swatches on paper:

The colors here look far more pigmented than they actually are but you can see that Pink Truffle is more sheer with little sparkles and glimmer while Candy Apple and Tutti Frutti are brighter punches of color.

Here are swatches on my arm:

Pink Truffle, as noted, is sheer and a kind of lighter mauve with some apricot pink tones. 

Candy Apple is a bright red with some orange and pink undertones; probably the most pigmented of the three.

Tutti Frutti is a bright orange with some slight red undertones.

Don't be scared by how carrot-like Tutti Frutti looks! All three go on fairly sheer, especially Pink Truffle. 

As usual, naked lips:

Now, Pink Truffle:

(See the little gold flecks?)

Candy Apple:

Tutti Frutti:

When I initially tried these, I was kind of disappointed by how similar Candy Apple and Tutti Frutti were but they do have slightly different attitudes about them. I would say Tutti Frutti is more casual while Candy Apple is a more fun punch of color.

If you'd like to see what they look like on an entire face, first, here's my face with no lip color on:

(Sorry for how sallow I look ... I've been sick this week ㅠ__ㅠ)

Now, Pink Truffle:

(Sheer wash of mauve pink with just a bit of shimmer!)

Candy Apple:

(The name suits it very well - it looks a lot like a shiny candy apple with its slightly orange and pink tones under the bright red)

Tutti Frutti:

(A little more orange than most corals; a nice punch of color while still being low-key enough for everyday use)

Overall, I really liked the color pay-off and quality for the price (~$7 each), especially since I got them for less because of a sale. I like how they make my lips look brighter and the colors they offer are fun.

That being said, it's definitely a drugstore product. The consistency is very buttery and soft so, when applying, it tends to smush onto the sides of the tube :( 

Also, the product promises to hydrate my lips but I didn't really see much of a difference. Upon initial application, it feels like they're moisturizing your lips because it's so smooth and buttery but my lips tend to flake when I don't apply actual lip balm beforehand. 

As for longevity, if you eat or drink anything, the color will stain whatever you're putting your lips to so be careful! I haven't found that the pigmentation on your lips changes drastically when this happens but it's not going to last you all night or anything. 

All in all, I don't regret buying these three Lip Butters and I have a little more faith in drugstore products now :)

♥, stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Skinfood Fresh Apple Smooth Pore Cream

As you may or may not have figured out by now, I'm a sucker for 1) fruit-themed products and 2) products that promise to erase my pores.

This is what led me to try Skinfood's Fresh Apple Smooth Pore Cream, which I will be reviewing as a primer.  

Despite being labeled a "cream", the function and consistency of this product is more like a primer and so I use it under my BB cream.

The tube is fairly small (30ml) and is used through squeezing.

The product promises to control sebum and tighten pores using fresh apple extract (for the sebum and pore tightening) and carbonated water (to "freshen" the skin). 

It has a light, fresh scent that I kind of want to associate with apples because of the packaging but I'm not really sure.

It's a thick cream that has a slightly tacky texture to it. It's very smooth and goes on pretty easily.

This is about the amount I use on my entire face, with most of it ending up on my t-zone and cheeks: 

Now, this is me before applying the pore cream:

And this is after:

If you can't see much of a difference, you're probably right.

Here's a gross close-up of my pores:

While some of the tiniest pores do seem to have been smoothed out, the majority of them are still there. 

The "After" photo is brighter because of a slight difference in lighting, not any function of the cream. 

Also, the thick creaminess of the product made me believe it would be moisturizing on some level but it is not. It doesn't dry out your face but it doesn't help dryness either.

In its defense, the cream does smooth out my skin a bit so that BB cream glides on/blends easier but I was expecting far more pore coverage than this. Oil control is also pretty good but not any better than the other primers I have. 

Overall, I'll continue to use it occasionally because it smells nice, is a cute-looking product, and is a decent primer in terms of smoothness but I will be looking for a better primer that does more for my pores.

If big pores aren't a problem for you and you just want a creamy primer to smooth out your skin, you can find it on eBay for about $9-12 or at an actual Skinfood store for about $9.

Hope everyone's having a good springtime so far!

♥, stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW (x2!): Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer + Sephora Flashy Liner Waterproof (Black)

Today, you're getting double the review! 

Fancy, right?

So, my cosmetics must-haves are basically BB cream and eyeliner. I only got into lip stuff recently but I've been wearing eyeliner regularly since around my junior year of high school. It's mostly because I like to make my mismatched eyelids less noticeable heh.

The problem is, I have pretty oily lids. This, combined with the fact that I take a lot of naps and yawn a lot, means I am in need of a really good eye primer. 

I've tried samples of both Urban Decay's famous Eyeshadow Primer Potion and Tarte's Clean Slate 360 Creaseless 12-Hour Smoothing Eye Primer. Didn't do much for me - I still looked like a raccoon a couple hours later.

~So~ I decided to try this one by Etude House:

The Proof 10 Eye Primer is shaped a bit like a potion of some sort and comes with a doe foot applicator with a relatively long wand. 

It has a tackier texture than most other eye primers I've tried. I find it a bit difficult sometimes to seamlessly blend it into my eye primer as it doesn't quite "soak" into the skin right away, for lack of better explanation.

When I apply it, I take the doe foot and swipe over my eyelid area:

From there, I just rub it in with my fingers, making sure I cover the space effectively. 

Now, I don't really wear eye shadows so I don't own any ... 

Thus, I can't really review how this primer works with eye shadows BUT I will review it alongside Sephora's Flashy Liner Waterproof in Black!

This liner is a standard pencil liner that has a somewhat creamier texture and goes on very smoothly. You have to sharpen it yourself and, as you can probably tell, it has to be sharpened pretty often.

Here are my eyes with ONLY the Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer rubbed in:

You might not be able to see it well but my eyelashes look a bit light, especially on the single-lidded eye. This is because the eye primer leaves some tinted residue sometimes. It kind of looks like I put powder on my lashes or something. If not blended well, streaks can also appear around your eye because of the tint.

These are my eyes after applying the Flashy Liner Waterproof:

Since it's a black liner, it's difficult to tell whether the color has been amplified or not but, from experience, I would say that the Proof 10 Eye Primer makes eye liners look deeper and bolder in color. 

Also, the liner goes on far more smoothly with the primer on. Without the primer, I sometimes get drag marks and unintended smears just from the act of lining itself.

However, as you can see, there is still some slight immediate smudging, particularly on the bottom lid. This is a result of the liner not sticking well to my bottom lid. 

Now, these are my lids approximately six hours later after a day out:

As you can see, the liner from the top lid has smudged, mostly onto my under-eye area but also around the border of the top lid as well.

Believe it or not, this is still the best eye primer I have ever used (yet!) 

With other liners, it would get like this far quicker. It's not just because of the creaminess of this liner either. I've used the Proof 10 Eye Primer with Urban Decay's 24/7 Eyeliners as well as some drugstore brand eyeliners - same kind of smudging. 

I'll probably keep this primer around but I do not think I'll be re-buying or anything. I have pretty oily lids that just can't be controlled, I guess. If you don't have particularly oily lids and just want an eye primer to boost colors, this might be a good buy because it retails for about $5.50 in Korea and you can find it on eBay for around $6-8, which is pretty reasonable.

Now, the Sephora Flashy Liner Waterproof is, as mentioned, a pretty creamy liner. It is easier to draw thick lines but it is not impossible to draw thinner ones. It's just difficult to sharpen it to a real point because the liner is so soft. Don't expect the contours and strokes that are more characteristic of a gel or liquid liner. Also, don't forget to sharpen it if it's dull - the wood part gets sharp and pokey and it hurts like fuck to stab your eye area with it :(

This is a relatively thin line by my standards. 

I usually go a bit thicker (out-of-focus photo, sorry!):

Now, this liner is advertised as being waterproof. That's actually the main reason why I got it. I tend to tear up when I yawn and I yawn a lot so I need waterproof eye make-up. I have mixed feelings about the effectiveness of the waterproof function.

To test it, I licked one of my fingers and dragged it down the line I drew above a few seconds after creating it.

Not very convincing, ay? 

But, at the same time, this stuff will not come off without an eye make-up remover made for waterproof make-up. Just your usual facial cleanser and/or water will not do it. Sometimes, I'll be sleeping over somewhere and I'll forget my eye make-up remover and spend quite awhile tugging at the skin around my eyelids, trying to get it off :( 

It'll smudge and get messy but won't come off completely. 

To me, that's like getting the disadvantages of a waterproof liner without even getting the advantages. If you just submerge yourself in water without touching your eyes, you'll probably be fine. If you're swimming, I think the damage will be minimal. However, RESIST the urge to wipe your eyes afterwards! It will smudge. 

That being said, I chose this liner mostly to qualify for free shipping on Sephora.com. It's cheap at $8 and comes in various colors. The pigmentation is rich and there is a slight metallic sheen to it that lets you use it both casually in the day and out at night. 

I haven't reviewed my set of Urban Decay's 24/7 liners but I would say the Sephora Flashy Liner Waterproof is of similar (if not equal) quality for a far more reasonable price because the 24/7 liners also smudge easily. 

I probably won't re-buy but I use it frequently enough that I don't regret getting it!

Anyways, hope everyone's enjoying spring! I ordered some stuff and will try to upload soon. 

♥, stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: TONYMOLY Cat Chu Wink Tony Tint (02. Red)

I'm on spring break right now so I thought it'd be the perfect time to get some new reviews up :)

I love lip tints and I had heard loads of good things about the tints from TONYMOLY so I got this one online in Red. 

The packaging is pretty standard for lip tints: plastic with a doe foot applicator. The cat is pretty cute though. 

It has a lot of product considering that you only need a couple dots for effective color. It's a pretty strong, bright red with a slight hint of orange.

The above photo shows a dot I dabbed onto my hand and then smeared a few seconds later. It sets pretty quickly so blending fast is essential if you don't want it to look blotchy.

Because of this, I don't use it on my cheeks like how some people use tints. It just ends up looking uneven on me. Baviphat's Fruits Jelly Tint is preferable on cheeks, imo. 

Bare lips:

Now, I usually apply sparingly in dots because, as I mentioned, a little goes a long way and I'm usually just looking for a wash of color:

With that much, I just rub my lips together and make sure I cover both the inner and outer parts of my lip. It comes out something like this:

Not particularly dramatic but more of what I want for an everyday look. That being said, if you need bolder pops of color, layering is easy and probably better than applying a whole lot of color at once because you can't easily take it away. 

This is what I look like on most days:

My lips look slightly more orange here than I believe they do in real life but you get the picture. It's a not-quite-natural pop of color that I think can be utilized both for day/school and night/party :)

I really like it but I will say that I prefer Baviphat's Fruits Jelly Tint in Red for several reasons: it has less of an orange tinge, the texture is a bit thicker, and it seems to blend a bit easier with less staining.

That being said, the Cat Chu Wink Tony Tint's size is a huge bonus because I can see it lasting me awhile and I do plan to use it till the end. I will be on the lookout for other tints though; I just ordered TONYMOLY's Water Jelly Tint in Pomegranate so we'll see how that one compares. 

I got this for around $8 and it's about that much on eBay. It sells for about $4.50 in Korea which makes it seem a bit expensive but I think it's one of those rare cases of the Korean product being cheap as opposed to the imported price being expensive. I'd say it's definitely worth the money. 

It also comes in Cherry Pink and Orange Cha-Cha :)

♥, stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Etude House Shini Star Clear BB Lotion

It's been nearly a month since I last posted a review so apologies for that. I'll work harder to post on a semi-regular basis.

Today is another BB cream review :) 

(Forgot to take photos of the actual product eeeep!)

This "BB lotion" has a pretty standard pump, as you can see through the clear cap. 

It promises to: give your skin a "soft focus" effect, protect from UV rays (SPF 20/PA++), whiten your skin (temporarily), and keep your face moisturized & balanced through ingredients like oatmeal. 

The texture itself is very light and thin.

Etude House only offers it in one color and it's a light neutral color that might clash with pink-toned skin. It definitely has more of a yellow base. 

That being said, it's not very thick so coverage is more on the sheer side. 

(ie. don't buy this if you're hoping for thick coverage of imperfections)

Because it's so sheer and light, a primer would probably be ideal. Oil control is decent but there are many better options if that's what you need. Also, not much pore coverage with this for the same reasons.

Anyways, since it's been a while since you guys have seen my bare face, here you go:

And now with the BB cream:

It actually works pretty well to balance out skin tone. There is a slight whitening effect but nothing major, which I think is a plus because really strong whitening BB creams tend to make people look unnaturally odd. 

I like to use this BB cream when I don't want to apply something thick but I still need some coverage. By balancing out my skin tone, it makes my skin look cleaner even though it doesn't actually cover much in terms of imperfections. 

So basically, if you're looking for a daily use BB cream to balance out your skin tone, try this one. You can find it on eBay anywhere from $8 to $14 and retails for about $9 in Korea. 

Since it only comes in one color, you might want to make sure you're somewhere around my skin tone or a little lighter. Anything darker and the whitening effect will probably be too dramatic. Also, I would guess that yellow-based/neutral-based skin tones would look best with this BB cream but it's possible that pink-toned skin tones may also pull it off because it's rather light. Let me know if it does :)

♥, stephanie 

[stephanielikesyourface]

Sorry for the crazy lack of posts lately!

I hadn't even realized it had been so long! 

Mid-term season is almost over and I have spring break next week so new reviews coming up soon :)

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Bite Beauty Lip Shine (Vintage)

When I was getting into lip colors a few months ago, I bought the now-discontinued Give Me Some Lip set from Sephora. For $25, I got six different lip products, two of which were full-size.

One of the ones I was most excited about was the lip shine from Bite:

(Mostly because of their awesome brand identity)

Now, this is a sample size of about 0.1oz but the real thing is only 0.12oz so I don't really see why they couldn't have given me the full-size ... ?? (Not that I'm complaining - the full size is $20)

Anyways, it's a pretty unique color and I can see why they named it "Vintage". The color is like a mauve with a hint of guava, but slightly darker. It reminds me of lace and gothic antiques, for some reason.

The packaging is a standard doe foot. I absolutely love the minimalistic tube though.

My lips had some balm on them from earlier but it's fairly sheer so it shouldn't make a big difference.

And after applying the lip shine:

The color, as you can see, is fairly sheer. It's advertised as a "glossy, translucent lip tint", which sounds about right. It adds a wash of color and a decent amount of shine. 

There's a kind of thick, sweet yet musky smell to it which I'm not sure I like or not. It's very strong though so, if you're adverse to that, this isn't for you. It is also pretty tacky, which I attribute to the glossiness of it. 

It's also cool because Bite advertises:

This high-tech gloss infused with time-released jojoba beads and antioxidant resveratrol complex imparts soothing hydration and intense shine. Each lip shine contains the amount of resveratrol found in five glasses of red wine

Not sure how much of that I readily believe but it definitely doesn't dry out my lips as much as other glosses tend to do. 

If you're looking for a nice shiny wash of color and don't mind the $20 price tag, go for the Bite Beauty Lip Shines! I'm considering buying Saffron :)

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Holika Holika Peach Girl BB Cream SPF 37 PA++ (02 Natural Beige)

My mother's been complaining that all of my BB creams are way too whitening so, to appease her, I bought this one! 

I had heard pretty good things about this BB cream so I was excited to get it :)

It's the usual BB cream squeeze tube ..

... with a surprise!

A cheek & lip cream with an adorable little mirror!

I got it for $14.99 on cosmetic-love.com and it retails for about $13 in Korea. The Holika Holika website currently states it is "Sold Out" and the product page is down. Not sure if this means has been discontinued but it is still readily available through other online means. 

As you can see, this one really doesn't have any whitening properties. I was actually surprised by how close it was to my natural skin color ... almost like liquid skin ...

This BB cream is supposed to give you a natural, clean, young look, with some "flaw" coverage. As noted, there is also sun protection included. 

Here it is on my palm:

Definitely some neutral yellow undertones. It's not very thick and blends pretty well. I'll probably use a little less than this next time because a little goes a long way.

Now, I tend to do a couple reviews at once, so I had Missha's The style Art Designing Pore Silky Boomer on when I did this. Keep that in mind when looking at the pore coverage of this BB cream because some of the coverage comes from the boomer.

Pre-BB:

And then Post-BB:

I think it works best with evening out skin tone. There was a slight redness in my cheeks but it's less evident after applying the BB cream. 

There is also some additional pore coverage, but not a whole lot. I'll probably always use a primer under this to make sure my pores are concealed. 

Applying it doesn't change the texture of your skin, as some BB creams do. My skin was a bit smoother after applying the boomer but not so much after applying the BB cream. 

Also, as noted, it doesn't do much in way of whitening but that's why I bought it :)

As far as the cheek/lip tint goes, it's a sheer peachy pink with a slight sheen. The below photo is a little darker than the actual product; it's closer to the first photo of it that I posted.

I smeared some on my cheeks to test it out:

I didn't use a whole lot but it adds a nice, natural flush. It's not exactly the kind of color I love on my cheeks so I probably won't use it too much but it's a nice little bonus. Didn't try it on my lips because I felt as though it'd just be a very sheer wash of peach. 

Anyways, this BB cream is good for people who want a natural look. It's not necessarily sheer though; careful not to mix up the two words. I can't judge oil control properly because I have the boomer on but my face is relatively oil-free right now, three hours later. 

It's slightly pricier than most other BB creams I own, especially from a place like Holika Holika, but it's probably because of the cheek/lip color. It's a cute little addition though and it goes along with the whole "natural" theme of the product. 

Probably not my favorite BB cream but I'll most likely be using it more often in the summer, when I get a little darker and also need sun protection. It doesn't come with a whole bunch of functions (ex. oil control, anti-acne, etc.) so it's rather basic in that regard but maybe you're not looking for something fancy. If so, go for it. If you're looking for something more specific, try something else.

-Stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Missha The style Art Designing Pore Silky Boomer

Confession: I actually have no idea what a "boomer" is. As far as I can tell, it's a primer. (At least, that's what I bought it for.)

Okay, so for those of you who have read my other posts, you're probably aware I have a problem with my pores.

They're kind of big and scary-looking, especially in all of those crazy close-up photos I take. 

As Missha is a well-respected brand, I splurged a little (but not really) and got this with my last cosmetic-love.com order. It was $14.23 for 30ml and it retails for $10.80 in Korea. It's about $1 more than Etude House's Goodbye Pore Ever and you get 10ml more product. 

Standard primer tube. 

Now, Missha has a slightly older audience which explains the higher price ranges of most of their products. What I had not noticed was that this boomer/primer advertises wrinkle coverage. I don't really have many wrinkles so I can't attest to this function of the product, sorry!

As for other functions, it promises to control sebum/oil, conceal "flaws" (pores/wrinkles), and moisturize. 

Let's see ...

Here's a photo of my scary face & pores:

I had a really stressful weekend so my skin's in bad condition right now :|

Anyways, I used about this much of the boomer:

The texture is very light, a bit like moisturizer. That wet part right there is from the first squirt of the package - I don't think it will always come out like that. It feels like any other primer I've used, except maybe a little more watery. 

After:

My pores look much more shallower and the smaller ones in the periphery are almost invisible. 

It's not an ideal primer for me because I'd still like more coverage but it feels quite nice on my skin. It's sheer and light. It actually does feel moisturizing, kind of like my Etude House Skin Mal:gem Deep Moisture Care Freshner but a bit thicker. 

It also feels like it is absorbing some of the sebum off my face, much like how we do with powders. So, not only does it prevent sebum, it absorbs some as well, if the "Sebum Holding Powder" ingredient is to be trusted.

As a make-up base, it's good for keeping oil off your skin but it isn't quite as smoothing as other products I've tried, probably because it's not as thick. 

Final verdict? For the price, it's a nice deal. I think I like Skinfood's Fresh Apple Smooth Pore Cream (which I have yet to review!) and Etude House's Goodbye Pore Ever more at the moment because of the better coverage and intense smoothing but I'll definitely be using this Pore Silky Boomer on days when my skin is drier. I don't regret the purchase. 

If wrinkles are a concern for you, you might want to try this too! From what I can tell from Korean reviews, it's not bad  for covering fine lines.

-Stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Holika Holika Petit BB Cream (Clearing)

I'm a BB cream fiend - absolutely love the stuff. I mean, how can you not?! The only problem is, I find myself owning way too many to use at one time. Case in point, I ordered two over the past month and am considering ordering a few others.

One of the ones I bought was Holika Holika's Petit BB in Clearing.

I really like the look of their Petit BB line and I'm planning on grabbing a couple more over time. 

Here are my thoughts on Clearing!

To start, the BB creams in the Petit BB line are named pretty aptly. They're smaller than most BB creams I own at 30ml but the price reflects this as well. You can get pretty much any of the Petit BBs on eBay for around $6-8 (mine was $6.20) and it retails for around $5.80 in Korea.

The packaging is the standard plastic squeeze tube, which I like:

As far as I can tell, the BB creams in the Petit BB line vary in shade, which is a little odd to me. Maybe because of the differing ingredients? I don't know .__.

This one has a very warm tone to it and probably would not be fit for very fair skin tones as it is more like a natural beige. 

I'm still experimenting with how much I should put on but, for this review, I used about this much:

Probably a bit more than I really needed. As you can see, the texture is fairly thick and there are definite yellow tones. 

Here's a photo of my unfortunate bare face:

You can see pink tones and some oil build-up because I went to class with nothing on.

Now, with application of the BB cream:

The most noteworthy change is the evenness in skin tone. The Clearing Petit BB evened out my pink areas and lessened my under-eye discoloration. There is also a slight whitening effect.

However, because I purposely did not apply any primer, my pores are fairly visible. Most BB creams generally don't do much for the pores; this is why a make-up base or primer is always helpful. 

Holika Holika promises sebum control and, so far, four hours later, my skin is pretty oil-free. I think there are some moisturizing qualities in this as well because the skin on my face seems oddly softer than usual, which is cool. 

Holika Holika also boasts the use of tea tree oil - this is why it is the Clearing BB cream. As I don't have any breakouts right now, I can't really attest to this but, on the bright side, it hasn't caused any negative reactions! I can also see why it has a slightly thicker coverage, as it would probably do a good job covering blemishes. 

It also has a slight scent to it that I don't think is tea tree oil. It's not unpleasant or anything so not that big of a deal, in my opinion. Just wanted to note that. 

Overall, I'm liking it so far. I'm not completely in love yet because it doesn't stand out to me particularly but I'm interested enough to still want to try the other products in the Petit BB line. 

I'm probably going to be snowed in today & tomorrow so I'll try to get some other reviews up :) 

Hope you guys have a good weekend! 

-Stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Baviphat Fruits Jelly Tint (#3 Red)

I actually bought this as an afterthought to my KpopTown order while buying Jaejoong's new album (which is amazing by the way).

I'm really into tints and stains but I hadn't tried any Korean ones and it was cheap ($2.40 on sale) so I decided to buy it. 

Okay so, despite the price, I was really surprised by the size. This thing is tiny. 

It used to retail for about $5.80 in Korea but I think they might be discontinuing it because it is also on sale on the Baviphat website for about $2.30. They also sell all three for $7. On eBay, however, it goes for about $7, which I think is a bit much. 

Compared to most of Baviphat's other products, this has extremely minimal packaging. Literally, there is nothing. I honestly thought it was a tester until I looked online. The only writing is on the bottom. It's a strange move by Baviphat, especially since their other products are usually very kitschy and stylized. 

The applicator is the classic doe-foot:

And the texture is indeed jelly-like. Not exactly solid like Jell-O is but there is a definite thickness compared to most other tints. You can kind of see it on the doe foot. It doesn't drip as much as ooze LOL.

I like it just because I think it's fun and cool heh.

Anyways, here's a photo of my bare lips, directly taken from my last review on Etude House's lip scrub:

For this review, I made three dots on the middle of my bottom lip, because I like having the color slightly deeper on the inside:

(Looks kind of like fake blood. Or real blood. Hm.)

Then I just rubbed my lips together and spread the color around:

It's actually more natural-looking than you'd expect. The color is indeed just a tint - it's a nice wash of red. 

(I had class at 9am today and was way too lazy to put any make-up on lol)

As you can see, the color is indeed deeper on the inside, which is what I wanted. However, if you want a more even wash of color, you either have to apply it evenly over your lips or work fast because the color sets in pretty fast. 

As far as staying power goes, it won't last you through meals or anything. The color will slowly fade but it won't disappear completely anytime soon. There's still a pop of color after a couple hours. 

Honestly though, for the price range, you're probably better off trying a different tint. I'll be reviewing the ~famous~ TonyMoly tint soon but I'm already assuming it'll be a better buy just because the price on Baviphat's lip tint on eBay is way too high for the amount you're getting.

However, if you happen to see it in Korea or have someone in Korea, get it! Also, if you're ordering something on KpopTown and spending loads on shipping anyways, pick it up for $2.40 like I did. The size is worth about that much. 

It's a good tint but I don't think it's worth +$7 because 1) it's TINY and 2) it's not super-amazing-wonderful, y'know?

-Stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: Etude House Kissful Lip Care Scrub

A package came in the mail for me today from Korea :D

It was ordered from f2plus1 on eBay and it got here surprisingly fast - I ordered it a little less than two weeks ago. I'm excited to have them so I'll be reviewing them over the month or so. 

One of the things I bought was Etude House's Kissful Lip Care Scrub. I've been looking for a lip scrub for awhile because my lips are chronically dry. I had heard good things about the ones at Lush but my local store was out of them so I decided to take a chance with this one from Etude House.

(As you might be able to tell, I'm an EXO fan haha)

I was actually a bit hesitant on whether to pay for a lip scrub or not. I've heard that making one at home is fairly easy but I'm at school right now so I don't exactly have ingredients lying around. 

This was $5.99, which I figured was a decent price. Anything over $7 and I probably wouldn't have bought it. Also not bad considering it retails for about $4.50 in Korea.

It kind of looks like the lip glosses girls in my class used to carry in elementary school, especially because of the squeeze tip:

As you can see, it's small but it's not like I was expecting anything huge. It's a good size to carry around when you're traveling and whatnot. 

The consistency is much like what you'd expect from a sugar-based scrub - granular and slick.

Other ingredients include Vitamin E (to soothe), marine collagen, Chamomile extracts, Macadamia seed oils, and mango seed butter. Overall, sounds pretty moisturizing. 

Here's a kind of gross photo of my lips with nothing on them:

There's dead skin on my top lip and my bottom lip looks chapped and dry.

Now, I wasn't exactly sure how to go about putting it on. Most lip scrubs I've seen come in pots so you pick up some with your finger and apply it onto your lips.

I suppose this is more hygienic because (I'm assuming?) you squeeze it onto your lips directly? At least, that's how I did it. It's not a mess-free process though, because you still have to rub the scrub in. I used my finger until most of the sugar granules dissolved and rubbed my lips together on my way to wash it off.

It's a little hard to see because it's clear but here's a photo of the scrub directly squeezed onto my bottom lip. 

Now, after rubbing and scrubbing away, I washed it off and this was the result:

I was pretty impressed! The dry bit on my top lip isn't exactly flaking off yet (god this is so gross to talk about) so I'm not surprised it didn't scrub off completely. There was definitely some dead skin exfoliated away though!

I'm particularly impressed by the appearance of my bottom lip. The moisturizing ingredients really seem to work - it looks a lot smoother :)

Now, the smell isn't bad or anything but it's noticeable. It's sugary sweet and tastes just as much, with a slight bitterness. All the better, I guess, since it discourages you from eating the tube's contents but it's not exactly pleasant to get into your mouth (and it's bound to get in there). Like, it's not bad. It's sweet! But there's that weird aftertaste that I'm not loving. Not a big deal though; I mean, Etude House didn't make this stuff for me to eat. 

Anyways, if you're looking for a lip scrub, definitely try this one out! It's one of the cheaper ones I've seen around and I think I'll be getting good results from this! It recommends usage 2-3 times a week and I'll try my very best to keep up with it. 

It's not a miraculous product or anything but it does its job well. For now, I'll be sticking to this.

-Stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: TonyMoly Baby Doll Pot Concealer (#2 Natural Beige)

SO, as you guys have probably seen from those super intense horrifying up-close zoom shots of my face, I am in need of a good concealer. 

Right now, the only two I own are TonyMoly's Baby Doll Pot Concealer, which is a creamy solid, and bareMinerals' Summer Bisque, which is a powder. 

Review after the jump :)

This is another purchase I made while I was in Korea but it was actually more out of pressure than anything else. 

If any of you have ever been in Korea or in a Korean store (like for clothes or cosmetics), you know they hound you. They will literally follow you around in circles and ask every few seconds whether you need help or not. Usually they're scared away by the sound of English but you can still see them watching you ...

ANYWAYS, I was at a TonyMoly store and felt bad for browsing for so long that I bought this LOL. DO NOT FALL FOR IT LIKE I DID. I'm just a overly sympathetic sucker.

Now, this concealer seems to be meant more for under-eye circles than anything else. I tried the sample out on a blemish and one of the employees seemed confused as to why I would do that. 

When I look for concealers though, I'm more worried about my blemishes and red spots than my under-eye circles so I look for products that can work for both. 

As you might have guessed from the name (Baby Doll Pot!), it's a small little thing:

But this doesn't necessarily mean it's a small amount of product, if that makes sense. 

The consistency is very thick and should last awhile if you're sticking to just a few trouble spots or dark areas. 

That's from one swipe.

(Sorry my finger isn't in focus!)

You might be icked out by having to use your finger and, if so, get your hands on a concealer brush! Very handy. 

The color is more yellow-based than it seems in the pot and may not look too natural if you pack it on. With this stuff, moderation is important because it is so thick and the texture is kind of paint-like. Blending is easy because it's so creamy. 

Okay, so I don't have a huge under-eye circle problem, despite my lack of sleep. Nevertheless, I'll try to show you its coverage.

This is my eye, with nothing on:

(Creepy, ay?)

Now, with a few pats of concealer (not too much!):

And with it smudged/blended in:

Honestly, it doesn't look like a whole lot of difference here, but that's mostly because my under-eye circles are pretty close to my usual skin tone lol. Whatever darkness you see there is largely due to the shadows. 

Since that didn't really show much, here's a side view of my bare face, where you can see a mole and a light pink spot right near the end of my eyebrow:

And after rubbing some concealer on:

Medium coverage :)

Obviously, you shouldn't be trying to conceal something that dark, but hopefully this shows you how thick it is.

Also, you may notice that my skin in the second photo looks chalkier. 

This is because my skin was pretty dry. Thus, if you have dry, flaking skin, might want to stick to something else. 

Overall, I don't LOVE this concealer, just because I feel like there are better ones out there. It looks somewhat unnatural at times, for some reason. I think it may be due to the color not exactly matching my skin tone. As you can see from the last photo, that area of my face suddenly looks very yellow. 

You also have to be careful with using it as a dark circle concealer because the color may be too light and end up looking a bit off. 

As far as coverage goes though, it does well when I have annoying red spots that I don't want to go out into public with. It definitely works best on a smooth surface though. 

It doesn't seem to clog anything and none of my spots have ever gotten radically worse from having this concealer on. It hasn't broken me out either, which is great. 

I believe TonyMoly only offers this concealer in two colors, Natural Beige being the darker of the two. If you have very fair skin, try looking for #1 Light Beige. 

If you're looking to try a cream concealer and none of the issues above are relevant to you, this may be a nice start since you can find it for $5-7 on eBay :)

If you're not totally convinced, stay tuned. I'm always on the lookout for a great concealer!

-Stephanie

[stephanielikesyourface]

REVIEW: TokyoMilk Dark Femme Fatale Collection Lip Elixir (Salted Caramel No. 36)

I heard great reviews about this brand and absolutely loved the packaging (bugs! swirls! numbers!) so I decided to give it a shot, especially since the price was reasonable ($7) and my lips are tragically dry.

This is a shot of it, tape still intact. 

(Hedgehog not included!)

And here it is, open:

I was actually surprised at how big it was! 

It is approximately 2.75 inches in diameter and is just slightly smaller than the palm of my hand. 

It also boasts moisturizing ingredients, like aloe vera, vitamin E, and bee balm:

Now, here is a photo of my lips before applying the "lip elixir":

(They're not as chapped/dry as they usually are because I've been using this product for a couple days oops)

And this is immediately after applying it:

(It's so horrifying to be cropping out giant photos of your lips)

Improvement, right? You can immediately see that it got rid of the little flakes of dead skin and (bonus!) added some shine. 

Honestly, I wish I could go back to, like, last week and show you how bad my lips were. I used to be a nail-biter and kind of grew out of it ... only to become a chronic lip-biter :( This has led to seriously gross-looking lips that flake a lot. 

The consistency is pretty thick, kind of like Vaseline (which makes sense because the first ingredient is petrolatum). I can see why they call it an elixir - it's seriously magic.

Some people might not dig having to use their fingers but using a lip brush would probably work. I'm lazy so I just swipe my finger right through LOL.  

Now, as for the smell. TokyoMilk is known for their scents and has quite a few lip balms. There are eight in the TokyoMilk Dark Femme Fatale Collection, from Clove Cigarette No. 18 (Crushed Clove, Lavender Rose, Saigon Cinnamon, Vanilla Bean) to La Vie En Rose No. 42 (Rosewater, Sweet Orange, Peach, Tahitian Vanilla). 

From what I can tell, the general consensus is that the scents are hit-or-miss, based on the individual. There are very few mild opinions about the scents. Me, I have a giant sweet tooth so I went for Salted Caramel No. 36, as I mentioned. 

Salted Caramel No. 36 boasts flavor notes of Sweet Cream, Sea Salt, Caramelized Sugar, and Toasted Vanilla Bean. And it is strong. 

At first, I honestly couldn't decide whether I liked it or not but I've really grown fond of it. It's not the traditional kind of sweet smell. It's hard to describe scents through words but it's more musky and thick than light and sweet, if that makes sense. The caramel definitely hits my nose the strongest but I do see where the vanilla and sweet cream comes in. Not so much the sea salt but, then again, I don't really remember what sea salt smells like.

If possible, I'd definitely try to seek out some testers so you can check out the scents for yourself. I bought mine on Sephora.com so I was just kind of hoping the description would be accurate and it was pretty close. 

If strong scents aren't your thing, I would avoid this.

Unless, of course, you have super dry/chapped lips like mine and are willing to try anything. Because this stuff works and the price is pretty sweet (no pun intended) for the amount of product you're getting.

-Stephanie