Daring December :)

December is here and that means more fun wintery products to use! I've been trying out some lipsticks recently (and other products) to help transition into winter and I thought I'd share some of my handbag necessities ;)

For all your parched lip needs.... Mac tinted lip conditioner! Its an old favourite for good reason-- not only does it smell like vanilla, its also super hydrating and adds colour to your lips. It also has great size and its cute and small enough to fit into your handbag.

Soap & Glory Hand Food handcream! Moisturises, while not leaving your hands sticky or clammy. Long lasting scent and long lasting product.

Mac Viva Glam lipstick (matte)- gorgeous deep red shade, which is great for the winter days and transitioning into nights and keeping with the theme of the season. Also a good holiday colour. Very rich and adds a lot pigment to your lips while being long lasting. Plus, its easy to get off!

L'Oreal Illuminating Powder-- old favourite, but great use particularly in the winter. There's a built-in blush on the inside of the shiny powder, which gives your cheeks a wind-kissed blush while adding shine to brighten up the dull days. Also great use as a setting powder without adding too much shine to your face.

InnisFree Makeup 1 Minute Mask-- masks that help you put on your makeup despite your dry, wintery skin. Moisturises, tones and hydrates your skin and preps it for makeup. Great for winters, or drier days, where your face feels to flaky for makeup and you don't want to apply too much in fear that it will ruin your skin even further. There are 3 sheets in this pack, and mostly people put them on their forehead and cheeks to revive the moisture and the skin so the makeup can glide and sit slightly easier.

Bobbi Brown lipstick (unfortunately the bottom has rubbed off so I don't know which one this is!) Its a deep plum-y colour, which adds more richness than the previous Mac lipstick, which was more of a deep red as opposed to a darker purple. I love using it for going out, where it seems more easier to match-- I've yet to master the ability to make it work during the day, but I'm trying!

Etude House Collagen Eye Patch- One of the first places in your face where all the moisture gets sucked out is under the eyes. Its also where your eyebags are (obviously) the most prominent. This is a great product because it soothes the undereye area, relieves it from any discomfort and also helps with the revitalisation and moisturing of the skin underneath it (which, in the long run, will help with wrinkles). Protip: leave it in the fridge so when you take it out and apply it under your eyes, it feels cooling and helps reduce puffiness even more.

What are some of your favourites, let me know :)

Product Review: Étude House Collagen Eye Patch

Happy Saturday (or whatever time it is wherever you're at)! And also, Happy October (?!?!? already?!?!)

I suppose it comes as no surprise that I've been using a lot of Etude House recently.  I promise it won't always be about Asian beauty products, but since I just came back from Singapore I was trying a lot of Etude House because as far as I know, it hasn't opened up in London yet (unless someone kindly tells me otherwise). 

*Apologies for the lighting, I took these in a hotel room and so the lighting wasn't the best.. being on-the-go is not great for my pictures :(

As you can see from the pictures, you detach the semi-circle shaped part from the sheet and put it on your under-eye area.  The idea is that it should be used to prevent puffiness, dark under-eye circles, and the collagen is meant to keep your undereye area smooth, healthy and possibly prevent any fine lines.

Some people have encouraged the use of this during a long flight so that when you get off it, your eyes feel refreshed and comfortable and you don't look as tired. (I actually learnt about these through watching Michelle Phan's video).  But for me, I felt like doing it when I landed was a great reward and way to relax for me after surviving the 13 hour flight from Singapore to London ;)

It does what you'd imagine it to do-- which is refresh your eyes, add back the moisture that was lost during the light, and prevent your undereye area from looking too tired.  I wasn't expecting much else and it was my first time using this product, so I wasn't sure of what else it should be doing.  However, after doing my research, it turns out that they not only help repair the collagen in that region of your face, but it also has Vitamins A and E and green tea extracts to soothe and nourish skin.

I'd recommend this to people who get on planes a lot or travel quite a bit, as travelling can do a lot of damage to your skin and one of the first signs of fatigue can be seen under your eyes.  I haven't tried enough of these to say if its an amazing "must-buy" product, but it certainly is worth investing in if you feel like your undereye area is always on the verge of dryness or showing signs of fatigue and you want to refresh yourself.   They're also not particularly pricey (obviously cheaper in Asia) and so its not tremendously unaffordable.

Some ways you can  get them if you're in the UK:

http://www.yesstyle.co.uk/en/etude-house-collagen-eye-patch-5-pairs/info.html/pid.1022972903

http://www.amazon.com/Etude-House-Collagen-Eye-Patch/dp/B004HYBJWS

Let me know if you've tried it and loved this product as well, or if there are other dubs for this product that sell in Europe or the UK!

xx

Summer Skincare Fun: Sleeping Mask!

heya x

So as promised, here is a second blog post that I've been working on that has (surprise, surprise), to do with skincare.  I'm obsessed.  I spent the whole summer sampling new skincare products and trying out everything in the Etude House shop and I'm here to share my skincare adventures with everyone.

For those who aren't familiar, Etude House is a Korean skincare brand that does everything from makeup to night masks.  They are not only cheap & affordable, but also super cute and super pink.  Their packaging is quintessentially Korean and it looks so adorable and so full of colour and happiness that it never fails to amaze me how people who know about this store can exercise self-control while in it.  Despite having been aware of this shop before, I have just recently entered this pink haven (the tagline on the website says: Let your pink out), but now that I know it exists, I sincerely doubt I will ever be able to walk by it without my wallet bleeding.


Massage Sleeping Pack: http://www.etudehouse.com/index.php/skincare/massage-sleeping-pack/moonlight-in-spoon-b-s-c.html
This is a blending sleeping cream that you put on your face before you go to bed (please excuse the terrible picture placements, it was dark and I just had my phone with me).  It normally comes in a pack as can be seen in the link above, but because I wasn't too sure about it I experimented with one first (its the olive in this picture), just to see what its like.

The picture on the left is what it looks like in the packaging, which is not only super cute but also very inviting.  The stuff inside is meant to mimic olive and give hydration and softness and all that great stuff to the skin, so having it all green and nature-y in the packaging is a surefire way to ensure consumers like me fall into the clear-naturey skin trap :(

The picture on the right shows the product itself and basically what you do is open up the bottom of the spoon, where you mix the liquids together and then using the top part of the spoon as an applicator to your face.  Its a lot, so if your face doesn't seem to need that much product, you can apply it on your neck, or even use it during a fun sleepover and share some with your friends (remember to use a different applicator)! Regardless, I managed to put most of it on my face and was pleasantly surprised when, after a few minutes, the liquid/gel began to harden.  By the time I fell asleep, it was basically absorbed or sitting on my skin without getting everywhere.  I'd suggest to leave about 20-30 minutes to make sure it hardens.  

I'll admit that I had my reservations about this because I thought it would get all over my pillows and covers.  But in the morning after washing it off, not only did my face feel super hydrated but there wasn't anything on the pillowcases.  I also thought that my face would never be able to hold so much product but because the gel hardens, putting the whole packet on your face is actually quite do-able. I'll definitely go back to try this again, so if anyone knows where I can get these in the UK, I would appreciate it so much <3

Let me know what your favourite skincare products this summer were and if you've ever tried this before! xx Kayla