Etude House Precious Mineral Collection

Etude House usually comes out with new stuff monthly... That's really cool as that means I can constantly try out new stuff but on the other hand it's hard to follow up with all their new cute stuff =) Luckily Etude House isn't a very expensive brand after all (thanks to Gmarket)...


I was quite excited when I spotted their newest stuff on Gmarket as the products come in really pretty boxes and compacts so I picked up pretty much everything available (except for the lip tints, eyeliner and 2 of the powders).

The new items mainly focus on the skin and offer a good variety of powders, BB Creams, a super pretty highlighter, a cream blusher duo and a super cute makeup primer.

Etude House is jumpsing somewhat on the mineral makeup bandwagon but the products are all in no way pure minerals. I think it's more of a gimmick.
To me this looks like a pearl-based collection as the compacts are shaped like shells, the highlighter contains pearl powder and the primer gives a pearly sheen and is made of a clear gel with little powder pearls inside.

The items I purchased are:
-Precious Mineral BB Cream in #1 Sheer Silky Skin
-Precious Mineral BB Cream in #2 Sheer Glowing Skin
-Precious Mineral BB Pact in Sheer Silky Skin
-Precious Mineral Makeup Essence
-Precious Mineral Brightener
-Fresh Cherry Blusher Duo

-Precious Mineral BB Creams:


I was a little hesitant ordering one of the new BB Creams as none of the BB Creams from Etude House and Etude have worked for me so far (color match). However their swatches looked pale and neutral and they were less than US$10/each so I added them to my order anyway.
There are 2 types available:


#1 Sheer Silky Skin comes in a white tube. It's formulated to give a soft matte finish and is more suitable for oily skin.
#2 Sheer Glowing Skin comes in a pink tube and gives a shiny/slightly dewy finish (it's not over the top at all). This is more suitable for dry skin.

Both BB Creams contain Adenosine, Arbutine and Pearl Extract and offer a good sun protection of SPF30 PA++; they are whitening, promise good coverage, are not sticky and supposedly don't turn darker on your skin. Both carry a soft floral scent.


When I first swatched the creams on my arm they looked super pale but when I rubbed them in they turned noticeably darker. I was sort of disappointed but decided to try them on my face using my Banila Co stippling brush (review will be posted shortly).


Actually the Precious Mineral BB Cream in #1 was almost too pale for me which is something that didn't happen to me so far (swatch on top). It blended in perfectly using the brush and offered good coverage. The result was indeed matte and it felt a little dry on my skin thus I am sure this is definitely not for someone with dry skin.


#2 is a little darker but works for me. I think it would be best suitable for a NC20-25 though. The finish of this is glowy but not really shimmery or glittery.
This feels more moisturizing and comfortable for me but the color of #1 is better.

Each tube costs 13500 Won (somewhere around US$9) and all in all I like both BB Creams. #1 will be perfect for the hot sweaty summer if I don't tan at all :P

-Precious Mineral BB Pact (Sheer Silky Skin):


There are 3 new BB pacts. Since there was no English info available I picked the one with the lightest color. Now I figured out that the one I got is for oil control. There is also a slightly darker shimmery one (Pearl Pact in pink compact) and the darkest is the one offering high coverage (dark purple compact).
I chose the one which looked nearly white in the compact (compact is also white) as I was sure it would work for me.


It's a nice finely milled powder which mattifies and keeps my face look fresh all day long. It also offers a sun protection of SPF25 PA++ and carries a weird smell (reminds me of a cross between marcipan and nail polish remover lol).
However since it's a very oil controlling powder it can look dry, especially under my eyes so I make sure I only pat on a little and not overdo application.


All in all a good powder but it can look a little cakey overtime.. my Majolica powder and various other Japanese ones are still better than the Etude House in my opinion (but EH's is cheaper).


The powder contains Pearl Powder, Lavender, Chamomile and Angelica Extracts.
Each of the 3 powders retails for 14500 Won (about US$10)

-Precious Mineral Makeup Essence:


Anyone knows that primer from Guerlain? The one which looks like pearls in a bottle but when you pump it's just a light gel?
I just tried that in a store here and honestly the new Precious Mineral Makeup Essence from Etude House is not much different. Away from the fact that you can probably buy like 5 or 6 or more bottles of EH for the price of one Guerlain :P


Basically this is a clear gel base with hundreds of little skin-colored powder beads throughout. When you pump you first get the gel but after some pumps the gel is mixed with the powder so it's tinted lightly.


The gel is super moisturizing and smoothing and makes my skin really feel perfectly primed for foundation etc. The gel doesn't really cover anything but gives more of an iridescent pearl pink sheen (it contains Pearl Powder).


I really like this product and would recommend it!

It's only lightly scented and retails for 16000 Won (about US$11-12)

-Perfect Mineral Brightener:


This is definitely the most beautiful item of the lot. The pretty shell-shaped compact is made of a light pearly pink colored plastic.
According to Etude House this contains hand-made terracotta pearl powder (it seems to be a baked-type highlighter).


The pressed highlighter consists of various pastel shades (ivory, pale pink, pale green...the arrangement reminds me of a 2-row pearl necklace) and imparts the most gorgeous pearly glow. It's rather soft even though it looks almost metallic in the pan.


The color is a soft pastel pink/white, not really noticeable color so it's the perfect highlighter as it's quite translucent.


This retails for 15000 Won and is really well worth it!

-Fresh Cherry Blusher Duo:


This isn't really part of the Precious Mineral range but comes in a similar box and is a new product so I believe it's part of the collection.
The Fresh Cherry Blusher Duo contains cherry extract (supposedly to improve blood circulation!). Sounds really yummy!


This is a cream blusher duo of rich cherry pink and a warm bright coral color. You can mix the colors to get a softer coral pink.
All in all this is a great blusher duo. Both shades are very pigmented and blend well.


I love the cherry pink more as it's cooler and very wearable and feminine. But I also like the coral mixed with a little of the pink to go with peaches and other lippies (swatch on the right shows the colors when mixed with more coral than pink).
Both colors blend well, stay on all day long and are not disappearing even under a light layer of powder.


This is the most affordable item in the collection as it costs only 7500 Won (about US$5 or so).


All in all this is a great collection and one of the best ones from Etude House that came out in the previous months.

I hope next month will bring us some pretty spring makeup colors!