The Face Shop Baked Triple Eyeshadow 02 vs. Laneige Snow Radiant Eyes 03

As I mentioned several times I feel very attracted by baked powder products like eyeshadows, blushes and powders.

Today I will present you 2 very pretty neutral trios that look quite similar so I will point out the strengths and weaknesses of both items.

The Face Shop Baked Triple Eyeshadow 02


Laneige Snow Radiant Eyes 03:


1. Packaging:
Both trios come in pretty sturdy compacts. The Laneige trio is housed in a very pretty laser disc-like case whereas The Face Shop picked a domed white leaf-shaped case for their baked trio.
I have to say the Laneige case is a bit prettier but doesn't come with a mirror or applicator while The Face Shop gives us a mirror and sponge-tip applicator.


2. Texture:
Laneige's Snow Radiant trio is very silky and very pigmented, all colors have a very fine shimmer finish.
The Face Shop Baked Triple Shadow has a rougher texture and the darkest shade is a bit matter than the other 2. On the other hand both of the lighter shades offer the same fine shimmery finish like Laneige.

3. Colors:
The color combination in both trios is very similar. Each trio has a dark brown, neutral gold and cream. The Laneige is slightly cooler than the TFS trio.
I can pull off both trios very well despite being cool-toned and I am sure both items will look good on warm-toned girls, too!


4. Price:
I purchased both products online and paid less for the Laneige trio. TFS items are quite cheap and I am pretty sure the Baked Triple Shadow retails for less than US$15 or so.

5. Conclusion:
Both are good neutral shadow picks. Overall the Laneige trio is a bit better as the darkest color is more shimmery and the texture is softer. Therefore The Face Shop offers a mirror and applicator.

Mini brand review: DHC

I own only 4 DHC makeup items (and their lipcare and eyelash serum) so I thought of doing a small review for this brand.

To my knowledge DHC used to be a mail-order brand only but it's available in Japanese drugstores, too (though sometimes limited selection but I've seen the lip cream and eyelash serum in most drugstores).


DHC is also available in the USA but only online if I am not wrongly informed (please correct me if my information is not correct.)

I think DHC is more known for their skin care, especially their Cleansing Oil and olive oil range.

The 4 items I have are:
-Eye Shadow Perfect Pro in SP01:
A pretty neutral palette with ivory, pink, peach and brown. This is surprisingly silky and well pigmented.


-Face Color Perfect Pro:
I got the case and 2 refills 1 being a pink blush and the other being a highlighter. It's a pretty good blush and highlighter.


-Rose Beauty Shimmer Cocktail Powder Q10 Beige:
A shimmery highlighter with a very silky texture. It's not that special but the case and swirly design of the powder look very appealing.



-Moisture Care Lip Gloss LG02:
A pinkish clear gloss with glitters. The glitters are quite big and scratchy. The gloss itself is nice and indeed moisturizing but I can't get past the glitter chunks.


DHC is quite cheap, I think I paid about US$10 for the gloss and less than US$20 for the other items/each.

MISSHA M Shimmering Oven Blusher

As I am a hopeless addict to all oven-baked powder products I had to give a try to MISSHA M Shimmering Oven Blusher.


I struggled with myself for about 4 weeks before ordering it as the online price was really jacked up (a whopping US$45!) but when I had the chance to pick it up for a bit less I gave in and settled for this product in the color #12 which looked like a pretty medium pink.


This comes in a gorgeous metallic steel gray case with an included mirror and brush (which is useless as I don't use those mini brushes anyway).

The texture is good, not overly soft (that's the case with most baked powder items) but my brush picks up enough powder with 2-3 swipes for each cheek.

The color is quite a pale pink, I hoped it would be a bit darker but it works as a blush for me. For most this will more likely be suitable as a highlighter as it's quite pale.


All in all this is another pretty pink baked blush but it's quite similar to the others I have (Skin Food Muffin Cake in pink, Etude house Berry Bream blush etc.).

Skin Food Sugar Dessert Eyeshadows Choc Choc

One of my most recent haul included 3 cute little eyeshadows from Skin Food called Sugar Dessert Eyeshadow Choc Choc.


I already have a Sugar Dessert Eyeshdadow from Skin Food which came with the Bordeaux Shining Special Kit. The difference is that the one in the kit is a baked shadow whereas the 3 new ones are pressed.

There is a difference in packaging, too. While the baked shadow from the Bordeaux kit comes in a golden and clear case the 3 pressed ones come in an ivory and clear case.
The baked Sugar Dessert shadows are available in an array of pastel colors only whereas the pressed Choc Choc line has some deeper colors, too.


The texture of the Sugar Dessert Choc Choc shadows is quite nice and smooth. They look really glittery at first but this is just an overspray. The shadows have a metallic not overly shimmery finish. There is good buildable pigment in the shadows. They blend smoothly and stay on well.

I bought 3 colors:
#1: This is a pale pink that's perfect as a highlighter to pair with the other 2 colors.


#17: This was the color that caught my eye first as it's a gorgeous taupe with slight pink undertones.


#19: A slightly warm plum. This has the least metallic finish of the 3 colors.


Overall these shadows are quite worth their price. RRP in Korea is only 4000 Won (about US$4) which is a steal if you can get them at retail price.

More Sheet Masks Part 2

One should think I am really drowning in Sheet Masks already but I received another bunch just today.


This time I decided to order masks specially for the eye area (CL Royal Nano Vitamin ACE SOS Eye Masks) and received 3 Caviar Collagen Cloth Masks from Mayblesally that were missing in my previous order.


I think I am now set to pamper my face for the next 15 years or so (don't worry, these will last me much shorter as I love to indulge myself every 2-3 days with a sheet mask) =D

My previous posts about sheet masks:
More Sheet Masks...
A fabulous invention: Sheet Masks

Etude House Peach Collection: Addition Part 2 =)

And yet again my Etude House Peach Collection is growing and I seriously have most of the items now.


As I wrote in my last Peach Collection post I wanted to get the Peach Tint Blusher in #1 Watery Rose and sure I ordered it right away and received it just today.


This is a very very sheer stain for cheeks and lips without shimmer (whereas #3 Watery Pink is very shimmery/frosty) that turns out to be a coral red on me. It's very pretty and leaves the same slightly cooling sensation on the skin. It carries the lovely peach scent like most of the rest of the collection.


And as I like to order more things at once I also decided to get the last Peach Beam Blusher I don't own yet in #3 Peach Beam.
I skipped it at first as I thought it would be too orange but after looking again and again at the pics my friend The Muse has posted in her blog I finally gave in and added this to my order.
It's a really lovely rosy peach baked-type blush with the same very shimmery finish like the other 2 colors #1 Pink Beam and #2 Berry Beam. Again this carries the scent of peaches.


I am happy to have all 3 colors now and I wouldn't mind if Etude House would release more colors later on.

All in all the Peach Collection really rocks and I would love to either see more items soon or to see another fruit-themed collection like a strawberry or raspberry collection =)

I believe these retail for around US$8 or so in Korea however I paid a bit more as I still have to rely on online shopping to purchase Korean items.

Etude House Mini Heel Foot Cream

I decided to order a backup of my beloved Etude House Moistfull Special Kit so I went to eBay to purchase it and found a cute little item called Mini Heel Foot Cream in the same store. As you might know me now I couldn't resist and had to add this to my purchase...

Mini Heel Foot Cream comes in a pretty white and pink tub with a cute print on top.

The cream is scented with a Lemon Verbena fragrance which is quite fresh and pleasant. When I sniffed it first I found it reminded me a bit of washing powder perfume but I like it nonetheless.


The product is a silky medium thick balm that goes on smoothly and leaves my feet really soft and nice to touch.
Now, most foot creams are good but they're rarely as cute as this =)

The little jar contains 100ml and cost me €5 or 6 online. I was lucky to find it in an ebay store which doesn't inflate the prices too much. Still the retail price is probably quite a bit lower.

VOV Aura Glam Eyes

While I have to say I was really disappointed with the newest palettes from the VOV Castledew range I have to admit that their new Aura Glam Eyes are truly pretty eyeshadows!

These are the baked-type eyeshadows I really dig and come in 8 lovely color trios out of which I picked 2.
The texture is really silky and there is a good amount of pigment in these babies. The finish is a very gorgeous metallic shine.


Aura Glam Eyes come in small simple round compacts with clear flip-tops. A slightly more glam packaging wouldn't have hurt but it's pretty basic and convenient this way.

Out of the 8 color 2 caught my eye right away so I purchased those.
07 Pink Muse Aura: Gorgeous combination of dark charcoal gray, light peach and medium peachy orange.


08 Purple Muse Aura: Blue-toned purple, silvery white and warmer lilac. Even though this is a pastel palette the color show up nicely.


I am not sure about their retail price, probably below US$15.
If anyone know the exact RRP please leave a comment and I'll update.

Skin Food Sweet Potato Veil Balm

While I am mainly focusing on BB creams right now I couldn't resist buying a little pot of Skin Food's Sweet Potato Veil Balm. The name caught me as it sounded like a very interesting product.

This foundation/tinted balm comes in a small glass jar containing 25g which is quite a little but it's not expensive stuff so that's fine.

The Sweet Potato Veil Balm comes in 2 colors: Light and Natural. I picked the lighter one.
It's a thick balmy cream with a nice silky texture and offers decent coverage that's probably buildable if you apply more. However the color (it looks quite yellow-peachy in the jar) is a bit too orange when applied.


The lightly scented cream really spreads nicely and makes my skin feel soft but the color is a bit off.
Also I don't see good staying power and the balm has the tendency to creep into small lines and pores.

All in all I'd safely say you can skip this. It's not a bad product but I'd get a good BB cream instead.

25g jar cost 8300 Won (about US$8) but be prepared to pay more online.

BB Creams: Quick comparison

I have accumulated 7 BB creams now (and have a few more in sample sachets waiting to be used) and I tried all out so I wanna give a short review on each of them.


For those who are unaware of BB creams I'll give a short introduction to the world of BB creams (BB stands for Blemish Balm or Beblesh Balm depending on the company producing it).

BB cream is the newest hit originated in Korea but already very popular in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and Japan. It's a cream that combines the benefits of healing ingredients (as it was developed for post-laser-surgery-skin), skin care and light-medium skin coverage in 1 product. Furthermore most BB creams contain a sunscreen (both UVA and UVB) and have other properties like whitening or anti-aging. It's supposed to be your all-in-one skincare, makeup and sunscreen.
It's a quite convenient product similar to Tinted Moisturizer but with more benefits.

What I really like is that in the morning I just have to wash my face and then apply the BB cream and my skin is really wonderfully evened out. I might apply my full makeup later on top of it or I might just wear BB cream but my skin always looks good.
I am someone with very sensitive skin and constantly get red bumps on my cheeks. I find that with daily use of BB cream those bumps almost disappeared making my skin look clearer.
My main problem with all tinted products (no matter if makeup, powder or concealer) is finding a good color match. Most BB creams come in 1 shade only so it's a bit of luck to find a perfect match. Out of the 7 BB creams I purchased 4 are very good matches, 1 is fine and 2 are just too dark. Supposedly BB cream can adjust to any skin tone but I didn't find this to be true.


1: Skin Food Mushroom Multi Care BB Cream SPF20 PA+:
This comes in 2 colors. Naturally I got the lighter one and it matches ok but is a tad bit pink and a little dark. It can blend into my skin tone but it's not the most perfect color out there. This has a light scent I am not too fond of. It's a rather thick cream probably suited best for winter. This has additional whitening and anti-aging ingredients. Medium coverage.
Squeeze tube contains 50g.


2: MISSHA M Shiny BB Cream SPF27 PA++:
I already did a thorough review for this item. Has a soft pleasant scent and contains ingredients like pearl powder, amethyst powder and others to give a slight sheen to the skin. Gives medium coverage and a light dewy finish. The cream is a bit thick so I don't like to wear this on very hot sweaty days.
The color match of this is really good, it's quite pale.
Squeeze tube contains 50ml


3: MISSHA M Watery BB Cream SPF27 PA++:
Has a light consistency but is unfortunately way too dark for me. It gives a pretty matte light coverage and makes skin quite soft. I am quite sure it irritated my skin though as I found some red bumps after washing this off that weren't there before. Gives a really refreshing cool feeling upon application. I think this is better suited for normal-oily or combination skin-types.
Squeeze tube contains 50ml.


4: MISSHA M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42 PA+++:
This has by far the highest SPF and PA. This comes in 2 colors: #21 and 23. I purchased the lighter 21 and am very pleased with the color match. The coverage of this product is quite good and the cream feels slightly thick but not overly heavy or sticky. Has a light pleasant scent. The finish is rather dewy and natural.
Has whitening and anti-aging ingredients.
Comes in a squeeze tube with a hygienic pump dispenser. Contains 50ml.


5: Etude House Magic BB cream (version for dry skin):
I don't see a SPF listed on the box. This smells a bit herbal but I didn't get too far with this cream as it's just too dark. The funny thing is that it doesn't look really dark when I squeeze it out of the tube but when I spread it it gets a nasty orangey color). It's a thick but not too heavy cream with decent coverage abilities.
Unfortunately the tube is printed in Korean only so I can't say which ingredients this has.
Squeeze tube with pump dispenser that contains only 35g.


6: Skin79 Super+ BB Gold Label (VIP Gold collection) SPF25 PA++: This is my favorite BB cream of the lot. It offers an almost perfect color match and feels lighter than the other BB creams. It has a very faint scent and gives me a good sheer-medium coverage. The color match is almost perfect for my porcelain complexion. This contains some fancy ingredients like caviar extract, gold, adenosine, arbutin (both whitening and anti-aging ingreds) osmopur (ivy, rice bran, mined sunflower) phyto complex etc.
I have to say the bottle this comes in is the best! It's a big bulky posh looking pump dispenser containing 40g. There is also a pink version available with some different ingredients but it's definitely the next BB cream I would get.


7: Hanskin Super Magic BB Cream SPF30 PA++:
This also is a good color match and seems to be the only cream that's not scented. This is probably the most expensive cream out of the lot and is a good color match for me.
What I don't like about this BB cream is the slightly sticky feeling it leaves. The majority of BB creams seems to be slightly thick but this one really sits on my skin. The coverage is good and the result is pretty but I just don't like the feeling that much.
I got 3 sample squeeze tubes with 9ml each. I think the full size contains 40g.


All the BB creams I tried are in the US$18-25 range online (and less in Korea) and I would highly recommend the Skin79 or Perfect Cover BB creams.

Skin Food Cocoa Whip Body Wash

I cannot resist chocolate. And now that I am trying to lose weight I shifted to sniffing it instead of eating it. =P
Skin Food Cocoa Whip Body Wash comes in a pretty bottle that reminds me of a chocolate sauce bottle from the supermarket.

There are 2 layers that mix together so you need to shake the bottle before use.
The only thing that bugs me a little is that the body wash is liquid! Yes, freaking liquid like water!

Away from that it's gorgeous! It lathers up nicely and makes my skin super soft. It smells divine like chocolate and the scent lingers for some time.
This could be the perfect chocolate body wash if it were a gel and not a liquid!


Anyway, I enjoy using it and would buy another bottle. I won't mind if they reformulate it a bit to make it thicker though!

The bottle contains 260ml and costs roughly 9000 Won (about US$9) but I paid more on ebay.

Clio Artspecial eyeshadow quad in #3

I wanted to get a Clio Artpecial eyeshadow quad ever since I saw some pics a year or so ago. I didn't have the chance to purchase one so I just could look at the pics and lem the item but couldn't buy.

Finally one of these babies is mine!

Like the blushes and the other items from the art series this has a nice print of some painting on the cover.
The palette is rather big and bulky and comes with a good-sized mirror.


The quad in #3 has 2 cool and 2 warm colors: Medium silver gray, charcoal, peachy gold and warm light pink.


All colors have fine pearl shimmers, just the darkest color is almost matte. The pigment is definitely there, especially in the darkest shade. The directions on the box suggest using damp applicators to intensify the colors and I am sure that would work well however I never use brushes wet as I am afraid I'd ruin any of my eyeshadows.


I can't seem to find a retail price but I think it'd be somewhere around US$25.