NOTD and Review

Yesterday was the Trend Show at Nordstrom. (I think that in a previous post I called it Trendsetter Show--sorry!) I picked up some things at the Dior counter that was on presale status and I'll review these later.

I went early in the morning and there were some presentations by various people in the beauty industry but I had to skip it because I really needed to go to work by a decent time. I just went straight to the cosmetics department and walked around. I discovered a nail polish line that I had never heard of before and these products are also used in their nail salon.  The line is called Deborah Lippmann. She is a manicurist who works with celebrities and high fashion. Her nail lacquer is long wearing and contains no formaldehyde, toulene or dibutyl phthalate. It is also supposed to be easy to apply.

One of the items that I purchased was Hard Rock, which can be used as both a base coat and top coat. It is a hydrating hardener. This was highly recommended to me by someone not working in the Lippmann counter. I was told that this smooths out the nail and gives it an acrylic finish and look (like you have acrylic nails on). I was also shown this really cool nail color called Dream a Little Dream of Me, which is a sheer pink shimmer. In the bottle it is a pink that is on the brighter side. When you pull the brush out of the bottle, it is beautiful iridescent blue color. You put this over a really dark nail polish and it changes the color to a really beautiful color. For example, apply this over black and you get a beautiful shimmery turquoise/teal blue. I bought this as well. One of the most popular items is called Happy Birthday. It is a multi-color glitter polish. I wasn't too keen on this but I bought it because I understand that it is often sold out and people are always put onto a waiting list. I also purchased a "Start Me Up Treatment Set" which has different items for treating your nails prior to coloring them and also has a base coat, Baby Love nail lacquer, and top coat. All of these are in mini size bottles. I am thinking of returning this set though because I probably won't treat my nails. I received as a GWP a full-size bottle of  Baby Love nail lacquer. It is a sheer baby pink, which actually looks like my natural nail color.

Last night I played with the items that I bought. I used the Hard Rock as a base coat and it really does make my nails nice and shiny like I have acrylics on. I then applied two coats of Baby Love and applied Happy Birthday on the tips of my nails, in a french manicure style.

When I took the picture, I didn't apply Hard Rock as a top coat yet.

Haha, I had to use a Sephora nail polish

bottle to take the picture. How do you

take pictures of your own nails? I had a difficult time!

I honestly can't give an accurate review on the nail lacquer itself yet. The Baby Love is so sheer and same as my nail color that I can't tell how it really applied. I will have to go back and purchase another color. However, it does seem like it applies quite easily and nicely. Although I wasn't too keen on Happy Birthday, I like how it looks on in the way that I applied it--at least when I see it from far away. Seeing it up close in the picture above, it doesn't look as nice. The MUA had applied Happy Birthday over her entire nail over her nail color. It was okay if you like a glittery nail. Hard Rock is really amazing for me. I really like it a lot. I am also amazed by Dream of Little Dream of Me.

I will do a review again after I purchase a new, darker color. That way I can test it's longevity and how it really does apply. I am really hard on my hands and nails so if I can get my nail polish to last and not chip or wear off within a day or two, then that will be amazing.

*Kat*

Review: SkinFood Mushroom Multi Care BB Cream

Today I tested out SkinFood Mushroom Multi Care BB Cream. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive of this one because I was worried about how it might smell. To my relief, it has a really pleasant scent, nothing woodsy at all. It says that it's a sun block, whitening and anti aging.

This BB cream is darker than Caviar Gold but slightly lighter than Lioele Beyond Solution. I think that it is also thicker and provides even more coverage than Lioele. It is more matte than Caviar Gold but less matte than Lioele.

BB Cream Only

After Applying Foundation

I love the finished look--after I've applied my foundation all all makeup. You can't see a lot of my imperfections.

One thing that disappointed me was that after a couple of hours, I noticed that it looked like my makeup had melted with my foundation looking marbled. I just patted my face with my fingers to smooth everything out and it good for the rest of the day. I'm not sure if it's the BB cream that is too moisturizing or if it is because of the new serum and essence cream that I tried. These were the only new products that I used on my face today. I should have used my head better and used all of the same products to prep my face.

After 12 hours, this is how my face looks. The only touching up that I did was to pat my face earlier in the day and to use powder foundation on my nose because I had some sinus problems today and rubbed off my foundation on kleenix.

(Going backwards today)

Lioele Beyond Solution BB Cream after 12 hours

Caviar Gold BB Cream after 12 hours

So, what do you think? I'm still leaning towards Caviar Gold. It seems to me that the SkinFood feels a little heavy on. I also think that I look the most glowy with Caviar Gold.

I also decided to do swatch comparisons today. Here is the 3 different BB creams on a white cardstock. You can see there is some color difference but not too noticeable.

Here the BB creams have been blended out onto the cardstock. I guess that the flash concentrated on the center swatch, which was the Lioele so you can't really see the true color of it. It looks nice and bright but it really isn't that glowy. You can also see that the Caviar Gold is much lighter and does have some shimmer in it.

I still have a few more BB creams to test. Reviews will continue on.

Wow, I actually did two posts today. I got home earlier than expected, which was nice.

*Kat*

FOTD (Kind of) With Product Reviews

As promised in yesterday's post, I am going to review some of my new toys that I purchased and received.

I don't do full face FOTD because I am not comfortable with it being out there for the whole cyberworld to see. I'm shy. LOL!

For my eyes, I started off using MAC Paintpot Painterly as my base. Over entire lid from crease to browbone MAC Remotely Grey. Using palette A-1 from Kose's Visee Brilliance Forming Eyes, I used the pink eyeshadow from lash line to above crease line. The brown color is used on the outer half of my eyes and up into the crease and blending out towards the brow bone. I usesd the same brown eyeshadow to line the lower outer half of my eyes and the Gold color to line the lower inner half of my eyes. Bobbi Brown gel liner in Black lines my upper lash line. K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner 24h lines my lower lash line, just the outer half. I find that when I use the typical technique of highlighting my brow bone area with a light color, it doesn't look good on me. I used MAC Marine Life Highlighting Powder instead.

For my cheeks, I used MAC Marine Life instead of a bronzer today. I then topped it with MAC Cremeblend Blush Joie De-Vivre.

Loving how my complexion is looking using BB creams

On my lips, Bobbi Brown Lip Balm, SPF 15. Notice how dark my lips are. It's only been recently that I've noticed that they are quite colored. I always thought that I had pale lips.

Kose's Visee Brilliance Forming Eyes A-1 Eyeshadow palette has one cream base and 3 shadow colors. The cream base is on the bottom left. I didn't use this base since I had already applied Painterly. The brown shadow had a really nice irridescent overlay but since it seems that it was only an overlay, I don't think you'll have these irridescent, glittery particles as you use the shadow more and more. As with most Japanese eyeshadows, it is not highly pigmented, although I believe that it is more pigmented than some other Japanese shadows that I have used. It is pretty enough but it is a bit light for my tastes. Perhaps if I had more time to spend using more of the product, then it would be more pigmented. I don't think that I will buy this again.

Note: I have always had problems using brown colors so I avoided it like the plague. It's been only recently that I've started using browns again and finding that some do work on me. Usually browns kind of wash me out or makes my eyes look sunken in. I also did a quick test of the other eyeshadow that I bought, Kanebo's Lavshuca Melting Eyes RD-1 Palette. It definitely will not work for me. This is one of those red and brown shadows that make me look sick. The color makes my eyelids look like I've been rubbing it too much and have an infection. This palette is also really frosty, which also doesn't look good on my 40 something year old eyes.

MAC Marine Life Highlighting Powder is awesome! I'm so glad that I picked this up. I don't usually do corals but this one is more pink toned than orange toned so it works for me. The design has a gold overlay which comes off very quickly. It's too bad since it's really pretty with the gold overlay. Now I need to find a nice coral lipcolor to match.

*Kat*

New Toys and Another BB Cream Review

I've been doing some online shopping as well as mall shopping. Today one of my orders arrived and it was shipped out only on Monday! Finally MAC's Back to the Beach line was released in Hawaii and I managed to pick up Marine Life Highlight Powder!

From Ichibankao, I purchased a couple of Barrier Repair by Mandom Beauty items. This line concentrates on dry skin prevention. It has hydraulic acid which helps to improve your skin and helps it to retain moisture. It says that it's supposed to provide your skin with extra elasticity and softness, just like a baby's skin, thus the name "Baby Moist". I needed a new serum so I purchased the Concentrate Serum and Barrier Repair Baby Moist Essence, which is a cream that you put on after moisturizing. I also purchased from Kanebo's Lavshuca's line, Lavshuca Melting Eyes palette in RD-1. Lastly, from Kose's Visee line, Brilliance Forming Eyes Palette in A-1 (Pink).

As I mentioned earlier, from MAC I purchased Marine Life Highlight Powder and a palette refill eyeshadow in Sushi Flower. I can't find my other pink eyeshadow, Swish, so I got this one to replace it.

I will do reviews on all of the above products after I've tried them out.

Today I also decided to take the plunge and use a different BB Cream. I was going to do so yesterday but I decided that I liked the Caviar Gold BB Cream so much that I wanted to use it one more day before moving on. So, I tried Lioele Beyond Solution BB Cream.

I love the color of this BB Cream since it is darker and blends in nicely with my skin tone. It is still on the lighter side but not as light as the Caviar Gold. I also feel like it has a little heavier coverage than the Caviar Gold and that it feels like it has more of a matte finish.

Because of the heavier coverage, it really gave me a nice finish after I put on my foundation. In order to give it a fair assessment, I used the same foundation, which is Maquillage Moisture Cream Foundation UV.

My finished FOTD looks nice. Again, it's more of a matte finish and I don't seem to be as glowy as with the Caviar Gold but it's still nice.

The real test--after 12 hours or more. I think that it held up pretty well. I did not touch up my face at all except to test out the Marine Life Highlight Powder. I put it onto my cheeks over my already exisiting bronzer and blush. I also applied it to my forehead and chin and I must say, I really like the powder! It make my face brighten up and seem more glowy.  Anyway, I digress...back to the BB cream...Even after more than 12 hours, coverage seems good. It may have faded a little but not much. One thing that I worry about matte finishes is that it will bring out my fine lines and age me but this BB cream really didn't seem to do that.

Lioele--After more than 12 hours

Caviar Gold--After more than 12 hours

While I really like the color of this BB cream and the heavier coverage, I like the Caviar Gold more because it felt more hydrating, wasn't a matte finish and made me look much more glowy.

*Kat*

Review: Hanskin Caviar Gold BB Cream

I am so glad that we decided to start up a beauty blog. We have certainly been blessed to have met so many wonderful bloggers who share a common interest--beauty! With this said, I was very lucky to do a swap with one awesome, sweet and lovely blogger. She sent me some BB creams that she felt was too moisturizing for her tastes and I feel that I need something moisturizing. Thanks so much!

The first one that I have decided to try is by Hanskin. It is the Caviar Gold BB Cream. It says that it is supposed to be whitening, take care of wrinkles and contains SPF 21.

Starting off with my scary bare face (it's been toned, moisturized and primed), you can see that there are a lot of freckles, which are extremely distasteful to me.

Here I have applied the BB cream. In my opinion, it seems to have a very light coverage and it does make my face quite a bit lighter. If anything though, I prefer to work with my face that is lighter than darker. At this point I am thinking that perhaps I'm just not meant to use BB cream. It seems like it doesn't do much for me and it's just an added extra step.

I then proceeded to apply my foundation (Shiseido Maquillage Moisture Cream Foundation UV in OC20).  Hmmmm....it's looking really nice! I proceeded to apply my entire FOTD and when I was done I was so pleased! I think that my complexion looked really even and smooth. I also felt that I looked brighter and glowy. Next was the real test to see how it lasts throughout the day and if it is indeed moisturizing enough for me or if it will matte up on me, make my face look dry and bring out the fine lines.

After 12 hours of wear, I was so pleased to see that it really didn't matte up on me nor did it oxidize. My fine lines didn't show up and age me. My skin did indeed feel moisturized yet. I still looked bright and glowy. The extra step in the morning was totally worth it. I really am impressed by this BB Cream.

I tried this out yesterday and loved it so much that I used it again today. I am still impressed by it. I still have some other BB creams to test out but am totally loving this one right now.

*Kat*

Happy Announcement

For all of us who do not live in Asia, we must order our Asian beauty needs online. I am happy to announce the opening of a new online store which will specialize in beauty products from Japan.

Nic Nic of bang bang she shoots has opened up this new store, which is named A Pop of Kawaii. Here is the URL for the store: http://www.apopofkawaii.com/. Nic Nic is a really sweet person and I know that I will be purchasing from her. Here is her blog post about the opening of her store as well as an awesome giveaway: http://bangbangsheshoots.blogspot.com/2010/05/opening-of-wwwapopofkawaiicom-giveaway.html.

Please stop by and see what she has.

*Kat*

Mai and Kat Fun Saturday

As I have mentioned recently, I've been working a ton of hours and will continue to do so until at least the end of June. I've also been working long hours on the weekends but this past Saturday, I had to attend a luncheon wedding reception. Hubby was away so Mai went with me.

My morning started out early with me first going to work for a few hours before rushing home to meet Mai and for us to put on our makeup and go to the reception. My makeup was the same as the most recent EOTD post. It matched up perfectly with the dress and short aqua cardigan that I got from Target.

We had long decided that after the reception we would go shopping at Ala Moana Shopping Center since the reception was quite near. However, we decided to come back to my house first and change into comfortable clothing. We then headed back to Ala Moana and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening playing.

First up, we went into Nordstrom because I wanted to look at the Dior makeup section. We found out that there will be a Trendsetter Show this upcoming Saturday. Mai can't make it and I'm quite sure that I'll be working but I purchased a ticket to attend anyway. I then preordered a 5 shadow set from Dior as well as a single eyeshadow. The reason why I decided to preorder it and pick it up at the Trendsetter Show is because you get a gift with purchase. Also, the $15.00 that I paid for the ticket can go towards any purchase that I make. Tasha was the MUA that helped us that night and she was awesome! Since Nordstrom will open their doors at 7:30 a.m. for the show, I will go there first thing in the morning and pick up my preorder then head to work. Tasha also told me about something that I had never heard of before. You can register to become a Dior Diva VIP and get free gifts! Either the MUAs at Sephora don't know about this or just don't tell you about the program because I have bought a few things from the Dior line from Sephora before. The program is limited to North America (United States) and Canada. If you live in either place, you can register at: http://www.diordivavip.com/. It's free to register. If I can find some time, I might go back to Nordstrom to see what other GWP there are with other cosmetic lines. All of the lines are going to have GWP for Trendsetter.

We then spent time at the Lancaster counter where Mai got her face treated using that electronic pulse machine...sorry, I don't know what it was called exactly. But it helps to push the serum into your skin deeper than if you just use your fingers to apply it. It seems like it's a rather long process, something that I feel I won't make the time to do. Mai didn't think so either but when we got back to my house and ate a late dinner, she then played with her makeup and felt that her face really did feel smoother and brighter.  Maybe it's just the serum so I will pick up a sample for her. Otherwise, she may be seriously considering getting that system, which cost $125.00.

After Mai got her face cleansed and treated, we then headed over to MAC store and she got her makeup done. She bought some brushes, eyeshadow and mascara. I also bought the mascara and will be reviewing it in a few days, after I get to test it out. Sorry, I can't even remember which MAC mascara it was that I bought.

After shopping, we headed back to my house where Mai played around with her new makeup and I went through my stuff and gave her a few things that I don't use any more. It was fun and relaxing, a really good break for me which I seriously needed.

The funny thing is that Mai did most of the buying. I really wanted to do some serious shopping since I got a really big paycheck from all of the OT that I have been working. I ended up spending money on the show ticket and the mascara and that was it. Of course, I will make up for it on Saturday when I go to pick up my Dior eyeshadows and perhaps some other things.

Review: Maybelline Mascara XXLPRO by EyeStudio

Hi Everyone!

Sorry that I've not been around much. I'm still working 10 - 12 hour days. Today was a short day--it was only 8 hrs! Working this many hours isn't doing much for my skin and complexion so no pictures in this post.

Anyway, I promised that I would do a review of the Maybelline Mascara, XXLPRO. Please remember that this is my own personal experience and thoughts.

As I mentioned before, I have the typical asian eyelashes where they are straight and need to be curled with an eyelash curler. Then typically, I would use waterproof mascara since that is the type of mascara that will not uncurl my lashes. I finally discovered that using Shiseido The Makeup Mascara Base helps to maintain the curl and then I could use any type, any brand of mascara and my lashes wouldn't uncurl. There was one exception though. Maybelline used to make this mascara called Sky High Curls, which came in regular and waterproof formulas. The regular formula was wonderful because it didn't uncurl my eyelashes. I could just wash it off with soap and water. Unfortunately, it seems that Maybelline discontinued this product so the search is on for a new "curl" mascara that isn't waterproof and will not uncurl my lashes.

This is where the XXLPRO comes in. It says that it's for curl. It's a cute mascara in that on one end is the mascara base that curls your lashes and then on the other end is the mascara.

Picture from Maybelline website

When I bought this, I didn't realize that there were two steps to this mascara. (Yeah, I didn't read the instructions first.) Thus, I was really surprised that there were two ends. On my straight eyelashes, the mascara base doesn't curl my lashes at all. So I tried curlilng my eyelashes first, using my Shu Uemura eyelash curler, and then applying the XXLPRO mascara base. OMG! It doesn't hold my curled eyelashes...it pretty much uncurled them. Putting the mascara on didn't help either.

For me, this was a failure. What a disappointment.

*Kat*

Saturday EOTD

Hello Everyone!

My life right now is work, work, work. It's exhausting but at the same time, I'm feeling grateful to be able to work.

I decided to perk myself up by doing a good job of eye makeup today. I even wore mascara!

Today is predominantly MAC. I was looking through my eyeshadows a few days ago and pulled out some things that I haven't used in a long time so I decided that I needed to try and use them.

Items used:

MAC Paintpot in Painterly, MAC LE Too Dolly Hello Kitty Eyeshadow Palette, MAC LE Soceress Eyeshadow Palette, Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Bronzer, K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner 24 h, Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler, Shiseido The Makeup Mascara Base and Fiberwig Extra Long Mascara.

I first applied Painterly as my eyeshadow base. I then applied from the Too Dolly Palette, Romping, which is the aqua colored shadow over the entire lid to crease line. From the Soceress palette, I applied Altered State, the dark purple color, on outer corner to crease line and blend up towards brow bone. Also blended inward toward inner corner of eye to draw color into Romping. Using Too Dolly, which is the bright pink color, I dot it in the middle of the eyelid. I then added more Altered State into the outer corner of my eye to darken the color there. I then applied Neutral Pink, which is also a MAC LE shadow, from the crease line and blending upwards toward the eyebrow but only on the inner half of my eye. (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this eye shadow single. I only remembered that I applied it as I was typing this out.) This helps to give my eyelid area some depth. Next I curled my eyelashes with the Shu Uemura eyelash curler and applied a coat of Shiseido Mascara Base. Lined upper and lower lashlines with K-Palette eyeliner and then applied two coats of Fiberwig mascara to upper lashes. As a finishing touch, I lightly applied Smashbox bronzer to brow bone area as a highlighter.

That's it. I'm glad that I got to use my Too Dolly Palette since I rarely use it. I had trouble trying to figure out how I was going to use Romping and Too Dolly since they are both colors that I don't usually wear. I was quite happy with the end result.

*Kat*

Target and Wal-Mart Shopping

I don't remember if I mentioned this before on this blog or not but I very rarely shop at Target. I was really excited that they were opening here but after they opened, I went once and was a bit disappointed. I remember going to Target in Los Angeles and in Las Vegas and I really enjoyed it. About a month ago, I went to Target after reading about how bloggers are finding this and that but again, my reaction was "bleah". At that time I found a mini Ecotools brush set and a shrug/mini cardigan. Nothing really exciting.

Yesterday, I ran away from work for a little while and took a detour to Target. Why? I don't really know. I was hoping to find the Eyliplex Eye Cream that Beauty Verdict posted about and liked. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found. I'm guessing that it's not stocked here. I spied a really small smokey eyeshadow palette that looked interesting so I thought that I'd try it. I never heard of the brand Pixi before but when I took it to the checkout, I found out that it was $31.50 USD! I think that it had 8 shadows in the palette but it was really small! If I'm going to have to spend that amount of money on something that just looked a bit interesting, then I will spend it on something that I'm really wanting to try.

I was so determined not to walk out of there empty handed so I ended up purchasing a toy for my kitten, Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Daily Sunblock in SPF 70, Hello Kitty Nail Polish set and a dress.

The sunblock I know that I probably could have gotten it for a little cheaper at Wal-Mart but I ended up purchasing it anyway. Right now I use Noevir's Raysella sunscreen in SPF 30+ but with summer coming, I want to use something with a lot higher SPF. I've used Neutrogena's line before and really liked it. This is a weightless, waterproof liquid formula and it layers invisibly under makeup. The only thing that I'm a bit concerned about is whether or not it will be drying on my face. It seems and feels a lot like the Sofina Perfect UV sunscreen that I was using before and while I really loved it, it did end up being a bit drying. I'll try this out and will do a review later.

Ah, my love for Hello Kitty never ceases. I bought this nail polish set only because it was Hello Kitty. I decided to buy the pink toned set. There was another set which had blues and greens in it but I decided not to buy it. This was what I looked for the last time I went to Target and couldn't find it. Again, I haven't tested it out.

I haven't bought clothes in a while and when I saw this dress it really caught my eye. I will use it with the mini cardigan/shrug that I bought from Target the last time I was there. I love shrugs and bought this aqua-colored shrug without having anything to match it with.

Lastly, today I went to Wal-Mart before going in to work. I am really scraping the bottom of my eye cream jar and I won't be able to replace it for a while since I am really busy at work for the next few weeks. I usually use Noevir's Eye Cream and the Noevir office is nowhere near to my office. I decided to try Neutrogena's Ageless Essentials Eye Cream. It says that it is lasting, nourish and moisturize. It is continuous hydration with Pro-Vitamin B5. I will use this and will review after using it for at least a week.

I also bought a dud of a product. I decided to try Maybelline's XXL Pro Mascara. I will review this another time as well.

I'm in a shopoholic type of mood right now since I'm working extra hours at work and feeling like I don't have much time for myself and I'm exhausted. This is what I do to boost my energy.
*Kat*

Tag: Don't Believe the Hype

I was tagged by Rica of Icyswirls to do this. Thanks for tagging me Rica! It's the first time that I've been tagged. It took me awhile to figure out what I was going to post. I'm not sure if these are really hyped but these are items that I do regret buying and will definitely not buy again. Of course, this is my own opinion and will differ from each individual person.

MUFE Mist & Fix

The MUA at Sephora highly recommended this product saying that they use it for weddings and photoshoots to set and maintain longevity of makeup. When I first sprayed it on, it looked really great but after only a an hour or so, it seemed to settle into my fine lines and gave me a really ashy look. YUCK!

Sisley

Sorry, my kitten was being curious and got in the way when I snapped.

I bought two eyeshadows, a lipstick and powder one day. I didn't realize they were THAT expensive! While the eyeshadow and lipstick looked really nice, I don't think that they are any better than my usual MAC or other lower end makeup. The powder really does help to brighten my complexion but I could probably get that with another brand. The brand is way to expensive for me to purchase again.

Sephora by OPI

Perhaps it's just the colors that I purchased but they are waaay too sheer for my liking.

Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner Pen

I used to use ColorStay Foundation and really loved the way I could wear the foundation for 10 hours or longer and not have to do any touch ups. However, as I got older, I found that it was quite drying and not good for my skin. I thought that I would really like the eyeliner pen but found that it's not as pigmented as I'd like and to get a darker line, I had to keep layering the color. It also did not last on my lower lashline. I also found the pen tip to be too thich for my liking, kind of like a brush marker.

Bare Escentuals bare Vitamins - Skin Rev-er Upper

I don't have this product any more so I had to use a picture from Sephora

I felt that this didn't do a thing and it smelt terrible!

Shu Uemura Mini Eyelash Curler

While I really like my Shu Uemura eyelash curler, this mini one is pretty much useless for me. I bought it thinking that I could use it to carry around and it would be more compact than trying to carry the full-sized one. It takes so long to curl my eyelashes with this one since you have to do it in sections. I found that I had to curl my lashes in 3 sections, the inner eyelashes, the outer eyelashes and the middle section. It's too time consuming!

I'm sure that there are other products that I could add to this list but I can't think of them. I know that I recently dumped a whole bunch of things.

I don't know if you two like to do tags. If you do, then I look forward to reading what your products are.

I tag:

Beauty Verdict
Mischievous Mack

*Kat*

Skin Food Peach Sake Pore BB Cream and Etude BB Magic Cream Review

Over the last several days, I have been testing out the two BB creams. Following is my personal thoughts on them.

First up is Skin Food Peach Sake Pore BB Cream.

It is lightly scented and I love the smell. It doesn't linger though, which actually is a good thing. It comes in this tube with a pump style dispensing top. I don't like the dispensing top because I can't seem to control the amount of product that comes out. I want to apply just a thin layer of the BB cream on and the amount that squirts out is way too much for my preference.

The color seems to me to be almost a peachy color too but it does seem to blend in nicely. It might be a bit too light for me but I can work with it as I prefer too light over too dark.

Scary! This is my face which has been prepped with toning lotion,

moisturizer, sunscreen, eye cream and primer. I hate my freckles!

(And yet, they look cute on other people.)

Skin Food this side =>

I have the Skin Food BB cream applied

The coverage is okay, I think more of a light coverage and it does seem to help to brighten up my complexion a bit.

Next is Etude House BB Magic Cream.

The scent of this is kind of mediciney--perhaps something like Bactine. Fortunately, the scent of this doesn't linger very long either. It is also in a tube with a pump style dispenser top. I like this dispenser top because I can control the amount that is pumped out.

The color is more of a pink beige color and is on the lighter side like the Skin Food BB Cream. It does blend out nicely as well.

<= Etude House    Skin Food =>

The coverage is light as well but I think that it is better than Skin Food's coverage. Looking at the picture above, it seems that the Etude House side is lighter in color. I'm not sure if it's the shade of the BB cream or if it is because of the brightening effect.

My conclusion:

Both creams created a matte finish on my face. In reading the descriptions of the product, it is supposed help to control oil. While I like the matte finish, I need something that is hydrating. After a couple of hours, it seems to settle into my pores and brings out my fine lines. I like that it evens out my skin tone and before it brings out my fine lines, I love the way my finished face looks (finished meaning after applying foundation). One thing that did happen is that I had a few small red spots break out on me. That could be because the BB cream clogged my pores or just that it was a new product used on my face. I find that sometimes when I use new products on my skin, it can break out in small spots until it gets used to the product.

Finished face with foundation applied over BB creams

I still have to try Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Anti-Shine BB Lotion. I have a feeling that this will be too matte-fying on my skin as well.

*Kat*