Boston Spring Haul 2016

Hey guys!

My mom recently visited Boston and brought back some products that I've been wanting to own for some time. There are two Korean products here that I ordered off Amazon and she managed to pick them up from a friend's house before she had to fly back. I'll be showing you what I got and I would probably write reviews on some of them in the future. Please keep reading if you're interested!

Also, I want to apologize for the changes in lighting in the photos. The sun wasn't being nice to me. 

I got my second bottle of the Burberry Brit EDP but this one is in 100mL. I am almost done with the bottle I'm using now (which is in 50mL). This scent is so classy and it's my favorite perfume. I took a photo of the bottle I have now so that you guys can see how it looks like.

I also got the Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in Translucent. I've heard good comments on this, so I wanted to see how this compared to my MAC Prep and Prime, which is currently my favorite setting powder.

The next two products are the Korean products I got from Amazon.

The first one is the Banila Co Clean It Zero. It is an oil cleanser and it removes all your makeup. I've used this a few times and I think I will be writing a review on this in the future. 

I also got the Skinfood Black Sugar Strawberry Mask Wash Off. I'm not planning to open this one anytime soon until I've used a decent amount of my Black Sugar Mask Wash Off. I have already written a review on that, which you can read here.

I finally got the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. I told my mom to pick up the color Granite for me but she got Dark Brown. I've used this quite a few times and so far, I think I can pull it off. 

The next product I am extremely excited about is the MAC Viva Glam Ariana Grande Lipstick. I LOVE dark lipstick colors. I'm so excited to wear this more often. 

Recently, I've been hearing a lot about the NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipstick. My mom told me that most of the colors were sold out already, so she just got 01 Honeymoon for me. I've tried it once and it's really grayish and brownish. So I'm not sure how often I will wear it.

The last thing I got that I'm really excited about is the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. Usually, I would test out the foundation personally, but the NARS website had a huge range of shades that were really detailed and the shade I got matches me perfectly! I've been using this since I ran out of my previous foundation and so far I've been enjoying it. I'll definitely write a review on this in the future!

I didn't purchase this but I think my mom redeemed it for a certain number of points at Sephora. This is the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion + for very dry to dry combination. I've used this a couple of times, but I'm not extremely impressed with this. You know that feeling when you put on a heavier duty cream moisturizer and it burns because your skin isn't hydrated enough? Yeah that's what happened with this lotion, which apparently wasn't very moisturizing for me. I might have to get the cream version if I wanted try out this line.

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know in the comments if there are any products you want me to review if I haven't already said I would :)

Review: Skinfood Black Sugar Mask Wash Off

Hey guys!

I'll be writing a review for the Skinfood Black Sugar Mask Wash Off today. I got this a while back in Korea and I am sure that many of you have heard about this on Youtube or read about this online. I have to say it lives up to the hype and it is a really popular product for all the good reasons!

I believe I got this around 8000Won, which would be approximately $7USD. This is made in Korea and has 100g of product in it. It is so affordable and worth my money and it will take a long time before I actually run out of this. As you can see in one of my pictures, I'm not even halfway through with the product!

Description: "A mask that contains mineral enriched Brazilian black sugar, and promotes smooth, glowing skin. After cleansing, massage onto damp face, avoiding the eye and mouth areas. To minimize irritation, add water, or toner while massaging. Leave for 10-15 minutes. Rise off with lukewarm water."

I use this once every week because this is like an exfoliator and it is not beneficial to overly-exfoliate your skin. 

I do use this while my face is damp right after I cleanse my face and get out of the shower. You could also add a few drops of water or toner, as mentioned in the product description, to make the mask less abrasive. Once, I used it without a damp face/water/toner and it was slightly too harsh on my skin and left redness on my skin. However, since then, I have always ensured that my skin is damp somehow before using the mask. 

I like to massage my face for 5 minutes and then, I would leave the mask on. What I really like about this mask is, unlike sheet masks, I can basically do whatever I want, like walk around or sit and read or even eat dinner, without having liquid flowing down my face. 

I usually leave the mask on for 30 minutes, but sometimes when I get carried away doing something else, I leave the mask on for about an hour. I don't think the time matters though and if anything, I'm guessing that leaving the mask on for a longer time may be better :)

When I'm ready to wash the mask off, I jump back into the shower, wet my hands, and massage my face for another 2-3 minutes. At this point, the mask will turn milky and feels like a cleanser but is not as foamy. After that, I would wash it all off. 

This mask leaves my skin as clean and smooth as a newborn baby's skin and I am not exaggerating. I wouldn't say that it removes blackheads or sebum completely, but I am highly satisfied with this extremely affordable mask. It allows other skincare products that I would use after this sugar mask to absorb into my skin more easily. I definitely recommend that you check this out. Skinfood also has other mask wash offs in this black sugar line, such as a strawberry, a honey, and a perfect black sugar mask. They also have other masks not under the black sugar line, one of which is a rice mask that I have also heard a lot of good comments on. I look forward to trying all of them one day! 

I hope you found this helpful and thank you so much for reading :)

Review: Coastal Scents Revealed Palette

Hey guys!

I've been longing to try the Coastal Scents Revealed palette since I've heard a lot of good comments about it. So I got it on Amazon recently and I have used it enough to write a review. I hope you will find my review useful and if you're interested, please keep reading!

Firstly, I got this off Amazon for around $20USD, which is a pretty good deal for 20 eyeshadow colors. 

The packaging is extremely sleek and travel-friendly. It is made out of cardboard and has a magnet to keep it sealed. It does lack a mirror, which would have been nice if it were there, but I don't mind too much.

People say that this palette is a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked Palettes. Although I do not own any of the Naked Palettes, I do see the similarity between this Revealed palette and the Naked palettes. There are the warm shades from the Naked 1, a few cooler shades from the Naked 2, and the rosy shades from the Naked 3. 

There are 5 matte shades: The 1st, 4th, 5th, and 7th from the left on the top row and the black shade on the bottom right. 

I will be using a few shades here to show you the color payoff. On camera, the shades all look the same but they are slightly different in reality. Also, I use an eyelid tape on my right eye because one of my lid has a crease while the other is a monolid #asianproblems. Please also keep in mind that the eyeshadow is slightly darker in reality than on the camera. 

While many people say that the color payoff is really great and some even say it is a dupe for the Naked palettes, I do feel that it will never match the high-end eyeshadow palettes. I see a huge difference between the Revealed palette and my favorite palette, the LORAC Pro. The eyeshadows really aren't showing up on my camera well enough, and while I do not blame the Revealed palette, I think that if I were to be taking pictures, I would like my eyeshadow to show up more.

Compared to my left eye (right in this picture) with no eyeshadow on, it really just adds a light wash of color on my lids. I do, however, feel that this can be good for those who like a really basic makeup look with nothing fancy going on. It can be used on a daily basis or when you don't want to wear too much eyeshadow to school or work. 

I then sprayed a little MAC Fix+ on my brushes which will help to enhance the shadow. The shadow does show up a little more this time. 

I actually think the shadows look pretty good when I am looking down or when my lids are closed, but when my lids are open, the shadows aren't very obvious.

Don't mind the unevenness.

Overall, I'm satisfied with this palette. I don't think it is as good as people claim that it is, but for $20, I can't complain. I think it is a pretty good deal for 20 shades and the quality is as good as it gets for the price. Since I have this palette, I do not think that I will be purchasing any of the Naked palettes any time soon as some of the shades in the Revealed palette are really similar to the shades in the Naked palettes. 

The downsides to this palette is that the color payoff isn't extremely pigmented (especially with the lighter shades). I usually only use eyeshadow when I'm attending special events like formals, so I tend to end up grabbing for my LORAC Pro, which has extremely good color payoff. Additionally, I feel that even though the shades do look different just by looking at them on the pan, in reality, when applied, most of them look rather similar, so it lacks a little variety. 

Like I said before, I think this palette is very affordable and for those who are on a budget, it is a viable alternative to the Naked palettes. I really don't think you will need to spend $50 each on 3 palettes when you can get a very similar look for $20. I do recommend this palette for those who want shades similar to the Naked palettes, but unlike some others who own this palette, I do not think that it is a dupe for the Naked palettes. 

I hope you found this review helpful! Thank you so much for reading :)

DIY: Makeup Brush Handles

Hi guys!

I recently did a DIY since I wanted to decorate my makeup brushes. I felt like the handles were a little plain and I wanted to spice them up a little. 

I did three variations but ended up going with the one I liked the most for the majority of my brushes, but I will be going over the steps I took for each design.

Silver brush handle

1. Simply paint silver nail polish over the handle and set the brush aside to dry. I used 3 coats of the Wet n Wild Spoiled Nail Color in S070 Daddy's Credit Card.
2. That's about it. It's as simple as that!
3. Estimated time for 1 brush: 20 minutes.

Polka-dotted handle

1. Using a nail polish, paint your desired base color over the handle and set the brush aside to dry. I used 3 coats of the China Glaze Nail Lacquer in 81323 Too Yacht To Handle.
2. Next, use a dotting tool to create polka dots. I used the Essie Nail Lacquer in Mint Candy Apple.
3. Estimated time for 1 brush: 30 minutes. 

Roses handle

1. Use Washi tape (doesn't have to be roses) and wrap it around the brush in a horizontal manner. Some Washi tape tend to be more transparent and some are more opaque, so try to use one that is more opaque. 
2. Use a matte finish invisible tape to seal in the washi tape and ensure that it doesn't peal off. Wrap the matte tape around the brush in a horizontal manner as well. 
3. Done! It's really easy and it actually takes the shortest amount of time.
4. Estimated time for 1 brush: 10 minutes. 

I hope you found this short DIY useful. Hopefully, if you find your brush handles to be rather plain, you could try one of these methods I used. 

Thank you so much for reading :)