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Wednesday 4 January 2017

Holika Holika x Gudetama - BB Cushion

I didn't like Gudetama when he came out, I don't know why, I just didn't. But over time, I started to like him, and find him to be me personified. 😎😎 I know.. I am a real person, how can a character personify me.. Whatever.. XD

Anyways, I think I started to fall in love with Gudetama when Holika Holika released their Lazy & Easy collection with him back in May 2016. I resisted most of the items and only got the cushion and refill in shade #21.
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 Fast forward to October 2016 and they released their Lazy & Joy collection.. Umph.. My love for Gudetama just can't hold back anymore! I spent a LONG time resist buying everything and cut it down to two of the cushion cases and a blush. If TK wasn't out of the puff at the time, I would've bought it from them too. Don't worry, the little puff is on its way thanks to Jolse. 😁
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Okay, love story with Gudetama over, and let's move on to the actual post, which is reviews of the products!

Holika Holika x Gudetama Face 2 Change Photo Ready Cushion BB SPF 50+ PA+++
These are the three cases I bought. The left one is the cushion + refill I purchased from the first collection, Lazy & Easy. The other two are just cushion cases I got from the second collection, Lazy & Easy. To be honest, I would've bought all of the cases if I could have.. ^o^;;

The cases are made of plastic, with the drawings printed on top of a thick layer of clear plastic. The drawings look like they shouldn't rub off but there is always a chance it could, so I may put a coat of clear nail polish on top just to be on the safe side.

I was planning to use the cushion after I am done using the Isa Knox cushion, as this doesn't expire until 2018. However, when I took it out for photos, I realized the seal has been broken, so I must have opened it when I first received it and forgot about it. Oops. Anyways, this just means I have two cushions to alternate between.

It should be noted that the cushion inserts from Season 1 fits into the cases from Season 2, so there is no need to purchase additional refills. Phew. I decided upon the center cushion to use as it's pink and Gudetama is laying on a cushion puff! That's just perfect case!
The inside of the cushion looks like any other cushions, case, housing for the puff (which is Gudetama by the way!) and housing for the actual product.

One complaint I have is regarding the cushion puff. I didn't take a picture of it, but the side you use for application of product is actually white instead of blue. I know it is for you to have a better look at how much product is on there, but it kind of makes me feel a little grossed out. Because every time I use it, I can see the leftover product sitting on there. Speaking of which, I feel like the Gudetama puff absorbs a lot more product than the other cushions I tried before.
I purchased the product in shade #21, the lightest shade they offer. I always pick #21 as I am quite pale for an Asian, but now I am not sure if I am light enough for #21. I'll explain...
 This is the arm swatch, where you can see it's pretty close to my skin colour.
 This is the before picture, in natural lighting. As you can see, there are some redness on the cheek and blemishes along the mouth. There are also some sun spots and you can see some of my larger pores.
This after one application of the BB cushion. The pores are covered such that only the inflamed area near my nose bridge can still be seen. The redness is somewhat reduced but the sunspots are not covered at all. I would say this cushion is light coverage with only one layer, but it could be medium coverage with more layering.

However, like I mentioned above, I am not sure if shade #21 is right for me anymore and I need your help Internet peeps!

I know that when you apply foundation and whatnots, it is supposed to sit on your skin such that it looks like you have nothing on and it is part of your skin. My problem is that every time I put on any of my cushion products, I feel like it is not sitting on my skin properly. I can often see lines on my face, as if the skin is dry when it's well moisturized. I asked my friend who is a makeup artist and she said I may be using product that is a lighter shade than my skin or my skin is just dry.

I don't really have this problem whenever I use my Isa Knox cushion I lied, I put it on today and I am seeing a similar problem I think it's mostly dry patches.., but I can kind of see it with the Gudetama BB cushion, especially on the cheek area. I need help Internet peeps... Does this mean the cushion is too light for me?? ( •᷄ὤ•᷅)?

Update: I used the Gudetama cushion again today and it's much better! I think it must have been because I thoroughly exfoliated the cheeks and slapped on so much serums and creams the night before. So I guess whenever I see those dry looking things, it just means my skin is in need of an exfoliation session.


Tuesday 3 January 2017

Lipsticks & Lip Tint

Happy New Year everyone~!

First post for 2017 is on lipsticks~ This comes as a surprise, even to me. As I prefer lip tints for a more natural, lighter look. But I did buy these lipsticks for various reasons and finally decided to swatch them. So please bear with me. 😊

Oh, fair warning, because this is a lipsticks talk, there are close up pictures of my lips so be prepared. O(≧▽≦)O

Etude House - Dear My Blooing Lips Talk Chiffon in PK029 and BE109.


A photo posted by @addictedtocrafts12 on
I purchased this when it was 40% off and free shipping. Though I was a bit upset that the day after I purchased it, the set went on sale for 50% off and the 40% discount can be stacked on top of it. But whatever, it is what it is. -__-
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I purchased the set primarily for the Optical W Hibari Silver Mirror sunglasses as I quite like the look of it. The frame is made out of lightweight but quite sturdy plastic, while the lens are reflective so I can secretly stare at people..   ̄︶ ̄ I think because it is designed in Asia, there is extra support in the bridge area so it sits quite firmly on my stubby little nose. It stays firmly on my face, which is the opposite of my prescription sunglasses which are made for someone with a higher nasal bridge. So that pair would always slide off my face, even if I am looking straight ahead. Therefore, this Optical W sunglasses has become my favourite pair to use during the summer. The downside is that it is not prescription so I would have to wear contacts if I want to be able to see where I am going. 
Since the sunglasses is the primary reason for the purchase, I viewed the lipsticks as gifts with purchase. ( ̄へ ̄)Like I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I am more of a lip tint kind of girl, so these were left in the box until recently. Oops..  ¯\_( ◉ 3 ◉ )_/¯ 

The lipsticks comes in pink plastic tubes with easy snap on lids. I quite enjoy the scallop side, as I have a preference with scallop designs, and it also allows me to close the lid the same way every time. 

Just looking at each tube, the PK029 is a lot brighter and the BE109 looks a lot lighter than the official pictures. 
Bare lips. 

 BE109 - Flutter Chiffon Beige
Please ignore the dry patches around my lips.. >_<

The tube looked brownish orange and the arm swatch, which is a little bit further down, looked a bit burgundy. So I wasn't sure how it would look on my lips. But it turned out to be a nice brown shade that is quite close to my natural lip colour. I want to say this can be a nude shade? But it does draw attention to every little crease on my lips... -__- 
 PK029 Addictive Chiffon Pink
Urg, the dry dead skin on my lips is gross, sorry! ( ´△`)

This is such a BRIGHT colour! Or as I always like to say, it's very LOUD. Anyways, it is more red than pink to me, especially when compared to the official swatch. This is a very pigmented lipstick, where a swipe is enough to have sufficient colours on the lips. However, I can't remember if I did one or two layers for the swatch... (; ̄ェ ̄)

These two lipsticks are from the Dear My Blooming Lips - Talk - Chiffon line, which is supposed to be a lighter formula that provide moisture while providing a long-lasting matte colour. At least that is what I took from Etude's description, but it kind of sounds contradicting. But let's go through their claims shall we?
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1) Thin and Light Shine Lips 
The lipsticks does feel thinner than traditional lipsticks while having decent pigmentation. It does have a shine to when applied to the lips. Not so much on the arm swatches, which is a little bit further down.

2) Long lasting 
I find this claim to be questionable. I haven't worn either of the lipsticks for more than 10 minutes as I don't like to wear lipsticks. But I was able to remove each of the colours with a tissue after 10 minutes. I thought the 10 minutes period would allow the lipsticks sufficient time to set. But nope, each colour was easily removed with dry tissue.. Hence the dry lips.. Oops..

Interesting enough, the arm swatches is much longer lasting. Again, it's shown a bit further down in the post. Those swatches lasted until I used both an oil and a foam cleanser on it. But I imagine it lasted longer due to the skin being more porous on my arm, thus is able to hold on to the colours longer.

3) Fills the wrinkles
No, no, no! That's absolutely not true! ( ー̀εー́ )
As you can tell from my swatch for BE109, it essentially highlighted EVERY SINGLE WRINKLE! Whereas PK029 is a little better and the wrinkles are not as obvious. Yes, I could have helped by keeping my lips well moisturized, but that doesn't change the fact that these lipsticks does not "fill" your lip wrinkles.. T__T

Peripera Sweet Jelly Pang Tint in #4 My Girl Pink
 
I had success with Peripera Peri's Ink the Velvet and decided to purchase another Peripera product to try. This time it's the Sweet Jelly Pang Tint in #4 My Girl pink. I linked the Club Clio USA website above as everything is in English, but you can get the product from TK, which is where I got this from. I was a bit taken aback when I saw the shipping charge from Club Clio USA to Canada is $39.50 USD. Yikes. I'll order from TK, thank you very much.
The tint comes in a long tube, but there is only 1.5g of products. It is important to note that this is one of those products where you cannot untwist the product back. So be careful when twisting it and only twist out enough for usage. 
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I chose My Girl Pink because it's such a nice light pink colour. I was hoping I would achieve a similar colour, but it looks like I would definitely need a primer before coming even close to that light pink. Nonetheless, the colour is pretty, as you can see below. 
Bare lips
Natural Lighting


As you can see, the lip tint provides a nice pink on top of my natural lip colour. It's not close to what the official swatch is, but it sure is pretty!
Flash
The colour looks even better with flash! I mean, yeah, I won't have a bright light aimed at my lips at all times, but damn that shade looks so cute! 😍😍

Now the claims of this lip tint: 
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1) Plump & shiny lips
The plumping part, I don't see it. But the shine factor is DEFINITELY there. Maybe they meant with the shine, your lips look plumper? Peripera also mentioned the sheer translucent colour of the tint, which is true. As this is one of the more sheer tints I have in my collection, but that is exactly what attracted me to this tint.

2) Light texture that melts on your lips
Yah, this definitely goes on very smoothly and melts on my lips, making it very easy to apply. The tint have shine to it but it doesn't have the stickiness that is common with glosses, which is a plus. I should also mention that the tint has a very strong sweet smell to it, but it does go away quickly. The tint itself also tasted quite sweet when I accidentally got some in mouth, I guess that's they call it the Sweet Jelly Pang!

3) Long lasting colour
No, this is not long lasting at all. I do feel like it hydrates my lips a little bit but no, that colour does not last. I actually tried wearing it the night I received it and the colour came off as I was eating and drinking. When I was swatching it, I tried to keep it on for longer than 10 minutes to allow the colour to set in. But it all came off easily with a dry tissue. =__=

Similar to the Etude lipsticks, the lip tint is a bit more longer lasting on my arm swatches. But it is a bit weaker than the lipsticks, as you can see below.

4) Slim & compact
Yup, this is definitely slim. I would size wise it is relative to a pen as it is thin and long. You would definitely need to carry it everywhere as lots of touch ups will be needed throughout the day.


Natural lighting 
A quick swipe with a tissue
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Look at how gorgeous that dark red is! Umph...😍 I saw the swatches and just had to get it. I grabbed it as soon as I saw it on eBay but it took SO long to arrive! I ordered it early November and only got it on December 29.. Sigh.. Canada Post... Sigh... 

Anyways, while I was waiting for my lipstick to come, I saw some swatches on Instagram and Reddit. I was very disappointed to see that it was more of a normal red than dark vampy red colour. However, after I received it, I have to say I am glad I grabbed it. Let's continue and let me explain why. 
The lipstick comes in special pink and gold packaging. I quite like the design! As you can see above, it is a nice dark berry colour, 😍😍 It's actually a lot darker than the official picture. But SO nice!


Here is the arm swatch of the lipstick. For some reason, my phone camera cannot capture what it looks like in real life and I am not sure why. Maybe that's why it looks like a normal red lipstick on so many swatches. But in real life, the swatch is a bit more darker and more plum than the arm swatch shown above. 
Bare lips
Natural light


Flash
The natural light picture is more reflective of the true colour of the lipstick. Whereas the flash picture made it look very red instead of plum/berry. I would say the right side of my upper lip in natural lighting is the closest to the true colour. It's nowhere close to that nice dark vampy colour shown in the official swatch, but it is so much nicer than the red colour under flash. 

I would say this lipstick is much better than the Chiffon version, as it is more moisturizing and doesn't draw out the wrinkles as much. But the lasting power is pretty similar, it comes off easily with a tissue. 

Overall Thoughts 

Here is the three lipsticks and lip tint all compiled together.

I have to say my favourite is Peripera's tint, even though it is not very long lasting. But let's face it, none of these lip products are that long lasting. =_=  I quite like the Peripera tint as it provides a very nice sheer pink colour while providing a nice shine.

My second favourite would be the Etude House's BE103, because I absolutely love that shade of red. It helps that it has a nice shine to it and doesn't draw out on the lip wrinkles.

Third favourite is Etude House's PK029 as the colour is such a bright pink and is quite pigmented. However, because it is so bright, I would not wear it often. Hence why I like it a little bit less than BE103.

This makes the least favourite lipstick to be BE109. It is a nice nude shade but it just draws out ALL of the wrinkles on my lips, which isn't something I need. Therefore, it is the least favourite.

Which shades do you like the most?