K-Beauty: Hits and Misses, vol 1

Bon nuit! Today's post is all about my experience with Korean Beauty products, also known as K-Beauty.

Some of these I've purchased from Amazon (some no longer available), but many actually have come from my local CVS Pharmacy.

I'll review each product, and give a quick review, using a HIT or MISS scoring system. Lessgo!

These first three products are actually empties! 

I. Tony Moly Magic Food Mushroom Cream Pore Pack, 30 mL mask, $12.61. First off, this stuff smells like chocolate pudding. And the packaging is so cute. It does dry down on the face and easy is washed/wiped away with a damp cloth. I believe I purchased this because Lisa Eldridge was talking about it. It is no longer sold by Amazon. Does it do a good job of clarifying the skin? Yes, mostly, but I feel I have used better ones. On the whole, though, I'd say this was a HIT. 

2. TONYMOLY Egg Pore Tightening Cooling Pack For Pore, $8.12. Bought from Amazon. No longer sold. This mask is a grey-white mask with a mousse-like consistency, and spreads easily on the skin. Towards the end, mine dried out a little. I would say that it does have a tightening sensation on the face, but not unpleasant. I would not repurchase, as I am not really concerned about pores any more. But I would say this was a HIT. 

3. Holika Holika Milky Cow Hand Cream in Yellow Cow (Banana). I bought this a couple of years ago from TJ Maxx for about $5.00. It is a very good lotion, and because of the secure packaging I am not afraid of traveling with it. A definite HIT. 

4. Ariul Cleansing Tissue, bough a 3-pack from CVS for $5.00. This was a MISS for me. Smelled nice and fresh, but greatly irritated my eyes. 

5. Holika Holika Gudetama Jelly Dough Blusher in Grapefruit. Bought from CVS for $12.49. Definitely on the pricier side, but much less compared to the Amazon price of $15.80. Anyway, love the design and packaging of this product. The pigmentation is very sheer, which I do prefer in a blush. I don't like the doctor's office-soap smell of this, but it fades quickly. Overall I'd say it's a HIT.

6.Holika Holika Gudetama Makeup Sponge Blender. $6.00, still available on Amazon. NOPE. Absorbed a little too much product for my liking, and very dense. And I am still upset that the purported "rose fragrance" was washed out when I tried to dampen this. MISS

7. The last product is a trio (the third is in my car currently) of little lotions from Holika Holika. This is the Pudding Hand Cream gift set, sold on Amazon still for $14.12. My favorite is the flan/custard one, which is in my car, but I do like the scent of the other two as well. What I don't like is that the scents disappear very quickly. Though the lotion also absorbs quickly, I feel it does not moisturize enough. But gaaaah cute packaging. In a way I would said that is 1/2HIT, 1/2 MISS.

June Favorites and Regrets

As June is nearing its last week, I thought I would share my favorites and regrets for this month. 

Favorites:

1.) Milani Strobelight in Afterglow. I purchased this having read Temptalia's glowing review of this highlighter, and the fact that it is a dupe for the Makeup Forever Profusion highlighter....at $30 less. It is a gorgeous product, with a very intense cool-toned reflect. 

2.) Flower Beauty Blush in Sweat Pea. For me, this is a really easy to use, low maintenance blush. One swipe gives just enough color. 

3.) Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzer in 1 Light. I bought this from Amazon at $10, partly because my Butter Bronzer from Physician's Formula shattered in my bag. It is a little more red-toned than the butter bronzer, and long lasting. 

From top to bottom: Proton, Shi. Bronzer, Milani Strobelight, and Flower Blush.

4.) Life's Entropy cream contour stick in Proton. Speaking of easy, this product also gives me a nice and subtle contour with minimal effort, perfect for my morning routine. It's a nice grey-toned taupe. I wish it was a tad bit darker, but perhaps this will be even better for the winter. 

5.) Elf blending eyebrush. Blending eye brushes are important, but many times they are too large. I was really happy to find this brush because it is smaller, and I can be more precise and have more control over blending. 

6.) June Sephora gift, Caudalie duo. I chose this over the Tarte gift, which included the lip paint, which I am not a fan of. This is a nice skin care duo, and yes the smell of the product is rather earthy (actually reminds me of Demeter's Thunderstorm), I don't mind it. I would never buy full size of either product, but I don't mind them.

Regrets:

1.) Holika Holika Gudetama makeup sponge. This was not a total fail, but it was a disappointment. As soon as I opened the packaging, I could smell a sweet fragrance coming from the sponge. I was eager to try it out, so- just as I do with every sponge- I dampened it by running it under the sink. Immediately it soaked up the water, foamed up, I squeezed out whatever was making the bubbles, and then the scent was gone. Not entirely sure what happened. Not only that, but the sponge itself is very dense, and not as pleasant to use as my ecotools ones. Still, because I love Gudetama, I still keep it to look at! 

 2. Just the Basics Facial Towelettes. I used to buy the Simple Miscellar Water wipes, but those are very expensive. Instead, I purchased these and soak them in miscellar water before using. Still, I really hate the fragrance of these wipes and wish they were even more basic and simply unscented.

3. L'Oreal Infallible pro-matte foundation. Dries waaaay too quickly. Color is slightly too pink for me, but now I just use this is a spot concealer.