Laneige Moisturizing Cleansing Balm

For the longest time, my mom has urged me to try Laneige Moisturizing Cleansing Balm to remove my makeup. I finally gave in and decided to try it once after a long day out with moderately heavy makeup on. Although the title does not suggest it's for removing makeup, it's caption on the container says it's a professional makeup remover for very dry to dry skin. It is not like most makeup removers I've ever used. It's a butter oil type! The butter balm comes in a tub that has english instructions on the bottom for everyone to read. The instructions are quite simple! Take a generous amount and massage around the face for a minute and then rinse off with warm water. The massaging action actually melts the "butter" balm in the skin which slowly removes(melts) the makeup away. There is borage oil and vitamin E in it to prevent irritation and extra moisture. The texture was quite nice but it felt slightly icky because of the butter-turned-into-oil on the face. The product doesn't actually recommend the actual amount needed to be used but I have to say a little does go a very long way! After having massaged my face for a minute, the makeup has clearly disappeared and what is left is to wash the balm off. As you rinse the balm off, it kind of suds up a little leaving some white film on your face. That is probably something about it being a heavy balm, that you actually have to rinse real well for a clean face. But the hassle is no problem because my skin is left feeling very smooth and plump with moisture. I have to say this balm is pretty worth trying out because it can remove all makeup(mascara and all) without drying the face out. I'm glad I got to try this one thanks to mom!

Pros: Super moisturizing, removes all makeup(waterproof included), little goes long way
Cons: Oily feeling when massaging, must rinse real well

SKIN79 Gold Label Super BB Cream

I've been meaning to review SKIN79 Gold Label Super BB Cream for the longest time but I decided to try it out longer as it's a face product that does need to be slowly tested and invested in. BB creams have been and still are quite a craze out there in Asia. The sole purpose for the BB cream is to minimize the skin products on your face to be used as a moisturizer, primer, concealer and foundation. With those functions there are also whitening, wrinkle improvement and UV protecting ingredients added into it too. I finally decided to join the craze and try one out for myself!


There are so many BB creams out there but I decided on this one solely for the push-pump dispenser and the shade that it came in, didn't look too white. The cream is a very basic nude shade that is slightly thick. It's thick but not too heavy. The cream also has a slight floral scent that is quite clean. So far so good.


To show how the BB cream works, here is a before and after picture with and without the BB cream. These pictures are of my hand and they are darker than my actual skintone. However, my hand has a reddish "finish" to it just like my skin so that is pretty much what I like to try to hide(other than my dark circles) when looking for a good foundation. As you can see, the BB cream really covers up the redness on my hand but I can say that this BB cream is not full proof coverage. It's a bit on the sheer side but it's very natural and does not give the caked up look. The feel of the foundation seems heavy because of the thickness of the cream but it makes my skin feel very soft afterwards. It doesn't have the rough feel or greasy feeling that other foundations have. And the best part? My skin doesn't react! As for moisturizing, I would not recommend using this alone because it is a bit drying(my skin) and it doesn't really apply very smoothly without primer. It is also not a great concealer because it's so sheer. Overall, it's a really good cream to improve the look of your skintone in a natural way. I guess it would be super for those girls who have little to none skin problems. With that said, this one is still a keeper for me and I will repurchase because it's been perfect for a couple of months already!

Pros: Super Cheap(check ebay), sheer coverage, reduces redness, natural looking, SPF!
Cons: Not good for moisturizing, 1 tone, too sheer for concealing circles and major problems.

My Diary of Beauty(我的美麗日記) Sake Yeast Mask(清酒酒粕面膜)

It's been another busy week at work so it was time for another mask. I decided to try My Beauty Diary Sake Yeast Mask which is supposed to improve elasticity, moisturize and do a bit whitening. It also rebuilds skin cells! Perfect! My face these days feels really tired and heavy so this nice mask sounds pretty good. I put the mask on after my shower and layed in bed just to relax. It felt so refreshing that I actually almost fell asleep! As for the mask, it smells like alcohol. Not the cosmetic rubbing alcohol but the actual sake alcohol. Very sweet ripe alcohol smell which is tolerable. The results are also as always great! My skin felt extremely smooth and it had this dewy look/feel to it. I don't think I could ever turn down anything from My Beauty Diary!


Pros: Moisturizing, refreshing, dewy smooth skin
Cons: Possible sake alcohol scent can put people off.

Mentholatum Lip Ice

Mentholatum Lip Ice is so old school. It was my ultimate favorite lip balm when I was in highschool! I would always carry one around in my bag or pocket because it was the ultimate moisturizing cure for any season. The lip balm I have right now pictured is the newer packaging but there really is no difference between the old and new. There are a variety of flavors from apple to black current. The best thing about this lip balm is that it's light weight and it also gives this chilly minty feel to the lips. It's really refreshing! Also all the flavors are extremely well done and is true the scent. I would highly recommend this lip balm to anyone for it's price(super cheap!), scent/flavor and SPF15!

Pros: Super moisturizing, chill feeling, lots of scents/flavors, SPF15, cheap!
Cons: None!

Etoile Tsubaki Oil Hand Cream

My hands are so dry! What's going on? It's all this drying weather and constant hand washing at work! So I decided to invest in another hand cream but this time with extra moisturizing oils to it. This is the Etoile Tsubaki Oil Hand Cream. It's not a famous brand or anything but I wanted to get something with the tsubaki/camellia oils in it. Camellia(tsubaki) is a very mosturizing oil that is used for hair in Japan traditionally but it is now used in skin care products. It is for extremely dry skin and can be used for massage oil to stretch mark healing.


The hand cream comes out in a thick paste-ish cream that smells of camellia/tsubaki which almost smells real nice like herbal flowers. It's not too overpowering but not too subtle. The cream is definitely on the thick side and absorbs fairly well. The moisture level is high intensity to me! I feel this almost heavy somewhat oily texture on my hands afterwards but after it sets in, my skin is SO SO VERY smoooth! Hopefully this one will last longer than my SKINFOOD one!

Pros: Traditional tsubaki oils, very moisturizing, smells great
Cons: Somewhat thick and greasy

My Beauty Diary(我的美麗日記) Cooling Mask(冰沁活氧面膜)

Ahh! How wonderful it is to have a day off! I finally have gotten a day off from my bakery job! It's almost one day in a 6 day stretch which is pretty much no break. But the money's coming in so I can't really complain about it. Anyways, it was such a relaxing day that I thought it was time to try another mask from my "collection". Today I tried the My Beauty Diary Cooling Mask(冰沁活氧面膜). My skin has been very dry and exhausted from working so hard. I hardly even had time to take care of my face with scrubs so I thought this mask would work real well in this case. This mask is not only moisturizing, but it also has a cooling effect that can wake up your senses with the peppermint while the rosemary oil will relax(and moisturize) your skin as well. It's really great for tired skin it says on the packaging. Perfect! It was just what I needed! For an added bonus effect, I placed the mask in the fridge for about 10 minutes so it would extremely chilly. It's not written in the instructions and they don't tell you to that but I just thought it would be nice. Wow! It was real chilly alright! It felt so good! I can't even say how nice my skin felt during and after the process! I almost didn't want to take it off! My skin felt extremely smooth, a bit firm and really comfy after removing the mask. I would definitely want to repurchase this one again! I will definitely recommend this to all of you out there too!


Pros: Feels like peppermint chill heaven, smells like peppermint, moisturizing, smooth, firm, really relaxing
Cons: NONE. AT. ALL!!!

VOV All Night Eyeliner

Spring is here and summer is just around the corner! Yes! It's time to bring out the major sweat and waterproof eyeliners! This is VOV All Night Twinkling Eyeliner and my very first purchase from Gmarket*. I don't really enjoy using liquid eyeliner because it just always reminds me of those girls back in highschool with the extreme black lined panda eyes. It's like to them, the more black around the eyes, the better. So I've pretty much stayed away from the liquid ones just to opt for a more natural look. However, recently I found that I just wanted to try it for dramatic but downplayed look. That probably doesn't make sense but yeah, I just had to buy some eyeliner! The one I bought was T3 which is jet black with glitter. It's probably the best for every day since the others are gold or silver. I would probably not go for these colours but the eyeliner is specifically for clubbing/partying so I figured it would just be super waterproof.


Now my eyelining is not great but I have to say I really like the effect of the eyeliner on the lids. The glitter is there but it's not too obvious. It really reminds me of the KATE eyeliner with the glitter black version. As for sweat and waterproof, it's not really. The eyeliner sort of starts to fade if you splash some water on it. It washes easily off with some soapy water but it's incredibly smudge proof! You could rub your eyes real bad and it will not budge one bit. I guess there is no eyeliner that is actually sweat or waterproof. This one is working for me(for now) because it was fairly cheap and quite pretty.

Pros: Super smudge proof! Subtle glitter, fairly cheap, easy off.
Cons: Not sweat or water proof.

*Aside from this review, I have conclusion that Gmarket is really great! Shipping costs isn't great but all online shops are the pretty much the same. I like that Gmarket has so many pictures on the items listed so you know what you're really dealing with and everything is fairly priced. The site is also very straight-forward too! I will definitely order from Gmarket again!

Kanebo COFFRET D'OR Shine Drape Rouge

I have always been a fan of Kanebo's T'ESTIMO and was quite sad when I read it was going to be discontinued. Since then Kanebo came out with another sub-brand to take it's place called COFFRET D'OR. I haven't bought anything from this actual new brand even with all it's collections released. The reason was the products didn't look quite appealing to me. However, I finally decided to try one of their new lipsticks known as COFFRET D'OR Shine Drape Rouge. It's not exactly new but it has new colours for Spring 2009!


The lipsticks are actually divided into two different "finishes" by Glow and Color. I only got one(Glow) because I felt it would be nice and sheer. Which is pretty much the difference of the two finishes. One is more sheer while the other one is more pigmented. I suppose there is still the shine on the more pigmented one too. The actual colour I got was RD-175 which seems on the site swatch as a almost blue-toned pink but in real life it looks like a cute light cherry red with some shimmer. And as always, my bare lips to show the lipstick's power!


In all honesty, I love the colour to this lipstick! It's not really over the top and the shine is really nice. Not creamy shine but sheer lipgloss-but-lighter-than-gloss look. It is incredibly light weight and it goes on like butter on your own french toast lips. It's not pigmented like lipstick but it reminds me of a conditioning lip tint with a lip balm base. I like that the colour is suitable for almost anyone and the finish is real nice. It makes my lips all juicy looking. It's probably something I really should invest in. I'm really considering buying the other two colours in the Glow selection too! But the price tag is a bit of a drawback. Guess I'll be waiting for it to go on sale!

Pros: Nice colours, beautiful packaging, sheer and shimmery, light weight
Cons: Tad bit $$