A Possible HG? Lioele Beyond the Solution BB Cream Review + Ebay seller review

         

  A few weeks back I received a sample sachet of this BB Cream with a purchase. Since every foundation/BB product I've tried has broken me out in new bumps within the span of 1-2 days  (Including the famous Missha), I inevitably became very skeptical when it came to BB creams in general. 

          However, within the week that I took to finish the sample, no new flareups occurred (to my surprise) . As a bonus, I received an very unexpected and lovely comment from a patient at work when I was wearing it! Verbatim: "Wow you have porcelain skin! You must not go out in the sun a lot." It really made my day, you just know you have an HG on your hands when you get compliments.

        Anyway, it solidified my decision to get a full sized version. I purchased this with my own money off eBay from Beauteers (review at bottom). 

*candid shot*

 Out of the box!

Cute pink box with frosted lettering!

           The length of this box was pretty long, I didn't expect it to be so vertical.

Ingredients List.

           It has titanium dioxide, but it doesn't have any white cast. It's great for photography. My friend took a bunch of sudden derpy shots of me, flash and non flash, and my complexion still looked very uniform and very dewy (granted I was sweating in the city, should be a lot better in normal conditions lol). It also has a lot of botanical extracts that are beneficial for the skin, like Macadamia oil and jojoba (acne trigger!). There's also allantoin, collagen, sodium hyaluronate, and betaine, that naturally help with skin repair. Honestly it's the only BB cream that personally I've encountered that doesn't leave my skin looking worse when I take it off. 

Packaging *___* Feeling like a princess

The reflectivity so purdyyyy ahhhh

              

Photos 1-3 are swatches under different lighting, 3&4 show coverage over a black mark.

              It's a very dense, and the texture is rather thick. Compared to the Missha, which is very watery, the Lioele is more like a thick cream. Note: One pump is more than enough. I dispensed one pump on my hand, and after I was done with the application, I still had half a blob left on my hand. 

        The coverage is a main benefit, just one layer is enough for me and my redness/broken capillaries. I like to apply it using my fingers, lightly layering it. Patting in with palms helps even it out quickly, but it leaves your hands all gross D: Here I used a damp beauty blender, which turned out nicely, but it soaked up a lot of the product >.< It's also a hassle to clean. I think I will get some cushion puffs layer to get the perfect finish. 

                 Longevity wise: like I had previously mentioned, I wore this on a hot day sweating outside in the city. My hair got all flat and greasy but my skin still looked really even and glowy, even when I got home 6-7 hours later. 

A light layer applied on skin.

   

Some marks are still visible.

It really really looks like skin. Even close up. Some marks are still visible as you can see, but I didn't want to apply anymore and felt that this is sufficient for an overall even complexion. 

If you are on the lighter side of medium-fair, I think this can work for you. If you are pale or very pale, then this may be a tad too dark for you. As always, check the ingredients to make sure it doesn't break you out!

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Beauteers

I didn't want to wait for my BB cream to arrive all the way from Korea so I took the chance and bought from this new seller. My order was taken care of really fast, and it arrived within 3 days from NYC. I had a very pleasant experience, so I really recommend this seller if you're looking to get things fast within the US (Also helps if you're on the east coast like me! lol). It also appears to be a startup, so I think it's a good idea to give some patronage =)

Thanks for reading!

Unboxing Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Line Set!

        A few months ago I had received a free trial sized "solutions kit" from participating in an Innisfree website event. The samples lasted for a week and I absolutely loved it. Plus I really like green tea, so this was a no-brainer. And based on many reviews I read prior to buying it, the consensus is very favorable. Innisfree has a green tea line for dry, normal, and oily skin, and I bought the balancing one (labeled for normal/combo skin). I purchased this with my own money from eBay for $34. 

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The Products

The volume of the box from the side

The box is really sturdy and fancy, it's so nice and calming to look at *u*

Also, the price, I find, is pretty darn reasonable for the mLs of products inside. 

Contents:

1. Innisfree Balancing Skin 200ml (or as they say toner)
2. Innisfree Balancing Lotion 160ml 
3. Travel sized Balancing Skin 15ml
4. Travel sized Balancing Lotion 15ml
5. Travel sized Balancing Cream 10ml

In the box all snug!

Is it just me? It's so satisfying when you see objects fit together so well!

/Sobs they look like a family!

I unscrewed the caps to show the openings.
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 Green Tea Balancing Skin & Lotion Review

The tops could be better.

       One definite gripe of mine would be the packaging. The openings are really annoying for dispensing product. I wish it was a bit more like Hada Labo's packaging with a flip top cap and a tiny hole at the top. For the light toner it's fine, you can just shake a few drops out easily. But the lotion has a heavier viscosity and basically I have to turn it upside down at a slope, wait for the goo to slide out, and with dexterity flip it back up at the right time to catch yourself from wasting product. It's really easy to pour too much of the lotion into your hand, see example below :( 

"AHHHHH TOO MUCH PRODUCT CRAP CRAP CRAP" This is why I hate the tops. Maybe I'm just not dexterous enough.

        The lotion is actually suspended within the toner, which is almost invisible here. I had wanted to take a picture of the toner and lotion side by side, but they were so slippery that they combined. 

Ahh it's dripping off!!

      Texture-wise, they are pretty watery, and thus really hydrating. As you can see the toner looks like water! It's colorless. It's also way less slippery and sticky than the Hada Labo Gokujyun. I don't think anything can top the Hada Labo Gokujyun toner in terms of hydration, but I think this toner would be a really good boost to add right after it in a routine. Currently I don't have it in my stash, so now I usually like 2-4 drops of the Innisfree toner, and then a tiny pea sized dollop of the lotion (wayyyy less than in the photo here).

      The smell is heavenly in my opinion. I know many other people have said that the fragrance is really off putting to them, so if you are someone who is sensitive to smell this may not be for you. I personally love how the fresh scent lingers a little even after application. Also, it's definitely a very artificial green tea smell, nothing like the earthiness of real green tea.     

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Green Tea Balancing Cream

Rubbed in. The tiny containers so cute!

Absorbed! The little redness is actually from leftover lip tint lol.

       The green tea cream is actually my favorite out of the three. It delivers an equal amount of hydration as the toner and lotion combined, so if I had a choice I'd just buy this cream for simplicity's sake. It's not oily, it's just the right amount of emollient and watery-ness. Also, since my skin is *extremely* comedone prone, so usually I avoid creams. I was so ready for disappointments. But I was so surprised! The fact that it was a cream which didn't break me out in bumps made it a definite winner. Currently, I use it as an eye cream right now, and it really plumps up my undereyes. I love putting a small amount on my undereyes prior to concealer, I find that it helps to avoid the dry, creasy/cakey look.

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SUMMARY

            There's no product in this box that I don't like. It's very suitable for my sensitive normal skin. However, I don't think this would have any real active acne fighting abilities, so you if you have problematic skin then look somewhere else. Green tea is indeed anti-inflammatory, but I don't know with these products. They simply deliver hydration to me. The percentages of the extracts could be exaggerated as well: 87% of jeju green tea may just mean that the liquid is made of 87% of a green tea solution (made up of more water than actual extract). Marketing!

              All in all, I would still definitely recommend this to people who are just looking for something light yet moisturizing. But maybe just get one product, since the toner and lotion are very similar. Now, since I also have the Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum and the Scinic Honey All in One (Stay tuned!), the extra toner and lotion became kind of redundant.

I still like it, though I might try to get my anti-moisturizing boyfriend to use it haha.

Shiseido Perfect Whip and Kose Deep Cleansing Oil Review

      If you've stopped by my blog, chances are you've seen my blog post about how my oil cleansing attempt wrecked my skin and the COSRX BHA became my savior. Now, I got these two items because of the raves I read on how well they cleaned makeup off and out of your pores and skin. The fact that these were many people's HG products also helped. Please do keep in mind that your mileage may vary!

       Anyway, at that point, I had absolutely no idea about the importance of pH levels in cleansers and its effect on the skin's protective moisture barrier. Basically, if your cleanser is within a pH of 4ish-6ish your skin should be fine. Too low your skin will be irritated, too high and bacteria (like acne) can easily thrive.

       Ignorant of the fact that the Shiseido Whip was a whopping 8 at the time of purchase, I was so excited to use it. I mean the commercial had the girl making that huge foam bubble thing with her hand, how could I resist?

        As for the Kose Deep Cleansing Oil, I had never tried a cleansing oil before. I chose this one because after my research I decided to order these two in conjunction (both from Japan) for the sake of convenience.

         This was a recipe for disaster-- the oil clogged my pores and gave me painful pimples while the Perfect Whip absolutely destroyed my skin's barrier. My face went from relatively clear to complete comedone/pimple city within the first two weeks, and stayed in that condition until January (I received the COSRX).

         Performance wise, they are incredible for getting off dirt/sunscreen/makeup. The oil emulsifies and rinses off well and the Perfect Whip smells really nice. The oil smells a bit like orange oil though, and has a pretty runny viscosity (it's very thin). Also, when you use a foaming net (I used a piece of a shower loofah net) it's super fun to work with because the foam gets so bouncy. I think it's because of these fun aspects that I didn't pay attention to my skin, and it just worsened as I kept using it.

        Sadly since they didn't work for me, I keep them around for cleaning makeup tools, on which they're also very effective. All in all, I don't recommend the Shiseido Perfect Whip, but you may want to try out the Kose Deep Cleansing Oil if your skin handles comedogenic ingredients better than other people. And please, patch test. Don't be like me!

I hope my post was helpful somewhat.

Thanks for reading!
Emi

Neo Dali Viit Circle Lenses + Klenspop Review

      I don't normally wear circle lenses on a daily basis, but since I had a couple of events coming up I figured the extra pop to my eyes wouldn't hurt. I just bought daily disposables because I don't plan on keeping it after the event to wear-- it'd just sit and collect bacteria *shudder*. Since I knew about the Neo Dali series's reputation for being extremely comfortable, I decided to give that a go. I ordered it from Klenspop.

      I'm writing this review because prior to purchase I could not find any detailed ones, so this is for anyone else who was in my position when deciding.

Product Review:

I ordered 5 pairs and after opening up the shipping box, it came in a smaller box as shown here with the print of the girl's face. It really is tiny, I put a poker card for size comparison. But hey, it's the perfect size for only 5 pairs anyway. :P

 The back of the box:

The individual contact lens wrapper with all the information:

A small cute instructional and informational leaflet! This is the front and back side by side. The english amused me:

 Finally, here it is on my eye! You can see here that it's very natural. You can still see a sort of halo effect under my real iris (the part of the circle lens covering my whites).

          I have gotten other daily disposables before and was quite shocked about how close to nothing this one felt. The lens itself is quite fragile: one tore right when I took it out so now I have like 4 pairs and a half ;_; But that also speaks for its comfort. Just be very delicate handling them! Please do keep in mind that I personally am not a daily contact lens wearer by any means, so my eyes fatigued about 4 hours in with no eye drops. But if you do wear contact lens daily, I'm pretty confident these will be really comfortable for you.

Overall Rating 4/5

Would I reorder? Sure, but probably not next time only because I'll probably want to try out the Neo Dali Natural daily disposables :)

Service Review:

      Before I decided to purchase it, I had to contact them regarding a specification on the customs declaration-- I didn't want it to be marked lenses but rather something more general, like "cosmetics" because of personal anxiety about the US regulation of lenses, and I wanted my package to come in safely. They emailed me back very quickly and assuredly (yay!). However, when it arrived it still said "contact lenses" to my disappointment. But this was just a small personal issue though. Otherwise everything came in the mail fine and dandy, safely bubble wrapped and neatly packaged. And if you need to contact them, I'm sure they'd respond as quickly as they did with me. For the delivery time, I'd say it took about two weeks.

Overall Rating 4.5/5

Would I buy from them again? Yes, recommended!

COSRX Blackhead Power Liquid Review: the best thing I've come across!

             Storytime guys: Last year August-September-ish, I decided to try the Asian double cleansing method that I came across on the Asianbeauty subreddit. After all the raves I read and the videos I watched, I thought I'd be okay. Needless to say I stupidly purchased the Shiseido Perfect Whip and the Kose Deep Cleansing Oil immediately in hopes of perfecting my skin without patch testing. That ended horribly, you can click the reviews if you're curious.

             What ensued was a horrible flare up of closed comedones all over my face. (I know for some people this might be nothing, but for me personally it was a nightmare as my skin has never been this bad). Every time I washed my face I would just feel bumps throughout the entire surface area of my face-- it was so depressing. For the next two months, I tried so many other things. The home remedies helped, but not dramatically. I tried going back to a more simpler moisturizer (an ex-HG) but it just aggravated it. The bad skin stayed for a good 2 months until I finally started treating it with the COSRX BHA (beta hydroxy acid) product in January. Pictures ahead!

Sorry about the blurriness. The clusters were actually a lot denser than you can see here. My forehead before went from clear to this within a short frame :( I had this skin from September until January when I started using it.

          To resolve this mess I made with my skin, I used nothing but the COSRX BHA and their Snail Mucin Essence. Over the next month, not too slowly but surely my face was beginning to unclog and purge. I remembering having grits come out here and there every day during my "recovery". As of current, I still have leftover Post Inflammatory Erythema from this traumatic event in my skin history *sob*

By February, I had already forgotten about my 4 month long period of being depressed about my skin.

            Conclusion: Seriously, COSRX is amazing. I just finished my first bottle of the Blackhead Power Liquid and repurchased it right away along with their Salicylic Acid exfoliating cleanser! I use the BHA for daily maintenance and I find that it definitely helps keep my nose relatively free of blackheads. After this experience they've practically stole my heart now. I give it a 5/5, it's a staple for me now.

I also think they might have reformulated the BHA somewhat. The first batch I bought in January was made several months before that, and it smelled stronger (it smells like rubber tires, you get used to it) and had just a tad thicker viscosity to it. The new version I received in the mail has a very subtle yellow tinge and is more watery. It still works just as well! I appreciate the lack of an odor now :)

My empty bottle next to my new one <3

So, If you have any problems like mine, I totally recommend trying them out. I got my first bottle from Roseroseshop because during winter they had a sale. The second bottle I got from Jolse on ebay, but you can also purchase from her site Jolse.com (Haul review to come!).

Thanks for reading <3
Emi