Bits & Pieces! (Etude House/Stila/Skinfood/Mentholatum)

This morning I was awaken by the doorbell. My dear mail man had stuffed a few morning gifts in the mailbox for me ;D

Needless to say, no matter how often I receive things in the mail, they never fail to excite little old me ;)

Here lies my...

Etude House Aloha Cocktail Syrup Nails in #2 Sunshine Bronze

Stila Lip Glaze Stick in Vanilla

Skinfood Pomegranate Scalp Care Tonic

Mentholatum Medicated XD Lip balm

Cocktail Syrup Nail set! This is the limited edition summer nail kit from Etude House. You guys might be familiar with the Spring edition Miss Tangerine nail set. This Aloha set also comes in a pink kit called #1 Rose Cocktail. But I like this one more for the summer~ I think I'll be collecting all of their gradation sets in the future!

It's like the darker version of Miss Tangerine nail set, which I regret not buying!

Stila Lip Glaze Stick in Vanilla. I love the consistency of this "lip stick". It's glossy and smooth and very hydrating, yet it's not even close to sticky! I think I will be trying a few more of their sticks because I love the convenience and the formula so much ^^ The vanilla shade is essentially a slightly shimmery, moist gloss over the lips with no pigment. Kind of reminds me of YSL Candy Sheer Volupte in Lush Coconut ;D

Boring lip balms? I think not! I stumbled upon these when I was in Japan and my lips just happened to be extremely chapped (had a terrible cold). I grabbed the closest thing and this has become one of my stables! This is literally the only lip balm that immediately heals my lips and makes them soft and plump, and I am a total lip essence / balm / whatever junkie! Even the BF notices by the way ;)

I've always been troubled by the fact that I have relative thin hair and I tend to lose a bit more hair in the Summer. It just recently occurred to me that maybe I should be pampering my scalp a little. I was choosing between the this and the Yanagiya collagen medicated hair essence, but ended up with this one. I tried it on today and it is extremely minty and tingling on the scalp. Great for the summer~ Needless to say though, this one really requires some testing out to review and give results. I will have to be patient to wait and see ^^

Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint Review

Along with the Lioele Beyond Solution BB Cream (see previous review), I also grabbed myself an Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint. This is a subtle, natural lip tint that's slightly liquid in consistency. Unlike the Benetint lip stain, this formula is not runny but slightly creamy, yet not to the extent of being a gloss. It comes in 3 different shades (#1 Cherry red, #2 Cherry pink, #3 Cherry peach), which I picked #3 in Cherry Peach. I find peachy pink colors to work best for my skin tone :).

The bottle may look orange, but fear not, the product is not that concentrated in color! There is 9.5g worth of product in the little bottle and lasts for a fair amount of time.

Shot of the applicator. The tint itself is a warm coral/peach pink and is slightly sheer when applied. The tint IS buildable, and the more you layer it, the more concentrated and vibrant the color. The tint comes with a fluffy doe foot applicator, which is a huge dilemma. While I love the soft texture and smooth application, the "foot" does end up absorbing most of the tint.

Photo is taken in natural lighting. Here you can see the extent of the tint's peachiness. Very warm and lovely, IMO :). The texture is very milky and gives a nice cooling sensation when applied, unlike regular lip gloss (I detest the gooey feeling of glosses, yuck).

Naked lips! Please excuse the huge, screen blocking godzilla pimple, it's a new semester and it's killing my skin right off the bat.

After applying one layer of the tint you can see, it gives off a very natural and subtle stain, and is very close to the advertised photos.

The photo was taken immediately after the application. But as time passes, the tint begins to sink into your lips and darken into a stain. I wanted to take a photo but my camera decided to kill itself :(.

Because my lips are often dry, I have a problem with most lip stains and tints. It tends to exaggerate the lines and dry areas. Sadly, the longer you have the tint on for, the drier it becomes, so it's a good idea to have lip balm handy. You can also finish it with a thin layer of gloss, but I rarely do that because I dislike the greasiness.

On the other hand, the staypower of this tint is incredible! The swatch I placed on my hand now leaves an inky stain that's almost impossible to rub off.

Because of its runny consistency, I've tried it as a cheek tint as well. And not surprisingly, it works really well! Great if you like a natural flush of color.

Summary:

Raves

- Milky, slightly creamy texture and gives off a cooling sensation
- Very natural tint that is buildable
- Nice staypower, even after eating
- Sweet, fruity scent that's very subtle
- Small, convenient bottle packaging makes it travel-worthy
- Can be used as a cheek tint :)

Rants

- A bit difficult to spread evenly due to its runniness, so fingers are needed to help spread evenly, this is partly because of the doe foot applicator and how absorbent it is
- A little drying, but can be fixed with a balm
- A little product doesn't exactly go a long way. Product won't last exceptionally long like Benetint because of the applicator and creamier consistency.

So all in all, the Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint deserves a 4/5. My next target is the Etude House Dear Darling Lip Tint in berry red. Hopefully I'll get my hands on it for a review. Thanks for reading! -3-

Lioele Beyond Solution BB Cream Review

First review, thought I'd bring up an eyecandy ;)

I'd call this BB cream an eyecandy because of the adorable pink, girly packaging. I have to admit it's one of the reasons I picked this over the infamous MISSHA. I purchased the Lioele Beyond Solution BB Cream from a South Korean seller on eBay. Buying cosmetics on eBay is quite risky as there are countless counterfeits that we need to watch out for, but we'll save the lecture for later blogs. But as far as I know, I have yet to see complaints on fake Lioele BB creams, so I can safely assume for now that they have not gotten to it yet!

So I purchased the Lioele BB Cream for approximately $14 USD with free shipping. IMO, I find the price to be acceptable because it is a 50ml package. I purchased this a few months back and can no longer find the outer package. So the picture features the tube itself in all its naked glory!

50ml

Packaging

pros:
- Super cute!
- comes in a hygienic pump
- Not too big and not too small

Cons:
- Pump doesn't allow user control of how much you want to squeeze out
- The cap is rather form-fitting to the nozzle, as you can see the cream tends to linger on the inside of the cap. Very messy :(

Swatches

Photos are taken under labeled lighting conditions. My hands are slightly darker because of the accidental summer tans. IMO, Lioele has a neutral mix of both pink and yellow undertones and doesn't exactly lean to either side. It is not as fair as some other BB creams I've tried, but once you spread it out, it does become lighter.

Spreading

Blended

The consistency of this BB cream is not too thick. It is slightly thicker than the consistency of lotions. It is also quite easy to blend.

As you can see, there is a very faint gray cast present with flash. But it is more of a "brightening" cast rather than a ghostly one like many other BB creams.

This BB cream gives a semi-matte finish. While I usually prefer dewy finishes, if you are one of those people who dislike being shiny with those micro-glitters, this is a good cream. Speaking of shiny, I find that the oil control of this BB cream is mediocre. I have oily t-zone which starts to reveal itself after 1-2 hours of application. It tends to make my t-zone oilier than it is.

Coverage-wise, I would say it is medium to heavy. It works to cover any blemishes, redness, and scars, so I can skip the concealer. What I dislike is the heavy, caked on effect it gives, which defeats the entire purpose of BB creams (for me anyway :p). That's why I like to mix in a dab of moisturizer to relieve the heavy feeling.

Summary:

Pros:
- Affordable price
- Pump package for hygiene
- Very good coverage
- Not too thick in consistency, creamy
- Easy to spread and blend
- Brightens and gives a healthy look

Cons:
- Pump nozzle makes a mess on the cap
- Can't really control how much you squeeze out
- Very cakey, heavy look
- The scent is slightly over-powering, and lingers for quite a while
- Oil control is mediocre
- Tends to oxidize and darken by the end of the day
- Others can notice that you have make-up on, because it is quite unnatural

So in summary, I don't think I will be buying this again. Mainly because of its unnatural and cakey finish, but also because I want to try others. If you are looking for a flawless looking finish from a distance or in photos, this may be the cream for you. But if you are looking for the natural, no-make up look, you may have to move on :(

Hopefully this helped you!