Review: Holika Holika Red Wine Therapy Sleeping Mask

Already getting behind on my posts! Today I will be reviewing a new mask I got in the mail from an eBay seller.



Holika Holika Red Wine Therapy Sleeping Mask



Cost: $21.99 (shipping included)
From: Seller bello-girl on eBay.

Click the jump to read more!




For the most part, Korean sellers ship their goods in boxes like these.


Bubble wrapped inside.


Came with two small bbCream samples and a note.


The note always says some variation of this and is usually on cute stationery with abundant hilarious Engrish. ;)


The box.


Inside.


There is a super cute little "wine cask" inside. It holds the product.


Bottom of the product.




You have to peal the seal!


The actual product inside is kinda...gelatinous. It's odd. If you pick up the container and shift it to one side as if you are going to spill it, the product will start to gradually, slowly, spill! It's nuts!


Comes with a scooper for hygienic purposes.


Here's what it looks like on my skin.

Pros:
- Spreadable and soft, nice texture.
- Cute packaging!
- My skin was softer the next day but I still had bad acne/oil when I woke up.

Cons:
- Smells kinda odd. Like grapes, only very artificial!
- Smell may bother your skin if it's sensitive.
- Texture may be too much for some.
- Doesn't really seem to do anything for my skin.
- Expensive for the size and had to ship from Korea on eBay. Some may not like this.

Overall thoughts: I doubt I'd buy this again. Like I said, it made my skin softer, but I didn't notice anything else. It claims to have some kind of dead skin cell removing properties but I can't verify that. It's also supposedly good for anti aging so if your skin is pretty dry/mature, I'd recommend this product for you. Also I have only tried it out for like 2 days now and no results yet so you MIGHT have to use it for over a week or month to see results!

Product Review: Baviphat Peach Peeling Gel

OMG my 100th post! ^____^





Ahhh Baviphat Peach Peeling Gel! One of my FAVORITE products ever made!

Cost: $12.99
Purchased from: Seller bello-girl on eBay.

Click the Jump below to read more! I also just uploaded a video on how to use it!




So yeah. Peach peeling gel. Smells like amazing fresh peaches and glides on your skin so smooth. And then...? You rub it in! It balls up and grabs dirt off your face. At first I was a bit confused by this, not gonna lie. Because, damn, it's not like a US peeling mask. When I hear of "peeling gel" I think of something that you smear on your face and wait 20 mins or so and then it hardens/dries a little and you rip it off to remove dead skin cells, blackheads, and other nastiness. Well not this stuff! When I first opened the jar, I thought it was expired! But it wasn't! (Also FYI Korean manufacturers tend to stamp the date the product was produced on on the side of the jar. So what you're seeing is NOT an expired product, just when it was made!)

But I grew to love this stuff so much that this is now my 2nd jar! xD


Here's what it looks like when you unscrew the lid.


The gel.


Close-up. The crappy lighting in my bathroom makes this look yellowish but in reality it's CLEAR and smells lightly of real and very juicy peaches! No artificial smell!


The mini spoon is very handy for getting your product out of the jar without needing to stick your fingers in to contaminate it.


This is what the product looks like on my hand.


I know this photo looks gross but it's a really good example of how to use the product. You keep rubbing it into your skin and eventually it balls up and looks dirty. That's a GOOD thing, it means that you are getting all of the dirt, filth, pollution, etc., off of your face!! :) I guess my hands were kind of dirty, haha.


Eek! Bare face with no makeup! ;) This is what my face looked like after I used the product and then rinsed it off. It seems brighter and clearer and definitely smooth! My skin also smelled of fresh peaches for a half an hour or so after using the product. It's such a nice smell! But if you don't like peaches, stay away!



In summation...

Pros
-Very refreshing.
-Smells amazing!
-Clears acne if you use it continuously.
-You can visibly see the dirt coming off which is great because you know the product is working!
-Leaves skin smooooth!

Cons
-Not sure how this works on dry skin. It might be too drying.
-Jar takes up a lot of space!
-Can be messy, lol.
-Scented like peaches. You may either hate smell of peaches, or your skin might be sensitive to scented products. I have noticed many Korean-made cosmetics are scented!
-Had to buy it on eBay so it was pricey!

How to use video:



Final word: Yes, I would buy this again. In fact this is my SECOND jar of the stuff because I went through all of a first one! xD I think this comes in Apple scented too in case you hate peach. It does the same thing only it smells like Apples!

Skin79 BB Cream Swatches

Purchased from eBay seller bigclothcraft for $16.90 including shipping. The auction came with both sets. Also came with some Skin79 BB Cleanser samples!

Click jump to see more!






As you can see this is what the sample sized tubes look like in their boxes.

I did a swatch of each one on my hand below, and the order that the swatches are in corresponds to the order the creams are swatched in.




For some reason even though I rotated the image, it is not cooperating with me. >_<;;
So from TOP to BOTTOM, the swatches correspond with the way I have lined up the bottles above.
The first swatch you see on top is corresponding to the GOLD tube (Super BB) and the bottom swatch corresponds to the SILVER tube (Diamond Pearl BB.)

Have I tried these on my face yet, I am sure is the next question? ;)

Well I have been slowly trying them and I think I have tried *almost* each cream. I actually used to have a tube of the pink Skin79 original BB Cream and I honestly did not like it that much. It had too much of a grey undertone.

Based on the swatch alone on my skin tone, I would say that the two pinkish tubes in the middle look the best on me. ("The Oriental" and "The Prestige.") But nothing about any of these gives me excitement. I did wear the pearl one the other day (silver tube) and I looked SO ridiculous in natural light. @___@; It looked like I had been sweating or had a really greasy/oily face because of all the shine the pearl gave me. I don't think shimmering pearl BB Creams or Foundations or even Tinted Moisturizers (Eyeko Glow Cream, I'm lookin' at you!) look that great on me, sadly. It just causes me to look sweaty, maybe I am using too much? LOL. I guess I could always MIX these BB Creams to get the best result but that's a little crazy, huh? Hehe.

All in all, I wouldn't bother purchasing again, since the point was to try small ones before getting a big one. I have some doubles now, of course, but I might give those to my friends or send them to people who read my blog if you are interested in trying them. Just pay the postage fee and I will send you a tube! ^_^


....Annnnd I leave you with a pic of my makeup from last night! xD Even though a shitty one...my camera and bedroom lighting were a lethal combo... ;___;



I was reading The Hunger Games all freaking day yesterday, practically, and so at night I somehow managed to put the book down and go out with my friends. I wore gyaru even though they aren't gyaru and didn't know what it was probably but hey whatever! It was fun though. :)

Review: Holika Holika Peach Girl BB Cream

Holika Holika Peach Girl BB Cream

Purchased from eBay seller: cosmeticmarket2012 (same place I got my Tony Moly Milk Latte Pack from.)

It cost $13.59 including shipping from Korea and it took about 10 days to get here. Also I got some awesome free samples with my purchase!



As I mentioned before, Holika Holika is one of my favorite brands from Korea because of their innovative products, and super cute packaging. But will the products work? That was my big question. Because even if the products seem new and interesting and the packaging is uber cute, well, the product will be useless to me unless it works!! It will end up in the bottom of my makeup stash...the darkest, deepest reaches... hehe.

So I saw a blog review of Peach Girl BB Cream by Holika Holika and decided I had to try it, as I was running low on my Baviphat BB Cream which I will definitely need to review soon as it's my favorite and most used BB Cream!



Click the jump below to read more.



What do I love most about this BB Cream? It's probably the fact that it's a two in one! The cap unscrews and then opens up to reveal a miniature mirror inside, and a lovely peachy pink colored cream blush/lipgloss!



Sorry for the bad lighting, btw.



It's a really lovely color. It has the consistency of Urban Decay Cream blushes, if you've ever tried those before. Here is a swatch of the cream blush on my hand:



And here is a photo of me wearing both the BB Cream and the blush over top of my Tony Moly primer from the last post (the Milk Tea pack.)


Sorry for my derpy face! @____@; my hair was not cooperating that day either lol.

Annnd I decided to compare it to two other BB Creams I have and enjoy:


(L to R: Holika Holika Clearing BB Cream, Baviphat Magic Girls Fresh for Oily Skin BB Cream, and Holika Holika Peach Girl BB Cream.)

Swatches:

As you can see the Peach Girl creams is a bit lighter...maybe I should have tried 02? The Baviphat cream is my all time favorite, and I think the Clearing one is my second favorite.

Anyyyway! To sum things up... here is what I like and do not like about the BB Cream and Blush:

BB Cream
- very spreadable, smooth, great texture
- too light for my skin! it comes in two shades, 01 and 02, and I decided to get 01 because the swatches I saw online of the 02 looked too dark for me.
- smells nice! (but again not good for those who are sensitive to smells. it's kind of a mild artificial perfumey peach smell ...I personally prefer the smell of the Baviphat BB Cream better.)
- when it dries/oxidizes it has a very odd matte/powdery feel to it even if I am not using a setting powder over top of it. so yeah... kinda...weird. @___@;
- not as spreadable unless you use a primer underneath

Cheek/Lip Cream:
- love the little mirror it comes with and the fact that it's built into the cap for portability
- kind of greasy and hard to apply, had to use fingers
- long lasting, especially if you set it with powder!
- also has a nice scent
- gorgeous, gorgeous color! looks great on my fair skin and would look good on other types of skin tone too
- even though it claims you can use it on your lips, I tried it and looked really nasty and clumpy, so I would avoid using it on your lips!!
- it's build-able so you can go sheer or darker depending on how much you apply!

All in all, I'd give the BB Cream 3.5/5 stars, and the blush 4/5 stars. I doubt I'd buy it again mostly because I have so many other BB Creams I would like to cross of my list of trying, but this one isn't bad, it probably won't be my go-to cream except for in the wintertime when I am already uber pale or when I need to look lighter. (?!)

Thanks for reading and I hope this review was useful to someone! :)
More reviews to come soon!!!

***Disclaimer: I never receive products from companies to review. All of the products you see on my blog are 100% purchased by me, the cosmetic maniac for my own personal reviewing pleasure and satisfaction, hehe. If a company does send me something, I will note that on the review. ;) These opinions are mine and mine only, no one has paid me to say things!***

Review: Tony Moly Latte Milk

Tony Moly Latte Art Milk-Tea Morning Pack



Purchased from: eBay Seller cosmeticmarket2012



Click the jump below to read the full review.



OK now. Isn't this thing so darn cute? Admittedly I purchased it because I was intrigued about the packaging. I read a few reviews first before buying, though, of course! ;)

My initial thought was...how in the *bleep* do I use this thing?! Seriously. It's soo weird looking! Thankfully I found this uber-helpful review on Youtube:



The video explains that the little creamer container is a whitening pack that you can opt to mix into the product. Now to be honest, I am already pretty darned pale even in the summertime, so I was thinking I probably shouldn't use it, but I was worried the product wouldn't have the right consistency if I didn't add it...so guess what?



If you guessed I mixed it in, you are correct!



I stirred mine in. xD I feel a little silly doing this and I asked my boyfriend, Sean, to take some photos of me doing it hehe.


Here is a photo of the product on my hand. Looks kinda like....ehhh..uhhh...I'm not going to go there! >_<;; lol. it does spread kind of oddly, though. It's REALLY wet and slippery feeling! I have a suspicion that they used far too much silicone in this formula. Dimethicone is one of the listed ingredients.



So I tried wearing this stuff underneath my BB Cream for a day to see the effect. Overall, I will say the following:

- It makes a REALLY excellent "canvass" to spread your BB Cream onto. Seriously, my BB Cream was SO easy to spread around on my face and it looked very nice and even.
- Smells nice (though some might be too sensitive to the smell!)
- Texture is kind of weird though, as I noted above. It's very slippery and wet feeling.
- It takes a few minutes to dry on your face before you can apply your BB Cream. You have to wait to apply it or else it will be all weird and goopy and you will have to wash your face and begin again. >_<;
- Cute packaging, which is what enticed me to buy it.
- Downside is that you can only buy it on eBay unless you live in Korea

Price was $13.99 including shipping from Korea and it took about 10 days to reach me. Not bad!

Overall, I am not sure if I'd buy it again or not mostly because there is TONS of product in the jar and a little goes a long way. But every so often I encounter a really amazing product that I end up buying a second jar of it (for instance, Baviphat Fresh for Oily Skin BB Cream, or the Baviphat Peach Peeling Gel Pack.) But there is a Holika Holika Silky Veil Primer that I want to try too as I have heard very good things about it. So I will continue to use this for some months and see how it ends up.

Compared to my Stila primer, this stuff DOES last all day and as a plus, even though it was starting to fade by the end of the day (My BB Cream that is) it still kept my face from being super oily. It has a mattefying effect which I love because I have oily oily skin.

More photos in my album here.

Hope that review was somewhat helpful to you guys! :) My next review is coming soon!


***Disclaimer: I never receive products from companies to review. All of the products you see on my blog are 100% purchased by me, the cosmetic maniac for my own personal reviewing pleasure and satisfaction, hehe. If a company does send me something, I will note that on the review. ;) These opinions are mine and mine only, no one has paid me to say things!***

http://baviphat.com.sg---Is it a scam?

Ugh. So. I placed an order on May 10th on this website: http://baviphat.com.sg/ because it sounded like an amazingly good deal. Well if things SOUND too good to be true, they probably are. And I think I am starting to discover that. I ordered about $38 worth of stuff. I got about 15 or so items because their prices are SO cheap. On eBay $38 would maaaybe get me two items shipped to the USA and that's it. Ugh. So naturally I was like "wow what a good deal!" But of course, too good to be true.

At least they've been in contact with me. They told me it would take 2 WEEKS to get my items from Korea to their office in Singapore. Which is ridiculous IMHO but maybe that's really how long it takes.

But my REAL beef with them lies in the fact that no where on their sketchy-looking website does it mention that it is going to take over 2 weeks to get my stuff. I could understand that the international mail taking a while because I DID just order some Holika Holika bb cream from eBay and it was from a Korean seller and it DID take about 10 days to reach me which is barely even 1 week let alone 2.

I smell trouble.

I told "Celine" their e-mail rep to cancel my order and refund me all of my money via Paypal. I really hope she does. Because I am too stressed out to deal with this crap now. And I guess if they don't, and I still haven't received my items after 45 days, I am going to freak out and do a Paypal claim.

I mean, it would *have* to be legit otherwise Paypal wouldn't be a payment method, would it? Unless they scam people by making up fake tracking numbers? But I doubt it would fly. Seeing as someone tried that on me before and it failed pretty hard. (I'm looking at you, Artka shop on Artfire.com. lol.)

Well, anyway, if she refuses to cancel my order I will assume it's a scam. But even if she refunds my money, I am going to still feel that there is something fishy about it. Maybe I should have only ordered 1 cheap item instead of like 15 things to test the water .... yeeeah not my style apparently, gaah!


Well anyway, fingers crossed! I am loving my new bb creams so hopefully reviews soon. I work 8 hours a day though so by the time I get home, I am so exhausted. BAH! I thought this would be better than school, hehe.

Holika Holika Korean Makeup Brand

OMG. I couldn't not blog about this!!

http://www.makeupstash.com/2011/05/holika-holika-in-singapore.html
It's as if the anime Soul Eater came out with make-up. No, really! Haha.

Why am I such a sucker for cute product packaging?!



I want to try their products now...unnnnff. *temporary eBay retail therapy inbetween exam studying*

xD






Holy crap! @___@;;