Hey cutie,

School has been bombarding me with work so I haven't found time to get around to writing this post but I am today!  I just wanted to haul my "recent" purchases.  I bought these about a month ago and have had a fair amount of time to test each product out.

L'oreal Infallible Pro-Last Lipcolor in Neverending Nutmeg
I was anticipating getting this specific colour because many people claim it as a "dupe" for Limecrime's Cashmere.  If you look at swatches, they're not exactly dupes, but it's close enough that it made me excited.  The colour itself looks great on my lips; the cool-toned taupeness of it is right up my ally, however I really do not enjoy this formula.  It's one of those "2-step" lip lacquer lipcolours where you apply the colour first, wait for it to dry, and then apply a gloss on top to get rid of the tackiness.  It's similar to the Rimmel Provocalips however I find the L'oreal one flakes super easily and settles into fine lines.  After drinking with it on, the colour on the inner portion of my lips started to peel off in chunks and it's not cute.  So much for long lasting.

Sephora Collection Colorful Face Powder in Tranquil
I'm always on a hunt for a good cool toned contour powder and I think I've hit the jackpot.  Sephora came out for a whole blush collection that includes highlight and contour shades.  Tranquil is a straight up grey-taupe cool toned contour shade that's perfect for pale-light skin.  It's not too crazy pigmented that it'll make you look like you over-did your contour, but it's also not too sheer where it's not buildable.  I especially love it for a natural nose contour.

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Plum Wine
I've been avoiding this bandwagon for quite some time but when I found myself in search for a drugstore cream blush, I kicked myself in the butt and bought this.  The 'bouncy' concept to me is still a little useless/I don't really get it, but the product actually works really well.  Since it's such a dark colour, it's super pigmented and I only need a tiny amount to give myself a nice flush on my cheeks.  I love that you can use this with both your fingers and a brush, making it ideal for traveling if you don't want to carry too many brushes around.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush
What can I say?  Real Techniques just has great brushes.  I was lucky enough to snag this stippling brush (they are always sold out!).  I use it to apply my foundations; it's great to have multiple brushes just so you don't have to keep washing the same one every single day. 

MAC Velvet Teddy Lipstick
I finally found my MLBB!  This colour matches my lips so well and it's matte.  I tell you enough how much I love this lipstick.  It's my every day to-go lip colour. 

MAC Nylon and Omega Eyeshadow
I was looking to get Nylon for an inner corner highlight for a while now and got suckered into getting Omega as well.  Omega is a good cool toned transition shade for your crease and I find myself using it every time I do my eyeshadow.

Labels: blush, brushes, contour, eyeshadow, haul, lipstick, loreal, mac, maybelline, real techniques, sephora

Heya cuties,

So I'm finally writing a review on the Kat Von D Spellbinding Eyeshadow Book!  Spoiler alert, let me just say this now, I am in love with this.

I adore Kat Von D a lot.  As an artist and just a rad girl all around, she's one of the people that I idolize and sometimes I look at her and I think to myself, 'damn I wish I was her'.  My cousin went to her shop to get a tattoo and met Kat and said that Kat is one of the nicest and most humble people she has ever met.  I really appreciate that about her.  Her being an art-based person really gives me a deeper connection because I'm also an art-based person so I know whatever she comes out with is really artsy. 



So let's talk about packaging because you can't mention Kat Von D and not talk about packaging.  One thing that I love about this pallet is that the illustrations and designs for her products are all personally drawn by her.  The drawing on the front of the pallet alone is just so beautiful, isn't it?  Her style is definitely right up my ally.  This is the front of the box it comes in, but the pallet is the exact same thing but with a black boarder.  The back (on the box), features all the colours in a grid.


What's different about the pack on the actual pallet is that this has a "chart" that shows colour combinations you could do.  I think one of the main points of these shadows are that you could mix two shadows together and it'll form a completely different shade. 

How to use: Each set of shades are paired together to create perfect layered looks.  Apply "Geek" on lids, then blend "Fallen" on top for a bronzed peach shadow.  For a completely different look, apply "Fallen" on the lids, then blend "Geek" on top for a perfect golden shadow.

This is what it looks like when you first open it up.  There are three diagrams of three different looks you can try out.  There's also a clear film over the top of the shadows with their names printed on top.  I find that this is a little bit annoying to hold back when you're trying to use the shadows, but I guess it is helpful for not getting shadow all over the top of the lid.


Here's an overview of all the names.  The ones with a star next to the names are "never before seen" shades.  As you can see, there are quite a few of this some it makes getting this pallet really worth it since there wouldn't be too many repeats of other shadows you might already have. 

At first glance, my favourite shades were Oddfellow (black with teal glitter), Queen (a redish brown-green duo chrome), Wonderland (dark plum with pink glitter), and WTF (bright red with purple-ish undertone).  After using this pallet for a while, the colour that I grew to love was Smile Now because it looks like an orange-peach colour but when applied on the lids, it actually has a pink duo-chrome action going on.  I really like this as an inner corner highlight because when the light hits it in an angle, it's pink.


This is definitely a pretty colourful pallet, but I think it's very good for someone who is just starting to use brighter colours, like I am.  I'm not all for the full-on-bright-colours-all-over-the-eyes but I like a hint of colour here and there or different tones of neutral-ish colours.  For example, sometimes I use a red-ish shade like Stupid Audocorrect in my crease as a transition shade instead of a standard taupe or brown.  Or sometimes I use a combination of the greener shades like Gunner and Hexagram with a golden shade to highlight like Sunset Blvd or Precious.  Hexagram is an olive-green type shade that is a little more neutral than a straight up green so it's easy to work with without making your eyes look like a rainbow of colours, while Gunner is a very saturated green to give it that pop of colour.  The one shade I haven't really used is Bukowski, which is that one bright blue on the bottom, only because I really don't rock blue very well without looking like a hooker.  I have one other bright blue shadow in my collection and I don't even use that one either so I don't know how I'm going to use this one.

The texture of these shadows are super buttery smooth.  Just swatching them with my fingertips felt like a dream because they were just so soft.  The pigmentation is excellent, but I would use an eyeshadow primer under them just so the colours are as pigmented as they can be and to ensure they last all day and don't crease.  In terms of fallout, the darker colours, especially the ones with glitter, tend to have a bit of fallout.  It's not a crazy amount, but I'm assuming you tap off the extra on your brush before applying like you should be doing.  Speaking of tapping off the excess, when you do so, you'll see that a ton of it comes off of the brush.  I think due to how soft and finely milled these shadows seem to be, this translates to a lot of potential fallout.  Having said that, I would imagine that this means you will use up these shadows pretty quickly if half of it is fall out that you can't press back into the shadow.  That's just loose powder being blown everywhere!  That's something you should keep in mind.

Another thing I want to mention is that the golden shades, Precious and Sunset Blvd (especially Precious), seem a bit powdery.  It's almost hard to get them on the lid without packing them on a ton.

The thing that I love most like I've mention before is that a lot of these shadows seem to be duo-chrome (which I've always love love LOVED) and what makes them so special is that you can layer them to get a different shade!  Now, I'm not talking about like mixing a blue and a green will give you an orange (that's not even possible to begin with), but something like Birdcage and Gunner layered on top of each other makes a grassy-lime green.  This also means that blending these colours into each other is a breeze because the overlap will be an automatic transition colour!  Honestly, I think this is really what makes this pallet so unique. 

I got this eyeshadow book as a birthday present this year but I know Sephora sold it for around $55 or so.  I'm not sure if they still sell it now because I don't see it on the Sephora website anymore but if you really want to pick this up, try walking into the store to see if it's there and if not, maybe eBay will be your next best bet.

Rating: ★★★★☆  4/5

I really want to give this a perfect score but as reviewed, there are some cons to this pallet so I cannot give it 5/5.  Although I has quickly became one of my favourites, next to the Naked 2 pallet.  This is my first ever Kat Von D cosmetic item and it has definitely given me an excellent impression on the quality of her products.  I'm curious and excited to try out a few of her items in the future!

Labels: cosmetics, eyeshadow, kat von d, makeup, review

The holidays are around the corner and the year is coming to a close end.  That means it's time for a new wishlist of the year :)  Here are some of the makeup items that I've had my eyes on for the whole entire year.  Most of these are cult favourites.  It would be nice to get even one of these items on this list!  What are your makeup wishlist items?



Dolce & Gabbana Blush - Tan
This is a recommendation from my favourite Youtuber HeyClaire.  She uses this to contour her face and I just love the way it looks.  It's a cool toned bronzer colour, which fits my undertone so much better than all the warm orange bronzers out there.  She also recommended NYX's blush in Taupe as a similar (but not quite) dupe, which I absolutely love and is what I'm using now.  I'd love to upgrade to a higher quality version of it, so this is definitely something I want!

Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzer
Ah yes, another bronzer.  I love contouring and I've heard a lot of great things about this one.  I think this would be a good summer time one as it is slightly warmer than the D&G one.  This would be second on my list of most wanted bronzers if I wouldn't have my first pick.

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Lolita
Ahhh, look at that packaging!!!  I must admit, I mostly want this lipstick for the packaging and the name; Lolita.  But, I am on the hunt for the perfect mauve/MLBB shade and people have said this is very promising.  I'd definitely have to go in person to test it out and it's not something I would blindly buy online.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light
This product has been talked about a lot during the beginning of the year and it has caught my attention.  I'm a big contour and highlight girl as both are part of my daily makeup routine and I want a really good quality cool/pink toned highlighter that makes it look like I'm glowing within!

Fresh Sugar Lychee Perfume
If I were to be turned into a scent and bottled up, this is exactly what I'd smell like.  I always go into Sephora whenever I can to spray myself down with this, and I've even gotten several samples of it.  It's just too pricey for me to splurge on right now!

MAC lipstick in Cyber
This.  This lipstick is the lipstick.  I love dark vampy lips, and this is the one that I need in my life.  Some people are scared of dark lips but not me.  I say, the darker the better.  Wet n Wild's Vamp It Up which is a close dupe to Cyber and I loveeeee the colour.  The only problem with Vamp It Up is that it's extremely patchy!  I want a good quality lipstick that will give me an even opaque application and that's where Cyber comes in.

Sigma Essential Kit - Mrs. Bunny
Everyone needs a good set of brushes and these have been well known to be some of the best brushes out there.  It's important to have a set of essential brushes to make your makeup application that much more professional and easier!


Lorac Pro Palette 2 
The first pro palette didn't really catch my attention because it seemed like there were a lot of warm tones which I am not drawn to.  But the pro palette 2?  This is filled with way more cool toned shadows which I love and really want to get my hands on!  The shade I'm most excited for is that plum matte shade!



Disclaimer: None of these photos are taken by me.

Labels: bronzer, brushes, cosmetics, eyeshadow, highlighter, lipstick, makeup, perfume, sephora, wishlist

*I wrote this a while ago when him and I were still together so excuse me for mentioning him so often throughout this post.

Heya, cuties!

So back during the summer time, my boyfriend Charming went over to Asia and he brought me back a couple of Etude House items, this one being one of them!  He said the sales lady over there suggested this and it was the "best selling product" at the time.  It's the Etude House Dear My Blooming Eyes in OR203 Mesmerizing Orange palette.







Inside, there are four colours.  A light brown, white, red-ish pink, and orange.  I was most excited for the orange colour because it was the summer time and I've never owned an orange eyeshadow before.  (I was really into the orange lip trend at the time, so orange eyeshadow was the cherry on top).  There are two sponge applicators, and a mirror.

So let's talk about the texture of these first.  I've seen other reviews on this product and most people describe them as "soft and silky" which I would agree, they are.  However, if you're expect highly pigmented, buttery, matte colours, you'll be thoroughly disappointed, just as I am.  (I feel extra horrible because it's a gift from Charming ;-;  I blame the sales person lady!)

Going into these colours, I saw that they are loaded with shimmer and glitter.  I guess that's a thing over in Asia, but personally, I like more matte and satin finishes.  However, that didn't discourage me from trying the orange and pink colour, which were the ones I was most curious about.

Pink:  It's a red-pinky colour, one that I don't already own.  I thought I could use this colour to do really cool looks with, but I was disappointed when I applied it on my eyes.  In the pan, it looks so pretty and nice, but the colour hardly shows on your lid.  I used a primer and everything!  You really have to pack the colour on to get some what of a colour to show, and it's again, loaded with glitter so beware of fall out.

Orange:  Here it was, the colour I've been looking forward to the most.  Swatching it on my finger, it didn't seem too bad.  After swatching the others, I couldn't expect much from it anyway.  This colour is the least shimmery, and had the most colour payoff.  But keep in mind, that doesn't mean it's anywhere near highly pigmented; it just means it's better than the other three.  I managed to apply the shadow on my eye with a primer and got some colour out of it.  I guess the lack of pigmentation kind of works for this shadow because I wouldn't want a stark orange on my eye, anyway.  It allows you to make soft natural looks, which is good for the spring and summer or a more subtle eye look.

Brown:  I'm not really sure what to say about this colour.  It's a warm light brown and it's full of glitter.  Don't try to use this in your crease like the diagram suggests, unless you're purposely looking to make a trail of glitter chunks in your crease.

White:  Oh, what good can I say about this one?  Nothing.  Nothing is good about this shadow.  In fact, I actually hate this shadow!  It looks pretty in the pan right?  Don't let it fool you!  When swatched, it's flaky and goes all over the place.  When applied to the eye, it is LITERALLY GLITTER.  The white colour completely disappears!  You're literally applying glitter chunks on your eye!  At least the brown had some brown colour with it.  This one doesn't have any colour pay off what so ever.  You're better off using a glitter liner because this is the powder form of that, except it's hard to apply and control where it falls.  Just don't even touch this colour, okay?



As you can see (or not see) from my swatches, these colours barely show up.  And this is even after I swatch with all my might.  I'm surprised the white swatched out here, because it looks totally different when you apply it to the eye.  Then again, I packed the shadow on for these swatches.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆  1/5

I wanted to love this product because it was a gift from Charming, but it just blows ;-; The only okay shadow would be the orange, but that's a 1/4.  The packaging is cute so I just let it sit out on my table for decoration, but I think that's all it will ever be for me.  Occasionally, I'll reach for the orange and maybe pink, but that's about all this could do for me.  Oh, and I usually use tape to get rid of all the glitter it produces on my eyes and face when I use it.  That kind of tones it down...

I'm starting to think the sales lady lied because why would anyone buy this product, let alone it being the best selling during the summer time?  Maybe I'm just not the target audience.  I can't rule out that perhaps people over in Asia really enjoy shadows like this.  Personally, this does not do anything for me.  Sorry, Etude House.  This is a bad product for me.

Labels: cosmetics, etude house, eyeshadow, korean, makeup, review

Hello cuties,

I hope everyone is doing well.  I've been a little better, but you know how things go.  Life is sometimes such a struggle, isn't it?  But we will all make it through eventually :)  I hope everyone enjoyed the eye tutorial I posted a couple of days ago.  I had fun doing it and I look forward to doing more in the future.

I never got to do a birthday haul, so here's what I got beauty wise!  My friends are the best and really know how to treat me^^


I was gifted the Kat Von D Spellbinding Eyeshadow book, The Face Shop's Floral Water Mist, and the Mild Papaya Peeling Gel.  I will have tutorials for all of these items as well!  So far, I love all of these products, especially the eyeshadow book.  The colours are amazing!  A big THANK YOU to all my friends for gifting me these presents.

Yesterday, I went to the drugstore and picked up some things that were on sale.  I was feeling a bit sad but once started picking up items in the store, I felt a lot better ;)  Retail therapy is seriously a girl's best solution, don't you think?


So I picked up some nail stuff and a lipstick I've been wanting for a while.  One thing that you must know about me is that I love matte.  All matte everything.  I don't know what it is about it that I love so much, but I've always loved matte things.  (Matte cars, matte eyeshadows, matte printing paper)  What's better than a matte red lip and matte nails?  NOTHING, that's what!  Also, I saw this mini nail kit on sale so I figured I'd pick it up and see if it's any good.  I've never heard of this "Witchcraft" brand and when I tried to Google this set for a review, nothing popped up.  So I'll surely be doing a review on it once I've used it a couple of times.  Come to think of it, I've never really put that much effort in taking care of my nails, but I have been lately.  I'm totally okay with that.

I celebrated my birthday a couple of days after because it landed in the middle of the week.  Everyone was too busy on a Wednesday night, so we all went to karaoke on the Saturday of.  We drank and sang our hearts out which was much needed for me.  I really enjoyed the night and got quite tipsy.


Half the group had to leave early so the rest of us went to get food and more alcohol.  If you can't tell, I absolutely love to drink.  Need a drinking partner?  Right here, baby!



This week has been a very design-filled week for me. Projects were due and my design textbooks came in.  Have you ever seen someone so excited for textbooks?  They're quite pretty, aren't they?  I was more excited for the HTML&CSS one more than the research one (which was the mandatory one), but you know. 



I spent the rest of the day in bed watching a movie while devouring a Whopper, and doing some sketching.  Sometimes it's so nice to get lost in some art.  It's something that I don't do often enough.  But I guess that's a good thing because when I do, it's a very refreshing feeling.




Today, I went to the bookstore because my brother needed to pick up a book for school.  He chose Oliver Twist, and I really liked the design of the cover.  There goes my design side of me again, huh?  Like I said, it has been a design-filled week for me and I'm loving every bit of it.

Exploring the bookstore really made me want to pick up a bunch of books and read them all.  I really want to find a good sappy romance book, so if there's any recommendations out there, send it my way!  Please nothing that is already made into a movie or is going to be made into a movie, because there's a high chance that I'll just watch the movie instead of reading the book.  I saw books like The Fault In Our Stars, The Notebook, Dear John, etc.  As much as I love those stories (and these are the type of romance books I'm aiming for!), I've already or will see the movie so there's no point in me reading the book.




I also finally picked up a portable charger.  I've wanted one for soooo long and Charming was going to give me one but you know, situations, and such.  So, I just went and bought one for myself and I'm glad I did.  It has 5200mAh and two outputs so you can charge two devices at once.  It also comes with several adapters for Apple, Samsung, and Sony products, and also two sizes of USB plugs.

Labels: charming, cosmetics, eyeshadow, food, gift, kat von d, life, lipstick, makeup, nail polish, personal, sally hansen, skincare, thefaceshop

Hey cutie,

School has been bombarding me with work so I haven't found time to get around to writing this post but I am today!  I just wanted to haul my "recent" purchases.  I bought these about a month ago and have had a fair amount of time to test each product out.

L'oreal Infallible Pro-Last Lipcolor in Neverending Nutmeg
I was anticipating getting this specific colour because many people claim it as a "dupe" for Limecrime's Cashmere.  If you look at swatches, they're not exactly dupes, but it's close enough that it made me excited.  The colour itself looks great on my lips; the cool-toned taupeness of it is right up my ally, however I really do not enjoy this formula.  It's one of those "2-step" lip lacquer lipcolours where you apply the colour first, wait for it to dry, and then apply a gloss on top to get rid of the tackiness.  It's similar to the Rimmel Provocalips however I find the L'oreal one flakes super easily and settles into fine lines.  After drinking with it on, the colour on the inner portion of my lips started to peel off in chunks and it's not cute.  So much for long lasting.

Sephora Collection Colorful Face Powder in Tranquil
I'm always on a hunt for a good cool toned contour powder and I think I've hit the jackpot.  Sephora came out for a whole blush collection that includes highlight and contour shades.  Tranquil is a straight up grey-taupe cool toned contour shade that's perfect for pale-light skin.  It's not too crazy pigmented that it'll make you look like you over-did your contour, but it's also not too sheer where it's not buildable.  I especially love it for a natural nose contour.

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Plum Wine
I've been avoiding this bandwagon for quite some time but when I found myself in search for a drugstore cream blush, I kicked myself in the butt and bought this.  The 'bouncy' concept to me is still a little useless/I don't really get it, but the product actually works really well.  Since it's such a dark colour, it's super pigmented and I only need a tiny amount to give myself a nice flush on my cheeks.  I love that you can use this with both your fingers and a brush, making it ideal for traveling if you don't want to carry too many brushes around.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush
What can I say?  Real Techniques just has great brushes.  I was lucky enough to snag this stippling brush (they are always sold out!).  I use it to apply my foundations; it's great to have multiple brushes just so you don't have to keep washing the same one every single day. 

MAC Velvet Teddy Lipstick
I finally found my MLBB!  This colour matches my lips so well and it's matte.  I tell you enough how much I love this lipstick.  It's my every day to-go lip colour. 

MAC Nylon and Omega Eyeshadow
I was looking to get Nylon for an inner corner highlight for a while now and got suckered into getting Omega as well.  Omega is a good cool toned transition shade for your crease and I find myself using it every time I do my eyeshadow.

Labels: blush, brushes, contour, eyeshadow, haul, lipstick, loreal, mac, maybelline, real techniques, sephora

Heya cuties,

So I'm finally writing a review on the Kat Von D Spellbinding Eyeshadow Book!  Spoiler alert, let me just say this now, I am in love with this.

I adore Kat Von D a lot.  As an artist and just a rad girl all around, she's one of the people that I idolize and sometimes I look at her and I think to myself, 'damn I wish I was her'.  My cousin went to her shop to get a tattoo and met Kat and said that Kat is one of the nicest and most humble people she has ever met.  I really appreciate that about her.  Her being an art-based person really gives me a deeper connection because I'm also an art-based person so I know whatever she comes out with is really artsy. 



So let's talk about packaging because you can't mention Kat Von D and not talk about packaging.  One thing that I love about this pallet is that the illustrations and designs for her products are all personally drawn by her.  The drawing on the front of the pallet alone is just so beautiful, isn't it?  Her style is definitely right up my ally.  This is the front of the box it comes in, but the pallet is the exact same thing but with a black boarder.  The back (on the box), features all the colours in a grid.


What's different about the pack on the actual pallet is that this has a "chart" that shows colour combinations you could do.  I think one of the main points of these shadows are that you could mix two shadows together and it'll form a completely different shade. 

How to use: Each set of shades are paired together to create perfect layered looks.  Apply "Geek" on lids, then blend "Fallen" on top for a bronzed peach shadow.  For a completely different look, apply "Fallen" on the lids, then blend "Geek" on top for a perfect golden shadow.

This is what it looks like when you first open it up.  There are three diagrams of three different looks you can try out.  There's also a clear film over the top of the shadows with their names printed on top.  I find that this is a little bit annoying to hold back when you're trying to use the shadows, but I guess it is helpful for not getting shadow all over the top of the lid.


Here's an overview of all the names.  The ones with a star next to the names are "never before seen" shades.  As you can see, there are quite a few of this some it makes getting this pallet really worth it since there wouldn't be too many repeats of other shadows you might already have. 

At first glance, my favourite shades were Oddfellow (black with teal glitter), Queen (a redish brown-green duo chrome), Wonderland (dark plum with pink glitter), and WTF (bright red with purple-ish undertone).  After using this pallet for a while, the colour that I grew to love was Smile Now because it looks like an orange-peach colour but when applied on the lids, it actually has a pink duo-chrome action going on.  I really like this as an inner corner highlight because when the light hits it in an angle, it's pink.


This is definitely a pretty colourful pallet, but I think it's very good for someone who is just starting to use brighter colours, like I am.  I'm not all for the full-on-bright-colours-all-over-the-eyes but I like a hint of colour here and there or different tones of neutral-ish colours.  For example, sometimes I use a red-ish shade like Stupid Audocorrect in my crease as a transition shade instead of a standard taupe or brown.  Or sometimes I use a combination of the greener shades like Gunner and Hexagram with a golden shade to highlight like Sunset Blvd or Precious.  Hexagram is an olive-green type shade that is a little more neutral than a straight up green so it's easy to work with without making your eyes look like a rainbow of colours, while Gunner is a very saturated green to give it that pop of colour.  The one shade I haven't really used is Bukowski, which is that one bright blue on the bottom, only because I really don't rock blue very well without looking like a hooker.  I have one other bright blue shadow in my collection and I don't even use that one either so I don't know how I'm going to use this one.

The texture of these shadows are super buttery smooth.  Just swatching them with my fingertips felt like a dream because they were just so soft.  The pigmentation is excellent, but I would use an eyeshadow primer under them just so the colours are as pigmented as they can be and to ensure they last all day and don't crease.  In terms of fallout, the darker colours, especially the ones with glitter, tend to have a bit of fallout.  It's not a crazy amount, but I'm assuming you tap off the extra on your brush before applying like you should be doing.  Speaking of tapping off the excess, when you do so, you'll see that a ton of it comes off of the brush.  I think due to how soft and finely milled these shadows seem to be, this translates to a lot of potential fallout.  Having said that, I would imagine that this means you will use up these shadows pretty quickly if half of it is fall out that you can't press back into the shadow.  That's just loose powder being blown everywhere!  That's something you should keep in mind.

Another thing I want to mention is that the golden shades, Precious and Sunset Blvd (especially Precious), seem a bit powdery.  It's almost hard to get them on the lid without packing them on a ton.

The thing that I love most like I've mention before is that a lot of these shadows seem to be duo-chrome (which I've always love love LOVED) and what makes them so special is that you can layer them to get a different shade!  Now, I'm not talking about like mixing a blue and a green will give you an orange (that's not even possible to begin with), but something like Birdcage and Gunner layered on top of each other makes a grassy-lime green.  This also means that blending these colours into each other is a breeze because the overlap will be an automatic transition colour!  Honestly, I think this is really what makes this pallet so unique. 

I got this eyeshadow book as a birthday present this year but I know Sephora sold it for around $55 or so.  I'm not sure if they still sell it now because I don't see it on the Sephora website anymore but if you really want to pick this up, try walking into the store to see if it's there and if not, maybe eBay will be your next best bet.

Rating: ★★★★☆  4/5

I really want to give this a perfect score but as reviewed, there are some cons to this pallet so I cannot give it 5/5.  Although I has quickly became one of my favourites, next to the Naked 2 pallet.  This is my first ever Kat Von D cosmetic item and it has definitely given me an excellent impression on the quality of her products.  I'm curious and excited to try out a few of her items in the future!

Labels: cosmetics, eyeshadow, kat von d, makeup, review

The holidays are around the corner and the year is coming to a close end.  That means it's time for a new wishlist of the year :)  Here are some of the makeup items that I've had my eyes on for the whole entire year.  Most of these are cult favourites.  It would be nice to get even one of these items on this list!  What are your makeup wishlist items?



Dolce & Gabbana Blush - Tan
This is a recommendation from my favourite Youtuber HeyClaire.  She uses this to contour her face and I just love the way it looks.  It's a cool toned bronzer colour, which fits my undertone so much better than all the warm orange bronzers out there.  She also recommended NYX's blush in Taupe as a similar (but not quite) dupe, which I absolutely love and is what I'm using now.  I'd love to upgrade to a higher quality version of it, so this is definitely something I want!

Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzer
Ah yes, another bronzer.  I love contouring and I've heard a lot of great things about this one.  I think this would be a good summer time one as it is slightly warmer than the D&G one.  This would be second on my list of most wanted bronzers if I wouldn't have my first pick.

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Lolita
Ahhh, look at that packaging!!!  I must admit, I mostly want this lipstick for the packaging and the name; Lolita.  But, I am on the hunt for the perfect mauve/MLBB shade and people have said this is very promising.  I'd definitely have to go in person to test it out and it's not something I would blindly buy online.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light
This product has been talked about a lot during the beginning of the year and it has caught my attention.  I'm a big contour and highlight girl as both are part of my daily makeup routine and I want a really good quality cool/pink toned highlighter that makes it look like I'm glowing within!

Fresh Sugar Lychee Perfume
If I were to be turned into a scent and bottled up, this is exactly what I'd smell like.  I always go into Sephora whenever I can to spray myself down with this, and I've even gotten several samples of it.  It's just too pricey for me to splurge on right now!

MAC lipstick in Cyber
This.  This lipstick is the lipstick.  I love dark vampy lips, and this is the one that I need in my life.  Some people are scared of dark lips but not me.  I say, the darker the better.  Wet n Wild's Vamp It Up which is a close dupe to Cyber and I loveeeee the colour.  The only problem with Vamp It Up is that it's extremely patchy!  I want a good quality lipstick that will give me an even opaque application and that's where Cyber comes in.

Sigma Essential Kit - Mrs. Bunny
Everyone needs a good set of brushes and these have been well known to be some of the best brushes out there.  It's important to have a set of essential brushes to make your makeup application that much more professional and easier!


Lorac Pro Palette 2 
The first pro palette didn't really catch my attention because it seemed like there were a lot of warm tones which I am not drawn to.  But the pro palette 2?  This is filled with way more cool toned shadows which I love and really want to get my hands on!  The shade I'm most excited for is that plum matte shade!



Disclaimer: None of these photos are taken by me.

Labels: bronzer, brushes, cosmetics, eyeshadow, highlighter, lipstick, makeup, perfume, sephora, wishlist

*I wrote this a while ago when him and I were still together so excuse me for mentioning him so often throughout this post.

Heya, cuties!

So back during the summer time, my boyfriend Charming went over to Asia and he brought me back a couple of Etude House items, this one being one of them!  He said the sales lady over there suggested this and it was the "best selling product" at the time.  It's the Etude House Dear My Blooming Eyes in OR203 Mesmerizing Orange palette.







Inside, there are four colours.  A light brown, white, red-ish pink, and orange.  I was most excited for the orange colour because it was the summer time and I've never owned an orange eyeshadow before.  (I was really into the orange lip trend at the time, so orange eyeshadow was the cherry on top).  There are two sponge applicators, and a mirror.

So let's talk about the texture of these first.  I've seen other reviews on this product and most people describe them as "soft and silky" which I would agree, they are.  However, if you're expect highly pigmented, buttery, matte colours, you'll be thoroughly disappointed, just as I am.  (I feel extra horrible because it's a gift from Charming ;-;  I blame the sales person lady!)

Going into these colours, I saw that they are loaded with shimmer and glitter.  I guess that's a thing over in Asia, but personally, I like more matte and satin finishes.  However, that didn't discourage me from trying the orange and pink colour, which were the ones I was most curious about.

Pink:  It's a red-pinky colour, one that I don't already own.  I thought I could use this colour to do really cool looks with, but I was disappointed when I applied it on my eyes.  In the pan, it looks so pretty and nice, but the colour hardly shows on your lid.  I used a primer and everything!  You really have to pack the colour on to get some what of a colour to show, and it's again, loaded with glitter so beware of fall out.

Orange:  Here it was, the colour I've been looking forward to the most.  Swatching it on my finger, it didn't seem too bad.  After swatching the others, I couldn't expect much from it anyway.  This colour is the least shimmery, and had the most colour payoff.  But keep in mind, that doesn't mean it's anywhere near highly pigmented; it just means it's better than the other three.  I managed to apply the shadow on my eye with a primer and got some colour out of it.  I guess the lack of pigmentation kind of works for this shadow because I wouldn't want a stark orange on my eye, anyway.  It allows you to make soft natural looks, which is good for the spring and summer or a more subtle eye look.

Brown:  I'm not really sure what to say about this colour.  It's a warm light brown and it's full of glitter.  Don't try to use this in your crease like the diagram suggests, unless you're purposely looking to make a trail of glitter chunks in your crease.

White:  Oh, what good can I say about this one?  Nothing.  Nothing is good about this shadow.  In fact, I actually hate this shadow!  It looks pretty in the pan right?  Don't let it fool you!  When swatched, it's flaky and goes all over the place.  When applied to the eye, it is LITERALLY GLITTER.  The white colour completely disappears!  You're literally applying glitter chunks on your eye!  At least the brown had some brown colour with it.  This one doesn't have any colour pay off what so ever.  You're better off using a glitter liner because this is the powder form of that, except it's hard to apply and control where it falls.  Just don't even touch this colour, okay?



As you can see (or not see) from my swatches, these colours barely show up.  And this is even after I swatch with all my might.  I'm surprised the white swatched out here, because it looks totally different when you apply it to the eye.  Then again, I packed the shadow on for these swatches.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆  1/5

I wanted to love this product because it was a gift from Charming, but it just blows ;-; The only okay shadow would be the orange, but that's a 1/4.  The packaging is cute so I just let it sit out on my table for decoration, but I think that's all it will ever be for me.  Occasionally, I'll reach for the orange and maybe pink, but that's about all this could do for me.  Oh, and I usually use tape to get rid of all the glitter it produces on my eyes and face when I use it.  That kind of tones it down...

I'm starting to think the sales lady lied because why would anyone buy this product, let alone it being the best selling during the summer time?  Maybe I'm just not the target audience.  I can't rule out that perhaps people over in Asia really enjoy shadows like this.  Personally, this does not do anything for me.  Sorry, Etude House.  This is a bad product for me.

Labels: cosmetics, etude house, eyeshadow, korean, makeup, review

Hello cuties,

I hope everyone is doing well.  I've been a little better, but you know how things go.  Life is sometimes such a struggle, isn't it?  But we will all make it through eventually :)  I hope everyone enjoyed the eye tutorial I posted a couple of days ago.  I had fun doing it and I look forward to doing more in the future.

I never got to do a birthday haul, so here's what I got beauty wise!  My friends are the best and really know how to treat me^^


I was gifted the Kat Von D Spellbinding Eyeshadow book, The Face Shop's Floral Water Mist, and the Mild Papaya Peeling Gel.  I will have tutorials for all of these items as well!  So far, I love all of these products, especially the eyeshadow book.  The colours are amazing!  A big THANK YOU to all my friends for gifting me these presents.

Yesterday, I went to the drugstore and picked up some things that were on sale.  I was feeling a bit sad but once started picking up items in the store, I felt a lot better ;)  Retail therapy is seriously a girl's best solution, don't you think?


So I picked up some nail stuff and a lipstick I've been wanting for a while.  One thing that you must know about me is that I love matte.  All matte everything.  I don't know what it is about it that I love so much, but I've always loved matte things.  (Matte cars, matte eyeshadows, matte printing paper)  What's better than a matte red lip and matte nails?  NOTHING, that's what!  Also, I saw this mini nail kit on sale so I figured I'd pick it up and see if it's any good.  I've never heard of this "Witchcraft" brand and when I tried to Google this set for a review, nothing popped up.  So I'll surely be doing a review on it once I've used it a couple of times.  Come to think of it, I've never really put that much effort in taking care of my nails, but I have been lately.  I'm totally okay with that.

I celebrated my birthday a couple of days after because it landed in the middle of the week.  Everyone was too busy on a Wednesday night, so we all went to karaoke on the Saturday of.  We drank and sang our hearts out which was much needed for me.  I really enjoyed the night and got quite tipsy.


Half the group had to leave early so the rest of us went to get food and more alcohol.  If you can't tell, I absolutely love to drink.  Need a drinking partner?  Right here, baby!



This week has been a very design-filled week for me. Projects were due and my design textbooks came in.  Have you ever seen someone so excited for textbooks?  They're quite pretty, aren't they?  I was more excited for the HTML&CSS one more than the research one (which was the mandatory one), but you know. 



I spent the rest of the day in bed watching a movie while devouring a Whopper, and doing some sketching.  Sometimes it's so nice to get lost in some art.  It's something that I don't do often enough.  But I guess that's a good thing because when I do, it's a very refreshing feeling.




Today, I went to the bookstore because my brother needed to pick up a book for school.  He chose Oliver Twist, and I really liked the design of the cover.  There goes my design side of me again, huh?  Like I said, it has been a design-filled week for me and I'm loving every bit of it.

Exploring the bookstore really made me want to pick up a bunch of books and read them all.  I really want to find a good sappy romance book, so if there's any recommendations out there, send it my way!  Please nothing that is already made into a movie or is going to be made into a movie, because there's a high chance that I'll just watch the movie instead of reading the book.  I saw books like The Fault In Our Stars, The Notebook, Dear John, etc.  As much as I love those stories (and these are the type of romance books I'm aiming for!), I've already or will see the movie so there's no point in me reading the book.




I also finally picked up a portable charger.  I've wanted one for soooo long and Charming was going to give me one but you know, situations, and such.  So, I just went and bought one for myself and I'm glad I did.  It has 5200mAh and two outputs so you can charge two devices at once.  It also comes with several adapters for Apple, Samsung, and Sony products, and also two sizes of USB plugs.

Labels: charming, cosmetics, eyeshadow, food, gift, kat von d, life, lipstick, makeup, nail polish, personal, sally hansen, skincare, thefaceshop

UserName: Hyokii
Age: 23
Birthday: January 22
Location: Toronto, Canada.
Sign: Aquarius Sun, Gemini Moon, Aries Rising

Who are you?
I'm just an average girl studying graphic design in my hometown Toronto. I'm nothing special but I like to blog and document my findings :) I'm really into astrology so come and tell me your sign!

What do you blog about?
Mostly just about my life and occasional beauty hauls and product reviews.

What does 'babo gongju' mean?
It's Korean for 'stupid princess'.

Boyfriend?
Yes! He does Muay Thai and he's a Virgo.

Tell me about your skin type!
I have extremely dry dehydrated skin and really dry/flaky lips. Light; yellow with neutral leaning cool undertone. Currently wearing NARS Sheer Glow in Gobi.

Reviews:
Tonymoly Cats Wink Smooth Primer
Etude House Goodbye Pore Ever Primer
Skin Food Choco Smoky Eye Palette
Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Shine Deep Treatment
Real Techniques Core Collection Brush Set
Etude House Golden Ratio Contour Maker
Skin Food Coffee Creamy Sheer Lipstick (PP701 Plum Wine)
Etude House Real Art Cleansing Oil (Moisture)
Skin Food Bath Salt (Peppermint)
Etude House Miss Tangerine Cream Choux Blusher
Skin Food Red Orange Makeup Finish (Matte Type)
Tonymoly Cat Chu Wink Tony Tint (Cherry Pink)
Etude House Etoinette Crystal Shine Lip Lipstick (PPK001 & PPK003)
Etude House Etoinette Brush Collection
The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Cleansing Special Set
The Face Shop Cotton Pads
The Face Shop Face It 07 Quick Top Coat
The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Design My Eyebrow (01 Gray Brown)
The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Style My Eyebrow (01 Gray Brown)
The Face Shop Face It Designing Cake Eyebrow (01 Khaki Grey)
Etude House Dear My Blooming Eyes (OR203 Mesmerizing Orange)
Nicole by O.P.I. Nail Polish (Iceberg Lotus)
The Face Shop Real Nature Mask Aloe Vera
The Face Shop Face It Styling Auto Gel Liner (01 Edgy Black)
The Face Shop Floral Water Mist
The Face Shop Mild Papaya Peeling Gel
Kat Von D Spellbinding Eyeshadow Book
Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick By Kate Moss (111 Kiss Of Life)
Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick By Kate Moss (102)
Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat
Witchcraft Mini+Cures Set
Maybelline Volum’ Express The Colossal Smoky Eyes Mascara
Nicole by O.P.I. Quick Dry Top Coat
Essence Kalinka Beauty 01 Babushka Me Lip Brush
Maybelline Volum’Express The Rocket Waterproof Mascara
Maybelline Eye Studio Master Drama Eyeliner in Midnight Master
Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 10 Light
Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Ivory

Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer (sample)
Etude House Mal;Gem All In One Emulsion (sample)
Etude House Mal;Gem Smoother Toner (sample)
Etude House Sun Prise Super Aqua SPF45/PA+++ (sample)
Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream SPF30/PA++ (sample)
Etude House Moistfull Collagen Firming Eye Cream (sample)
Skin Food Platinum Grape Cell Essential BB Cream SPF45/PA+++ (sample)
Skin Food Agave Cactus Emulsion (sample)
The Face Shop Chia Seed Moisture-Holding Seed Cream(sample)
The Face Shop Mango Seed Silk Moisturizing Toner(sample)
The Face Shop Mango Seed Silk Moisturizing Lotion(sample)
Updated The Face Shop Mango Seed Silk Moisturizing Toner & Lotion (full size)
The Face Shop Mango Seed Silk Moisturizing Facial Butter(sample fullsize)
The Face Shop Volcanic Clay Black Head Aloe Nose Strip(sample)
The Face Shop Herb Day 365 Cleansing Foam Acerola (sample)
The Face Shop White Secret Whitening Body Essence (sample)


Tutorials & Tips:
How I Contour My Face
Tips On How To Drink More Water
2013 Summer/Fall Wish List
My Current Everyday Makeup Tutorial

Most Common:
Reviews
Personal
Food
Tips & Tutorials
Fashion
Haul

Brands:
★ Etude House
★ EOS
★ Forever21
★ Garage
★ Guess
★ Hada Labo
★ H&M
★ My Beauty Diary
★ Nicole by O.P.I.
★ Skin Food
★ Smashbook
★ Starbucks
★ The Face Shop
★ Tony Moly

Jin

. Put a lock on Seoul’s Namsan Tower's fence
. Visit the beach; any beach (063011)
. Party hard
. Starbucks date (072310)
. Learn to drive
. Star gaze (062812)
. Road trip (Summer`09)
. Be loved
. Visit South Korea
. Wedding; anyone's wedding (10.13.13)
. Be happy
. Bake cupcakes from scratch (04.06.10)
. Ride a motorcycle (08.21.14)
. Get my first tattoo
. Kiss in the rain
. Pull an all nighter
. Belly button piercing (02.19.14)
. Disney world/land
. Anime North
. Cosplay Rin
. Cosplay X-23
. Princess Cafe date (12.10.12)
. VVIP album(02.20.11)
. Visit Hong Kong again
. Graduate university
. Paris

to be continued...

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