Cleansing Balm | Then I Met You

As you can tell I am almost out of this. For a few years this brand never went on sale, but this year it was 20% off on Sokoglam (maybe bc the economy isn't doing too hot this fall?).

For me, Then I Met You the best cleansing balm I've ever used, the packaging, texture, emulsification and faint scent are all perfect. The only "problem" is the price. I have used Shu Uemura (post here, it's good but too expensive and fragrance is very strong), Clinique (post here, texture isn't as buttery but it works), Eve Lom (not a fan of the scent, also requires a muslin cloth which is too "high maintenace" for me), Omorovizca (post here, does not emulsify and very overpriced, I actually didn't even end up using the whole jar). 

I know the Farmacy one is quite popular, I never tried it bc I still prefer cleansing oils but I do have a deluxe sample of I will use at some point. Banila is also very OG for cleansing balms, apparently a lot of formulas are similar to this - possibly the same manufacturer.

On my list to try next: Kim True (about $20 for 3 oz). I saw Neutrogena and Cerave have came out with cleansing balms recently, but the ingredients aren't as intriguing for me.

If you don't mind spending a bit more on cleansing balms, I would highly recommend this. I personally have been enjoying more affordable products under $30, but I will probably repurchase this again at some point, or as a gift for others.

Ingredients

Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, PEG-20 Glyceryl Trii-sostearate, PEG-8 Isostearate, Cera Microcristallina (Microcrystalline Wax/Cire Microcristalline), Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil, Ceresin, Synthetic Wax, Orbiignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Diospyros Kaki Fruit Extract, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Rosemarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Ethylene/Propylene Copolymer

Price: $38 for 3.17 oz / 90 g

 

KOREAN | Retro Classic Lip Crayon in Retro Salmon

Another twist up crayon. Actually I think I only have 4 total, 2 Revlon, 1 Tarte and this one

This is kind of a burnt orange, but it definitely looks better on my hand than on my lips. For some reason the texture is really unattractive on my lips, it seems pretty dry (even if I exfoliate my lips)

I think I got this for $12 on Ebay, a store at Japantown was trying to sell it for $20+

Size: 2.5 g

Basically looks like the Revlon ColorStay lip crayon sans the peppermint scent

TINTED LIP | 3CE Glow Jam Stick in #Supa Dupa

Typical orange for me. I have too many colors like this but I really wanted to try the 3CE formula. Te Glow Jam stick is more of a sheer lipstick that you can build up

LIPSTICK | Missha Signature Dewy Rouge in CR02

High quality packaging

CR02

This smells eerily like the flower lipstick (review here) which I'm not sure I like

It's a bit of an artificial floral scent

This was recommended by my favorite Taiwanese Youtuber (Catie) and the texture is very lightweight and pigmented. I really like this color but it depends on my mood for something this bright

Lightly applied

Fully applied

BB CREAM | Shangpree Crystal BB Cream

Pros

Natural looking

Lightweight

Good coverage

Very easy to blend

Moisturizing

Neutral

Supposed to have skin soothing ingredients

Not paraben free

Cons

Expensive

Only 1 color

Price

$47+ for 1.69 oz / 50 g

Verdict

Excuse my surge of base products the past few posts; whenever I break out I tend to look for new ones that I think will hide the breakouts. I came upon the Shangpree one on a list of BB creams good for acne. Apparently Shangpree is a high end spa in South Korea, and this BB cream is used on their clients after their facials. Presumably it doesn't clog your pores if it's used after a facial. On Peach and Lily it's actually $67, but I found it on Ebay for about $47.

If you've used BB creams before, you'll notice most of them have some kind of SPF. The Shangpree one has nothing on the packaging, but the ingredients list includes titanium dioxide, and I did some research - it does have sun protection ingredients, but it's not marketed as such because you need an adequate amount of BB cream to get the sun protection on the label, which goes for any foundation that has SPF, really.

This might be the best BB cream I've ever used, but it is a bit expensive. Luckily 50 g will last me forever (I never even used up my L'egere BB cream [review here], which was my favorite for a long time until it was discontinued)

Repurchase?

Yes, actually. But it'll be a while until I can use this whole thing up

Would I recommend it?

Yes!

BB CUSHION | Tony Moly Pikachu Mini Cover Cushion SPF 50+ PA+++

^ I'm starting to get smile lines! Boo

Pros

Good coverage

Super cute

SPF 50

Easy application

Cons

Limited color selection

Price

$12+ for 9 g

It seems inexpensive but usually you get 15 g and a 15 g of refill in cushions. The Laneige one available at Target is like that for $34. So this one is technically... $40 if it were to come in the full size. Not that cheap actually - but if you're bad at using up products, this won't matter at all.

Verdict

As you may be able to tell, this color is a bit light for me (or maybe it's too pink, who knows). Because it's such high coverage, it looks really weird when I forget to cover my undereye circles, it's like I'm a sick vampire or something. Anywho, this is worth keeping for the Pikachu cushion. The product itself is pretty good, but it doesn't last super long (although, neither do most foundations/BB creams on my skin). If you're interested I would definitely give it a try :)

I kinda wish I got the 1 color up, but it's possible that would've been too dark.

Would I recommend it?

Yes!

Would I repurchase?

No. But only bc there's SO many products out there and I'll likely never use this up

LIPS | Peripera Tint Milk in Milky Peach

Blended | Applied

Wiped with a tissue

I've decided to not do Pros and Cons unless there's a lot of info to avoid redundancy

Price

$8+ for 8 ml 

Link to Amazon here

Verdict

Sadly this is not that long lasting, but it is a cute peach turn pink tint if you're into that kind of lip color. The smell is a bit artificially fruity. I will still use it from time to time when I am not feeling the look of lipstick applied. I expected it to be a pale peach but it turned more into a pink, as you can kind of see on my hand.

Repurchase?

No.

Would I recommend it?

Yes.

KBEAUTY | Stylenanda 3CE Haul

Milk pack to foam ($19) link here

Mud to foam cleanser / pore refining clay mask

Real Soft Cleansing Sherbet ($23) link here

Makeup removing sorbet, similar to cleansing balms I believe

Glow Jam Stick #Supa Dupa ($18) link here 

Lip balm stick, more pigmented than a tinted lip balm

Nail Lacquer #BE04 and #GN03 ($4 each) link here and here

Boosting Sun Mist SPF 50 ($28) link here

Facial mist with SPF 50, the item I most wanted

Boosting Sun Primer SPF 50 ($24) link here

Facial primer with SPF 50. Historically these tend to be a bit greasy or make my face oily, so we'll see

Sharpen Edge Brow Pencil ($14) in #Cocoa Brown link here
(not pictured bc I almost left it in the box to throw away). It's sexagonal with a spoolie, which are my preferred eyebrow pencils. This is as close as I could find to taupe, the others were all too warm or too dark.

Of course I got all of these on sale, I spent $99 total including the $10 shipping, so it was about 27% off on average

I also ordered a lipstick and some cotton pads but they were out of stock :'(

The prices aren't drugstore prices but it's not too bad, reasonable esp with the sale. I'm excited to try all the products, but idk why I bought the pink nail polish... It seems like such a vanilla color. Lol

As you can tell these are mostly skincare products, I didn't find their makeup particularly intriguing compared to what I already have. Their lipsticks are very intriguing, but again... I bought like 20 lipsticks this year so I couldn't justify getting more than 1-2

They all come with a seal that says "nonrefundable after opening"

Have you tried 3CE products? How do you like them?

BB Cushion | Missha Minion Magic Cushion Cover SPF 50+ PA+++

Pros

Super cute packaging

Good, natural coverage

Natural finish

SPF 50

Cons

Only 2 skin tones

Can only be purchased online or specialty stores

Doesn't really set on the skin

Settles into dry spots throughout the day

Price $18+ for 15 g + 15 g (refill) on Amazon

Verdict

Rating B

I am pleasantly surprised how well this BB cream covers without looking dry or flaky. When I tried the Laneige (review here) and Hera (review here) previously I always felt like the product sat on my skin and looked slightly dry. The sponge in the Missha one also looks a lot more saturated than the ones I've tried previously. There is a moisturizing formula and a coverage formula (which is the one I got). It seems to settle in dry spots throughout the day (see photo below), so this is good if you're only going to be out for a couple hours.

I've heard Sulwhasoo makes really good ones, but I bought the Missha for the cute Minion packaging

Repurchase?

Probably not, I've never actually used up any foundation or BB cream

Would I recommend it?

If you usually like BB cushions you'd probably like this one

It seems to cling onto some dry patches (this photo is about 5 hours in)

REVIEW | Laneige BB Cushion SPF50

Since I have very large pores you can see how the coverage it on my skin, which is a bit red from lack of sleep yesterday

Pros

Good coverage

Easy application

Dewy finish

Doesn't make skin oily

SPF 50

Cons

Doesn't seem to set

Packaging might be a bit wasteful

Price

$34 for two 15 g compacts

Verdict

After trying the Hera BB cushion (review here) I wasn't a huge fan since the BB doesn't seem to set and could look a bit cakey as the day goes on. I notice the Laneige and Hera both rub off on clothes if you're not careful, and the first day I wore the Laneige I could feel the BB on my face. I did notice it doesn't make my face oily or anything despite being dewy, which is a plus. Today I used a different sunscreen and it feels lighter on my skin.

The worst problem I have with a lot of foundations is it settling into my pores, but the Laneige looks fine on my skin, as you can tell.

One thing I noticed about the sponge: It applies really well, but sometimes the BB gets stuck in the crevice on the side of the sponge, which is no biggie. Just need to be careful because I got some on my eyelid when I was applying it between my eyebrows.

Would I recommend this?

Yes.

Repurchase?

Possibly. 

This girl I ran into at Target says one package lasts her about 3 months, so we'll see how long this lasts me

REVIEW (Korean Beauty) | VDL Triple Shot Tint Bar in Triple Burgundy (Ombre Lips)

"How would you like your tint today?"

"Tint, base, and balm in one stick for voluminous gradient lips, please!"

Blended in a little more

Product photo

After eating - I'm kind of impressed, it darker color actually stains your lips

Pros

Fruity scent

Gradient effect

Buildable color

Not drying

Cons

Sheerer than the photo portrays

Price

$13+ for 0.12 oz / 3.5 g

Verdict

Rating: B

This was on a list of best selling Korean products my cousin from China sent me, and I've always liked the gradient look in Korean dramas.

This lip tint smells lightly fragrant of berries, and the gradient look works, but it is a lot sheerer than it looks in the photo. I recommend it if you want that gradient look in the form of novelty in this product, but I'm sure you can create it with a dark tint or lipstick you like.

I saw instructions somewhere you could also apply this vertically so that it becomes a milky color, as shown in the photo.

Repurchase?

Maybe the peach trio.

Would I recommend it?

Yes! But keep in mind the color isn't as pigmented as it looks