Sephora Chic Week Haul

Philosophy Total Matteness Oil-Free, Mattifying Pore Eraser $40

Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector $36

I picked up two things at Sephora for their 15% off Chic Week. I went in only planning to buy the Becca primer but the makeup artist showed me Philosophy's Total Matteness serum.

I was really excited to try this out when I first got it. I've used it for a week now and I haven't noticed my oiliness getting better. The skin on my t-zone and nose (where I apply it) have gotten more flakier since I've used it. I'm still going to continue to use it to see if it will work.

I didn't use the Becca primer for the first few days after I got it because I wanted to see if the serum would work on its own. After I didn't see any improvement I started using the primer and it hasn't helped. By the time I get to work/school my face is shiny. 

Koreadepart Haul!

It's Skin Power 10 VC & VB Effector and Skinfood Black Bean Eye Brow Pencil in #3 Black Brown

I don't know why I didn't order from Koreadepart until now. Whenever I would search for more information on Korean skincare or makeup items I was interested in, Koreadepart would always show up. I didn't think you could actually buy from there! It's a good thing I know now because it's awesome!

I made my order on a Thursday and they received my payment the same day. With Koreadepart, you have to send the payment for the items and the shipping yourself through Paypal. I received the shipping fee notification 4 days later on a Monday and paid the shipping fee the day of. It shipped the next day on Tuesday and I received it 10 days later on a Friday.

I chose Registered Mail and it cost $8.54 for 0.5kg (They also have EMS). It had a tracking number but it is not as detailed as using EMS (where they show every single stop). It only showed when it left Korea (through track-trace) and when it arrived in the U.S. and at the post office (through the USPS website). 

My items arrived safely wrapped with plenty of bubble wrap. I received some samples as well! I picked up two Power 10 Effectors from It's Skin. VB got good reviews so I hope it helps me out with my oiliness! The VB Effector was $6.91 and the VC Effector was $6.79. 

Skinfood Black Bean Eye Brow Pencil in #3 Black Brown

I wanted to try out the eye brow pencil from Etude House but they didn't carry it so I got one from Skinfood instead. I went to the Skinfood store to see how the color would look like and was kind of worried because it looked too brown. The sales associate was insisting I use #2 which is Black Grey because she has black hair as well, but #3 works for me. 

As you can see, it is darker than MAC's Spiked. I'm not used to the darker color since I've been using the MAC one, but if I use a light hand and/or brush it out it looks fine. I find that MAC's eye brow pencil is easier to use because the tip is smaller and the product is softer so you can lightly brush it on. Skinfood's eye brow pencil is bigger and longer (like an oval) so it's a bit harder to stay within the lines. Also, the product isn't as soft as MAC's so you have to use a harder hand to get the color and that can make it look too dark. 

Even though it's not as great as MAC's Spiked eye brow pencil, I would still repurchase it because of the price. Even though MAC's pencil lasts me a few months, $15 is a lot for a simple eye brow pencil. Skinfood's eye brow pencil does the job and it's cheap! (Side note: I saw that it was $5 in the store. Even though it's cheaper on the website, with shipping costs it's about the same). Skinfood contains 0.12g of product and MAC contains 0.09g, so there isn't a big difference but you can get 5 Skinfood pencils for the price of one MAC pencil.

I think Koreadepart is wayyy better than Gmarket for buying Korean skincare and cosmetics. One of the biggest pros is shipping. Gmarket's shipping is SO expensive. I recently added two items to my shopping bag (It's Skin Power 10 Effector and a cell phone case) and the estimated shipping cost was around $40. I know that it's EMS and that they will use the actual shipping cost, but it's not worth it if you're only purchasing a few items. Koreadepart offers Registered Mail along with EMS which I prefer since I'm only buying a few items and I don't need it ASAP.

Another thing Koreadepart has over Gmarket is that their website is in English. It's so hard finding other brands or items on Gmarket that are not the most popular brands (such as Etude House, It's Skin, etc.). I found it impossible to find items because I didn't know the Korean translation for it and I could only find some if they had English in the item name. With Koreadepart, you can search by brand or type which I think is awesome because I can search for things such as cleansing oils or primers from different brands. 

Koreadepart is an awesome place for us to buy Korean skincare and cosmetics and is a great alternative to Gmarket and ebay. I'll definitely be ordering from the again!!!

Some Things From Ulta

Ecotools Bamboo Smudge Eyeliner Brush & Essence All About Matt! Fixing Compact Powder

I was looking for cheaper alternatives to the smudge brush the makeup artist from the Make Up For Ever Makeup Bag Event used to apply the crease color on my eye lids and thought this might be a good alternative. It's too pointed and small to use in the crease, but it's great for smudging eyeliner and applying eye shadow along the bottom lash line. I find the sharpener side to be useless because most of my pencils don't fit (for example, Milani's Liquif'eye Metallic eye liner pencil). 

Another issue I have with Ecotools in general is the packaging. I know they are eco friendly and all, but I think that most people do not use the original packaging to store their brushes. I feel like it would be better for them to have recyclable packaging.

The main thing I was looking for in Ulta was this new matte powder from Essence. I wanted the loose powder, but I don't think they released it in the U.S. because it's not on the website or in the store. 

I got Rimmel's Stay Matte powder before to try to help with my oily forehead and nose, but it didn't live up to my expectations (I would get oily after only 3-4 hours and the color didn't match with my skin). I've tried this matte powder for a few days now and I like it better than Rimmel's matte powder. 

Pros:
-Smooth powder
-Natural looking finish (not that unnatural super matte finish)
-Lasted about 5 hours until I got shiny
-Translucent
-Cheap ($3.99)

Cons:
-Only available in Ulta

Small Drugstore Haul & Swatches!

Left to Right: Tresemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protection Shine Spray, FX Sea Salt Spray, Hard Candy Glow All The Way Face & Body Luminizer, Wet n Wild Coloricon Bronzer SPF15

I passed by Walmart and Walgreens today to pick up a few things! I was running out of my Nexxus Heat Protection Spray and decided to pick up the new one from Tresemme because it was cheap ($4.48 at Walmart). I also picked up the FX Sea Salt Spray because I cut my hair recently and I want some waves/texture. 

Hard Candy Glow All The Way Face & Body Luminizer in Glamazon Bronze

The makeup artist who did my makeup at the Make Up For Ever Makeup Bag Remix event used MUFE's Uplight on my cheeks instead of blush and I loved the look! I picked this up to try to recreate it. This "luminizer" goes for $8.00 and contains 76.6 g/2.7 oz. It's fairly large if you are only using this for your face. I'm excited to try this out on my body for the summer when I'm tanner!

Wet n Wild Coloricon Bronzer SPF15 in 739 Ticket to Brazil

I wanted to try Wet n Wild's Fergie Shimmer Palette but I saw this and it was cheaper! ($4.29 vs. $6.29). This bronzer is humungo. I'm afraid of dropping it or bringing it with me when I travel!

I saw the permanent display of Flower Beauty cosmetics and was tempted to pick up a few items, but stopped myself haha. I wanted to try the BB cream before, but didn't get it because it's kind of small and expensive for the size.

Make Up For Ever Makeup Bag Remix Event in San Francisco

Yesterday I attended the Make Up Forever Make Up Bag Remix Event in San Francisco at the Stonestown Galleria. I first heard about it from Musing's of a Muse and immediately signed up!

What I wore:

Jacket: Gmarket, Shirt tunic & Bag: Zipia, Leggings: Forever 21, Shoes: thrifted

People bring their makeup bag and the makeup artists show them how to use the items. I focused on my gel eyeliner, contour powder, and the L'oreal Caresse Wet Shine Stain. The makeup artist who did my makeup helped me out with all of that and more! I learned so many new tricks and tried items from Make Up For Ever.

I took an After picture at the event!

Hours after the event when I got home. I don't know why I was posing with my hand -__-. 

I purchased their new Pro Finish powder along with the makeup bag. I posted my After picture on Facebook and got a free mascara!

Make Up For Ever Pro Finish Powder in 128

Overall it was a great event! I'm so glad I went. I learned so much about my own products as well as Make Up For Ever products. It gave me a new view of Make Up For Ever and now I appreciate it even more.

Philippines Haul!

My Mom went to the Philippines recently for vacation so I asked her to get a few things for me there.

(From left to right):

Nivea Extra Whitening Roll On Deodorant: I've been wanting to try this out, but I didn't want to buy it off of ebay or amazon. I was using Dove's Clear Tone deodorant before but stopped because it didn't really whiten and the smell was too strong for me. 

Snoe Beauty Snoe White Extra Strength Kojic Milk Whitening Scrub: I first heard of Snoe Beauty in NiaSays's Philippines Haul. I wanted to try this out to help with the ingrown hairs, bumps, and dark skin on the back of my legs. Last year, I just used a face scrub and found that it helped with the ingrown hairs and bumps. 

Snoe Beauty Snoe White Body Softener Extra Strength Whitening Glutathione: I didn't check the size of this lotion on the website so it turned out way smaller than I expected it to be! I put this on my list since I was getting other stuff from the brand anyway. I tried Kojie-san's Body Lightening Lotion before but didn't ask for it again because I didn't notice any effects and I didn't like the smell. 

Snoe Beauty Snoe White No.8 Organic Green Papaya Beauty Bar: I've been using Kojie-san's Kojic Acid Skin Lightening Soap for a few years now and wanted to try something new. I got this one because it had good reviews and I've never tried papaya soap before.

I'm very happy that my Mom got most of the things I wanted and I can't wait to try them out!

Gmarket Haul #7!

Finally posting this Gmarket haul 2 months after receiving it! I made this order back in November on a Thursday, it shipped the following Wednesday, and I received it in the usual 3 days. This time I was able to use my Cash Balance along with Paypal to pay for my order.

It was a bit tricky trying to use my Cash Balance the first time, but all you have to do is click the "Use" button next to Cash Balance under section 3 (Discount Applied) when you check out. A box will pop up where you can choose to use all of your Cash Balance.

In the following picture, you can see that I used all of my Cash Balance thus I had 34,660 won (or $32.97) to pay with Paypal.

Final Receipt:

Leather Sleeved Coat

Originally 39,800 won, paid 35,030 won (~$33.32) after discount

Seller: Real Coco

After seeing some stylish bloggers wearing the leather sleeves trend, I wanted one for my own and where else to look for it other than Gmarket! I found a few options but got this one because it was simple, stylish, and a bit cheaper. The quality of this jacket is great! It makes me feel very stylish. I also love the pockets! It's a bit long for me, but I don't really mind it and I could get it hemmed if I wanted to. One thing that bothers me is that it doesn't have a collar which I prefer, but I didn't really think of that when I purchased it. 

Black Lace Up Booties

Originally 23,800 won, paid 20,520 won (~$19.52) after discounts

Seller

Total fail here. I checked the height of the boot shaft and thought "Yeah, 4.7 inches is near 5 inches, so these will be okay." Nope. I find that a boot shaft of 5 inches is perfect for me: high enough to tuck in my pants, but not too high for my big calves. These were too low and because of the boot height, it was awkward to walk in. I ended up selling it to Crossroads, so it wasn't a complete fail. Also, these boots seemed like they were good quality, but it had the Made in China chemical smell.