Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Shine Control Primer

My T-zone has been super oily lately even though it's winter so I got this after reading the reviews on Makeupalley. I purchased this set on ebay for $5.50 and it included free shipping.

Left: Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Undereye Concealer in Light

Right: Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Shine Control Primer

Although I got this set to try out the primer I use the concealer for contouring. The concealer has a stick and liquid end. I use the stick end and draw a line where the contour should be and blend it out.

The primer comes in a small (0.84 fl oz/25 ml) tube. The consistency is like lotion. It applies easily and clearly. For the past few days I've been putting 3 (yes 3. one layer didn't help at all) layers on my forehead and nose. I found that it doesn't help with controlling oil as I hoped it would. I still get oily after only 3-4 hours. Even when I get to work an hour after I apply it my forehead is already shiny. I do notice that my forehead doesn't get as oily as before. Before it was an oil slick, but now it just looks dewy. I also notice that it doesn't blur my pores/imperfections like other primers do. So overall it wasn't a complete fail but I'm still on the lookout for something to control my oil!

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.

Ben Nye Banana Powder

Ben Nye Banana Powder

I got this recently to see if it would help out with the foundations/BB creams that weren't working for me. I bought this at a local theatrical store (Fun House Theatrical in Mountain View if any of you are from the Bay Area!) for $8.99. It contains 1.5 oz/42 g. The packaging isn't the greatest so I dumped the powder in the Etude House Princess Etoinette Crystal Powder container into a plastic bag and put the Ben Nye powder!

The main reason I purchased this was to help with the foundations/BB creams that weren't working for me because of the color (either they are too pink and/or beige). I haven't noticed a difference using this except with Skinfood's Peach Sake BB Cream. I think it worked with that because Skinfood's BB cream is more on the tan side and this powder brightened/lightened it up.

I've been using it to set my under eye concealer and I don't know if it's the powder or concealer, but after a few hours it looks dry and powdery. Overall, this powder just lightens my skin. It doesn't help with color correcting foundations/BB creams. 

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!

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind The Lifter Foundation Swatches

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind The Lifter Foundation in 270 Natural Beige & 300 Medium Beige

I went on a mad rampage a few weeks ago buying four foundations trying to find one that would match my neck. I picked up these two because they were new. I thought 270 Natural Beige would be a perfect fit, but it's lighter than my neck. I picked up 300 Medium Beige as well and it didn't work either because it had pink undertones. I finally said Fuck it! and went to Sephora to get Nars Sheer Glow Foundation. I was matched to Stromboli which I find a good match to my neck. 

Left: 270 Natural Beige

Right: 300 Medium Beige

270 Natural Beige looks like it has good yellow undertones, but compared to Nars Sheer Glow in Stromboli, it is more beige. I liked the dewy (but not oily) look of the foundation when it's first applied, but it turns into a satin-matte finish. I eventually returned these to CVS because the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation fits me better. 

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.