Review: Essence – hi! lighting eyeshadow mousse (01 hi! ivory)

Morning! As much as I love colour cosmetics – I use them pretty much on the daily – I hardly ever review them, just because they are so hard to finish. I don’t use a lot of colour on my face, so products can take months and years to finish.

I will get rid of anything that smells bad or has otherwise deteriorated, but I don’t usually chuck products that are still perfectly usable. Even if they might be getting a bit old, I will still try and use them up, contrary to all these guidelines you see on the Internet, with the exception of eyeliners and mascaras, which I do bin frequently. I have been wearing makeup for perhaps 16 years now, and have never encountered any issues. That is not to say that you should do as I do – I am merely recounting my own experiences.

I am sorry to say then that this eyeshadow was not empty before I got rid of it.

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Review: Dr Jart Every Sun Day UV Sun Fluid

This is my favourite sunscreen of all time. There, I said it.

Dr Jart has since rebranded this beauty but luckily kept the formula the same – more on that later.

First off, let me gush about what GREAT value this is. This comes in a HUGE (for a facial sunscreen) bottle holding 100ml of product, and comes in at KRW 29,000 (ca USD27).

I will argue that this might be the best deal for a high-quality sunscreen for sensitive and/or acne prone skin like mine, and, though I have strayed from time to time, I have been using this pretty much constantly for the past three or so years.

Review: Round a Round Olive Young Banana Milk Moisturizing Hand Cream

Today’s review is a hand cream! During the winter, I tend to go through tons of hand creams as my skin is naturally dehydrated, so indoor heating and frequent use of hand sanitiser, low humidity and soap dry out my hands completely.

I got this one in particular as a gift with purchase. I was super stoked, too, seeing as this was a full-size product.

Review: Neogen – Canadian Clay Pore Cleanser

So one day, as I was browsing the shelves at my local Olive Young, my eyes fell on Neogen’s Canadian Clay Pore Cleanser. At the time, it came with a little face brush and it was on sale, too (I think I got it for about KRW18,000 – ca USD 17). I decided to snap it up and give it a whirl at home.

Review: Lee Ji Ham – 5alpha control cream

Today’s review is on Lee Ji Ham’s 5 alpha control cream. For some reason or the other, it never seemed to really take off at my local chemist’s, then known as Watsons – it goes by lalavla now.

While this has been reviewed in the past, I no longer see current reviews available. It is indeed possible that the cream has actually been discontinued as I no longer see it available, or perhaps it has been repackaged or reformulated?

This face cream was reduced by 70% at the time of purchase, so my guess is that it was simply too pricey as well.

Review: Avène Eau Thermale / Thermal Spring Water (face mist) BP

Another gift with purchase, I cannot recall which product it came with. Personally, I love skin mists to up hydration levels and give hyaluronic serums something to hold on to, but I never expect them to be miracle workers in any way. And neither is this one!

What it is

This, essentially, is mineral water in a bottle. Nothing more, nothing less.

How I Liked It

Well. This was great as a refresher during hot summer days, and I also used it after powdering my face, to get rid of any powdery residue on my face.

Did I notice any skin benefits? Quite honestly, I didn’t. I guess you could use it as a toner, but it wasn’t nearly hydrating enough for me personally, as my skin is naturally quite dehydrated. That being said, it didn’t exacerbate my adult acne, so there’s that.

Final thoughts

This came as a gift with purchase, and I wasn’t mad, but I wasn’t keen on it either. Not something I’ll be repurchasing, as I do believe you’d get the same effect by filling filtered water into a spray bottle.

Review: Maybelline – The Rocket Volum’ Express

After weeks and weeks of skincare, I finally bring to you – a makeup item! Actual colour makeup! Although it is probably up to debate as to whether mascara really constitutes colour makeup, per se, seeing as it is just plain black. Among all my makeup, this is probably the item that I go through the fastest, together with eyeliner.

My lashes are naturally quite long, albeit blonde and not very thick, so I am always on the lookout for a volumising mascara. My holy grail is Cover Girl’s Lash Blast, which I used back when I was still living and studying in Switzerland. Alas, none of the countries I have lived in since has sold Cover Girl, including Korea.

What it is

It’s a black, non-waterproof mascara with a stiff, thick wand that has rubber bristles, rather than those little synthetic hairy bristles that you get with traditional mascaras.

What I thought about it

The formula was decently volumising, if not a little clumpy. It also transferred a little throughout the day, although not excessively so. The formula was a little wet for my liking.

What I strongly disliked was that the rubber bristles, upon contact with the upper waterline, actually hurt. Usually, I won’t even feel it if a mascara wand touches my upper lashline or upper waterline. This one made me wince one time too many, so over time, I learnt to go in really slowly and carefully. Unfortunately, this kept me from really adding volume to my lashes – which was the whole point of buying this, as I had been expecting volume.

Final Thoughts

The mascara itself was alright, the formula and bristles were fine. I will definitely try other mascaras by Maybelline in the future. I am doubtful however that I will be repurchasing this one in particular, just because the bristles made application a pain – literally.