white tea & plum roses

With a blink of an eye, January is already over and we're already into the second month of 2015. January has been somewhat of a rough month for me with dealing with post-holiday season issues and overall work issues. All that aside though, I've been slowly making changes in my life to make sure my health and happiness come first so that the stress monster can't eat me alive.

In terms of my skin condition during January, I wouldn't say that it was at its best. I got a terrible reaction from trying something once and I'm still recovering from the awful breakout I got from it. It was really disappointing because my skin was actually getting somewhat better before that happened.

Either way, on to the first favourites of the year! Since this is the very first favourites post on my blog, I'm going to be trying out a couple of formats throughout these, I hope you guys will bare with me. Also, sorry for all the different lighting in my photos, my phone adjusted to the product colours as well.

Cosmetic Favourites

1) Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion
I bought this right before the harsh winter season set in because I really enjoyed using the Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion. At the time, the Etude Cushion was doing fine for me but I could feel the weather starting to dry out my skin a lot more so I wanted to try something that was more moisturizing. Especially since the lighting at work was extremely bright and harsh, I needed something with a lot more hydrating properties than the one I had.

At first, I debated on whether I should get the Innisfree Water Glow or the Long Stay cushion as those were the ones that were really popular. But then, as if they heard my pleas, they came out with the new winter cushion we know now as the Ampoule Intense Cushion. I wasn't sure about getting it because I have combination skin and I thought maybe the WG version would be enough but thankfully I got the AI version instead at the end.

Since I have received this cushion in the mail, I used it all the time. I loved the light texture, the scent seems herbal, and it definitely keeps my skin feeling moist even through the harshest and coldest winds. The colour applies lighter than most but settles pretty close to my skin colour, and the coverage is light/medium. Despite that, it did not accentuate or create any flakiness that I might have had and the staying power is not bad. This is definitely a cushion that I am going to purchase a refill for!


2) Innisfree Eco Science White-C Sleeping Pack
This was a product that I got in a haul... recently? I mentioned that it contained tangerine peels, mint, and shea butter as the main ingredients. This pack makes my skin feel really nice, and because of the mint, it also has a cooling effect. The cooling effect is really nice for winter since we always have the heat on overnight. The shea butter keeps my skin moist and soft as well. In terms of brightening, I don't notice too much of it as of yet, but it feels really nice for winter.


3) Etude House skin malgem Deep Moist Toner
I have been using this toner for some time now and only just recently finished one bottle. While it took me so long to use this toner, I must say that I really like this toner. It is a hypoallergenic product and it has a very subtle floral scent to it that is very relaxing. It's a more watery-gel type toner thus a lot more moisturizing toner compared to the others in the same line (such as the fresh, smoother, moist, etc). I started using this around the middle of summer, only at night since I also had the mist toner from TFS (read here).

It's been a toner that's been serving me well as a first step for moisturizing and just as a good base for trying new things. This is actually an overall favourite, it keeps my skin feeling mostly stable throughout the seasons and because it doesn't react to my skin, it's good to have so my skin doesn't feel too overworked from using too many new things at once. Since the summers here are still really dry, I can actually use this through all seasons and not have too many problems.


4) TheFaceShop Calming Seed Cream
As I said at the beginning, my skin started having a reaction from something I actually did at work. From recommendations from my friends, apparently the Calming Seed Cream from TheFaceShop is really good for, well, calming down the skin from reactions or allergies. I got a couple of samples to try it out for a couple of days.

It certainly did calm down my skin quite a bit. The bumps and redness would decrease the next day so it definitely isn't bad. The cream texture is very smooth and applies really coolly onto the skin even on top of your usual skincare. So, I'm adding this to my favourites for the month because it progressively helped my reaction calm down quite well. In terms of moisturizing or anything else, I can't say there was much else.


5) Revlon Nail Enamel #933 Chameleon
You guys may not know but I love nail polishes. I don't know if I'll ever do a full review on one though so for now you'll only see them in the favourites posts. This colour, at first I wasn't sure about but, I really loved it for the month. The gold was just festive enough for the new year but not so bright gold that it would be too much. Overall, Revlon nail polishes are really nice in terms of finish and application. I much prefer flat brushes compared to the round brush that Revlon has for their polishes, but the colour and pigmentation I can't complain too much.

Media Favourites

1) Jonghyun - 데자-부 (Déjà-Boo) (feat. Zion.T)


Let me just say that, I have been waiting for a Jonghyun solo ever since SM started pushing out solo projects like Henry's. With Jonghyun writing and composing songs from the beginning and more frequently as we hit the Misconceptions/Everybody era, this was going to be inevitable. His entire album is really his style, I really love it because it's his. He made it his. I definitely like Deja-Boo and Love Belt a bit better than Crazy (Guilty Pleasure) but this entire album is just so lovely. I knew I would like his album. It was opposite when Taemin came out with Ace. I wasn't sure what to think about it at first and Danger wasn't really my style (it's just really catchy though) but I came to like the rest of his album a lot. So, it goes to say, I'm really proud of them and SHINee in general for their music!

2) Lizzy - 쉬운 여자 아니에요 (Not an Easy Girl)


I'm not a big fan of After School to be completely honest, in terms of music style. I followed Orange Caramel more because I liked the more upbeat and fun title songs. When Lizzy came out with her solo, I wasn't anticipating too much, especially with the trot genre. However, I enjoyed it immensely and can't stop playing this song. The video is also really well done with the editing and her make-up.

3) ユリ熊嵐 (Yurikuma Arashi)


Last on the list is Yurikuma Arashi, an anime directed by the infamous Ikuhara Kunihiko (better known for the older Sailor Moon anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and the more recent Mawaru Penguindrum). Like many other Ikuhara anime, Yurikuma has a lot of symbolism and hidden themes behind the relatively cute or frilly appearance. I've been excited about this show since the teaser Penguinbear website that came up shortly after Peguindrum ended and it hasn't disappointed in the four episodes out so far.

How have you guys spent the first month into a new year?