**This post is about the case and not the newly formulated cushion foundations!**

Long time no see! This blog has been abandoned for almost a year... Real life really puts you in for a spin whenever it feels like it. I've been working at the same place for the past year and life was just really up and down for me in a lot of aspects. Truthfully, it still kind of is and I don't have as much time and money to put into buying and trying new cosmetics anymore. I've had some posts written up but I didn't like them so I never posted them and just deleted them. I'm not as serious about the whole blogging thing as others but I still don't like publishing bad posts since people actually read them.

I recently came back from my three week trip to Korea, though not buying much, I ended up having to buy new cushions when I found all my favourite cushions repackaged and reformulated. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that I couldn't even buy refills for my favourite IOPE XP Cushion... I wasn't really a fan of the shape of the new IOPE cushion cases, they're very... rounded? Maybe I would've liked the new formulas but I decided not to buy it in the end (in other to buy a HERA cushion). BUT, I am thinking of purchasing one since there's a discount on them at the amorepacificmall right now...

2014 Ampoule Intense Cushion Case v.s. 2016 My Cushion Project Case

Anyway, I found out Innisfree also repackaged their cushions and cases. This change I welcomed happily because the old cushion case had this really annoying problem where changing your refill was a giant pain while the new cushion case implements what most other cushion cases already had, a hole on the bottom to push the refill out. Hallelujah.

Even with the hole in the bottom, it's still slightly tough to remove the refill.

You know what else is great about the new revamped cushion? Innisfree has made an array of patterned and coloured cases to choose from rather than a default case. It isn't so great that you have to buy the case and cushion separately now but overall, the price is the same and there are more options. The cases are a soft matte texture with innisfree printed on the top compared to the old glossy feel with the brand and cushion type text. In terms of case choices, there are twelve base colours and each colour has ~8 different designs to choose from, in total there are about 100 different cases to choose from before any special editions! (They actually have the Summer Edition ones out in Korea right now!)

The new case is about 3.5mm shorter than the old case.

There definitely weren't 100 different choices when I went to the store to buy it but there were enough to make me stand there for 10 minutes debating which one to get. Ultimately, I went for the solid pastel pink one, because it looked simple.  The case is also a bit smaller and has less rounded edges. The button clasp is also a light white gold (?) colour which makes the case even more pretty but I find the clasp a bit hard to press open since the lock is a lot more shallow now.

The bottom of the new version is a lot thinner without the extra plastic.

On top of have new cases and refills, there are new formulas. I'm not sure if it's new because I don't use the Longwear version, but there's now Longwear Waterproof as well! Each of the original three formulas now come in N-Natural or C-Cover. Natural leans more towards beige, and Cover leans more towards pink. As you can see from my photos though, I haven't opened the new formula cushion yet... I'll probably try it out in the colder months since it is slowly becoming summer in our Great North.

It is important to note that old refills will not fit into the new cushion cases as the old refills are slightly too wide for the new cases. New refills also do not fit into the old case as they aren't big enough to lock into them. So, if you're thinking of buying a new case or even just a new refill, make sure you find a posting of the version compatible to either your case or your refills.

You can check out the entire new My Cushion event on the Korean Innisfree page. You can click step three to look at all the case colours and designs!

Naruko is a Taiwanese skincare brand that promotes cruelty-free, paraben-free, and eco-friendly products. Most of their products are floral based with flowers like roses, magnolia, and narcissus, etc. The products are all mostly reasonably priced and nicely packaged.

In Toronto, Naruko is a brand that you can actually find in some T&T Supermarkets. Most locations carry more than half their product lines and are at middle ground prices ($15~30 before tax) when not on sale. From seeing the brand in the supermarkets, I decided to look into them online for more information. At that time I was relatively interested in their Rose line because I wanted to try more rose-based products.

Honestly, I don't remember why I ended up choosing the Narcissus over the Rose night gelly when I was intentionally looking to try a rose product. It might've been that the Narcissus product had more reviews and more info on Sasa so I felt more justified and safe to purchase it. For some reason, when I search up reviews for this product online, some of the reviewers used this one as if it were a (night) cream or cream in general. I've had this product for four months now, and I can definitely say it shouldn't be used as a normal cream but works lovely as a sleeping mask. I'm pretty sure it's main function is to be used as a sleeping mask.

I bought this product on Sasa.com when they had a Naruko promotion along with the respective Night Eye Gelly. I like the Night Repairing Gelly much more than the Eye Gelly, as I found the latter not very effective. The packaging is a lovely lavender colour and is more than meets the eyes. When I first took off the plastic wrap from the products, I was surprised to have the box kind of dismantle by itself. It didn't fall apart or anything but it uncurled? Um. Either way, when you open the box, there are instructions of using the box to create something out of it. The Eye Gelly box has instructions for a small basket organizer and the Night Gelly has instructions for a business card holder. The pattern on the inside of the box are very beautiful and depicts the main flower of the product.

The jar is made of purple glass, it's heavy but looks very minimalistic. I really like jars that are perfectly cylinder compared to bottleneck, teardrop, or other curved shapes, so I really liked the design of their packaging. The only downside to this packaging is that the actual product jar and lid are 1:1 in size and is also somewhat on the chunkier side as lids go.

When newly opened, it comes with a plastic tab covering the jar opening with a spatula. Depending on how rough the travel is for the item to get to you, the tab has a chance of actually falling into the jar making it kind of useless. I actually did have the tab fall into the jar and it was really messy when I opened the product. There's a part that sticks out on the tab that holds the spatula in place and the spatula itself has certain crevices too that made salvaging the loose product messy and difficult. I haven't really heard anyone else having had this problem but I guess it's worth noting just in case.

The Gelly itself is translucent, almost clear, gel type cream. The smell somewhat reminds me of medicine of some sort. If I have to guess, then I would say it's a herbal-floral smell, more on the musky side though.

The cream applies super smoothly and a little goes a long way because of this. The directions indicates that two pea-sized amounts would be adequate for the face, I tend to use a little bit more because I have a high and wide forehead. Less is better with this product because I found that if you apply a little too much, it doesn't absorb well (as with all other products) and leaves a stickier texture on your face. It already has a slightly sticky finish when you apply it in the evening, it takes a a short while to completely absorb depending on your regular skincare routine prior to applying it.

After using this product nightly for a couple of weeks, I found my skin tone a lot more consistent and held a slightly healthier brightness. It also reduced breakouts and calmed my skin well. I got this product in the fall and it worked alright, it was slightly too light textured when we transitioned into winter though. If you have dry skin, it might not be moisturizing enough and you might feel like it disappears into your skin. For me, it was much too light in the cold weather and if I slept in more than usual, my skin would start feeling dry in the morning.

While it indicates that it is for "all skin types, especially for prematurely aging skin", I find that it doesn't do much for wrinkles or fine lines. I suppose it's more for prevention than reduction.

Ingredients list.

A lot of people seem to compare this to the Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX as they are both gel type sleeping packs. I find the Water EX slightly more moisturizing than the Night Gelly, just slightly. The Water EX also absorbs a lot better than the Night Gelly and has a nice cooling effect. The scent of the Water EX lingers longer than the Night Gelly, but is supposed to aid in sleeping well. Honestly, I like both of them but prefer one over the other depending on the season. The Water EX tends to work better in summer due to the cooling sensation and the constant air conditioning requires more moisture. In spring and autumn, the Night Gelly works well because of the calming effect and light texture.

Though neither of them are especially impressive, they both do nicely to improve your skin condition during the appropriate seasons.

Pros:
- Calms skin while hydrating and brightening
- Free of parabens, artificial fragrance, colouring
- No Animal-Testing
- Eco-friendly minimalist packaging

Cons:
- Too light textured for dry skin/weather
- Packaging is defective sometimes
- Strong scent

---

This post has been in the drafts for a month now and I've been writing and rewriting it so I apologize if some things don't sound very consistent. It tends to happen when I write things over a long period of time. I've started working since my last post so I haven't really had the time or energy to write lately. With Epik High coming to Toronto this summer, I'm taking more shifts so I can get tickets to see them.

I didn't have the time to put together a Favourites post for March so I'll hopefully be doing a collective one for March and April. I also ordered almost the entire Dreaming Swan collection from Etude House so I'll hopefully find time to do a post on those when they come in. I wanted to get the Spring Fantastic Color Eyes palettes but they never went on sale on the global site so that didn't happen. It's too bad because I was literally stalking the item's page everyday and it never became available. I should've just bought them at another site I guess.

There are still drafts in my queue so I'll get to writing those as soon as possible, to be honest I'm just too lazy to edit the photos. May spring be kind to you and have a lovely day!

A friend of mine gifted me with my very first LUSH product last month, and she coincidentally picked out the gift set that I had my eyes on when my sister was picking out a gift for her own friend. The gift set she got me was the Blooming Beautiful gift set which contains the Sakura bath bomb and the Rose Jam Bubbleroon (bubble bar).

This post will be mainly about the bath bomb but I'll also touch upon the bubble bar and do an overview of the gift set in general.

I've never been a customer of Lush just due to the fact I can smell the store a mile away. My nose is somewhat sensitive to strong scents so I've always steered away from the store. Despite that, I have also heard many good things about Lush from friends which made me interested in trying some of their products, just never sure which ones as they have so many.

This gift set came wrapped in a very bright, springtime floral wrapping paper and a cute pink ribbon. The print is very cute and made me wish spring would come sooner, but this is Canada and spring is a myth. I could already smell the scent of the bath products outside the wrapping paper and even now, weeks later, the smell still lingers. With fragrance being third on the ingredients list for the bath bomb, I guess that's to be expected. There are also the manufacture and best before dates on the wrapping paper.

Upon opening the box, it comes with lots of packing peanuts and two pamphlets; one explaining the products in the gift (including directions and ingredients list) and another general Lush pamphlet. Both of these, being in the box the whole time, has completely absorbed the fragrance of the bath bomb. I keep mentioning the scent but it's like 75% of my experience, I can't help it.

I looked up some bath bomb reviews and demos since it was my first time using one I wasn't sure what the whole bath bomb protocol was. Some people recommended cutting them in half, others advised that it was best to use the whole thing at once. I have a pretty standard sized tub, it's not a deep soaker or anything like that. I decided to break my bath bomb into unequal halves to test it out. I have slight regrets about this decision as it proved to be subpar in the creamy bubbles. However, I felt that it still gave you the same soothing effect with a more subtle scent.

The Sakura bath bomb doesn't turn your bath water into any kind of amazing colour, instead it's a milky coloured bath. The coloured bath salts embedded in the bath bomb do shoot out as the bath bomb does its work in the water but doesn't affect the colour of your bath at all, in fact, they disappear quite quickly ready to be soaked into your skin. The scent is a mix of sweet and fresh florals with a hint of citrus. It made my skin feel soft and refreshed afterwards, and the scent lingers subtly for the rest of the day. I'm somewhat glad that I only used half of the bath bomb just because of the strong scent that might've occurred with using the whole thing, yet at the same time I think the overall effect would be better with the full bomb. Overall, I enjoyed it enough.

The Rose Jam Bubbleroon, however, exceeded my expectations. It was a sweet milky candy smell to it, kind of strong but not disagreeable exactly. I cut the bubble bar into four pieces and only used a quarter to try. With only a quarter, it was able to make a very bubbly pastel pink bath! I super duper love it, surprisingly. The bubble bar itself looks to have a bit of shimmer on it but I didn't really notice it in the bath water or on my skin afterwards. Due to the coconut oil and shea butter in the bar, my skin felt super smooth after my bath.

I definitely recommend using an entire bath bomb if you want the full soaking scented experience, half a bath bomb still gives you a satisfying result nonetheless. The bubble bar, on the other hand, can be cut up into smaller pieces and still provide a full bubble experience. However, I do find the bath bomb more convenient as you need to crumble the bubble bar and mix the water to have it fully dissolved. I thoroughly enjoyed the products in this particular gift set, I think my friend made a surprisingly amazing choice.

Guess who's been going to bed in the dead of night and waking in the middle of the day? (Hint: It's me.) My sleep schedule has been all turned around since February started. I'm staying up until 4am and waking up past noon. I mean, I've always been a non-scheduled sleeper so I guess it isn't too weird to me. However, having pulled a couple of all-nighters starting at an early age and just not sleeping well overall has earned me some pretty nice dark circles under my poor tired eyes.

I have never actually been one to take care of my eyes very well, up until last year or so. I didn't think I would need to be very wary about my eyes back then since I just barely stepped into my twenties. Working in cosmetics really teaches you a lot about self-care, especially Korean cosmetics. I've started using eye creams only last year but I honestly haven't found one that I particularly love.

Almost the only English you will see on the box.

The product review today is the Innisfree Eco Science White C Double Eye Circle Cream, that is certainly a mouthful to say. I got this in a haul I posted about not too long ago here, along with the sleeping mask in the same line. While the rest of the White C line is available on the Innisfree website, this eye cream alone doesn't seem to be listed. The text of the box itself is 95% Korean which is why it took me a while to write this review.

Much Korean, many confusion.

This eye cream's alluring point is that it contains a day and night cream. The [day] cream "corrects dull eyes to be bright and protects eyes against UV rays during day time" with SPF35 PA++, meanwhile the [night] cream "improves dull eye circle and takes care of fine wrinkles". According to the descriptions for the product, it contains Jeju organic tangerine and green tea which in turn gives double the whitening effect.

As many Innisfree products, this one has has a 5 Free System (Paraben free, animal ingredient free, mineral oil free, artificial fragrance free, and imidazolidinyl urea free). But, speaking of ingredients, there doesn't seem to be a full ingredients list on the box. I tried to use the translator on every side of the box but it only gives me a few ingredients.

Ingredients as indicated on the box:
Day Cream: Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, titanium dioxide, bemotrizinol**, arbutin, polyacrylate-13, phenoxyethanol, ascorbyl glucoside.
Night Cream: Arbutin, polyacrylate-13, phenoxyethanol, adenosine, ascorbyl glucoside
**비스에헥실옥시체놀메톡시페닐트리아진 bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine
(This ingredient gave me hell to translate.)

I looked around some more to see if there was a full list of ingredients somewhere, there usually is after all. You can find more information on CosDNA; click here for [day] and click here for [night]. I am not sure, however, how accurate this is but CosDNA is pretty trustworthy for the most part. More trustworthy than Google Translate, surely.

As of now, I've completely finished the [night] side of this eye cream. The reason is very simple, it's simply because I don't go out everyday. With the [day] cream having SPF, I find it unnecessary to apply unless leaving the house so I use the night cream probably twice as much. In the month that I've used it, I saw a slight reduction in my dark circles. The difference is very small but still noticeable. I suppose if I used it even more that it would slowly, but surely, fade the dark circles even more but with only 10ml for each side, you'll most likely have to repurchase a few times. In terms of the day cream, I mainly use that one like sunscreen for my eye area. It definitely does a bit of brightening from the shimmery white cast that it has. Neither side has done much or anything at all for wrinkles, honestly.

Dual pump, tubes are opaque so you can't see remaining product.

This product comes in a pump container which is always welcomed for it being more hygienic. I had a small problem with the pump though because it seems to pump a bit too much sometimes and it is a little harder to control the amount that comes out. For me, I had to fiddle with how much to push down to get the right amount and usually half a pump is just about enough. The pump is also not very comfortable to use and the spout is slightly problematic, personally. I think I just have a personal grudge against the design of this pump because objectively it isn't that big of a problem.

That was half a pump of [day] and the last bit of [night]. You can see the shimmer in [day].

Here's the part that explains why I have a small problem with the amount that pumps out with each pump. The consistency of both these creams are very light, almost watery when applying to the skin. This kind of consistency is really good for an eye cream because you don't want something too thick and heavy in the eye area. However, this consistency makes it difficult to know how much product you actually need when you first start using it. One full pump of product gives you more than enough for both eyes, and if you're using the day cream, it gives you a heavier white cast/shimmer. This will probably vary among person to person, but I would suggest trying half pump before going for the full pump just in case.

Both the day and night cream have a tangerine peel smell, it's a slightly herbal scent. It's hard to explain what it smells like but it's similar to a bitter citrus scent. It isn't as bad as the dried peels that you might have come across in a chinese restaurant or supermarket, but it has a very good semblance to it. The smell fades super quick and isn't very noticeable unless you are purposefully trying to smell it.

Pros:
- Gently brightens and whitens dark circles
- Very lightweight texture
- Provides UV protection for sensitive eye area
- Hygienic pump
- Convenient 2-in-1 product (day & night)

Cons:
- The day cream is shimmery?
- Herbal smell might be weird?
- Small amount of product

Overall, it is a good product and I was pretty satisfied with the results. I'm not sure about repurchasing right now since I don't really think I've made good use of the day cream. I'm mainly an indoor person so I might not even have much use for the sun protection to justify a repurchase for a 2-in-1 product. I might actually switch over to the White Tone Up version instead later on since it has the same function.

Happy Valentine's Day everybody! I certainly haven't been writing a lot this past week, sorry. February is always kind of hectic in our family because of birthdays, taxes, and Chinese New Year. Speaking of birthdays, I recently got myself an iMac so I've been trying to get used to all the functions and different shortcuts, as well as transferring all the files from my old laptop. Since I have no plans for Valentaine's Day anyway (sobs), I finally have time to write!

After finally having time in my life again, I met up with some friends for a nice get-together dinner. One of my friends' mom had just come back from Hong Kong with an extensive mask haul apparently. She gifted us all each a different type of Annie's Way sheet mask, a Taiwanese mask brand that is relatively popular in HK. Having at this point, never trying masks other than korean masks, I was really delighted to be able to try this brand.

For those of you who are not familiar with Annie's Way, they are a Taiwanese Mask brand established in 2009 exclusively for masks of all types. The sheet material is 100% imported from Japan and all of their products go through extensive quality control to give consumers the safest and best products. Other than sheet masks, they also have jelly masks, soaps, and now even skincare products. More information can be found on their website; here.

Starting off, I just want to say that the packaging is really nice. It's very minimal and looks very elegant. The colour of the packaging is dependent on the function of the masks. The pink ones are generally for sensitive skin.

Function: Chamomile keeps skin supple and smooth. Infusing over sensitive and dry skin with moisture to regain your skin’s healthy glow.

I chose the chamomile one out of the other ones that she brought since my skin wasn't feeling too great at the time (as mentioned in a previous post). Surprisingly though, most of us in the group of friends do have relatively sensitive skin to begin with. Being all from the same line of work at some point, we all looked at the ingredients list almost immediately after receiving these. I was very surprised and delighted to see the extremely short ingredients list. With only five ingredients, it seemed almost too good to be true. There was no mineral oil, alcohol, paraben, or any other harmful ingredients in the list. This is however only the MAIN ingredients and not the full list.

Full list of ingredients: Dist water.Carbopol 980.Butylene Glycol.Chamomile Extract.Soy Extract.Vitamin E.Allantoin.Dipotassium Glycyrrhizinate.D-panthenolB5.Methylisothiazolinone.Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate.

You can find the full list of ingredients on the official website listings for each product. While the full list is not too much longer, it is kind of misleading to only have the main ingredients on the packaging. The only ingredients that I found to be somewhat questionable are the Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate (IPBC). They are both relatively strong preservatives of which have somewhat harmful properties if one has constant or over exposure to.

There isn't any artificial fragrances and the smell was very very subtle. It was a very calming floral scent that wasn't over powering. The mask was sufficiently soaked and had a plastic sheet to make it easier to open up I assume. The plastic sheet actually confused me but it kept the cloth of the sheet from sticking to each other.

I had only a small problem with the fitting of the mask. The cutouts for the eyes and the lips were a little on the smaller side. The cutting for the eyes were a little small and closer together than many of the ones I've tried before, the mask would touch the outer corner of my eyes. The philtrum area was too thick and it actually covered my upper lip as well. Otherwise, I think the fitting is okay.

In terms of results, my skin definitely felt more hydrated and soft. It slightly reduced the redness of my skin but not to the extent that it was fully gone. There was no further reaction so it is definitely good for sensitive skin. It basically does what it is supposed to, I don't expect masks to go beyond their descriptions to impress me. Overall, it is a satisfying mask. I didn't expect too much and it gave me exactly what was promised.

Pros:
- Subtle floral smell
- Hydrating, moisturizing
- Attractive Packaging

Cons:
- Questionable preservatives
- Small fitting

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day whether you have a companion or not. I'll send you my love and chocolates all the same. Feel free to follow me on bloglovin now if you like my posts, it'll probably make it easier to follow!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Since Innisfree just recently launched their new lucky bag events (details at their site or at the bottom of this post), I thought it'd be the perfect time to finally write my review for their famous Green Tea Seed Serum set. However, because it's been reviewed by basically every blogger in existence, I'll just do a brief overview of my thoughts on it.

I actually got this set when Innisfree first opened their online shopping site; Innisfree World. It was very widely raved about in the k-beauty world so I wanted to try it out. I used this almost every day since October, but I have changed to only using it in the mornings from about December and onwards. The Balancing Skin and Lotion, however, I have only used  for a month when I got it.

When I first started using the serum, I was finishing up another essence from thefaceshop which I believe was the Calming Seed SOS Care Essence (a repurchase). My skin is slightly sensitive so I try to choose lines that are more calming and not too heavy in texture or scent. While the Green Tea Seed Serum does seem to have a pretty strong scent, it smelled very subtle. It has a sweet leafy scent to it. I used this on top of my regular skincare routine at first to allow my skin to familiarize with it and see if I'd have any reaction to it. Happily, it seems that my skin was fine with it. I phased out my other essence and only used the serum after about a week, my skin continued to feel very hydrated and calm. 

The serum pumps out not really the translucent white colour but rather a translucent yellow-brown colour. I've read some other post that said their bottle was more white but there are also those whose serum comes out the same colour as I've encountered. I'm sure both are fine and it depends on the batch that you get your bottle from. In the bottle, it looks pretty white but the colour is definitely different pumped out.

5-Free System: Free of paraben, artificial colour, mineral oil, animal by-products, and imidazolidinyl urea.

In terms of overall results of using this serum, I'd say my face feels generally more hydrated and it did quickly reduce my problematic dry areas. I can't say that my face is noticeably more clear or anything like that but it does feel more balanced in terms of hydration. Hydration is the first step to clear skin so I do really like the serum itself. At the moment, even though I've almost used it up, I'm still deciding on whether I want to repurchase it. I might actually go and try Soy Essence [light] instead since they are both something you use before a toner. I will miss the pump bottle of this GTS Serum though.

As for the Skin and Lotion that the set came with, I would say it's more recommended for summer use rather than autumn/winter. They definitely do some sebum and oil control thus being not enough for me to use during the colder more dry season that I bought them in. 

Pros:

- Light texture absorbs quickly

- Hydrating for Combo/Dry skin

- Packaging makes it easy to hold and pump out

Cons:

- Might be more suitable for Summer or more humid climates

- Slightly too light for Dry skin

---

If you are interested in Innisfree's Green Tea line, they are currently having an event for their 15th Anniversary with lucky bags! There's one for the Green Tea line and also one for the Volcanic Scoria line. Both of them seem to be more for Combo/Oily skin especially in this season, but if you are interested, now's a good time to check out a good amount of their bestselling items!

The past week has been busy, tying up knots to previous obligations and making decisions to close another chapter of my life. Still getting things sorted but 2015 should be going with a nice start. January is already half over, hopefully everyone is doing great so far!

As a girl with way too many lip products and only one pair of lips, I've been trying to cut down on buying lipsticks. It proves difficult every year to finish the lipsticks that I already have. However, as you can see from the post title, I got another one.

Today, I'll be talking about TheFaceShop's Artist Touch Lipstick-Creamy Matte #BR801. It is one of the more nude colours compared to a lot of their other bright colours. To be honest, I find that thefaceshop doesn't have enough colour variety when it comes to their lipsticks. A lot of them tend to be on the lighter side so it's hard to get a good deep burgundy or even a deep rouge. Either way, I picked up this corally nude colour instead. As the package indicates, it's a matte lipstick with a creamy texture. Packaging-wise, it's very similar to MAC's lipsticks.

Product description and ingredient list.

I've liked many of their Moisture and Glossy lipsticks so I decided to give the Creamy Matte one a try as well. I can't say I'm totally into this one though. The Moisture and Glossy lipsticks were more sheer and similar to tint balms in terms of colour and texture, thus their labels. While the pigmentation of the CM lipstick is definitely higher, I'm not sure if I like this one or not.

While applying the lipstick, you can definitely feel the creamy texture, however, once it's on your lips it doesn't feel as creamy anymore. I'm kind of sensitive to the feeling on my lips so I don't like it if I can "feel" the lipstick weighing on my lips. This lipstick starts drying out your lips almost immediately if you didn't prime your lips lip balm beforehand. It also accentuates any kind of dry skin on your lips, which I suppose is very common for matte lipsticks but, after a while my lips got even flakier and drier. I definitely recommend using a heavy lip balm and/or using a lip scrub before using the Creamy Matte lipsticks. 

While the pigmentation of the TheFaceShop lipstick seems very pigmented compared to their other finishes in the same line, the Etude House Dear My Wish line is much more pigmented and creamy. It takes my Etude House lipstick only two (or sometimes even one) strokes to achieve the colour payoff of maybe 3~4 strokes of the TheFaceShop one. Of course, the Etude House lipstick is more orange/pink and not as nudey brown as the TheFaceShop lipstick but at least it's not as drying. I've tried applying my Etude House Jelly Lips Talk lipstick before applying this lipstick and it comes off a bit better but colour payoff obviously isn't as high as just using the lipstick alone. It just felt like the colour wouldn't adhere to my lips on top of the other lipstick.

In terms of durability, it's not too long-lasting. It has no tinting properties so when you drink something or eat something, 75% of the colour comes off. Reapplying every two to three hours will be inevitable for this kind of lipstick.

Overall, I'm really sad about this lipstick because I really liked the colour of it. It's really unfortunate how drying it is on my lips. I'll most likely still use this lipstick because I love the colour but I'll definitely have to be diligent in checking if my lips are looking human if I do. If you would prefer something less drying, the Moisture and the Glossy finishes of the Artist Touch lipsticks aren't bad and they also have similar nude colours with less powdery finish thus not as dry. I personally prefer the Moisture > Glossy > Creamy Matte.

Pros:
- A really nice nude colour
- The colour is true to the swatch mostly

Cons:
- Extremely drying
- Accentuates dry lips
- Not long-lasting

Two reviews in two days? Well, 2015 is starting out productive for now. As a person who needs to wear make-up to work almost every day, a make-up remover is obviously a must have. Ever since I've started work, I've moved from one make-up remover to the next. I still am on the hunt for the perfect eye make-up remover. Recently, I ran out of my Innisfree Soy Essence Mascara Remover and needed to find a replacement quickly. I scurried to the closest place after work to see if they had the Etude House one in stock but alas, sold out, of course. Holiday season is the worst for shopping. I decided to just go and check what TonyMoly had at the time and picked something up for 10% off.

The TonyMoly Blast FRESH Lip&Eye Remover (100ml), was what I decided on after mulling over it for ten minutes in the store. They had this remover and the Clear Water Lip&Eye Remover which was slightly more expensive, but the packaging was definitely more convenient with the pump and it had 65ml more of product. The reason I went with this Fresh one instead is because the Clear Water one had methylparaben and I didn't particularly like the smell of it. I'm not usually a stickler for paraben products, but my eyes are a little more sensitive so I try to avoid that for that area of my face. I actually asked the sales associate there about the two and what the difference was and which one was better but she was unhelpful. She just suggested I try them out myself in the store, and I did. Let's just say neither of them particularly impressed me with removing their waterproof eyeliners. The Fresh remover smelled a bit better and, from what I could make out from the back (which is almost fully Korean), is free of six types of additives in which paraben is one.

It was so hard to capture this in the right light because of the translucent packaging text.

It took me so long to actually find a full english description for this product after I got home. It does come up but it seems like the other version, Perfect, tends to be a bit more popular. I believe they have overall the same formula, save the oil layer that only the Perfect version has. From all the research and translating, I gathered the below general description for the Fresh remover. Please correct me if any of this information is wrong.

• Mild water type lip and eye remover to deliver smooth, moist, neatly sweeps away even point make-up for sensitive skin
• Major ingredients include; Jojoba Seed, Lavender, Olive, Argan, and Avocado for nourishing the skin, and also Baking Powder to thoroughly remove dark make-up and impurities
• Free of six additives; parabens, mineral oil, phenoxyethanol, benzophenone, triclosan, and artificial colour

The first time I tried it, I didn't really like it because it didn't immediately remove my waterproof liquid or gel liner off my eyes and even left a dark cast. I had to use what was left of my other remover to completely clean the rest of my eye make-up off. The next day, I shook the product a bit and it worked a little bit better, but I wasn't wearing the same type of eye make-up.

In the photos above, I used my Innisfree Lip Mousse #4, thefaceshop Make Me Star Waterproof Gel Liner #2, Etude House PLAY 101 Pencil #1, and Innisfree Powerproof Brush Liner #1. As you can see in the second and third images, it is not very good at removing waterproof gel liners very gently. I had to scrub really roughly to get my Etude House liner off. It did leave my skin smooth and fresh feeling with a very clean scent, but slightly red from rubbing. I'll probably try to move on from this remover quickly or grab another one to use with it when I have to wear more waterproof make-up.

I think this remover might be okay if you're using it to fix your eye make-up and not thinking of thoroughly removing it. I can see myself using this to fix the wings of my liner or clean up smudges since it isn't greasy at all. However, as I said, I'm not satisfied with it and it is highly unlikely I'll repurchase this remover.

Pros:
- Leaves skin feeling smooth and fresh without greasiness
- Clean, fresh scent
- Free of additives

Cons:
- Does not gently remove sturdy waterproof eye liners
(I think that reason itself is a glaring flaw.)

Happy new year, I'm glad that 2014 is finally over. It's been a very busy holiday season at work, thus anything outside of work was almost impossible to do unless I forgo sleep. But, work has slowed down now so I can finally write this post that's been sitting in the drafts for who knows how long... Long enough that I've used both the products up already, let's just say. Saying such, I don't remember when exactly I purchased or got either of these items.

Please ignore what's in the background, I'm still in the middle of reorganizing my desk. 

Starting with the Chia Seed Boosting Essence (80ml), according to the description on the international TFS site;

"First-step boosting essence for use when the skin is thirsty after washing face."

• A boosting essence used during the first step of skincare
• Provides active ingredients to tired and puffy skin and fundamentally moisturizes the skin.
• A natural jelly moisture film absorbing moisture 10 times its own weight
• Chia seeds that are filled with moisture deliver moisture deep between dead skin cells to keep the inner parts of the skin clear and moisturized.
• Contains 100% chia seeds water instead of water
• Chia seeds water is extracted within 24 hours via the Fresh method, instead of water delivers the vitality of the highly pure chia seeds.

So many words. In short, the boosting essence activates your skin cells to absorb better, therefore, boosting the effects of the rest of your skincare products. What is supposedly so special about this particular one is that the chia seed water also gives your skin a good amount of hydration as well.

Most of the chia seed line is also known to be free of any parabens, benzophenone, artificial colouring, alchohol, mineral oil, animal sourced ingredients, and triethanolamine. So it should be okay for those with sensitive skin as well.

The essence is a clear watery gel type texture and applies very coolly. The scent is light and fresh, similar to the rest of the chia seed line at THEFACESHOP. It absorbs rather quickly and leaves a pretty smooth feeling.

Onto whether it does what it says. To be honest, I didn't notice too big of a difference whether I used it or not. My skin did feel slightly more hydrated and smooth when I added it to my skincare routine. My friend who gifted it to me raved about loving it a lot but I didn't love it as much as she did. It isn't a bad product, it does what it says to an extent. The rest of my skincare products do absorb a lot quicker into my skin when I added the boosting essence, but the effort of adding an extra product doesn't make my routine any more quick.

I would only recommend the boosting essence to those who aren't satisfied with their current skincare or feel like nothing they are using is being absorbed as well as they should. I don't think my skin is at the stage where I really need an absorption boost but there are others out there that this product might be great for.

Pros:

- Light in texture and scent
- Quickly absorbed
- Increases skin's absorption level slightly

Cons:

- Seems like an extra step for lazy people like me
- Gets used up really quickly (1~3 months)

And finally, to the Soothing Mist Toner (170ml), which was an item I got probably, sometime in summer. It was something I saw a lot of my friends used as a regular face mist. I got really interested and started trying it out since my face was getting irritated during that point in time by something in the air or the heat. 

"A mist-type toner for quick soothing and moisture-recharging with fine moisture drops"

• A mist-type moisturizing toner to soothe dry and sensitive skin
• Fine moisture drops impart quick soothing effects the moment they touch the sensitive and reddened skin.
• Full hydration by organically germinated chia seeds

This product has been empty for a while now, I absolutely loved it. This mist toner can be used as a regular toner or as a face mist. At first, I mainly used it as a face mist for extra hydration throughout the day since I had a toner already but this worked really well as a toner as well.

The spray head on this product creates a really fresh and fine mist that feels super nice on the skin. I usually had to spray 3~4 times to feel completely covered though. I tried refilling this product with my sample of the Chia Seed Watery Toner, but the texture of the toner when sprayed out is not as fine and a lot more watery. It felt like... spraying water on your face and not misty at all. So the mist toner's toner is definitely somewhat different from the original watery toner. The price of the Mist Toner and the Watery Toner are the same so you really shouldn't need to refill it with the watery toner anyway I suppose.

The Mist Toner has the same fresh scent as the rest of the chia seed line, not too overpowering. I stopped using it only because I found it not as effective as a regular toner in autumn and winter. It's hydrating but it doesn't feel moisturizing enough for the colder seasons. It's not bad as a refreshing face mist over my make-up either as there isn't too much oil and isn't heavy at all. It doesn't melt my make-up off and refreshes the skin through the make-up. For winter, the Watery Toner might be a better choice, but I decided to try the Etude House one instead.

I will probably repurchase this later on, unless I find a nicer face mist. I don't use face mists very often since I don't have the luxury to spray my face anytime during work. But I really recommend this for those who like mist toners or need a refreshing mist for setting make-up or daily use. The bottle might be a tad too big to take out with you but you could probably transfer it into a smaller spray bottle.

Pros:
- Easy to use
- Refreshing and Hydrating
- Can use over make-up without fear of smudging it

Cons:
- Needs to spray a couple of times
- You need good aim to spray your face
- Half of what you spray disintegrates into the air
- Too large to be portable