Ever since I got into make up I have been a palette type of girl. Mostly because I like the convenience of having a good selection of shades at easy reach without any fuzz. But with time, it happens that some times brands launch really amazing shades not inside palettes, but as single eyeshadows. Depending on the package this can become a bit of an issue - way too many eyeshadows flying around, things get messy, accidents happen.
Because of this solutions started to happen - why not create a magnetic palette that can carry eyeshadow pan and give the opportunity of building our own eyeshadow? And this is how Z-Palette and many other brands started to appear. Than MAC also provided their "build-your-own-palette" system and so many more brands. It's pretty much a staple to many brands - if they happen to launch a single eyeshadow collection, they need to launch the option of building a palette. Even Urban Decay has it - although their system is a bit different and something that I sadly tend to forget.
But even with my love for palettes, I found myself getting a few single eyeshadows. The question starts here, should I or should I not depot all of them, just like I did with my H&M eyeshadows and my Benefit Blush/Bronzer and Eyeshadow?

I was doing a overlook around my palette drawer and I realized I wasn't giving too much love to these two palettes. In that moment two things appeared in my mind : one I needed to obviously use them more often again since I still really like both of them and two - I need to compare them.Both are amazing palettes that neutral lovers love and appreciate.

These two babies are the crown jewel of what will become my comic collection. I usually read comic online but I am starting to put effort into getting physical versions - not only to help the comic industry and those who worked on the stories , but also because I like to collect things that I love. Collection comics is something that I like as much as collection Harry Potter Books (because I am collection more than one version...).
Before anything let me tell you this : I love both Marvel and DC Comics. I am not part of any type of war like " who's better" or "who's cooler". I love characters from both Universes for different reasons. So no wars around here please?

So I was invited to spend a week at my aunt's house - which is really close to the beach and would allow me to tan a little bit. I obviously too my laptop with me - I mean...I have shows to watch, photos to edit and I've been using my free time to write posts and prepare them to the blog. This time I want to have things more prepared and under control for when Uni starts again. While there, I had a really great time and as you can imagine I obviously took a few items of make up with me. Who am I kidding...I probably took way too much considering I spent my time trying to tan and having fun with my family. But I like to be prepared to any occasion...we never know what might appear. I could be there catching the sun and be invited to an important event. And even with that in mind I tried to not pack too much.
If you are wondering about what I took in terms of skin care, I went to my sample box and took the great majority of them with me. I don't own travel sized skin care and pouring stuff into other containers wasn't in my mind either. And as for brushes I can say that I'm really proud of myself. With the exception of basic eyeshadow brushes, I only too the necessary - I might do a brush related post regarding that later. But let's check in detail what I took with me and why.

I thought a lot about this before taking any decision. As some of you might know - others not so much - this blog turned 3 years. It has been my goal, work and safe place. It made me excel my own odds, it made me work harder and harder.

Hello Everyone!! How's it going ? I hope everything is well and okay with you! Today I'll be talking about something that I believe is really, but really important when dealing with make up : properly clean and take care of brushes. Let's be honest, brushes can be quite of an investment - I don't personally own anything like that but, someone with hakuhodo's (which are hand made I believe) will want to make sure that their brushes look amazing and are properly washed and dried out. But I own a good number of them - and I still want more? like...-and I want to make sure that they last as long as I can. Specially eye brushes - no one wants out-of-shape blending brushes.
With all of this in mind I've been doing my own research and I finally found the perfect hack for this issue. I have to mention that there are some tutorials regarding this that are actually misleading - I'll explain why later. So beware of that.

 Hello Hello! I'm finally able to write a proper review regarding this foundation! I wanted to do it before but due to my winter paleness I wasn't really able to do it until now.  I wish brands would carry out more paler shades - it's really hard to get a decent match from any Maybelline or L'Oreal foundation here for example. I'll always have to order them online, otherwise it is as if I had spread nutella on my face.
I used to go for extremely matte foundations but, as I started to age, my foundation taste changed. I'm now more into lightweight and natural looking foundations. I like it when it looks like my own skin but better. And with this in my mind I decided to get my hands on the Clinique Even Better Foundation, since it claims to even out the skin tone without looking too cackey or anything like that.  It isn't just my thing.

Once upon a time, I wrote a post called 10 Korean Beauty products to try. In that post I showcased 10 different beauty products and explained why I liked them and why you should try them. And now I am back with another 10 products I believe you guys need to try out. It is true that most of them are from the same brand, but I swear it wasn't planned in that way. I'll probably do another post in the future with more items from more different brands.  So without any further due, here another 10 Korean Beauty products I believe are worth your attention :

The Saem Cover Perfection Lip Concelaer

With the Lip gradient craze, everyone tried to archive said look. But sometimes it's quite difficult - either our lips are already pigmented or the tint shade we are using is really pale. To work out on these said issues there is a solution - a lip concealer. Many youtubers usually use regular concealer but Korean actually have an appropriate product for that - which isn't as drying and uncomfortable. The Saem's Lip Concealer is a good choice since it is contained in a tube form and it is super easy to blend and easy to work out on your lips. It is also a really nice product to have in your kit if you happen to be a Makeup Artist.

Etude House Dear Darling Tint 

If you enjoy K-Pop or Korean Fashion in general you already realised that most of the times Koreans tend to prefer tints over Lipsticks. Tints are really amazing for everyday looks since they aren't that much of a statement and usually give a more youthful look. After becoming disappointed with Benefit's tint I decided that it would be a nice idea to try out the "real thing" and get myself a Korean liptint. When Etude House celebrated their 10 Year Anniversary they launched a specially collection of their tints with a Pink Cap and I thought it would be the perfect time to get one. I have to say that I am impressed. The tint is very pigmented and easy to apply and work. You can either do gradient looks or even apply it like a regular liquid lipstick. And above everything else it isn't too drying. Something that truly deserver attention.

Mizon Ultra Suboon Cream

What can I say about this moisturiser? I already wrote a review in the past declaring my endless love to this moisturiser. I mean, it has one of my favourite ingredients - Hyaluronic Acid - and it is super affordable. My skin always looks amazing when I apply this moisturiser and my makeu p tends to look a lot better whenever I do it. If you are looking for a good moisturiser but you don't want to crack your budget, try to get this one.
 

Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence
Korea is known for developing skin care without any issues. One of the items they have developed - and are starting to be replicated on Western Skin Care - is Essence. And Essence is something you tend to apply either with a cotton pad or with your clean hands and it is meant to be used between the toner and the serum. An Essence is something like a water full of vitamins that will boost up you serum and moisturiser. I went for Secret Key's because it is similar to the popular Missha The First Treatment Essence and to the SK-II Esssence - but costing a fraction of both, specially when compared to the second. My skin has been looking more healthier whenever I apply this - pore getting unclogged, no major breakouts and scaring is healing without any major problem.

 

Etude House Lash Perm Shockcara Mascara
I got this lovely mascara from Shayne last year when we did our second swap and I can't believe I haven't spoken about here. Although this says it makes our lashes more shocking and all, in fact it gives a gorgeous natural but composed look to the lashes. I really like the wand, specially to apply it on my bottom lashes. And the formula is really, really good.  I tend to have issues with some mascara formulas - normally I can only wear wither Benefit or Korean. I once used a Maybelline mascara and my eyes couldn't stop crying and all I wanted to do was scratching. I really want to try out their newest mascara, but this one will always have a soft spot in my heart.
 

Etude House Look at My Eyes Eyeshadow
I got two of these to see what was the fuzz surrounding the Etude House single eyeshadows. I wasn't expecting to be blown away like I was. The matte shade is my go to blending crease shade. It doesn't matter what look I am using, what eyeshadow I am using - I'll use it. It isn't powdery at all. Actually, it performs better than the matte eyeshadows I have from brands like Urban Decays ( yes, I said it!). The pressed Glitter shadow is so, but so good. You can obviously use it dry but I love to wet a synthetic brush with make up fixer or a mist and apply it on my lids and let me tell - once placed, it won't move, fade or have any type of fallout. I'm seriously considering getting more shades from this range.
 

Innisfree Mineral Single Eyeshadow
After the good experience I had with the Etude House eyeshadows, I decided to try out the Innisfree shadows. Pretty much like the Etude House shadows, these have a gorgeous texture, pigmentation and performance. They are easy to blend, they don't crease and the glitter shadow performs as beautifully on my lids, without any major fallout. The colour range is also gorgeous, with seasonal shadows being launched every year.

 

 

Etude House Moisture BB Cushion
Forgive me for showing up a limited edition case but it was the one I got when I bought this cushion so I couldn't just take it out of the case. I got this Cushion last year and I actually need to repurchase a refill soon. This cushion is perfect for the winter time where I want something moisturising that helps me with the cold of the winter. It also leaves a really natural effect to the skin and doesn't cake on anything. I'm seriously impressed with this one and actually it made me want to try out more cushions (even from western brands).
 

Aritaum Sugarball Velvet Blusher
I think I have mentioned these blushes a few times here. They are usually the ones I take with me when I am travelling somewhere. They are pigmented and leave a really natural flush to my cheeks. You could think that Korean blushes aren't that pigmented but actually brands have been changing that type of concept. The packaging of these can seem a bit bulky but considering it has a good brush and a decent mirror, it isn't that bad. I just wish they could have more shades.
 

Etude House Liquid Lips Lipstick

I recently wrote a review about these little guys. I still want to grave two nude shades from this range - and maybe another burgundy shade? Who knows?. The applicator is just perfect to apply the product into your lips and the formula is really amazing. They aren't super matte at first but with time they dry out as such. And can talk about how cute this packaging is? I'm sorry Kylie but Etude House does it better. (no hate for saying this! it's just my humble opinion!!)

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Korean Beauty is something I'll always love and get interested in. TonyMoly is finally available here and I am thinking about getting some bits and bobs around my birthday time. I'll also try to catch up on writing the review about the Secret Key Essence and my talking about my current skin care routine. I've been working hard around here - or trying to at least. Thank you very much for reading and if you have any recommendations, feel free to leave them. Take care and have a nice day!