Review: TonyMoly + The Face Shop + Missha

I think I only have one or two things left to review from my 2010 Korea-trip haul now :D They're all sunscreens and not "popular" items people want to know about so yahhh ^_^v  I also made a few small orders of more sheet masks (I know, I'm insane but I actually used ALL the ones I ordered last time and my skin has really improved from 3-4 months ago).  I purchased a number of masks from lesser known Korean brands like Cosline, Skinlite, and VOV along with the usual MBD and Silk Whitia.  I can't wait to review them but Sasa has been taking forever - almost three friggin weeks (they were exceptionally slow this time, it's usually just 2 weeks) but it should be here in a week or so.

For people who skipped the end ^^ there were some general announcements:
1.) Giveaway to win a UD Naked Palette (w/ pencil) ends in 10 days (2/28).  Minimum donation of $5, that's it :)
2.)  I've opened a little Blogsale (tab in the horizontal menu) with a few items I am weeding out.  Most of these products aren't necessarily bad - they just don't work for me and I figure it's better to let people who might want to try these for pretty darn cheap if I say so myself ;)
3.) I have v-log channel of ridiculousness.
4.) And...hi real-life peeps!  You guys know who you are ^_~  And uhhh, try not to laugh at me too much hehehe >0< Like at my overuse of emoticons @_@

TonyMoly eggpore Blackhead Out Oil Gel + Silky Pore Balm
Full review here.

The Face Shop Oil Blotting Papers

I don't like these.  I've seen these go on Ebay for as low as .99/packet (not including S&H of course) but even so, I don't think these are worth buying.  The famous Boscia blotting papers are just so superior, even at $10/packet.  The texture, feel, and paper-y scent of the TFS sheets literally makes you feel like you're blotting with brown lunch bags :\  The only positive I have to say about these is that since they're thick, they don't tear easily even when soaked with oil ;)

The Face Shop Gold Eyelash Curler

This is the eyelash curler I use at the moment but I'm not particularly fond of it.   It works and fits my eye well (much better than American brands) since it's flatter, but it is tarnishing and it's been less than a year :( And that is all I have to say about this.  Maybe the silver color will be fine but the gold one - stay away :P

Missha The Shining Stick Eyes
Full review here.

Overall
Lots of 'nays' in this batch review, unfortunately. I don't recommend the TonyMoly Blackhead Out Oil Gel, the TFS Oil Blotting Papers, or the TFS gold eyelash curler.  I recommend the TonyMoly Silky Smooth Balm only to those with small textural scars and wrinkles.  The only thing I do recommend for everyone to try are the Missha The Shining Stick Eyes.  However, considering how difficult it is to get in America, I'd add that you should only buy it online if you can get it below $8 USD at least.  Anything more, you may regret it since there have been people saying it creases a lot on them (why it doesn't on me I'm not sure).

Review: TonyMoly Products + Upward-Outward Face Massaging/Washing

I don't have many TonyMoly (English website) products :( I should've bought more while I was in Korea - they really have the cutest packaging ever!  Everything is in the shape of the main ingrediant ^_^ Coincidentally, the products you see below are among their most popular - yah, for being sucked in by adorable packaging!  I can't wait to try the Ice Cream Sunscreen sample I have :) I heard it feels like ice cream (aka cold, refreshing) on your face~

Sadly, I feel like TonyMoly products are getting harder to get in the US :(  Sasa.com just completely dropped TonyMoly from its inventory 2-3 weeks ago! I was SO shocked, I had the Tomatox in my cart and one day it was just gone :(  BUT they do carry TonyMoly at YesStyle so that's good~  I tend to refrain from purchasing from YesStyle though because I feel like they tend to be on the expensive side but in this case, their TonyMoly products are decently priced (though Sasa was cheaper :P).

Translation of commercial clips:

At the beginning: "How old are you?"
At the end: "How old do I look?"

This TonyMoly commercial was advertising some kind of serum that smooths out your skin to make you look younger.  The girl in the MV is Narsha, from Brown Eyed Girls, best known for their sexy Abracadabra dance, and the guy is Song Joong Ki (Sungkyunkwan Scandal), an actor known for his baby face.  The "joke" is that BEG is known for being a "noona" group aka they're "old" as far as pop singers go (ages 23-29) and it's "trendy" in Korea  for guys to date older woman or rather, girls to date younger guys (if such a thing can even be a trend).   Anyway, that's what the MV is kind of poking fun at~ :)

In any case, I think I went pretty in-depth in the review video so I'll refrain from writing too much xD

TonyMoly BB Slim Pact Party Lover

Shade 2: Natural Beige

Super soft sponge!  Very easy to wash :)  I'm a NC25 (max NC30) and Shade 2 is a nice color.  It may seem a little white on application but when you blend it out it's quite natural.  It's not translucent although it is quite sheer.  Texture is creamy and blend-able although it can cake if you add to much (duh) and very moisturizing.  It does crumble sometimes though if you rub the cake too hard with the sponge :P But that started happening only after I hit the pan so it prolly does that since the cake is thinner and more fragile now.   It has Light-Medium coverage but you need to blend well and build up to it.

Overall, I really like this  little compact :)! It's so portable and convenient.  Perfect for touch-ups and has remarkably good coverage~  Recommended :)

TonyMoly Contouring Brush 

Nothing much to add beyond what I said in the video. Overall, I don't recommend it because it's just so typical and there's no way you'll be able to get this for a fair price if you need to import it.

TonyMoly Appletox Smooth Massage Peeling Cream

Ahh...no doubt this is one of the cutest peeling creams eva~!!  Besides the uber-cute packaging, this thing really got famous after a candid photo of a some k-celebrity couple lovingly massaging each others faces with this *sigh* started circulating the net (I searched everywhere for this pic >_< couldn't find it).  Anyway, now green apples are pretty much the symbol for "peeling" masks :P   Anyway, even with all the the hype - for once, imho, this little baby actually lives up to the hype :)!

It's quite gentle yet leaves a refreshing feel after you wash it off.  However, it's a gentle peel for reason - this is a massage cream - not an exfoliater, the exfoliating is just a bonus.  Very moisturizing and smells amazing - like sweet granny smith apples.  It's not a very intensive peel but it's ok because then even sensitive skinned people can use it.   Also the gentleness makes this is great for winter because if you over-exfoliate during winter, it will make most people very dry and flaky instead of silky smooth :P  And remember: this must be used on a dry-ish face!  It's not as effective if your face is soaking wet, so you can't use this in the shower :P

On Face Massaging & Face Washing
Koreans are big believers in face-massaging.  They believe that massaging your face helps circulation in your skin (more youthful complexion) and can even make your face smaller/create a natural face lift over time ^_^  I dunno about the latter but many celebrities swear by "face massages."   They do this by massaging in an outward-upward fashion with massage creams like Appletox.  I'd imagine that you'd have to massage your face every night to get a real effect :P but I don't think that means it doesn't work either. You should also wash your faces like this - splash on water and sweep upward and outward to rinse, never down.  While I don't know if this upward-outward massaging/face washing will really keep my face from sagging forever, better safe than sorry right ^_^?  Plus it kind of makes sense in a way....if you tug your face downward while washing, even for 15 seconds every morning and night - over a lifetime that adds up to a lot of time you spent making your face saggy, neh?

This Japanese lady was on a Korean TV show once to show how she washes her face.  She's famous for her amazing skin - and I must say - it is amazing, very firm and youthful!  Can you believe she's 52-years old?! She did an awesome demo of it on the show, she's tiny and super cute ^_^ I couldn't find the clip of the actual show I watched but the link above shows essentially the same thing.  Notice that she never tugs her skin downwards, she is always looking up, and uses only the gentlest foam on her face :) She also massages in tiny circles to stimulate circulation.  To rinse, she only dabs at her face to prevent pulling.  Both my mom and I switched over to this method after watching the show cuz it sure as hell is working for this lady xD

On the Korean version of the show they did a camera closeup of her face of a water droplet hitting her face.  The way the water drop hits your face demonstrates elasticity.  For example, when water hits a baby's skin the droplet tends to stay as one "drop," while on mature, less elastic skin, water "splashes" outwards when it hits your face.  Basically, this Japanese lady's face is literally soft as a baby's butt ^0^

I also reviewed the TonyMoly eggpore Shiny Skin Soap before.

Review: Etude House Products

I updated my Lioele Help Me Dark Circle Eye Cream and TonyMoly eggpore Shiny Skin Soap reviews with Before & After pics. In a nutshell, both were disappointments.

I didn't purchase many Etude House products while in Korea because I thought it was just so...pink ^^ But I have come to regret it :( especially since I've become so attached to their lip products :P  For people unfamiliar with Etude House (their English site), it's a Korean cosmetics brand that competes with the likes of Skinfood, Missha, TonyMoly, The Face Shop, Holika Holika etc and targets the teen/early20s crowd.  In other words, they have very affordable prices, cute packaging and often use kpop celebrities to advertise ^_^

Overall, I think Etude House packaging is pretty decent. Definitely not lux by any means but definitely very cute and sturdy enough, you don't have to worry about anything falling apart in your bag. I have to say on the whole EH packaging is superior to regular American drugstore brand packaging.  Their theme tends to be a little too pink and sparkly for my taste but that's their image and I respect that. 

Etude House has an official online store as well, all in English, where you can actually buy EH items.  They don't offer most of their best products but they do ship to the US for only $6 flat!  The site is very user friendly and on the whole, the English on their packaging is perfectly coherent.   Of the products you can purchase from their official store, I would recommend trying the Code B Eye Makeup line, Dear Darling Lip Tint, the Moistfull (yes 2 L's) Collagen line, and VIP Girl Dear Darling Lipsticks.  I haven't tried any of these but they are getting a lot of media attention.

Etude House Top 10 V-Line Maker

....boobies.

Top 10 is the name of one of Etude House's lines, I don't know what the line is supposed to do exactly, but my impression is that it's a line of "summer-time" makeup, mostly bronzing/slimming products.  In any case, I was super excited to try this when I bought it because I have been on the hunt for a proper contouring color for months and the packaging seemed very promising since this palette is a "V-line Maker." A V-line is Korean slang to describe the 'ideal' face, a slim oval with a delicately pointed chin, thus forming a V.  And as for why they have a bust on the box -_- it's because you can also use this palette on your chest area to make your boobies look bigger ~_~

So basically, what we have here is a highlighting/contouring palette, which is supposed to help you make that "V-shaped" face (and yes, I'm aware of the social emphasis on physical beauty these kinds of terms can imply but this is neither the time nor place for it).  The palette has a light vanilla scent, it's quite pleasant.  The palette is no thicker than 1.5 cm so it's very portable.  I also find the packaging color to be remarkably understated for a normally pink obsessed Etude House. 

Interestingly, this product contains Caffeine and Coffee Seed Extract, presumably to tighten your face (though seeing as it's listed as among the last 5 products, I doubt there is any affect. Not to mention I didn't smell a hint of coffee, which has a pretty distinct and strong scent). 

Btw, for those unfamiliar with Korea's fixation on assigning letters to describe body parts here are the terms mentioned in the instructions:
V-line: a small oval face w/ pointed chin
U-zone: the curve of your forehead and hairline (where you add a contouring color to make your forehead seem smaller)
T-zone: forehead, nose bridge, chin (where you highlight)

As for the actually quality of the product, I'm not impressed.  At all.  The highlighting color is wearable but quite powdery and prone to clumping if you're wearing liquid foundation.  Also it's difficult to get out of the pan so it's nigh impossible to highlight larger parts of your face like your cheekbones.  The contouring color is even worse.  I demonstrate this in the video but good luck getting this on your face :\   It's just exceedingly difficult to get out of the pan and in any case, the color looks way too orange for my taste.

Overall, I do not recommend this palette to anyone.  It's nearly useless, though I do use this on occasion to highlight my nose. But honestly, I have like 3-4 nice highlighters already and I don't need another. As for contouring, I have yet to find a suitable product; my ideal contouring color would be some kind of light tan that is buildable with a matte finish. 

Dear Darling Ultra Shine Lip Stick - No. 7 Coral Shine

Finally, the good stuff.  Whatever Hydro-Glossy Polymer and Elastin Cushion is - I love this lipstick.

There are 14 shades offered, though I'm not sure why No.11-14 are in beige tubes, not pink.  Packaging is a wee bit on the cutesy girl side but it's tolerable and not overmuch.  It's a plastic tube but it's sturdy enough.  It's also a slim tube of lipstick but I like that.  Scent is fantastic, like delicate watermelon/peach with a refreshing tangy edge.  Not chemically smelling at all and hands down the best scented lipstick ever.   

The color I got is color #7 Coral Shine.  I don't see any coral in this :\ but it's a lovely pink color with gold/green shimmer. It's definitely sheer but to me that's what makes it so utterly wearable since I have very pigmented lips.   As I mentioned in the video, Etude House is known for their lip products so EH has a nice range of colors.  Even if this color is not right for you, you can certainly find one among the fourteen lipstick colors they have.    These are not highly pigmented but like I said, that's what makes these shades very wearable.  And there is color to these lipsticks, they're just not opaque.  It's just the kind of lipstick you could slick on when you're in a rush and perfect of people who don't want to deal with highly pigmented lipstick troubles (aka getting it on your teeth, smearing it etc).

Pros:
- smells awesome, like a tangy watermelon or something.
- non-sticky
- very slick, even application
- leaves a very subtle gloss
- great color range

Cons:
- not that long-lasting.
- it's very sheer - though to me it makes it quite wearable.
- some may find the glitter too chunky.

I like this lipstick a lot but that's because it does what I want it to do.  I wouldn't reach for these if I want a lot of color (NYX Round Lipsticks can do that) but I literally wear these on a daily basis simply because it's so easy to apply, moisturizing, and low maintenance.  It's truly my favorite lipstick in terms of every day wear-ability.   I have Swatches below with the Dear Darling gloss.

Dear Darling Gloss - No. 18 Pink Split

They carry 19 shades of this product, which is a pretty big range for lip glosses I think.   Packaging is simple and sturdy but very pretty.  This gloss has silver and light purple glitter and reflects silver.

Smells stronger than the lipstick, like sweet watermelon candy, but still by far the most pleasantly scented lipgloss I've ever encountered.  What really made this lipgloss for me was the the complete lack of stickiness.  Not a hint of tackiness, stickiness - nothing.  It's slick without being watery and glossy without slipping off your lips (like C.O. Bigalow's Menthe Lipgloss, which ends up on my chin after I talk).  This gloss does have a hint of pink to it but it's very faint and therefore perfect as a lipstick topper for just about everything.  Interestingly, I find this lip gloss to last longer than the lipstick.  After I eat I still have a hint of shine.

Pros:
- smells awesome, like a tangy watermelon or something.
- non-sticky
- applies smoothly
- great topper for anything
- great color range

Cons:
- it's very sheer - though to me it makes it quite wearable.
- some may find the glitter too chunky.

These two lip products are my go-to look on a daily basis.  It adds just a touch of pink + shine, I never have to worry about it smearing or slipping and they both smell great.   This is what these two products look like on my lips together :)

Super natural but gives your lips a healthy color.  If you click to make it bigger, you can see the little glitter flecks from the Dear Darling gloss.  Like I've said, this is a staple lip look for me. It's just perfect for every day.

Oblique Line Brush

You can actually purchase this on their website for $7.99 + S&H.  I don't recommend getting unless your doing an EH Haul though ^^ I really like this brush, however, because it has a short handle (I can lean closer to the mirror) and has a very precise tip and fine edge.  I've washed it several times already and it's holding up well.  There's no fallout and the edge is still razor sharp.  I use this to do a winged cat-eye with MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack.  My only complaint is that if the gel liner dries on your brush, it becomes like a razor - literally - so you have to wash it between every use unless you want to slice your lid -_-  On the other hand, it's such a tiny brush it takes but a second to wash :)

Overall
The Ultra Shine Lipstick and Dear Darling Lipglosses are my babiessssssssss~ I can't emphasis how beautifully wearable, sweetly scented and nice they are ^_^  Both are on HG/Favorites list.  The Oblique Line Brush is nice too but ultimately, hardly something worth buying alone. And less the said about the V-line Maker the better.

Review: e.l.f. (on location) Makeup Brushes and Nordstrom Off the Rack

A place called "Nordstrom Off the Rack" just opened in Virginia.  It's basically out-of-season or over stock items from Nordstrom sold at massive discounts.  It's still an upscale store compared to Ross and Marshall's but it's definitely worth a peek if you're into the high-end brand names.  Since it's an "upscale" discount store, it's very well-organized and sells marked-down cosmetics like Stila, Nuetrogena (Walmart has better prices for this one), Stri-vectin, and Chi, among others.  Surprisingly, e.l.f. was among them, although it's more of a "$1 brand."

There isn't a huge variety of each brand but still.  The Stila display had a bunch of eyeshadow palettes, eyeshadow singles, lip glosses, and lipsticks but e.l.f. only had makeup brushes available.  That's what caught my eye though, I thought e.l.f. was strictly an online brand but I guess not! They have a sub division called e.l.f.-on-location and though it's my first time seeing it I'm sure they have these elsewhere.

I've heard of e.l.f. here and there and the only thing I knew about it was that it was sold online.  I was so excited to see e.l.f. "in real life" that I got ripped off :P

$14.97 + tax for 6 makeup brushes.  Right after I got home I went on the e.l.f. website and found out they sold a 12 brush set for $12.  ...yeah :P It has good ratings too.   I thought about returning this 6 piece brush set and buying the 12 set online but what the heck I wanted to know how these brushes worked so I just used them.  Also I was just enamored by the slide-out travel lip brush :)

Close up of 4 brushes: L --> R: Lid Color, Crease/Blend, Smudge, Browline

I must say I like!  The Lid Color Brush and Smudge Brush are my favorites.  Much better than the cheap triangular tipped things that come free with drugstore palettes.

Powder Brush (white)

Very dense, soft and picks up color well but it shed a lot the first time I used this, which really annoyed me. It's a good size for blush and contouring the cheekbones, but it continues to shed :\  I'm not crazy about this brush but I'll prolly use this as I only have two large powder brushes and this one is softer and denser.

Lid Color Brush

This lid brush is really good for depositing color onto your lid via dabbing.  It's a little big for actual smudge/precision work because it's too big to control but it picks up a lot of color well.  Has never shed hairs but got a tad stiff after washing.  It still works just fine though.  Recommended as I use it quite a lot.

Crease/Blend Brush

This is slightly smaller than the Lid Color Brush so it's good for depositing color at the inner corner of your eyes.  It's still too big for precision smudge work but very dense, soft and acceptable overall. Has never shed hairs and retained softness after washing.  This is also good for contouring the nose bridge. Recommended.

Smudge Brush

Oo, this is my favorite brush of the bunch. It's good for smudging edges  I am sure you can find smaller more precise brushes somewhere but this one suits me just fine.  It fits right into my crease and it's dense enough to actually move color around and does not shed hairs.  I sometimes use this to deposit color in tight spots around my eye as well.  Washed easily and retained shape and softness.  Recommended.

Brow Brush

I'm going to be honest and say I have never used a brow brush before.  I don't fill or color my brows, mostly because I'm lazy and I fancy myself as someone who doesn't really have to.  When I want to thicken my brows I use Revlon's Brow Liner which comes with a gel end (it looks like brown mascara) and just use the gel end to comb and thicken a bit.  So, it beats me whether this brush is any good or not.  I tried using this as an eyeliner brush though and it's not all that bad though it's a bit "hard" for my taste. Maybe washing it will soften it up.

Lip Brush

I was so excited about this but I have to admit that it just doesn't work.  The brush just doesn't pick up an lipstick so it's useless.  Also the brush is so narrow and fluffy, you need a flat firm brush for your lips. Not recommended and total fail.

I only liked eyelid brushes.  However, I recommend buying these on the e.l.f website for $1 each instead of being robbed in-stores xD  Also some may find the really long handles annoying.  I think it's pretty and makes me feel elegant xD but it can get in the way if you're leaning too close to the mirror.

But that said I'm going to admit that my experience with makeup brushes is fairly limited.  I've really only used brushes I've come by for free or for very cheap.   I would like to one day splurge and buy Sephora's ginormous powder brush (it's basically the size of my face O_O) but I can't bring myself to drop $40 for what essentially is a glorified paint brush. Not yet anyway.  Until that day comes, I'm pretty content with e.l.f. quality :) They're dense and don't shed much (if at all) during washes nor after.  They're soft but not so soft that they don't pick up color properly.

Even with my positive experience, however, I'm hesitant to purchase non-brush items from e.l.f. because I believe things like brushes and foundations need to be good quality (not necessarily brand name) and from the reviews I've read, you really get what you pay for with e.l.f. - as in just about everything but the makeup brushes and a few select shimmer eye pencils leave much to be desired.