I scream for eye cream!

Let's face it- at some point in time you'll wonder at what age or life stage will you start needing eye cream. My previous preconception is, well, when you start seeing visible changes in the skin under your eye. I'm talking about darkness, sagging, wrinkling, and none of these can be drastically visible. Just a slight difference in appearance.

To counter my previous idea of when to start using eye cream, I realize it's more important to PREVENT changes than ATTACK the problem. So, start using eye cream now! And because we are preventing not attacking, we don't need super potent formulas and don't ever expect visible changes. I know it's weird to buy a skincare product that doesn't show results with a mid-range price but your future self will thank you later.

Here we have the AHAVA Gentle Eye Cream.

This one doesn't have added fragrance/parfum, which is important because your under-eye area is sensitive and thin. Added fragrance/parfum typically could mean bad chemicals. AHAVA is pretty good with using organic ingredients. 

Also make sure your eye creams are bought sealed! No one should be sharing bacteria with you.

xx jasmine

Nature Republic Haul and Review

Nature Republic Centella Scar Ointment ($14.90)
After watching many k-beauty YouTube videos, I heard that COSRX's Centella Blemish Cream was great for reducing acne scarring and diminishing other pigmentation. Had no idea what "centella" was but heard it was great for that; hence, I found this at Nature Republic and decided to get it because COSRX is uncommon in stores. Let's hope this works!!
Update: this smells nice and does work a bit BUT A HUGE SIDE EFFECT is that it induces weird bumps, and wide, within the area I use this on. this has happened three times already and I have had to stop using it the next day. sadly, I do believe it reduces scarring but I can't risk the bumps. I've tried using it as 1/4 this with 3/4 toner but still.... 

Nature Republic Longlasting Smudge Shadow Stick ($10.90)
This year was a good learning experience for eyeshadows. I've swatched so many while in Seoul in all the roadshops, swatched so many at Sephora, and was gifted a couple eyeshadows. With that being said, I really wanted a shadow stick that easily glided on without me needing some kind of extra brush (although I have one) or eyelid primer (which I also own). Nature Republic had 20% off everything so I was walking around, swatching things, came upon these shadow sticks, and fell in love. First off with eyeshadows, you must swatch them on your eyelids. You cannot judge them by the swatches on the back of your hand because it's different on. For example, I liked No. 2 on my hand but really did not like it on my eyelids.

No. 1 Pink Chiffon Cake - like a pale pink, nice for a subtle look

No. 2 Lilac Touch - it's a bit more pink than purple; opaque

No. 3 Sparkling Rose - this was a surprise to me because red on eyes?! but it is a trend in Korea right now and once I swatched it on my eyes, I was won over. opaque enough to work as eyeliner also

No. 4 Shining Orange - pretty nice pale orange; can definitely layer for a bolder look. I would pick this over No. 1 and 2

No. 5 Moon Tan Load - (don't understand the name lol) this is the most popular color. a simple gold shimmer, compliments anyone

No. 6 Purple Mocha - this is a darker shade of the No. 5 and would be great as your darker color to smoke out the eyes/give more dimension

I bought No. 3 and No. 5 because I couldn't choose! Will definitely use both and they're easy to apply. It is a rounded tip so I can't use them as eyeliner just yet but once I use it down to a flatter surface, I can apply it as eyeliner with the edge.

Update: LOVEEEE THE NO. 3 SPARKLING ROSE. 

xx jasmine

TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL Contour Compact

The Art Class by Rodin Createur du Contour (~12,000 won or $11)

Cute packaging, even with the tissue paper around the compact.

What the inside looks like. 3 shades. Peel off the sticker from the mirror.

What I love about it: It's so easy to use, especially for contouring first-timers like me. Take a brush (I like to use a flat-top brush so it doesn't dig into one shade more than the others) and swirl it lightly on all 3 shades. Use it on cheeks, around the temples up to the forehead, and jawline to slim down the face. 

Because there are 3 shades from this compact, you can take a smaller brush tp contour your nose. I use the middle shade to do that. The lightest shade can be a bit of a highlight also.

*Tip: When applying it on your cheekbone area, contouring it at an angle under the cheekbones can elongate the face. If you don't want to elongate your face, you can apply it horizontally starting from the point closest to your ear and move towards the cheek.

**Tip: Contouring is subtle and will create an illusion to the face so it isn't meant to be noticeable. You won't need a lot of product.

So far, so good. I hope this will last me a while before I have to hunt for another one because they don't sell this in the US (unless Sephora sells it but overpriced).

Sephora 2015 Birthday Gift: NARS Lip Pencils

So this is what the packaging looks like and the lip pencils inside are:
1. NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (Cruella)
2. NARS Satin Lip Pencil (Rikugien)

Cruella-- Make sure to moisturize before applying anything matte onto your lips! The color is beautiful, not a dark vampy color but lighter than burgundy. It's nice to go out with day or night if you want a pop of color on your face and I would pair it with moderate eye makeup. One tip I would give is to use a lip liner with this. You can see the edges of my lips and although it is a lip pencil, it isn't a sharp thin pencil but more of a big crayon shape.

Rikugien-- Gives a light pink sheen with a cooler light purple undertone to it. The satin sheen makes it seem slightly metallic but you should apply gloss over it for more shine.

NARUKO SKINCARE PRODUCTS!

im excited to be trying Naruko's Tea Tree Toner and Night Gelly and ampm All Day Sebum Balancer! 

Will review after using them up!

edit: It's been almost two months since testing these out-- sometimes occasionally throughout the week and sometimes consistently. The tea tree oil toner has a cooling effect to it and a little goes a long way. I would pour a bit out onto a cotton pad and depending on the areas of my face I need to tone, I add more to the clean sides of the cotton pad. I use this toner after wiping my face with my Clean & Clear astringent and it helps reduce my pores and redness by morning, giving my face a clean refresh. The jelly actually works pretty well on its own, or after astringent without the toner, and with the toner. Its texture is like a thick gel that's not sticky and is also cooling to the touch. The cooling effect helps reduce redness. Comparing it to the toner, the toner minimizes pores and the jelly seems to make everything heal or work better, like a layer of protection on your face as sleep does its magic. 

I would purchase the jelly again or if there is a cheaper alternative that works the same or even better, I need to find it. The toner.. I'm sure there are other tea tree toners that are cheaper.

As for the ampm all day no shine sebum balancer, I can't be the judge of this one. For super acne-prone skin like mine, I will have acne growing throughout the day without any reason at all. This is something I would need to put all over my face, covering every single spot of my face, to see if it helps reduce sebum. Otherwise, it's not strong enough for my skin to help with balancing sebum. I haven't tried this before makeup because I haven't been using makeup for the past 2 months unless I really needed to.

I most likely would not buy the ampm all day no shine sebum balancer. Another "no sebum" product I'd want to try is the no sebum powder by a Korean brand (I forget if it was Innisfree or Etude House) but a bit skeptical because sebum is on the skin whereas powder is usually applied over liquid makeup. Hmm...

Charcoal Nose Strips

Hey guyss! Back with a review!

As an avid nose strip-per (heh), I love the Bioré Nose Strips but for 10 strips they can range from $6-$12. Hence I went for a cheap alternative- a really cheap one- from Daiso. As you know Daiso is a $1.50 store unless otherwise marked so this pack of 4 nose strips was $1.50.

If you're new to nose strips, apply them on a wet nose with dry fingers and wait 10-15 min. 

REVIEW: 

Different from the Bioré ones for sure. 

1. Doesn't have the cuts around the edge to help fit it onto your nose (but insignificant to its usage and you can easily cut them yourself with scissors).

2. Smells a bit like rice..? You can't smell it when it's drying on your nose though.

3. The Bioré ones are more like one product in its entirety on your nose whereas these feel like two separate layers, the top fabric and bottom sticker.

After 20 minutes of having it on, the verdict is...

Yes!! It works just as well and make sure you apply toner after! 

☆ 5/5 ☆

SHINee Coral

Why hello there! Didn't expect to be blogging but I got a new purchase: THEFACESHOP Trendy Nails in Shiny Coral OR203. More of an orange coral than a pink coral! 

1st coat:

It's a great spring/summer color but THEFACESHOP, you really need to step up the brush game. I can see all my brush strokes. Let's hope the 2nd coat will fix this..

2nd coat:

Just brighter, more solid color from 1st coat.

Wow maybe it's the formula but I've never struggled to get it smooth even when the lacquer isn't stringy from the bottle. It dries really fast-- good in most cases but since the formula is not great you don't have time to fix it. The brush strokes aren't as noticeable after it dries but you can definitely see the unevenness. 

I know THEFACESHOP has gel nail polish (gel-like finish nail polish, not actual gel nail polish) that is better than their trendy nails collection.

xx jasmine