August 2014 Haul

August 2014 Haul

it's november, i just got around to organize the photos and stuff i've bought in august. i accumulate quite a few items because august was FILLED WITH SALES. damn it! my wallet really took a pretty huge blow, but thankfully, sales don't happen too often.


as you can see i got quite a few eyeliners.


from left to right:
KATE super sharp liner (BK-1) | SOLONE vivid fantasy smoody pencil (purple) | MAYBELLINE color show color kohl (snow white and peacock green)

i've been eyeing the solone eyeliner for a while, once it went on sale at sasa (from SGD14.90 to SGD10), i picked it up. the maybelline colorshow eyeliners were having a 1 for 1 promotion, i paid SGD7.90 for both! they were so budge proof when i tested them out, so i picked out these 2 colours out of all they offered as i thought it's a good chance to try something different. the kate super sharp liner was on sale too, SGD12.90 as opposed to the usual SGD17.90. i wanted to compare this to my heroine make liquid liner.


from left to right:
MAYBELLINE the magnum volum' express waterproof mascara | KATE jewelry mode eyes (GN-1)

i purchased these two items during my day trip to johor bahru, malaysia. the kate eyeshadow was going for 50% off! picked it up for 26 ringgit, and the mascara was a purchase with purchase at only 25 ringgit. SUCH A STEAL.


from left to right:
DAISO false lash (W202) | L'OREAL lucent magique foundation (N2 pure porcelain)

the pair of false lashes look pretty natural, i am suddenly draw to those with a longer side after seeing a lot of american style makeup, so i picked it up. it's SGD2. the lashes do reflect some light though, so it's not the most natural option in the market, but since i'm just keen on trying out to see if this style will work for me, it is quite worth the while. as for the foundation, do i really need another foundation since i've already have 2!? i don't, but i eyed this for so long, i really want to try it out for its "lit from within" effect. i picked it up without thinking twice when it was going for SGD21.90 instead of the original price of SGD32. i regret after that because a few weeks down the road, they were going for 1 for 1. :( but it's okay. i really like this foundation. it's worth it! ;)

swatches and reviews will be up soon!

xoxo
karman

Heroine Make, Canmake, Maybelline Haul & Swatch (Video)

Heroine Make, Canmake, Maybelline Haul and Swatch (Video)

before you jump to the conclusion that i haul very often.. i don't. as mentioned in the video, my dad got back from HK so i thought it's a good chance to get some items that i've been eyeing for a while! you probably won't be seeing another haul anytime soon.

this time it's a mini haul from hong kong. i called it a sasa haul, but it's not entirely true because some items were bought from other shops (like colourmix and bonjour).

if you haven't already watched the video! unlike the korean cosmetics, all of the items i tried are unscented (except for the solid perfume)




the family photo!

HEROINE MAKE__________________________________________________________________


long and curl mascara super WP | volume and curl mascara super WP


brush design for: long and curl mascara super WP | volume and curl mascara super WP

i haven't opened them yet because i need to clear out some of my stash before i open them up. they have to queue up to be used :'D i bought back ups for a few of my older mascaras so i have to use those first. BUT i will open these soon enough. wait for it.

i already own the third generation, the volume and curl mascara S. hahaha now i'm wondering what the 5th generation will be called.. maybe super duper X.

price: HKD82 // SGD21.90
size: 8g
official website here

HEAVY ROTATION__________________________________________________________


heavy rotation coloring eyebrow 03 ash brown


brush design: heavy rotation coloring eyebrow 03 ash brown


more information: heavy rotation coloring eyebrow 03 ash brown

i used to have a brow mascara from fasio, but it has grown old and it stinks (omg germ alert) so i have been left without one for quite some time, which doesn't actually bother me because i'm no longer into that super light brow look. but deep down i'm still more inclined towards japanese style makeup, i wanted to keep one handy. i was debating between kate's eyebrow mascara and the heavy rotation. this won because.. of that cosme ranking. hahahahahha why not try something new, right? after all i've already owned so many kate products, time to expand my stash.

i haven't opened it yet because i don't want it to have the same fate of my previous tube. i'll use it in my future tutorials, so you'll see it in action soon enough!

i got it in 03 ash brown, which is a more yellow tone and darker shade (if you can refer to the image above, there's a small chart that shows you the difference between all the colours. it goes from yellow to orange from left to right, and bright to dark from up to down)

price: HKD59
size: 8g
official website here

CANMAKE___________________________________________________________________


glow fleur cheek 04


more information: glow fleur cheek 04


swatched: glow fleur cheek 04

i think canmake's product development manager saw the anna sui blush and drew inspiration from that. they look too eeriely similar - if i de-pot this and laid them both next to each other, i'll probably pass both off as the same product.

i got this in 04, strawberry fleur. what a suitable name, because i do think it reminds me of strawberry milk! shade 5 and 3 are pink and the more pigmented ones, with 5 having the stronger colour. 2 and 4 have a peachy colour, while 1 is a very light pink. all tends to be sheer and pearly, with micro shimmer.

on the back of the packaging, they suggest swirling the brush 2-3 times around shades 2-5 to apply onto the cheek as a blush, and to apply 1 on the protruding parts of the cheeks as a highlight.

price: HKD96
size: 5g
official site here



MAYBELLINE________________________________________________________________


lip polish glam 2 | glam 14

lip polish, lip elixir, they're the same thing with a different name. i got them in two shades, glam 2, and glam 14.


lip polish glam 14 | glam 2



lip polish glam 14 | glam 2


lip polish glam 2 on my lips


screen shot from my video! a comparison of how glam 2 looks like on my hand and my lips.

glam 2 is a vibrant hot pink while glam 14 is a nude beige colour. maybe some will call it taupe. it's a 3 in one lip product - lip stick, lip balm, lip gloss. whatever, to me it's just a pigmented and slightly more moisturizing lip gloss. it's texture is slightly heavier and creamier than a usual gloss.

see above swatch and watch out for the shimmers. VERY SHIMMERY. those little dark spots on glam 2 are the glitters that were reflecting light away from the camera. at first i thought i have some infestation (they look like insect eggs!!! URGH) going on, scared the crap out of me.

my first impression of this lip product: a tad too heavy for my liking, easily results in uneven application. however, thanks to the thick-ish formula, the product is very moisturizing and hydrating.

price: HKD89
size: 5ml
official site here


CRABTREE AND EVELYN___________________________________________________________


iris solid perfume.
this is not a purchase! my dad gifted it to me :D since it's a solid, it's very travel friendly, and the scent lingers quite well on my skin too. a very soft floral scent, very relaxing.

i can't seem to find this product on its website though!? is this old? hmm, whatever! it smells good :D

price: ??? dad threw it in as a gift :D
size: 2.3g
official site here


BEFORE AND AFTER


wearing the canmake glow fleur cheek (too heavily) and maybelline lip polish in glam 2 (blotted)

i blotted the shine off, the lippie stains a little as you can see in the photo! a glowy hot pink! also, even though i commented that the blush looks very sheer when i swatched it on my hand, they are actually quite pigmented when i got it on my cheeks. i think 1 swirl will probably be enough.

saw any product that you would like me to try first? let me know!

xoxo
karman

Innisfree, Nature Republic, Etude House Haul & Swatch (Video)

Innisfree, Nature Republic, Etude House Korean Beauty Haul & Swatch (Video)

this is a rather massive haul to me because i've never spent a hundred bucks at one go just to buy a load of cosmetics. i usually collect small purchases over time! so this is definitely a first for me. i'm really excited to share all my good buys with you all!!!

i did my research and rounded down my purchases to these items. to me they are all bang for the buck, if you're a deal shopper just like me, read on (i tried to include all the information including price and size)! ANNNNND, if you don't have the time to sit through my video, below is the condensed version of the video :D but if you have 13 minutes to spare, my video could be potentially entertaining :P it's so long this time round because i swatched most of the product and i wanted to show my initial reactions to it. not scripted, not staged. just a one take video from start to finish.




the family photo :D

INNISFREE__________________________________________________________________

no-sebum mineral primer | creamy tint lip mousse 05 vitamin red | no-sebum mineral powder



unboxed: no-sebum mineral primer | creamy tint lip mousse 05 vitamin red | no-sebum mineral powder

NO-SEBUM MINERAL PRIMER___________________________________________________


no-sebum mineral primer. blended out on the right.

it mattified my hand and blurred out the lines. similar to the maybelline pore eraser in terms of texture and visible differences, but the latter don't seem to be sebum controlling. i've did a mini test the other day and it kept my forehead shine free (it was only a few hours though), WOW. heavy herb scent.

price: 10000 won
size: 25mlinnisfree official site

NO-SEBUM MINERAL POWDER___________________________________________________


no-sebum mineral powder. well blended on the right.

the powder also serves to control shine, it goes on translucent and isn't cakey at all. very smooth due to the silicones, have yet to try this out yet. has a slight herbal scent similar to that of the primer. this is the best selling item from innisfree! HAD TO TRY IT.

price: 6000 won
size: 5ginnisfree official site


CREAMY TINT LIP MOUSSE___________________________________________________


creamy tint lip mousse 05 vitamin red. worn lightly in the middle, and full on red lips on the right.

slightly scented, very pigmented and creamy, blends really well and applies very evenly. stays creamy with a touch of slight sheen as you have seen in my video (even though my video is 13 minutes long, the actualy run time prior to cutting is half an hour). definitely works better than a normal lipstick thanks to the added moisture. I LOVE ITTTTTTTTTTT. the colour is a very bright red, slightly neon in my opinion, which was what allowed the colour to stay true even on my lips. smells like candy.

price: 10000 won
size: 4.8mlinnisfree official site


NATURE REPUBLIC___________________________________________________________


california aloe sun block spf50 | provence blending highlighter | shine blossom blusher 05 shading beige


unboxed: california aloe sun block spf50 | provence blending highlighter | shine blossom blusher 05 shading beige

CALIFORNIA ALOE SUN BLOCK___________________________________________________


california aloe sun block spf50. blended out on the right.

very moisturizing, feels like a cream to me. smells like cucumber. and has a very slight white cast, good if you wanna brighten your face. bad if you have darker skin tone as this may look like an ashy cast.

price: 25800 won (but it was on 50% off at 12900 won)
size: 100ml

PROVENCE BLENDING HIGHLIGHTER______________________________________________


provence blending highlighter. half blended in the centre, fully blended on the right.

i described it as liquid-y in the video, but as you can see it actually doesn't drip or flow when it's on my hand. the moment you touch it it becomes a very light weight liquid that blends out really easily. i don't wanna know what kind of chemicals they added inside to make it blend like that. ignorance is bliss? haha! the highlighter is wonderful. it has a slight pinkish tint to it, but once you blended it out you can't tell the pink at all. just an awesome pearly product that sinks into the skin to fake the "i just woke up with this glow" look. slightly scented.

price: 10900 won
size: 40ml

SHINE BLOSSOM BLUSHER 05 SHADING BEIGE__________________________________


shine blossom blusher 05 shading beige. swatched heavily on left, blended out on right.

smells heavenly! similar scent to the blending highlighter, only heavier. it has a slight pearly finish, sans shimmer, feels like a skin toned highlighter to me that would work as a bronzer on my cheeks. i thought i could use this as a shading powder but it's too light to do that for me (aka my skin is a little dark). powder is soft, blends easily, WONDERFUL.

price: 6900 won
size:10g


if you're interested in seeing their whole range of products, you can check out their official site, it's in korean. i wanted to link the individual items here but their website are done in such a way that i can't do that. :( sorry girls.


ETUDE HOUSE_______________________________________________________________


precious mineral any cushion W13 natural beige | look at my eyes cafe be102, br402, pk004 | look at my eyes br401, br402, or205


unboxed: precious mineral any cushion W13 natural beige | look at my eyes cafe be102, br402, pk004 | look at my eyes br401, br402, or205



PRECIOUS MINERAL ANY CUSHION W13__________________________________________

i haven't opened the cushion bb yet, i'm saving it for a first impression. i got it in W13 natural beige, it's just a tad darker than the light beige (which would make me look like a white ghost). it comes with spf 50, and pa+++.

price: 18000 won
size: 15g
etude house official site


LOOK AT MY EYES CAFE & LOOK AT MY EYES__________________________________


top row: look at my eyes cafe // be102 honey milk, br401 cafe latte, pk004
bottom row: look at my eyes // br401, br402, or205


left: look at my eyes cafe //  pk004, br401 cafe latte, be102 honey milk
right: look at my eyes //or205, br402, br401

WONDERFULLLLLLLLLLLLL EYESHADOWS! powder is buttery smooth, pigmented, and glides onto skin (without primer) smoothly. watch the video for the actual swatching, you can see that i only did one swipe for most (except for pk004, it seems to be a little less smooth than the rest). the metallic finish ones felt more velvety than the matte finish ones.

look at my eyes cafe // MATTE FINISH
pk004 - a deep purple that has a red undertone
br401 cafe latte - pinkish toned beige, perfect for blending out harsh edges
be102 honey milk - off white shade, good as a base or highlighting

look at my eyes // METALLIC FINISH (with some glitter)
or205 - metallic orange, what else can i describe? presence of glitter.
br402 - metallic copper, almost a foil finish.
br401 - metallic gold, same finish as br402.

price: 3500 won
size: 2g
etude house site for look at my eyes cafe (matte)
etude house site for look at my eyes (metallic)

hope you all found this useful! :D
let me know if you guys like my haul videos and what would you like for me to include in my videos!

xoxo
karman

make up haul #2 (and a very short review)

Make Up Haul #2 (and a very short review) from Hong Kong
whutttt?? why buy them from hong kong when these are readily available in singapore? because they're cheaper there! and i just so happen to have friends visiting from hong kong.. so.. why not? :)
got these products since march, but i just got this entry together!

maybelline master liner in BR-1 claims to be a creamy pencil, but it's in fact not as creamy as i wish for it to be. it does tug on my eye lids, but i find that it becomes creamier if i "sharpen" the tip over a piece of tissue first. maybe that rubs off the hardened layers and made things better, but it still doesn't qualify to be called creamy. HOWEVER, this thing does stay put on my lids. one small complaint: because it's not as creamy, i have to run over the line multiple times with the pencil and there were little bits of fall outs. i think i'll only use this on moist areas such as my water line. i love using this to line my inner corners of my eyes in particular.

kate colorcious diamond eyeshadow in BR-1 is one of the newer eyeshadow palettes offered by kate. they did introduce a few new colour selection this february 2014, but i'm more in love with this colour that was out during its debut. it offers a beautiful rose gold shade, along with a gold and peach shade with foil finish, a highlight shade that reflects light wonderfully, and the intense liner shade. they are really buttery smooth, especially the highlighter and liner shade! they come together to make my eyes look as though it's the headlight from a car. if you saw my full review on it, you'll know how much i love this palette.

revlon matte balm in sultry and unapologetic marries matte finish and moisturizing formula to form one happy lipstick union. the colour payoff is amazing, applies like butter, love the velvet look.. there's nothing bad that i can think of, really. i have swatched and reviewed them!

Skin Care Haul #1

Skin Care Haul #1 from Hong Kong

it's just a mini haul when my friend went back to hong kong last year. this post is so overdue because i kept thinking of sharing the haul after i tried everything so that i can add in bits and pieces of my opinions on the items, but i realize i can always add them in after i shared this entry! and you get to know what products i'll be trying/are using currently too :D



1. white formula extreme hyaluronic acid essence (HKD$110)
for that extra boost of hydration. it's really cheap considering it's a serum. it's alcohol free, and i love using it so far! feels very moist as it's very slippery (almost like the snail mucin kinda slippery-ness). still testing it out!

2. white formula intense brightening laser toner with arbutin (HKD$88)
this toner received really good reviews in the taiwanese beauty review website, urcosme. didn't even think thrice (i always think twice ;P) before deciding on getting it because it's 88HKD for 290ml of products. holy cow!? that's a lot! still testing it. loving its hydratioin so far.

3. organic rose moisture cream (HKD$78)
haven't used it too, but i tried it on the back of my hand and it is a much richer type of gel based cream. love how it felt on my hand, can't wait to use it on my face. love that faint rose scent too.

4. organic rose skin conditioner (HKD$79)
haven't started using it yet, but i got it because it clams to serve as an astringent, and is able to return the skin to a silghtly acidic pH, as well as some hydration capabilities. sounds promising huh? supposed to be used before toners/lotions.

5. carmex soothing lip balm (?)
my friend threw this in as a gift for me. haha! i usually just use vaseline as my lip balm, so i'm quite curious how this will make my pout feel.

make up haul #1 and their short reviews

Make Up Haul #1 (and a very short review) for the year of 2014

i prefer to collect beauty purchases because it makes me think that i'm not dealing a heavy blow to my wallet. self deception at its best!

over the first quarter of the year i've added a few items to my make up collection.

essence sun club shimmer bronzing powder in 10 sunkissed is really more of a shimmer than a bronzer, perhaps it'll work better as a bronzer on very fair skin. not a big fan of the vanilla scent.

bourjois small little round pot blush in 32 ambre d'or is a beautiful orange toned blush flourished with golden specks of metallic dust, it's too small to be called a glitter or shimmer. it imparts a beautiful glow to the face, i love to use it as either a blush or an eyeshadow.

catrice made to stay highlighter pen in 010 eye like! is a pink toned shimmery highlighting pen that really does what it claims - it is made to stay! perfect for lining the waterline and lower lids where it's prone to smudging or creasing.

l'oreal color riche lipstick in P511 touch of amaranth is a super pigmented and creamy lipstick in one of my favourite colour right now - hot pink. it's a pretty blue based pink which shows me gorgeously on photos, it helps to brighten up my skintone too! not sure if this is a good thing, it stains your lips.

l'oreal lucent magique liquid light touch-up pen in fair is supposed to help diffuse light off your face to fill out any sunken areas. i've yet to give this a good try, full review will be up soon!

what are your latest beauty buys?

xoxo
karman