Belated birthday presents from cyan. You can never go wrong with gifts when its makeup and girls.
•﹏•
THIS WOMAN! LOL. She didn't pass it to me directly, but she secretly hid it in a plastic bag of clothes which she was returning it back to me. Until i reached home i was like "Eh? she left a tin in the bag" and after i wassap her about it, she told me it was my belated present and TADAH!"
I was sooooo thrilled and happy. because
1. I really didn't expect anything.
2. SHE GOT MY NAIL POLISH!
3. SHE GOT ME LIPSTICK!!!!!
The shade she got me is Pure Color 88 Rubellite Lasting Shimmer by Estee Lauder. Super love the packaging.
The nail polish is Pure Color in the shade Blue Blood. I really love the nail polish, I applied them on my toes straight away as i have gelish on my fingers, the texture was perfect, wasn't too watery, wasn't too dry. The colors were pigmented but it wasn't stainy. It dried pretty fast, and one coat was enough. IT WAS THAT PIGMENTED! I hate nail polish were i have to apply few layers to achieve that color cause it takes freaking forever to dry. I have almost 30-40 nail polishes in my collection and they are all red, pink, black, silver and gold. This is my first blue and non pink/red nail polish, and i'm loving it already. :D
Lipstick is like my Number 1 addict in makeup. You can never go wrong with lipstick with shades and all that. (at least for me). I have about 50 lipsticks, BUT don't let them stop you from buying me lipstick!! I know they are times where my sister or friends would go "Don't you already have that shade?" But to me, it's different! There's a slight tint different in the color, texture, how it blends and stays or whether it blends and etc etc etc. And with so many that I have (well, not really alot to me), I don't have a similar brand with the similar color, double.
Keep them coming. :D #lipstickaddict #gwenbeauty
Two days ago I was at Daiso shopping, and i came across THIS!!
I was dumbounde for a moment, thinking what is this in a packet. They were selling like 20 piece in that packet!! So i looked around and nobody was in the aisle and i picked it to to read and try to figure out what it is.
FINGER SNACKS!!
LOL!!!!!!!
I know my sister will really enjoy using this, she uses chopsticks to eat her potato chips. I asked her why? And her response was "So my fingers won't be dirty". NOW she can purchase these to 'protect' her fingers. LOL!!!
well, prevention is way better i guess... than washing hands. HAHAHA
Today, i'll be reviewing on a BB cushion. When BB cream came out in germany in the 1960s'. Nobody cared about it or even took a glance of it. Not until few years back when the asian companies started producing them, and suddenly, everyone is raving about them.
BRTC (Bio Remedies Therapeutic Cosmetics) is a korean brand and it is one of the popular brands that many people raved about on their BB creams. It is a Korean company certified by the KFDA and is compliant with FDA rules. They say that they are Korea’s premium brand of botanical skincare and medical grade of BB Creams. They have four difference range of BB creams: Whitening, Aqua Rush, Jasmine Water and Gold Caviar. They each give a different finishing effect to it.
Here are the four BB creams by BRTC that hits the market. I personally own the Aqua Rush, because this isn't a cheap brand so i did not purchase them all as i did not see the point of it. But it is also a perfect gift for anyone.
When BB cream infested the whole world, CC cream came into the market, and so did BRTC with their new CC creams. BUT their CC creams didn't hit the market as well as their BB creams, so they wanted to give it a new fresh look, so they launched the Smart Auto BB Cream. Basically it is just the SAME BB cream but just a machine applicator that uses SPONGE. You would get the same flawless as the beauty blender, but you don't really get the beauty blender in the Asia market everywhere.
If you have followed the trends or even look through magazine to see what's new, or even just window shopping at a mall, you would see that CC creams were selling everywhere and everyone wanted it because it was the new thing.
Then Laneige started coming up with their SNOW BB CUSHION instead of the CC cream, (If anyone noticed). then suddenly, CC creams were left behind stores and BB Cushions started coming up the market. From Laniege to Faceshop to skinfood and etudehouse to Hera to missha to Iope and all the other asian companies.
BRTC came up with their new BB Cushion as well. It was launched two weeks ago, and i purchased it the very next day it was in store. This time, i bought the Gold Caviar one instead of the Aqua Rush because it felt it would be a bit stupid to buy two that is the same. And this was an excuse to try another range. So i did.
And extra information, Gold Caviar targets older skin, so with wrinkles and pigmentation and sagging skin.
I have always loved their packaging, it's so classy looking. Back then when i first saw this product, i thought it was some high end beauty skin care cause there's this chemistry measurement thingy. LOL
The Gold Caviar Cover Cushion is meant for :
- Dry skin
- Dark, worn out skin
- Aged skin with low resilience
- Skin that needs constant nutritions
- All skin types that needs health presentation.
- Optimal Cover Rx
- Tannin Pore Complex
Okay, i know i'm not that old and dark to be able to be "suitable" for this. BUT, prevention is better than cure. :D Skin already needs to learn to maintain than to repair.
Here is a comparison of the BB cream and the BB Cushion. In size wise, the BB cushion was a little bigger than i expected.
The BB cream is a 35g size
The BB Cushion is 12g size
For the price wise, the BB cream retails at about USD22/RM69/SGD30 (rough price)
Where the BB cushion retails at USD 32/RM99/SGD40 (rough price)
So in terms of getting the most out of your money, i would say it would be the BB cream.
If you want the flawless look that the BB cushion can give you. I would say get a beauty blender, because you can wash it use it and not just use it for this particular BB cream but you can use it for any of you bb creams of foundations.
But on the bright side, this is a very handy compact and it is very travel-friendly.
When i first open it, It had a protective quality seal. Which was really great. I really loved it because it proves and shows the quality of the product. This product doesn't feel cheap even though it's plastic and it doesn't feel as if it is going to fall off any moment. All that product below that sponge, and it has a protective snap above the sponge so that even if you keep the cushion in the compact, your cushion isn't absorbing all the product while not being used.
This is the puff that comes with it. The unique selling point for BB cushions aren't because they are in a compact, but because of this puff applicator. It isn't like any ordinary sponge, this is one that doesn't soak up all your bb cream. But FIY, only apply it on the blue side of the cushion. This is one special puff applicator because it gives you the flawless look, it's soft, bouncy and it isn't like the usual sponges where it absorbs all your product. After applying this, you can see that the sponge doesn't leave much makeup as well. On top of that, it is washable!
Here's a demonstration on the swatch and how it is after in is blended.
Before application, I had some red spot, freckles and uneven skin tone. After application, it balanced out my skin tone and the redness was gone. My freckles were also covered as this was buildable. After an hour when it has set, it evened out and made my skin fairer (because i am originally fair and it follows your original skin tone). After 6 hours, my skin became a little oily as i didn't dab or powder it at all, but it wasn't dead oily, it was just a little and bearable.
The consistency of this is not very watery and it is not too thick, it is blendable and buidable as well. It has SPF50 PA+++ so be careful to wear this at night while taking photo with flash as it will create a white cast. (If you hate it)
This product doesn't contain any oil in it and it gives you a very dewy radiance look after application and after it sets. This definately do not give you a matte finish, but if you are looking for a matte finish you could just apply setting powder or loose powder over it.
Pros:
- Medium coverage (buildable)
- Blendable
- Covers my freckles and pores really well. (i don't have fine lines or wrinkles to test them out)
- Dewy finish but not oily
- Didn't break me out
- There's no old lady makeup smell (it smells like botanical with a little tint of the typical foundation smell)
- Long lasting and it doesn't smudge
- Contains broad spectrum coverage
- Travel-friendly
Cons:
- A little pricey for the ammount of product i am getting
- Takes about an hour to settle
- Needs to be set or blot occasionally throughout the day because of the high SPF
- Only available in ONE shade
- Some may not like that botanical smell.
My opinion:
I really liked this. I had the Laneige Snow Cushion in the tester size but i didn't really liked that compared to this because that was way much more oiler than this and that just didn't blend well for me.
I am quite happy that i could bring this around anywhere everywhere in my bag and without needing to use my finger to apply them (in public it's a very convenient thing). As this is my first BB Cushion, I am really happy with it, but of course a huge beauty junkie like me would wish i had them all. Even though i only have one face. LOL.
Would I recommend it?
Yes if you are okay with the price, if not i would recommend the bb cream definately.
So have you tried it? OR any other BB cushion in the market and what do you think of it? Which are your favourites and what do you think will hit the market next after this BB cushion rave?
Blackheads are very annoying. We all know that. And all of us have a little here and there. Some may be much more severe than others. Some of us would have to remove every week, some every month, depending on your skin. So again i would say, my experience is base on my skin. So the number one step to getting the best skin out of yours is the understand your skin.
FIrstly i would like to remind that this post contains really disturbing and disgusting images. So if you are not ready for it, i suggest you skip this post.
I"M SERIOUS. Do not blame me for making you puke or leave you in disgust.
I've got really itchy fingers where i would start pressing blackheads out and it's REALLY a bad habit especially for the stubborn ones where they get stuck and i end up bruising my nose or so. But the thrill of seeing all the gunk out of my nose is just addictive. It makes me feel that it's clean and i can just do more. Most of us would already know about pore strips, and the famous and most common known brand is BIORE. but i would just like to tell a little of my personal experience. I dislike biore's nose pore strip. LOL. Malaysia it's just the Malaysia version i don't know. I just don't like it because they don't really do the job well enough.
Pore strips brand that i love are SASATINNE (my all time favourite), Watsons, Shins, and some i forgot. LOL But let me know your favourite and i wouldn't mind giving it a try.
Here, I am going to show you how i do it in the image below.
Okay. i know there's a typo error. at STEP 5: It should be "B'liv' not Blicv.
Many have said to stay away from pore strips, but to me that's the fastest and easiest to extract blackheads as not everyone knows how to push and press them out themselves. It requires skills. The main reason of people warning to stay away from pore strips are the enlarging pores issue. Or they will leave "holes" in your face. This is way, step 5 to me is really important. the mask that shrinks pores. Even if you don't purchase this B'liv Glow and Shine that retails at RM69, you can get any pore shrinking product that does that job will do. Remmeber, if you open the pores, you will have to close it. It's a really important step.
That's about how i've done it.
Just some information on the extra product which is STEP 2.
The BRTC Perfect Pore comes in a set. there's I, II and III.
I is a pore opener.
II is blackhead softener which is what i bought in the full size.
III is a pore shirnker. (you can chose to get that instead of this).
I only purchase the II in the full size is because i can always open my pores the natural way "Steaming" and i have already gotten a pore shrinking mask. So i wasn't keen on getting that. But if you are, you can always get it from sasa.com or any place that sells BRTC products. BRTC is from korea.
Another Bliv product i have mention is the Off with those head which i have done a review here. This is a really good product and see how it would help you.
Does it really work? Well, now i am going to show you the disgusting disturbed images of blackheads. Up, Close and Personal.
FIY, it is le-boyfie's nose which is done like ONCE a year. so all that gunk coming out. I remove my own blackhead once a week, so i don't get as much as him. To show you how blackheads are and how important it is to remove your blackheads often enough according to your own skin. You don't wanna end up like le-boyfie right?
Don't hesistate to leave a comment on any questions about blackheads, how-to's and if you have an alternative way in removing blackheads. I have heard of the egg pore mask but i have not yet to try it.
Today, i would be talking about eyeliner. Not just any eyeliner but GEL eyeliner. Six years ago, i bought my first eyeliner, it wasn't a pencil or liquid but it was Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Espresso Ink 7. It was the first makeup i ever bought thanks to le-boyfie. (Read a post about boyfriend and beauty here) Up until today, i still have it. and am still using it. NO kiddin !!
Okay, i know alot of my readers will be going
"OMG. 6 years! why are you still keeping that?" or
"6 years is waaayyy past the expiry date, throw it!" or
" Ewwww. it must be so dried up and contaminated already"
and the list goes on.
Firstly, i would have thrown it already if it was some random brand but i am still not throwing it because
1. It was my first makeup and i am kinda attached to it.
2. It's not totally dried up to a state where i can't use it anymore and later i will be teaching you on how to un-dry your gel linear to make it useable again.
3. I don't use it everyday. (i know what's the point right? not like it's my only gel-linear. but like i've said just now. i'm attached to it)
4. I wash my brushes everytime i use it so i am not "contaminating" it as much and i know many people say it's not good and as a beauty junkie and addict like me with all the knowledge i should know best to not keep it anymore. But hey. back to reason 1. LOL
The reason it's not empty and used up after 6 years it's because a junkie and addict like me do not have ONE pot of gel-linear.
So, firstly..
How do you un-dry your gel-linear and still use it? There's a way.
1. DO NOT USE WATER!!!! (you know who you are. hahaha )
2. DO NOT USE OIL!!!. (you also know who you are. ) i don't care if it is olive oil, argan oil, grape seed oil, camomile oil or vegetable oil. NO.
There are two ways to do it.
Step 1: you'd need a hair dryer.
- Turn on your hair dryer to max heat and heat up your gel linear. It can stand the heat. If you do it for a few minutes. Your gel linear would last longer. If you do it for a minute or less, your gel linear would last about a week or two depending how the heat was distributed and penetrated. Then all you need to do is se your hair dryer and heat it up again.
(You can also pop it into the microwave if you want to. But i wouldn't sugggest so)
Step 2: You would need Vaseline.
- Use a clean brush to scoop a slight pea size of vaseline, then mix it into your gel linear, you don't have to mix it all, but you can scrap it at the side and only use what you need. Then with the same brush apply eyeliner, then you won't waste any.
Now...
They are different kind of brushes you can use for your gel linear. Some that bought from Maybelline, Kate, Loreal and some of the brands, you would get a free brush along in the packaging. But some doesn't come with one. So here are some brushes to show you. What kind of brush would give you what kind of outlook. They are many kinds of brushes from blunt tip to sharp tip to fine tip to slat tip and from nylon to fibre to natural hair to synthetic and the list may go on.
An extra information if you want to know more.
- Synthetic brushes are normally made up from nylon or takelon.
- Natural brushes (non-synthetic) are normally made from hair of goat, pony, squirrel, sable, capra, kolinsky, badger.
- Synthetic hair are easier to clean as the makeup don't hold on to your brushes and you won't waste so much makeup.
- Natural brushes are softer but would go out of shape. But it doesn't mean synthetic hair aren't soft, they are but they won't go out of shape for sure.
So the best brush for eyeliner would be a synthetic brush. It is important for you to pick an eyeliner which you feel you can control best. It's just like painting, some people prefer a bigger paintbrush, some people would prefer a smaller paintbrush with more control.
Here i am showing you. All synthetic brushes except for the third of from the right. (Next to the two flat angle brush)
As you can see i have list out from left to right. number 7 is a natural brush. So you can see why a synthetic brush would give you a better control and in drawing a eyeliner. If you are looking for a much thick look, you could go for what i call a "blunt brush" which is number 1- 4 where most free eyeliner brush you get are these. If you want a much more define look that you would get from a liqiud pen-linear you would have to go for brushes 5 and 6. or 9 using it in the slate vertical way. All the demonstrations are done in one stroke.
Gel linear is pretty tricky, but once you get use to it. a little goes a long way. And the more control you get, the more you can play around. Never be afraid to test around on your palm or hand.
Hope you like it. And please comment below on your thoughts, opinions and any questions and would you be looking forward to see a brush cleaning post or a post on how-to- demonstration on eyeliner and gel-linear.