Etude House Play 101 Pencils (Swatch + Review)

Korean brand - Etude House, has a range of multipurpose pencils called Play 101 Pencils. The general idea is that you can use them anywhere on the face - for example, on the eyes, lips, cheeks and eyebrows.
My mum and I have slowly accumulated quite a few after she picked up more of these when she went to Seoul (as you might have seen as part of her Asia haul). So today, I thought I would put up a swatch and review of our combined collection for you.

Morphe Brushes 35E Palette and 35P Palette (Swatch + Review)

If you missed the first part of my Morphe Brushes haul on the Jaclyn Hill Favorites Palette and 35O Palette, you can catch up here. Today's post is about the other 2 palettes and brushes that I bought from the Morphe Store in LA. Read on to see swatches and hear my thoughts :)

Morphe Brushes Jacyln Hill Favorites Palette and 35O Palette (Swatch + Review)

Hey everyone! Today I am sharing with you 2 of the palettes that I bought when I had the chance to visit the Morphe Brushes store in Burbank, LA. 

Before I get into the review and swatches, here are my overall thoughts across all 4 palettes that I purchased:

♡ They are definitely great value for the price if you divide it by each pan in the palettes (50c - $1 for each shadow). I think they are great for people just starting out and might want to experiment with a range of colours.

♡ The packaging is quite crappy, I appreciate the snap closure but it does feel really thin and flimsy. I guess that is a factor that keeps the brand so inexpensive though. Probably not something you'd ever want to travel with. 

♡ There is a smell to the eyeshadows that is really off-putting - an industrial, cheap, powdery smell? It's not super obvious but when I do get a whiff of it, I'm like uh uh.

♡ The matte eyeshadows were hit and miss. Even when they were good, they were not amazing. I had trouble with a lot of the mattes in a couple of these palettes. They felt stiff and went on patchy.

♡ The metallic eyeshadows however, are incredible in colour payoff and texture, almost like cream shadows to the touch. By far my favourite thing about these palettes.

♡ I had some issues with the rich purples and burgundies staining my fingers and arm pink when I was swatching them and removing the swatches. I've never had a eyeshadow do that to me before so I'm wondering if that's because the eyeshadows are that cheap... probably not a good thing.

♡ I had no problems with fallout or longevity with any of the shadows. They lasted all day for me creasing or fading. I always wear an eye primer anyway.

Read on to see my swatches and reviews :)

IOPE Air Cushion XP Compact in #N23 (Review)

I don't think I have ever tried a Korean foundation or bb cream that I actually like so I was really not expecting to fall completely in love with the latest trend in Korean/asian beauty - "Cushion Compacts" (CC). If you don't know what CCs are, I'll sum it up for you. Basically they function like a wet compact, housing a makeup base-soaked sponge (with foundation or BB cream) and a non-absorbing puff to use with it. The applicator has a velvety texture to it so it doesn't soak up any product. When you dip it into the compact, air is pumped into the foundation-soaked sponge to release and press the thinnest layer of foundation onto the puff. The key to application is to tap the product in lightly so all the product transfers and melts into your skin, leaving it with a seamless finish. The foundation formula and sponge collectively work to give you with the much-coveted dewy no-makeup makeup look that you see on many Korean celebrities. You can also carry it with you on the go for touch-ups and it wouldn't cake up (much like powder foundations do). Most of the CCs on the market have a high SPF and many beneficial ingredients for your skin as well. 

IOPE is a high-end Korean beauty brand and was one of the first brands in Asia to launch the Cushion Compact. My mum purchased one when she went to Korea and after trying hers, I had to buy one for myself.

Mum's Asia Haul (Swatches)

My mum just got back from Asia and she picked up some fun stuff, I had a pretty good time going through it with her so I had to share with you guys too :) 

Etude House Look at Me Eyeshadows (Swatch + Review)

My mum recently came back from a short trip to Hong Kong and Seoul and while I will be sharing some of the beauty bits she picked up, this is by far my favorite item that she bought. This is an Etude House custom quad that she put together and my, does my mum have taste?!
Korean brands such as Etude House has always delivered products with great quality and price, but the quality of these eyeshadows completely BLEW. ME. AWAY! I was in no way prepared for that and I don't think you are either.

Clio "Be Brown" Gelpresso Mini Pencil Gel Liner Set (Swatch + Review)

Hey everyone,  I'm really excited to be sharing this review with you today because it's something I've truly been loving lately.

Les Merveilleuses Ladurée Rouge Brillance Glossy Rouge in (Swatch + Review)

Inglot Eyeshadow #341 (Swatch + Review)

A few weeks ago, I came across swatches for the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette and while the shade "Nougat"  jumped out at me, the rest of the palette didn't wow me. The dupe lists on Temptalia are always so helpful for this sort of thing.
I have never set foot inside Inglot despite having previously come across many reviews of their eyeshadows and freedom palettes. Their lack of shade names - only product numbers, and their extensive range was always intimidating and off putting for me. #341 however, was one of the dupes listed for "Nougat" so I went in there with the sole purpose of checking out this one color, and it came home with me.

Makeup Forever Pro Finish Multi-Use Powder Foundation (Swatch + Review)

MAC Glass Slipper Lip Glass - Cinderella Collection (Swatch + Review)

Growing up as a little girl, Cinderella was my favorite Disney princess movie, I had the film on tape and I literally rewinded/replayed it until it broke (by then my mum was able to buy me a VCD copy of it, remember those?) 

So when MAC first released photos and information on the Cinderella collection for the upcoming real-live action film, I felt a huge sense of nostalgia and also excitement that I can re-experience the desire of wanting to be a princess but as an adult. 

What I was not excited about however, was having to deal with the MAC girls. I don't know if it's just me, but I have never found an in-store experience at MAC pleasant. I never walk away feeling satisfied and I find the staff to be quite rude and generally unhelpful. I asked a number of times, with different staff members when the collection would be released in-store and every one of them shook me off with an "I don't know, you just have to keep checking back", no one bothered to offer to look it up or give me anything beyond their answer. One girl just told me "It should be around the time the movie comes out." Why thank you, how helpful of you. Ok bitter rant aside, lets talk about the actual collection.

Addicted to Blush Tag (Swatch)

I don't think I've ever done a tag on this blog but I actually really enjoy reading them. This tag created by Kitsch Snitch was hard to pass up after seeing it on Emma's blog because I absolutely love blushes and I thought it would be fun to go through all the ones in my collection.

Lorac Mega Pro Palette (Holidays 2014) - First Impressions and Swatches + Where to get it!

I've been wanting to try the Lorac palettes for the longest time but colors in the 1st and 2nd Pro Palettes just didn't jump out at me enough because I was content with my original Naked 1 palette. BUT WOW. When I saw the first photos of this holiday release of the Lorac Mega Pro Palette, I could not resist and knew that I simply had to get my hands on it! 

What I've Been Wearing: Everyday Make Up

My make up routine has been more or less the same for the past 5 months (can you believe that?) so I thought I would do a post on it.

Art Deco Glamour Eyeshadows: #350 + #358 (Swatch + Review)

First off, let me start off by saying that I LOVE THESE EYESHADOWS!!! 

I've never even seen or heard of the brand ARTDECO before i came across it in a drugstore in Seoul and boy am i glad i did.

RiRi Hearts MAC: Fall Collection - Her Cocoa Eyeshadow Quad, Bad Girl Gone Good Blush, Talk That Talk Lipstick and 187 SE Brush (Swatches + Microreviews)

WOW. What a stunning collection and certainly one I could not miss. I went into Myer this morning as soon as they opened - I knew exactly what i wanted so I picked them up and came straight home to photograph them. I can't even decide which product is my favorite because I love everything so much already after one use.

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense: Mightiest Maraschino (Swatch + Review)

Hey everyone c: 

I apologise for how quiet it's been. We received the key to our new house about a week ago and we've been super busy doing it up before we move in next week! It's been really fun and I realised that I enjoy interior design and home decor. I have so many ideas/projects in mind and I can't wait to share them all with you. Honestly though, this really couldn't have come at a worse time, all my final assessments are looming up and I'm freaking out because for 2 of my subjects I'm not even halfway through the assessments and my final tasks are worth over 50%! 

As I'm writing this, i realise how much i turn to my blog in times of stress and how much i love it. I'm really grateful for all the people i've met through blogging and all the people, however few or many, who do read my blog. So thank you all! With that aside, today I have a review of something I've been using a lot lately.

Current Manicure: Etude House Ice Scream Nails #PP501 + Lioele Nail Polish PBK803 (Swatch + Microreview)

Today I'm showing you 2 nail polishes that I bought during my short trip to Korea. I knew I was only being sucked in by their adorable packaging so I controlled myself but I kind of wish I got a few more now because the quality is nowhere near as cheap as i thought it would be. In fact, it wasn't bad at all. 

Soleil Tan de Chanel (Swatch + Review)

A beauty cult favorite, one I'm sure you're all familiar with. Soleil Tan de Chanel has been on my radar for a while now however it was always sold out and I don't think it's even stocked in Asia.

Dior 5 Couleurs Mystic Metallics Eyeshadow Palette: Constellation 864 (Swatch + Review)

The moment i saw this on Temptalia, my facial expression went from my usual "chronic bitch face syndrome" expression to (┛◉Д◉) ┛ to ۶ (｡♥‿♥｡)۶  ~ ☆★☆ and i'm not sure what i felt or looked like after, i was very overwhelmed with emotions.