Essie Chinchilly

Products I have been loving

Helloo! Recently I have been trying to use up products that I own and found that I have been reaching for these quite a bit.

Products shown:

Missha Super Aqua Bergamot aroma deep sea water micro mist - wow that name was really long. This is essentially a water mist you spray onto your face whenever you feel dry or want to be refreshed. I really like this. The scent is quite subtle and soft (not really sure what bergamot is meant to smell like). As the name suggests it is a micromist so it sprays out really fine mist compared to the Avene Eau Thermale spray which tends to leave small droplets of water on my face :S

Anna Sui lip balm - This is my second tub. It smells so good! It is a very soft rose scent that is present in all Anna Sui products <3 Absolutely love this stuff. It moisturises the lips really well as well. And the lid screw on so I don't have to worry whether the tin is closed properly.

Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie - I have been obsessed with berry coloured lips and nails recently. Berry Smoothie is quite sheer and has a few shimmer particles in it but they are not that noticeable on the lips. It is really moisturising as well.

L'Occitane hand cream in lavender - Love the texture of L'Occitane hand creams. This one is gel like and absorbs instantly leaving my hands really soft and smelling like lavender. I find that L'Occitane lavender scent smells nicer than Crabtree & Evelyn's lavender.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir - I usually spray this when I feel tired because it has a minty sensation which helps keep me awake haha. As for the smoothing and glowing properties I can't really say I have seen much of a difference. Before this big bottle I used up 2 smaller sized ones and also could not see much of an effect. I use this for the minty sensation and scent as a pick me up really... it is pricey but I really like it for that purpose.

Pampering time

I usually try to set aside an hour or so each week to pamper myself :P

I always have a large amount of face masks on hand and like to do the whole exfoliate, cleanse, toner, serum then face masks routine. Usually if i miss a couple of weeks I find that my skin tends to look a bit dull. After a good pampering session my skin is restored to being fresh and bright :)

Products pictured:
Ishizawa white wash foaming cleanser/mask
Jurlique herbal recovery gel
Biotherm Aquasource skin perfector exfoliating cleanser
Sukin hydrating mist toner
My Scheming Deep Cleansing mask

Empties - Jan to Sept 2013

I have been meaning to post this for AGES!!! Here are all the products I managed to use up to date this year. Seems like so many!

I have repurchased quite a few of these products such as the Caudalie Beauty Elixir, Caudalie gentle cleansing lotion, La Roche Posay and Avene moisturisers, Clinique moisture surge and the Escentual hair mask, Shiseido Moilip, Nivea milk and honey lip balm, Anna sui lip balm and It's Skin power 10 vitamin C serum. The products mentioned are in my daily staples :)

Essie Bikini so Teeny

Yay the weather in Melbourne is warming up :) it's time for some brighter nail colours. One of my favourites is Essie Bikini so Teeny. I just love how blue and unique this looks.

Etude House CC Cream Review

Hey guys I know there has been a lot of hype about CC creams lately so I went ahead and got one to try myself :)

I got the Etude House CC Cream in Silky. It comes in another variant which is Glow - this one gives a dewy effect and Silky is matte.

It comes in a 35g white plastic pump tube. I find the packaging really convenient.

 

Etude House CC Cream - Silky

Etude House CC Cream - Silky

The cream comes out white with small particles in it which release colour when it is blended on your skin. It has a faint floral fragrance but I can't describe it properly. I find that a little goes a long way with this cc cream and I don't need a full pump for my whole face. Half a pump is more than enough.

The coverage is quite sheer and it dries to a matte finish. It clung to my dry patches a bit though which was quite disappointing. But that might be because I didn't prep my face enough and didn't hydrate it before hand (I put the cc cream on without a layer of moisturiser).

It takes quite a while to blend to your skin colour though.. so in this way it is not as convenient than a sheer bb cream which does not require so much blending. The texture is quite nice and is thinner than the average bb cream. 

Etude House CC Cream - Silky

Etude House CC Cream - Silky

Etude House CC Cream - Silky

This is the CC cream fully blended out

Overall I quite like this CC cream but am a bit disappointed by its hydrating abilities. I find that my Holikaholika petit bb cream in watery works better than this cc cream.

Etude House CC Cream - Silky

Etude House CC Cream - Silky

Etude House CC Cream - Silky

Etude House Dear Girls Lip Balm Review

Today I will be reviewing the new Etude House lipbalm in No. 1 - the nourishing type. Etude House came out with these early April I believe and there are 3 types:

No. 1 - Full of nutrients
No. 2 - Smooth and moist
No. 3 - Twinkling glass bead

I chose No. 1 because I wanted a heavier duty balm that was not shiny or shimmery like No 2 and 3.

It comes in a metal tub and is a bit smaller than the usual lip balm tins. It contains 9grams of product rather than the usual 16ml lip balm tins.

The first thing I noticed when opening the tin is that it smells like coke bottle gummy lollies... it is a slightly sweet citrus scent that is quite pleasant.

I am extremely picky with lip balms since I have tried so many types and brands. This Etude House one works surprisingly well. It feels heavy duty and slightly thick but it is not sticky and seems to last quite a while on the lips. It also doesn't just sit on top of my lips.. I can feel it being absorbed and making my lips soft.

Etude House Dear Girls lip balm - No. 1

Etude House Dear Girls lip balm - No. 1

The only thing is that the balm takes a bit of 'breaking in'. I had to swirl my finger in the balm a few times before I could manage to get some product out. Other than that I really enjoy this lip balm and I would say it is worth the $6 aud I paid for it on ebay (in korea in costs around $4).

Souvinirs

My friend came back from Europe early this year and gifted me a Paddington bear :D He's so cute!

Recent purchases

I have been doing a bit of shopping in the past few months.. my bank account is not happy :(

Jo Mercer - Gin black suede boots

Prada - saffiano wallet in lake blue

Marcs - navy coat

Studying Snacks!

I have a lot of studying to do :( final year uni is turning out to be really difficult. These have been keeping me going while I slave away at my desk.

Daily Makeup

I don't really spend that much time putting makeup on in the morning but I do notice the difference that makeup can have even if it's just very natural/minimal. Here's what I use on a daily basis just to brighten up my face.

Products shown:

Holika Holika Petit bb cream - watery

Bourjois Healthy Balance  unifying powder - 52 vanilla

Lancome hypnose mascara

Shiseido integrate brown pencil eyeliner

Kanebo Media blush - pk2

Dior Addict Extreme - 356 cherie bow

Etude House fresh cherry lip tint

Etude House Dr. mascara fixer

Etude House single eyeshadow - cafe latte

Sunny day in Melbourne

Neal's Yard Haul

I don't remember how I found out about this brand but I did and saw it was available on asos.com so I decided to purchase some stuff :D

I was looking for a new body lotion because my current Vichy rose one smells a bit strange.. It's not the typical sweet smelling rose scent, it is more like grass mixed with rose so I'm not too fond of it. I read some reviews online and heard that the Neal's Yard Bee Happy body lotion smelled really natural and pleasant so I decided to try it out.

It comes in a pretty blue plastic bottle with a pump which is very convenient. It is very natural smelling and reminds me of honey mixed with orange zest. It applies quite thickly and left a slightly sticky feeling for a few minutes before it was absorbed by my skin. When I woke up today my skin felt really smooth and hydrated. Overall quite a nice purchase.

I ran out of my Caudalie gentle cleansing milk a few days ago so I got the Calendula cleanser to try out.  It is for dry and sensitive skin which is perfect for me. I opened it and it doesn't seem to have much of a scent to it but I haven't tried it out properly. Will post an update when I do :)

Current favourite lip balms

So I remember one of my firsts posts was one about my favourite lip balms... I am addicted to lip balms so I am constantly buying and trying new things. I love nivea balms and so when I saw the new Nivea lip balms I went ahead and bought them on ebay. Australia doesn't have these yet and I think we will never get them :( We seem to have a limited range of everything it really frustrates me sometimes...

I really like the smell of the caramel cream one it smells just like butterscotch lollies. The raspberry rose is also nice but I haven't been liking fruity smells much lately.. maybe because the weather is getting slightly cooler. These feel really moisturising and are very thick and smooth. But they still are not as good as my bloved shiseido moilip since after this stuff dries/sinks in my lips get chapped again. With the moilip balm my lips feel repaired and are smooth even after the balm wears off.

Next is the Burt's bees tinted lip balm in hibiscus. This is a really natural every day colour. I also got the pink blossom one but since I am currently doing an internship in an office environment, the hisbiscus colour seems like the more appropriate daily colour. This balm feels really soothing and has quite good colour payoff. My only complaint is that the colour gets everywhere... all over cups, drink bottles etc. I guess it is expected though since it is a tinted lip balm and not a lip stain etc. I may use this more when I go back to uni where I won't be drinking much out of glasses so noone will be able to see the gross imprint left on it. I bought this from lookfantastic.com because it is costs $15 in Australia which is ridiculous.

Lastly I tried the Suisse programme hydra solution 24 hr lip balm... such a long name. I got this from sasa.com. I have been browsing at this one online for quite a while and decided to pick it up when it was half price for $10 USD. This is actually quite a nice lip balm. It is unscented and glides on smoothly. It is slightly glossy though so if I put too much it will look like clear lip gloss. It works well too probably better than the Nivea ones. It contains squalene which I found unusual... but who knows. I have been using this as a night treatment.

Canmake Cream Cheek Review

A while ago I was really liking super pale pink cheeks and these blushes are perfect for that look.

I think there are 12 shades to choose from. The 2 I have are 01 Peach Dream and 08 Marshmallow Pink. I got mine off ebay.

L to R: 01 Peach Dream, 08 Marshmallow Pink

L to R: 01 Peach Dream, 08 Marshmallow Pink

These blushes are really easy to apply. I just use my ring finger and gently dab the product on my cheek then blend away. You have to be careful not to apply too much though since they are quite pigmented. After applying these I apply my face powder on top. This makes the blush look super natural.

Overall a really nice cream blush. But sometimes it gets annoying since you have to clean your finger after applying it.

Oh I forgot to mention but I have heard that you can use these cream blushes as lip colours. But they seem too dry to apply on the lips so I just use them as blush.

Korean Lipstick Review: Holika holika, Tony Moly

I have always liked Asian lipsticks over the western brands since they tend to be lighter and sheerer with a more glossy finish. I find that Korean lipsticks are quite affordable and also really high quality.

I like Tony Moly and Holika Holika lipsticks better than the Etude House ones that I have tried because they are more moisturising and the colour selection is better (I like sheer nude pinks and peaches).

The lipsticks I will be reviewing today are:

Holika Holika Heart Ful Moisture Lipstick - Baby Beige

This one comes in a super cute metallic pink tube and an even cuter heart shaped bullet. When I first got this it was too pretty to use haha. The colour is the typical pink beige. It's not quite as moist or glossy as I usually like. But it's not bad I guess..

Holika Holika Face to Change Sheer Lipstick

I LOVE this lipstick. It is so glossy and sheer <3

I got 2 colours BR504 Smokey Pink and PK120 Glory Pink.

My favourite is the BR504 because it is such a natural everyday colour. The PK120 I don't like as much since there doesn't seem to be much colour. On my lips it just looks like sparkles :(

These apply really smoothly and feels like lip balm on the lips. But since its so smooth and light it tends to slip and slide if I apply too many layers.

PK120 Glory Pink

BR504 Smokey Pink

L to R: PK120, BR504

 Tony Moly Prestige Lipstick Glossy

I don't remember the name of the colour since it is in Korean but it is number 02. This is a sheer coral peach colour and going by the name it is super glossy. Right up my alley. The only thing I don't like about this is the packaging since the tube clicks open which I find annoying. Also it is a bit bulky.

 Tony Moly Berryberry Lovely Stick - PKLS02

At first I didn't like this one because it makes me look really ghostly white. For some reason mid tone pinks just look awful on me. But I found that if I just apply a light layer of this my lips look really youthful and moisturised. This also smells fruity which I like.

Tony Moly Prestige Crystal Lipstick- 01 Muse Pink

I absolutely hate this lipstick. I bought it online and looked like a natural peach colour. But when applied on my lips it is a bright barbie pink. The formula is also quite dry and not moisturising at all.

L to R: Prestige Glossy lipstick, Berryberry Lovely Stick, Prestige Crystal lipstick