14 Days till Christmas: Purple Smokey eye

Face of Australia Matte Eye Primer

The Balm Nude-tude pallet: stubborn - inner corner
sexy - all over the lid

serious - outer corner

sultry - crease colour

Tony Moly Party Lover Liquid Eye liner

Lancome Definicils Mascara

15 Days till Christmas: My Revlon Lip Butters Collection

I remember when these came out, people were literally obsessing over these claiming these to be one of the best lip products out there. So when these first launched in Australia, I had to get my hands on them. 

I bought Creme Brule, Tutti Frutti and Berry Smootie, while Sugar Plum was in a gift bundle I got from Priceline. Creme Brule is a great nude colour for pale skin tones with yellow undertones. I find that other nudes make me look really dead like a zombie. Most nudes have a neutral or pink undertone which usually give that zombie look. I personally prefer nudes that have a brown undertone as they do give a nude lip but more colour (if that makes sense). I couldn't help myself from getting a typical bright orange colour. I think this is one of the brighter colours and it's great for those wanting to try out an orange/coral colour as the colour can be sheer and built up to a pigmented orange. Berry Smoothie is a dark pink which I like as for some reason light pinks don't look so good on me. Sugar plum is not a colour I would have bought myself as it is quite a dark plum pink colour. 

One of the reasons why these became so popular was because they had the pigmentation of a lipstick but had the formula and feel of a lip balm. Some, not all, have the pigmentation of a lipstick, but to me they definitely do not compare to a lip balm/ butter. My lips are naturally quite dry and chapped so no matter what, I cannot go without a lip balm, and that includes using these products. They are moisturising enough so that my lips don't look dry and chapped, but the feel just isn't the same. They also don't last long either, a maximum of 4 hours without eating or drinking. 

Overall for me, these were over-hyped products. They are great for those who are just getting to lip products, but I still prefer a traditional lipstick over these. 

16 Days till Christmas: Another Nomination

So I was nominated by "The Certified Late Bloomer" for the Liebster award. I've done questions for this award previously (but different questions of course) so check them out:

Liebster award
Liebster award 2
Liebster and Versatile award (again?)

So lets go on with the questions!

1. Favorite type of music and what song your addicted to right now?
 I pretty much only listen to KPOP, some mainstream and others not so well known, but I'd say I'm an all rounder. The type of music I listen to depends on my mood. But here are 5 I've been liking alot lately
 G-Dragon - Who you?
 YoonHan - Man on Piano
 Kim Jaejoong - Just another girl
 Trouble Maker - Volume up 
 Block B - Nice day

2.  Cooking or baking lately?  What's the weirdest reaction that you got when someone tasted your creation?
 I've been cooking for years, but I actually enjoy baking alot more. I haven't gotten a weird reaction, as everyone who has had my cooking/baking so far have liked it ^_^

3.  I always ask this, what is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Or are you a cake person?
 I like pretty much all 'normal' flavours except bubblegum, but the two flavours I usually go for when buying ice-cream is cookies and cream and mint choc-chip. I also really love strawberry cheesecake, or anything cheesecake!

4.  What is your biggest dream in life that you think is hard to achieve?
 To be honest I've never had a dream that I wanted to go out and actually go out and achieve (or try to achieve) in my life. I try to live the day as it comes, and take as many opportunities up as I can. 

5. Hey since it's Christmas/Holiday Season, what is on the top of your wishlist?
 My family doesn't celebrate Christmas as we are not people who are very festive, and to be honest I don't really have anything I want right now, beauty wise.

6.  Biggest fear or fascination in life?
 My biggest fear is seriously, anything that flies whether it be bugs, birds or toy planes (although I don't mind being on an aeroplane). If there is a flying bug in my room I will either stay outside of my room or hide under my blanket (and eventually suffocate myself). Seriously, within the last month, I've gotten at least 5 huge moths in my room... T_T

7.  Why did you start blogging anyway?
 I was greatly inspired by alot of youtubers and bloggers, but I didn't actually decide to make a blog until one of my friends made one. It has really opened my opportunities and I think it has improved my thoughts and ideas.

8.  Bookworm?  Movie goer? What is the best book/movie that you've read/seen so far?
 I don't mind both, so long as they are my taste. I find it really hard for me to get into a book I really like, but one of the best books (and movies) I've really enjoyed this year is the The Hunger Games series. I absolutely loved the books (I had to stop myself from reading too much at once, to enjoy the 'feels' it gives me), the first movie I thought wasn't too bad but the second movie... oh man.... IT WAS SOO GOOD! I'm actually contemplating whether I should go out and watch it again.

9. The one product that you can't live without is?
 Sunscreen! I've been relying on sunscreen alot these days, as it is summer in Australia, and I'm trying to lighten my acne scarring.

10. The best place that you've been and always been dreaming of coming back.
 I've only been overseas twice - Vietnam (my heritage) which I went to when I was 2, and haven't had the opportunity to go since then, and South Korea which I absolutely loved! If I had to choose only two places I could go for the rest of my life, it would be those places.

11. Let's be cheesy, who is your ultimate crush?
 I don't have a 'real life' crush as of now, but man... the Hemsworth brothers... they are to drool for! - especially Liam.

That's it guys! If you want to do these questions, feel free to and leave a link in the comments so I can read them. If you have any suggestions for this countdown (as I am slowly running out of ideas), also leave a comment below. ^_^

17 Days till Christmas: Review on Tony Moly Luminous Pure Aura CC Cream

So I've had this product for a while now, but I've only gotten a few uses out of it. The lastest craze after the BB cream, CC cream is made to even out skin tone with minimal coverage creating dewy skin that looks like you've got nothing on your skin. To be honest, the only reason I bought this was from a commercial JYJ did (slowly revealing to you guys how crazy I am about TVXQ/JYJ (always keep the faith), check it out here).

Luminous Pure Aura CC Cream features whitening, wrinkle improvement, as well as UV protection

As you can see from the picture, the cream has little beads which releases pigment when rubbed into the skin. The white cream does give a slight white cast when applied on the skin, but that is suppose to give 'brightness' to the skin - but that fades as the day goes on, as well as having a dewy finish (which is one of the main looks in the South Korean beauty trend).

This product would be great for those who already have great skin and do not need to cover anything major. I use this as a base on days where my skin looks dull and when I want a more natural coverage, rather than my usual matte face. One thing I don't like about this, is that it's not really buildable. Applying more than one layer does not mean more coverage, instead it sort of rubs and removes the first layer. The packaging seems quite luxurious as it is a sleek tube made of a heavy plastic, so if you accidentally drop it, it won't break.

One of the main down sides to BB creams was that most South Korean brands would only have one or two shades, for CC creams, because they are so sheer having little to no coverage, one shade will cover a wider range of skin shades. But again, Tony Moly has this product only in one shade, so if your skin is more darker than the typical asian, than this product might not match your skin tone.
Pros:
- a little bit of product goes a long way
- creates a dewy finish
- brightens skin tone
- great base product for dry skin
- evens out skin tone
- moisturises the skin
- hygienic and sturdy packaging

Cons:
- not buildable
- extremely sheer coverage, almost giving no coverage
- requires rubbing which may irritate some skin types
- not suitable for those living in humid/ hot climates as this will just melt off
- only one shade

18 Days till Christmas: Comparison of Missha's Perfect Cover BB cream and Signature Real Complete BB cream

All beauty fanatics will know a few things a about BB cream- one of the biggest hypes in the beauty industry. It's popular in both western and asian societies and alot of brands have come out with their own take on the BB cream. South Korea was one of the first countries to use BB creams as a cosmetic product. When I first got into makeup, one of the first brands I heard of was actually Missha. They are mainly known for their BB creams, so when I went to South Korea back in 2012 I couldn't walk away without their BB creams. 

Alot of hype goes to the Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream, but Missha claims that their Signature Real Complete BB cream is their best seller. For this post I'm going to do a comparison to see which one is better.

Left: Perfect Cover BB Cream,
Right: Signature Real Complete BB cream

Left: Perfect Cover BB Cream

Right: Signature Real Complete BB Cream

Out of the two, I tried the Perfect Cover BB cream first because this was the one I've heard the most about. With the first few uses, I was quite happy with it, but then I started to notice a few flaws with it. It does have a strong pink undertone and can appear grey in different lighting/environment, quite dewy, and does oxidise to a darker colour. Then I started to use the Signature Real Complete BB cream. 

To my surprise, I ended up liking the Signature Real Complete BB cream alot more than the other BB cream. It matched more to my skin tone (as you can see from the picture above) because it was more yellow based - having less of a pink/grey undertone to it, has a thicker coverage and consistency which allows me to get away with concealer on my good skin days, and has a matte finish. 

I bought both of the products in the same shade number (#23) but they are not the same colour. 

Overall I would actually recommend the Signature Real Complete BB cream over the Perfect Cover BB Cream. If you have less of a yellow undertone and don't require much coverage, go for the Perfect Cover BB cream, but if you have more of a yellow undertone and do like a heavier coverage product, then try out the Signature Real Complete BB Cream.