April Glambag Review

Hello lovelies!! It is that time again! As always, if you would like a Glambag of your very own please, please use my referral link:  http://www.ipsy.com/r/1bhk  !

This month's theme is beauty rocks. Since it is my birthday month (where are all of my fellow April babies at? April 30 for me!) I was so excited to get a theme like this. Rockstar beauty is basically my style. I am heavily influenced by my favorite rock/metal/alternative bands.

I love the bag for this month, it is so cute! I will definitely find a use for it. Now on to what I got in it:

                         Cover FX Mattifying Primer with Anti Acne Treatment (Travel Size)

I was a little confused when Ipsy gave me this product. In my introduction survey, I put my skin type as dry. My skin does, however change to combination during a certain time of month and during the summer months so I can find a use for this.

I happened to have a little breakout when I got my bag this month so it was as good a time as ever to try it.
The tube I got is a travel sized tube, the smallest one (.5 oz) available on the Sephora website. It is a pretty good size for travel sized. This primer is a clear silicone based one. It glides on nicely and absorbs quickly. It didn't feel drying at first, but after a few hours of wear it started to feel dry. It also started flaking off towards the end of the day. It did keep my skin matte.

As for the anti acne aspect, this primer contains willowbark extract, ancient African tree bark extract, and Vitamins F, C and E. This primer claims to be able to help heal acne, soothe inflammation and protect the skin. I personally felt none of these benefits, but you probably need to continue using this primer every day for a certain amount of time for it to work.

                                       Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide On Pencil (Travel Size)

Although travel sized, this is about 3/4 the size of the full sized pencil. The shade is called Black Velvet. As with any other UD eyeliner I've tried it glides on like butter. I really loved the velvet like, more matte finish. The color is very black! It is the blackest I've ever worn. It stays on all day even on my waterline. I would definitely buy the full sized.

City Color White Gold Shadow and Highlight mousse (Full Sized)

                                                    (Inner cap to keep product protected from air)

I was really excited for this product, but personally it was a bit of a let down. This can be used as a highlighter or a cream eyeshadow. The amount of product isn't much, but a little goes a very, very long way. It is very pigmented, but for me anyway too pigmented to use as a highlighter. This also is a messy product to work with. You need to dip your finger into the little jar to use and the product can get everywhere. It may work out better for those of you reading this, but personally it didn't work great.

Demeter Jasmine Perfume Oil Roll On (Roll On - Basically Travel Size)

I'm normally not a huge fan of floral perfumes. I favor sweet and fruity scents. However, I surprisingly loved this! It smells like fresh cut flowers, a perfect spring scent. The scent lasts all day and isn't over powering. The fact that this is an oil is a big part of that, as oil tends to stay on skin better. I would love to try the spray version to compare.

Mary Kay At Play Jelly Lip Gloaa in Teddy Bear (Full Size)

I'll be blunt: I really did not like this product. For starters, I'm not much of a lip gloss person. It has to be a really good lip gloss for me to use it. This is not one of them. It was pretty horrible: very sticky and thick. The color is sheer, but it felt heavy. The shade, Teddy Bear is a nude color. I didn't test wearability because I couldn't stand the stickiness of the product.

Overall, I was kind of disappointed with this bag. I didn't get any of the products that I really wanted (The Lollitint, the Rainbow Honey nail polish and the Acid Pink Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm) but I luckily found some products I did like.

Etude House All Over Color Review

As you saw in my haul post (http://lipstickxzombie.blogspot.com/2014/04/ordering-korean-makeup-haul.html) I recently purchased 2 of the Etude House All Over Color in Peach Sugar Cake and Blueberry cheesecake. There are 5 shades in all. This product is from the Sweet Recipe line, which consists of products packaged to look like desserts. It's such a cute line.

The All Over Color is 3 products in 1.  It is meant to be able to be used as a blush, eyeshadow and lipstick. I have never tried it on my lips due to many bloggers saying it is horrible as a lip color.

The packaging is adorable!! The product comes in this little tin that looks like a cupcake. It is very colorful and detailed. The tin even comes in a box resembling a baker's cupcake box.

I would say there is a good amount of product and since it is pigmented, you do not need a lot.

Both (and I'm assuming all) smell like peaches. It isn't a heavy scent and it doesn't stick around once you apply it.

Blueberry cheesecake is a purple toned fuschia pink. It is a beautiful color. It looks scary in the tin but it is very wearable. It has more pink in it than purple.

(Oops I forgot to take a picture of this before I swatched it -_-')


Peach Sugar Cake is a peach with pink tones.  It is a beautiful more natural looking color.

These are fantastic as cream blushes. They dry to a powder like finish and stay put all day.

I really love this product, especially the packaging and I plan on getting the Strawberry Chiffon cake (the pink one).

Weekly Beauty Tip #80: Concealer for under eyes

To conceal dark circles under the eyes, a yellow or orange toned concealer is best. It will help cancel out the blue/purple tones.

Ordering Korean Makeup + Haul

Disclaimer: Everything in this post was purchased with my own money and is completely my own thoughts and experiences.

If any of you follow me on my personal tumblr or my twitter you'll know that I watch Korean dramas (Kdramas) a lot. As I did when I first started getting into anime (with Japan) , I got really into learning about Korean culture. Of course one aspect that drew me in: Korean beauty.

The only Korean beauty products I had used were BB creams, so I decided to do a little research. I soon became immersed and obsessed with Korean makeup. So I decided to order some. It can be a little overwhelming and a little frightening trying to order something especially makeup from another county. This is why I'm sharing my experiences with two online stores to help those of you that want to order some Korean makeup but are afraid or unsure of where to order.

There are many product similarities with American and Korean cosmetics, one major difference I discovered is that Korean cosmetics have the cutest packaging! Cute packaging and great products? What isn't there to love?

This haul consists of 3 orders, 2 from an amazon seller called Emunah and 1 from a Korean cosmetics website called Jolse ( http://cosmetic.jolse.com/ ).

Here are my Emunah amazon orders:

I bought 2 of the Etude House Sweet Recipe All Over Color. I got the colors Peach Sugar Cake and Blueberry Cheesecake. I was given 2 samples with each order.

The samples I received from both orders: Etude House Precious Mineral Cotton Fit BB cream (3 packets) and Etude House Collagen Moistfull Enriched Cream (1 packet).


Here is my Jolse order:

I bought 2 Etude House Lovely Cookie Blushers. I got the shades Strawberry Choux and Plum Mousse Cake. I was given 3 samples per item (that's 6 samples total) and a little pack of oil blotting paper.

The samples I received in this order: Tonymoly Tomatox (3 packets), Perfumed Body Classic Essence (1 packet), Tonymoly I'm Real Aloe Soothing Lotion (1 packet) and Tonymoly Dr. tony AC Control Acne Cleansing Foam (1 packet).

Both are really great places to buy Korean makeup. Amazon is a good place to buy as long as you check into seller ratings and go with a highly rated, reliable seller. Emunah is a highly rated seller. APoly is also another one I've heard great things about. With my Emunah orders, I didn't get tracking but my orders arrived in about 2 weeks which is pretty fast. They also have me 2 free samples with each order. What's nice about ordering from amazon is if you're wary about using a credit card to buy something from a foreign country, you can always use amazon gift cards. They packed everything very, very well so you do not need to worry about delicate powders of blushes breaking.

Jolse is probably my favorite place to buy Korean cosmetics. They have a HUGE selection from makeup to skin care. There always seems to be a sale going on and all of the prices are very reasonable. Shipping is always free, but if you want tracking you will need to pay an extra $2.50.  I highly recommend paying for the tracking code. The postal service lost my package, I luckily got it though. If I didn't pay for tracking I probably never would have been able to track it down.

The shipping is a little slow, but normal and reasonable for where it is coming from. It took nearly a month for my package to get to me, but it was also lost for a week or so. The average amount of time to is  17-20 days.

Jolse accepts payment through PayPal so it is completely secure. They are very generous with samples, you also can get free gifts and even free tracking if you make a purchase of a certain amount. What's even cooler is Jolse has a points program. If you spend $20 then you can use your points to get money off. You earn points with each order and if you register with their site you get 300 (equivalent to $3) for free.

They also have great customer service, any question I had were answered quickly and their customer service rep is very sweet! I asked if it were possible to be given certain samples with an order, even though they told me they most likely can't fulfill my request due to whatever samples they have in stock, I was given 3 of the ones I asked for (Tonymoly Tomatox)!

Overall both experiences were very positive (my lost package mishap was completely the usps's fault) and I definitely plan to buy more products from both places. I am definitely a Korean cosmetics addict now! Want to see what the Lovely Cookie Blushers and All Over Colors look like?? Stay tuned for my reviews of both, coming very soon!