New Store Alert - Ilahui Korea

Hey beauties, welcome back!

How's your Christmas celebration going on? I hope everyone has gotten themselves some amazing gifts this year!

Anyway, so recently while I was doing my Christmas shopping at Jurong Point, I chanced upon a new store - Ilahui Korea and I was immediately being lured in by the great varieties of the goods they have in store.

The first thing that caught my eye is the big bear sitting right outside of the store and I thought it resembled a little too much like Brown from Line huh.

Anyways, after one round of walking around the store, I realised that this is very much like Miniso but a bigger version. You can find yourself looking at makeup products, to skin care products like masks and even shower gel. They have also a wide range of home products like cushions and lamps. You can even get toys here for the kiddos! It's honestly everything under one roof and the best part is, their price tags are very friendly too. 

Not gonna lie, some of their products look a lot similar like some brands you can find in our usual drugstores...

After walking around, I eventually got myself four items to try out. 

The first item that I got is the Rice Water Facial Cleanser that also comes with a silicone brush. You are supposed to press the pump and then foam will come out to the brush and that's when you can massage the foam gently to your face in a circular motion. This facial cleanser costs $8.90 and I thought it is quite worth the money since it also comes with a brush. I personally really like the brush as it is shaped in this small oval shape that seems to fit even the smallest area around my nose with the pointed part. On the other hand, I do not quite like the facial foam as I thought it is a little too watery and I had to press a few more times in order to get the foamy result. Also, the smell is a bit too strong to my liking. PS: it does not smell bad, in fact, it smells a little too fragrant, like perfume, geddit.

The second product that I had gotten is the beauty sponge that comes in two per pack. This two sponges cost me $3.90 and if you do the math, it is approximately $1.95 per piece and that is even cheaper than Daiso! I have been testing out this sponge for weeks and I have to say, I am very impressed by the quality! In fact, this sponge has already replaced my actual Beauty Blender and I find myself reaching out to this more regularly instead. I love that it is very soft even if you use it dry because honestly I do not really like to damp my beauty blender since I do not need my makeup to have a dewy finished. Definitely recommend this to you girls out there!

Next up, is a three piece brush set that includes a eyeshadow brush, a lip brush and also a brow brush.

One thing I absolutely adore about these brushes is the colour, it's baby pink!!!! I love how girly the brushes look like and it makes me want to reach out to them when I do my makeup. I have been using the lip brush for my makeup clients and I love the application and the shape of the brush allows me to apply lipstick easily on my clients. I also am digging the brow brush and it fact it is my current holy grail. I just can't live without this brush! The brush is shaped in this angled way that it allows me to do a perfect arch brow so effortlessly. And the hardness just makes everything easier! However, I do not really like the eyeshadow brush as I feel that the brush is too soft and it does not seem to take up any of the eyeshadow that I had tried it with. The entire set costs $3.90 and I think it is super worth even if I only use 2/3 of the set. 

Lastly, as a lipstick lover, I definitely have to try out their lipstick range as well and this is what I got, a lipstick that is shaped like a crayon. How cute right? I bought it in 01 Red shade and I love love the colour so much! In my opinion, this colour is more of a coral red than a pure red red, if that makes any sense. I love how it is moisturising and does not focus on my lip lines. The colour is pretty long lasting as well and for the price at $5.90, I certainly think that this is a good buy as well!

So, that completes my post on this new found gem in Jurong Point. I am pretty much pleased with my purchases and I cannot wait to get more of their products to try them out! Happy shopping girls! XOXO

My All Time Favourite Skin Care Products

Hey beauties, welcome back to my blog! It's been awhile since I updated this space and if you have been following my social media, you would have known that I recently went to Japan for a long awaited vacation. So do look forward to my upcoming Japan post!

Anyway, today I will be sharing some of my favourite skin care products that I can never live without. If you are keen to find out what my holy grail is, then just keep reading.

First on my list is my most favourite of them all and it is the Foreo Luna Mini facial brush. 

When I first gotten it this time last year, I wrote a long instagram post dedicated for it just because I really love it a lot.  And why is it so? The brush feels so soft on my face with its silicone like texture. I love how it has two sides, one for exfoliating and one for cleansing. I love both sides all the same but if I have to choose one side, I would prefer the cleansing side as that is what I use on a daily basis. All you have to do is to press the only button available on it and it will start to vibrate and that's when you rub it all over your face, massaging it at the same time. I love how my skin feels so smooth everytime I use it. The cleanser comes with a USB charger and the battery is able to last for at least five months, according to the staff at Sephora which was where I got it from. So far, I have been using almost every other day and I have yet to charge it so I can say that the battery is definitely long lasting too. It is also very easy to clean since it is made of silicone. I usually clean it with only water. The only downside I can ever think of is that this Foreo Cleanser is a little pricey where it is retailing at SGD 225 and I got it when I have a 10% off at Sephora. Psst: Black Friday sale is around the corner. If you have been contemplating of getting one, now is your chance. 

My next favourite would be the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. 

This acne treatment lotion contains Salicylic Acid and many others quick drying ingredients that will aid to dry up your acnes and whiteheads while you sleep. Sounds too amazing to be true? I have tested and proven that it does what it claims to be. Whenever I have an outbreak, I would dab a cotton bud into the bottle and reach out for the pink powder (do not shake the bottle ever, it's meant to be applied like this) and applied it directly onto the acne. When I woke up the next day, the acne will visibly shrink in size or sometimes the whole thing would disappear! This has been an amazing product for me and as you can tell, I am running out of it already. Time for me to restock during Sephora's Black Friday sale. 

My third favourite skin care product is the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye cream which I have been using religiously every night. 

While I don't think that this product is improving my dark eye circles (none of the products I tried did lol) but it does really reduce the puffiness of my undereyes! Also, I have noticed a decrease in fine lines of my eye area which is amazing as well. In my opinion, an eye cream cannot do it's magic overnight, you really got to use it diligently over a period of time to notice the effect. But like I said earlier, most of the eye products I used previously had shown no effect at all but this Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye gave me the result I wanted. I have already restocked this from Changi Airport earlier this month when I was travelling. Kiehl's in Changi Airport offers the lowest retail price internationally according to my friend who is always comparing prices. 

Last but not least is the Clinque Clarifying Lotion 3, for oily combination skin. 

Absolutely loving this as it clears off any extra dirt on my skin, ensuring that my skin is thoroughly cleansed. It also feels super light weight on my skin and I think my T zone has been less oily throughout the day ever since I started using this product. 

So that completes this post, I hope you girls have enjoyed reading it and happy shopping on Black Friday!

XOXO

First Impression: WetnWild Photo Focus Foundation

Hey beauties, welcome back!

In this post, I will be sharing about my experience of trying the WetnWild Photo Focus Foundation for the first time, how I feel about this foundation and whether I love it or not so let's not waste any more time and get started now!

I have always been a great fan of WetnWild because all their products are really inexpensive and at the same time really good. The Photo Focus concealer has been one of my favourite concealers so far, second to the Tarte Shape Tape concealer and it is strange that I haven't tried this foundation until now.

So for a start, let's talk about the applicator. I personally don't really like how it does not come with a pump. The applicator is shaped like a spatula so I believe the idea is to dig the spatula in and spread it directly to your face, which I thought is a little unhygienic so I ended up putting the product on my hand first before applying them to my face.

Secondly, the smell is simply horrible. I believe I am someone who has quite a high tolerance for bad smell but I feel that this foundation smells a lot like paint (e.g. Nippon Paint) and I hate it. Why like that, WetnWild???

As for the texture, it is quite watery and I thought it felt quite oily on my skin at first but after blending it out, it felt much more normal. This product is definitely easy to blend because of its watery texture and I thought it is quite buildable as well. As for the coverage, one layer is pretty much all I need to achieve that "My Skin But Better" look so I would say the coverage is medium to high. 

This is my face after applying one thin layer, looks pretty much MSBB. #nofilter

Completed my everyday go to work makeup

Now, let's talk about its staying power. I wore the foundation out and only came back home after almost twelve hours and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by its staying power. My foundation stayed on pretty well and so did my blusher and highlights. My T-zones definitely looked much dewier than before but I thought it was quite acceptable since my T-zone is extremely oily. The extra dewiness made me look a tad bit glowier, which I kinda like. 

After almost 12 hours and my makeup is pretty much still intact!

So all in all, I must say I am pretty impressed with this WetnWild Photo Focus foundation as it does have pretty high coverage and strong staying power. The only thing I do not like is the weird paint smell and perhaps they can improve on the applicator as well.  But for the price of $13.90, I can prolly look past these so-called flaws and give this foundation a thumbs up! 

Oh and if you are wondering where I got this foundation from, I usually purchase my WetnWild products from the Watson atrium sale whereby they partnered with Smoochiezz, which is an online shop that carries all these drugstore brands. You can also check out their website here if none of the atrium sales are convenient for you. 

Nuff said. Go get these now and happy shopping! 

Xoxo 

Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour Reviews And Swatches

Hey beauties, welcome back!

In today's post, I will be doing a mini review/swatches on my all-time favourite drugstore liquid lipstick - the Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour. I really love this lip product a lot as it is longlasting even though it does transfer quite a bit but definitely not to the extent of erasing your lipcolour entirely. I have extremely sensitive lips (how is it even possible right?!) and many matte lip products dry up my lips real badly and leave it very chapped after removal but the Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour surprisingly does not. It has a rather creamy texture and in my opinion, is quite moisturising for a matte lipstick. 

On top of that, I love how the applicator makes it so easy to apply onto my lips and I think it is definitely a good lip starter for makeup newbies as you literally will not go wrong no matter how bad at makeup you are. However, I do know that many beauty bloggers out there do not like this lipstick for its smell as it does have a very sweet smell (a little like cough syrup) but I actually kind of like the smell so it is a bonus for me. Also, this is the very lip product that I used on my wedding day, which speaks a lot on how much I love it.

With that said, let me do a little swatch for you on the shades that I own at the moment.

                                                        First shade: #600 Devotion

Second shade: #655 Kisses (My personal fave)

Third Shade: #605 Obsession

Fourth shade: #620 Flirtation (least fave)

Last shade: #635 Passion

My personal favourite shade of the five has got to be #655 Kisses as I have really been into this kind of rosey lipcolour lately. I feel that both #600 Devotion and #655 Kisses are very wearable and they are definitely an everyday colour be it for work or school. #605 Obsession is hot pink and I don't personally like it so it's like my least go-to colour. However, if you are into funky colours, this might be a good one for you. #620 Flirtation is my least favourite out of the five colours as I hate to put on light colours that make my lip lines so visible. But if you do not have very dry lips like me and you don't mind showcasing your lip lines then this is a very nice peachy pink for you. The last shade #635 Passion is bright red and I always turn to this whenever I feel like wearing a bold lip colour. Moreover, this shade makes me look slightly fairer than usual. 

So this concludes my mini review on the Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour and I hope that you have enjoyed reading it. If you are interested to try this product, then head down to the nearest drugstore and happy choosing the right shades for yourself! 

Xoxo 

Daiso Beauty Products That You Wont Mind Paying A Higher Price For

Hey beauties, welcome back and happy Diwali to my Indian friends out there!

In today's post, I will be sharing some of Daiso's beauty products that I feel are really worth buying.

Everyone knows that Daiso is a departmental store from Japan and everything in the store retails at SGD$2. But does that mean everything is cheap and worth buying? I certainly do not think so.

I am the kind of person who thinks that cheap prices normally only gets you lousy quality makeup but some of the items that I am about to share has totally blown me away with their top-notch quality, which I think can totally be mistaken as high end products.

  

First on my list is definitely my go-to cotton pad. I have been repurchasing this for years and I remembered that at some point in time, Daiso was completely out of stocks island-wide for their cotton pads.

The cotton pads come in two boxes per pack, with 90 pieces in each box. If you do your math, it's a dollar for 90 pieces of cotton pads. Is it cheap or what? Moreover, I love that the cotton doesn't come off at all even if you use it with a large amount of toner and "mask" it on your face. So their cotton pads are definitely worth buying.

Next up, is the makeup sponge that I have also been repurchasing for the longest time ever.  Please note that the one I like is shaped like a wedge as I feel that the shape is able to cover all parts of my face. As a makeup artist, I also like to use this on my clients as I think it is a perfect dupe for the Beauty Blender and also at a cheaper price. Each packet comes with 13 of it so it's literally just few cents per piece. I would usually damp the sponge before using it but rest assure you can use it either dry or wet and the results will be just as good.

I have also recently discovered Daiso's sponge and brush cleaner so if you are someone like me who always frequents Daiso then you would have noticed that they have recently introduced many new products and among these newbies, there is this sponge and brush cleaner that is particularly eye-catching. I have tried this cleaner on my beauty blender and also on my brushes and the results were amazing. My beauty blender was thoroughly cleansed, where all I need to do is to drop an adequate amount, rub the liquid onto my blender and rinse it off with water. It's as convenient as that and I can already foresee myself purchasing it again in the near future. In fact, I have recommended this to my friends and relatives and they have told me that they really love it too!

The item that I am about to share next is probably the one that surprised me most as it was what motivated me to do this post. I had recently tried Daiso's eyebrow pencil and I was blown away by how good it is. The first thing I like about the brow pencil is that it comes with a spoolie (yep, you read it right). Honestly when I first bought it, I told myself that even if I don't like the brow pencil I can at least use the spoolie, which was considered cheap at just SGD$2. However, when I first tested it on my brows, I was pleasantly surprised. The pencil glides onto my brows so smoothly and the colour came out fairly easily. My brow lasted the whole day so this was definitely a good buy and I would totally be willing to pay a higher price for a brow pencil like this.

The very last item that I am sharing is the eyebrow coat that I use on a daily basis to maintain my brow shape as well as maintain my eyebrow colour. There is a saying that just a little goes a long way so all you need is to apply a thin layer onto your brows and it will turn your brows waterproof just like how a rain coat protects you against the rain. I like how it is so useful and easy to apply so it definitely keeps your makeup process hassle-free.

So this completes my Daiso post today and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Happy shopping away! 

Xoxo

Review: Fenty Beauty Foundation

Hey beauties, welcome back!

Today I will be doing a mini review on the latest beauty sensation - Fenty Beauty foundation by Rihanna. To be honest, I was the least interested in this new brand until I saw so many beauty vloggers reviewing it and they all said that this is the perfect foundation for oily skin.

A little background on my skin type before I get started on this review. I have combination/oily skin and my t zones can get pretty oily throughout the day. My holy grail foundation to date are the Revlon Colourstay foundation for combination/oily skin and Catrice Cosmetic All Matt Plus foundation as these are the two foundations that could stay on my skin for the whole day and look just like when I first applied it even after 10 hours. Most of the other foundations that I have tested left my face looking super greasy and over dewy at the t zones after a while.

So naturally, when everyone was saying how Fenty Beauty foundation is a great match for oily skin, I knew I had to get it.

So, let's get to the review part. I think Rihanna really nailed the packaging. It's so minimalist and girly at the same time and I especially love how its bottle is in a hexagon shape unlike other brands which are in those typical cylinder shape. So thumbs up for the packaging!

Now let's get to the product. I really like that Fenty Beauty came out with a ton of shades for different skin tones but that also means that choosing the right shade for you can be quite tricky. I got myself the shade #210 and I think it's a little warm on my skin. I think #180 could be slightly better for me but it was sold out at Sephora T.T Aside for that, I did notice that this foundation oxidises way too quickly. My face is visibly "tanner" after a few minutes so for those who are contemplating on getting this, it is really advisable to get at least one or two shades lighter than your original skin tone.

One thing that I love about this foundation is that it is completely odourless and it makes me feel that this foundation is so safe to apply on my bare skin and that it is not going to cause any breakouts on my face.

When I first pumped out the foundation from the bottle to my hand, the texture felt really watery and it flowed down my hand so smoothly. Surprisingly, it dries up in an instant and I had to apply it to my face as soon as I pumped it out of the bottle. I guess the best way to apply it is to pump the foundation directly onto your beauty blender or brush, or whichever you are using and apply it straight onto your face. However, what I do love about this foundation is that it glides onto my skin so easily and it blends so well with other products. The finish of this foundation is really matte but also kinda satin and I felt like I had a second skin and didn't look like I applied anything on to my face.  The coverage is pretty good as well as one layer is all I needed to cover my acne scars and another thin layer does the job of covering my dark circles. This is definitely one foundation that you can try to build up for coverage. 

The best part of this foundation is that IT LASTED ONE WHOLE DAY ON MY SKIN! Like literally. No cakeyness, no greasy nose, no patchy parts. My face looked exactly the same as when I first stepped out of the house after a whole day. My other makeup products also stayed intact the whole day which I thought was amazing!

This is how i looked like after applying the makeup

This is how I looked like after 5 hours.

And this, after a whole day of walking and eating (10 hours later), the makeup was still intact.

Look, no shiny t zone

To conclude, I think that the Fenty Beauty foundation is definitely worth buying if you have combination/oily skin. However, if you have dry skin, my suggestion is to make sure you moisturise your face well before applying. Also, I feel that this foundation is not expensive for a celebrity brand - SGD50 for a 1.08 Fl Oz foundaton is definitely much cheaper than other big brands like Makeup Forever and Nars.

If you are intrigued to try it out yourself, head over to the nearest Sephora outlet and choose the right shade for yourself!

Xoxo