etude house: Shini Star BB cream

Sorry for the long absence, I've been busy at work and blogging hasn't really been on my mind. Thank you for the comments and views though! School's started and I'm back home, so I've much more time to write.

This time I'm talking about BB cream as opposed to the great BB cream removing face wash I wrote about earlier. The item in question is the (special edition) Shini Star BB cream, of the Shini Star line by Etude House, made in collaboration with SHINee. Thus the name. Thus the name of this blog, sort of. Anyway.

Firstly, the packaging: it's lovely. The colors are wonderful, the combination of pink and turquoise my new favourite because it never really struck me how well they match. The cream itself is in a wonderfully handy container with a pump. The only minus? The cap doesn't really click on, and thus if you carry it in your bag, it might come off by accident. I haven't had cream spill out though as the pump does require some pressing, but just to be safe, don't put it in the same pocket with your phone and wallet.

So, the product. BB cream is skin-treating stuff in the form of a base for make-up, but Shini Star doesn't really need a finishing touch. It comes in a single shade which is fairly light, adjusting to one's own skin tone, packed with "whitening effect" and sun protection. Don't worry, the whitening effect isn't the lasting type. It is not, however, a concealing base, and it doesn't really cover up inflammation or bruising; it only leaves a neat, even finish, not clogging the pores. If you're looking for a concealing BB cream, this isn't the thing for you. The cream feels very light.

Shini Star is easy to put on, doesn't really need a layer of powder on top, and it makes the skin look very fresh. It leaves a very thin layer so it doesn't really look like one was wearing make-up at all, it's that natural!

However. Many reviews claim it doesn't dry the skin, but rather, moisturizes and cares for it. Sadly enough, as awesome it is, having used it daily for a few months combined with deep wash and a moisturizing toner, my skin was peeling and I had to do something I've never ever done before: use extra moisturizer. I wish I had a photo of the white flakes that were my cheeks because it'd prove my point wonderfully... And my cheeks aren't even the dryer bits of my face. Adjusting to this new situation is quite odd.

Also, while it's supposed to cover up sebum, and I use the oil-controlling Skin Malgeum Fresh toner before applying BB cream, every day I come home in the evening my forehead feels greasy under my fringe. It's okay since I cover it up with hair (and obviously covering it up contributes to the oily skin), but to have a constantly even, matte skin I'd either have to add powder throughout the day or opt for adding BB cream halfway through my shift. Even so (see how I'm countering all my negatives?) the cream still doesn't really disappear, and the even effect remains. But it's still a little awkward to wipe my face on the back of my hand and feel as though half my make-up had come off. I haven't tried if it gets any better with powder, because it seems powder isn't the best combination considering how dry my skin had become over my nose and cheeks.

Dispensing the cream is very easy due to the pump, and it seems the pump effectively sucks all the cream out because the container is slightly see-through against light and I haven't noticed leftovers in the top corners. It's wonderful. I've still to find out if it works the same for the pump end of the container, though.

Long story short, if you're looking to conceal don't waste your money on this one, but rather go for the Etude House Precious Mineral BB (I'll be writing about it later). If you're looking for a light base to even out your skin, Shini Star is for you. If your skin is extremely dry to begin with I recommend you prepare to moisturize it properly.

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product: Etude House Shini Star BB Cream

does what: BB cream

price range: $10 - $20

points given: 8,5/10

short story: Evens out well and blends to one's own skin tone, but dries more than expected and doesn't cover. Easy to dispense with the attached pump.

etude house: baking powder BB Deep Cleansing Foam

I thought the Skin Malgeum toners were my life savers, I really did, and they are a big part of it. But this one also fits the picture. When I bought the toners, I got a few samples of this: Baking Powder Deep Cleansing Foam. I was a bit put off by the idea of rubbing baking powder on my face, and sceptic, because I've had many poor to bad experiences with deep cleansing face wash items. They usually end up drying my skin too much and require me to plaster my face with cream, and that on the other hand just turns it into a shiny field of pimples - in other words, I've figured it was better I steered clear of these things.

But I thought, since the samples were free and all, I could just as well try them out. I like free things, and there were only three packs, so why not? Best face-related decision since buying the Skin Malgeums.

The long name of the product is Baking Powder Pore & BB Deep Cleansing Foam. It's a dye-free foaming face wash designed for cleansing pores and removing make-up - "ideal for BB Cream removal", according to the description. That's what the BB in the name stands for. The product itself doesn't contain blemish balm. The scent is lovely and resembles that of lemon, but the product has no added fragrance, and you only notice the smell when actually sniffing the cream off the tube or your hands, not when applying, so even for those allergic to strong scents it should be just fine (personally, I get a headache from strong scents very easily, and haven't noticed anything with this one).

Applying the cream is very easy; it spreads very easily and comfortably. It turns into thick foam when rubbed. The baking powder can be felt as very small crystals, kind of like salt or sugar in body scrubs. It feels lovely and relaxing. Rinse with warm water and you're done.

What makes this product my favourite face wash ever? Two things. First, it really scrubs off that BB cream and any other make-up you're sporting. Second, it leaves your skin soft as - yes, I'm going to use this metaphor - a baby's butt. Seriously. Even a single wash does this. My cheeks feel wonderfully smooth. One small downside is that it can't be used to remove eye make-up as it should be kept away from eyes.

Major downsides? No. Not a single one. I've used this product for over a month, now, every day. It does require application of a moisturizer afterward to avoid drying, but for me, Skin Malgeum Deep Moist has been enough, so that kind of tells about how little the wash dries the skin on a long run: I'm not using cream nor an oil-based product to moisturize my skin afterward. The smoothness stays, and my skin has grown much more even. The wash treats blemishes well, doesn't scratch skin, and doesn't hurt healing blemishes.

I've personally recommended it to a few friends and everyone has had positive experiences despite their different skin types.

The tube contains 150ml - and lasts ages. To wash your whole face, a blob the size of your pinky nail is enough. When I used the first sample I received I made the mistake of using the whole thing on one go and ended up wasting over half of it; one sample pack was enough for three to four goes. So you can imagine the tube being okay for months and months and months.

Packaging-wise, the tube is really cute with its cream-and-baby blue scheme. It doesn't come in a box, but instead well wrapped in plastic (no fear of it opening in the mail).

***

product: Etude House Baking Powder B.B Deep Cleansing Foam
does what: deep cleansing face wash / make-up and BB remover
price range: $10 - $20
points given: 10/10
short story: Excellent face wash and make-up remover. Smoothens skin and treats pores without excessive drying.

etude house: make up guides & beauty book

I hope you've enjoyed my writings so far and I promise more reviews in the future.

This update is to promote a series of make up guide videos by Etude House, viewable at their official site, and the "beauty book" feature of the site. I came across them a while back while browsing the site for some items, and figured it'd be nice to share, because I for one was not familiar with any of it before.

The tutorials are simple guide videos utilizing various Etude House products. In every video, there's both a visual guide on a pro make up artist applying stuff on a person, and a written guide alongside the film; the guide is in Korean.

At the bottom of every page you also find a list of the products used per tutorial. As the tutorial goes on the written guide features small pictures of the products so even if you don't know Korean, you can match the pictures to find the products. A bit of a hassle, of course, but manageable if you're really interested to find out whatever the products are. Most of the tutorials seem quite basic, though, so it's pretty easy to figure out what the products of each stage are for.

The "beauty book" feature is an e-book sort of a magazine readable at the Etude House website at the link above. It actually has parts that are translated to English. Generally it features anything a fashion- and- make up magazine would, including fresh styles and ideas on various combinations, make up, tutorials, and so on. Currently, there are 6 volumes, and more to come, and what's good is that it's all free!

etude house: dear my blooming lips talk lipstick

Thank you so much for all the visits to this blog, I'm really happy if my obsession writings turn out helpful to anyone contemplating buying these products. :) If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate leaving comments or emailing me!

I'm actually not a lipstick person, but cosmetic-love.com happens to have a Kiss Note event going on: buy two Dear My Blooming Lips Talk lipsticks, get a free Kiss Note just like the one Dara sports in the CFs. Love it. One can't own too many cute hardcover notebooks with silly little hearts and stuff on the rosy pink pages. It's so girly it would hurt if I hadn't melted away looking at the few promotional pictures of SHINee and Dara first.

Where was I? Lipstick.

So, defying my usual non-lipstick self I bought two shades: OR208 (in the picture) and PK005. There are 24 shades that are divided into four sets of colors - orange, pink, red, and... BE, which I guess stands for beige or something alike. There's 8 shades of pink and orange, and four of the other two. As far as color goes, don't be taken aback by the "orange" line. It's not orange like the fruit, really, out of the eight shades only two actually look very orange. When applied, OR208 looks peach rather than orange.

Now, when it comes to the colors, that's all I can really say. I've got a peachy, pale skin tone and pink lips so these two shades are the most natural for me, according to a friend, but obviously it varies with every person. And since these are literally my first lipsticks (of course, not including my mum's make-up I used to plaster from ear to ear as a 4-year-old, gee) I'm not very good at giving advice on how to pick lipstick shades.

Natural to Etude House, Dear My Blooming Lips Talk lipsticks come packed well and cutely in tiny boxes decorated with hearts and product information, also in English. According to the package, the "smooth textured lipstick supplies vivid color and moist shine." As you can see in the picture, the lipstick itself is absolutely adorably packed as well: the shiny pink plastic container protects the stick extremely well, and the stick actually has the heart logo engraved on the side. The container has a cute plastic ribbon on the side as well. It's all top-notch and for a 12-something dollar lipstick it looks really, really fancy and expensive.

I don't know how lipstick usually smells like if anything, but Dear My Blooming Lips Talk doesn't have an overpowering, irritating scent. When applied, one doesn't really pick up the scent at all.

It's very easy to apply, no need to press or rub it; the lipstick spreads on easily on one go. As far as the moist shine the description promises goes, don't expect any lipgloss kind of a result. The shine is very natural, not glittery. It doesn't feel sticky and I haven't had my hair stuck on my lips once during the past two weeks. I can't say as positive things about the "moist", though. Every description I've read about the product promises that your lips won't chip, but when I get home in the evening, my lips are just as dry as they would without the lipstick. It could be I don't apply enough to achieve these "moist and kissable lips" (quote from cosmetic-love.com), but I definitely agree on the "clean and vivid".

I guess one of the things lipstick wearers are the most concerned about is whether it comes off fast or not. I'm an excessive coffee consumer, and I've found it extremely easy to tell my mug apart from the rest now because of the pink stains on the edge. So, yes, the lipstick does come off in small amounts, but it's relatively waterproof: requires rubbing to fully come off. Even if I have a full meal during the day and won't apply any more afterward, the color is visible when I get back home, but for that vivid, fresh look, one does need to apply a new coat after eating. It doesn't stick to teeth, though.

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product: Etude House Dear My Blooming Lips Talk lipstick
does what: lipstick
price range: $10 - $20
points given: 7/10
short story: A wide range of vivid colors to choose from. Easy to apply and stays on relatively okay, but doesn't moisturize lips as much as expected.

etude house: skin [mal:gem] deep moist

Sorry for the break! I had a mental image of updating every week or something, but then school happened. But fear not! Summer vacation is just a few weeks away and I've got tons of items to write about waiting, already.

This time I'm writing about the other Skin Malgeum toner I currently own: Deep Moist. "Malgeum" means "cleanness" and "pureness". While Fresh works as a sebum controller, Deep Moist is a moisturizing toner.

Deep Moist, like the rest of the Skin Malgeum products, is hypoallergenic. It doesn't have a strong scent. What's funny about the product is that it's not exactly runny like one would expect toner to be. Instead, it resembles eggnog. Yes. Eggnog. One has to squeeze the bottle a bit or shake it a lot to get the stuff out, and that's kind of inconvenient. Applying the toner feels very pleasant, though: it's almost like spreading cool water on your face. The stuff has a nice velvety, gentle feel.

Deep Moist is water based. I think this is a very good point about it - there are many moisturizing toners out there which are oil based, and I know my skin goes haywire if I use any. Deep Moist actually moisturizes the skin instead of creating a layer of excess oil. While Fresh that I wrote about earlier leaves the skin sebum-free, Deep Moist gives a healthy matte finish. The instructions say one should gently pat their skin with their palms after applying the toner to achieve a smooth finish, but personally, I'm not entirely sure if I can see the difference.

Personally I use Deep Moist in the evening rather than for the daytime, because while it does moisturize properly and doesn't give an oily look, it still results in a little bit shinier outcome than with Fresh, and applying BB cream or powder on top feels sort of stuffy. What's good is that I don't need to apply cream or other moisturizers on top of the toner, though.

If your skin gets oily very easily, I think Deep Moist might be too much for you. While it is very gentle and easy on the skin, it's better for dryer skin types. If your skin is sort of medium dry or the products you use damage it a little you might want to consider the "Moist" one instead. I'm going to write more about it once I try it myself, but I've heard it's basically (as the name states) less of a deep moisturizer.

Deep Moist also seems to last forever - even longer than Fresh does.

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product: Etude House Skin [mal:gem] Deep Moist toner
does what: moisturizer
price range: $10 - $20
points given: 8,5/10
short story: Moisturizes skin well without leaving it shiny and feels good. A little inconvenient to squeeze out; feels slightly stuffy if used before BB cream or pressed powder.

etude house: skin [mal:gem] fresh

First post! Yey!
Don't let the photo fool you. That's Etude House's "fresh" and "deep moist" toners in one picture, but this post is all about the former.

First of all, I'm not even going to try to pretend that SHINee hadn't had anything to do with this purchase. In fact, SHINee's what got me curious in the first place (pun not intended there). I heard good things about Etude House from people I know, then, and figured I wasn't going to loose more than some forty bucks shipping included, so why not? At worst I'd find they were just water in pretty bottles and I could give them to my friends if I wasn't going to use them. I was so wrong.

So, Skin Malgeum (or [mal:gem], or sometimes "malgem") "fresh". "Malgeum" stands for "cleanness, clarity and pureness". Every toner in the series is hypoallergenic and apparently suitable for every skin type.

"Fresh" has a nice, very light scent; one doesn't really notice it when applying the toner, so even those who can't really use scented products should be fine with this. It's an oil control toner that works to control sebum, but it certainly doesn't dry the skin. I don't apply moisturizer on top of the toner, and it's fine, but I assume if your skin is very dry you might need some.

I use "fresh" every morning, and it really works the whole day: when I get back home in the evening, my skin isn't glistening with oil even if I don't apply powder before leaving the house. It's been a month since I started using it, and my skin is much clearer with less spots, too. I don't even wash my face every day, so it's really a wonderful feeling when my face isn't red with spots or mild chipping skin (because apparently my skin can't decide whether to be oily or dry, and switches like a slinky on a roller coaster).

It also works as an oil controller when applying make-up: plaster BB cream and powder on it, and still no excessive grease all over.

The product itself aside, it comes in a really cute package, too, and the bottle - 250ml - seems to last for ages. In a month I've not even hit the green logo on the side.

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product: Etude House Skin [mal:gem] Fresh toner
does what: controls oil and sebum
price range: $10 - $20
points given: 10/10
short story: An excellent product that really lives up to its description. Also good for daily use.

For a while this'll be a pretty empty blog, but I hope by the end of the week I'll have something up.

This is a blog for some hopefully useful reviews on various Korean cosmetics, such as those by Etude House and a few others. I promise pictures and links for where I get that stuff from. Yeah.