Asia trip and Cosmetics Haul - Etude House, Tony Moly, Innisfree

Hi everyone! It's been pretty quiet here since last year... and by that I mean, a month ago when I last blogged and when it was still 2013. A very very belated Happy New Year! Has 2014 treated you well so far?

As some of you may know, I spent most of my final month of 2013 out of Australia doing some touring in China (that totally makes me sound like a cool muso or something) and sightseeing, shopping in Hong Kong. I was thinking of doing a post about my trip but I figured that there would be just too much to share in words and pictures. In dot points, I will briefly summarise my trip:

• 2 weeks spent in China, 5 days spent in Hong Kong. Left Australia on December 1
• Went with my mum, cousin, aunties and uncles (11 of us)
• In China, visited two provinces in the south - Yunnan and Hunan and 6 cities/towns in total
• Became unwell near the end of my first week in Yunnan
• Got better in the middle of the week in Hunan but still not 100%
• Rained on the first two days of being in Hong Kong. Made shopping difficult
• Visited Macau for one day

In China we went on shopping tours (not shopping malls - visited stores that specialised in selling either pearls, silver, jade, silk and more) which were extremely tiring. I can actually imagine it being very similar to musos touring countries. We had a schedule each day and we'd have morning calls (letting us know that it's time to wake up) at around 6 or 6:30 am and a set time that we had to get on the bus and leave the hotel. Plus we weren't able to go to bed that early each night as we would be out until 9 pm sometimes. Getting into this 'sleep early, wake up early' pattern was difficult for me as I'm usually a late snoozer, and it takes time for me to get used to sleeping on a different bed and in a different place. It didn't really help that we changed hotels almost everyday while visiting different cities.

I had a lot more fun in Hong Kong as I didn't get sick, we got to explore on our own and I had no schedules. I was able to rest and relax. Generally I enjoyed being there more than being in China where there was lots of air pollution and no access to my favourite social media sites.

I could go on but I reckon I'll leave it there! I have also uploaded all of my pictures on my Facebook. I've made the album public so if anyone's interested in having a look, go for it! 630 images.

I attempted to vlog during my vacation but I only managed to do a proper speaking one on my final night in Hong Kong. Yet I still wouldn't call it 'proper' as it was so impromptu lol. I've made a playlist for the vlogs/videos which you can check out below:

While I was in China and Hong Kong, I was most keen on finding Asian cosmetics to purchase as they tend to be cheaper than online or instore over here. And who isn't drawn to the cute/pretty packaging that these cosmetics have?! While being overseas, all of the cosmetics that I bought were from Hong Kong, mostly in Mong Kok. As I was on a shopping tour in China, there really wasn't any time to do our own shopping in any shopping malls/districts.

Being in Hong Kong for just 5 days wasn't enough and I wish we could have stayed longer! I wasn't happy with how little my haul was so I made up for it by... shopping online after coming back! I had left over HKD which I exchanged, banked and used to spend online haha.

Items from Sasa and Etude House. Not a lot as you can see!

Most of the items above were gifts for friends so technically my haul was only this big:

Yes I know right, disappointing! And one of these 'items' is just a membership card (yay)

The SHINee packet of tissues... just a freebie lol

A beauty blogger like myself to come back from Asia with only that many Asian cosmetics... wowee. Definitely the smallest Asian cosmetics haul from Asia that I've ever seen online. This was one trip to Etude House and I was hoping to make a couple more trips but due to time constraints it wasn't possible. Also, going with a large group was hard and we'd have different interests of where to shop and what to do. Because of my situation, I am just glad that I was able to do a bit of shopping in a shop that I had wanted to visit in so long.

The Etude House shop in Mong Kok didn't seem very updated as it didn't have any of the new ranges and still had older limited edition ranges to sell and clear out. But of course this must be because Etude House is Korean and it probably takes longer for stores outside of Korea to get their hands on the new limited edition items.

Being the cheap, bargain-hunting Asian that I am, I purchased items from the 40% off sale as there really wasn't anything that I really wanted to buy. I think I already have enough cosmetics!

These were so cute (this is probably going to be the reason/description I'll be giving to every single product) and I fail at nail art designs so I thought, why not have some pre-made designs to simple stick-on. Also I could tell that these nail sizes would fit my petite nails really well!

This limited edition Shini Star lip balm endorsed by boy group SHINee is no where to be found online and there weren't many left in one of the Mong Kok Etude stores. Limited edition and limited stock indeed! This is Taemin's choice of fruit flavour (guava) and it smells so delicious! There's a flavour/colour for each SHINee member and I regret not grabbing more/all of these. It's very glossy and leaves a subtle tint of colour.

Etoinette Crystal Shine Lips #PKK003 is this gorgeous rose pink colour which is suitable for daily wear. I'm in love with the design - it surely makes me feel like a princess. The colour is more on the sheer side with some shimmer. The scent is pleasant and this lipstick is definitely one of my favourite lipsticks right now.

An egg-shaped lip balm! I have this slight obsession with lip balms these days, I have plenty of them yet I still keep buying more! To me it's an absolute necessity and I hate having dry, cracked lips.

Doesn't it remind you of another lip balm, one that is more well-known? Yep, it's just like the EOS lip balm which I haven't used before but when I saw this in the store I was thinking, "cool, it must be very similar!"

It is similar!

I can't do a comparison of which is better however I can say that this lip balm goes on smoothly and smells delightful - a light peach scent.

Now I'm going to share my cosmetics haul which I purchased online when I got back. A Korean cosmetics haul:

This was my first time ordering from them and I was really happy with neatly they packaged everything into the box. The little note was cute too

Must give a shout-out to Jen from NYNB who tweeted about her order from Beauty Net Korea, which I hadn't heard about until she mentioned it! I checked out their site and it sells products from pretty much every Korean beauty brand that exists - a huge range, limited edition items spotted and free shipping! Also, I must say that the prices are really decent. I will definitely consider purchasing from here again :)

And all orders get free samples. I love samples!

Skincare samples by Etude House

Tony Moly Cat Chu Wink Tony Tint sample - good for a red lippie!

L-O-V-E these lashes, they look and feel very natural. The XOXO Minnie x Etude range is too adorable! I recently wore these to an event and the way they flick outwards on the ends is quite pretty. I'll share a pic here:

A better alternative to mascara I reckon!

Another cute pink lippie from Etude! Dear My Blooming Lips-talk in PK013 - a colour I'd wear for special occasions.

I've always wanted to get one of these highlighters. How shiny is the box and packaging of this Tony Moly Crystal Light Gold Beam, oh my goodness it's stunningly blinding! It reminds me of the popular Benefit High Beam however this is much more affordable. It leaves a subtle finish which is perfect for me because I'm still new to highlighting and contouring and I don't want to end up looking too sparkly/shiny!

What did I say before about being a lip balm freak :P Here I go again with purchasing yet another, but it's not as though I regret it or anything - this is the Innisfree 98% Natural Tint Balm and it's prettiest stick lip balm I've owned and it smells like candy *_* I tend to be more of a fan of tinted lip balms than regular lip balms because sometimes I want both moisture and colour and regular lip balms and lipsticks can't do both for me. It's like a 2-in-1!

I've never used any of these eyeshadow/shimmer sticks before so I thought I'd try them out. Also, I noticed that they're used by Korean singers and actresses and their eye makeup always looks gorgeous. I'm happy to have purchased these because they glide on really smoothly, making it incredibly easy to apply!

Just like an ice cream, ey? Adorable design for a nail polish and this red orange/grapefruit colour is amazing! One coat and I was able to achieve streak-free opaque nails. I was impressed with the consistency of the formula :)

Finally I've gotten to the end of my haul - another lengthy post from me! However this technically isn't all to my Asian cosmetics haul because I'm still waiting on my Sasa order (I know what you're thinking...why did I order online when I could've just BOUGHT them from the PHYSICAL Sasa stores in Hong Kong!!) and I kind of splurged again on Korean cosmetics...

I'm happy to share what's in the bag but not in this post as I've already shared plenty! If you'd like me to write another haul post (items in that bag and Sasa order once it arrives), please let me know :D

Disclaimer: All products were purchased with my own money. This is not a sponsored post nor am I affiliated with any of the companies mentioned. All opinions are 100% honest.

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iheartkoreanbeauty Samples Review

Hey guys, remember the iheartkoreanbeauty samples that I got? If not then it doesn't matter since I'll be talking about them again and also giving some mini reviews on each sample.

Long post by the way, feel free to skip this if you're not interested.

Everything's been used, as you can tell :)

I'm going to review each sample in order use:

1. Baviphat Magic girls Plus BB Cream SPF30/PA++

Can anyone read Korean? I wonder what it says at the back.

Okay so, this was my first ever BB cream. If you're not aware of what BB cream is, 'BB' stands for Blemish Balm which gives coverage just like a foundation but is usually used as a base to conceal blemishes and/or improve them. Personally I'm not too sure what it is really supposed to do however, I still gave it a try to see how it went.

Verdict:

This was too white for my face. Are BB creams meant to match skin tones or blend in? I think this was why I never purchased BB cream before. I have some redness on my face and it did cover it up pretty well and so I'm confident that it gives great coverage. It also made my face a few shades lighter (which wasn't what I wanted). It has a musky scent to it which is bearable but not the best smelling product out there. I was happy with the texture though, it was very smooth to apply onto my face.

RRP: $29.90SGD ($23.3997AUD) for 45mL

Purchase?

No, I wouldn't purchase this product. I actually don't think I'll purchase any BB creams because my skin tone is quite dark compared to many Asians so I'd have trouble finding the correct shade of BB cream. I don't know whether Baviphat BB cream has a range of shades but if they don't then I can't use something that will whiten my face. It made me look ghostly and even when I put foundation over it, the whiteness still showed!

Recommended for:

Those who have a light skin tone and would like to have full coverage.

2. Innisfree Green Tea Pure Sleeping Pack

Sorry about the blurry-ish pictures.

I had to do some research about this because I had no idea what a 'sleeping pack' was. Turns out it was a mask. Not a mask that covers your whole face and is taken off after 10-15 minutes, this is a sleeping mask. It's liquid and all you do is smooth it on all over the face before you sleep and then when you wake up, you wash it off :) That is how it's classified as a mask but not really so it's a 'sleeping pack'.

Enriched with Green Tea and Green complex from pure jeju island. Green Tea Pure revives dry, stressed skin by supplying abundant moisture.

Verdict:

It definitely sounds like something that suits me. I have dry skin and I've heard that green tea is good for moisturising. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there a St. Ives Green Tea Scrub? It's nowhere to be found in Australia :( Anyway, the amount in the sample allowed me to apply this mask twice so I had a better idea of the product after the second use. It smelt really nice and it was really refreshing when I applied this before going to bed. It's just like cream when it was on my face so washing it off in the morning was simple. When I first used it I thought that it would leave my face feeling as though I'm wearing a removable mask xD

RRP: $25.20SGD ($19.7215AUD)

Purchase?

It made me face feel awake and smooth in the morning after washing it off so perhaps I would purchase this. Currently there is a promotion where you spend $290SGD and receive a free one of these. It made my face smell really nice and my face felt less dry after using it.

Recommended for:

Those who have dry skin and would like to have skin that isn't dull in the morning.

3. Holika Holika UV Magic Shield Sunblock SPF 50+ PA+++

These pictures were obviously not taken on the same day... or with the same camera? Lol.

My first ever experience with an Asian brand sunscreen. Such a high SPF compared to what's available here in Australia. I'm assuming that people living in Asian countries really really don't want to risk getting a tan. I understand how they can be obsessed with having white skin x]

Verdict:

It's smells just like a regular sunscreen, they all smell the same. I was hoping that maybe this sunscreen would smell perfumed just like how most other Asian skin care products are :( So you could imagine how devastated I was. I don't mind the smell of sunscreen but it would be nice to have something different, you know? I actually still have some left because there weren't many opportunities for me to wear sunscreen out and I only used it for my face. The texture is really smooth and the sunscreen is like a pinky beige, not white. It rubs into the skin really well so you don't have to worry too much about having white marks on your face from not being able to rub in your sunscreen well!

RRP: iheartkoreanbeauty doesn't have this one listed, instead they have the spray version which is $24SGD ($18.7823AUD)

Purchase?

I think it would be pricey for suncreen, especially compared to ones found in department stores in Australia. I wasn't able to test whether I'd burn easier with this sunscreen or a regular sunscreen found in Australia because I actually don't have any sunscreen at home (my old one expired haha) to compare it with! On the sample it says '3 in 1 multi-function' but that is all that is written in English. If only I knew how to read Korean!

Recommended for:

Those who want very high SPF of 50+ (I didn't think it was possible to have that high) and want to avoid getting sunburnt as much as possible.

4. Charmzone Gingko Pure Cleansing Cream

The fact that it said 'cleansing cream' really through me off. I have never seen those two words put together like that. All I was familiar with was cleansing meaning that it is washed off and cream meaning that it stays on. How can something be washed off and also remain on the face? Well once again, I had to do my research.

Click to enlarge

Charmzone has instructions for all their products and this was really helpful for the other products too. It's a cleanser because it is removed but it is also a cream because it is removed without water, just with a tissue! So it is smoothed onto the face ^_^

Verdict:

I wasn't sure how long to keep the cleansing cream on for so I waited a few minutes before wiping it off with a tissue. I was able to use this twice because there was a generous amount of product in the sample and the instructions said that I only needed about 25 grams for each application. It has a very smooth texture and a lovely scent. It is white but it smooths on clear with a bit of an oily feel to it. Luckily I have dry skin so the oily texture didn't bother me :)

RRP: $8.50SGD ($6.65AUD) for 100g and $18.50SGD ($14.4781AUD) for a larger amount.

Purchase?

I wonder whether having it on for a longer or shorter amount of time would have influenced its effect on my face. My face did feel smoother after wiping off the cleansing cream and it left smelling nice I guess x) The oily texture was gone. I think I would consider purchasing this because it was an interesting product to use, I really enjoyed it.

Recommended for:

Those who want to try a cleansing cream and those with any skin type. The oily-ish texture shouldn't be too bad for those with oily skin.

4. Holika Holika Aqua Splash Cream

Sorry I had no back picture. Gosh my pictures are getting worse and worse aren't they! :(

To me this cream was just like ordinary cream. I asked Zhen, the owner of iheartkoreanbeauty what this cream was for and she said that it is a water-based cream that is good for oily skin. Even though I don't have oily skin, I still gave it a try! That's why I had these samples, to try them and see what happens hehe.

Verdict:

It was really smooth to apply due to it being water-based. Just because it's more suited for oily skin doesn't mean that it wouldn't have been good for my dry and sensitive skin. It was actually okay and it smelt extremely nice! I love how Asian skincare products smell so good :) I just used it as a cream when my face just needed some sort of moisture and the fact that it was water-based made it feel like I put water on my face. Sounds so corny but yeah, it was very refreshing.

RRP: $28SGD ($21.917AUD)

Purchase?

I don't think I will be purchasing this product despite it being refreshing and having a very pleasant scent. To me, it wouldn't be worth the price and I'd prefer to purchase skincare products that are aimed to help dry and sensitive skin as this product aims towards people with oily skin.

Recommended for:

Those who have oily skin and just want to have a cream that smells great and to have a non-oily texture on their face.

5. Holika Holika Aqua Splash Serum

Now these pictures are better :)

Well firstly, I like how the sample packet is in the shape of the actual item (the bottle) so it's quite cute. I again, was clueless about what this was. I've heard of serum but I never had any idea what serums are used for and where this is to be applied. With the help of Zhen, she told me that this is to be used after toner and serums are meant to have intensified benefits. So i assumed that this was to applied all over the face. And that was what I did with this.

Verdict:

Smells just like the cream so if one is applied before the other then the scents won't clash. This is also water-based and it is creamy-white but when it is applied, it goes on clear. Unfortunately I had no idea what benefits I would get from using this serum so I can't say much about it, other than it made my face smell nice (again) and the texture was really light and silky-smooth.

RRP: $28SGD ($21.917AUD)

Purchase?

Since I didn't figure out what the benefits were with this serum (which I had applied plenty of times), I don't think it would be worth it to purchase this just to try it out further. Maybe if the price was less :) ?

Recommended for:

Those who want to have intensified benefits on their face and have oily skin.

6. Innisfree White Tone Up Essence

When I read 'essence' I immediately thought of vanilla essence. I think that this is meant to make my face smell nice? o_o I'll just read what the packet says:

Enriched with Pure berries extract and Green complex found from jeju island, white tone up makes your face brighten up.

Verdict:

Brighten? Whiten? I'm not that good at being able to tell the difference. What's the difference between a whiter or brighter face? Well I checked out the Charmzone site again and it said to apply it after cream... but it didn't even say what the purpose is of it! So once again, I can't comment on this much. I forgot to ask Zhen and now I can't ask her because she's away.

RRP: $38SGD ($29.7387AUD)

Purchase?

I think I'd only purchase this because of curiosity but other than that, no. I don't see what the benefits are and how can white tone up essence brighten my face? I don't get it. Hmm, maybe that's just me. Please help if you've ever tried an essence on your face before. The price doesn't appeal to me either.

Recommended for:

Those who want to 'brighten up' their face and who want to try an essence.

7. Holika Holika HD Skinny Primer Base

I was really excited to use this sample because I love face primers. However I didn't expect this primer to have a strong smell. I can't describe the smell but I can say that it was bearable. I thought that this would be perfumed!

Verdict:

Nothing what i had expected. It whitened my face so much O_O I almost looked paper-white! It was freaky, and much more white than the Baviphat BB cream. Wow I was totally shocked. I thought all face primers would smooth on clear? This definitely did not. I had a hard time putting on my foundation to try and cover the whiteness. Thank goodness I didn't wear the primer out, just tried it on at home x] No luck with covering the whiteness though :(

RRP: It's not listed on the site so I have no idea.

Purchase?

No I definitely wouldn't purchase this. I despise whitening products like this! I don't mind gradual whitening products but to suddenly look like a ghost was just scary :S Never again.

Recommended for:

Those who wish they could be whiter or those who are naturally very pale. I guess it could also be used to lighten foundation if you've purchased a shade too dark for your natural skin tone. Mixing this white primer might just do the trick.

8. The bottled samples

- Holika Holika Aqua Splash Toner and Emulsion

- Innisfree Eco Recipe Skin and Lotion

Picture before I used them

Innisfree Eco Recipe Skin is a toner

Holika Holika Aqua Splash Emulsion is used after toner, before cream

Here is the order of use - Toner, Emulsion, Cream

I'm combining this review because these products are really similar, but just have different brands. Again I had a moment in my head saying "what?!" when I read 'emulsion'. Charmzone helped me once again.

Verdict:

I like the scent of the Holika Holika toner and emulsion more than the Eco Recipe Skin toner and cream. Toner is obviously more water-based than cream and toner. A toner is used to get rid of extra dirt and make-up off of the face and cream/emulsion is just used after toner. I don't know why so please don't ask me! Haha. I didn't feel or see any changes to my face after using these products.

RRP:

Holika Holika Aqua Splash Toner and Emulsion are $28.90SGD each ($22.6171AUD)

Innisfree Eco Recipe Skin and Lotion are not found on iheartkoreanbeauty.

Purchase?

I don't really need to use a toner or an emulsion after toner because I don't have an oily face so there isn't much dirt absorbed into my skin. I don't actually own a toner x] If I wanted a toner though, I think I'd just buy one from a drugstore which are much more inexpensive.

Recommended for:

Those who have oily skin and need something extra to get rid of the built-up of dirt.

So there you go! A very lengthy and hopefully detailed post of some Korean skincare samples. I hope this has helped you in some way. I definitely think it's best to try products with samples because you usually don't have to pay for them and you can experience the product without buying a full-size of it which can usually be pricey. All Asian skincare products are foreign to me and I've never owned any before, so this was a really good opportunity for me to try these out and see whether they were okay for my skin or not. Thankfully, I didn't have any irritations or problems with any of the samples!

If you've read all of the above and you're still reading now, I thank you so much! I've written this to kind of make up for my last two posts which were advertorials. I tried to not make them boring as they were my first time doing them. Let me know what you think :)

Also, I've changed my commenting settings to them being approved before publishing because it makes it easier for me to read comments as they show up on my dashboard. I hope that's okay.

And I have a very exciting announcement to make...

My next blog post will be about my giveaway ^_^ Look out for that!

Much love,

Jen xoxo

iheartkoreanbeauty samples

Hi everyone, just quick post. I received package (third package this week) which came from Singapore and took a week to arrive from the shipping date.

It was another sample package ^_^ It's always great to try before you buy, right?

This package came from Zhen and she is the owner of the shop iheartkoreanbeauty. I actually found out about this shop from Sara of icyabstract who you may know from her blog or her Youtube channel.

iheartkoreanbeauty sells Korean cosmetics/skincare from brands such as Etude, Missha, Skinfood, Laneige and many more. This sample package included the following items:

- Baviphat BB Magic Girls Cream

- Charmzone Gingko cleansing Cream

- Holika Holika Aqua Splash Cream

- Holika Holika Aqua Splash Emulsion

- Holika Holika Aqua Splash Serum

- Holika Holika Aqua Splash Toner

- Holika Holika HD Skinny Primer Base

- Holika Holika Milk to Foam Face cleanser

- Holika Holika UV Magic Shield sunblock

- Innisfree Eco Recipe Lotion

- Innisfree Eco Recipe Skin

- Innisfree Green Tea Pure Sleeping Pack

- Innisfree White Tone Up Essence

Zhen was kind enough to include a BB cream sample for me as I told her that I've never tried BB cream before :)

I like how she provided this little note at the back of the package. I hope that the package handlers did handle it with care!

The front of the note she wrote to me

She basically gave me a whole bunch of random samples to try and with some of the items, I had no idea what to do with them! Thankfully I was able to ask Zhen and she told me the directions of use and the purpose of the items.

The only brands I hadn't heard of were Baviphat and Charmzone because they haven't really been publicised as much as Innisfree and Holika Holika. If you're into Korean pop music like me, you might be aware that the face of Innisfree is YoonA from SNSD (Girls' Generation) and CN Blue are the face of Holika Holika.

I don't care how overrated she may be, I still think YoonA is gorgeous and looks great in CFs (commercials). She has an attractive face

They're on the front of the Holika Holika shop window? That's awesome

I've been trying a few of the products and I must say, they smell really nice x) I've actually never used or purchased any Asian skincare brand products before so this is all new to me hehe.

I can't exactly do a review of the samples as I am limited with usage but you may be able to request samples from Zhen at iheartkoreanbeauty.blogspot.com and if there are any items that you're not sure about, you can simply ask her :D

I could do mini reviews in the future if you aren't planning on receiving samples. Please note that there is a postage fee for the samples around $4.30AUD which isn't too bad :]

Anyway, I'd love to know if you're thinking of receiving some samples from this shop because I'm curious about which ones you'll get as they may vary.

xoxo Jennifer