f(x) 'Red Light' MV Inspired Look - Krystal

Hey, I love it when my favourite K-pop groups make a comeback, especially girl groups because I always look forward to seeing their concept for their 'teaser' photos and music video, and to possibly get some inspiration from those. Think of these concepts as 'cosplay' with all the different hair colours and costumes but not based on any particular character and are created by their stylists. f(x) recently came back with their 'Red Light' title track and album and their style is not overly cute nor sexy (the two concepts that many girl groups aim for these days) but instead consists of dark makeup and camo-style outfits. From seeing f(x)'s teaser photos and music video, I was immediately inspired to create one of their looks on myself and share on my blog for fun. Here's how it went:  

  I decided to base my look on f(Krystal) because out of all the members, hers looked the most dramatic and when it comes to inspired looks like these, the more dramatic the better! And she dyed her hair platinum blonde and then I remembered I had a blonde wig (which I rarely use) and was perfect for this :D   Here are more shots of Krystal from the MV:

She wore a headpiece and a crown   The thing that really captured my attention from the look was the one black, smokey eye and the other almost completely bare with a coloured contact lens on. This was pretty consistent with all of the members however I felt that Krystal stood out the most with her super dangle-y headpiece and ice-like crown/headband (where would I get one of those?!)   As I say for all of my inspired looks, my intention is not to create a replica or tutorial on how to get this look - this is just my own interpretation where I have used items that I already had, to look as close as possible to the items worn by Krystal.   A tick for the blonde wig, a tick for an army-green jacket but with the headpiece... that was where I had some issues. Considering that I never wear headpieces or anything on my head (if you see me with a headband a la cat ears, it means I'm wearing them for a special occasion), I wasn't thinking about buying one and thought I could just wrap some gold chains around my head... but that didn't work.    I had a browse online and found this one and thought it was perfect but now it's sold out!!! And it's called 'Crystal' like Krystal too, omg. I settled for the cheapest one I could find in the store ($4, online it's still full price) to wear and draped gold chains over it. Unfortunately I only had two gold chains and I didn't have crosses but I had butterflies:

Accessories sorted!

These are the products (minus tools such as brushes) that I used to achieve the inspired look:

FACE:

ELES Age Defying BB Cream 30*

Tony Moly Crystal Light Gold Beam

Rimmel Stay Matte Dual Action Concealer 

Ardell Brow Sculpting Gel

EYES:

GEO Angel Blue Lenses

Australis Eyeshadow Primer

ELES Signature Shadow Quad in Minimalist*

ELES Mineral Matte Shadow in Sand*

Australis Eye Pencil in Blackest Black

Rimmel Soft Kohl Eye Liner Pencil in 071 Pure White

Maybelline HyperSharp Liner

Benefit They're Real! Push-Up Liner (still trialling for review purposes)*

Maybelline The Falsies Waterproof Mascara

Dolly Wink Eyelash Glue

Taiwan Bottom Lashes in 011

LIPS:

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 625 Iced Amethyst

Couleur Caramel Rouge a Levres Lipstick in 119*

I used the lightest shade of BB Cream that I had to correspond with Krystal's pale complexion and used concealer for extra coverage. I highlighted my nose bridge, brow bone, cheek bones and cupid's bow. For my brows, I kept them a natural brown like Krystal's and used my light brown brow gel to fill and lighten them up a bit. I couldn't see any blush on Krystal's cheeks so I didn't apply any.

Krystal's contact lens is a blue-green colour with no limbal ring (the black around a circle lens to give a dolly look) however I didn't have any other lenses that were blue so I used my GEO Angel Blue ones. This gave my eye a more doe-eyed look compared to Krystal's.

Left eye (no lens):

I applied eyeshadow primer all over my lid and applied black matte eyeshadow right up to the groove of my eye socket. I also applied the eyeshadow to my bottom lash line. I then used the brown matte eyeshadow and placed it right above the black eyeshadow and directly under the black used on the bottom lash line. I blended these together to create a smokey look and minimise any harsh lines. I winged my eyeliner, curled my lashes and applied a few coats of mascara. I used bottom lashes (half) that had a similar thick-thin style.

Right eye (lens):

Again, eyeshadow primer went on first and then a sand-coloured matte eyeshadow all over my eyelid and bottom lash line. Using my liquid eyeliner, I drew a thin line on top of the lashes and applied white eyeliner on my waterline. I finished it off with curling my lashes and applying mascara to the top and bottom lashes.

It all sounds pretty straight forward but it took me a few tries to get the smokey eye right and the way I wanted it to be. Perhaps it's because I hadn't done one in such a long time. Anyway I'm glad I only needed to do it on one eye or else it would've taken me even longer!

And finally to the lips:

It's so weird seeing the blonde against the bottom half of my face... doesn't even look like me o_o

I made my top lip look thinner than usual and my bottom lip slightly thicker (not like it needed to be any more thick haha). Krystal's got a dark ombre lip going on with purple matte lip products. I've only got one purple matte lipstick and it happens to be my darkest one, so I used it for the centre of my lips. The outer lipstick is a lighter purple and has a creamy consistency, hence the glossiness. I could have went for fully-matte lips but I didn't want to risk drying out my lips, plus I prefer smooth, glossy lips!

So there we go, the finished look where I had a few hiccups along the way with the accessorising and makeup application but overall I'm pleased with how it turned out :)

In the end I even added a small 'freckle' near the side of my nose, Krystal-style!

Oh and here's the full MV if you're keen to see the rest of the girls' looks and/or listen to their latest track:

Questjen for you:

Whose look did you like the best in the Red Light MV?

If you don't know their names, you can identify them by their hair colours/styles

I could say good things about each look and although I was most inspired by Krystal's, I was fangirling the most over Sulli! I wanted to recreate her look too but I didn't have brown lenses or the right accessories~

She's the youngest member of f(x) and she's all grown up looking more and more stunning

I hope to do more of these inspired looks in the near future and if there are any requests, feel free to shoot them my way!

Follow @thequestjen

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, nor am I affiliated with any of the companies mentioned. Products marked with a * had been provided for consideration.

Tony Moly Cat Chu Wink Mini Tony Tint Review

I want to start by saying Happy Lunar New Year!! I tend to find this celebration more exciting than my own birthday or even Christmas LOL because it means a lot to me and my family - ah, the good old family tradition of a gathering and a feast, and who could forget about them red pockets/li xi :D Whether you celebrate it or not, I wish everybody good luck and good health (and wealth hehe).

For the Lunar New Year celebrations, the colour red is used for decorations, traditional costume and gifts as it is a symbol of good luck and is supposed to ward off the evil spirits. Funnily enough, the product that I'm reviewing on my blog today is just that colour - what better way to start the Lunar New Year than sharing something red! A red lip tint to be exact ^3^

This review was requested by Weng Chin (hello!)

Sample size: 3 g
Price: N/A

The product has a really long name and to make things easier I'm going to call it 'Tony Tint'. This was a sample product that was in my recent Beauty Net Korea haul (see my previous post) and it's a product that I've seen and heard about before. I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of lip tints, simply because I prefer to use something that feels moisturising on my lips. But I must say that I love the way lip tints look on the lips!

The full size of the Tony Tints look like this:

Apparently these were endorsed by K-pop trio JYJ, hence the three different shades

The one that I have is the sample of the first one, #01 Cherry Pink (체리핑크) and even by just looking at it through the plastic, it definitely reminds me of a cherry!

A sponge applicator, similar to the ones used for lipgloss tubes

 One swipe of the lip tint on the back of my hand

(Excuse the veins! They don't normally stick out so much)

The tint after rubbing it onto the back of my hand

A little goes a long way with this tint, but luckily not in a way that's overpowering or too pigmented on the skin. It's definitely much lighter than the initial swatch and it was really simple to blend. I love the way it looks and I can tell that it'd make a great product for gradient lips which is quite a trend right now. Also, I reckon it can also double as a cheek tint because there usually are cheek and lip tint combos, although this doesn't specifically state that it's for the cheeks too. However, I wouldn't be brave enough to apply tint over my cheeks as I prefer to have something way less pigmented so that I can build up the colour intensity if needed :)

For a gradient-lip look I decided to follow a tutorial to achieve the best results possible:

Credit: Beauty Net Korea

You may remember my Goo Hara (Damaged Lady - KARA MV) inspired look where I did a gradient lip but used red lip gloss and pink lipstick. With the lip gloss, the effect didn't stay put and I remember having to reapply my lip gloss because it kept mixing with my lipstick! With the lip tint however, the gradient effect was much more subtle and it made blending a whole lot easier. I would say that the best way to achieve a gradient lip would be to use lip tint and lipstick or gloss :)

I was curious to see how the Tony Tint would look if I used it all over my lips as a lip stain and here are the results:

The centre of my lips was already tinted from the gradient look

I must say that it makes a gorgeous cherry red as a full colour over the lips. It's not a colour that I tend to wear but it looks super pretty, especially on those who are fair-skinned (I wouldn't say that I am but I think it still looks good!) And the fact that it is a stain means that you won't need to reapply your red lippie or worry about it getting all over your teeth :D

Pros (+) and Cons (-):

+ Cute packaging (yay cats)

+ Long-lasting

+ A little goes a long way with pigmentation

+ Sponge applicator, easy to use

+ Liquid is easy to blend

+ Bearable scent, not too overpowering

+ Contains jojoba oil for supple lips

+ For full size: 10 mL (7.99 EUR) approximately 10.8 USD. Decent price

- Stains fingers when blending

- Not a pleasant 'taste'

- Difficult to remove with (lip) makeup remover

Overall, I would recommend this product if you want to achieve gradient lips and/or if you want your lip colour to stay on longer. If you're worried about this not being as moisturising as lip balm or lip stick, you can simply apply some clear gloss or balm and you're all good to go!

Mwah~!

Any requests for posts such as reviews, hauls and tutorials etc, please feel free to let me know :)

Disclaimer: Product was a free sample from an order purchased with my own money. This is not a sponsored post, nor am I affiliated with any of the companies mentioned. All opinions stated by me are 100% honest. 

Follow @thequestjen

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.

Follow @thequestjen

Tony Moly Panda's Dream Good-bye Dark Eye Corrector

Hello I am alive! I feel so guilty when I don't have a new blog post up each week (maybe I should stop feeling bad about this) because it's supposed to be part of a routine and so when I don't blog I just feel... so..... slack :( But don't fret as I have not lost my blogging motivation! It's just that my current circumstances don't allow me to make blogging a top priority. It's great to be writing a new post now though :)

Speaking of priorities, I have evaluated my purchasing/spending priorities and have realised that I have more than enough cosmetics at the moment. Thus I have decided to spend less/none on new makeup products and more on things I need... or just save more. Oh and a couple of months ago, Mandy sent me a huge box of makeup/skincare goodies (I know right, so generous and sweet of her) which is all just too much for me to keep/use! Some products will be included in a giveaway in the near future (don't worry, she's cool with the idea) so do keep an eye out for that.

Anyway, the point is is that my blog may not always focus on beauty due to the lack of new products to review I guess (me purchasing less and sadly losing my active circle lens sponsor, mukuCHU as they will be closing very soon). Which makes me think that maybe I could try blogging more about other categories like fashion, food... but we'll see. Last month I did my very first online book review so who knows what could happen next on this blog :)

Here I am back with a post on a non-sponsored item which I purchased not too long ago - a product that I felt that I NEEDED more than WANTED!

Credit: Qoo10

Now is it a skincare product or a makeup product? I'm not quite sure but either way, I was sold on its description. And its pink panda packaging omgawd cuteness overload (gwiyomiiii~! ^^v Bahaha..) Apparently it's a 'panda's dream' to say goodbye to those dark circles lol.

I'm neither ashamed or proud to admit that I have panda eyes aka dark circles/under eye bags. How I like to express half-sadness or half-happiness about anything is with a wink frown face ---> ;( I think I've used it on Twitter before and I hope no one thought of it as a typo wink smiley.... *awkward*

I have a love-hate relationship with my dark circles. The obvious reasons for hating them are that they make me look tired and in my opinion, make me look less youthful. And the reason I like/love them is because when I have a full face of makeup on, I actually prefer the look that the dark circles give to my eyes/overall appearance compared to when they are covered with concealer. I don't know but it looks unnatural on me when they're concealed. However it'd definitely be better if I naturally didn't have dark circles at all.

I have a number of under eye concealers and they're all fine but when I came across this product online... I was so curious to try it out that I implulse-bought it! Mind you, that's something that I rarely do :P

I purchased mine from eBay at around $12 USD shipped which I suppose is decent for an under eye cream of this size. It didn't come with any plastic packaging like the image above. There was a seal inside the cap so I was assured that this tube hadn't been used/opened before.

I admit that if this under eye cream was manufactured by a different brand and had plain packaging... I wouldn't have been as tempted to buy it xD Packaging is so important!! To me anyway hehe.

Credit: My Baby Skin

It's a 'whitening cream' and I wish I knew how whitening creams worked. All I know is that this product includes the ingredients 'Niacinamide' (prevents melanin formation) and 'Haloxyl' (improves dark circles and dull skin tone) according to what I've read. I've never intentionally used any whitening creams prior to this which meant that I couldn't compare it to others and their whitening effects.

The million-dollar question is.......... does it work?!

As with many skincare products like whitening, brightening, anti-aging, anti-wrinkle etc., you can't always tell for sure that an improvement has been implicated as a result of using a product. And while some products do show signs of improvement, the improvement may no longer be visible with discontinued use. Also, there isn't an indication of when its effects can be seen so then again it's hard for me to say whether it 'works' yet. But what I can say is that after roughly two weeks of daily use, I haven't seen a whitening effect or a change. Maybe my dark circles are too dark to lighten T_T I will continue to use it daily until it runs out and then maybe I'll do an update/review when the product is finished.

Do let me know if you'd like to see a full review of this product on my blog! 

Questjen of the week:

Are you attracted to cute/pretty packaging?

Haha, a bit of a silly questjen - I'm sure everyone is!!

[Hint about my next post: Cosmetics review and FOTD! Hope you guys will like it]

 ♥ Jen xx