Review: Laneige Water Sleeping Pack_EX

I am riveted by Asian skincare, with the numerous steps to achieve youthful skin. I love how Asian women really take their skincare routine seriously. It is beyond purchasing a simple moisturizer, rather, it is like a ritual of praising the sublimal skin gods to grant luminous skin by following a tedious routine of cleansing, toning, masking, spritz and spraying and balancing all the properties of the skin (not in the same order). It's something worth noting though, because a lot of Asian celebs have flawless skin.

One of my good friends got me the Laniege Water Sleeping Pack for my birthday and I've been diligently using it once or twice  a week.

What it is: Laneige Water Sleeping Pack  It is a leave-in mask that you wear before you go to sleep and is suppose to lock in moisture so you can wake up with soft, supple skin. Because it is enriched with many plant extracts, the mask keeps your skin hydrated all night.
Texture: It is very gel-like. Once applied onto skin, it feels like thick water but it's not runny in any way. And when it is fully absorbed into skin, it feels very smooth but you still retain that moistness that you typically feel when you wear a cold cream.
Scent: It has a very pleasant (and light) floral scent. I don't think it is overbearing in any sense, because it doesn't linger when you're getting ready to snooze.
Strengths: There are a lot of fruit extracts and collagen added in here to be similar to a sheet mask, but in a night cream formula. You don't have to throw away anything and it feels very luxurious on your skin. Since one of the main ingredients is camella sinesis (leaf buds used to make tea), it's very repairing for the skin especially if you feel bloated on your face o_o The oils also strengthen the skin barrier. Takes about 4-5 mins for product to fully absorb into skin...this largely depends on how much moisture your skin needs as well.
Weaknesses: If you are allergic to certain silicones like Dimethicone, note that it is the 9th ingredient in the product. While it doesn't bother me in a skincare product, a lot of people avoid this ingredient because of possible allergic reactions.
Price: Ranges from $25-$35 online if purchased in the US. A plus side to the price is that you get 2.7 fl oz (80ml) of product that can last you very long.
Overall: I love it! It feels really luxurious when applied. I love the scent and the cute blue jar. The best time to use it would be during the hot summer months because it's really cooling. You can also put it in the fridge for maximum coolness. Your skin naturally firms up when something cold is on it (never wash your face in hot water, ever). I'd definitely repurchase when I run out :)


Close Dupe: If you can't get your hands on this right away, or you want something more inexpensive to try, I recommend the Garnier Moisture Rescue gel cream. 

As you can tell, it's almost all gone =p The texture of this is very similar to Laneige's sleeping mask, with a heavier scent. It's less than $10 at most drugstores (I saw it at Walgreens for $6 when it was on sale) and is just as cooling. Note: Not a mask though!

Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Dimethicone, Isononyl Isononanoate, Carbomer, Dimethiconol, Chlorphenesin, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Vitis Vinifera Extract/Grapefruit Extract, Xanthan Gum, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Menthoxypropanediol, Magnesium Gluconate, Sodium Citrate, Benzyl Salicylate, Linalool, Calcium Gluconate, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, CI 19140/Yellow 5, CI 42090/Blue 1, Parfum/Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol.


It doesn't have all the plant oils in it, but I really love how cooling it feels on the skin and how accessible it is to get.

Have you tried either of these products? What are your thoughts? :) 

Personal Post - Cell phone photos :)

Creative title huh? =p While I have no beauty related content today, I thought I'd share some cell phone photos with you all. Yay for everyone who did my tag =D As always, I had a nice time reading all of them :) So I'll share some random photos... mostly taken at work in my office and some outside of it. The more busier I get at work, the more I want to use my camera phone. It's madness, I tell you.

Do you like my watch? It's the only one I own. You can find it at Nordstrom. I don't wear it everyday, but whenever I want to feel more "grown up", I put this on because it goes with everything =p The bracelet is from Taiwan and I absolutely adore it. I love the gold and white together :)

I leave my little Rilakkuma pouch on my desk everyday so I can have something cute to stare at! LOL The little blue and pink friendship flowers were given to me from a good friend and one of my best friends sent me the calender. It's kind of our tradition every year. I think over the years I've collected more than 7 or 8 of them :) I've had them all - page-a-day's, origami, organization ones with pockets and scrapbook-like thingies, wall, desk, patterns and textures, little ones like the one pictured above (I call them post-it calendars, because I keep all the papers and use them as post it notes around work). All I am missing now is a fan girl Edward Cullen calendar o_o. I am a loser winner.

Have any of you tried Illy coffees? I've had these for dessert for a week!! They are so good. I usually have them after a meal so I don't get food coma in the afternoon :) I normally have tea, but the coffee is a nice change every once in awhile. I love these! :)

Grass jelly is one of my favorite drinks. Unfortunately, I can't find any place that makes it "fresh" here. By fresh I mean that I can't find a place where you can order grass jelly by the pound. In Asia I believe you can, but here it is just jelly packets. This drink is refreshing and sweet! If you haven't tried it before, you must! They sell them at most Asian grocers. I'll be including this in my first giveaway :) More details later.

Egg Tart from Golden Gate Bakery in San Francisco! For some strange reason, every time I'm in town, they are closed. But I was finally able to get it :) It IS as yummy as all the reviews!!!!! :) No fail. I love egg tarts!!

I was here over the weekend. Aren't the clouds lovely? They look so beautiful! It was a beautiful day, despite the ominous weather. Ironically.

 Just a few camera phone whoring pics =p

I hope you are all having a nice week so far. I can't really complain, but I'm extremely sleep deprived so... goodnight! :)

Tags, etc :)

What better way to end the week than with a few tags? :) I love reading them. Why not participate? Life is short, I say!

Tagged by Elle from Inside Out Elle. I really enjoy reading her blog, because her entries are always thought provoking and whimsical. It doesn't hurt that her layout has two little smiling peas :) And she is super adorable! Now onto the tag -- 

1. Why did you create this blog?
Mostly to record things I buy, swatches I make, and just a documented time line of my life as it chronicles in case I ever lose my memory. This is true. 

2. What kind of blogs do you follow?

Mostly beauty blogs, swatch blogs and some fashion blogs. I have a really extensive list of fun reads on a daily basis :D

3. Favorite makeup brand?

I have so many. I'd say Tarte and Urban Decay for eyeshadows, Asian brands for base makeup, Revlon for lipsticks... ahh, so many! I can't choose. Makeup Forever is etching its way up to my list of favorites.
 

4. Favorite clothing brand?
I'm not very brand loyal. When it comes to clothing, I don't really have a "favorite" but recently I've been influenced by so many fashion bloggers and have been finding myself shopping at Ann Taylor and Loft because they have so many nice pieces for work :) 

5. Your indispensable makeup product?

BB creams! I can't live without them! LOL Currently really liking Hanskin's Super BB :p

6. Your favorite color?
I love pink shades, especially pale pinks.

7. Your perfume?
I've been using Ralph Lauren Romance and  Issey Miyake L'eau D'ISSEY for the longest time.

8. Your favorite film?

Probably Garden State. I love sappy-ish, coming of age movies and dark comedies like Scotland, PA. I'm an avid supporter of low budget films. The one big budget film I recently saw and loved was Inception! LOVED it :)

9. What country would you like to visit and why?
England, because I can be a little culture obsessed. Mostly because I love castles and Victorian architecture.

10. Make up the last question and answer.
Uh... not really a question, but what is up with those Big Momma movies and why is Martin Lawrence always pretending to be a woman?? This baffles me! 

Tagging:

1. Tracy - http://tracysbeautyblogsphere.blogspot.com/

2. Sharon - http://www.ohsharon.com/

3. Mindy - http://iamminky3.blogspot.com/  
4. Isabel - http://sugarcoatedmuffin.blogspot.com/ 
5. Mara - http://mara-x-mara.blogspot.com/ 
6. Mary - http://simplybeautifulyou.blogspot.com/ 
7. Cocobee - http://cocoabee.blogspot.com/
8. Fannie - http://fannied.blogspot.com/ 
9. Gloria - http://dolce-smile.blogspot.com/ 
10. Pam - http://yourstrulypam.blogspot.com/ 

 Looking forward to reading these :)

FOTD earlier this week. I actually spent a little time looking more acceptable for work. This needs to be a habit!

Makeup:  Hanskin Super BB, MUFE HD Blush (will review, I LOVE this stuff!!!!), NYX Strawberry Milk lipstick, Cargo Eyeliner, some eyeshadow... don't remember it at the moment.

I'll be out and about this weekend. Hope you all have a good one :)

 

Quickie Reviews: Nars Concealer + MBD Red Wine Mask

Another concealer review!? You must be kidding. I know, I know... I have this thing with collecting base makeup and concealers. It must've stemmed from my longtime frivolous insecurities. Rats.

Which brings me to review a cult favorite brand : Nars. Although their concealers aren't what makes them known, it's still worth noting. I was initially curious about their concealers because I tested their foundations and they are excellent. They have two types of concealers, one in a lipstick tube to make it easier to apply when you're touching up and a concealer duo which includes two shades housed in the signature Nars compact.

I bought in the shade Custard/Ginger.

I wasn't a huge fan of this concealer. And my reasons are pretty valid for my skin type/tone. Firstly, the shade selections are extremely limited - either too pink or too yellowish.

I bought this concealer online so I couldn't really color match, but I was sure from all the swatches online that custard/ginger would be perfect. Turns out that it's a bit more darker on me than I hoped for =/ I think the Vanilla/Honey might be too pink on me.. so yeah. No go.

Secondly, the formula is not as "non drying" as they describe. It is an absolute dry mess. Not very creamy but if I have to describe it, it would be like a cream to matte finish, and I can see the benefit of that for oil prone skin. Compared to what I am used to in a concealer, this one is like a bad waterproof lipstick for the face - drying, hard to remove and dull.

Unfortunately, this concealer didn't work for me. I found it to be exceptionally drying on the skin and cakey within a few hrs.

CONS

• Drying - feels like a wet powder
• Limited shade selection
• Cakey after a few hours
• Expensive ($30 on Sephora; a little less elsewhere)

PROS

• Sheer application; very buildable
• Warm shades

I'm a little disappointed, but you move on to better products. I am still in love in with my Tarte one :)

 I also tried the My Beauty Diary Red Wine Mask. I first read about it from Elle and she hated it. I got a sample sheet of it... so I tried it as well :p

I'm a big fan of MBD masks, but not the red wine one. It smells of day old berries and grapes...fermented, I guess, hence the wine. It was yuck. My skin did not feel refreshed. After I took off the mask, I spotted bumps on my face! No good.

So yeah, two bad reviews for today. Sorry! I'm usually hard to disappoint, but these two products were not really good. BUT, I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day yesterday. I think I had my fair share of chocolates and sweets!

And some fun news... I'm going to be seeing Glee in concert! LOL I know I'm 24 and I should be more than mature, but I'm enjoying the Glee series so much :)

Goodnight!!

Easy Valentines Look :)

I'm all for easy makeup looks, especially if they look clean and pretty. Maybe this is why I love bloggers who rock out with easy, fresh faced looks :) I love dramatic evening makeup as well, but the looks that can be worn both day and night with little effort are the best of the best :) I'm having so much fun looking at other people's Vday looks and vids :) You gals are so freaking gorgeous! :)

Here is my take on a Valentine's Day look! It was really quick... took me about 12 minutes or so. I spent more time picking out which brushes to use than the actual makeup part. I feel pathetic sometimes.

Here is what I used:

Lancome Eye Palette - Gifted to me for my birthday by my very good friend Audrey, (visit and follow her blog here! She's a sweetheart who knows so much about fashion.) I used the two middle colors to brighten my eyes and the black shade at the end to give my eyes a little contrast.

For lips, I used Revlon's Soft Nude and Nars Giza. I'm not sure if anyone's noticed but Soft Nude is a total dupe for Nars Giza! :)

 Aren't the two shades SO similar???!?! After I post this, I'll google it and I bet I'll see tons of people who've compared these two already =p I've been trying to find Soft Nude everywhere!! Every drugstore around me has sold out of this! So I bought it online instead :) Soft Nude is truly one of my favorite nudey shades! It applies on a lot lighter than in the tube. It's really such a pretty color! I don't own anything like it. Nars Giza is also a really nice nudey shade in a gloss form. I absolutely love it! For some reason, it's not as sticky as other NARS glosses that I own, and the texture is much more nicer. A little slippery, but really smoothing.

For an evening look, I'll just apply the other end of the NARS duo, Boogie Nights. Boogie Nights is a shimmery fuchsia shade. A little vampy, but as with any intense shade, very sexy.

I hope you all have a very warm Valentines Day weekend :) I know I'll be grubbing every minute of every second! :)

Products Used:

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream 21 (see it here)

Lancome Eye Palette

MAC Dainty (cheeks) - Possible dupe for Nars Orgasm? Full review to come!

Revlon Soft Nude Lipstick (see it here)

NARS Giza lipgloss (see it here)

Loreal Collagen Mascara (see it here)

Enjoy your Valentines weekend everyone! 

Review: Tarte Dark Circle Defense Concealer + others

Happy Sunday everyone! :)

I want to thank you all for the lovely comments on my last hair post! Many of you were not sure where to go get it done, or if your area has it. Just to clarify, the salon does not have to be a specialty salon where they only do hair straightening. Many licensed Asian salons have stylists who are trained in hair straightening techniques. There are a variety of them: Japanese, Brazilian, hair relaxation... etc. Be sure to specify which technique you'd like. I've done them all.. Japanese, Yuko, relaxation.. LOL Yuko is another Japanese hair straightening that is good on "virgin" hair (ie never dyed your hair, never straightened, etc). It is more gentler, but I can't really remember the experience because I first did that when I was 18 or 19. I remember the cost was over $500 for shoulder length hair. Really expensive!! Regular Japanese hair straightening costs upwards of $150-500 depending on the salon. Mine was really good at around $180 before tip. Relaxation (or getting your hair relaxed) is a method that is popular amongst African American hair. In contrast to Japanese hair straightening, it is a temporary fix and I believe they use stronger chemicals, which isn't necessarily good. My experience with that method had been horrendous. My hair was fried! Never try it unless you are African American!! Really. It's not made for Asian hair!

My hair thus far (an entire week) has been healthier than it's ever been. It is softer, easy to manage and I have a more pleasant shower experience b/c my hair is now easier to wash :) YAY!

Now I want to talk about a concealer that is really catered to dark circles. I have been using this concealer for about 2 weeks now. I bought it because I am a concealer hoarder and can't get enough of them. There really is a difference between a concealer, an eye concealer, and brighteners.

This is the Tarte Dark Circle Defense (find it here) concealer in light to medium. The salmon colored shade really counteracts any darkness and blends really well with your natural skin color. I've never been happier with any other concealer, truthfully. My dark circles on my eyes never go away regardless of how much sleep and fluids I have :(

Ready for the mugshot? =p

Side by side view with the before and "after" of the concealer. My dark bags have diminished significantly.

The awesome thing about this concealer is that you only need very little. Only a brush stroke amount and you're ready to go. After applying it on with the brush, use your ring finger and blend it away. Do you see the consistency? It is like paint! It's extremely creamy, which is a plus in my book. I really like that has hydrating properties. The concealer is quite pigmented, almost foundation like but it can only be used as a concealer. It's a flat salmon shade that counteracts with dark circles. I think this is my HG concealer to date. It has some serious power.

Naturally, Tarte is a great company. I love their products, especially their eyeshadows! They also use good ingredients and formulate without parabens and other yucky things. No animal testing :)

I also want to shed light on 2 mascaras that I've found to be really good. I hated them at one point but I slowly started to like them again!

Maybelline's Pulse Perfection (find it here) - I didn't like it at first because of the obvious: vibration. It's so gimmicky and all sorts of ugh. It wasn't terrible, just okay. But i really started to like it because it separates  my barely-there lashes well.. haha After applying it on, your lashes are still soft! It is a good thing. As with all Maybelline mascaras I've tried, their formula is superb.

After the Maybelline mascara has dried, top it off with the Loreal's Telescopic mascara (find it here).It gives my lashes so much more volume than I care to think for. I really love it! :)

Maybe it's the flexi-wand that i used to despise? I just know that I found a way to use it to my advantage :)

Enjoy what's left of the weekend!!! :)


Disclaimer: All products mentioned were purchased solely by me :)