Current Cleansers

I feel like I change cleansers brands so much, but in actual fact, I probably use the same ones for at least 2 months.
This time, my cleansers have changed from the Orbis Cleansing Liquid to the Hanskin Cleansing Oil Black Head and from Orbis Mild Cleaser to the Softymo Airy Whip.

The Hanskin oil comes in a hard plastic pump bottle with 200mL of product. It's like your typical oil cleanser, nothing too special. It has a slight citrus scent to it and that's about it.
Compared to the Orbis Cleansing Liquid, the Hanskin doesn't wash off as clean. My skin feels a bit oil afterwards so I follow up with a facial cleanser (I always do anyway).
I prefer the Orbis over Hanskin because Orbis washes off cleaner and doesn't have a scent to it.

As for the Softymo Airy Whip, I first saw this on the Muse's blog. I've been wanting this for a long time already but Adambeauty does not ship aerosol cans overseas.
Airy Whip is pretty much a standard facial cleanser except it comes out like mousse. I like how it's kinda pre-lathered up for you. The mousse is dense and really holds up, even when you massage it on your face a few times.

It's got a pleasant fragrance, almost floraly and not too strong. The product rinses off clean without drying out my skin.

There's 180g of product and if you ever have a chance to order or get someone to do a CP for you, you should try this out. Not expensive either, I got 2 bottles at $35HKD each.

Here are just a few pictures from Japan, most of the pictures are on Tim's laptop.
Ayu is plastered everywhere in Japan! It got me excited haha.
This is the outside of a drugstore in Tokyo. I love how they have all the cosmetics I want in one store AND with no SA to be a bitch about it!

Can anyone tell me what this is?? All I know is, there are tons of these kinds of ad trucks driving around, but this particular one got me wondering.

Contest Update + Haulage!!

OMFG!! I didn't realize that I wrote July 19 for the HG contest instead of JUNE 19!!!!!! I'm gonna extend it till June 20 midnight Seoul time! @___@ Please enter!!! =D=D Thanks to AngelicBB for noticing this!!! haha.
On to my super picture post....
I went to Myeong Dong yesterday...on a weekday to meet up with Tim and a friend. I got there earlier so I decided to drop by Hanskin to get a conditioner. My hair has been breaking very easily and I loose a few too many when I blow dry my hair.
According to the Hanskin website, the "Bring Back Conditioner" is supposed to help moisturize, detox, add nutrients, help hair growth and prevent hair loss. That's according to the pictures haha.

When I purchase a conditioner, I expect it to make my hair silky without weighing it down (I have fine hair). I want to be able to run my comb through while my hair is wet without any knots and it also must make my hair silky after blow drying. So... with that said, I don't think the Hanskin conditioner lives up to these expectations after using it twice. The Herbal Essence one I was using did a better job. As for the hair growth part, I have yet to see that happen since I just started using it.
I will probably continue buying this conditioner and use it in the morning because it doesn't weigh my hair down (that's the only plus about this).
You know how most conditioners leave a silky feeling when you're hair is still wet? This one doesn't..the conditioner rinses out completely and there's no "conditioned" feeling.

I only intended to get the conditioner during the visit to Myeong Dong, but of course being a girl...I ended up with more junk.
From Hanskin, I got their Moisture Waterdrop Hand Cream 40g for 5000won. A lot cheaper than the fruit shaped hand creams (30g for 12,000won).
I asked for some BB cream samples and I'm gonna throw this into the contest.

The hand cream is very funny. Have you heard of the Skinfood Lettuce Cucumber serum? Well it's similar to that...in the way that when you apply the hand cream, it kinda forms water beads then immediately gets absorbed into the skin. It looks kinda like you're sweating on your hands as you rub it in, it's so cool!! The hand cream has a light fragrance and doesn't feel sticky at all. As for moisturizing-ness, I think it's ok. It's not like Aveeno where it moisturizes my hands for a long time, but this is good for the price.

I went to Etude House because I was convinced by Old Cow that the dual fiber brush is comparable to MAC. I haven't felt the MAC one before, but this is quite a good brush for the price (8000won). It's really soft and dense, but it's so small!!!!

Trying to pull off a puppy eyes FOTD hahaha...I kept taking pictures of myself while all the teachers were teaching. There was a cleaner lady in the office who probably thought I was so vain.
I'm using the Lunasol Soft Silver Lighting EX04 with MM pink cream shadow as a base.

I finally tried Samgeitang!! (chicken ginseng soup). This was at Myeong Dong, supposedly famous restaurant, there's like 4 in MD. This was 10,000won and really filling and tasty! No bitter taste at all.

I was walking around and saw this BB cream walking around...

I haven't eaten cantaloupes since Canada and I was so excited to see them here! But to my surprise, these aren't orange! They don't even taste like cantaloupes, but it's got the same skin.

Oh gosh..I'm so bad at comments lately... I'm sorry!!!!! But I still read your blogs =D

Hanskin: Super Magic BB Cream

I finally finished my Caviar BB Cream. That tiny little packet actually lasted 5-8 uses because I don't put on a heavy layer. Now on to the Super Magic BB Cream.
I got a 30g tube which will probably last me forever because I use very little BB cream each time.
The features of this BB cream are whitening, wrinkle care, heavier coverage and sun protection. This formula is made for those with normal to dry skin. I'd imagine this would work well for the dry winter months.

I think all Hanskin BB creams come in one shade, I haven't found out if they offer other shades yet. The shade of this bb cream has some pink undertones to it. This is more liquidy that the caviar bb cream I used.
Once I finish blending it, my face is noticeably paler than usual and it takes a few minutes before it fully blends with my skintone, this is the same with the caviar bb cream.
I don't often put foundation/bb cream on my whole face, only on areas that I think needs some coverage and only in small amounts which is why I don't often notice how well the makeup stays on.

I don't really like the Super Magic BB Cream because blending it is such a pain in the ass. My face actually looks dry as I'm putting it on. The caviar bb cream blends more easily on my skin without noticeable dryness. Another thing with the Super Magic BB Cream is the fact that it feels a bit icky and my face was a bit more oily later in the afternoon.
Oh well, at least I know the Caviar Gold BB Cream works well for me XD
I leave you with some Vivi December 2008 scans. Some ideas for pretty winter/holiday makeup! So preeeettty!

photo source from fans.com.cn

Hanskin: Caviar Gold BB Cream

Remember how I got a sample of the Caviar Gold BB cream from Hanskin? One pack is good for at least 5 uses and I've been using it in replacement of my Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream and I'm liking it.
The Caviar Gold BB Cream is actually geared to people with dry skin and I have oily combination skin. Lately my cheeks have been dry so my face hasn't been an oily mess from using the BB cream.
I'm sure the BB creams only come in one shade, but they work like magic! At first when I apply it, my face looks pale and it didn't seem to reduce any of the redness, but as it settles in, the color magically blends with my skintone and reduces the redness.

The sample I received has a slightly pink tone to it and I like how it blends with my skintone quite nicely. I use a patting motion to spread the BB cream, otherwise it makes my face flaky looking. The texture of the BB cream is similar to body lotions but probably a wee bit thicker. There's no detectable smell which is nice.
The BB cream is light-medium coverage, depending on how much you apply. I only apply a thin layer so it doesn't look to heavy on my skin.
I'm surprised at how it controls oil as well. My skin didn't appear as oily as if I was using the Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream and I think the Skinfood one is supposed to be good for oily skin.
I'm not too sure about the staying power. Since I apply only a light layer, I can't really tell how long it lasts.

Here's one of my 21 classes. These students drive me crazy, I wished the class numbers were smaller, it's quite difficult to control 35 students XD

I had to go to Outback to spoil myself. Tim got the rib and chicken combo. So cute how the chicken breast looks like a heart. The chicken breast was surprisingly juicy too.

I ordered a grilled chicken breast with bacon, cheddar, montery jack cheese and mushrooms with honey mustard dipping sauce. This is the BEST tasting chicken I've ever had, it was breast meat but it was soooo freaking juicy and tender!! Even the side veggies were so damn good, they were steamed and I thought it meant bland, but these veggies had butter melted all over it and they were deliciously soft. What a healthy dinner XD

Barbie: The Makeup

Did I excite you with the title? I think every MAC addict will fall in love with this. I'm not a big user of MAC except for their fluidline, even then I don't love it. I first heard of the Barbie line when MAC released their limited edition stuff, of course not being a MAC fan, I didn't buy any of the products. I was browsing around blogs and noticed on Makeup For Life that there was a new makeup collection by Barbie, except it's its own brand rather than teamed up with MAC. I went to search for Barbie and found it at a drugstore. However, for a drugstore brand I think it's quite pricey. I can't remember the prices so you'll have to check out Makeup for Life.


All of the items have a sleek black look to them. The SA put the Sheer Glow Foundation, primer and powder on my hand. There was a set that had the hand cream and powder in it so I asked the SA how much. She told me it was 20000 won. I was so retarded (this is what I get for not knowing Korean), I found out at the cash register that if I get the hand cream and the powder, it would be 20000 won cheaper, kind of like a coupon promo thing. So I ended up not getting either item as the powder was 34000won whoa! The SA probably felt bad so she gave me some samples of the Sheer Glow Foundation. I haven't really tested it out on my face because it's too light for my skintone. The SA kept talking to me in Korean and we had such a hard time understanding each other. She was quite happy to let me know that it was made in Italy and pointed to which shade would suit me. However, her choices were based on the fact that most women liked to have a whiter skintone, so all the shades she chose for me to test were way too light.

So pretty right? I have no clue if it's #1 or #2 shade. I know there are more shades as well, and I'm sure the sample is the wrong choice for me. The SA tested the pressed powders on my hand as well. Sadly it only came in 2 tones: Light Beige and Peach Beige, neither of which suited me. It has a light almost baby powder scent to it. She also showed/told me that I should apply the powder on in sweeping motions and not patting. I also tried the primer. It's a white transparent primer. It was kind of watery, similar to the Laneige emulsions. I'm not sure if there's a scent to it as she put foundation on top already.


I have not tested this on my face as I've already mentioned. Judging by the testing on my hand, it's quite a watery foundation. I put this on the bottom of my forearm when I got home and it kinda slid around a bit if I moved my arm. Even though it had a watery consistency it's not that bad because you know it's a light foundation. It doesn't have super coverage and I believe it's got light-medium coverage. It spreads very smoothly and leaves a dewy almost shiny finish, even though the pamphlet says it's a matte finish. It feels very silky when it settles down though.
I think I'm gonna stick to looking for my HG BB cream first instead of purchasing these XD

My Sasa package arrived! The new Sana undereye concealer and my LE Winter DejaVu Fiberwig *drools*. Will post a review later on.

Remember how I mentioned that a waffle store had a promo? The promo was if you make a 10000won purchase or more, you get a free sample of a Hanskin BB cream. Turns out this sample was a full sized tube of the Super Magic BB Cream (30g). Hanskin has 2 sizes and the waffle place gave out the smaller size. I can't wait to try it!

I've Found It!!!!

I wanted to get some new winter clothes since my wardrobe was lacking. I went to an area in downtown Seoul that's supposed to be a great shopping area: Myeong Dong. I also read online that the Hanskin store was there. I didn't know that Sunday was a big shopping day for many people, so it was quite crowded on the streets. I also found the Tony Moly store, another Korean skincare/cosmetics brand, I first heard of it on Lotus Palace's blog. The products looked quite appealing and they were cheap, I'll be heading there next time to try out some of their items.

Started my shopping trip with some Poouni, some deliciously sour lemon candies. It's by a Japanese candy brand called Pinky which also makes some yummy fruit flavoured mint tablets. Tim's papa sent it over from HK.

Some people moving a new food stall on the sidewalk. There are so many of these stalls on the sidewalk selling magazines and newspapers to snacks and misc hot foods.

One of many Skinfood stores in Myeong Dong. It was soooo crowded on the streets. There were many stalls selling accessories, shoes and various hot snacks as well so a lot of the people stopped on the streets to shop.

Laneige store with a poster promoting their new 2008 winter collection. It didn't look very appealing. There were 2 new eyeshadow palettes, pressed highligher powder and 2 lipglosses.

I've found it!!!!!! (Thanks to Yumeko for telling me about Hanskin, otherwise I would have walked right by) I found 2 Hanskin stores, both located on the same street in Myeong Dong. If any of you ever come to Seoul and head to the Myeong Dong station, you just need to go with the crowd and right out the station exit is the street that cars are generally not allowed to drive on. That's where the goodies are located. Myeong has at least 2 Misshas, Etude House, Face Shop, Banila Co, Hanskin and TONS of other skincare/cosmetics stores. They are all really close together as well.

Now the high light of my day. XD Samples galore! I also got the Ma Cherie Jelly Wax which I will review later this week.

I was so confused when I went to the Hanskin. There were just too many BB Creams and I couldn't decide which one to try. They're all kind of pricey as well for such a small tube. I asked the SA if there was a sample of any of the BB creams and she was nice enough to give me a whole bunch of samples of BB creams, face wash and shampoo to try first. I think she gave me all the BB creams they have except for the newest one called Water Action BB Cream.

I'm not too sure if the BB creams are all one skintone. I saw the testers were in separate pump bottles and there was only one bottle for each type of BB cream. On the back of the samples, it didn't say #1 or #2 to differentiate between skintones.

The SA gave me their BB cream guide in English so I can give you all a description of the BB creams from the pamphlet. It'll make deciding easier if you order online.

The pamphlet says Hanskin is the original creator of BB cream and one of their best sellers is the Super Magic BB Cream.

Super Magic BB Cream 43.5g/53000 won

This multi function cream with excellent sun protection and covering power of skin flaws is the perfect skin care product for this hot summer.

SPF30 PA++

Anti wrinkle

Whitening

Cover power 5/5

Skin Revision 5/5

Combination to Dry Skin

Premium Magic BB Cream 50mL/45000 won

KFDA certified, three layer function product (UV block SPF 15, whitening and anti wrinkle) covers skin flaws effectively and protect skin from sweat and sebum.

SPF 15

Whitening

Anti wrinkle

Long lasting 4/5

Covering power 4/5

Combination to Dry Skin

Caviar Gold BB Cream 43.5g/27000 won

KFDA certified, three layer function product (UV block SPF 15, whitening and anti wrinkle) with caviar and vegetable components, it provides natural covering and it also moisturizes your skin.

SPF 21

Whitening

Anti wrinkle

Nourishment 5/5

Covering power 3/5

Combination to Dry Skin

Water Shining BB Cream 43.5g/23000 won

Benefit from the reflection of the sunlight, this BB cream covers skin flaws effectively and the slightly pearly feeling brightens the skin. (The SA told me this was a highlighter in the form of BB cream)

Whitening

Anti wrinkle

Shining 5/5

Lighting and lifting effect 5/5

Covering power 2/5

All Skin Types

Control Skin BB Cream 43.5g/29000 won

Skin protective BB cream with skin care effect. It is specially made for those who have skin troubles and is sold only in pharmacies. (I didn't notice if it was on the shelf of the Hanskin stores, guys can use this too!)

Soothing effect

Sebum control

Mattifying

Unisex

Natural finish 4/5

Combination to Oily Skin

Magic BB Cream 50g/27000 won

The skin protective cream which has basic skin care and makeup function, it covers skin flaws very naturally and it nourishes the skin providing elasticity. (Also recommended for guys)

Soothing effect

Hydration

Skin protection

Unisex

Natural finish 5/5

All Skin Types

*New Water Action BB Cream 43.5g/29000 won (not shown)

When applying this BB cream, some water drops show up on the surface of your skin and immediately disappear during the make up. It's non sticky and protects skin from sweat and sebum. (I have a feeling this will suit me the best, but I didn't get a sample. This also reminds me of the cucumber and lettuce water drop essence from Skinfood which has water beads as you put it on, then it disappears.)

SPF 27 PA++

Sebum control

Water drop

Unisex

Natural Finish 4/5

All Skin Types

There is also a 4 step skincare routine on the pamphlet. It says to use the cleanser, emulsion, lotion and BB cream (day or night depending on the time). Sounds interesting, but I wouldn't use BB cream when I'm sleeping.
I've tried the One Stop cleanser today. It's a combination of cleansing oil and foaming face wash. There is a light flowery scent to it and it's a clear gel. It washes off with a slightly squeaky feeling and my face felt a bit dry right after.

I have yet to try the shampoo samples. It's supposed to be for fine to normal hair and it claims that it is gentle to the skin.