1. 3 Concept Eyes – Highlighter 2. Etude House – Color my brow in Rich Brown 3. Anastasia Brow Duo in Medium Brown 6. Caudalie – Beauty Elixir 5. Charlotte Tilbury – Lost Cherry lipstick 6. IOPE Cushion compact in C21 7. 3 Concept Eyes – #408 Chu Chu 8. Banila Co – Prime Primer in Classic Matte 9. Etude House – Fresh Cherry Tint in Cherry Red
Beauty catch up time! Over the past few months I’ve picked up a few items and the majority of the things I’ve purchased have become daily favourites. I’m a fan of Korean/Japanese make up as because they are formulated for Asian skin types, I can always find great colour matches. They’re also well worth checking out as the Koreans are famed for their approach to skin care and this is often paired with a bright lip – so you’re likely to find some awesome shades of lipsticks too!
1. 3 Concept Eyes – Highlighter
3 Concept Eyes is the beauty brand from Style Nanda which is basically like Korea’s Topshop. The brand is wildly successful with stores in Hong Kong and concessions within HK’s IT which is how I first came across their beauty range. The Koreans love shiny, dewy skin and this highlighter is a white-pink with a subtle pearlescent finish. It’s really lovely paired with some of my matte blushes.
2. Etude House – Color my brow in Rich Brown
Etude House is another Korean brand which I usually raid for gifts for friends and family as their products are often cute and affordable too. I tried their Brow Tint which I like to use to set my brows and it’s quite a natural shade. I don’t use this very much now as I tend to set my brows with a clear gel these days (paired with the Anastasia Brow Duo mentioned below) as sometimes I do find the shade is a bit too warm and not quite ashy enough for me.
3. Anastasia Brow Duo in Medium Brown
I spend most of my time doing my brows and eyeliner and I’ve always heard so many good things about Anastasia. I decided to give their Brow Powder Duo a go and mix it up from my usual brow pencils. It offers a really natural finish and I’m not sure I could be without it now. For extra precision I still like to finish off the edges with a pencil – pencil of choice? Definitely Shu Uemura.
This is a product I’ve seen on so many Beauty blogs/Youtube. I really like to use it to refresh my skin after I’ve washed my face or between skincare steps. It’s nice to set make up too but I never ever seem to remember. It’s lovely as the mist is really fine but I don’t think it’s a miracle worker so this is something I won’t be purchasing again as it’s more of an unnecessary luxury.
5. Charlotte Tilbury – Lost Cherry lipstick
Matte lipsticks are my formula of choice and this Charlotte Tilbury shade is a red-coral shade. It’s really wearable and brightens up my complexion instantly and it has a lovely vanilla scent too. It’s not too drying but I do like to wear a little lip balm before I apply this. Plus, who doesn’t love Charlotte Tilbury’s rose gold packaging?
6. IOPE Cushion compact in C21
Cushion compacts have been around for ages in Asia and I bought my first one a few months ago. Since I bought this one, I’ve not really used any of my usual BB creams/foundations. It offers a light-medium coverage but really buildable and it’s SPF50/PA++++ which is all kinds of awesome. I like that cushion compacts all come with a spare refill which is just as well as you do seem to use the product up a lot faster and like make up brushes, you must remember to wash the little applicator!
7. 3 Concept Eyes – #408 Chu Chu
This lipstick was a bit of a gamble really. One of my favourite shades by them is #509 Violeta (sort of violet-pink) which I bought in Hong Kong and #408 Chu Chu is really nice but a lot brighter than I expected. I think this will be great in the Summer but I honestly haven’t worn this very much as it’s a little on the neon side.
8. Banila Co – Prime Primer in Classic Matte
I have a lot of primers but I’ve not used any other primer since I bought this and I like it a lot! It provides a super soft, smooth base for make up. It’s similar in effect to Benefit’s Porefessional except the consistency is more gel like and feels less heavy on the skin.
9. Etude House – Fresh Cherry Tint in Cherry Red
The Koreans are big into lip tints and this one is a super pretty shade and the colour barely needs touching up at the end of the day as it does a good job of staining the lips. The scent is a funny one though, it kind of reminds me of those mini jelly pots sold in big plastic buckets that I used to obsess over whenever I visited the Chinese supermarket with my mum as a child (high five if you know what I’m talking about!). It smells exactly like those which is actually quite an artificial tropical scent. Maybe not to everyone’s taste and it does’t bother me as I find it oddly nostalgic!
