Up on the ladder: makeup

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Its kind of hard to categorize what this Cicapair color correcting treatment is as it calms the skin, is like a light concealer, and has some moisturizing properties as well as it also acts like a primer. Oh, and it has SPF 30! I've had a sample of the tiger grass cream, and I wasn't wow by it, but I've heard this color correcting one was good for redness so I ended up getting the full size one. I am pleasantly surprised at how good this product works. While its not a miracle worker, it does immediately reduce any irritation on my skin, reduce the appearance of redness, and it even hides the appearance of my pores so I have a more flawless-like look to my skin. For a product to do so much I can't highly recommend this enough.

Its $52 for a 1.7 fl. oz jar. It will take me many months to go through this jar as a little can go a long way. It took me a couple weeks just to clear the product that was on the lid which was like a teaspoon and a half amount. The cream is practically odorless which is a plus. It does has a pale green color to it which is good to negate the redness. Once you massage the cream to your face it will turn to a skin color. My skin is light in tone and I have no issues with the color of it being off at all. The color isn't strong so it won't really replace foundation and concealer. You don't really feel it on the skin so its not heavy feeling at all either.

Definitely exfoliate if you have patchy dry skin areas. This cream won't look good on those areas, and it will soothe your skin after exfoliating. This cream has helped me when I was using an irritating acne treatment wash. Definitely recommend this or any of the cicapair products if you are using any skin treatments that is irritating.

Since it has SPF I can only use this in the daytime. Direction says to use this after toner and serum. It says it has herb complex that moisturize and strengthen skin, and mineral solution and panthenol to replenish skin's moisture barrier. Since its winter, I do not find this to be moisturizing enough so I do still use a moisturizer as well. Perhaps in the summer I can be fine with just this as my moisturizer. When that time comes I will try to remember to update this to see how it does on my oily skin on those hot humid days. Overall, I do recommend this treatment cream!

When the weather got warmer I needed a powder to help keep my oil down as well make my skin feel smooth rather than tacky after foundation or BB cream. So I was curious about Korean brands and knew that innisfree is a natural ingredients brand. In the past I've tried korean brands and noticed there were quite a handful of parabens in the ingredients list in most if not all of the products I've used. I saw their No-Sebum powder and bought that since it had some decent reviews.

This cost $6 for a little 2 inch circular product. Its like the bare minerals foundation with a holed plastic layer to separate the powder. It also comes with a soft poof. Now I haven't tried these poofs before, but I didn't find it effective. It didn't hold much powder nor did it distribute much powder to my face. Cleaning it was pretty easy though. I use Ajax dish soap and it was able to clean it like new. You can use the powder in other areas like your hair, underarms, etc. It has the typical powder smell, but it is light so I usually don't smell it. The packaging says it has Jeju natural minerals and mint, but here is the full ingredients list: SILICA, CORN STARCH MODIFIED, DIMETHICONE/VINYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, CAPRYLIC/CAPRICTRIGLYCERIDE, MICA, METHICONE, MINERALSALTS, CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, MENTHA ARVENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, DIMETHICONE, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, ETHYLENE/ACRYLIC ACID COPOLYMER, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, FRAGRANCE

The powder is white, but its pretty translucent so it doesn't appear white on the skin. Its easy to apply enough to make the skin feel smooth. I even used my fingers to apply. During the hot humid summer days I did find that my oiliness did lessen a bit, but not totally. Once the weather starter to cool down it did a much better job of keeping my face pretty oily free.

I do like this product more than I thought I would. It is soft and fine, and makes me skin feel nice. I say it does its job well, and I can get quite oily during the day. It may not work well too well hot humid summer days but I don't know any product that can really make you oil free on those kind of days. Overall, I do recommend this product! I hope to try more from this brand.

Got this sample of YSL's Ink Foundation and it be the first for me to try anything from YSL. I've usually used BB creams or powder for foundation so using this liquid foundation will be a first for me.

The sample came in the shade Almond which I thought would be too dark for me, but the color didn't seem to matter because as soon as I start blending it it disappears. As its advertised, it is light as a feather. I could barely feel it when I scooped it out of the sample card so I think its pretty accurate to call it ink. Didn't even use a brush to apply it and blend it just used my fingers, and it blended pretty darn well. The coverage is decent as it made my pores invisible, and minimized the appearance of redness, blemishes, and age spots. It has a really natural look as well so that's a huge plus. I never used anything that made it look this natural looking. Not sure about its buildabilty since it seems it will look cake-y if you build it up. The matte finish is nice that I don't think I need to use powder to set it. It even matte-ified the shine I already had on before I applied it. The foundation does has a slight chemically perfume smell, but its not to bad.

Overall, I highly recommend this! The full size is $60 which isn't too bad, and comes in lot of shades.

A number of beauty guru Youtubers have been using this products so I figure I should try it out. I went to CVS and saw there were lots of this twist sponge top pen so it was a little hard to find this exact product. So when I found in CVS it was super tiny for the same price. On Amazon its about $7 which is cheaper than CVS. The product is only 0.2 fl oz which isn't much, but obviously its because its for dark circles. The product stands at 4" tall and a little over a centimeter wide.

I got it in the shade 120 light which actually matches my skin surprisingly well. Even though its for under eyes I use it all over my face. The dark red part is what you twist to saturate the applicator sponge with the product. It took me about 10 turns to get anything out one my first use. The product is quite light, and has pretty decent coverage. It has a matte finish and it didn't give me a tacky feeling on my skin. I do get a bit oily later in the day, and putting on powder doesn't really prevent it so I need to touch up. The applicator is not a brush so you do need a brush to blend it out. I really like it so far! It has no SPF so I do need to remember to use a SPF moisturizer before using this.

Mostly use this as a foundation since I wear glasses all the time I don't use eye makeup or dark circle concealers. I did try it out with this and its just uncomfortable for my eyes. Overall I really do like the way it looked on my skin since its matches it pretty well and looks natural. I've used it quite a number of times and haven't really seen any change in the level of product. It really doesn't look like it change. I'm also kind of concerned if the sponge applicator will be clean when it gets older. Since I don't use it everyday it will take me a bit to go through it. Its hasn't caused any problems to my skin yet.

For such a affordable product I definitely would recommend giving it a try.

Finally decided to buy a proper makeup brush instead of using tiny sample brushes or the lame ones that come with compact foundations. I know Sigma brushes are what people would recommend, but they are too expensive for me who isn't into makeup. So I looked on Amazon and found the miQQi brush that had nice ratings and reviews. Plus the price of $4.95 is so affordable!

Amazon fulfills it so you can get free shipping. Its packaged in a simple slim box that wasn't closed all the way since it seemed tad too small to fit the ribbons. The brush is in fine mesh bag with a net to keep the bristles compact. The brush is for the face and its shaped like Sigma's stippling brush which was the first brush I had in mind to buy. But this miQQi brush is a cheaper alternative! The brush is quite soft and nice and the radius of the brush area is an inch. I've used this with the Maybelline Age Rewind product, and the brush has done a wonderful job at blending it into my skin. The handle is nice and it doesn't look too cheaply made at all. The brush a little large to blend around the nose area, but its not impossible.

Overall, I am really satisfied with it and haven't any fallen or stray strands after cleaning. Its a great face brush that works well with liquid and powder foundations. I don't have any blushes or bronzers, but I'm sure this will work well with those as well. Would definitely recommend it.

My first Korean brand BB cream! Bought this off Amazon and although I can't say for sure, but so far its seems to be authentic. Skin 79 is one of the common Korean brand BB and CC cream makers. Best recognized with the brightly colored cylinder packaging. They have many different kinds of creams, but there is a US site for Skin 79 so if you want to learn more please check their site out.

I chose the orange BB cream since I wanted to prevent anymore age spots since I have many which means the spf moisturizers I've been using weren't doing a good enough job. Since its summer I needed sun protection the most to prevent anymore freckles. The bb cream has SPF 50 PA+++ which is the highest sun protection out of the other Skin 79 bb creams. Maybe its a bit too much? Despite it being listed as light beige it is so light on my skin! It has no yellow tint so it gives that white cast look. Might to good for those who want that porcelain doll look? A little goes a long way so you don't need very much to cover your face and neck. I advise using a little since anymore than than can look bad if the shade doesn't match your skin. It blends better to your skin tone when you pat it on your face with your fingers than rubbing it or with a brush. It goes on a little dryly and has a matte finish. Be sure to moisturize well and exfoliate before using this as it can look a bit chalky. Also it balls up quite a bit. It be better to use a primer to minimize these issues. Its has a light chemical scent, but with a heavy whiff of it it gives me a bit of a headache. The smell does die down a lot after the first use.

It has nice coverage and totally makes my blackhead riddled nose area look flawless. Its very light on the skin that I don't even feel it on. Despite the shade being lighter than my skin it still looks natural. It effortlessly neutralized redness and other darker areas of my face. Not to say it conceals acne scars or dark age spots though. Also this doesn't rub off easily when you use napkins either! So far its been keeping my face matte through out the day, and I didn't even use powder. I will update this again to see how it performs during colder seasons.

Not sure how many fl oz of product there is as it only says 40 grams for the weight. The bottle packaging is nice and it stands as 3.5" tall by almost 2" wide. It is a pump bottle but the pump is not the highest quality. It feels and sounds a little cheap. You push the top bottom down and the product comes out through the tiny spout.

It didn't amaze me as much as the Boscia bb cream did for me. I really don't know if this would even match anyone with darker skin since there's only one shade. Since it kept me from getting oily during the day and has given me a nice natural coverage I am not at all dissatisfied with it. As I mentioned before I bought this from Amazon through the seller World Seller 365. They ship from Korea and has a pretty high rating. It took 3 weeks for it arrive which was earlier than the expected delivery dates for it.

Got these deluxe samples as Sephora's birthday gift. I quite like them. The mascara is not bad but I do get clumps but that's probably due to my newb mascara skills. I don't do eye makeup at all so its kind of weird to wear mascara without any eye liner, haha. My lashes are sparse and fall flat like any asian so the mascara can't really help me with that. The Watt's Up! is a highlighter with a pretty pink champagne color. It is sheer and has a little shimmer to it. Can't really say it highlights anything on me since the shade is the same as my skin. Its quite pretty but completely not noticeable on me.

I saw this product being reviewed on youtube and thought I should try it out. I got it in light medium which works really well with my skintone. Since my skintone is on the cooler side this does warm up my skin a bit too since its not cool tone.

Its a creamy concealer in a lipstick form. It goes on the skin smoothly and does a good job in concealer dark circles and pores but not acne scars. It blends well with my foundation and bb creams. However, its not great on acne and rough or flaky skin. Not the best in covering up inflamed skin or major redness.

Overall, this product is good and I think it works best as a foundation substitute than a concealer as it doesn't conceal imperfections that great, but its took thick and hard to apply with a foundation brush so just use your fingers to blend it in. The packaging is easily dirtied by the product. It is small and light so its easy to bring with you.

This is a compact pressed powder foundation from benefit. The compact is black and white and its about 2" x 2". Inside is a mirror and you can lift the pressed power layer where a sponge and a brush applicator is stored.

This product is really nice size to put in your purse or bag, however the powder could crack. It can get messy if it does crack. The brush is not the best at first, but after some use it does get softer and fluffier so it makes applying the powder better. The powder is really light and it gives me a medium coverage. It feels light and great on my skin too. It does a really good job at hiding pores and evening my skintone. After applying I mist my face to set everything.

I really recommend this product. Its not bad price for it and offers a great range of shades.

I got a sample size of this product, and it has lasted me awhile since I rarely use primer. I really don't see any change or difference on my skin when using primer. This is the first primer I've used, and I got another primer sample of a different brand recently. I have to say that the Smashbox primer is really good compare to the other sample.

This is really lightweight and feels really smooth and silky. You don't need alot and I like how nice it feels when putting it on. If you use too much primer your foundation will streak a bit. It does help smooth out any rough texture skin but not much. It dries and goes on clear and barely has a scent to it. It says it has Dermaxyl Complex which reduces wrinkles. Plus I like that it has sun protection. I think this is great for summer because its lightweight and has sun protection. I can't really comment on how well it makes foundation last as I have yet to experience any difference from just not having it on. At least it was gentle and never irritated my skin in any way which is always a plus in my book.

I received a 10 day sample of this powder foundation with a mini brush and loved it. So I bought the full product. I don't use it everyday so it has lasted me over a year. It gives me a nice light to medium coverage which I was looking for. It can't seen to do heavy coverage as it doesn't layer up well. Also I love how easily and quickly it covers my pores, but doesn't do well in covering acne scares or acne. It also doesn't last very long, and is easily wiped away even if I set it with a mist. The product also tends to cling, and stick all over the container so it was hard for me to tell if there was any left by the time I used it up. One of the things I don't like is how much powder foundation ends up in the air. It seems to be a total waste, and inhaling it is not a nice either.

This was the first foundation I ever bought so I was satisfied with it, however I will looking into liquid foundation next and compare the two. The mini kabuki brush is great as well and was able to hold its shape and not lose hairs wash after wash. I will keep it as it be great for travel, on the go, or for emergency when I ran out of clean brushes.

BB creams are becoming popular and now more western brands are releasing their own BB cream products. This is actually the first BB cream I've bought and tried so I'll write about my experience with it.

This product only has one shade and I have light-medium skin. It looks alittle dark when I squeeze the product out, but as soon as I blend it into my skin it really matches my skintone well if not alittle warmer as I'm cool toned. This by far gives me the most natural looking coverage I've used. It gives me light to medium coverage, and its good enough for me to skip foundation and just finish with powder. Not to say I have flawless skin or it makes me look flawless. It just lessens the appearance my spots and acne scars so well, and it doesn't cake as much as the conceals I've used. It hides all of my pores except for the really big ones but powder will deal with it. Don't need to use much of the product as well. A dime sized amount is more than enough coverage for me.

The bottle design is good, never had any problems with it. It really does what the description says it does. It's a tad on the pricey side, but it has really impressed me so its definitely money well spent. Highly Recommend!

Dr. Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment

Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder

[Sample Impression] Yves Saint Laurent Fusion Ink Foundation

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser

miQQi Living foundation brush

Skin79 Super+ BB Triple Functions cream

[Sample Impressions] benefit Watt's Up! and They're Real!

Revlon PhotoReady Concealer

Benefit Hello Flawless! Custom Powder Cover-Up with SPF 15

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer UVA/UVB SPF 15

BareMinerals Matte SPF15 foundation

Boscia BB cream

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