SK-II Face Masks

INGREDIENTS: Water, Saccharomycopsis Ferment Filtrate*, Butylene Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Salicylate, Methylparaben, Disodium EDTA. *Pitera.


INGREDIENTS: Water, Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate*, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Inositol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Hexapeptide-11, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium Edta, Benzyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Phenoxyethanol. *Pitera.


INGREDIENTS: Water, Saccharomycopsis Ferment Filtrate, Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Pentylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Acetyl Glucosamine, Isopropyl Isostearate, Isohexadecane, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phytosteryl/Behenyl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Extract, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Tocopherol, Polysorbate 20, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, PVP, Sodium PEG-7 Olive Oil Carboxylate, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzyl Hydroxide, Methylparaben, Parfum


INGREDIENTS: Water, Saccharomycopsis Ferment Filtrate, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Panthenol, Acetyl Hexapeptide-3, Tripeptide-3, Tocopheryl Acetate, Chrysanthellum Indicum Extract, Glycine Max (Soybean) Symbiosome Extract, Lecithin, Xanthan Gum, Dimethiconol, Laureth-23, Laureth-4, Polysorbate 80, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Disodium Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Salicylate, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Propylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA.




Watch my You Tube review video below to find out my personal opinion about each of these products, and click on the pictures of each masks above to get more product details including prices.



♡
Lisa

July 2015 Beauty Favorites: HITS & MISSES

In the month of July my favorite beauty discoveries were the DKCC Ice Cooling Mask and VDL Expert Color Primer For Eyes. Senna Speedy Perfect Whip was a huge disappointment, and I finally found a way to make Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 8% AHA Gel work for my skin! (Watch video for more details.) Here's the complete list with links for all my Beauty Hits & Misses of July 2015:

☛DKCC Ice Cooling Mask http://amzn.to/1Mjn19E
☛Moonshot Water Remedy Mist Essence White http://bit.ly/1L4Ivpf
☛Anessa Perfect Essence UV Spray http://bit.ly/1KwpQov
☛Marc Jacobs Shameless Bold Blush 210 Irresistible http://amzn.to/1N2f0Y9
☛VDL Expert Color Primer For Eyes http://amzn.to/1gyEb75
☛Senka Speedy Perfect Whip http://amzn.to/1h1HO6l
☛Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 8% AHA Gel http://amzn.to/1HFdLpM


♡
Lisa

SK-II Miracle Essence Mid-Day & Mid-Night

SK-II Miracle Essence Mid-Day
SK-II Miracle Essence Mid-Night

These mists can be purchased on www.sk-ii.com or your department store SK-II counters.



♡
Lisa

L'OCCITANE Amande Collection

I've always been intrigued by luxurious skin care products. My fascination deepened after trying creme de la Mer for the first time in my mid 20s. Since then, I've gone on to try products from various luxury brands for face, neck, and décolletage. And it eventually led way to body care products. I've had my share of hits and misses from various top brands, but when it comes to body skin care, l'Occitane is where I made most re-purchases closely followed by Annick Goutal. Here's a review of my favorite l'Occitane body skin care products.

Top Sunscreen Choices 2015

Here's a video that rounds up my current top sunscreen choices!



Three sunscreens mostly for the face (with full ingredients list):
♡SK-II WS DERMDEFINITION UV LOTION SPF50 PA+++ ☛ http://shrsl.com/?~95b8
Ingredients: Water, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, Homosalate, Methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutylphenol, Octcocrylene, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Galactomyces ferment filtrate, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Isopropyl Isostearate, Niacinamide, Polyacrylamide, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Steareth-21, Cyclomethicone, Decyl Glucoside, Stearyl Alcohol, Triethanol amine, Benzyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Steareth-2, Laureth-7, Methylparaben, Behenyl Alcohol, Ethylparaben, Polylparaben, PEG/PPG-20/20 Dimethicone, Oleth-3 phosphate, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance, Propylene Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Menthol, Caprylic/ Capric Triglyceride, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Tocopherol, Carbomer, Ergothioneine, DNA.

♡AVENE REFLEXE SOLAIRE SPF50+ UVB/UVA ☛ http://bit.ly/1NAwLea
Ingredients: Avene aqua, Octocrylene, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Diisopropyl adipate, Methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutylphenol, Cyclomethicone, Aqua, Titanium Dioxide, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Bis-ethylhexyloxphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Potassium cetyl phosphate, PVP/Eicosene Copolymer, Caprylyl/Capric Triglyceride, Caprylyl Glycol, Cucurbita Pepo Seed Oil, Decyl Glucoside, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA, Parfum, Glyceryl behenate, Glyceryl dibehenate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/ Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Polysorbate 60, Propylene Glycol, Silica, Sorbic Acid, Sorbitan isostearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Tocopheryl Glucoside, Tribehenin, Xanthan Gum.

♡(SHISEIDO) SENKA MINERAL WATER UV GEL SPF50 PA+++ ☛ http://amzn.to/1NAvsMb
Ingredients: Cyclomethicone, water, isododecane, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, alcohol, vinyl dimethicone/methicone silsesquioxane crosspolymer, octocrylene, polysilicone-15, zinc oxide, PPG-17, PEG-9 dolydimethylsiloxyethyl dimethicone, sorbitan sesquiisostearate, sucrose tetrastearate triacetate, polymethylsilsesquioxane, phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid, diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate, aminomethyl propanediol, sodium chloride, calcium chloride, talc, dimethicone, glycerin, isostearic acid, triethyloxycapriylylsilane, trisodium EDTA, orange, BHT.

Two sunscreen choices for touching up/boosting sun protection:
♡(SHISEIDIO) ANESSA PERFECT ESSENCE UV SPRAY SPF50+ PA++++ ☛ http://bit.ly/1KwpQov
♡O HUI PERFECT SUN POWDER SPF50+ PA+++ ☛ http://bit.ly/1KyHpTl

New brand/type for 2015 that's safe for entire family:
♡DERMA B UV SUN SHOT SPF50+ PA+++

The links included are best deals online for authentic products but some doesn't give much product description, so if you need more details for some of the products please check official product sites or feel free to ask me.

Here are couple of all my favorite sun protection products that are safe for children (over 6 months) and sensitive skin (not mentioned in this video):
♡Aveeno Baby SPF 50 broad spectrum (I like the one that comes in a stick form which makes application/re-application easier especially on kids)
♡Babo Botanical Clear Zinc SPF 30 broad spectrum


♡
Lisa

All About SUNSCREENS!

Sun protection is the best way to prevent skin aging!

Find out everything you need to know about sunscreens in this 6 minute video!

Are you using sunscreen everyday?

♡

Lisa

Best Liquid Eyeliners + Tips!

Watch this video to find out my top 3 liquid eyeliners plus few runner up choices, and tips on how to  best use brush tip liquid eyeliner pens!



Here are my top 3 liquid eyeliners:
Kiss Me Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner 
Koji Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner 
Kanebo Kate Super Sharp Liner 



♡
Lisa

Beauty People Royal Lip Tint Honey Balm

A lot of hybrid lip products are popular these days. Let it be lipstick/gloss, lip tint/gloss, lip balm/tint, lipgloss/stain, liquid lipstick/gloss/stain, and etc... I've tried several of these hybrid lip products from Dior, YSL, Giorgio Armani, Shu Uemura, as well as other well known brands. Some I loved, some I wasn't too impressed with.

Recently, I purchased lip balm/tints from an affordable Korean beauty brand called Beauty People. These are called Royal Lip Tint Honey Balm, and they come in four colors.

(from top to bottom: Azalea Honey Balm, Daisy Honey Balm, Calendula Honey Balm, and Camellia Honey Balm)

Besides the fact that these lip balm/tint products boasts myriad of natural ingredients such as propolis, avocado oil, and shea butter (just to name a few), they truly feel great on the lips like a lip balm, yet looks like tinted lip gloss on the lips!

Here are my lip swatches: first row with with just one quick swipe, second row with three coats, and third row with how the lips are left stained when wiped off with tissue.

One coat feels like a light lip balm on the lips with slight color, three coats feel like I'm wearing non-sticky lipgloss with good color pay-off, and when it's wiped off with tissue, there's still a decent tint left behind. (My lips in the above swatches drier than they typically are when I have these products on because of all wiping and reapplying I had to do for these swatches!)

These feel amazingly comfortable on the lips, it doesn't feel thick or goopy even when I wear three or more coats. It keeps the lips moist and non-sticky (lips feel the most comfortable/hydrated/non-sticky about 10 minutes after application). My lips feel hydrated for up to six hours without reapplying. The colors lasts about 4 hours, and slightly starts to fade after. 

♡

Lisa

Fresh Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask Review

Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask is the latest face mask from Fresh, a brand known for the use of natural ingredients for upscale personal care products. Over the years, I've tried various products from Fresh, and some of my favourites are Sugar Lychee eau de parfume, Rose Face Mask, and now this Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask!

I go through some of the key ingredients in the review video below; here is the full ingredient list: 

AQUA (WATER), GLYCERIN, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, JOJOBA ESTERS, ISOHEXADECANE, AMMONIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYLTAURATE/VP COPOLYMER, DICAPRYLYL CARBONATE, CAMELLIA OLEIFERA SEED OIL, PENTYLENE GLYCOL, ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE, MIRABILIS JALAPA EXTRACT, GLYCERYL STEARATE, STEARETH-21, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, DIMETHICONE, OXIDIZED CORN OIL, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER), CERA ALBA (BEESWAX), KIGELIA AFRICANA FRUIT EXTRACT, SACCHAROMYCES FERMENT FILTRATE, CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, RUBUS FRUTICOSUS (BLACKBERRY) LEAF EXTRACT, LITCHI CHINENSIS SEED EXTRACT, ROSA DAMASCENA FLOWER OIL, SODIUM HYALURONATE, ADENOSINE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, TOCOPHEROL, CETEARETH-20, BEHENYL ALCOHOL, PARFUM (FRAGRANCE), CETEARETH-12, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, SODIUM CITRATE, SODIUM POLYACRYLATE STARCH, SODIUM POLYACRYLATE, SORBITAN LAURATE, DISODIUM EDTA, MALTODEXTRIN, SILICA, TETRASODIUM EDTA, HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE, ACETYL DIPEPTIDE-1 CETYL ESTER, CITRIC ACID, CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE), BHT, POTASSIUM SORBATE, BIOTIN, PHENOXYETHANOL, LINALOOL, CITRONELLOL, GERANIOL

This mask can be purchased at Fresh counters at most department stores. For more details on the product and to purchase online, please check out NORDSTROM or SEPHORA.




♡
Lisa

February 2015 Beauty Favorites

Beauty products loved in February 2015:

1. Smashbox Blush Rush in Radiance




2. Fresh Black Tea Overnight Firming Mask

3. Clio Kill Brown Waterproof Brush Liner

4. Kiss Me Heroine Make Quick Eyeliner in Brown

5. Kanebo Kate Slim Gel Pencil in BK-1

6. Revlon Makeup Eraser Pen

7. Marc Jacobs Remedy Concealer Pen

Please click here for more info on
8. SK-II Auractivator CC Cream


9. Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Makeup

10. Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Antique Rose No. 10


11. MAC Eyeshadow in Yogurt

♡

Lisa

AXA Direct English Website for Expats in Korea

This is one of those rare times that a non beauty related post makes it on here! Which only happens when it’s something truly worth sharing that is outside the beauty realm. Car insurance... I’ve been living in Korea for almost three years now, and here, just as in many other countries, there are countless insurance companies to choose from. As a "gyopo" (a Korean that grew up outside Korea), I do speak somewhat fluent Korean, however, when it comes to signing up for insurance, merely understanding the language somewhat is just not enough. 

As much as car insurance is mandatory, we really want to consider the brand and coverage very carefully, which is never so easy for foreigners in Korea. So I’ve LONGED for a car insurance option that’s English-friendly. Fortunately, AXA Direct just opened up a comprehensive English insurance website!

Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask Review

Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Mask
A thick gel-like texture facial treatment mask with 24K gold and colloidal gold. This wash-off mask helps to improve appearance of fine lines and wrinkles for a youthful-looking complexion. Caffeine helps tighten and firm the look of skin while Hyaluronic Acid locks in moisture for ultra-hydrated skin.


♡
Lisa

La Mer Review

I'm sure many of you have heard about the miracle of la Mer. La Mer means the Sea in English; and sea kelp is what constitutes most of la Mer's miracle broth. This is no typical sea kelp: it can be harvested only twice a year. For the miracle broth, la Mer's sea kelp is combined with other natural vitamin and mineral rich ingredients, and then painstakingly processed for months with special bio-fermentation process that includes using energy in the form of light and sound waves. Next time someone says that they can get all the ingredients of la Mer for less than $10, tell them to look up the specifics of la Mer's ingredients/how it's collected and processed, and then try getting ingredients of exact same quality! Yes, even so, it still won't cost as much as la Mer products for obvious reasons. But my point here is, that you can't get a bag of sea kelp at the market and think that it equals to sea kelp used by la Mer. Without the miracle broth, creme de la Mer is merely a very moisture rich cream.

I used creme de la Mer years ago after someone recommended it to me during my efforts of battling adult acne. My skin was at it's worst condition due to the strong acne treatment products I used daily for nearly 6 months. And last year, after nearly 5 years, I went back to using la Mer again. This time, along with creme de la Mer, I also tried the Treatment Lotion, the Concentrate, and the Eye Concentrate. Watch my You Tube review below to find out about my experience with these products as well as my overall thought on la Mer.

Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultra Radiance Lifting Creme Makeup

Re-Nutriv is Estee Lauder's ultimate luxury line targeted more towards mature skin. With use of Multi-patened Contour Lifting Technologies and precious micro-fine gems, this line promises to provide intense hydration, 'lifting,' as well as array of anti-aging benefits. 

Estee Lauder released Re-Nutriv Ultra Radiance Liftng Creme Makeup with SPF 15 PA++ (as well as the liquid foundation version) in Fall of 2014. This one is different from Estee Lauder Ultimate Radiance Makeup, same idea but better. I've been wanting to try a 'serum foundation' which seems to be gaining popularity lately. The idea of getting anti-aging serum benefits from a foundation is definitely intriguing. For me, it was a toss-up between YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation and this Estee Lauder one; they both promise anti-aging serum benefits and 'lifting.' I decided to go with Estee Lauder because I like the idea of extra moisturization of cream foundation for winter.

Beauty Best & Worst of 2014

Best Beauty Products of 2014:
Face Architect Smooth Fit Fluid Foundation (my shade is #764, similar to MAC NC25)
Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultra Radiance Lifting Creme Makeup
Tom Ford Lip Color Sable Smoke
ARITAUM Honey Melting Tint #10 Bitter Rose
Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Single - Brulee
MAC Eye Shadow Single - Shroom
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Edge Meister Mascara (this is the waterproof one!)
Kiss Me Heroine Make Eyelash Serum
OPI Nail Lacquer Liquid Sand Collection What Wizardry Is This?
OPI Nail Lacquer Liquid Sand Collection Wharf! Wharf! Wharf!
OPI Nail Lacquer Liquid Sand Collection Alcatraz...Rocks
Bare Escentuals Hydrate and Brighten Brush

December 2014 Favourites + Sephora Haul

Sephora Favorites Give Me More Lip Ultimate Lip Sampler (Too Faced Cosmetics Melted Liquefied Long Wear Lipstick in Fuchsia, Tart LipSurgence Lip Tint in Moody, Fresh Sugar Berry Tinted Lip Treatment, BareMinerals Mini Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Speak Your Mind, Benefit Cosmetics Posiebalm Hydrating Tint, Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick in Palomino, BUXON Mini Full-Bodied Lipstick in Menace, Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Icon, Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Outlaw, Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Red Amour, Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Blush, Make Up Forever Waterproof Lipliner Pencil in neutral beige, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Black Dahlia Lip Tar, Sephora Collection Lip Infusion. Stila Cosmetics Stay All Day Vinyl Lip Gloss in Nude Vinyl, Tart LipSurgence Power Pigment in Flush, Too Faced Cosmetics La Creme Color Drenched Lip Cream in Naked Dolly)