Brand Focus: Etude House

Brand Focus: Etude House!

You've probably noticed me mention a brand by the name of Etude House in some of my previous posts, they're a Korean cosmetics and skin care company that I am absolutely in love with. After meeting the most adorable Korean girl at a work function last weekend and gushing about Korean cosmetics for a while I realized that this company is a bit of a hidden gem here in North America; they deliver quality products, adorable packaging and all for quite an inexpensive price tag. I figured it's high time I let you all in on the secret!

Lipsticks

Etoinette Crystal Shine Lipsticks in PPK002 and PPk003 - First of all; how freaking cute are the bullets they're in?! This was another purchase made strictly for the adorable packaging; the lipsticks themselves are a really nice creamy texture with medium colour pay off (I'll post swatches down below) but look quite vibrant when paired with a liner of similar tone, due to the creamy consistency they're not at all drying on my poor parched lippies.($5 + free S&H on eBay)

Dear My Blooming Lips Talk in PPk005 - I absolutely love the formulation of this one; lightweight and hydrating and it almost seems to flex with your lips so you don't get any feathering. I find it has medium to buildable colour pay off and is quite long wearing, not to mention this colour is amazing!! ($8 + free S&H on eBay)

Look at My Lips in #03 Celeb Pop Pink- This was a surprise favourite for me, I didn't think I'd love it as much as I do. It has a medium colour pay off, is super hydrating and feels like you're not wearing a thing! And this colour is amazing; kind of a coral pink colour! ($6.50 + free S&H on eBay)

Lipglosses

Dear My Enamel Gloss in EPK001 - This was the first lip product I purchased from Etude House and clearly you can tell by my collection it had a great impact on me! Similar in colour to MAC's Pink Nouveau, no sticky texture and a great strawberry scent, I'm in love with this! Click here to see why it's a staple in my bag and here to see what makes it such a beauty bargain! ($5 + free S&H on eBay)

Dear Darling Tints in Vampire Red and Real Red - The verdict is still out on how I feel about these, some days I love them and some days I'm not quite sold. What I love about these is they have an amazing cherry fragrance and great staying power with a bit of a stain effect to them, what I'm not sold on is the whole idea of lip tints in the first place. They're quite a thin texture which is what I'm not sure I like but they're not at all sticky or tacky which is nice. I find the Real Red shade to be a bit more wearable as the Vampire Red is quite a dark shade to be so sheer, might look great paired over top of a red lipstick to give it some extra staying power... ($4.50 +free S&H on eBay)

Color Lips-Fit in Magical Fit Pink - I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I ordered this but what I got was not at all what I wasn't expecting, am I making any sense yet? I thought this would be a gloss (you're probably asking why it's under the gloss category if it isn't in fact a gloss and the answer to that is: because I felt like it!) but it is more like a liquid lipstick. I was never really in love with the concept of liquid lipstick (I'd never tried them but hey, I fear change!) but this has sparked an interest. It has the same wonderfully shaped applicator that gives effortless application, it gives amazing colour pay off and my favourite part: it dries matte! It's a matte liquid lipstick that isn't drying on your lips and super comfortable to wear!!! Yes you read that right, such a thing exists and I'm sharing it with you my friends! ($8.50 + free S&H on eBay)

Purse Essentials

I featured both of these products in my What's in My Bag post so you can go check them out there but I will leave the prices for them down below!

Missing U Hand Cream in Peach Panda - $6 + free S&H on eBay; since my What's in My Bag post I've actually fallen in love with the lotion that it came with, initially it wasn't hydrating enough for my dry hands but now that we're out of the depths of winter it's great for an on the go refresher. I've also recently purchased the Pink Dolphin, Fairy Penguin and Harp Seal varieties of this because they're so stinking cute!

Kissful Lip Care Lip Scrub - $6.50 + free S&H on eBay

Sheet Masks

I Need U Alphabet Sheet Mask Set - I featured these on my Sheet Masks 101 post and since then have been gradually working my way through the alphabet and still very much in love with these! $42 + free S&H for the 27 piece set.

BB Cream

Precious Mineral BB Cream Cotton Fit in #2 Light Beige - This was the BB cream that got me into BB creams, I got a sample of it in one of my many Etude House purchases (now I totally get why they load you up with samples!!) and figured I'd give it a go and was hooked. I love that it comes in a squeeze tube so that nothing is wasted and it also has a pump to distribute the perfect amount to cover your whole face. Anti-Wrinkle, Brightening, SPF30, Whitening, and Anti-Darkening, this stuff made my skin glow like nothing else and felt like a thin veil of powder sitting lightly on my face as opposed to a thick cream, the only reason I switched brands was it was sold out when I ran out. $5.50 + free S&H on eBay.

Cleansers

This is a review on a couple of cleanser samples I got (they're big enough to get 3-4 uses out of each packet) and why I didn't buy full size versions of either of them.

Milky You One Step Cleansing Foam - This was a nice lightweight cleanser that worked into a great lather, was gentle on my sensitive skin and made for a great morning cleanse. Now why didn't I buy the full size version? I have quite dry skin and I found my face feeling tight right after cleansing, very tight, if you were normal to oily I think this would be a great choice for you but it was a little too astringent for my dry skin.

Baking Powder Deep Cleansing Foam - This cleanser is quite a bit heavier than the Milky You one, it goes on almost like a paste if your face isn't damp enough (rookie mistake) but lathers up quite nicely once you work a little water in. It has a bit of a gritty texture, I'm assuming that's the baking soda in it, that's a  great exfoliator as my skin was super soft and radiant after using it but is a bit too abrasive for every day use on my sensitive skin. It has a light citrus scent and it really feels like the baking soda opens your pores and scrubs them out (I had a mental image of the Scrubbing Bubbles television ad whilst washing my face). I received two samples of this and tried one a couple of weeks ago and really disliked it but after wearing a full face of make up all day I give it another try and was really pleased with the results. I may have to add this to my evening routine a couple nights a week on those make up heavy days, if you have oily skin this might make a great daily cleanser for you!

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What's in My Bag?

Every kid loves trick or treating at Halloween, I was no exceptions, although I loved it for a completely different reason than most 7 year olds. I wasn't too bothered by the candy bars that I did or didn't get, I probably wouldn't have noticed if they were handing out moldy sandwiches, I was out there completely  because I had a strange fascination with getting to glimpse into people's homes over their candy bowls, yes I AM a creep, I fully acknowledge this. Well to me the "What's in My Bag" posts are like the grown up version of trick or treating for me; a brief glimpse into someone else's life. So here's my life in the form of my handbag!

First a quick note on the bag itself: I picked up this Betsey Johnson bag at the TK Maxx in Brighton about a week after what we will call the Great Purse Flood of 2014. My boyfriend and I were in Paris for the weekend and while trying to get over jet lag and a bit of a tummy bug I was drinking a lot of Emergen-c (a flavoured drink powder high in Vit C) and I had put a full bottle of it in my bag before a busy day of sightseeing. Whilst in Notre Dame I felt something wet on my leg and glanced down to see my bag dripping, when I opened it up the entire contents of my bag were bobbing around in the purple liquid that had come pouring out of it's bottle. I'm usually quite calm and it takes a bit to ruffle my feathers but I dashed out of the cathedral, with Pete making an effort to keep up, where I ripped everything out of my bag, flipped it inside out to pour all the water out and tried not to bawl on the steps of the Notre Dame cathedral on our first day in Paris... When we got back to our hotel at the end of the day my guy spent half an hour, bless him, trying to dry my bag with the horrid hotel hair dryer; I spent the rest of our trip stuffing his backpack with all my skin care. Once back to London we noticed that my bag was STILL damp and had developed a quite unpleasant odour and desperately needed replacing, but since I spent nearly my entire livelihood on french skin care it was off to TK Maxx for a new bag, enter this lovely not-so-little bag that could probably carry my entire life if need be, we celebrated my tossing the stinky old bag in the bin and I haven't look back since! Ok, maybe it wasn't such a quick note..

These are some of my all time favourite essentials, you can read a bit more about them here and a sample of the Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil that I got at Sephora from the lovely lady that always plies me with samples, god I love that lady! Since my post about the Tangle Teezer last month I've bought 3 more; one for the bathroom, one for my bedroom and one for my niece who screams every time anyone goes near her hair with a brush. This pink one permanently resides in my hand bag now. 

My mittens from the 2010 winter olympics in Vancouver; it's been so cold lately that to dream of leaving my house without these bad boys would be insane. I have to say I'm amazed I still have these, most mittens don't make it a whole winter before they get lost but I've had this pair for four years now! I wasn't actually in Canada for the Winter Olympics in 2010 I was living abroad in Ireland so I had family post these to me so I could cheer on my hockey team from abroad. 

There's a little zipper pocket on the outside of my bag which apparently is where I hoard all my lip products, currently in that pocket is:

• Etude House Kissful Lip Care Lip scrub: I use this to prep my lips before putting on lipstick. I love that it comes in a little squeeze tube so I don't have to stick my finger in a little tub of gritty bits, it has a wonderful smell but don't get it in your mouth, ICK! It has a very chemically sweet taste that lingers.
•  Nuxe's Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm: that shit's the balm. Get it! God I love puns.
• Etude House Dear My Lip Enamel in EPK001 (super shiny pink): I mentioned how much I love this lip gloss in my Beauty Bargains for $5 or Less post, it truly is a staple for me now.
• MAC's Dazzleglass Creme in If It's Pink: it's a limited addition colour that came out in July 2010 as part of the Alice + Olivia Collection. I am obsessed, the dazzleglass creme is the perfect combination of dazzleglass sparkle and cremesheen colour and shine. It is quite close to the Playful Petal Cremesheen that came out with Fantasy of Flowers, and Loud & Lovely Cremesheen is the closest thing they have as part of their permanent collection.
• MAC's Cremesheen in Nectarsweet:  you can see a swatch in my post here it is part of A Fantasy of Flowers so get it before it's gone!
• MAC's Fleur d'Coral: also part of the Fantasy of Flowers collection, a swatch can be found at the link above.
• MAC's Show Orchid Amplified Lipstick: This is a pro colour that can only be found in pro stores, I picked this one up in London at the Covent Garden counter. It's similar to Girl About Town but almost has a metallic sheen to it, it's an absolutely lovely bright pink lippie! 
• MAC's Lip Pencil in Magenta: Perfect liner for Show Orchid, Girl About Town or any other bold pink lip. I've also used it with Creme Cup to create an ombre lip!
• MAC's Prolongwear Lip Pencil in In Anticipation: I love the prolongwear lip pencils as not only are they long wearing but they're a creamier formula than the regular pencils which are much more comfortable if you have notoriously parched lips like myself. I love this colour as it's a nude with a pinky peach tone to it, great for a brighter nude lip! 

These are sort of random life bits and bobs. Some Ibuprofen and Motillium I picked up from the Boots in Heathrow Airport before my flight home, my ticket from Once that I saw in London, absolutely phenomenal show if you get the chance to see it it's an absolute must! The spare key to my Kia of Death so I can warm it up when it's minus a million, my wallet from who knows where - I had this exact same wallet five years ago until a pick pocket in Rome stole it, when I got home from Europe my mum had bought me the exact same to replace. My horridly filthy lint roller, I have to wear all black to work and own two dogs that shed like crazy; this is a must. And my double chocolate chunk Quest Bar; these things are amazing, the only protein bars I eat. They taste great, have a pretty good nutritional profile and always satisfy my sweet tooth without sacrificing my health goals to do so; I always have one on hand because when I get hungry, I get hangry.

And last but not least the things that keep me ticking: my daytimer that I use to keep track of work, social engagements, where I scribble down ideas for blogs, etc. This suffered quite a bit of damage during The Great Purse Flood of 2014 but I managed to salvage it. I always have a book on hand because I hate being late so I usually arrive early and just read, right now I'm reading A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine I like to switch it up between fiction and non-fiction, so here's some philosophy for the time being! I'm kind of a snob when it comes to tea and rarely drink tea bags so I always have my Tea Filters from David's Tea in my bag along with some tea. This month I've been obsessed with the Wanderlust Green Tea from Yumchaa that I picked up while in Camden, super pleased to see that I can buy it online because it superb! And of course my mints, I'm not a gum chewer but I'm always popping mints.

Well this was a bit more extensive than I thought it would be but by now you're all aware I tend to ramble, I hope you enjoyed your brief glimpse into the madhouse that is my handbag and I'd love to see what you guys all carry around with you! 

Frugal February: Beauty on a Budget - pt.1 Beauty Bargains

So after a two week trip to Europe, surprise vet bills - don't worry both the furballs are ok!, car troubles and saving up for my next tattoo appointment in a couple weeks; it's safe to say that funds are a little tight right now. I know everyone can feel my pain, we've all been there before but necessity fuels creativity, or so I keep telling myself... Whether you're on a student budget, your dog dramatically breaks a nail and needs sedation just to get it clipped (cue glance in Reece's direction) or you're just looking for some fun new things you can try around the house without needing to make a trip to the store, I give you my five favourites DIY beauty fixes, and some of my favourites beauty bargains for $5 or less. But first let's all take a moment to appreciate how adorable Reece looks still stoned from her emergency pedi...

Now! Onto why you're all really here- for the beauty! 

Top 5 Beauty Bargains for $5 or Less

Let's start with this little beauty, TonyMoly's Changing U Magic Foot Peeling Shoes now if you've read this review you'll know that I am not new to peeling foot masks and that the FaceQ mask left me feeling like I wanted more from it; well these little babies did everything the FaceQ masks did and more, and for only a fraction of the cost! You can get them on Amazon at the link above for roughly $10 including shipping but I've repeatedly purchased them off of Ebay for $5 and received free international shipping. A couple other things I love about these other than the low price point is that unlike the FaceQ booties these ones come with a little sticker closure so you can actually walk around in them, they have english instructions directly on the package in addition to the original Korean AND they tingle, I am all about the tingling. They do a better job of removing dead skin than the FaceQ one's and you don't need to apply a cream nightly. I do recommend a moisturizer morning and night however to prevent you poor tootsies from drying out, and socks too - none wants to watch your feet molt like snakes.

 

This next guy I mentioned in my January Drug Store Haul post last month and I'm still loving it! I'm actually loving it even more though because I purchased it back in January for something like $3 and I've used the same packet twice now and there's still a bit left, that's just how much comes in the little guy! I only shampoo my hair once a week - I know I'm filth right? but at least I take showers and baths daily- and this hair mask is perfect for a deep condition after a thorough hair washing. The first time I used it my co-workers were complimenting me on how shiny and voluminous my hair was and after demanding they pet my head to see how soft my hair was they were all begging for my secret, and my secret is this little wonder here. You can click here to locate the nearest store that sells Palmer's products.

 

Have you noticed I'm obsessed with asian skin care yet?! Well, here's another one for you! This brand was actually the first sheet mask I ever tried and what started this whole addiction and blog as well! After a girlfriend ranted about how amazing these little baddies were I scurried on down to TNT to pick some up to try. When I say these are economical we're talking $1 here people, you can't really get much cheaper unless it was free (which it might be, I'm not saying they're in the giveaway box but I'm also not not saying they are...) I picked mine up at TNT Asian Supermarket but you can also find them here for $10 for a box of ten. I've tried every variety in the line and the Royal Jelly is the best hands down, I used it one morning before getting ready and it actually broke my heart to put make up on my skin looked so nice; it was soft, it was plump, it was radiant and glowing and all kinds of magnificent. This is the perfect budget friendly quick fix if you skin is feeling lackluster.

 

I scored these one use wonders at the Yves Rocher store in Paris when they were having a massive sale; I also picked up another €60 worth of stuff as well, now I'm starting to see where all my money went... ANYWAYS! These guys cost me €2 for the pair which works out to be $3 and I've loved them. The hair mask was great and I gifted one to a friend as well who seemed to love it just as much. The lotion on first impression was wonderful for my super dry skin but I'd need to use it for longer to tell just how great it is.

Last but certainly not least is my new obsession; the enamel gloss from Etude House which is a korean cosmetics line. This guy again was an eBay bargain at $5 with free shipping. It's the perfect combination of shine and colour, it's not at all sticky like some lip glosses and has an amazing strawberry scent. Having worked in the make up industry for a little while now I'm rarely satisfied with just a gloss, usually I need a liner, lipstick and gloss to feel complete but this guy is a one swipe and good to go! I definitely bought lots of other lip products from Etude House after trying this lip enamel. I'm thinking of doing a post on some of my favourite lip products for $10 or less, let me know in the comments below if that's something you guys would be interested in!

Looks like I rambled for much longer than intended so I will save the DIY Beauty Fixes for tomorrow so keep an eye out for even more Facepalm goodness coming your way tomorrow. Let me know in the comments below what some of your favourite beauty bargains on a budget are!