REVIEW: The Face Shop Bye Bye Dark Circle Concealer

So, I was strolling in the mall with my little one last summer, just passing the time. I found another Korean cosmetics store and, of course, I had to go inside! I have a thing for Korean products, although they're mostly a hit or miss for me. And when they are a hit, I really love them to bits!

The Face Shop's facade and products are not as cutesy as Etude House's but, nevertheless, they also have very clever packaging. I picked up their Bye Bye Dark Circle Concealer. I completely forgot how much this was worth, but it was around 500 pesos. I can't justify this purchase. Including this, I already have six concealers and a normal person doesn't need that much. What makes this concealer unique is the fact that among my six concealers, this is the only one that boasts SPF30 PA++. When I swatched it in the store, I saw it had peachy undertones, so I was more than willing to say "Shut up and take my money!" to the counter.

It's a pen type concealer, and you need to push the button at the other end for the product to come out of the brush. I do not like the fact that it has a brush. I just think it's unhygienic so I have to clean it on a makeup remover wipe before I use it again and that's wasteful. 

(Photo taken in natural light)

The product itself is liquidy but not runny. I have to use my fingers to blend this one in. If I use a brush, it leaves streaky marks. If I use a beauty blender, it becomes patchy. I dislike having product on my fingers, but it needs warmth, so I just have to deal with it.

(Photo taken in natural light)

For the life of me, I cannot use this concealer on its own! It turns ashy and the dark circles peek through no matter how much I use! I hate this concealer on its own, I mean, I really hate it!

It's good for that extreme highlighting though, layered over another concealer. I have an L.A. Girl concealer which has orange undertones and I use that to correct my dark under eye circles before layering it with the Bye Bye Dark Circle concealer. And I do need to bake/cook it because if I don't, it'll be creasing til kingdom come. But the highlighting effect is extreme and unnatural although it does look good in photographs. It's just not for everyday.

Really, if this thing didn't have the sun protection factor, I would've gotten rid of it already. If you want something that works like the L'oreal Magic Lumi Concealer, which I don't believe we have here in the Philippines, then by all means, get this. Otherwise, stay far, far away.

Eyebrows on Fleek?! My Current Eyebrow Routine

Eyebrows are bitches. It took me a couple years before I could finally do my brows in a presentable manner, and I'm still not even satisfied. 

I've also not yet found a brow girl I can always go to. Every time I go get my eyebrows threaded, the girl either doesn't clean them very well, or does them too thin (the horror!).

So, this post is here for y'all who are beginners and are looking for decent brow products that won't leave your wallets crying too much.

I am currently using two brow products, both from Etude House. The first is the Drawing Eye Brow #2 (Php 148) and Perfect Brow Kit (Php 478). These are the two products that I will absolutely not leave the house without! And I mean that literally.

Etude House Perfect Brow Kit

 Etude House Drawing Eye Brow #2

I really like this eye brow pencil. On days when I'm in a real hurry, I can forgo the powder and just leave this as it is. The #2 shade is brown gray in color. This suits me perfectly since I don't dye my hair at all and if I do, it's probably black. It has a sword type pencil on one end which is retractable (no need for sharpening yay!) and a spoolie on the other end which is so convenient. 

First, I brush my brow with the spoolie. Then, I use the eye brow pencil to outline the shape of my brows and slightly fill them in. I use a very, very light hand at the beginning of my brows, get a little heavy handed on the arch, and then apply a moderate amount pressure on the tail, extending it a little bit. 

Next, I go in with the eye brow powder to set that pencil and this makes my brows completely last all day. As you can see in the image, it has a highlighting powder, a lighter brown powder, and a darker brown powder. Yes, I use all three for that ombre effect! And it just gives a fuller, dimensional look. 

I'm not a fan of the applicators though. The spoolie is too small, the brushes are too stiff. That angled brush is not only too stiff, it's too damn thick. I use my e.l.f. Small Angled Brush instead.

I use the lighter brown powder on the middle of my brow first depositing most of the product there and then use what's left of it on the beginning of my brows. Next, I use the dark brown powder on my arch and then onto the tail. 

An extra step you can take to really carve them out is to apply a little bit of concealer on the brow bone and over the arch. I do this if I have extra time and it really makes the arch pop. Lastly, I use my finger to apply a small amount of that highlighting powder. Beware, the highlighting powder is mostly white with shimmer so don't put on too much!

And there's how it looks like when it's done. The shades of the products I use are great, they look slightly (very slightly) lighter than my natural hair color and they DO NOT PULL RED. 

In the photograph, they kind of look light, which is what I aim for. In person though, they look bold, but not so bold as to draw all the attention on them. That would be embarrassing, talking to someone and all they can look at is your brows. 

I'm no pro, but I think they kind of look decent. I know I can use a lot more improvement. Thoughts?

Darling BB Cream: Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream

When Etude House came to the Philippines, it was with a deluge of everything Korean. The general public was enamored with all things Korean: food, beauty and especially their music. KPop became a genre upon itself. (Which was completely annoying, btw.)

When I first stepped into an Etude House boutique, I was completely taken aback. Everything was so cute! It was all so princessy and delicate. And it looked like you could eat everything in the store with all that candy looking packaging. The kind of cute that would make you want to shoot your neighbor because you just couldn't take it in.

Koreans are known for their skincare, which is crazy good, and also very complicated. A BB cream (BB stands for blemish balm) is a makeup product infused with skincare benefits. BB creams were created to replace serum, moisturizer, primer, foundation and sunblock. BB creams come in very limited shades, not like foundations, instead they are designed to oxidize to match the wearer's skin tone.

Today, I'm going to talk about my holy grail BB cream: Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream in Cotton Fit (Php 848). Yes, that's right, this is a rave review. I have nothing but good things to say about this product.

The Precious Mineral BB Cream comes in three finishes: Bright Fit (dewy), Perfect Fit (satin, Etude House also claims this provides more coverage than the other two), and Cotton Fit (matte), which is what I have. BB creams are said to have a lighter coverage than foundations, but I find that this has light to medium coverage. It camouflages my blemishes, although it does not completely hide them. It has SPF 30 PA ++. The BB cream also claims to be "Whitening, Anti-Wrinkle and Anti-Darkening." It comes in a white tube with a pump on the bottom (YAY!). The packaging, of course, looks very pretty.

I have it in the shade W24, their darkest shade, which still looks ghostly on me (I am NC30 at MAC). It has yellow undertones, so it's perfect for our warm Asian skin. Once blended in, it doesn't seem so light anymore. The texture is creamy, it's not so dense, but not runny either. I apply this either with a damp sponge on a good day for lighter coverage, or a brush, or my fingers, for that medium coverage. 

The finish is matte, as promised, but it's not so flat. If you're oily, and want a matte finish with a slight glow, I suggest wearing a luminous primer underneath or maybe you can go cray cray with your highlighter.

This is how the bb cream appears in natural light. (Kindly ignore the blaring zit right by my brow.) One side was applied with a brush, the other with a damp sponge. Can you tell?

Left side of my face applied with a brush.

Right side of my face applied with a sponge. The brush application provides more coverage than a sponge. Since it's a matte finish, it will tend to cling onto dry patches so make sure to exfoliate and moisturize your face first.

It has a very slight smell to it that's not unpleasant and goes away right after application. It's not as heavily scented as some of Etude House's other products. 

With a primer, this BB cream can last me all day. I've had it for several months now and the longest I've worn it was for almost 12 hours. I am oily so I do have to blot and touch up, but at the end of the day, my blush and highlighter were still visible which was a very good sign that the BB cream was holding up well. 

So, here's an overview:

1. Price: 8/10. At Php 848, the product can last you a long time. It really is worth its price what with the benefits you get from wearing a BB cream instead of a regular foundation.
2. Packaging: 8/10. It has a pump. What more can I say? The white tube does get dirty and discolored over time though.
3. Formula: 10/10. I love how this applies! It's so smooth, it smells good, it blends well, and it oxidizes perfectly on me. It also does not feel heavy on the skin, even after being worn all day. 
4. Longevity: 10/10. For a BB cream, this is extremely long lasting, especially with a primer. Even though I've been sweaty and oily during the day, I just dab the sweat off and blot, and it's good as new.

VERDICT:

9/10

This BB cream is really the bomb. I will repurchase this over and over and over again until I find something else better which is highly unlikely. It's really the only BB cream I'll need for life.

Etude House is available nationwide. Check out their local website for their locations and products: https://www.etudehouse.ph

Back to Basics: Nature Republic Botanical Concealer

I have a lot of concealers. I'm a self-confessed concealer junkie. Whenever I have good skin, I skip the foundation and just spot conceal instead. Also, I really have bad panda eyes that make me look tired and hungover if I don't cover them up. I think concealers are a must have in every beginner's makeup kit. It's also among my top three makeup products (brow pencil comes second and third is lip balm) I simply cannot live without.

The Nature Republic Botanical Concealer (Php 395) was my first liquid concealer when I was just starting to build my collection. I decided to buy a Korean product, because everyone knows their skincare lines are out of this world so I thought maybe they'd have a concealer that's good for my dehydrated under eye area. I also got hooked on the word "botanical" and I have a thing for using natural products on my face. And, come on, the brand's Nature Republic, you'd think they were using all things organic (are they?!).

I have it in the shade 23 Natural Beige, their "darkest" shade, and it is reeeeaaallyyyy light for my NC30 skin tone. It has peachy undertones that I noticed when I first swatched it on my hand so I thought this would work great. It comes in a white little tube package, you just need to squeeze out the product which is okay. Mine is a bit discolored now since I've had this for several months now (I think I've had it for a year now). 

(Photos taken in natural light)

As you can see in the photo, this shade is too light for me. And dare I say a bit cakey too?

I really can't use this for spot concealing. I'd probably look like a speckled egg if I did. I did use this for my under eye area. It was fairly okay, but after a few hours, it was just not pretty because it turned ashy on me. It didn't matter how I applied it, I could use my fingers or a brush or a sponge, it always, always emphasizes the grayness of my under eyes. Erm, I want to conceal it, not feature it. And, oh boy, did it feel like it was sucking the life out of my under eye. It was drying as hell!

It is great for highlighting though. This is my go to concealer when carving out my brow bone area for those sharply defined brows. *Eyebrows on fleek!* And it does not budge, it does not crease. Once it's on, it's going to stick and you'll want an oil-based makeup remover to take it off completely.

Korean products are usually a hit or miss for me and, unfortunately, this one was a miss. Unless you're fair, if you're looking for a good concealer, save your money and skip this one.

Nature Republic is available in the Philippines in the following locations: SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, SM Fairview, Festival Mall Muntinlupa, Fairview Terraces, and Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall. They also have kiosks in Wellworth, Fairview Terraces, Landmark Trinoma Dept. Store, and Landmark Makati Dept. Store.

Their website link is: http://naturerepublic.com.ph/