My Current Obsession - Clearasil Smart Sudser

Although I am on the other side of the world, I have still being doing a bunch of research and investment in American beauty products. Having tons of items shipped to me, I am extremely obsessed with this next product and I can't wait to get my hands on one.

The Clearasil drugstore brand has definitely wowed me this time with the Smart Sudser. This automatic face wash dispenser shoots out the perfect amount of face wash, measured for each use that will not dry out your skin when a large amount is used. Overwashing is a big problem for breakouts because your skin becomes dehydrated which is the reason oil is produced, causing acne. This cleaning system is just $15-20 which is definitely worth the investment to me!

Beauty Pick Up - Happy Bath

It sure is difficult to find American products here in Korea, especially those for a low price. Because I had trouble finding my Aveeno body wash, I settled for the Happy Bath all natural real mild wash that I found at half price for $4. Like the price of Aveeno at regular price back in the states, this is the Korean take on Aveeno. This wash is all mild, perfect for those with sensitive skin, one product I sure recommend to use in place of the American drugstore brand. 

Beauty Pick Me Up - Values from Korea's Daiso Store

Korea is known for their many beauty items and as I started to get settled down and pick up a few items for my apartment, I found Daiso, an extremely cheap store with so many goodies for the house. Because there are so many "cute" items, I ended up having a big splurge and did manage to pick up a few cheap goodies. 

For starters, nothing can top fifty cent masks. I decided to only pick up two, strawberry and cucumber to make sure that I am not allergic to such products, although it does say that it is organic. Can never be too sure, especially when trying out new products. If it does work out, it'll be a great steal, even better than my dollar masks!

In addition to the facial masks, I picked up two sets of falsies for just a dollar each. For such a low price, I can just toss it away after use. I usually have a full set of lashes, but I wanted to go for something less dramatic, but still provides length. Hope this works out!

Everyone knows I am big on having my nails done and because I have yet to find nail salons in the area, I will have to settle with doing my own nails for the time being. Because of the extremely cute animals, I picked up a toe separator for pedicures and I also managed to find an awesome four step nail filer that helps to file, remove ridges, smooth and shine your nails. All in one! I just hope it works out great.

Lastly and probably the one that I am most excited about is the paper soap. Many bathrooms in Korea do not have soap dispensers. In fact, they have a bar soap (if even) in bathrooms. Being that I am a big germ-a-phobe, using a bar soap just won't cut it for me. In addition to this, bar soap tends to dry out hands and therefore I had to just try the paper soap that I have heard about from many. Hopefully the lavender will be a great combo with my skin. 

As excited as I am to share these products with you, I will be having a giveaway soon! 

Beauty Review – Olay Regenerist Regenerating Serum

Olay Regenerist is a popular and more expensive drugstore line that seems to be favorable. I remember trying an Olay Regeneris line in the past, but it didn’t work too well with my face because I think I was too young and there was no need for younger looking skin so I decided to switch over to natural goods. Now that I am starting to ‘get older’ I figure to give it a try again.

When it comes to wrinkles and your face’s elasticity, it is better to start early and prevent rather than waiting for the problem to develop and fight it. You have a better chance controlling your face and prolonging the time it takes for wrinkles to set in as opposed to trying to get rid of one. Olay Regenerist’s Regenerating Fragrance-Free Serum uses a highly concentrated amino-peptide plus B3 complex combined with Olay moisture.

With first use of this serum, I had a little tingly sensation in some areas of the face, but overall, it works perfectly with my sensitive skin and psoriasis. I did not feel a burning sensation; the serum glided on perfect and absorbed quickly with my skin. The one thing I am not a fan of is the smell (I have a very sensitive nose, so you might not have this problem). With one application, I felt immediate smoothness on my skin’s surface.

I suggest using this serum twice a day, although daily use is acceptable as well. If the serum does not compliment your skin on first use, you can use it once a day and gradually make your way to twice a day. Olay Regenerist has a four step skin care line that is suggested, but because I love the other products that I am currently using, I am just giving this the go until I feel there’s a need to change my skincare line. 

My Current Obsession - L'Oreal Paris Lineur Intense Brush Tip

Like Softlips, this has been a forever obsession of mine that I use almost everyday. It is the best drugstore liquid eyeliner for me, I've tried plenty, but I just cant get enough of the L'Oreal Paris Lineur Intense Brush Tip. I absolutely love the intense black and can't live without it. It glides on so smoothly and it is so dark, exactly what I want. In addition to the great price, I don't have a problem with this eyeliner smudging or fading through the day. It'll last me from the beginning of the day at the break of dawn until I come in from a late night (which sometimes consists of the next morning. Another great thing which many people may not like is that it comes right off with water. That means don't cry and avoid the rain !

There are a few things that aren't so great about this eyeliner in addition to the way you can rub it right off. The brush is not the greatest thing at all, especially if you're looking to draw a thin line. It takes a while to get used to and really needs a gentle hand. Every eyeliner that I have picked up to this day has a different brush. It starts to bend the way that you draw and sometimes starts off with a bad tip. It's something that I've gotten used to already so it doesn't really bother me. I am still able to draw my line the same way but I know plenty of people who have complained about the brush being too thick. Either way, I absolutely love this product, especially for the price I can buy it for!

Beauty Review – Yes To GOOD SKIN EVERYTHING

Finally doing a review of the Yes To splurge that I got a while back that I am absolutely in love with. I usually have problems with different products within a line, but there is not one product that I am not in love with in my purchase.

My absolute favorite product of all that I purchased is the Yes to Blueberries Brightening Facial Towelettes that won a Fitness Beauty Awards of 2011. This product is absolutely amazing and 8 bucks for 30 towel is quite a bargain. I am in love with the fact that it is all natural, and soft on the skin. I’ve always had a problem with makeup removing towels with it either not working too well or burning my eyes. These blueberry wipes work absolutely amazing, removing all eye makeup with just one wipe, no running reside left behind.

As for the face washes, I have used both and I am a bit bias in regards to the face wash. I love the Yes to Tomato Clear Skin Daily Clarifying Cleanser even with the peculiar tomato smell. With long use, I do feel a change in my skin, being smoother and shinier. It provides enough moisture to my skin that I can even skip the face lotion at times. It works extremely well with my sensitive skin, a true recommendation. As for the Yes to Bluberries Smoothing Daily Cleanser, I’m not a big fan of the milky texture which makes me use the product a little less. Because I am not all that crazy about aging, I don’t use it as much to see the difference in my skin, but I do feel immediate smoothness with use.

Lastly, the Yes to Carrots Hydrating Shower Gel is so soft to the skin, and surprisingly there is no smell from the carrots. The wash is so gentle and smooth that it just glides onto your skin and is a great exfoliater.  I am absolutely in love with this wash and it works so well with my psoriasis. 

Makeup Review - Maybelline Volum’ Express The Falsies

There’s been a lot of hype with this mascara, especially with the makeup and beauty gurus. For some reason, I don’t find that it helps my lashes in any way. I find that I am not the only one who has a problem with this mascara, but majority votes that this mascara is a must have, providing volume and length like false lashes would, therefore you save time and the extra step of putting on false lashes.

My experience with the mascara was like every other. It did not live up to my expectations of true falsies look. The look I got was one that I would have gotten with any other mascara. This mascara felt a little dry and clumpy on my lashes, which is not the chief complaint. I felt that because it was so dry and lumpy, it just made me so bummed out because it is incomparable to other volume and lengths mascara I have used, even a drugstore brand.

I am one of the few that have a problem with this mascara, and I mean one of the very few. Hopefully it works well with you, costing half, even one third of the price I normally pay for mascara, I wasn’t too bummed out, but I would much prefer my Benefits They're Real! mascara. I love having hand me downs that make me feel important to friends and family, especially when it works wonders for them!

Beauty Splurge of the Week

Just another beauty splurge—which is typical me. This week’s beauty splurge consisted of Yes to Carrots, Clinique from a Sephora exclusive, drugstore, shu uemura, and a photo/beauty store in Chinatown, New York.

I recently blogged about My Beauty Diary Masks and my obsession with the masks. Well, just when I thought prices couldn’t go less than $10 a pop, I found it in Elizabeth Center in Chinatown for just $8 on sale! Yes a box of ten just cost eight bucks. I couldn’t believe it and I couldn’t help but to stack up. I actually plan on returning to buy a few more :X

The eight boxes that I picked up are red wine, yogurt, bird nest, grape seed and green tea, red pomegranate and CQ10, caviar and hyaluronic acid moisture, a peony-snow-lotus-and-sake-yeast-whitening mask and something in their new line—a Coldstone mask. I was a bit reluctant to purchase this one, but I am extremely excited to try this one out—a Damask Rose Ice Cream Mask. I got a sample of the red wine mask and I’m not too happy about it. It doesn’t live up to my expectations for My Beauty Diary Masks because it was a little on the dry side being that the liquid felt a little thicker than other masks. The peony, snow white lotus and sake yeast whitening mask doesn't have the plastic wrap as other lines, but there is an extra part of the mask that is used for the chin and neck area which is great. 

As for Yes to Carrots, I was extremely excited about trying out their different products and so I tried to mix it up. Yes to Carrots is for normal-to-dry skin, nourishing dry skin and hair with carrots, shea butter, and sweet almond oil. Yes to Cucumbers is for sensitive skin and color treated hair, gently hydrating and soothes skin with organic cucumbers, aloe vera, and green tea. Yes to Tomatoes are for combination-to-oily skin which treats and prevents breakouts with tomatoes, alicylic acid, and witch hazel. Yes to Blueberries are for age-damaged and mature skin which helps to improve firmness and diminishes fine lines with blueberries, cotton thistle, and paracress flower. There’s even a Yes to Baby Carrots line that are made for babies. With my online order, I got a free sample of the Yes to Carrots Rich Body Butter and it was amazing. I am excited to pick that up for my next purchase.

Continuing with my Clinique rave, I picked up something exclusive on the Sephora website. What I find to be weird is this exclusive set comes in two different bags, which also includes two different prices for the same amount of product. I admit, this bag looks better for the price of $2.50, but it is unavailable. Either way, I am still excited about the purchase because I was just looking to purchase Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector but I got three bonuses for the same price!

Moving along, I picked up a Pond's Even Soothe Wet Cleansing Towelettes with chamomile and white tea that helps to remove makeup while soothing the senses. Although it was Allure's Best of Beauty Award Winner 2010, I dont feel like it worked so great with my mascara and the smell was a little too overpowering for my tastes. It didn't compliment my psoriasis too well so I will probably not pick up another pack.

Lastly, although I am not an eyelash curler, I picked up the shu uemura detailed lash curler. I have been looking for an eyelash curler like this for a very long time now. I dont know if you have this problem but when I curl my lashes, there are many times where parts of my lashes are not as curled as the rest of it. This is where my new shu uemura detailed lash curler comes in and fixes the problem. It has been a difficult journey to locate one of these but I got lucky to find a new one on eBay.

That is all for now at least, until my next beauty splurge. Any recommendations, please let me know!

Back on the Market - Soap & Glory

Does this product look familiar to you at all? A little reminder—it was sold at Targets. You probably don’t recognize this product or never saw it because it was always sold out. Soap and Glory actually cut it’s ties with Target because Target failed to keep up with customer’s demands by keeping the shelves stocked with this product. Long and behold, Sephora has stepped in and saved us by bringing Soap and Glory on board. Just started this month, Soap and Glory is now available at Sephora, my favorite store for beauty goods. I am definitely making a stop to see what goodies are in stock for this not-so-drugstore-brand. 

Makeup Review - CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipcolor

With 44 swatches of color, CoverGirl’s LipPerfection Lipcolor has a blast of color with a silk moisturizing complex that are to soften your lips within 7 days. Because I am not a big lipstick person, I have not worn it for 7 days straight. I do love that the color glides on smoothly and it doesn’t feel so heavy on my lips which saves me the pre-moisturizing step. Of course, the best thing about CoverGirl lipstick is the price averaging just $7 a pop. 

Makeup Review - CoverGirl Intense Shadow Blast

Covergirl just recently developed the Intense Shadow Blast in six shades that has primer included for long lasting eye shadow. It’s perfect when you’re in a rush out the door, saving you the extra step. It comes in a bottle that’s perfect and not so messy so you can do it on your ride to work—the safe way. I love how they offer make up matching on the website that helps you pick out the color that’s right for you, they even show where you can purchase these items from at an average cost of $8. 

It glides on extremely smooth but it may be a little difficult to work with when you're combining a few colors. My absolute favorite is the Brown Bling that compliments my dark eyes as a natural look with some shimmer.