The Battle of the Water-based B.B creams!!

Hmm.. Water-based b.b creams.. They have been around for some time (somewhere last year) already but I only managed to get my hands on some of them recently. That was when I was looking for a lighter make-up look, more natural and easy to apply product. Thus, I wanted to try water-based ones. The more famous ones on the market now are seemingly Maybelline, Silky girl and Garnier. These are all heavily advertised by our local bloggers like Xia Xue, Qiu Qiu etc. :D
So.. What exactly are these water-based B.B? What make them so different from the normal B.B creams from Korea? I personally own quite a number of B.B creams from Etude House, Elisha Coy and Tony Moly. :) I love the Elisha Coy and Tony Moly one (I'm not a big fan of Etude House..) but these can tend to be more "heavy". I needed something that is easy to apply for that natural look yet not looking all sallowly at the same time.

So.. Water-based B.B creams basically contains higher water content than your average B.B cream. Due to this simple fact, they prove to hydrate your skin. But I beg to differ actually. Most B.B creams have other moisturising ingredients in them such as _________________. Take example when our lips are dry, we will probably use water to wet our lips (at least I do) but this "moisturising effect" will just dry off in no time. Right? So I guess you can't really look for moisturising effects in water-based b.b creams but what it can deliver is a light-weight, hassle free make-up product ;)
So.. Let's dive in into the 3 products I have..

I have been alternating between this 3 products for the past month, and I must say I like the maybelline one best. It gave the most coverage out of the lot. I dare say it gave similar effects to my foundation + loose powder look :D

The Silky girl and Garnier were some what similar but maybe because the Garnier one only comes in one shade while I chose the darker shade for the Silkygirl one, the Garnier one looked a tad too fair on my skin but it soon blend into my skin tone after a while, so it looks exactly the same as the Silky girl shade. (I knew this cos I tested one each on both halves of my face :P)

I also felt that in terms of oil-control, which is something really important in Singapore, Silky girl fared the worst. After a whole long day at the office (and it's air-conditioned) my face becomes an oily mess. Then 2nd which didn't quite hold the matt look despite brushing powder all over my face is the Garnier one. and surprisingly, the Maybelline one performed the best again! I'm just writing my honest opinion and I'm not a Maybelline fan either. I don't really like their mascaras and all, they just don't work on it like on most people. BUT I'm loving this!

So.. I declare the Maybelline Pure BB Mineral BB water gel the champion of the water-based b.b creams!! :)))

Sorry for such a short review, hope my post helped in some way or another :)

Collective Haul!!!

Yay another Haul post to welcome April :)
I'm glad March ended. Hectic yet a fun month I guess? :)

Bought a few stuffs as usual and just feel like sharing with my readers :)



1) Kao's heat steaming eye mask






Posted on instagram a few days ago.. This has been a hit item on gmarket for sometime and I finally got my hands on them! Hmm what I can say is that this product is rather interesting. If I'm not wrong, it can get heat up up to 40°. But do not freak out cos it has like cotten-ny texture which protect your eyes and it really feels moisturising cos the heat emits some "steam" I guess.

It proves to be able to reduce fine lines & dark circles and moisturise your eyes but hmm I guess it does well in the moisturising part only. I doubt any product (let alone this one) can reduce all your fine lines and dark circles in a day alone right? Most importantly is to get enough sleep and apply eye cream to tackle those problems? But I love this mask if I had a really long day and I just feel like pampering my eyes to a "sauna" or maybe I can use it when im flying (and I actually saw this lady using it on a plane before).

Anwyays I tried it twice so far and I have to admit the second time I tried it I felt that it wasn't as effective as the first. But I soon found out it was because I used the wrong side.. =.= So, make sure to use it the right way!





On first glance, this somehow this resembles a cotton disposable pad. (Lol) however there's "ear hooks" so that your mask would be secure in place.

The design side of the mask should be on the outside so that the cotton-ny side of it would be resting on your eyes and the "steam" should be "directing" at your eyes. If you get what I mean haha.

2) IOPE Bio Essence Intensive Conditioning






I got this is their so-called sample size (which I had no idea cos I opt for the smaller capacity one just to try it out). This has been a highly raved product recently and it has even been compared to products like SKII . Well, as for me, I've never tried SKII cos it's way beyond what I can afford. But thankfully to Korean products I am able to :)

It contains the same ferment based ingredient found in SKII essence as well. But from several other reviews that I've read, compared to SKII, this is odourless and very lightweight. It is also quickly absorbed into the skin.

Well for me, I kinda use it as a toner. In fact a couple of other beauty bloggers I've read also prefer to use it directly on their skin and just skipping the whole toner step altogether. In fact I've not used toner for like a year or so already. I feel that it is very unnecessary and drying to the skin. Maybe because I have normal to dry skin thus I feel so. Probably those with oily skin should always use a toner before proceeding to the other skin care regime.

Hmm verdict about this product? I think it is a very safe product? It does not irritate my skin or anything. My skin does feels better but not extremely moisturised or has it improved in any way, what it does is just to prep my skin for make up. I think I will not repurchase this? I might be more interested in products that are able to moisturise like their softener line which I tried before in my bellabox and I was quite impressed. Will definitely purchase it soon. ^^

3) CLIO Gelpresso waterproof pencil gel liner






Woah what a long name. Haha let's just call it a gel liner. Clio is actually considered a relatively higher end product in Korea (if my sources are accurate). My dear friend, got this as a birthday gift for me directly from Korea!! :) ♡♡♡♡♡ and I got this in #1 beige shine. A lovely colour perfect for highlighting your under eyes and creating the "aegyo sal" effect.

and I love this product! :) it glides on smoothly upon application. However as usual I'm fearful of eyeliners that smudge so I didn't tried their darker shades but they have several interesting sparkly shades as well!










I also like how it is retractable just by twisting the bottom of the pencil and it also comes with a detachable sharpener.  thumbs up for convenience.

This product has been highly raved in korea as well and indeed it didn't disappoint! ^^

3) VDL Triple shot Tint Bar






Ahhhhhhh I love this product so so SO much! Special thanks to stephanie who got this for ny birthday :) so sweet of her!

Have been eyeing this for quite some time after I saw some youtuber raved about this. But the brand VDL is rather unfamilar to me and they only have one store in Singapore so probably I was quite hesitant to purchase it. But I spotted one of it's shop being featured in one of the popular Korea beauty show " Get it Beauty" and yes I knew I have to get my hands on this!~~ haha sorry I'm just exaggerating :p

But honestly I really love this because it gives me the gradiation lips effect just by using it alone :) I've always wanted to achieve the gradiation lips make up but I always fail :( it's such a hassle too, having to apply concealer first then follow by lip tint in the middle of the lips and having to carefully spread it out so on and so forth. Urgh haha. Maybe im just lazy.

This lip tint alone has 3 shades on it. Firstly the concealer, followed by the lighter then darker shade.






(Taken from

http://beautychamber.bigcartel.com/product/new-summer-2013-vdl-gradient-lips-triple-shot-tint-bar-lipstick)

I got this in the peach shade #601 as shown above. Will upload a picture of it on my lippie if possible. But trust me, with this you can effortlessly create the gradiation lip look :)

4) Rachel K radiance illuminator mask





I've never use any mask like this before. Right now hydrogen masks are VERY POPULAR in korea. And to think that our very own local beauty brand - Rachel K has their very own hydrogen masks as well. As we all know, Rachel K were the first in the market to come up with CC cream even before the Korean market started with it. I feel that Rachel Kum, an ex-miss Singapore really puts a lot of effort and research into her products, so we won't be disappointed! :)

Hydrogen mask contains 11 - 18% more moisture than traditional sheet masks. Don't you often feel that many paper sheet masks out there doesn't quite moisturise your skin? Well I don't know for you but I do. I rarely find masks that I feel really perk up my skin haha. But not till I use this mask! Again I got this from my bellabox last month and I was awed by the effect it gave the next morning! It claims that one mask contains one bottle of essence!!! How amazing is that? Haha.

Verdict wise, I really felt that my skin glowed, yes literally. As the name states it did give off the radiance and luminous effect *o* was really amazed before that night when I used the mask I slept quite late because I was rushing work related stuff so I expected a very tired and dull looking face the next day but thankfully to the mask, my face felt so moisturised and smooth at the same time. It also felt matte (?) which I dont understand how. But it even brightened up my forehead area which normally tend to be rather dull and dark compared to the rest of my face. But sadly this mask is quite expensive ($8.50 for one piece?) but Rachel K's products never fails to deliver so I really don't mind repurchasing them :)) I want to try their pressed powder too!!

5) 肌美精 Kracie eye masks






I got these when I was in Hong Kong and one of my Hong Kong friends recommended it to me. (Thanks Lydia^^) this eye masks are pretty moisturising, best when you just want a quick moisurizer for your eye area and you are really lazy after a long day and you just wanna flop onto bed.






What it looks like inside..






I really love best about this is that in that small package alone, it contains (what feels like infinity) 60 sheets. So in fact 30 sheets for each eyes? I am been using this every now and then ever since I got back from Hong Kong two months ago and there's still so many left! And it's really cheap as well.. HKD 78 which is $12 plus only??  I love hong konggggg................

That's all for my collective haul and some of my raved items. Haha hope you guys love it! Sorry for the sub-standard pictures but I really feel like sharing some of these items. Thank you for reading :))

Adulthood.

Just ended my week long celebration for my 21st birthday! Very grateful for every single person that took time to celebrate with me! Be it my colleagues, church friends, bestfriends, poly clique, sec sch friends and even my cousins.

Somehow I feel very emotional on the actual day of my birthday. Haha but no I didn't cry or anything. Just felt very grateful for the wishes and gifts! Never felt soooooooo loved in a long time!~

♡♡♡ Let's just use pictures to describe the rest of my special day ♡♡♡



















































Thank you for making my special day special. :) So how does it feels turning 21? Well, I don't know.. Maybe there isn't a particular feeling. I just know that I have been learning a lot at work and at the same time molding my character and views on certain things as well. I'm glad with God's strength, that I've managed to come so far. In the short span of 3 months of 2014, I feel that I've already overcame many obstacles. I will continue to work harder! :) I feel happier this year and I hope I can still be so. Happy 21st to myself.

♡ Jen

Korean Products Haul!!

Yet another Korean products haul! :) Funny how I go "ga-ga" over all these Korean stuffs and even their language but I haven't been to Korea before. Not even once. How sad. Probably I'll do so next year or so, hopefully. But luckily I have 'G-market' or also known as 'Qoo10' here in Singapore to supply me with all my Korean cosmetics etc. :D Bought quite a few stuff last month and finally found the time to do a review about them. (Work has been hectic T.T)

From left:

1) Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly B.B cream

2) Mustaev Skinny Tint Foundation

3) Tony Moly Back Stage Gel Eye Liner

4) Purebless Galacto Myces 80 Eye Cream

5) Primera Alpine Berry Watery Cream

1) Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly B.B cream

Ok starting from the first one. This B.B cream has been highly raved for the past couple of years. Finally decided to get it when I saw one of this Korean Youtuber- meejmuse recommending this~ :) Plus it comes in this pretty cute polka dots cover, how irresistible!  I love the texture it gives, it's rather light weight not like the normal b.b creams out there but like what it's name suggests, I think it has a rather high water content so you wont feel the oily texture most b.b creams tend to have. Yet surprisingly at the same time, it does a good job at smoothing out your imperfections!  For me, one of my main concern of my face is discoloration. I have severe dark eye circles to begin with and also rather dull skin. So this b.b cream really helped to brighten up my skin yet so naturally :) What I really, really love about this b.b cream is the semi-matt feeling of it on my face. Most b.b creams deliver this oily, heavy feeling on the face (you know what I mean right) and in our humid weather the make-up just goes messy after a few hours :< But fret not, this is just the right product in our weather or summer I guess. :) and not to forget, it still has this subtle glowy effect to it, so it's not totally mattifying. Brush some loose powder would simply complete your base make-up! This should be my HG for some time!!



2) Mustaev Skinny Tint Foundation

First of all this was a impulsive purchase after watching Liahyoo's recommendation on it on Wishtrendtv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnopDMqizIsHaha nevertheless, it was a great purchase! :D I'm not that into foundations probably because I didn't had a great experience with my previous one (Lancome's Teint Miracle) Even though it was a counter-brand. But anyways, Mustaev is a relatively unknown Korean brand outside of Korea, but I read somewhere that it is a rather higher range cosmetic brand in Korea itself. I picked this up in the darkest shade (haha cos I'm so dark :( ) and luckily the shade suits me. It has this rather light-weightness to it as well. But as a foundation it is definitely thicker than b.b creams but at the same time not heavy and it's gives off a subtle dewy, glowy effect as well. More than the Holika Holika Aqua B.B cream I must say. And on top of that, I think it has rather good coverage power. Received some compliments from colleagues and friends that my complexion look rather glowy and healthy when I used this, will be sticking to this foundation for some time! :)



3) Tony Moly Back Stage Gel Eye Liner

Well, I actually dislike this eyeliner. This gel liner is relatively popular with lots of people but as always I find it hard to find an eyeliner that doesn't smudge on me. Anyways, this has to be my first gel eyeliner I've purchased. Gel eyeliner has seen a hot craze in the recent years, but I've heard lots of mixed reviews over it so I haven't got my hands on one till now. It comes with a brush along with it which explains it's unique shape. However I don't really like the brush. It's kinda stiff and all, probably I have to get a separate brush for better application. But I like how pigmented the colour is. I got this in the darkest black and the colour is really strong. However this eyeliner smudges on me! :( My oily lids really gives me a headache when it comes to eye make up products. Whenever I draw eyeliner, I will be a "panda" by the end of the day. >.< But my eyes looks different without eyeliner. Hais #sadlifeofasmalleyesgirl The only eyeliner that doesn't smudge on me is the Majolica liquid eyeliner. I think it got to do with the formula it contains, this flakes on me rather than smudges. Please recommend me if you know any good ones out there in the market! ^^

4) Purebless Galacto Myces 80 Eye Cream

Haha, actually I have nothing much to say about this eye cream. (and I wonder what on earth does the name means..) Just that I bought this at G market just because it was cheap (1 for 1!) and it's a Korean product and I need an eye cream for my eye bag, eye wrinkles and dark circles. Ok honestly, there isn't much to expect from a cheap product. Haha. But this actually does help to moisturize the area around my eye but it doesn't help to reduce the fine lines around my eyes nor does it helps my eye bag and dark circles. But at least it moisurizes. Don't know if everyone everyone has the same problem as me but I constantly feel that the area around my eyes is extremely dehydrated. So this eye cream does it's job. :) Let my concealer do the rest :P

5) Primera Alpine Berry Watery Cream  

Actually, I haven't been using a moisturizer for some time.  I have the Cetaphil's daily moisturizer but sometimes I feel that it is too oily for my liking. Sometimes I feel that your basic skincare routine can really affect your make-up application. There is a need to pick the right skincare products that goes along with your foundation/b.b cream. If your moisturizer is too oily, your foundation might slip off easily. But I think I really like water-based moisturizers, like this one. :) This has been recommended by the famous Korean beauty make-up show "Get-it beauty" and I love it already. Haha. Watch more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a479MNKo8j8 I even use it at night at the dry areas on my face (cheek area or so). And it's affordable too! Comes in a cute paper packaging too. :D

Ta-dah end of my Korean products Haul!! ^^ Need to cut down on my spendings on such stuffs >.<

Here's to a great weekend ahead! ~

Expression

"Where will this road take us to?"



"Close your eyes, make a wish"

Yet another day full of food

Picnic @ Botanic Gardens with Jas & Lori. Look at our feast!!









Lunch with my nephew @ Kung Fu Paradise





Dinner with my best friends from church @ Group Therapy (Their Ravioli is really good!!)













(Not forgetting Arthur and Jason who joined us for the meal :))

Nom nom nomz.
Yet another Saturday spent stuffing myself with food. Haha, maybe it's a form of "stress- relieving" method or more like a way of pampering myself after a whole week of work. Whatever it is.. Ever since the year started, work hasn't been nice to me. But luckily, I'm still coping well with the help of some of my seniors and colleagues. :) Sometimes, I can't help but to think about my future career path. Yes I am in the audit profession now but I know for sure it isn't something I throughly enjoy. In fact, I struggle a lot. I remembered when I first came in, I was really stupid. Like literally. I even forgotten my basics like depreciation and A= L+OE!! Haha partly because I really threw back what I learnt during my diploma back to the teacher and I chose the banking cluster in my 3rd year. I told myself during poly that I would never NEVER be an accountant. I hated it. But that was because I did badly in my academics although I did enjoy studying for it. But my poor grades really pulled down my confidence. Maybe it has to do with the education system. Growing up it seems like not doing well in your academics equals into a poor future and what not. But ever since stepping into the working society I beg to differ. There are SO MANY options out there.. When I was younger, I've always dreamt of studying in the local unis but now it's an unattainable dream. But fret not, there are so many private degrees out there for you to further your studies. But be sure to pick the accredited ones ;) I'm actually starting my degree from Murdoch Uni under Kaplan in accountancy this May. Kinda look forward to it because I feel what I really need now at work is more theory knowledge which would really help. Sorry for all the rambles. I'm done rambling. Haha, never meant for this blog to be interactive, like me posting much of my thoughts here but I just thought that I should have said this. What I really wanna blog more about is my photography and cosmetic reviews! ^^ Been into photography for lately, and maybe in the future, I don't mind taking up some photography courses or even graphic design. Life working is not all a bore, I feel that it is somewhat more fun. Because I get to do stuff that I really like more, but downside is that as a full-time working adult (lol) is that we don't have that much time. This two years, I will spent it on figuring what I really like to do in the future. Looking into going for a working holiday after my degree, which sounds like fun ;P and to live in some of my favourite country - KOREA for a period of time after that. Sounds like a plan? Let me work towards it.. to a exciting life ahead!~

♡ Jeniquely ♡

Cafe Adventures: Cake Spade

Top: Salted Caramel Tart
Bottom: Red Velvet Cheesecake

Another well-known cafe located in Tanjong Pagar district offering sweet treats from brownies to red velvet cakes. The shop was surprisingly small though. The cakes weren't very fantastic in my opinion but they still deserve a try.

1 Tras Link, #01-06, Orchid Hotel Singapore, Singapore 078867

This is how we roll'