Cetaphil

    I vaguely remember using a facial cleanser for the first time in middle school. Back in my middle school days, I had really oily skin and acne all over my face. My mom decided one day to get me clean and clear facial cleansers so my skin could improve. Of course it didn't work out the way I wanted it to be. I would wash my face in the morning everyday, but the acne still doesn't go away. I've been struggling with acne most of my life. There really hasn't been one day starting from middle school that my face was acne free. I remember being jealous of my sisters and also the celebrities in magazines for having clear skin. My struggles with acne led my to try different cleansers over the years. I always hoped that all my acne would vanish each time after cleansing my face. However, it was only hopes since acne never went away. In high school, I started to think that cleansers are made to make me feel better and doesn't actually help with clearing acne. So I began washing my face twice a day after reading tips from a magazine (maybe once a day is not as effective as twice). The models in the ads for cleansers have the flawless skin that I wanted (which I eventually realized that it was the result of Photoshop). Nevertheless, I did rely somewhat on those cleansers ads in deciding on purchasing specific and newest cleaners. 

     A slight turning point came when I started college. My face had less breakouts, but was still pretty oily. One of the perks of college was that I got to see what cleansers other people were using. There were proactive, drugstore, name brands and of course international brands. There was one name that really struck me, which is Cetaphil. I might have seen Cetaphil in Target or pharmacy stores, but never paid special attention to it. However, I noticed that many people were using it even international students. Cetaphil might be effective for clearing acne since many were using it. Finally I decided that now is the time for me to give it a try. I washed my face in the morning with Cetaphil since a few days ago. Cetaphil smells like a particular kind of hand soap scent that I didn't really like and doesn't have any color to it. Since I already bought it, I might as well continue to use it. After these few days, I think I am getting use to the smell now. I haven't seen much results yet and this maybe because of my lack of sleep and starring at a screen for hours. In my cleanser experience, I found that I'm not the type of person that sticks to the same thing. I like to switch it up and try different cleansers. 

Tarte : Pouty LipSurgence lip luster

    I don't remember ever wearing lipstick as a child, but as they say, pictures don't lie especially back in the days. I guess my mom put some on me for picture taking purposes and also for special events back then. All I can remember is having Chapstick first then lip smackers came along. Lip smackers was so immensely popular back in my elementary school days and most girls have at least one. Of course I was part of the lip smackers gen and I own quite a few. My favoritest lip smacker is probably the Dr.Pepper flavor. It smelled so sweet and just like the pop itself. 

    After lip smackers, I moved on to using lip gloss. I liked and started using lip gloss because of the glitter. Sparkly things always caught my eyes and I enjoy being glittery ( I even sprinkled glitter all over myself at one point in time). A second reason for my switch to lip gloss is the shiny texture. I really like having my lips glossy and I also feel older too. Lip smackers became a kiddy thing and I want to grow out of it. In middle school, I would often times out lip gloss on. In high school, though, things changed a bit since I joined color guard. I was advised to put on lipstick for every performance. My mom then gave me a sparkly light pink lip gloss and a magenta colored lipstick to use for color guard. Everybody in the guard used red lipstick, while I was the only one using pink. I actually enjoyed using pink because red to me was a grownup color. After color guard, I reverted back to using lip gloss. Lipstick does not mean much to me besides the symbol of a woman in her late twenties to thirties or something. 

     These few years in college still did not change how I feel about lipstick much. Although, I do see the importance of lipstick now. Lipstick can make your lips look more lively by giving color to it and does not leave it greasy looking. Whenever I put lip gloss on, my fam would joke and say that I must have forgotten to wipe the oil off my lips. I like how lipstick can give your lips color, but I guess I'm just not a lipstick person. Last year, I was still a lip gloss person until Tarte came along. I bought a sample kit last year for that sake of wanting new lip gloss since the ones I have were pretty old. The sample kit included Tarte's Hope LipSurgence natural matte lip tint. I did not have a great feeling at first about this lip tint since the tint popped out when I took the cap off. The moment I started using it, I realized that I found the one. Tarte's lip tint was not glossy, gives my lip some color and most of all made me attracted to it. I literally use it every day when I went back home and everyone thought I had lipstick on. I just felt so great because I know that I'm a lip tint person. 

      I bought a little Tarte set not long after I tried my first Tarte lip tint. This lip tint is Tarte's Pouty lip luster. This lip tint glides smoothly on my lips and also leaves a bit of sparkle too. These days Tarte's lip tint is what I would use when I feel the need to have some color in my lips. All I would like to use now is lip tint, but who knows maybe my feelings about lip stick will change as I get older. Until then...lip tint for life!!!!

       

Victoria's Secret: Mango Temptation Fragrance Mist

   I am more of a body spray than a perfume person. Although I do have one exception, which is White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor. White Diamonds is actually the only perfume that my mom likes and thinks is the best. I remember the times she would squeeze White Diamonds hand cream to me and my sisters when we were young. Indeed, I do agree that the smell is very unique and refreshing. Even though I was exposed to perfume at a young age, I favored body spray in my teenage years. I think at the time that perfumes are way too strong and also kind of expensive, so I backed away from it. However, I did grow to like perfume more now than before because the scent of perfumes last longer than body spray. 

  Nowadays I like to alternate between perfume and body spray. Some days I want to spray on perfume and other days it's body spray. Currently I'm using Victoria's Secret's Mango Temptation fragrance mist. My first vs fragrance mist is the heavenly angel most. The mango temptation smells like mangoes and is not too strong. It's almost like a scent that brings you to summer already. Every time I put some on, the mist smells so fruity that it makes me want to eat some fruit. 

Julep Time Machine Duo

    I was just browsing online when I saw that Julep's Age-Defying Duo for Hands was on sale. Julep is brand that I've never heard of before, but the duo has a facial and sunscreen for hands so I bought it after reading some good reviews. My package came in a few days ago and I couldn't wait to give this a try. So, I used this duo today. The duo came inside a box that is split into 2 compartments. I opened the box and found the facial for hands and solace. Both of the duos have a shiny appearance. 

    The facial for hands is suppose to exfoliate and hydrate skin, while diminishing appearance of wrinkles and dark spots. It also came with a brush. One of the reasons why I purchased this duo was because of the hand facial. For my job, I occasionally have to work in the dish room, which causes my hands to be really wrinkly, dry and my nails get fragile. So, I was looking forward to doing a hand facial after work to moisturize my skin. When I opened the lid, the facial is white and gooy just like wax. The facial also let's out a very strong fragrance smell (wouldn't recommend this for people that can't stand perfume). I used the little brush and slowly applied the facial to my hands. The facial was a bit tough to apply since it hardens pretty fast. I end up putting too much product on one hand than the other. It took more than 15 mins for the facial to dry. When I try to peel the facial off, it was definitely easier than the black mask. My hand with the thin layer was very easy to peel off. After peeling everything off, I went to wash the rest of the residue off my hands. My hands actually feels very smooth after the facial. Then, I proceeded with solace.

    Solace is the name for Julep's oil-free sunscreen. I didn't realize this was a sunscreen until now. All along, I thought solace was a hand cream with SPF, but I guess not. At first I tried hard to pull open the cap, which was kind of silly since I eventually found that the cap only turns and there was an opening on the bottom. I put the solace on ands then realized that it was a sunscreen. I immediately felt like saying "oh, no", but I found solace very easy to apply and it doesn't leave my hands feeling oily at all. Also, solace doesn't have a smell as strong as the facial's. I read the label and saw that it was oil-free and has SPF 30. Wow! I'm content. I can use solace during spring and summer now. 

     Even though this is only my first time trying Julep's products, I'm much satisfied. My hands feel smoother and also brighter than before the facial. I'm so glad that I bought something that is very useful to me. 

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask

   I got this mask a few weeks ago along with the pore strips. This is probably my first time trying a peel off mask. The masks that I own are either wash off ones or sheet masks. So, I'm pretty excited to give it a try and because it's black too. I read the directions and gave it a try tonight after cleansing and toning my face. The mask did let off a bit of a strong smell as I started squeezing the gel out. The direction said to apply a thick layer and I thought to myself, "how thick should I make it?". I asked that question to myself because the gel dries up pretty fast as I'm trying to apply it all over my face. I tried my best to cover most of my face besides eye area, eyebrows, lips and hairline. While I was putting the gel on my face, the gel did sting my eyes a bit so I had to close it when applying near the eye area. The gel mask tightened up within 5 mins of application. I followed the directions and waited for 30 mins. Indeed, the gel mask dried up and feels pretty smooth.

   I began to peel it off 30 mins later as my timer went off and it felt dry by then. It was quite hard to peel at first because the outer edges of the mask was too thin ( I didn't apply enough gel on the outer edges). I started with the thicker areas around my chin and worked my way up. Indeed, this was not an easy task because I have to peel it slowly and carefully. The mask really stuck to my skin and I felt like I was using a pore strip for my face. I would recommend to not put the gel close to your eye area since the skin there is the most sensitive. Finally, it took me at least 10 mins including washing off the residue to completely take off the mask. I immediately touched my face and it felt pretty smooth :) My first try at a peel off mask wasn't too bad even though I felt like I squeezed a lot of the gel out. 

Skin Food Cucumber Soothing Mask

    Cucumber is one of many foods that are great to consume to be healthy and also good for your skin. I've had cucumbers before, but I didn't like the taste so I never thought of buying it at all. One day my mom bought some cucumbers and used it as a mask. She told me that I could use some too so she sliced a few pieces for me. The cucumbers were pretty cold since my mom just took it out of the fridge. I laid them on my face for about 15 mins. Cucumbers are very soothing and makes me feel really relaxed. Sometimes I get lazy and don't use it often, which is not so good since the cucumber will go bad and I end up throwing it away. That is probably the only bad side to using fresh cucumbers. 

    During my stay at Korea, my friend suggested Skin Food's cucumber soothing mask for me. I took her suggestion and bought the mask. The mask is gel like and seems to have pieces of cucumbers in it. You can leave this mask on for 10-15 mins and then rinse it off. I do think that this mask makes my skin feel good. Therefore, I use it every week and it is a part of my routine. The days that I use a mask is to give myself some time to relax and forget about stress. Also, this time allows me to temporarily stop thinking about things that are bothering me. Masks are my friend. 

SPF Gel and Moisturizer

    Sunscreen is not something that I enjoy putting on my face because of my oily skin. I feel like sunscreen just makes my skin even oilier. Also, I wear glasses so sunscreen makes it fall down easier.  Every time I know I have to put sunscreen on my face, I totally dread it. After I was done with color guard, I felt so relieved that I don't have to put sunscreen on everyday because I don't have to be out in the sun. I know sunscreen is important for protecting my skin from uv rays, but I just didn't like the texture. 

    Fast forward a year later, I began college and actually started working out. I never like running, but upon entering college I feel the need to excercise and get into shape. For a while and in winter, I would use the treadmill and elliptical since it's convenient. However, I decided to run outside when spring came along. I know that uv rays are to strongest between 12-3 pm so I would wake up early to do morning runs. 

   Unfortunately, I noticed that my face got way darker and my skin started to have some dark dry spots two or three weeks later. Then, I realized that it must have been the uv rays :( I didn't know what to do, but to ask my mom to send me some lotion or something. I opened the package that she sent me and it was a moisturizer or lotion with SPF 30. Immediately, I started to put some of the moisturizer/lotion every morning before going to class and running. I think maybe in a week or so, I saw my skin improving (no more dry spots). From then on, I would use the SPF moisturizer/lotion everyday. However, I'm still not satisfied just because the moisturizer/lotion still makes my face feel oily, but I continued to use it since I didn't have any other options. 

Things changed when I went to Korea for a few weeks. I know that Korea has many beauty stores so I decide to look around to see if there's any SPF gels or something that won't make my skin feel oily. Finally, I found what I was looking for in a Missha store. I think I was at a subway station and went inside Missha with a friend. There I saw an ice sun gel with SPF 27 that wasn't too expensive so I bought it. I tried it on the next day and my life changed because the gel doesn't leave my skin oily at all and dries fast. 

   As I got older my skin does feel quite dry in the winter so I switched it up and use back SPF moisturizer. I made up my mind to use gel in spring/summer and maybe autumn and moisturizer in winter. I really liked the Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer with SPF 40 because it smells very pleasant, but I ran out of it so I started using Kiehl's facial moisturizer SPF 30 these past few weeks. The smell is definitely not as good as Josie Maran's, but as long as it works I'm fine with that. I got Kiehl's facial moisturizer as a sample. In the end, I learned my lesson: it's important to protect your skin!

Here's my SPF gel from Korea: 

My Current Favorite Palette - Tarte

   I can say that I'm still a newbie compared to makeup gurus and probably a lot of teenagers today. My experience with makeup is short, but somewhat long enough for me to figure out what best fits my skin. Putting on makeup is like going to school, where you learn the different types of makeup and apply them on your face along with trial and errors. Then, you would be able to see what's working and what's not. You will continue to learn as you get older because makeup trends change whether you follow the trends or not. 

  "Makeup not only enhances a women's beauty, but can also make her more confident" is a saying that I've always heard of. I really believe this saying when I began putting on makeup everyday. Also, makeup does make me look more awake :)) Many people have at least one go to palette that they always use. The Tarte palette that I received over a year ago is my go to palette. 

   I've been eyeing on that palette for a while and my sister bought me it as a Christmas present. I was so excited the day that I got it and the palette did not disappoint me at all. The colors are neutral enough for it to go along well with most of my outfits. Also, I like how the brush is two sided and the palette came with a two sided eyeliner pencil. I like the eyeliner, but it tends to dry up pretty fast. Every time I want to use the eyeliner, I have to sharpen it. I'm kind of a lazy person so I tend to use it a few times before sharpening it, which is not good for my eyes. After a while, I bought other eyeliners and stopped using this eyeliner pencil. I could easily do my eyemakeup within 10 mins in the morning with my Tarte palette, which is great since I have morning classes. Even though I own more eyeshadows than a year ago, I still use this Tarte palette a lot more than any other eyeshadows I have. 

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

As a little kid, I always enjoyed playing with my mom's makeup because I think makeup is so fascinating. I sometimes wish that I could grow up faster so I could buy those big makeup sets in department stores. In the meantime, I just used the kiddy makeup and even got questioned for putting on makeup :( Also, my mom always say that makeup is bad for your skin and I should use it when I'm older. So, I never asked to buy real makeup. The first time that I had actual excuse to put on makeup was in high school because I was in color guard and we were required to put on makeup for performances. I tend to stop using makeup after each season because I don't won't to spend time in the morning to put it on or take off at night. 

 Makeup really became a big part of my life since two and a half years ago. My first eyeshadow palette is the NYC eyeshadow palette for brown eyes. The little palette had four colors, a highlighter and a primer. I never used the highlighter because I didn't what it was for. I would use the primer even though I wasn't really sure what purpose it serves. Most of the time though, my eye makeup either smeared or melted by mid day. So sometimes I feel like I didn't need to remove my makeup at night. At that time, I really wanted to find something that could help keep my makeup in place, but I didn't know where to start. 

 My life changing moment came about a year and a half ago when I received a sample size Urban decay eyeshadow primer potion. The first time I used it before putting on my eyeshadows, my eyemakeup actually lasted the whole day. From that day forward, I knew I found a solution to helping my eyemakeup to stay put. Ever since then, I could not put on eyemakeup without UD's primer potion. I know that it's a bit expensive, but I personally think that the primer is so worth it. 

아름다운 그대에게? To the Beautiful You

I bought this aloe moisturizing cream, while I was still in Korea. During my stay, I wanted a beauty product with aloe in it because aloe is very good for your skin. Coincidentally, 아름다운 그대에게 came out right when I returned home. Since I watched the Taiwan version (Hana Kimi) and really like it, I decided to give this drama a try. There was a scene where Tae Joon entered Etude House and was looking for a present to give to Jae Hee. He then bought an orange bottle of moisturizing cream for her. I didn't think much of it, while I was watching the drama, but a few weeks ago I finally got the chance to use my moisturizing cream and found that the jar looks exactly the same as the one in 아름다운 그대에게. I just find it quite interesting. My aloe cream smells really good and I put it on my face using my fingers after cleansing. When I first used it, I applied the cream with the little tool that came with it. I find the tool a bit excessive and would much rather apply the cream with my fingers (guess I'm not adjusted to the Korean way of applying beauty products). I think this cream is perfect for winter because that's when my skin gets dry. My cream even came with an aloe soothing essence! 

Argan Oil

 My skin has always been oily, shiny, acne prone, which is something I've been struggling with since my teenage years. If you told me to put oil on my face a few years ago, I would probably say heck no. I don't think that putting oil on would make my face any better. However, my face does feel much drier in the winter and it also may be because I'm getting older. I got a small trial size Josie Maran argan oil last year, but I never used it and it just sat in my drawer. This winter though, I decide to give argan oil a try because this the first winter where I felt that my face has been the driest. A few months ago, I started to put some argan oil on after cleansing and toning my skin. I put exactly 4 drops ( forehead, both cheeks and nose) on my face. Although it was quite hard to adjust to at first because I feel that it's bit too oily. After a few days, I actually started to enjoy using it since my skin does not feel as dry. Also, argan oil smells really good and I like it a lot. On a random day, I decided to put some on my eyelids in hopes to make my eye area feel less dry after removing makeup. That did not turn out too well because I wasn't going to bed soon and it was a struggle trying use the internet with oily eyes. Next time, I should probably put it on right before I go to bed and maybe that would turn out better. So in love with argan oil <3

Red Wine Intensive Whitening Mask

 While I was online shopping for masks, I found this Red Wine Intensive Whitening mask and decided to give it a try. I've heard from YouTube gurus and also from news that red wine is good for your skin. When my package came, I got pretty excited. The mask was a bit tiny, but has a lot of product. This masks also leaves my face smooth and somewhat dry when I peeled it off. Therefore, I put on some moisturizer after peeling the mask off. I did feel that my face got brighter the next morning. It's always good to try something new! 

My Beauty Diary 2-step Asia Brighten Mask

 Masks are something that I have always wanted to use ever since seeing it on tv. My first mask was probably the cucumber mask, which is putting sliced cucumbers all over my face. I mean it was fun and refreshing, but I really want to get the sheet masks that I saw on TV. However, masks aren't super popular here so it was hard to find masks that I am looking for. Eventually, I gave up on looking and kind of stop using cucumber masks due to pure laziness. 

 I got the chance to go to Korea a little less than two years ago and it was very eye opening. One of the first beauty items I bought were masks. Ever since going and coming back from Korea I felt like my spark with masks reignited and I use it every week even in the winter. After I used up my masks from Korea, I decided to look online (YouTube) for masks and a beauty guru led me to finding a website that sells masks. I was looking for brighten masks because my face got pretty tan from the summer. There I found what the beauty guru suggested, which is the My Beauty Diary 2-step Asia Brighten Mask. I bought it when they had a promo for free shipping. The mask itself has a lot of product and felt very soothing to put on. I particularly like the moisturizer that came with it because it dries fast, does not make my face feel oily and moisturizes my face at the same time. The only downside is that the size of mask for my nose is too tiny so I end up tearing it a little bit in order for the mask to touch the sides of my nose. The next morning I did feel like my skin brightened up, which is good enough for me :)

Boscia Pore Purifying Black Strips

 My aunt introduced me to Pond's pore strips when I was in middle school and this was when I first started using pore strips. The way Pond's pore strip works is that it requires the user to wet the strip and not the nose. Sometimes I do get lazy and annoyed because I didn't like the feeling of putting a wet strip on my nose. Therefore,I always wished to be able to find another pore strip that was different from Pond's. I used Pond's for quite some time before it stopped making the pore strips anymore. After Pond's, I stumbled upon a free sample of Biore's pore strip and I immediately fell for it because I didn't have to wet my nose anymore. Biore has been my go to pore strip since high school and is quite effectively in pulling out my blackheads. The down side to Biore for me is that it sometimes leaves my nose very dry. Then, one day I found a YouTube video that teaches DIY pore strips. I tried doing it, but unfortunately I was not successful so I end up keep using Biore. At different moments of time I did try off brand pore strips like TopCare, but their pore strips doesn't have a pleasant scent to it. 

  Today I tried Boscia's Black Purifying Pore Strips because it looks pretty interesting and I've never used a black pore strip before. The strip is a bit hard to peel off the plastic at first, but it does have a pleasant smell. I used it on my nose for about 15 mins and it was super easy to peel. It didn't pull a lot of blackheads out as I wanted, but the good thing is that I didn't feel like it was pulling my skin out. Maybe I should've have waited a bit longer to pull it he strip out, who knows. Overall, I pretty satisfied with my purchase. Next time I probably will put it on a bit longer and hope to have better results.