Update & Favorites

Hi guys! It's been a while since I last updated my blog. School has been kicking my butt, and I barely had anytime to do anything. Since summer is here now, I'll definitely be updating my blog more frequently. I thought I would come back with a current favorites post. I've definitely been trying tons of new products in the past months so keep checking back for more reviews coming up!

The Body Shop has been upping their games lately and coming out with lots of amazing new releases. I recently tried out their color crush lipsticks, and I fell in love with them. Their formula reminds me a lot of the YSL sheer candies; they're sheer and very moisturizing. They have been my go-to lipsticks lately as they're super easy to put on and the color is very buildable. I prefer them over the revlon lip butters, which I found to be very greasy-feeling on my lips and made my lips peel. I have it in the color #14 and #18, and I'll definitely be picking up more in the future!

I love me some neutral, bronzy eyeshadows, especially for the summer months when I can't be bothered with my eye makeup. I've been using the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow in Rosegold all over my lids lately for an easy beachy, bronzy look, and it just gives my eyes the perfect amount of shimmer and definition. Just like the name says, it's a bronzy rosegold color. The formula is very smooth and buttery, and lasts well on my oily eyelids.

I finally discovered my holy grail powder!!! It is the Tarte Amazonian Airbrush Foundation. Words cannot describe how much I love this power, it is everything I want in a powder! It is sweatproof, waterproof, high coverage, and very natural looking on the skin. You can apply it over your liquid foundation or tinted moisturizers for a flawless look, or just use it on its own for days when you want an effortless natural look. Like the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder, you can keep layering this powder on your face without having it looking cakey. Moreover, it is more lasting than the Laura Mercier powder and gives more of a satin to matte finish, which I definitely need in the humid summer months.

Another product that's perfect for the hot summer months is the Josie Maran Coconut Cheek Gelee. It looks and feels like pudding in the pot, but once you apply it on your face, it turns into a stain and literally won't budge until you take it off at night. It just blends into your skin and makes you look like you've got a natural flush.

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Brand Overview: Laura Mercier

Laura Mercier is a brand that I have a love-and-hate relationship with. I love the brand because they make some of my all-time holy grail makeup products, but I also hate it because I can't seem to get on with some of their products that so many people rave about. I find that their products are either a hit or a miss for me.

I guess I'll start off by talking about my favorite products from Laura Mercier. If you've been following me for a while, then you'll know that the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder is my absolute favorite powder of all time. It gives buildable coverage and yet manages to look incredibly natural on the skin. Sometimes when my foundation is looking cakey, I put this on and everything just blends together and looks like skin. It is seriously the best powder I've ever found.

Another favorite of mine is the Secret Brightening Powder, which is a setting powder for the undereye area. I have super dry undereye area and I find that regular powder just dries it out even more and always makes it look super cakey. This powder sets my undereye area without making it look dry or cakey, and never settles into my fine lines. It has micro light-reflecting pigments in there to really help to brighten and illuminate the undereye area to make you look more radiant and awake.

Another favorite from Laura Mercier that I actually got after I took this photo is the Second Skin Cheek Color in Lush Nectarine. I have a lot of peachy coral blushes, but this one is definitely one of my favorites. The texture is velvety soft, and it blends seamlessly into the skin and just makes you look like you have a flush from within.

Laura Mercier Cavier Sticks are great to have if you like easy, fuss-free makeup. They're super easy to just sweep on your lids in the morning, and makes your eye makeup look amazing without having to put too much effort into your eye makeup routine. These are super pigmented, easy to blend, and last well on the lids.

Now time to talk about some un-favorites. The Laura Mercier Smooth Focus Pressed Setting Powder claims to control shine and keep the skin matte throughout the day, however it did not keep me matte at all. After the first two hours, my face started to look oily, and I really don't see the point of using this because it's translucent so it doesn't provide any coverage, and it does set my makeup but there are definitely better and cheaper setting powders out there that do the job just as well as this.

The Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer and Foundation Primer are probably two of their most well-know products and I know that a lot of people love them, but I was pretty disappointed in them. I can see the tinted moisturizer being great for people with dry skin and for people who already have great skin, but for me this didn't provide any coverage at all, and usually starts to slide off my face mid-day even when I use a primer and a setting spray. The primer is pretty average; it makes my makeup last longer but that's about it, it doesn't hide my pores and isn't as smoothing as some of my other primers.

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Current Favorites #8

I've been obsessed with these NCLA nail wraps as they're so easy to use and they literally last for weeks on my nails. I got the floral ones first and I loved them so much that I picked up these limited edition ones. If you suck at doing nail arts or just don't have the patience to do them, then these are perfect for you as they have all sorts of patterns and colors! I've been wearing them as accent nails and I think that they give my nails a great pop of color for the summer time.

I can't believe that it took me so long to discover MAC All That Glitters as it's one of their best-selling eyeshadows. It's the perfect bronzy champagne color and if you love neutral shimmery shadows then this is a must-have for you. I've wearing this all over my lids with winged liners and it just looks super put-together without too much fuss.

I've been looking for a great summertime concealer that's sweat-proof and long-lasting for a long time, and a lot of Asian bloggers have recommended the Canmake Cover Stretch Concealer. It is seriously the longest-lasting concealer I've found, and it provides medium to full coverage while still looking natural. I have super oily skin and this literally doesn't budge until I go take my makeup off at the end of the day.

I got a BareMinerals Ready Foundation sample from Sephora, and I didn't have too high of an expectation when I tried it as I already found my holy grail powder which is the Laura Mercier mineral powder. This surprisingly gave my face a very similar finish to the Laura Mercier mineral powder. The coverage is bulidable and looks incredibly natural; no matter how many layers you put on your makeup never cakes up, and it just looks like a second skin.


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Disappointing Products #3

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel did nothing for my skin. It felt very light on the skin but did not moisturize my skin at all, and was definitely not worth its price point. I much prefer the Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief over this, which does a better job at moisturizing the skin while still being oil-free and also light-weight on the skin.

I know the Laura Mericier Primer is a favorite of many people, but I found it to be just a mediocre primer. I feel like you could find primers with similar quality at the drugstore for less price. I don't hate it but I definitely won't repurchase it because I've found way better primers than this. At the moment, my favorite primer is the Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer which does everything I'm looking for in a primer; it keeps my makeup looking matte and natural throughout the day.

Makeup Forever Super Matte Powder definitely did not keep my face matte, neither did it keep my makeup fresh throughout the day. It is a translucent powder so to me it is useless because it does nothing for my face.

Dior Nude BB Cream was a letdown for me as it didn't cover anything on my face and didn't last on my face at all. It also felt a bit greasy when I put it on and actually broke me out. I've yet to find a western bb cream that works as well as my Korean ones. My favorite bb cream at the moment is the Dr Jart Water Fuse BB Cream which feels super light and moisturizing on the skin, covers all my redness while still being incredibly natural and lasts throughout the day.

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Products I Can't Live Without - Makeup

Because I have extremely oily skin, the products I'm sharing today are products that help to keep my face matte and help to keep my makeup from melting off my face throughout the day. These are products that I have to use whenever I wear makeup because without them, my makeup would just slide off my face the second I walk out the door. So if you want to achieve long-wearing makeup, these are the products for you.

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