Target Calypso Collection

A few weeks ago, I finally had a chance to check out the Calypso collection at Target. I was so surprised that everything was super cute! Everything is very summery and just makes you want to lay on the beach wearing all of the clothes and accessories. Although I didn't plan on buying anything, I couldn't resist buying a scarf. It's light and airy and a perfect summer scarf. I love the peach color too!

 

$19.99 at Target

I also wanted a few other things, like a necklace and earrings, but I resisted! The collection is available only until June 11 so I suggest getting to a Target store before then!

New purchase: YesStyle wedges

I bought these shoes on YesStyle last week and just received them today! These are my first pair of wedges, can you believe that? For the longest time, I didn't like wedges but now I'm learning to love them. I wanted a pair of casual sneaker wedges, but didn't like the Converse ones. Recently I saw Brown Eyed Girls' Gain and T-ara's Soyeon wearing wedges similar to these and loved how they looked so I bought a pair online.

 $54.00 at YesStyle.com

This was my first time purchasing from YesStyle. The only inconveniences were that most of the colors and sizes were backordered so it says it will take 7-14 days to ship and they also emailed me saying they had to verify my credit card information, which I had never experienced buying anything online. However, they arrived almost a week earlier than expected even though my color/size was backordered.

The shoes come in 10cm, 7cm, and 6cm. The 10cm comes in black or beige (I bought beige) and the 7 and 6cm comes in the same colors plus in blue.  From trying them on, I can tell they are cute and comfortable, however I can feel that the material is not the best quality. It's similar material as bargain shoes in Korea so it's not worth $54. There are many wholesale sites out there that sell the similar items as YesStyle for much less, but I ordered from YesStyle because it's easier and because of more assurance. Also, I'm not sure how the quality compares with other wholesale sites and YesStyle.

I would say if you want cute Asian fashion and accessories and are not able to obtain them, YesStyle is convenient, easy, and trustworthy. If you're looking for a good deal though, I would not buy from YesStyle.

Beauty Review: Chanel Mimosa

I just recently bought a new Chanel nail polish called "Mimosa". It's the it color for summer 2011! I've never bought a yellow polish before and I only own one other Chanel polish (Black Pearl).

I never bought a yellow because I thought they would be streaky, but Mimosa is not streaky. The swatch above is 3 coats. I usually do 2, but it looked a bit sheer so I layered on another coat. The Chanel formula is great as always, but I'm still deciding on the color. I think I would have more preferred a more pastel yellow, but this is still a good color to wear in the summer.

Rating: 4.5/5

Beauty Review: Etude House Code B Strong Eyes Cream Liner

It's time for another Etude House review! This time I will be reviewing the popular Code B Strong Eyes Cream Liner.

9000 KRW = $8.26 USD at EtudeHouse.com

+ Comes with a mini brush! I prefer my MAC #209, but this brush works pretty well.

+ Easy to use. The super creamy formula makes it easy to draw perfect lines.

+ Great packaging. The container is plastic, so it's lighter than the MAC Fluidline.

+ The brush can be attachable to the container with a chain (as you can see in the picture). While it is annoying to have it attached while you're trying to unscrew the top, it's useful to attach when you carry it around so the brush and eyeliner always stay together. 

+ Smudge proof! I thought it might smudge easily because it's so creamy, but it stays put.
+ Affordable. Cheaper than most gel liners out there.

- Only 3 colors: Strong Black, Secret Black (which I have), and Strong Brown. I think Secret Black is a not-as-harsh black with some glitter.

- When I apply on my lash line, sometimes throughout the day, the liner will kind of fade and get flaky.

- The glitter in my Secret Black sometimes falls and gets on my face. 

I would definitely recommend this liner! I totally understand why it's super popular. If you want to switch over to gel liners, this is perfect because it's so easy to apply. I absolutely love the super creamy formula. I have MAC Fluidline, but stopped using Fluidline once I started using this. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Unrelated to this post, but I just wanted to say that I've been slowly cleaning out things (since I will be graduating soon) and found that I have a bunch of Skinfood/Etude House/etc. products. So I will be doing some giveaways soon! Meanwhile, follow me on Twitter and follow me on my new fashion blog EYE LOVES IT!

Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation

Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation moisturizer. This is the product that finally made me a fan of the brand....

 $45 at Sephora.com

+ Great for combo skin, not too oily yet still moisturizing
+ No overpowering smell
+ Good for both day and night
+ Don't need to use a lot at once
+ Anti-aging effects and fades/prevents skin pigmentation. It barely faded my sun spots, but helps prevent new ones.

- Jar packaging
- Probably not moisturizing enough for dry skin. I feel that it doesn't completely nourish my dry spots in the winter.
- No SPF

Rating: 4.5/5

MAC Surf Baby Collection for Summer 2011

Originally blogged by Temptalia, here's a preview of the upcoming MAC Surf Baby Collection for summer 2011.

 

Blush ($18.50 USD)
My Paradise: Coral orange with champagne gold flower

Lipstick ($14.50 USD)
Bust Out!: Soft violet
Hibiscus: Bright coral
Mocha
Naturally Eccentric: Nude

Lipglass ($14.50 USD)
Girl on Board: Sheer gold
Good Lovin': Peach pink
Krazy Kahuna: Medium brown
Strange Potion: Pink coral

Crushed Metallic Pigment Stacks
Summer Stash: Pale pink, gray pink, purple, taupe
Surf the Ocean: Silver, aqua, gold, navy blue

Eyeshadow ($14.50 USD)
Saffron: Coral
Short Shorts: White champagne
Sun Blonde: Yellow with gold pearl
Surf U.S.A.: Aqua with teal pearl
Swell Baby: Medium gray

Nail Lacquer ($13.50 USD)
Hangin' Loose: Beige
Ocean Dip: Aqua teal

Eye Liner ($14.50 USD)
Blue Noon: Teal
Gilded White: Shimmering off-white

Bronzing Powder
Solar Riche

Tan Tint
Billionaire Bronze: Soft gold
Guilty Bronze: Copper bronze

The summer collection is coming out in US on May 26th and internationally in June 2011. I want the Strange Potion lip glass and Short Shorts and Sun Blonde eye shadows!

Styleta

Currently I'm a fashion intern for Styleta. If you haven't heard of it yet, it's a non-profit organization that collects high-end designer clothing, sells them on the website, and donates the proceeds to charity. We also hold events to promote Styleta and our partner charities. Besides being non-profit organization, we're also a completely student-run organization. We have set up on the campuses of Indiana University, NYU, Harvard, and Washington University in St. Louis.

We're holding our 2nd annual student designer contest. Last year's winner, Stacy Longo, now currently sells her eco-friendly organic cotton mini collection on our website. The following is our contest timeline:

June 1 – June 30: Open registration with design sketch submissions
July 1 – 14: Voting to determine Top 10 Designers, select 2 Wildcards
July 16 – Aug 6: Top 12 create clothing pieces and shoot “in action” videos
Aug 7 – 12: Expert Judges pick Top 5, announced on Aug 12
Aug 12 – 31: Open voting for winner for 2 weeks
Sept 1: Final winner announced!


If you're interested, please enter the contest! It is open to ages 16-28. This is a great chance to get your designs out there, especially because the winner will get to sell their clothing on our website.

http://www.styleta.org
http://www.twitter.com/styleta
http://www.facebook.com/styleta

Tory Burch Vintage Metallic Flats

New purchase today. First thing I bought since December...

$235 at Tory Burch.com

I need to break them in for them to be completely comfortable, but I loveeeee them! I originally wanted the gold glitter Revas, but they were completely out of my size. But I think I love the vintage metallic even more than the glitter (:

Hi there

Hi readers (if there are still any out there),

I know it's been way too long since I've last posted, but being my senior year with job searching, internship, and school, I've been too busy for this blog. But I'm seeing some glimpses of free time these days so I'm going to start posting again and revamp this blog. The twitter will reopen again as well, so please follow me on twitter for daily updates!

I'm so sorry that I've neglected the blog. I have soooo many products that I want to review so I will be posting something soon!

Spiked Shoes

These shoes from Sam Edelman are totally hot! Studded/spiked heels are everywhere and I definitely want a pair.

Lorissa peeptoe spiked heels - $189.90 at Akira Chicago.com

Also saw a similar pair of Christian Louboutin - black leather pumps with studs everywhere. Can't seem to find it online, but here's the flats version...

 

Pigalle spiked ballerina flats - $995 at Net-a-porter.com

And the ultimate studded Louboutin... if only I could afford these!

Pigalili pumps - $3,545 at Christian Louboutin.com

Beauty Review: Skinfood Peach Sake Sun Lotion SPF32

Hi readers (:

I know it's been forever since I've blogged and I'm so sorry about that! I had some serious personal issues come up recently and I've also been swamped with schoolwork, job search, and internship. I'm going to try to blog a little bit more regularly now although it won't be as frequent as before.

For this post, I decided to review Skinfood's Peach Sake Sun Lotion SPF32.

 9,900KRW at TheSkinfood.com

I bought this a few months ago while I was in Korea. I have to say that this is one of my favorite sun lotions. Most sunscreen moisturizers for me are too greasy or don't have enough SPF.

The texture is lighter than I expected. It's not heavy or greasy, but not watery. I love the texture the most... it makes it easy to apply and doesn't make my combination skin oily yet still is able to moisturize.

I also love that this lotion is SPF32, not 15 like most moisturizers I've used. I haven't seen any new sun spots since using this product, so the SPF is effective!

The only thing about this lotion is that I've noticed with the colder weather lately, that it hasn't been moisturizing my skin as well as it used to in the summer. I'll have to switch to something heavier in the winter, but other than that I love it!

Rating: 4.5/5

Goodbye shu uemura...

I know this is old news, but for those of you that don't know, Shu uemura will be discontinued in the U.S.! I went to buy a cleansing oil at Nordstrom and the MA told me that their products will only be available for the next week or so and they will start pulling them out. So get your shu products asap!! If you don't see a certain product in stores, they can probably order it for you. That's what I did for the cleansing oil at Nordstrom. I'm so sad to see this great brand disappear from the U.S. market! =(

Skinfood + Etude House Summer Haul

Here's the last of my summer haul from Skinfood and Etude House. I also bought some last few items from Holika Holika, but I won't post a picture of that because I already reviewed one of the items (the Magic Mascara) and the rest are just some reader goodies and small items.

1. Skinfood Black Sugar Mask: 7,700KRW
2. Skinfood Black Egg Pore Primer: 10,000KRW
3. Etude House Code B Cream Liner: 9,000KRW
4. Etude House Proof10 Liquid Liner: 7,000KRW
5. Skinfood Tomato Spot Serum: 13,900KRW
6. Skinfood Peach Sake SPF32 Sun Lotion: 9,900KRW

I've only used the Black Egg Pore Primer and Tomato Spot Serum so far, but reviews for all of these will be out in the near future! So far, I'm liking both products I've tried, although it's too soon to see results. I'm really going to miss being able to shop at Korean makeup stores =(

Beauty Review: Holika Holika Enamel Magic Melomovie Mascara

Hello! I'm back with another beauty review. This time for Holika Holika Enamel Magic Melomovie Mascara. I've only tried a couple of their products recently and this the first makeup product from them that I've tried. Holika Holika is a relatively new brand endorsed by CNBLUE. They have a cute purple witch theme for the brand. The purple actually reminds me of Urban Decay.

Cute packaging

I bought this mascara because the sales girl was just so convincing. Apparently this mascara is so popular that it's been sold out for weeks and only recently restocked. And all employees who tried it bought it right away. The hype about this mascara is that it's totally waterproof and doesn't smudge while still giving you long and lush lashes. Sales girl even demonstrated by swiping the mascara on her hand and rubbing with water. It didn't come off at all! 

Inside of the box - mascara + remover

The packaging is cute and comes with a mini bottle of mascara remover. Mascara comes in two colors: black and brown. I bought the black.

I've worn it a few times already, in humid and rainy weather. It really is very waterproof but surprisingly easy to remove! I used Holika Holika's Orangeade remover wipes instead of the mascara remover and it still was easy to take off.

 

Close-up of mascara wand

It's not 100% smudge-proof... I don't think any mascara is totally 100% smudge-proof though. It definitely is one of my less smudging mascaras though. Very minimal smudging in 80F degree weather and rain. My other daytime mascara is MAC Zoom Lash and compared to that, this Holika Holika mascara smudges much much less.

As for application, there's zero clumping even after 2 coats. It lengthens my lashes, but I wish it gives more volume. I wouldn't really say it's "Magic Melomovie Mascara", but it's still a good product.

Rating: 4.5/5
I only wish it gives my lashes more volume!

2PM Concert in Korea

A couple weeks ago, 2PM had their first concert here at the Olympic Park Stadium. I saw posters for it awhile ago, but couldn't get tickets because they were all sold out! But I was actually able to get tickets on the day of the concert for only 50,000 won for 120,000 won seats! I was lucky to be in the standing section closest to the stage. Here are a few pictures from the concert:

miss A! They are my new favorite these days. They performed "Bad Girl Good Girl".

2AM performed "Can't Let You Go Even If I Die" and "I Did Wrong".

2PM performing "Without U". They had water raining down at the end of the song... not only raining on stage but on the audience too!

Right after performing "Without U".

Towards the end of the concert, performing "Heartbeat".


I thought the concert overall was great! It was really impressive for their first concert. It was my first time going to any concert in Korea and it was crazy. So many girls going wild for 2PM and it was amazing to see 12,000 people under one roof all for 2PM.

They performed all their hits, did individual performances, parody performances, and some miscellaneous songs from their album. Definitely impressed with the concert!

Busy busy busy

Sorry I haven't updated!! I just started work at a private equity firm (previous KPMG internship didn't work out) so I've been busy and super tired!

I have bought a lot of beauty goodies since my last post, including some future giveaway prizes for readers - from Etude House, Skinfood, The Face Shop, and Holika Holika!

Gotta keep shopping during my last few days here (:
I will review all new products asap, so hold tight!
Until then, you can keep updated through my twitter~

<3

Etude House Proof10 Jewelry Eye Pencil review update & swatch

Someone requested a swatch from my latest review of the Etude House Proof10 Jewelry Eye Pencil in gold.

The left is one swipe and the right is about 4 swipes. 

Here's what it looks like on the eye.  I gave the product another try a couple days ago. It's still a bit flaky, but I discovered that it has good staying power. It lasted around 6 hours in hot and humid weather. But with its staying power and the fact that it's glittery, it's difficult to remove at the end of the day. 

I'll upgrade my review to 2.5/5 just for the staying power, but I wouldn't recommend you to buy this. Honestly, the product seems like something I can easily find at the drugstore.

Beauty Review: Etude House Proof10 Jewelry Eye Pencil

From my earlier post about my Etude House haul, I mentioned I bought the Proof10 Jewelry Eye Pencil. It comes in silver, gold, aqua, and black. I bought the gold and tried it a few times already.

The pencil is very slim, which is nice since it can fit anywhere and you can even tuck it away in a small purse. It's also a twist-up, which I prefer. Also I've been looking for thin sparkly pencils since most of the sparkle pencils I own are thick.

I applied this on my lower lash line for a bit of sparkle. First of all, the pencil is quite glittery. Definitely better for night time looks or else only use a very thin line for day time sparkle. Also, I was expecting the pencil to be much softer. When applying, I noticed it was hard to apply and it became flaky. I had to use a q-tip to smooth out the line and remove the flakes.

The color is nice, although nothing too special. Just your basic sparkly gold. Although I think the aqua sparkle would be interesting. I wish they had a purple sparkle as well.


Rating: 2/5
The color and amount of glitter is great adding a pop to a night time look. I also like that this pencil is slim so you can draw thin lines, but the flaky application totally turned me off. I really wanted to love this product, but it's surprisingly difficult to apply. Maybe the glitter is too clumpy?


50+ followers! Thank you everyone for your support. It's only been about 6 months since I've opened this blog and it's great to already have people following and reading my posts. Thank you!

Beauty Review: Skinfood Milk Creamy Nail Polish in Lavender Milk + The Face Shop Shimmer Top Coat

After I purchased Skinfood Milk Creamy Nail Polish in Mint Milk, I bought a few more colors: a light blue, purple, and cream colors.

The purple is called Lavender Milk.
It's a creamy purple color, but it's too dark for summer in my opinion. I would have preferred a pastel lilac color instead. But it's a nice color anyway. It's very similar to OPI Parlez-vous OPI?, except this one is lighter.

Without TFS Shimmer Top Coat

With TFS Shimmer Top Coat

For some reason, it was hard to capture the true color of the polish. The actual color is a bit darker than the picture.

Here's a picture of OPI Parlez-vous OPI? from an old post to compare.

I did 2 coats which seems fine, but under light it appears streaky. I'll have to use at least 3 coats next time. I also used The Face Shop Shimmer Top Coat. It adds a very subtle shimmer that gives some oomph to any color.

Skinfood Lavender Milk
Rating: 3/5
The consistency and application are the same as Skinfood Mint Milk, which I reviewed previously. However, the color doesn't excite me. In my opinion, it is too dark for summer and reminds me of OPI Parlez-vous OPI?.

The Face Shop Shimmer Top Coat
Rating: 4/5
I like the soft shimmer, but I can't say that this is an excellent top coat in general.

Trick to Get Rid of Nail Polish Without Remover

Here's a beauty tip that might come in handy!

If you don't have any nail polish remover, but need to get rid of polish on your nails, you can use clear nail polish remover! I've heard of using rubbing alcohol, but I didn't have that either so I googled and found the clear nail polish trick. It definitely works!

Just spread a coat of clear nail polish over the area (nail or skin) and wipe off immediately with a tissue. It'll get rid of the polish instantly!

I have a bottle of old top coat that has somehow been tinted pink. I don't use it anymore because it gives a pink top coat instead of clear, so I use that to get rid of stray polish. (: