Tarte TEN Natural Cheek Stain Review

As I'm getting older I found myself interested in cream product more. I have dry skin and powder just don't sit on my face nicely and I really don't like the powdery look. I ventured out to try more cream blushes awhile ago and found a few products that I'm pretty impressed about. They give me this dewy and more youthful look that I'm looking for.

I've heard people talked about Tarte cheek stains and saw this at Sephora the other day - Tarte TEN Natural Cheek Stain. It was a limited edition item and the package is different from their regular cheek stain, kinda glamorous and cute. For $30 I thought it's a bit pricey but it's such a soft nuetral baby pink and I just can't say no to it :p I've never tried Tarte's products before but do know that the brand always use natural ingredient claiming to be good for your skin. Here is what they said on the Sephora Website -

"This best seller is all new in a limited-edition sleek, gold-studded tube in Tarte's signature dark purple and limited-edition shimmering bright pink shade to invigorate all complexions. Powered by the T5 Super Fruit Complex™, this nutrient-rich natural cheek stain fights free radical damage while treating skin with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals."

And they claim that the product formulated without Parabens, Sulfates, Synthetic Fragrances, Synthetic Dyes, Petrochemicals, Phthalates.

It looks like a soft baby pink and goes on to the skin very sheer, I don't have to worry about over doing it. It's not sticky, easy to blend and I can build up the color easily. I just use my finger gently tap it on to my cheeks so it won't mess up the already applied foundation and concealer. I do like that it is easy to use and how dewy it makes my skin looks, but I found that as it goes on to my cheeks, it turns warmer and more peachy color than how it looks in the container, the neutral baby pink.


Over all I do recommend the product coz the application and how natural looking it is, just wish that the color doesn't turn warmer when it's on the skin. I will be checking out more colors on their regular line since I do like the quality of the product. Do you like creamy blushes? Anything worth trying?

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My Small Etude House Lippie collection *LOVE*

Etude House VIP Girl Lipsticks. OR206, PK006, PK007 (from left to right)

I've been loving these lippes from Etude House lately. I actually have them for awhile just never got a chance to do a review. Etude House is Korean brand that is known for their cute package, good quality and affordable price. The lipsticks I got are from their VIP girl collection. The VIP girl lipsticks are around for awhile, they're all very bright, creamy and pigmented. I ordered mine from ebay since there is no store around me sell Etude House products.

I ordered my first one from an Ebay seller for $10 including shipping (from Korea), not too bad. Guess which is the first one I got? Yes, PK007, the nudest baby pink one, since it's my favorite type of color I thought it won't go wrong. After I received my first one, I was so impressed with the color, I went ahead and ordered 2 more colors.

These lipsticks are so creamy (remind me of MAC Cremesheen) and don't feel heavy on the lips which is a big plus for me! The staying power is good enough and they have this fruit scent that smell so yummy and not over powering. The color selections are kinda limited, around 7-8 shades as I remember... they are all very bright and candy like colors.

From left to right. OR206, PK006, PK007.

OR206 is bright coral pink, PKoo6 is bright hot pink, and PK007 is bright baby pink. I like PK007 the most and it is a really nude color. I think it has similar effect as YSL Rouge Volupte #7 Lingerie Pink. So if you like the YSL you will probably love this one. I will say it is right between YSL Lingerie Pink and MAC GaGa lipstick?

PK007

PKoo6

OR206

Etude House Peach Water Gloss in Peach Milk and Strawberry Milk (left to right)

I also ordered these lip glosses from the same seller. They are Etude House Peach Water Gloss, around $8 each (including shipping). I got the Peach Milk and Strawberry Milk. The Strawberry Milk is blue tone pink with shimmer and the Peach Milk is peachy pink color and no shimmer. Just like the name, they smell like peach and the consistency is not too thick, not sticky at all. They are kinda sheer but do show up on my lips. I like to layer them on top of the VIP lipsticks or just any pink lipsticks. They are comfortable on the lips and taste so good. I do like them alot.

Strawberry Milk(left) and Peach Milk

Over all I'm pretty impressed with these lippies. I was never a big fan of Asian drugstore cosmetics but now I want to try more coz I like these babies so much! Have you every tried any Etude House products or any of the Korean cosmetics? What's your favorite?

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Stila Trendsetting in Tokyo Travel Palette Review/FOTD

I was never a big fan of Stila and only own couple of their shadows before. Even tho I really like the concept of lip and cheeks convertible colors, I've never found a color I really love. I saw couple peoples reviews about these travel palettes and I was totally attracted by the convertible color(Sakura) in this pallet and decided to track it down. It's such a neutral baby pink that is not too cool or warm, I can see it works so well on my cheeks and lips.

Since I have no access to Ulta and I did not want to pay expensive shipping for this pallet on Stila.com, I pick this up at Urban Outfitter for $10, such a great buy for a Stila palette. It contains 4 eyeshadows and 1 convertible color.



I'd used it for a few times ever since I got it. What do I think? We all know that Stila's shadows are famous for their soft, buttery texture and vibrant color, but for these shadows, they are really not that great. They're like drugstore eyeshadows I have to say... they're not as pigmented as their regular line, and feel kinda chalky. My favorite color will be Sake, the light beige one, it has gold sheen and actually looks pretty when I pile it on.

The convertible color Sakura..... was a totally different story. I'm in LOVE with this color. It's such a lovely color which doesn't turn red on my cheek(most baby pink blushes do). The texture is so creamy and easy to blend, and I really really like it on my lips (more than cheeks)!

I hope that Stila will consider making this convertible color a permanent item, I will totally buy it over and over again even it is $25 (regular price). But $10 for this palette? it is a steal IMO just for the convertible color alone. I can be careless about the shadows, actually I might just cut it in half so the powders not gonna get into the blush cream. It always gets messy when they do the palette like this, not a very good idea...

Sakura. How lovely... love the name too :)

Here is me with the whole palette on my face. Kawai on the lid, Sake under brown bones and inner corner, the black color (no name) on my outer corner and Shibuya on lower lash line. Sakura convertible color on my cheeks and lips.

with flash...

I really like it on my lips :)

The Stila travel pallets are LE so grab them while you can ;)

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Foundation Routine - Missha Perfect Cover BB is LOVE

Missha Perfect Cover BB cream (NO.23), my new love!

I was kinda skeptical at first coz some of the BB creams make me look ashy and most of the BB creams in the market are for around NC30 or paler(I'm right around NC30-35). Since I became paler during the winter I decided to give BB a try. I was originally drawn to the Missha Perfect Cover BB cream because of its high SPF(SPF 42), I love that it is a multipurpose product, sun scream, anti aging cream, foundation and concealer... all in one, how great is that :) Here is the description on the tube -

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream actually come with 3 shades (#21 Light Beige, #23 Natural Beige and #31 Golden Beige) and #23 suits me the best. The consistency is very creamy, gives a light to medium coverage and very buildable. It is definitely heavier than tinted moisturizer but not as heavy as medium coverage foundation. It smells nice and feels very moisturizing. The color goes on a bit lighter at first but since it is self adjust to suit your skin tone, it blends in in like 5 mins. The finish is semi matte and the coverage is very buildable. Some days I use it alone for a quick coverage but most of the time I like to use my Sephora #55 Airbrush, mix 2 pumps of BB cream and a bit MAC Strobe cream, it gives me a natural, dewy look that I really like. After that I will dab some more BB cream on my under eye and the sun spots on my cheek bones and it covers quite well as concealer.

The most impressive thing is, I've been using it for couple of months now and I actually see the sun spots on my cheek bones faded quite a bit. This product does work!

I really love this product. I'd almost finished my first tube (already have a brand new one stand by) that's how much I love it :)

Using alone for more matte look or mixing with strobe cream for the dewy look.

Just a everyday look with my Missha BB cream :)

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Sephora Pink Ballerina Lip Gloss

I've been in love with these glosses lately -- Sephora Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss. I got a mini set from Sephora birthday gift a while ago, didn't think I would like them since I wasn't impressed with Sephora brand before. I decided to try them one day and can't stop wearing them since! After wearing MAC for so long and so used to their sticky glosses, these feel so fresh on. They're not sticky at all and taste like cherry candy.


Because they are not sticky, the staying power is not as good as mac or other stickier glosses but they're not too bad compare to the drugstore ones. I don't mind to reapply more frequent since they feel so comfortable on, plus, I think they really moisturize my lips.

Since I like the mini set so much. I pick up a full size one in Pink Ballerina. It's a very light baby pink. no shimmer. It goes well with all the baby pink lippies I have :)



I found myself leaning toward to cheaper brands when come to lip glosses, NYX mega shine, BBW's and now the Sephora ones...

What's your favorite glosses?

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NARS Cream Shadow/Drugstore Haul and FOTD

I'm a fan of NARS but never tried their cream shadows. I've heard some people hate it coz they crease real bad even with primer underneath. Since I love most of NARS stuff and the color is gorgeous, I decided to pick it up anyway to see if it will work for me.

Madagascar cream shadow

One side is peachy skin color that works great as all over base(similar to MAC Painterly PP) and the other side is a purplish brown taupe that works well with NARS eyeshadows like Ondine, Ashes to Ashes, Cairo or MAC Satin Taupe, Style Snob... If you are a fan of those taupey colors then you will love this duo.

I'd tried it a few times, it does crease but not terribly(depends on what you put on top and underneath). The shimmery taupe color crease more than the skin color on the left. If I put TFSI underneath first and put NARS/MAC shadows on top, they will last for about 4 hours before start creasing. I did try it once with drugstore shadows and it was a complete disaster.

I think this will be my one and the only NARS cream shadow... I decided to keep it coz the colors work really well with my collection and I just can't say no to taupe... haha. But seriously, MAC Paint Pots work so much better than these on any day!

I also pick up Night Breed single eyeshadow that I've been meaning to get for long time. Just a pure black with silver glitters. The pigmentation is really good and can be used wet or dry. I like how versatile it is and I can just bring it everywhere use it as shadow and liner.

NARS Night Breed

swatches from left to right
(Night Breed, Madagascar)

I also pick up a bunch of Maybelline at Rite Aid since they had BOGO. I got a back up of Lash Stiletto(My fave mascara of all time) and the Mineral power blush in Soft Mauve(this is love). Couple of shadow quads in Chai Latte and Velvet Crush, and the new color sensation lipsticks in Pink Please and Born with it.

I'm sorry to report that these shadows really have no pigmentation, you get what you pay for. But I do like the color combinations on the 2 quads I got. Velvet Crush is pretty, it looks gorgeous after I piled it on like 5 layers :)

The Mineral power blush is a different story. It lasts on my face whole day and the color is gorgeous. Soft Mauve looks like baby pink on my skin tone. Loooove :)

The lipsticks are ok. Born with it and Pink Please are basically the same colors, one with shimmer one without. They are the nudest baby pinks in the collection but not nude enough for me... they are creamy and pigmented tho.

NARS Madagascar(base)
NARS Cairo(lid)
MAC Folie(crease)
MAC Beauty Mark(Outer Corner)
MAC Vanilla(brow)
Maybelline Mineral power blush Soft Mauve(Cheeks)
Maybelline LS Born with it

Contest ends this Sunday... I'm excited :D

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VS Christian Siriano Silky Eyeshadow Sahara

So you all know I've been in love with VS makeup lately. After the Christian Siriano Kajal liner experience, I went to check out more of his stuff and found this amazing eyeshadow Sahara.

He came out with 5 limited edition eyeshadows with mostly neutral colors. The idea of his makeup line is Egyptian inspired and the compact sort of reminds me of pyramid. It comes with a small mirror inside and I think the packaging is just gorgeous. Of course for the $12 the material is not real metal but it is still a nice design.

VS Christian Siriano Silky Eye Shadow - Sahara

The texture of all his shadows are silky and soft(not as soft and wet as VS regular shadows) and very pigmented. Sahara is a neutral light champagne color with peachy tone, a bit shimmery but not over the top. It's very similar to MAC Grand Entrance and Stila Kitten. I own Kitten but don't use it much coz I found the color too frosty on my NC35 skin. On the other hand, Sahara is almost the same color with less frost and a tad warmer, works wonderfully as all over the lid or highlight on my skin tone!

Sahara all over the lids with MAC Antiqued at the outer corners and Blacktrack...voila! My perfect everyday look for work. I enjoy this shadow very much... plus it's kinda fun to play with the compact in my hand :)

Check out this shadow while you can... I think they are almost sold out in the store.


PS. Contest ends in 1 week... join if you haven't already ;)

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Taupes Comparison (MAC, NARS)

I pick up Style Snob from the new Starflash collection the other day and I immediately thought about my other taupey babies in the family so I wanted to do a comparison :) I'm always a big fan of taupey colors and my all time fave is the infamous MAC Satin Taupe. A metal, brownish taupe that MAC has it in every holiday smoky eye palette(I happened to have 3).

NARS single eye shadow Ashes to Ashes is a close dupe for Satin Taupe, just a bit less pigmented and a little less brown. One of my favorite NARS eye shadow.

NARS Cairo is a lighter and warmer taupe that can work as highlighter on darker skin tone. It's hard to describe this color... I use it all over the lid for a casual day.

MAC Style Snob looks similar to Satin Taupe from outside but definitely has more purple and pink when swatch on skin. I was immediately drawn to this color when I saw the collection. Haven't tried it on my eyes but I know it's gonna be gorgeous!



There are some other taupes in my collection, like MAC Sweet Sienna pigment(similar to Satin Taupe), MAC Family Silver(taupey silver), and MAC Shale(taupey purple) are also my favorites :)

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My Favorite Nude Lips (MAC, NARS, YSL)

Here are few of my fave lipsticks that I use on daily basis. I didn't put any of my fave MAC LE lipsticks here coz I haven't feel like using them much since they are hard to find (like 3N & St. Germain). All my favorites are in nude and baby pink family. I'm a big fan of pale lips and MAC has large selection of those and they are not overly pricey.

I have pigmented lips and tend to go for the finishes that have more coverage and none drying. MAC Creamsheen and Amplified are my favorite finishes, they're very moisturizing and give the most coverage (I do like Lustre but wish it has more coverage). Angel(frost) and Hue(glaze) are nice coz they are not as dry as other frost and glaze ones, and the prettiest baby pinks compliment almost all skin tones.

Blankety was my first nude lipstick since long time ago and I'm still loving it these days. I found it a little similar to Creme d'nude on my lips, just a tad more brown.

Angel and Cream Cup are almost the same. Angel is very smooth and not drying compare with other frost finishes. They are more pink compare with the rest but still lighter than my own lips.

Hue is a sexy color and it will be a 10 if it's not a Glaze. I do need to scrub my lips really well before I put this on. It's so preeeety on smooth and pouty lips. I'm hoping to find something that has exact color but in different finish... 

I'm also a big fan of NARS Chelsea girls lip lacquer. The color is almost identical to YSL Rouge Volupte #2 Sensual Silk. They are pinky beige, not as beige as Creme d'nude and not as pink as Angel. They are the perfect nude lips for me and they both give really good coverage. YSL has weak staying power but it has yummy melon taste and it's a pleasure to apply! These 2 are my perfect nudes (how many time I'm saying this, haha). I will always stick with them if I don't have so many MACs waiting for me to use :)

So this is it! my favorite nude lips... they are pretty much the same colors but I still want more! If you know something that's worth trying, do let me know ;)

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The Body Shop body butter pickups

I pick up 2 body butters at The Body Shop last week. As now they have 2 for $30 for all body butters promotion. So go pick them up while you can, only twice a year the sales girl said.


I love their body butters in general. I have dry skin all year round and these babies work the best. My all time favorite scents are Shea butter and Coconut.

Their shea butter has this really clean light scent that I never get tired of, and the coconut is the most natural and yummy coconut I've ever smell, not overly sweet and milky at all.

I use perfume on daily basis and these body butters works well with most of my perfumes. The Shea butter smells clean and the scent goes away pretty quickly. The coconut one works well with my summer perfumes, smells divine with the ones that has coconut and tropical fruit notes. After trying so many different body moisturizers, I keep going back for these. They are definitely my HG!

I also pick up a lip butter... I saw lollipop26 talked about it in her video so decided to check it out. It's not a very thick lip balm but it's moisturizing enough. It's dragon fruit flavor I believe and it tastes so yummy! I don't really use it underneath lipsticks as it is a bit runny.

I might take advantage of the sale and pick up a few more body butters :) Do you like them? What's your favorite?

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Florabundance is new love

I am all about nude lips and here is my latest found that I think it's worth mentioning -- MAC Florabundance Lipglass!


Since I already have full drawer of beige/pinkish nude products, I was searching for a more peachy nude lips for summer, something warmer for my summer tan skin.

I saw this one on the site and remember seeing a girl talking about it on Youtube so I decided to give it a try. Unlike other MAC cult fave nude lipglasses like C-thru, Underage and Oyster Girl... Florabundance is a much neglected and underrated product that I feel it should deserve more love. I don't remember how they describe it on MAC website, if Underage is milky baby pink, then Florabundance will be milky baby peach. It's very opaque and glossy.


And I have to say it does go on more even and smoother than C-thru and Underage. If you are like me love the opaque nude lipglasses but can't work with C-thru and Underage, definitely try this one.

Happy Friday everyone!

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Drugstore glow... LOVE!!!

Some glowing goodness that I found at drugstore -- Prestige Skin Loving Minerals bronzer in Glam Tan and Tokyo Rose lipstick.


Since I've been wanting to try a new bronzer, I came across to this baby - the infamous MAC MSF dupe. I've heard some good things about it and man...... I was surprised how pretty it is, I absolutely love it!

It gives the prettiest golden sheen, not as orangy as Warm MSF and not as rosy as So Ceylon, just the perfect gold. It is actually softer than MSF and very easy to apply. Maybe the staying power is not as good as MSF, but hey it is drugstore makeup, for the price and the prettiest sheen, i don't mind to reapply during the day :)

The Tokyo Rose LS is ok. It's frost finish and just give your lips a "I just came back from the beach" look. Not that special, I probably have many of the same things in my drawer already. But if you don't have something like this already, it is very pretty for a bronzy summer look!

Prestige Glam Tan bronzer on cheeks
Prestige Tokyo Rose on lips
UD Deluxe Palette(Peace/Zero) on lids

What's your new found love from drugstore? Aren't you just happy that you found something good unexpectedly :)

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Small Haul from Taiwan

Hello everyone!!! it's been so long! I was on vacation in Taiwan for a week and a half and I had so much fun! It was so humid there I didn't feel like doing much makeup at all but since I was in Taiwan I had to do some hauling :) I thought I would damage alot since it was the Mother's day promotion time during my stay, but surprisingly I didn't get anything at the department store cosmetic counters. I wasn't impressed with most of the skin care sets, although there are some good deals but I don't like the idea of been forced to get the things I don't need in the sets, I'm a very rational shopper :)

I did get some drug store items, some Asian brand mascaras that I've been wanting to try and the refills of my favorite makeup remover in much cheaper price.

The infamous Mojolica Mojolica mascara base and mascara III edition. People raved about their mascara all the time so I have to try it. I also got the Asia exclusive Revlon One Stroke Colorstay eye liner. It's water proof and it seems to be creamier and more black than the regular Colorstay eye pencil.

KOSE Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil refills. My favorite makeup remover. I did a review before. It was so cheap in Taiwan for about $5 a pack and I am so glad they sell the refills so I didn't have to carry all those bottles back to US :)

I've been using Kiehl's Ultra Facial Toner for a while. It's the most hydrated toner in their line. I found the Sana Soya Milk toner very similar to Kiehl's Ultra Facial Toner. They are both white and very similar in consistency, a little thick but not too thick, both are very hydrated and have very soothing smell. I'd used a few bottles of them and will continue using them. The Sana one is so much cheaper in Taiwan so I had to grab one :)

Couple things that I got before I went on my trip. My first YSL Rouge Volupte in #2 Sensual Silk. It's sooooo creamy and has this melon taste, soooooo yummy. #2 is a pinkish nude color(yup another pinkish nude) but the coverage is excellent, similar to NARS Chelsea Girls Lip Lacquer but much pleasant taste. Also since my Laguna is hitting pan, I decided to try a new bronzer -- Smashbox Bronze Lights in Suntan Matte. Kim Kardashian recommended this, and since I'm a big fan of her makeup I had to give it a try. It's matte and a little darker than NARS Laguna. So far I'm liking it.

Isn't this pretty? That was me and hubby on the beach, it was in a small town in Taiwan near where I lived when I was a kid.

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