asian cosmetics | Berries in the Snow

Review: Clio Lipnicure versus RiRe Lipmanicure

9. July 2014

// KBEAUTY / MAKE UP / AFFILIATE LINKS //

This will be a comparison between the highly raved Clio Lipnicure versus RiRe Lipmanicure, a rather unknown korean brand producing obviously a dupe for Clio’s product. Probably some of you were in the same situation like I was: in the past months I read over and over about a new lip product from Clio called Lipnicure. It promised to be very long lasting – I mean VERY long lasting! People were even complaining that it was too hard to remove afterwards. As a lipstick lover, especially for red shades, this got my attention, since I’m looking for a long lasting red lip product for ages. Finally, I bought Clio’s Lipnicure…to make a long story short: It didn’t convince me because it didn’t last long on my lips at all, instead it flaked off in chunks and tiny bits of dried lipstick. A while ago I heared about a dupe for Clio’s Lipnicure from the brand RiRe. Since I was so dissapointed about the one from Clio, I ordered a similar color from RiRe’s Lipmanicure in order to compare the two products. Read more about my thoughts:

Let’s start of with the packaging: both products come in a black colored cardboard box, even the font is placed similar and has a similar look. The packaging of the RiRe Lipmanicure is smaller than the one of Clio’s Lipnicure. I bought color No.7 from Clio Lipnicure called “tension red”. 10 shades are available in total here. From RiRe Lipmanicure I bought shade No. 5 called “muse red”. RiRe offers 7 different shades.

If we have a closer look at the packaging, we see that Clio’s cardboard box contains Korean and English description whereas RiRe’s cardboard box only is described in Korean.

The lip product itself comes in a bottle consisting of a black plastic cap and a clear body where the color of the product is visible. Here we have some differences in the design of the bottles. First, RiRe’s Lipmanicure bottle is smaller. It contains 3.7 g, Clio’s Lipnicure contains 4.7 g. RiRe ‘s Lipmanicure bottle has a rounded shape with a pointed cap, Clio’s Lipnicure looks like a regular nail polish bottle. Although, I personally like the shape of the RiRe Lipmanicure more, I must point out, that the plastic of Clio’s Lipnicure feels sturdier. Also, the cap has a click-mechanism to close the cap tightly, which RiRe doesn’t offer.

Due to the design and shape of the bottles, the applicator of RiRe’s Lipmanicure is shorter than in Clio’s Lipnicure. It has a flat applicator, in contrast to Clio’s doe foot applicator, which is curved. I preferr the straight applicator over the curved one, but this is something which depends on personal preference.

The color of both products is the same. I see no differences, especially after they dried. In the bottle the RiRe Lipmanicure looks a bit more orange than Clio’s “tension red”, but if you look at the swatches below, there is no real difference. One great difference is the scent of the two products: Clio’s Lipnicure has a light perfumed scent, it smells nice and doesn’t bother. RiRe’s Lipmanicure has a strong chemical scent, which fades away luckily, but is not nice at all. Both products have a matte finish after drying, so be aware that cracked or flaky lips are a no-go here. It is recommended to use a lip scrub before using these products. Both products are waterproof and transfer proof. They only get removed after using a makeup cleanser. Soap works, too, but takes longer :D Below you will see the swatches after I rubbed and washed my skin with a lot of warm water. As you can see, rubbing is a bit of an issue:

On the left swatch, you see, that Clio’s Lipnicure faded off in flakes. The RiRe Lipmanicure faded, too, but leaves a smear instead of flaking. So, basically, this is my main problem with Clio’s Lipnicure. If you use a red lipstick and is starts to flake of, you will be left with a red trace around your lips, like you are wearing only a lipliner around the mouth which is absolutely ugly. Here, RiRe does a better job, since it still leaves some stain, so you’ll have time to touch up before looking like a mess. Below, I did a little demonstration: I applied Clio’s Lipnicure on the left side and RiRe’s Lipmanicure on the right side. I drank and ate some little snacks and after 2 hours maximum I had the result which is shown in the third pannel.

You might argue, that it’s the fault of fatty food, but I can assure you, that I had the same effect with Clio’s lipnicure after 2 hours without eating or drinking. I applied the lipproduct before I went to work and when I arrived there, nearly all of it already was faded or I had some flaky bits all over my lips. I don’t know, if it is my lips, or if I have a strange batch of the product, but having the direct comparison between Clio’s Lipnicure and RiRe’s Lipmanicure in this intense shade (!) I have to say, that RiRe’s products fades away much nicer than Clio’s.

All in all, my personal favourite so far is RiRe’s Lipmanicure in “muse red”. I point out that I only tried this intense red shade for both products, thus it may be, that the lighter colors are different in their features. RiRe Lipmanicure is cheaper than Clio’s Lipnicure, which is reflected in the quality of the packaging, but the design of the tiny bottles is cuter than the design of Clio’s Lipnicure bottles. Also the chemical scent is a contra for RiRe, but if you don’t have a problem with scent and you want to try out this type of lip product, it is definitively the better choice. Clio’s Lipmanicure contains a bit more product, has a nice scent and a high quality packaging on the other hand, but performs poorly.

You can buy Clio’s Lipnicure at W2Beauty for US$ 18.89.

You can buy RiRe’s Lipmanicure here for US$ 7.69.

You did try RiRe’s Lipmanicure? What’s your experience with Clio’s Lipnicure? Do you have any favourite shades? Leave a comment if you like :)

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: My Beauty Diary Bird’s Nest Mask

8. July 2014

This is my favourite sheet mask so far: My Beauty Diary Bird’s Nest Mask! It took me quite some time to review it, because I’m always a bit lazy when it comes to sheet mask reviews, but here it is finally :) If you are a sheet mask lover you should definitively try out this mask and if you’d like to know my opinion about it, please continue reading my short review :)

My Beauty Diary is a well known Tawainese brand. Their sheet masks are amongst the most popular sheet masks, since they are effective and cheap in comparison to other brands. On their products site you can find detailled descriptions to each of their masks (in English!). The Bird’s Nest Mask is supposed to nourish, brighten, moisturize and firm the skin. Bird’s Nest Mask?! Yeah, that’s right. It is exactly what you think. So why use such an ingredient at all? Bird’s nest acid essence (Neuraminic Acid) promotes the production of Collagen, Elastin and Hyaluronic Acid and thus contributes to hydration and elasticity of the skin. Apart from this, the mask contains a couple of other ingredients. All the ingredients are green or yellow flagged according to COSDNA except for the pH adjuster Triethanol Amine. If you know that you had previously bad experience with this ingredient, be sure to make a test on your arms either or skip this mask at all.

While using this mask I discovered that the cotton sheet is soaked nicely with the essence, but isn’t dripping wet at all. This makes the application easy and less messy. It gives your skin a cooling and refreeshing effect while wearing and you can feel the moisture provided. After leaving it on for 20-30 minutes it starts to absorb into the skin. As soon as it is absorbed fully it does not feel sticky at all. Moreover, it doesn’t leave a film or looks greasy. But the best part of this mask is the touch of my skin, wich feels soft like silk. I think, this is the first mask were I also experienced a direct “wow” effect after one usage. I couldn’t stop touching my face afterwards *_* All in all, this is a great mask and absolutely recommendable! You can buy this mask from ebay for around 14 US$ per 10 pieces.

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Holika Holika Jewellight Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

5. July 2014

Here is another product review from Holika Holika. This time I’m showing you Holika Holika’s Jewellight Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. I reviewed previously the Holika Holika Jewellight Pencil Eyeliner, and like this, the Jewellight Liquid Eyeliner contain shimmering particles. I usually preferr liquid eyeliner over pencil type eyeliner, so I was curious how this eyeliner would perform, esoecially since I never tried a liquid eyeliner from Holika Holika.

Holika Holika is a korean brand with a magic like brand image. The products are designed to look pretty, and magical in their way. The Holika Holika Jewellight Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner has a simple, but girly design, with some ornament lines looking like jeweles or stars. There are 5 different shades available. I’m reviewing color 01 called black gem. The other colors available are brown, olive, purple and pink.

The Holika Holika Jewellight Waterproof Liquid Eyeliners claim to be pigmented and shimmering, moreover they are waterproof andare supposed to hold up against sweat, sebum and humidity. The cap of the eyeliner includes a brush with a fine tip.

The consistency of the liquid eyeliner is a bit watery. You have to shake it well, otherwise the pigmentation is weak. I expected the color to be blacker honestly. Also the glitter particles don’t spread evenly and when dried up, they can be the cause of cracking. Other than that the eyeliner is waterproof. It is also rubb proof as long as you don’t use water and rubbing together. In that case the eyeliner comes of in chunky bits.

All in all, if you like lighter eyeliners and you like glitter particles, you might like this product. If you preferr more pigmented eyeliners like I do, you won’t be statisfied here. I have to point out that the advantage of these liquid eyeliners from Holika Holika is, that they are really waterproof. It is also easy to remove the eyeliner simply by combining rubbing and water together. These eyeliners are cheap, too. They cost around 9 US$ from testerkorea.

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Innisfree Green Tea Pure Deluxe Kit

3. July 2014

// KBEAUTY / SKINCARE / AFFILIATE LINKS //

I received this Innisfree’s Green Tea Pure Deluxe Kit a while back during a giveaway and I was very happy about it. Innisfree’s Green Tea line is often talked about within the blogger communitiy and since green tea is a very beneficial ingredient I was especially curious how this would work, especially as a mini version of the complete skincare line, including toner, emulsion, cream, essence and sleeping pack. These kits are always a great way to test a special line if it works with your skin or doesn’t. Here is my impression on these products:

Innisfree is an eco-friendly korean skincare and makeup brand focusing on natural ingredients and recycle packaging. The design of their products is simply and neat and nicely reflects the ideology of the brand. The Green Tea Pure Deluxe Kit is a 4-free product, that means that it is free of 4 commonly used ingredients, which are not beneficial, most likely parabens, etc. I couldn’t find any english ingredients list, so I don’t have the exact information for you, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, the key ingredient in this line is Jeju Green Tea. On Innisfree’s official web page you’ll find the following description:

“Green Tea Pure Line with the clean and clear moisture of 100% Jeju Organic Green Tea Water: The vitality and condensed moisture of green tea grown on the organic green tea field of the pure island of Jeju, refine the skin for clarity and suppleness.”

As I stated above, the kit constists of the Innisfree Green Tea Pure Skin (toner), Innisfree Green Tea Pure lotion (emulsion), Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream, Innisfree Green Tea Pure Sleeping Pack and Innisfree Green Tea Pure Seed Serum. I used the items for my daily routine as this: toner, emulsion, cream. During my night routine I used: toner, serum, emulsion, sleeping pack. Of course it depends on your skintype how your routine works best. It may be, that cream and emulsion are to much for oily skin for example. My skin is rather dry, so I used emulsion and cream together.

Let’s start with the toner and the emulsion.

These two items come in two miniature plastic bottles, as do also the full size products. The plastic appears sturdy. The Innisfree Green Tea Pure Skin is a gel-type clear toner. It contains tiny particles which disolve while applying onto the skin. This makes it feel grainy during the application first. But the toner absorbs quickly and since the grains dissolve the only thing which lingers is the scent of green-tea mixed with some fruity/flowery scent. It is a nice scent, but if you don’t like scents at all, I wouldn’t recommend you this line at all. In principle all the products have this scent.

The Innisfree Green Tea Pure Lotion is a milky emulsion, which absorbs really fast into the skin. It is not sticky and doesn’t leave a greasy feeling. The skin feels instantly smooth and firmer. It has the same scent as the toner.

Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream:

The Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream also contains some grains, but in contrast to the grains in the toner, you don’t feel these on your skin. This cream is a good moisturizer and feels very refreshing. In contrast to the emulsion, the cream takes a bit more to absorb, but once it is absorbed, it isn’t sticky either. The cream gives you really that glow you get after being well moisturized. The deluxe sample comes in a mini jar, which is really nice.

Innisfree Green Tea Pure Seed Serum

The Green Tea Pure Seed Serum is a geltype serum, which is lightly milky. The consistency is thicker than of the toner. After it absorbs it is not sticky at all. It feels like adding some moisture, but not a lot (so this might be good for combination/oily skin?). Again, it has the same green-tea scent of the other products. The set included 6 of these ampoules. Each ampoule was for one usage only. The other products of the kit are more often usable, so it would have been nice, if the set included also more of these serum ampoules. The fullsize product comes in a pump bottle.

The last product is the Innisfree Green Tea Pure Sleeping Pack

The sleeping pack in this kit comes in a tube (the fullsize product comes in a jar). Also here, we have tiny beads. The beads dissolve while massaging the pack into your skin. The sleeping pack doesn’t absorb quickly, but it takes some time, but since you put it on before sleeping it doesn’t matter after all. The skin feels a bit sticky, too, but this is also a minor problem for a sleeping mask. On the next day the skin feels soft and refreshed. Also here, I really like the green tea scent, especially before going to bed. It is so relaxing.

My total impression about Innisfree Green Tea Pure Line is quite positive. My favourite products are the sleeping pack and surprisingly the emulsion. I’m rarely using emulsion during my skincare routine, only if I’m testing a specific skincare line as a whole like now. This emulsion made my skin so soft and firm, I really enjoyed using it ♥ The scent is also nice if you like green-tea scents. That’s why I like the sleeping pack aswell. It is so relaxing to use. Most important, none of the products gave me any breakouts or irritations :)

Also, Innisfree refreshed their Green Tea Line. The line is now divided into Green Tea Fresh (oily skin), Green Tea Balancing (normal/combination skin) and Green Tea Moisture (dry skin), which is a good idea. I think the former line will resemble most likely the new balancing line. I would suggest you to browse through W2Beauty for all the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Shiseido Hada Senka Hoshitsu Lotion

30. June 2014

A while ago I baught some Japanese skincare and beauty products, but I never found the time to edit the pictures I had taken. Finally, I managed to write the review on Shiseido Hada Senka Hoshitsu Lotion :) This is a basic toner, from Shiseido’s drug store brand Hada Senka.

First of all, as I said, Hada Senka is a drugstore brand from Shiseido. The product range is not expansive and directed towards younger people, since it is a basic skincare line. Also, since it is a japanese brand they use slightly other terms than korean brands do. This product is called a “lotion”, but that doesn’t mean that we have a liquid form of cream here, but it is the equivilant to korean toner or sometimes also called “skin”. That means, that the lotion is used as first step of the skincare routine, after cleansing. This product is also available in two forms, a light version and a heavy version and you can differentiate them according to the color of the cap (pink for the heavy version and white for the light version). I’m showing you the heavy version for dry skin.

I bought this as a promotional kit, which is why it came with travel size samples of the Hada Senka Perfect Whip and the Perfect Watery Oil. Also, the set contained samples of the Hada Senka Milk, which is the emulsion from this skincare line. The description of the product is unfortunately only in Japanese. You can find the ingredients listed on COSDNA, too. The key ingredients for moisturization are hyaluronic acid and royal jelly extract. This is also the main reason I wanted to buy this moisturizing toner, because I love the effect of skincare products with hyaluronic acid, since it provides the skin with moisture. The ingredients are safe to use according to COSDNA, but if you have very sensitive skin be aware that this toner contains alcohol.

The tones comes in a hard plastic bottle, which appears sturdy. It is milky plastic, so you can see how much is left inside the bottle if you see through it against the light. The bottle comes with a simple cap with a small hole for dispensing, but the application works nice and it is not difficult to get the product out of the bottle. The packaging is not very special, I would rather say the packaging is super boring, but it shows the simplicity of the product. Since shiseido Hada Senka is a cheaper branch of Shiseido I can live with the boring packaging on the other hand.

As I said, this is a moisturizing toner containing hyaluronic acid. It does exactly what it claims to do and provides the skin with moisture. The toner is geltype, so it is not completelly liquid. It has a light alcoholic scent when you pour it out, but the scent dissapears quickly and leaves a scentless product. The lotion absorbs quickly and is not sticky after absorbing. The skin feels soft after apllication. I like this toner a lot. I especially liked to put a few drops of the O.S.T Vitamin C serum in my palm and mix it with the toner. This worked very well! Moreover, this toner has a PH of 5, which makes it work gerat together with active ingredients like vitamin C or BHA/AHAs.

Overall, the Shiseido Hada Senka Hoshitsu Lotion is a solid basic lotion with a good pH (weak acidity). It works good with skincare routines containing actives, too! Unfortunatelly, it contains alcohol, so if you have sensitive skin make a patch test before. I bought the promotional kit at Adamsbeauty and it is still available. It costs around 10 US$, which is quite cheap for a japanese product. The great thing is, that there are refills available which makes it very environmental friendly, too. I can totally recommend you to give this affordable product a try!

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Laneige Waterbank Eye Gel

28. June 2014

Today’s review will be on Laneige’s Waterbank Eye Gel, a gel type eyecream claiming to be extra moisturizing. Laneige has a whole skincare line named “Waterbank” for moisturizing skin. I had a couple of samples for this cream and here is the impression this eye cream left to me.

The main color of this line is blue, therefore the fullsize product comes in a blue colored jar. The fullsize contains a spatula, too, in order to be able to leave the product in the jar as hygienic as possible. I don’t know how much product is contained in each sample sachet but each sachet had enough eye cream to be used a couple of days, since you only need a tiny bit for the skin around your eyes.

This eyecream claims to be moisturizing and also vitalizing. The ingredients list is quite long, but most of them are green flaged according to COSDNA. The sample sachet contained ingredients in English, and also the directions were in English, which is great.

As to the consistency of the eye cream: it is a milky gel type cream, which reminds of a balm. Also the feeling of the gel is more like a balm, than a gel/cream. As soon as it is worked into the skin, it feels like turning into water. It feels moisturizing and refreshing on the same time, while absorbing fast into the skin. Also the moisturizing effect stays for the whole day. I had the feeling my eye area was still hydrated at the end of the day, when I applied the cream in the morning ♥ The scent is the typical scent you might know from Laneige. It is fresh and soapy, without being to strong and irritating.

All in all, I didn’t expect this cream to be such a good moisturizer, but it is! I love the effect and how the effect is still noticeable at the end of the day. If you are looking for a really good moisturizing eye cream, then I would recommend you to buy Laneige Waterbank Eye Gel. The only downside is, that it is a bit expensive, since it is from Laneige. But since one does not need a lot of eyecream per day, I think that the fullsize jar will go a long way until it is empty. I’m seriously thinking of buying the jar as soon as I have finished my other opened eyecreams. You can buy Laneige Waterbank Eye Gel at ebay for around 40 US$.

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Missha Magic Cushion Case

24. June 2014

// KBEAUTY / MAKE UP / AFFILIATE LINKS //

Can you believe that this is finally the first time I bought a cushion product?! The foundation/bb cushion trend goes on for quite some time now, but caused by a huge pile of BB/CC cream tubes I resisted the urge to buy a new one, even if the packaging type was highly raved about. After all, I decided to try another kind of cushion product: Missha’s Magic Cushion Case! Yes, you read correctly, it is only a case! More precisely, it is a case for your own D.I.Y. BB Cushion!

The typical BB Cushion is a compact like case containing BB cream or foundation absorbed by a sponge (cushion). Using a puff you can apply the BB cream in a very lightly and natural appearing way. Almost all Korean brands carry their own cushion products by now. Mishha’s Magic Cushion Case on the other hand gives you the possibility to create and mix your own and favourite BB/CC cream or foundation in such a cushion case. I love this idea, since it gives you the possibility to use up your existing bb creams before starting to hoard various different cushion bb creams ;)

The instruction on Missha’s Magic Cushion Case Cardbox packaging is written in Korean only, but after some search online you’ll find out how to use it, although the images on the box are self-explanatory. In principle you have to fill the container of the cushion case, add the cushion, and wait a couple of minutes while the sponge absorbs the bb cream. I put mine upside down. Afterwards you can start dabbing your puff onto the soaked cushion. Depending on the fluid-y of the used bb cream the soaking process is quicker or slower…I would say the liquid bb/cc creams are best suited for these D.I.Y. cushions.

Missha’s Magic Cushion Case is made of a sturdy plastic compact, with an included mirror. Parts of the case are metallic/silver and prone to fingerprints. The case itself closes tightly and so does the plastic lid protecting the cushion and separating it from the puff and the mirror.

The cushion and the puff are packed separately when you receive them. The puff looks like the typical cushion puff, with a blue colored side and white colored side with an attached finger strap (is this how you call that thingy?). The puff has a very soft feeling to it.

Below you can see how I used my Magic Cushion Case. I created a mix of Skinfood’s Vita Water Drop CC cream and Innisfree Jejubija Anti Trouble BB cream. For mixing the creams together I used a Q-tip of which I cut the cotton part off (keep in mind that you have to add the cushion on top, so don’t fill the pan up completely).

After creating your personal mixture, you’ll simply have to add the cushion and wait for the BB/CC cream to absorb and your own BB Cushion is ready to go!:)

What do you think? Would you like to create your own Cushion foundation in this way? Or do you prefer the ones, which are ready to us? I think this is a great way to use BB creams which don’t match alone but in combination with other creams. The pan is ideal for mixing up your desired BB/CC creams together. All in all, I really do like this case and the idea and I can recommend you to try it for yourself.

Did anyone try out these kind of D.I.Y. cushion cases?

You can get this case at W2Beauty for US$ 17.79. There is also a ready refill for it, which can be used instead of an own BB cream. It is called Missha UV Cushion Base. It has SPF 50 and costs US$ 9.50 for two sachets containing 7 ml of the bb cream. It is available in two shades.

♥ Btw: Don’t forget to enter my giveaway spnsored by MeMeBox. You’ll get the chance of winning some awesome prizes. ♥

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asian cosmetics beauty PR Sample review Wishtrend

Review: ONL Saladit Essential Juice Sheet Masks ♥sponsored♥

14. June 2014

It’s a whole bunch of sheet mask for today’s post. I present ONL Saladit Essential Juice Sheet Masks, a set of sheet masks available at Wishtrend. I’ve been trying to reduce my sheet mask stash and I have managed to have only 5 left. Can you imagine this?! :D Time to buy new ones, haha! These sheet masks from ONL are dedicted to different vegetables and help to nourish and care for your skin each in it’s specific way. I tried all of them for you and here is my impression: