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Etude House Pink Bird Box December “Play 101 Sticks”

4. January 2016

As promised on my Instagram account I will start this week with one of my three unboxing posts: The Etude House Pink Bird Box for December is fully dedicated towards the new cooperation of Etude House with makeup artist Pony. They recently have launched a new series of products called the Play 101 Sticks. If you are curious about some of Etude House’s newest product continue reading, but be aware that this post is picture-heavy, similar to the previous post about the Etude House Pink Bird Box. :D

First of all, some words about the Korean brand Etude House: Etude House is one of the best known Korean brands for cute packaging. If you are a lover of cute, girly and pink packaging, reminding you of being a child and the princess you always dreamt to be, THIS is your brand. Their packaging is usually so adorable that you cannot keep yourself from impuls-buys – only because you saw the packaging… Etude House has a blogger program called Pink Bird. Selected blogger will receive a monthly box for a defined period of time packed with selected products for reviewing purpose. I’m really proud and happy to be part of their Pink Bird program!

I was so excited to see the products for this month since it contains the products from the new collaboration of Etude House with one of my favourite Korean make-up artists Pony. The box contained a Play 101 Stick Foundation, two different Play 101 Stick Multi-Color, the Play 101 Stick Contour Duo, and the Play 101 Stick Brush. A couple of samples for the upgraded Etude House Moistfull Collagen Cream and an Eyebrow Guide Minibook were included additionally.

The new Play 101 Sticks Series consists of four different shades of the Multi-Stick Foundation. Then there are 6 different colors for the Multi-Color Sticks which can be used on Lips and Cheeks for example. Apart from these 10 Play 101 Sticks there is also a Contour Duo and a Brush available in this new collection. All together it is a very versatile useable collection and it already caught my attention when I spotted these on Etude House Facebook page for the first time.

There are also two Youtube tutorials with Pony where she explains two different looks which can be created with the Etude House Play 101 sticks. The looks are called “Slim & Small Look” and “Bohemian Look“. It seems you can create a lot of amazing looks with the Etude House Play 101 Sticks! I received the sticks in shade 01 (multi-stick foundation), 11 and 13 (multi-color sticks). The packaging design of the Play 101 Sticks is similar to the Play 101 Pencils. The cardboard boxes also have descriptions in English (click below to enlarge), but you can also find the descriptions and ingredients on the global Etude House page.

The Etude House Play 101 Multi-Stick Foundation is available in 4 shades. Shade 01 is the lightest shade of the foundations. It is an okay match for my skin tone, but 02 would be even better probably. This Multi-Stick Foundation works similar to other stick foundations. You have to apply stokes on your face and blend it in with a sponge or brush (or fingers). The foundation has a convenient twist-up mechanism. like all the Play 101 Sticks.

The Etude House Play 101 Multi-Color Sticks have a very versatile use. You can use them as blush on your cheeks, but they are also useable on the lips or eyelid. Shade 11 is not my favorite color to use on the lips, but it can be used to contour the cheekbones, or as a brownish blush, but also as eyeshadow base color.

Shade 13 is a light pink color with golden shimmer. This is my absolute favorite of the three Play 101 Sticks! The color s super pretty as blush, but also gives your lips a nice shine. It can be used as sparkling/highlighting eyeshadow, too. The color is sooo lovely!

The Etude House Play 101 Stick Contour Duo is a double-ended twist-up crayon. It is not a bold stick like the previous ones, but a more narrow crayon. Also here you will find the English description on the cardboard box and on the official site.

One side of the Contour Duo is a white-cream colored highlighter, the other one is a brown contouring shade. The caps for both sides are clear plastic caps, so you can see the color of the end you are using.

The Play 101 Multi-Stick Foundation has a heavy cream formula. It blends in, drying matte and powdery. The Play 101 Multi-Color Sticks on the other hand are very creamy and remind me of the 3CE Creamy Cheek Blusher, which was in my Top 30 Favorite Cosmetics list for 2015. The Multi-Color Sticks are much more easy to blend in than the Foundation Stick. Also the Contour Duo is creamier and more blendable than the foundation.

In order to apply the foundation you can either use your favorite foundation blush or a sponge, or you can use the brush Etude House offers, the Etude House Play 101 Stick Brush. It is a short brush which comes in a plastic zip-lock bag. It has the perfect size for travelling, which makes the whole Etude House Play 101 line a perfect travelling makeup: Easy to use, twist-up mechanism, versatile.

Below you can see how the products look when used on my face. Unfortunately, the foundation is too powdery and heavy to be blended in nicely into my skin. Probably it works better for people with oily or normal skin. For me, it doesn’t look like it melts into the skin, but more like a layer on top of my skin, which I do not like. The other products work perfectly find. I even applied the Multi-Stick in shade 13 on my lips and it really looks pretty and gives a rosegold sheen. It also looks nice on top of your favorite lipstick for example.

All in all, I really like the concept of the Etude House Play 101 Multi-Sticks! I’m not a fan of the Foundation Stick though, because it doesn’t properly blend into my skin and looks to powdery for my liking. The Contour Duo is super convenient to use, and I love the Multi-Stick in shade 13 because of the color. Definitively, you should try one of the Etude House Play 101 Multi-Sticks at least. I’m very happy with the Etude House Play 101 Sticks after all! Did you try any of the products already? Tell me about it in the comments below!

Etude House Pink Bird

Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.etudehouse.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty BNTnews PR Sample review

Review: Too Cool For School Art Class by Rodin

5. May 2015

// PR SAMPLE / KBEAUTY / AFFILIATE LINKS //

I saved my favourite item from April’s BNTbox for last, and here it is, the Too Cool For School Art Class by Rodin contouring powder! If you have read my blog previously you will know that I’m a huge fan of the Korean design cosmetic brand Too Cool For School. They have the most creative packaging design and illustrations. When I saw this product I was absolutely in love from the first moment! ♥

Too Cool For School is a Korean brand, known for a unique packaging design. Their products are in the mid-pricey region and slightly more expansive than Etude House for example. The packaging design of the Too Cool For School Art class products is dedicted to the arts. I reviewed one of the art class cream blushes in the past, which came in a tube packaging, similar to the tubes painting colors are packed. Below you can see the georgeous packaging of the cardboard box of the Too Cool For School Art Class by Rodin contouring powder, or in french “créateur du contour”:

This contouring powder helps you to shade and sculpture you face, as if you were August Rodin himself. The french sculptor Rodin was the progenitor of modern sculpture and is the inspiration for this product from Too Cool For School. The powder comes in a usual compact, wrapped by transparent paper and labelled with a “by Rodin” sticker. Too Cool For School makes all efforts to show how much love for the detail they put into their products. ♥

The cardboard box has written Korean and English instructions on the backside, suggesting to either mix the three colors of this contouring powder or use them separately to shade the facial features like nose, cheeks and hairline. The inside of the cardbox reveals the story behind this product labelled “by Rodin”. I especially like the idea of giving some information about the concept of the design of a certain product by hiding them inside the cardboard packaging.

Let’s have a closer look at the contouring compact itself:

The compact has the same design like the cardboard packaging and looks super pretty on its own. The back of the compact displays the shelf-time of the product and the production date.

I was looking for a contouring powder for quite some time, but I had the feeling that the shades were either too dark or only came in one shade alone. This contouring powder contains three different shades, reaching from a light one, to a darker shade. The compact comes with a mirror in the lid which is protected from the fall-off powder by a transparent plastic sheet labelled with the word “artclass”.

The shades fit light to medium skintones and are not too yellow-y, neither too pink, which I like especially. The powder is very light and transparent, especially once blended into the skin. I needed a couple of swatches to make the colors show properly on the back of my hand. In order to have a natural contouring effect it is important to have not too pigmented shades, because it makes it easier to blend in. Also, if you are a contouring newby like me, you can make less mistakes in that way.

When I’m using the Too Cool For School Art Class By Rodin contouring powder I make use of all three shades. I use the darkest shades for accentuating the arch reaching from the beginning of the eyebrow to the bridge of my nose. I mix the darkest and the middle shade for contouring the nose and use the middle shade to blend it into the sides of my nose. I also mix the middle and the darkest shade for drawing a line at my cheekbones. For the hairline and trhe sides of my face and my jawline I mix all three shades and use them there. You can find some nice images on Too Cool For Schools official site were the areas you can use the powder are shown.

I’m totally happy with Too Cool For School Art Class By Rodin and my search for a contouring powder has finally ended! And I’m definitively recommending you this contouring powder, if you are looking for one and the shades in this palette suit your skintone. Too Cool For School Art Class By Rodin retails for 12800 Won at testerkorea, for 13.02 US$ at KoreaDepart, and for 21.01 US$ from W2Beauty.

This product was provided to me by BNTnews for reviewing. Don’t forget to visit the other BNTGirls Doris, Joanne, Alene and Bella and check out their reviews. And visit BNTnews for the latest Korean news and trends:

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And here is my rating for the Too Cool For School Art Class By Rodin:

Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.bntnews.co.uk/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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