sponsored Archive | Page 12 of 18

asian cosmetics beauty BNTnews PR Sample review

Review: Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program Part 1

5. June 2015

If I’m buying cosmetics I’m usually on the hunt for budget cosmetic finds. I’m not a person longing for luxury cosmetic brands, because in my experience the cheaper ones do a good job, too. When I received the May BNT Beauty Box there was one item which looked like a high-end brand to me from first glance: the Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program. This anti-wrinkle kit is a skincare program designed for 28 days of use in order to boost your skin with Jeju horse oil and EGF for a timeless and younger looking skin. This is probably the most expensive cosmetic product I have tried in my life so far! In this post I will show you the content of this kit and include my first impression. I didn’t use it for the full 28 days yet, so I will be making a second review part for this product, where I will take a closer look at the ingredients and show you some before and after pictures (if there is any difference). First, let’s take a breath and look at this amazing and elegant packaging:

Coréana is quite a well known Korean company with the motto “art through nature”. It has quite a variety of brands, like Senite or Biodefense and many more. Sho is one brand of Coréana using horse oil as key ingredient. Horse oil or “Mayu” has been very popular in Korea in the last months, esecially during winter, because of its deeply moisturizing properties. The Sho EGFactor line combines the horse oil with EGF in order to have even more anti-aging properties. This Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program contains two items: an ampoule and eyecream.

The items are packed in a beautiful box, in golden and brown colors. It is a hologram on the box, so you see if it is an original product or a fake. The logo of Sho shows a horse and reflects the key ingredient. You can flip open the lip and you will find the logo with the horse inside aswell. the inside of the box has a golden color, too.

You can already tell from the packaging that this is a more expensive product. The is even a transparent paper with golden imprints to separate the lid of the box from the products.

Finally, you’ll find the ampoules and the eye creams inside. There are two seringe shaped eyecream containers and 28 small vials with the ampoule. To be honest, I thought there would be one eye creeam container and I was totally surprised to see the two seringes inside the box.

Even for the products the colors are in brown and golden. The eyecreams even have some beautiful golden embroided ornaments and really look pretty.

Ususally, the eyecreams I have used were either packed in a regular tube, or a jar. I have never seen an eyecream packaging like this.

You can twist one end of the seringe to open or close it and by pressing on that end you can push out some eyecream from the tube.

The material is plastic, but it seems good quality plastic, too. If you press down the bottom you’ll get a nice dollop of the eyecream, which is more than enough for the eyes. The eyecream is a creamtype one, which is supposed to treat and brighten the eye area through a soft, easily absorbed texture that suits even sensitive eyes. The eyecream has a light floral scent and absorbs quite quickly. It doesn’t feel greasy or heavy. Each of the eyecream seringes contains 10 ml of eye cream.

The ampoules contain 2 ml and each ampoule is designed for one use. The 2 ml seem small but it is more than enough for the face AND the neck. The ampoule is designed to prevent the skin from dryness while preserving oil-moisture balance. In order to open these small vials you have to push aside the golden cap. I found it quite difficult to open so far, but maybe I’ll get the hang of it :’D

The consitency of the ampoule is not oil-like, but rather like a gel-type emulsion. It has a clear, light golden color. It is a bit sticky and takes quite some time to absorb, but it isn’t greasy at all. The scent is the same floral scent as the eye cream has.

As I said at the beginning: I didn’t use the Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program for many days, so I cannot tell you any details about how effective it is yet. So far I didn’t react negatively and I’m really curious if there is any difference after the 28 days of use :D As for the packaging and the overall design, this kit is definitively eyecandy! I hope this first impression made you curious to read my second part of this review in a couple of weeks. I will include the ingredients and give a final verdict for this product then. What is your first impression on this anti-aging kit? It may be a pretty present for next mother’s day, do you agree?

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

Official Page |Tumblr | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

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.

5 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty PR Sample q-depot review

Review: The Face Shop Face It Power Perfection BB Cream

3. June 2015

// PR SAMPLE / MAKEUP / AFFILIATE LINKS //

It’s been some time since my last BB cream review, although BB creams are why I started blogging in the frst place. There are so many to try, especially in the asian market, and The Face Shop Face It Power Perfection BB Cream is one of them. This BB cream is supposed to be a total skin treatment with lifting, moisturizing and correcting properties. and was send to me by a new Korean cosmetics online store named Q-depot.

The Face Shop is a Korean brand that “shares the benefits of nature”. It launched in 2003 in Korea and tries to bring together science and nature in their cosmetics products. They have a huge range of items and most of the items I tried from this brand I actually did like. The Face Shop Face It Power Perfection BB Cream is an all-rounder BB cream formulated with omega-3 and vita skin complex to nourish and moisturize your skin. The BB cream comes in 2 shades: 01. bright beige and 02. natural beige. I received shade 02. The BB cream also has SPF37 and PA++ and has some sun protection properties.

The Face shop Face It Power Perfection BB Cream is also available in two sizes. You can get either a smaller tube of 20 ml, or the larger tube as I’m showing here with 40 ml of product. Both versions are packed in tubes with a pump dispenser, which is the best way to pack a BB cream in my opinion (apart from Pacts/Cushions). The signature color of this BB cream is purple and the tube looks quite elegant in my eyes. It is not something fancy or super cute, but it looks nice on the shelf, too.

The cardboard box packaging contains English and Korean description. You can find the ingredients on COSDNA, too. They are mostly green labelled and safe to use. Since this BB cream has a SPF 37/PA++ it contains titanium dioxide, zinc oxide and ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate for UV protection. It also contains niacinamide and other some plant extracts and moisturizing ingredients. This BB cream has a shelf life of 12 months after opening.

As you can see, the tube has a pump dispenser which is protected by a clear, purple colored plastic cap. The amount of one pumping is usually enough for the whole face, let’s say 1.5 pumps if you need some corrections and whant to cover your neck, too. It is super easy to use and the pump works prefectly fine.

Below you can see a swatch of The Face Shop Face It Power Perfection BB Cream in shade 02. natural beige. I swatched it on my hand. It looks quite light in the image and also lighter than my skintone, but can be blended in to fit. The consistency of this BB cream is quite creamy. It has a matte finish and a medium-high coverage, which can be layered. The BB cream has a light floral scent, like most BB creams do.

Below you can see my face before and after the application of the BB cream. I don’t have skin troubles in terms of many pimples, but my skin is not even colored and I have some redness here and there. I have used my regular creams/skincare in the “before” image already. After using the BB cream my skin looks more even and the color differences of my skin are corrected. Although it has a matte finish and my skin is usually quite dry it didn’t get flaky and looked nice even after 6 hours. Also, it didn’t have a white or greyish cast after using it. The texture isn’t heavy either, despite the fact that the BB cream has a creamy consitency.

My conclusion for The Face shop Face It Power Perfection BB Cream is, that this is a good and solid BB cream and nice for daily use. If you are looking for a BB cream with matte finish you might want to try this, even with nomal/dry skintypes. I would not say that it is the most moisturizing BB cream I have tried, but it isn’t heavy and isn’t drying. Nevertheless, I would not skip using your regular skincare creams before :D

You can get this BB cream at Q-Depot for 25.79 US$. The smaller tube of 20 ml costs only 15.29 US$, which is quite a regular price for BB creams of that size. They offer free worldwide shipping from 69 US$ onwards. Also, they have a promotion were you can get 5 US$ coupon upon signing up for a minimum purchase of 69 US$.

It is also available here:

W2Beauty for 25.97US$ (use coupon code berries10 for additional 10% off and free shipping)

Amazon.com for 20.74US$

Amazon.de for 19.03€

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://q-depot.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

16 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty BNTnews PR Sample review

Review: Forencos Selene Project Silk Mask Series

1. June 2015

As a child I’ve been very curious about ancient cultures, like the egypt, roman or greek. I read so many children’s science books back than and I knew many of the facts by heart. Today, I almost forgot everything, but nevertheless the topic still makes me very curious. I received this Forencos Selene Project Silk Mask series with my BNT News Box a couple of weeks ago and- apart from the fact that I love sheet mask- this mask series made me very excited because it has sheet masks for each day of the week related to the greek gods who are behind them.

Forencos is a Korean brand which sells enviromental cosmetics since 1988. The brand has quite a range of skincare and makeup products, but in the internationally known skorean online shops they don’t have a lot of products from this brand, which is why it is quite unknown. They have 7 main issues within their brand philosophy: skin rejuvenating, skin refreshing, skin revitalising, skin relieving, skin regeneration, skin revival and skin resolution.

The Forencos Selene Project Silk Mask Series is a sheet mask series containing 7 sheet mask for daily use. Normally, I do not use sheet masks daily, but I heard many (koreans) do that. Honestly, on most of the days I forget or I’m to lazy, tired or busy :D Having a sheet mask series like the Forencos Sele Project Silk Mask Series is great, because each of the sheet masks is themed for a day of the week and each weekday is translated to the ancient greek good for that specific day. This way even a person like me is motivated to keep using the sheet mask on a daily basis.

As you can see from the images, each of the 7 sheet masks comes in a different color and has a different key ingredient. These sheet masks consist of two steps. Each mask has a sachet with a mask base ampoule attached, which contains 2 ml and is used before applying the sheet mask. The week starts with Tuesday, the Forencos Hephaestus Volcanic Ash Detox Silk Mask. Hephaestus was the ancient greek’s god of metallurgy, fire and volcanoes, which make Jeju volcanic ashes the key ingredient of the mask. Volcanic ashes eliminate dead skin cells and clean and contract pores. Wednesday‘s mask is dedicted to Poseidon: The Forencos Poseidon Caviar Moistuire Silk Mask will provide your skin with moisture and increase the collagen production. The key ingredient are caviar extracts which have a similar texture to skin it in terms of amino acids, minerals and vitamins. On Thursday it is the Dryas Tee Tree Relax Silk Mask. Australian indigenes were already using tea tree leaves to cure infectious diseases. Tea tree oil, the key ingredient here, is amazing at calming and soothing the skin.

On Friday you can use the Forencos Midas Gold Regenerating Silk Mask, which treats wrinkles and helps blood circulation while delivering minerals with 24k pure gold. For Saturday the Forencos Gaia Mayu Elastic Silk Mask helps to make the skin more elastic. Mayu, or horse oil, is similar with human sebum and helps control its secretion. It also contains ceramide for skin regeneration and elasticity. Forencos Helios Black Pearl Whitening Silk Mask is dedicted to Sunday. Pearl was even loved by Cleopatra for its high mineral and amino acid concentration as well as for the bioactive substances it contains. It reinforces skin’s immunity and acidity for a bright complexion. Last but not least, the week ends with Forencos Selene Swallaw’s Nest Total Care Silk Mask on Monday. Swiftlet’s bird nest contains 2000 times more sialic acid that human saliva and 200 times more than royal jelly for a total turnover: moisture, elasticity, skin tone, it cleans and protects the skin (if you are interested in other bird’s nest products read my review on SNP Bird’s Nest Aqua Eye Patches >>here<<).

Unfortunatelly, apart from the sheet mask names you’ll not find any other English description here. Everythink is written in Korean, even the ingredients. I would have loved to read more about that specifically, since the advertised key ingredients sound nice. As I said, these masks consists of two steps, a base ampoule and the sheet mask. Each sheet mask sachet shows in an image how to use the ampoule in a first step and add the sheet mask on top. The Hephaestus Volcanic Ash Detox Silk Mask is the only exception as it seems (at least this is what I interpreted from the images). First of all, this mask is the only one which is soaked in a brownish, almost creamtype essence. You have to put on the sheet mask first and wait until it dries off. I waited for almost 1.5 hours, but the mask only dried partially. Nevertheless I took it off and the feeling was a bit like using a peel-off mask. I expected a tighteing effect and it was indead tightening, especially while the mask was drying. Unfortunatelly, I had the feeling that it was too drying on my skin.

I used the ampoule after the mask in this case, hoping that it would somehow moisturize the skin after the tightening mask, but the ampoule is a very sticky, viscous and rich one with a milky color. It feels like putting liquid glue on your face and has an instant warming effect. I think it is designed this way to keep the moisture inside the skin. I don’t know if it was correct to use the ampoule afterwards, since my skin was so dry. MAybe I should have used a moisturing toner before. It even didn’t absorb that way, so I had to wash my face because I could not bear the sticky feeling.

All the other masks of the Forencos Selene Project Silk Mask Series are liquid essence masks. For the other sheet masks I first used the ampoule and added the sheet mask on top. I had no problem with the other masks and all of them were really refreshing and nicely soaked with the essence. The sheet masks themselves contain silk, as the name suggests. They are thinner than regular cotton sheet mask, but not as thin as some other maks. They didn’t dry out either. The fit of the masks was not perfect for me, but this is something which depends to your face and the shape your face has. The scent of all the masks was the same. It was quite strong and noticeable and had a soap scent. I would have loved if the scents were slightly different from mask to mask, for example that the tee tree mask smells of tee tree oil. Unfortunatelly, because of the really rich and sticky ampoule, the sheet masks leave the skin quite sticky even after they absorbed fully into the skin. But I must say that putting a sheet mask on top of the ampoule still leaves the skin better than using the ampoule on its own.

All together, I like the concept of Forencos Selene Project Silk Mask Series. It is nice to have a specific mask for each day of the week and the relation to the ancient mythology is a nice idea. I also like the idea of having a boosting ampoule before using the sheet mask. I didn’t like the ampoule in this mask series too much, because of the super sticky consistency. The warming effect it had might be good to open up pores for example, but I cannot imagine that the ingredients of the sheet mask essence can penetrate through this thick and gluey ampoule. My skin felt moisturized afterwards, but I couldn’t see any real differences between the single days although the key ingredients were supposed to be different in each mask. It would be nice to know how the sheet masks perform on their own without the ampoule for example. I hope that I can try these masks again in the future and maybe I can make some more indeep review of specific single masks of this series. This Forencos Selene Project Silk Mask Series containing 7 sheet masks retaills at the official Forencos page for around 21 US$. As far as I checked it, it wasn’t available at any other of the online stores I normally buy Korean products from.

Official Page |Tumblr | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

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.

5 Comments

asian fashion contact lenses fashion Lensvillage PR Sample

Review: LensVillage The Dolly Eye Candarae ML5 Lenses

22. May 2015

I should have written this review of The Dolly Eye Candarae ML5 lenses in brown much earlier, but my eyes were a bit sensitive recently (due to spring time) and so it took me a bit longer. Finally, here is my review for these lenses, which were kindly send to me by LensVillage.

I wear my regular contact lenses a lot, so my eyes are in general used to wear contact lenses. Some words about my eyes in advance: My prescription is -0.25 and -0.5, which is why I choose plano lenses mostly, because these small steps of prescription are usually not available for fashion lenses. Also, my eyes have astigmatism, which is the reason that lenses which are not adjusted to my base curve might feel uncomfortable more quickly than for normal eyes.

I received these lenses from The Dolly Eye from Lensvillage. The lenses came in the typical vials, together with a buisness card and an animal lens case. I got the lenses without prescription. The vials are really cute in their design, because of the colors and the hearts on the labels. And I love this hippo lens case ♥

You can find the description of The Dolly Eye Candarae ML5 lenses >>here<<. They are also available in other colors like blue, grey, green and violet. Here are the properties for the lenses:

Diameter : 14.5 mm
Water Content : 38%
Base Curve : 8.6 mm
Life Span : 1 Year Disposal

Here are my thoughts on The Dolly Eye Casndarae ML5 Lenses:

Design:

The rose pattern all over the lenses is very special and pretty. I had hoped that the pattern would be visible on my eyes, but unfortunately my eyes are too dark. I would have loved if the color of these lenses would have been brighter and more visible on my eyes.

Comfort:

These lenses are quite comfortable, since they are not overly large. I can wear them some time, before my eyes get tired. Probably, on eyes with normal base curve these are very comfortable.

Enlargement:

It has a visible enlargement, but nothing too huge and unnatural. I think this is a good size for people with naturally larger eyes.

Shipping:

Shipping was quick, but it was stuck in the customs this time. If you get standard shipping it will take 3-4 weeks. This is not the fastest shipping I experienced with standard shipping, but neither the slowest. The lenses were packed securely in bubble wrap plastic and they came with a cute animal shape lens case ♥.

Below you will find some pictures on how the lenses look on my eyes:

All in all, these are nice lenses. I the pattern would have been more noticeable they would be great for cosplay, but since the pattern almost dissolves with my natural eyecolor it looks surprisingly natural.

You can find The Dolly Eye Candarae Lenses at Lensvillage for US$ 19.50 >>LensVillage<<.

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 www.lensvillage.com, which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

3 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty PR Sample review Wishtrend

Review: I’m from Honey Mask

20. May 2015

I’m a fan of all forms of masks: sheet masks, gel masks, packs, massage packs, wash-off masks, leave-on masks, DIY masks…and all these other great deep treatments for your skin. When I heard about the I’m from Honey Mask I was directly temped to try, but I hesitated to buy one of these. After a while the I’m from Honey Mask started to become super popular and it seemed to be appearing everywhere. When Wishtrend offered a sponsoring opportunity for their affiliates I was participating right away and luckily I was selected to review this mask. Unfortunately, the mask kept being out of stock due to popular demand and I didn’t receive the mask until around three weeks ago and I’m loving it since the first time I tried it!

I’m from is a Korean brand with the motto “a good cosmetics with a good ingredient”. They are using natural ingredients in their cosmetics and want to be honest and quality provider. They have three promises to their customers, being 1. open composition, which means known ingredients, 2. Honest Farm, meaning honest ingredients with true origin, and 3. being free of harmful chemicals. The I’m from Honey Mask is packed in a cardboard box with a simple design. The paper has the pattern of honey combs imprinted, which is a cute idea. If you look closely (or click and enlarge) you will see the pattern on the cardboard box.

The description on the box is written in Korean only, but you can find very detailled English description on Wishtrend. So what is so special about this mask? Since honey has been one of the trends lately in Korea, there were released quite a bunch of honey containing products. The I’m from Honey Masks points out, that it differs from other honey containing products in the point that it contains 38.7 % of real herbal honey from Jiri Werl-peyung vill. In contrast to other products using honey essence, this product uses real honey as a whole ingredient. That means 38.7 % is real honey, which means three tablespoons honey per each I’m from Honey Mask jar (120 g). 61.3%, that means the other parts of the masks are ingredients which help the honey to better add its nutritions to the skin. These ingredients are Lotus Water, Macadamia Oil, Beeswax, Sophora extract, snail slime filtrate, jojoba seed, sunflower seed oil, grapefruit extract, bamboo water and so on. Below you can see a full list of the ingredients including their safety. You can also look up the ingredients on COSDNA >>here<<.

If you are curious about the Korean description you can enlarge the below image to have a closer look at it.

The mask itself comes in a glass jar and looks like the jars you get when you buy honey. The I’m from Honey mask looks like those thick and sugary honeys, rather than the clear liquid honeys. Since most of the products are natural the ingredients might separate after a while. When I opened my jar for the first time I observed this separation, but after stirring it, the consistency becomes homogenous again.

The I’m from Honey Mask comes with a spatula to scoop the mask out of the jar and it has a plastic lid separating the lid of the jar with the product. Unfortunately, the plastic separator is not closing very densly, which is why my mask was leaked out a bit, when it arrived. Since the mask has a honey consistency it is also similar sticky (because of the sugars) to honey and it was a bit of annoying to clean it up.

The color of the I’m from Honey mask is golden, with a creamy consistency. As said before it is similar to honey and therefore has a sweet honey scent and it quite sticky. Since it is a wash-off mask the stickiness is important, because it helps the mask to stay on your face instead of dripping down the whole time. After washing off the mask (I recommend lukewarm/warm water) the skin feels very moistuized and glowy and really super soft and nourished. Below you can see a swatch on my hand, and how the product looks once spreaded in a thick layer. after washing it off (I used it for around 10-15 minutes here) the skin on the right side of my hand looks much more healthy and glowy than the other side. A very light and pleasant honey scent remains on the skin, too, and upon touching the skin you will feel the difference between the skin where you used the honey pack and the untouched skin. It feels like you’ve used a good hand cream and makes the skin very smooth in these areas.

I also heard that honey has good anti-inflammatory properties and reduces redness of the skin. It has been used in ancient times, by the pharaos in egypt for example (one of cleopatra’s beauty secrets maybe?!). I luckily don’t have too bad skin at the moment, but nevertheless I can show you how the mask effects the skin in my face after using the pack for around one hour. The longer you wear the mask the more you can benefit from the ingredients inside. You can click on the image below to view it enlarged. My skin is more of the dry type, although as summer comes closer it tends to be normal (that means oilier) on the T-zone for example. My cheeks are regulary the driest parts of my face, so I show them below. I don’t have much of redness at the moment, only a few small dots, but nothing too grave. After washing off the mask you can see that the skin looks more healthy and glowy. It is noticeably softer when touching it and the skin feels less dull and firmer.

I would love to know how people with more troubled skin experienced this mask. For dry skintypes this one works magic. By the way, the longer you wash it of the less glowy the effect is, because you wash off the oils. So if you are concerned about oilyness I can recommend you to simply wash it off longer.

Honestly, I’m obsessed with this mask. I love the touch of the skin afterwards and it is the perfect pampering for dry skintypes. The scent is super lovely and makes it really tempting to eat the product. For dry skinned people it is definitively a must! But I think it has a lot of benefits for troubled skintypes, too, because of the known anti-inflammatory effects of honey for example (if anyone has made such experience feel free to leave a comment :D). After all, I really like the ingredients used for the mask, especially since I didn’t expect it to contain snail filtrate for example. If you are allergic against beevenom or honey, or in general natural ingredients you should check the ingredients before using it and/or make a patch test. I’m sure I will repurchase it once it is finished…to be honest, I’m almost half through the mask. Luckily, I have a bunch of sheet mask reviews ahead, so I will have to stopp using the I’m from Honey Mask until those reviews are done, haha. Since the I’m from Honey Mask is so popular it is discounted on Wishtrend to 28.43 US$. You can also chose an option to get the mask together with a silicon brush for applying the mask. I used the spatula and my fingers, which works fine aswell. Check out the May promotions on Wishtrend before grabbing those. Also, keep in mind their friend-referral program: You can receive a 5 Us$ referral coupon if you use my invitation code 17939205 upon registration and you’ll receive this voucher immediately.There will be a specific field in your registration form called “friends invitation program” where you can put the code mentioned above. This way new customers can safe 5 US$ which is a great possibility to safe some money. And if you have a blog/vlog yourself you should check out Wishtrend’s affiliate program! They are offering monthly sponsoring opportunities for their affiliates.

11 Comments

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:

Official Page |Tumblr | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

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.

6 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty BNTnews PR Sample review

Review: Isoi ACNI Dr. 1st Control Essence

4. May 2015

// PR SAMPLE / KBEAUTY / SKINCARE //

The trend in a lot of asian cosmetic products goes towards natural cosmetics and additative-free products, and I must admit that I observe myself to be more excited to try such products in favour of other products with no or less natural ingredients. One of the brands I heard good things about is the Korean famous natural brand Isoi, especially since I read some reviews about their Bulgarian Rose Line. Todays review is not about the Bulgarian Rose Line though, but about Isoi ACNI Dr. 1st Controll Essence from the ACNI Dr. line, which was kindly send to me by BNTnews. This essence cares troubled and irritated skin, delivers blemish care and treats oily skin.

As mentioned above, Isoi is a Korean brand which is focussed on natural ingredients and skinfriendly chemicals in their products. Thereby, the brand name Isoi stands for “I’m so intelligent”. The Isoi ACNI Dr. line is designed for acne prone people with oily skin. The products from this line help to care and relief troubled skin and prevent it from new breakouts. Therefore the design of this product line is very simply and rather medical. The cardboard packaging of the Isoi ACNI Dr. 1st Control Essence has simple blue and white colors. The name of the line is written inside a medical cross. All in all, the image of this product line is very clean.

Apart from the simple design the cardboard box contains Korean descriptions on the sides. It also displays a sign that this product doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals. It is free of parabens, synthetic colors and frangnances, PEGs, mineral oils, propylene glycol, silicones, EDTA and cinnamate. Since the product only contains natural preservatives it should be used up once opened within 6 months. The bottle of the essence contains 50 ml and when used day and night this should definitively be more than enough for this period of time.

I found the rest of the ingredients listed on COSDNA, but I’m not sure if this is the complete ingredients list. you can check out the ingredients >>here<<. Most ingredients listed here are natural plant extracts, like white willow extract, chestnut extract and bulgarian rose extracts. It also contains rosehip oil. I know that some people react to rose ingredients, so I thought I should point that out. According to KoreaDepart, which also lists the plant extracts within their product description, the essence also contains salicylic acid and triclosan, as chemical anti acne ingredients. In my previous review about the Mediheal PDF A.C-Defense Hydrogel mask I talked about triclosan. This antibacterial chemical is often used in cosmetics, but I wouldn’t consider it necessary nor healthy. It won’t be harmful when in low concentrations, but I think, since the brand image of Isoi is a natural one, they should not use this ingredient anyways.

The Isoi ACNI Dr. 1st Control Essence comes in a clear glass bottle with a pump. The protection cap of the pump and the pump itself are made of plastic. The essence itself has a white color, so you see how much product is left inside the bottle after using it for a while. The pump is easy to use. The first time you have to pump a couple of times before the product comes out of the pump. After that, it is super easy to use. One or two pumps are enough to get a good amount of essence for using it on your face.

Normally, I’m used to clear and very runny, almost watery essence, but this one has a white and almost creamy texture. It is kind of gel-type in its consistency, but when spread it feels and turns clear and watery. It feels smooth and leightweight on the skin and absorbs after a couple of seconds. Unlike the Konad’s Lila Lily Clear Spa Essence this one is not as sticky and feels nicer on the skin for me. It has a very light scent of roses, which is nice, too (if you like rose scent).

The Isoi ACNI Dr. 1st Control Essence is directed towards people with troubled and irritated skin in first place. Since my skin is not really troubled at the moment, I couldn’t observe any improvements of my skin. I didn’t have any problems with the product although designed for people with more oily skin, either. If you are looking for a essence for acne-prone skin you might want to give a try to the Isoi ACNI Dr. line. The ingredients of the essence look promising for people with irritated and troubled skin, since it contains not only anti-inflammatory and astringent ingredients, but also moisturizing ones. The Isoi ACNI Dr. 1st Control Essence retails for 30.92 US$ on KoreaDepart.

Official Page |Tumblr | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

And here is my rating for the Isoi ACNI Dr. 1st Control Essence:

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.

3 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty BNTnews PR Sample review

Review: SNP Bird’s Nest Aqua Eye Patch

30. April 2015

// KBEAUTY / SKINCARE / PR SAMPLE //

Since my last sheet mask review about the Mediheal PDF A.C-Defense Hydro Nude Gel Mask, I am super excited for every mask product with hydrogel structure and the SNP Bird’s Nest Aqua Eye Patch totally satisfied my cravings for some good hydrogel product. This hydrogel eye patch comes not in single sachet packs for one time use like other eye patches, but in a jar perfect for daily use. Apart from the quantity, we have swiftlet nest extract as the key ingredient here. I tried sheet masks with bird’s nest extract in the past and I’ve been really liking them, which made me even more curious for these eye patches.

SNP is a Korean brand developed by dermatologists and focusing on the creation of functional cosmetics combined with the knowledge of scientific cosmetic research. You may have heard from this brand before, mainly because of their sheet masks. The SNP Bird’s Nest Aqua Eye Patch is an eye patch designed to treat dry eyes by delivering moisture and energy to the skin. It promotes the skin’s elasticity and firmness and eases fine lines around the eyes. Like almost all mask products it will provide a cooling sensation once applied, too. The eye patches come in a blue jar, which was delivered in a cardboard box of the same color. Both, the jar and the box display the illustration of a bird and its nest and thereby refer to the key ingredient: swiftlet nest extract! At first, this may be gross to hear, but similar to snail mucin, also bird’s nest extracts contain beneficial ingredients for the skin. Swiftlet nests contain sialic acid which is supposed to be 200 times more nourishing than royal jelly. The swiftlet nests are made from the saliva of the birds and therefore are rich in minerals like calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium. Its vitamins help to recover tired skin. The proteins in the swiftlet nest extract contain EGF components that are beneficial for the skin, too.

The cardboard box of the SNP Bird’s Nest Aqua Eye Patch contains descriptions in Korean only. The ingredients are written in English though. According to COSDNA they are safe to use and various plant extracts are included in this product. Moreover, the eye patch essence contains hyaluronic acid and titanium dioxide, some of my favorite ingredients. Hyaluronic acid is great for moisturizing dry skin and titanium dioxide is a chemical sunscreen and gives UV protection.

The eye patches are dispatched in a simple plastic jar. They are made from hydrogel material and have (unlike the hydrogel mask I reviewed from Mediheal) a light blue color with shiny particles. When reading the ingredient lists you will see Sapphire Powder listed, which is probably responsible for the shimmering effect. The jar of eye patches also comes with a little plastic spatula to take out the patches as hygienically as possible. The jar contains 60 hydrogel patches in total and they can not only be used under the eye, but also for your smile lines for example.

In general, there is no rule whether to apply the patches with the narrow part at the inside of the eye or the outside. I have seen advertorial pictures showing it in that way or the other. I tried both but I feel more comfortable when the wide part is showing to my cheekbones. I feel I cover up most of my wrinkles in that way, haha. As you can see in the image below I have dark circles below my eyes and I’m having them since I can imagine. I tried brightening eye products, but most of the effects are short term, so I’m just living with the fact of having dark circles and use concealer when needed :D The patches are well covered with the gel-type essence and if you tilt the jar of the patches you will see that there is a lot of essence at the bottom jar. This prevents the patches from drying out. Using the spatula I’m taking out the patches, apply them under my eyes (or on my smile lines) and leave them there for around 20 minutes. You can see from the before and after pictures that the skin below my eyes looks relieved and moisturized. Some of the finer lines are less visible, too. Because of the cooling sensation, my blood circulation was promoted and the area under my eye looks a bit less dark (but this is only temporarily) and healthier. The scent of the patches is lightly fruity and pleasant, neither too strong.

Altogether, I love these eye patches! I’m keeping them in my bathroom and use them frequently, either in the morning as fresh up, or in the evening when I have the feeling that my skin around the eyes feels drier than usual. I even have used them in combination with a sheet mask for the whole face on top. It works great, too! Out of the five items I received for April from BNT this is one of my favorite products and I can recommend you to try it if you have the chance. The jar containing 60 patches retails for 16.66 US$ from Amazon.com.

Official Page |Tumblr | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

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.

12 Comments

beauty giveaway other review trusted health products

Review & Giveaway: Amazingly Beautiful Body Moisturizer and Revitalizer

29. April 2015

A while ago I reviewed Beautiful A.M. Moisturizer and P.M. Revitalizer from the company Trusted Health Products and I really did like the facial oils for my daily skincare routine. Today I’m reviewing another product distributed by this company called Amazingly Beautiful Body Moisturizer and Revitalizer. This Body Moisturizer and Revitalizer is made of pure botanical oils, like the facial oils I reviewed before. And like last time I have a giveaway for my readers from US, Canada, Europe and Australia at the end of the post!

Trusted Health Products is a company dedicted to offer the “Purest and most Natural Products available anywhere in the world today”. Their products are GMO-free, 100% Pure & Natural, and have No Additives of any kind. Amazingly Beautiful Body Moisturizer and Revitalizer is a body oil , which claims to be the ultimative dry skin solution. Since I have dry skin myself I was really curious about that claim. You’ll find a detailled description for the product >>here<<. As you might have noticed, my version of this body moisturizing oil has another label and also another packaging. They changed the name recently and replaced the dropper bottle with a spraying bottle which is a great idea in my eyes. Nevertheless, the product is still the same, so the properties of this body oil didn’t have been changed. Here is the old bottle:

The new one comes with a new name and design, which fits better to the facial moisturizer:

You will find the directions and ingredients on the label of the brown glass bottle, too.

The oil itself is an orange colored, runny oil with a great smell of orange juice. It is as if you are cutting up a fresh orange and smells great and natural and not a bit artificially. The oil is leightweight and absorbs quickly into the skin and doesn’t make the skin feel heavy or greasy. This is a point I would love to stress, because I love how it absorbs!

What does this Amazingly Beautiful Body Moisturizer and Revitalizer promise to us users? Here is a list of the benefits this body oil claims:

-it decreases the appearance of spider veins and blemishes
-it smooths the appearance of rough and scaly areas
-it reduces the appearance of age spots, discoloration and sun spots
-it firms and tones skin’s appearance
– it makes the skin feel clean and conditioned – smooth like silk
– it can use as an underarm deodorant
– it feels like it moisturizes deep down – say goodbye to dry skin
– 100% pure botanical oils of almond, orange, lime, lemon, olive and avocado
– no preservatives, parabens, petroleum-based oils, GMOs, synthetic chemicals, artificial fragrances, colorings, or additives of any kind

These are a lot of promises, honestly! What I definitively can say, is that I love the short ingredient list consisting only of pure botanical oils. The scent is so natural and fruity, it makes your mouth water (if you love eating oranges at least). The fact that it has no additives is a huge plus, too. I can confirm that the skin feels smooth after using the oil and feels silky. Since the oil isn’t greasy and absorbs fast, the feeling of the skin is quickly noticeable. I say, that body oils always to a great deal in toning and firming the skin, too. I couldn’t observe any other huge changes of my skin, like decreased spider veins or blemishes, spots or discolorations, but my skin doesn’t have much of these problems anyways. The oil is nicely moisturizing, but I used additional moisturizers on super dry spots like ellbow and knee, because I didn’t have the feeling that this body oil was enough for these parts. Nevertheless, all in all, I am pretty amazed (:D) by the Amazingly Beautiful Body Moisturizer and Revitalizer, and giving the fact that the oil comes in a spraying bottle I love it even more. There is no better and easier way to put on body oil than with a spraying bottle! A bottle of this body oil contains 100 ml and retails for 39.97 US$.

Visit their Website!
Like Trusted Health Products on Facebook!

Now, let’s get to the fun part of this post: Trusted Health Products offers 1 bottle of Amazingly Beautiful Body Moisturizer and Revitalizer to 3 separate winners!

Here are the rules:

1. There is no shipping or handling costs for the giveaway winners.

2. The giveaways are for the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia only!

3. No cheating! I will check the entries, and in case of cheating, the entries will be deleted.

4. Eligibility Requirement: You – or anyone in your household – may win one bottle of Botanical Splash one time only. Previous winners please do not apply

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you don’t want to take part in the giveaway, or have a blog and are interested to try this product nevertheless: For a limited time, the manufacturer is willing to offer my readers one FREE bottle. They said they would love to have our readers try out Amazingly Beautiful Body Moisturizer And Revitalizer and agreed to send one bottle FREE if our readers would pay a minimal shipping and handling charge. This is a one-time only offer! Click here to get your FREE bottle now! (PLEASE NOTE: THIS OFFER IS FOR ANY PRODUCT REVIEW READER THAT WOULD LIKE TO TRY THE PRODUCT! IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH A GIVEAWAY ABOVE)

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.trustedhealthproducts.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

7 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty BNTnews PR Sample review

Review: Konad Lila Lily Clear Spa Ellie Essence

28. April 2015

There are two main points that make me want to try a new skincare or beauty product. First, a cute or special packaging design, and second the ingredients, especially if they are strange like for example snail, donkey milk, or if they are mostly natural and plant derived. The Konad Lila Lily Clear Spa Ellie Essence has fulfilled both points. This clarifying essence has such a beautiful packaging design and it contains 70% of thermal water enriched in minerals as well as 9 other natural ingredients to clean the skin from troubles. Sounds like a promising product!

Konad is a Korean cosmetics and nailcare company, which is exporting worldwide. They have two branches, one focusing on nails, like uv gels and stamping nail art, the other branch is all about skincare and cosmetics which are natural, ecological and pure. Konad’s Lila Lily Clear Spa Ellie Essence is an example for the latter branch.

The first thing you notice about this product is the packaging. The essence bottle comes in a cardboard box and both have a green/blue color, reminding me of a under water scene. The colors are so calming and they reflect the image of a clear and pure environment. The bottle of the essence is made of glass and may be considered heavy, but I prefer glass bottles over plastic because it looks much more elegant. The packaging is really pretty all together!

The description on the cardboard box is also written in Korean and in English, which is great! You can also find the product description on Konad’s official page. The ingredients are listed there, too. I added them to COSDNA and you can look them up >>here<<. The essence contains 70% of Sulfur hot spring water, which is supposed to provide abundant mineral to the skin. Moreover, it contains nutrition from 10 kinds of natural ingredients: extracts of Tremella Fuciformis Berk, Asiatic Pennywort, Sulfur Hot Spring Water and Nacre Protein help relieve various skin troubles. Plankton extract prevents excessive sebum on the skin. Salicylic acid eliminates corneous tissues and dead cells, which reduces inflammation and read spots, and makes your skin smoother by chemically exfoliating the skin. Vitamin complexes and marine collagen provide moisture for the skin and helps to make the skin more elastic. Apart from all these beneficial ingredients I want to point out that this essence also contains PEG/PPG-17/6 copolymer as emollient, which is rated red in COSDNA (the same is for Salicylic acid).

The bottle of Konad’s Lila Lily Clear Spa Ellie Essence contains 50 ml of product, with a shelf life of 12 months after opening. The glass bottle has a metal cap with an attached pipette. In this way you are able to take out the essence hygienically and in small amounts. In order to suck up the product into the pipette you have to push the top of the cap. I discovered it never gets filled up completelly, no matter how slowly I release the bottom. Luckily, the amount which is sucked up after all is the exact and perfect amount to spread on the face (maybe that’s done on purpose?!).

The essence itself is a clear and runny liquid, but nothing like water, and neither completelly gel-like. I was not sure about the scent first, but after using the essence for some time I have come to the conclusion that the essence has a grapefruit scent. Since it contains alcohol, too, you will also notice a bit of that scent first, before the alcohol evaporates. The grapefruit scent doesn’t linger though, and since essence is mostly followed by other skincare steps it won’t be noticeable at the end anyways.

The essence can be used by all skintypes according to the manufacturer.After applying my beloved Klairs toner I put a small amount of essence into my palms and pat it into my skin. Afterwards, I continue to use serums and creams. I didn’t have any problems using it with my dry skin and I didn’t react to the essence negatively. It absorbs quite quickly, but it feels sticky. It doesn’t feel drying on the other hand, which I was really happy to see. I didn’t see any changes towards red skin or small troubles honestly. I didn’t use the essence over a long period of time, yet, there are other products containing BHAs and AHAs which work faster on troubled skin.

In the end, I’m not sure if I would repurchase this essence. I love the packaging design and the way the dropper makes it easy to apply the right amount of product to your skin. I also like the attempt of putting a bunch of natural and benefiacl ingredients into this essence. I’m not too fond of the stickiness of the product and in order to look over that point I would have wished a better effectiveness of the product as a whole on my skin. Since I didn’t see any significant changes I’m not sure if this additional skincare step is something worth adding. People with lots of troubled skin might love this more, than someone with a good skin condition, because probably the results can be seen quicker. I’m not sure about the price for this essence, but since Konad is distributing worldwide you might want to check the stores (if you have any information about the price, I would be happy to hear about it, so I can add it).

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:

Official Page |Tumblr | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

And here is my rating for the Konad Lila Lily Clear Spa Ellie Essence:

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.

9 Comments

Older Posts

Newer Posts