Silkygirl Blockbuster Color Palette (eyeshadow quads) review

Dear Beauty Diary,
I'm going to review 2 eyeshadow quads from Silkygirl today. There are some occasions when me and my friends have to wear makeup for some events. Many of my classmates and friends love Silkygirl and own many of its products, because they are super affordable and have a certain quality. After hearing so much from my friends, of course I couldn't resist and ended up getting not one but 2 of their eyeshadow quads. I am going to sell the Pastel coloured palette, since I don't use colourful eye shadows. Read the bottom of this entry if you are interested in the palette!

The pastel quad here is closer to reality than the next photo

After flipping open the cover. The neutral quad here is closer to reality than the first photo.

I love browns, creams and neutrals, and when I saw how adorable the colour combination of Silkygirl's neutral palette was, I just had to get it. The neutral palette is called Classic Chic, and it is timeless. The shades include a cream champagne colour, a copper fawn colour, a coffee brown colour, and a dark chocolate brown colour. The colours are so suited to each other, and creates a very sweet look, especially with the copper shade twinkling on my eyelids. This copper shade has more elements of brown mixed in it, so instead of the cold hard feel that metals give, this copper becomes warm, sweet and girly. The cream champagne shade is more towards the cream side than the champagne side. More elements of sweetness here! It pairs perfectly with the copper shade. Both darker browns are different, yet both work equally well with the 2 lighter shades. You can choose to use both shades together for adding depth, or just choose one of them. The effect of all the shades working together is super pretty. :)

The colours are also more towards the matte side. But each shade contains lots of super super fine glitter pigments, so even though the colours look professional and matte from afar, when you take a closer look, you'll notice the fine shimmers subtlety twinkling on your eyelids. You'll get a nice surprise there.

Even though Classic Chic is a neutral palette, I don't suggest using it to fill in your brows. Unless your brows are of such colours, which is quite rare. For contouring the nose, any of the 2 darker shades will work.

The other palette I got is named Simply Pastel, and lives true to its name. The palette includes a grey-white shade, a bright tiffany blue shade, a warm but bright purple shade, and a bright pink shade. Please excuse me there, I am bad at describing colourful colours. >.< I am not a fan of colourful eye makeup, so I don't really know how to create a look with this palette. But the pink, purple and grey can definitely work together. The grey and blue will create a nice, soft look. :) Even though I am not a fan of colourful eye makeup, I still got this palette as it has 4 bright colours together, and can allow me to play with different looks. However, I never dared to wear it out, so Simply Pastel has been sitting in my drawer.

Silkygirl has updated its Blockbuster Colour Palettes, and Classic Chic is part of this new palette series. I have never tried the old ones, but these new ones are of superb quality. The pigments are super creamy and soft, and glide on easily. Blending and shading is a joy with these palettes too. They don't crease with time, nor do they apply dry and patchy. The colour does fade with time though. There is also no fragrance in these eyeshadows.

These eyeshadows don't last for a very long time. It lasts for around 4 hours, before the colour fades off a little. Touch-ups are required, but I don't mind, since the eyeshadow pigments are of such high quality.

I am pleasantly surprised that such good quality palettes can be sold for such a cheap price. I got both of them at a sale in Watsons. Classic Chic costs around $15 ($11.83 USD) originally, but I got it at around $12 ($9.46 USD). I got Simply Pastel in a jumbo set, so I'm not sure about the exact price, but I suspect it costs around the same as Classic Chic. These prices are already considered as very cheap in my country, as most drugstore products already cost $20 plus. Sigh, getting cosmetics in Asia is really expensive, unless your country is producing those products. An example is South Korea, where all the fantastic Korean brands are so cheap in their country, and expensive in ours.

Anyway, I have good news! I will be conducting another sale, and I'll be selling Silkygirl's Blockbuster Colour Palette in Simply Pastel. I don't really wear colourful eye makeup on a usual basis, as I feel that I don't pull off the look well. Original price sold in stores is around $15 ($11.83 USD). The price I'll be selling it for: $6.00 ($4.73 USD). If you're interested, you can drop me an email at dearbeautydiary@gmail.com, or simply leave a comment. Here's my blogshop, where you can find more sales and products: beautyandmysunglasses3.blogspot.

Simply Pastel with the cover on

Simply Pastel with the cover flipped open

The applicator from Simply Pastel

Etude House Sweet Recipe Baby Chou Base review

Dear Beauty Diary,
Today I have one of the cutest products ever to review. The super famous, popular and loved Etude House Baby Chou Base from its Sweet Recipe line! :) Sad fact is that the super awesome Sweet Recipe line is limited edition, and many of their products are sold out. However, I managed to get my hands on the Baby Chou Base, so here's my review on it. Shade 1 is Mint Choux, which is green and is meant for toning down reddish skin. Shade 2 is Berry Choux, which is meant for brightening pale skin tones. I got shade 3 in Peach Choux, which is meant for brightening tan skin tones.

Can you resist the super elegant and princess-y jar?

Lots of effort is put into making the cream, look at the detailed swirling of the cream

Good news, people! I got 2 of these baby choux bases, and one of them is totally new. I'm clearing my drawer now, and I honestly don't need so many products, so I am willing to let go of my new baby choux base. Original price: $22.90 ($18.01 USD). I'll be selling it for $13.00 ($10.25 USD). Interested? Drop me an email or comment! My email is dearbeautydiary@gmail.com, or beautyandmysunglasses@gmail.com. You can visit my blogshop (beautyandmysunglasses3.blogspot) for more beauty products on sale.

So the Baby Chou Base is a makeup primer/base that contains SPF25. It comes in 25ml and costs $22.90 ($18.01 USD). I feel that that is a little little bit on the expensive side, I thought this would be less than $20. But its pretty much worth it, because you only need a super tiny pea sized amount to cover your entire face with this cream.

Product description (its a really cute product description!):

This light and fluffy choux cream - like makeup base creates baby choux skin with its moist inside and soft smoothness on the outside.
<Recipe for Baby Choux Skin>
You need... Clean skin, Baby Choux Base, 1 Spoon of Moisture, 2 Spoons of Soft Smoothness
[Directions] Smooth over entire face for a choux cream-like soft, smooth complexion.

I must admit that even though the jar is super cute, I don't like the packaging. The choux cream is stored in a jar, and can spill really easily or get contaminated easily. Contaminated makeup or skincare will worsen the condition of your skin, so that's a downside to the jar packaging of the Baby Choux Base.

The choux cream has a runny yet creamy texture. It looks creamy, but when you dab your finger in the cream, its very runny. Its also super easy to blend, due to its very light texture.

After a few applications, the runny texture of the choux cream

blended out choux cream. Can't really see the difference on camera. The centre of my hand, with the slight white cast, is where I applied the choux cream.

However, I found this cream a bit on the oily side. Not very heavy or oily or greasy, but just a little oily. But I'm fine with that, as oily creams usually provide more moisture. This cream did not suck away the moisture from my face, nor did it leave me with more pimples. So good job on the cream's part. Even though its a little oily, it wears very comfortably on my skin. Its super lightweight and you won't notice its there when worn alone. I assume that all skin types will be able to use this cream. If its fine for my oily skin, it should be great too on dry skin.

I'm sorry, many people like the scent of these baby choux and says it smells like peaches, strawberries etc, but I personally don't like it... It smells like strong chlorinated swimming pool water. >.< But the scent does not linger on your face for long, so it should be fine after a while. For those that cannot stand not so nice smelling products, please bear with it for the first few minutes as this choux cream is super awesome and you wouldn't want to miss out on that awesomeness.

As for application of the choux cream, I apply a super small amount, so the results are as natural as possible. And I blend everything out. Results: my face looks a lot healthier. It is not very much brighter or more radiant, because I don't apply a lot of the cream. I look like myself with a healthy glow from within. Applying too much will also leave you looking very pale and washed out. I don't suggest those with tan skin tones to apply too much, as the cream will look very pasty.

The choux cream can be worn alone, and it gives very slight coverage, so those with good skin can wear this alone. The cream lasts for about 5 hours before it starts to slip and slide a little on your face. BB or CC cream or foundation paired with it looks even better. This is because the choux cream creates a super smooth and "poreless" canvas for BB cream. Results are also more natural than just wearing a BB cream, CC cream or foundation alone.

I realised that many people complain of a white sheen on your face when you use flash? Its because this choux cream contains SPF, and SPF creates a white sheen on your face with flash photography. Every product with SPF leaves a white sheen on your face. That's the downside of products with SPF...

This choux cream works very well with my BB cream. Or maybe they were made to complement each other, as my BB cream is also from Etude House. The baby choux creates a very nice, smooth and healthy face. The BB cream looks really good with the base, and it doesn't smear off as easily as it would without the baby choux. Extra sun protection from the baby choux too, who doesn't want it? ^_^

Tried it? Share your thoughts!

Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner review

Dear Beauty Diary,
I have an amazing toner from Etude House today. Its Etude House's famous and unique Wonder Pore Freshner! Its a toner, not a moisturizer, so you can use your own moisturizer after this toner. The Wonder Pore Freshner is from Etude House's Wonder Pore line, which is targeted at acne skin and skin with large pores. I got it for $18.90 ($14.92 USD), and this toner comes in 250ml, which is a lot for a toner.

This is what the Wonder Pore line, including the Wonder Pore Freshner, does:

- maintain pH 4.5 +-1

- refine the skin tones

- keep the elasticity of pores

- deep cleanse pores

- minimize appearance of pores

- control a large amount of sebum

- moisturize inside and outside of skin

This is the product description of the Wonder Pore Freshner:

This product is total solution for pore care, preventing enlarged pores, less firmer skin and moisturizing by eliminating what hurts skin health from within.

Soak the makeup cotton with the Freshner and wipe your face from the centre of your face to the outside. With gentle patting, let the skin absorb the leftover Freshner. You can carry the Freshner in a mist type container and apply onto your skin when there is too much sebum or you have itchy feeling.

Yep there is a mini mist bottle specially made for the Wonder Pore Freshner, but it is just like any other mist bottle. And it costs $3 ($2.37 USD), which I think is overpriced for a mini mist bottle. You can get any mist bottle if you're interested in carrying the Wonder Pore Freshner around with you, because the Wonder Pore Freshner mist bottle is just like any other mist bottle.

The Wonder Pore Freshner has a super watery consistency. It feels just like water and is as runny as water. So its very hard to control, and I suggest using a cotton pad to soak up the toner before applying to face. Its much better and more hygienic this way. And when patting my face to let it absorb the toner, I feel a very very slight sticky feeling. But as I've said before in my other entries, I prefer the sticky feeling to a greasy feeling. By the way, this is a fresh toner, so oily skin types will benefit most from this toner. Of course dry skin types can also use this, but remember to follow up with a good moisturizer.

Swatch. Its really very watery, it feels like pure water.

Here is a little bit of science. I know some people may not agree, but pores cannot shrink by using skincare, they can only shrink after undergoing surgery. Skincare provides moisture to your skin, and this moisture plumps up your skin and makes it look very hydrated, thus making your pores look less visible and smaller. So I didn't buy this toner due to its pore shrinking ability, I bought it because it can maintain the skin pH of around 4.5.

Skin pH matters a lot! If its much more than 4.5, irritations can occur easily thus causing a swollen face, pimples, redness, bumps, etc. So I was hoping to get healthier skin by using this toner. It works! My skin looks much more hydrated, the skin tone has evened out considerably, and my face feels smoother. My skin also feels sort of bouncy now after using the toner for around 1 and a half weeks. I'm hoping that's a sign of healthy, resilient skin.

I don't know whether this toner can deep cleanse your pores. Try to pick up a good cleanser, and cleansing doesn't become a problem anymore. I mean, I don't see any dirt, grime or oil on my cotton pad after using this toner after cleansing.

This toner does moisturize, but not a lot. The moisture it gives keeps my skin hydrated, as my pores become less visible. But of course, they are still there, just less visible to the eye. Oh yes, this toner absorbs super quickly into your skin. Maybe its because it has a very watery consistency. The toner smells strongly of alcohol, and feels slightly like it. It leaves a cooling sensation behind on your face.

This toner has almost immediate results, as I've only used it for a week and a half and I can already see and feel that my skin is much better. I'm very impressed with this toner, and I find that it is much more suited to my skin than the Hada Labo one. I've been using the Hada Labo one for about half a year, and yes its a nice toner, but I don't see any results to my skin. I just continued to use it as its normal to use toner before moisturizer. Sigh. But still, I'm very glad to have found Etude House's Wonder Pore Freshner! I'm super excited to get the larger version (500ml woohoo), as it comes with a super adorable and unique pump.

I recommend this to everyone, you'll see a great difference to your skin. ^_^