Review | Skinfood Argan Oil Silk Hair Essence ♥

Hey Everyone,

Hope you guys are all having a great weekend :) I'm starting uni again in two days after a four month holiday so kind of nervous but hopefully everything goes well heh~ Goodluck to everyone else who is starting uni soon!!This week I have a review on this Skinfood Silk Hair Essence. 


Brand: Skinfood
Name: Argan Oil Silk Hair Essence
Price: $6.87 USD
Weight: 100mL
Shade: - 
Where to purchase: StyleKorean
Description: This is extremely rich in beneficial nutrients including fatty acids and vitamin E. Its properties make it particularly beneficial for the Scalp & hair. Formulated with argan oil, 18 kinds of amino acid. : Provides moisture and nutrition for healthy hair. Paraben free, alcohol free, artificial pigment. 


I think I've mentioned this before, but my hair is pretty dry and unruly because I've dyed it several times within these few years and have been straightening it a lot this year for uni. My hair is short, but pretty dead at the same time. I've been looking for products that can revive my hair - I've tried the Pantene 3 minute treatments, Kao Essential Hair Nourising masks and Hair&Me coconut oil treatments but none of them seem to work really well on me or have long lasting effects. Maybe because hair isn't my top priority but I really haven't looked into the best hair care products in the market. However, I have heard that Skinfood makes really great face scrub masks so when I received this Argan oil hair essence, I was quite excited to see how it would work on me. 

 

This is a really affordable hair treatment oil that comes in a plastic bottle with a lid and pump. I usually do two or three pumps on my hair because I find that if I apply too much it can make my hair look oily instead of giving off a healthy sheen look (which was what I was originally going for). The argan oil has a really strong rose scent which makes your hair smell really good.

The consistency is like a mixture of oil and serum, slightly runny, making it easy to rub onto the hands and apply onto the hair. I try to avoid putting this product on my scalp to avoid making my roots appear wet and oily as the ends of my hair are the real trouble makers. 

In terms of results, it definitely makes my hair feel more smooth and easier to comb through after using the oil. On the days when I feel lazy and don't put this product on, I can feel the difference in the texture of my hair so I try to make a habit of using this daily as the results are not long lasting at all. Also, the thing I don't like about using oil on my hair is the fact that the oil never really absorbs into the hair, it just coats itself over the hair stand. It's not superrr greasy but whenever I go to touch my hair after applying this, I can sometimes still feel the oil. 

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Verdict 

Packaging 
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ / 5 

It comes in plastic packaging so it's lightweight and won't break easily. I like that it comes with a pump + lid, making it more convenient and mess free to use. But sometimes if you pump the product out at a wrong angle it may drip down and make the whole bottle oily which is the downside of having the pump. If you're not lazy like me and wipe the bottle after each use, it should be okay and stay mess free! 

Price
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ / 5 

As always, everything from StyleKorean is really affordable. This contains 100mL of products and costs less than $10 which is a great deal because you probably can't get any decent hair products for that price even at Priceline or other drugstores (unless theres a sale obviously)

Performance 
♥ ♥ ♥ / 5 

I think this argan oil is a decent product. It makes your hair less tangly and the texture of the hair more smoother when you use the product. However, you really need to be careful of how much product you apply because it can make your hair look and feel really oily if you put too much on. 

Pros

- Really Affordable
- Makes hair tangle free
- Smoother hair texture
- Smells really good, like roses
- Comes with pump and lid 
- Plastic bottle making it easier to bring with you travelling


Cons
- Applying too much product can make your hair look really oily
- Effect is not long lasting i.e. Once you stop using the product, hair goes back to the condition it was in before 

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Hopefully this review was helpful for those looking into getting hair care products from Korean brands. I would recommend this product to people who are consistent with their hair treatment routines but not to those who are lazy like me and forget to apply this on most days. 

Hope you all have a fantastic week and don't forget to leave me a comment down below. Feel free to follow me on my other social media platforms (Instagram: @Beautifyinglifee) (Twitter: @Beautifylifee)

*This product was sent for review purposes in collaboration with StyleKorean.com 
Opinions are all my own and 100% honest. 

Makeup Haul | Japan + Hong Kong ♥

Hello Everyone!! 

Welcome to my first post of 2016 and Happy New Year (even though i'm one month late >_<) !! I've dissapeared from my blog for awhile now because I've been on holidays in Japan & Hong Kong during December and January! You guys seem to enjoy my makeup hauls from the past two years so today I have the 2016 edition! 


So at the beginning of December, I headed off to Japan for the first time! I stayed at a hotel near Shinsaibashi in Osaka which is where there's a massive shopping street with lots of food, makeup and clothing stores! Within Shinsabashi there are so many pharmacy's which is the home to a lotttt of Japanese cosmetics! I didn't spend a lot of my time in those pharmacy's (surprisingly) but I did manage to pick up some super cute items! I also went to another big pharmacy when I got to Tokyo as well which was where I bought some of the other items. What's really cool is if you present your foreign passport at the counter when you're shopping at the pharmacy you can get all the products at a tax free price so the makeup is worth purchasing in Japan!!! I don't remember the price for a lot of the makeup but if i do, i'll try and write it down! Also, I haven't tried any of these products yet so I'm not sure how well they work yet!! 



Leanani Liquid Eyeliner (1400 ¥)
There were heaps of eyeliners to choose from in Japan but I couldn't resist picking up this super adorable Hello Kitty one from the pharmacy! Apparently it's the number one top selling eyeliner brand too. I haven't tried yet but hopefully it'll be good :)) My sister bought an eyeliner from the same brand too except without the hello kitty (so it's not as cool) 


Pore Putty Hello Kitty BB Powder (1404 ¥)
I bought this one from the makeup store in Tokyo! In HK i see pore putty a lot at Sasa but i've never actually bought anything from this brand before. This one is a Japanese version with the hello kitty on the cover and on the puff, isn't it super cute~?!?!? I dont' even want to open it yet because it's so cute!! There was a pink and orange version but apparently the orange version is a more enriched version with more coverage and contains additional skin nourishing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, shea butter and ceramide.

Integrate Mascara 
No Surprise... another Hello Kitty product! This mascara doesn't actually have Hello Kitty on the mascara tube but it has a cute Hello Kitty keyring which was cute enough already! All the writing on the mascara packaging is all in Japanese so i have no idea what it says. But it turns out this brand is actually part of Shiseido so this should be a good mascara! 

Maybelline Lashionista Mascara (1400 ¥) 
I bought this at a place called 'Plaza' which is kind of like 'Log-On' from Hong Kong which sells a variety of really cute products and makeup. I'm not a huge fan of Maybelline mascara's because I feel like they don't work very well on asian lashes but I thought this My Melody edition was really cute and I'm pretty sure this edition is only available in Japan so i had to buy it! 


BN Eye Love Magic x Mitsuki Oishi #7 Lashes (900 ¥)
I don't usually wear falsies on a day to day basis but it's Japan and lashes are known to be great quality in Japan so I had to buy some!!! I bought these ones because they looked the most natural and suitable for day wear. Funny thing is I didn't even wear them after I bought them x_x 



Elizabeth - Hello Kitty x Bon Bon Tint Gloss #04 
This was the last product that I bought in Japan and this is a Hello Kitty Tint Gloss where the colour darkens as time passes. I originally wanted a baby pink shade in #3 but unfortunately that one was all sold out so i ended up buying it in a darker shade called Cherry Red. 

Lip Hop x My Melody Lip Balm ($19.90 HKD)
Now onto the products that I bought in Hong kong. I spotted this when I was in a Manning Store when they were doing a buy one get one free promotion. Lip Hop had a variety of super adorable lip balms including My melody, Little Twin Star, Hello Kitty and also really cool flavours such as avocado and honey. I chose the My Melody lip balm which is a strawberry flavour and the Hello Kitty one which was a lemon flavour but I gave that one to my cousin. 





Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cushion #W24 Honey Beige
After using the Lock N Summer collection BB cushion, I really didn't like the formula and it put me off using cushion products in general. However, this time when I went back to HK i was determined to try another cushion to see if i would like it again and after using the precious mineral cushion I'm addicted to how convenient and fast the foundation application can be! Everyday I literally just pat my face a few times and my foundation is done! The only thing i didn't really like about this was that the shade was too light but it was okay in HK since everyone likes to look more pale anyway. But when I'm back in Australia, sometimes it looks a bit strange when the foundation doesn't match my neck as much as my regular foundation. 

Etude House Dear My Wish Lipstick #BE101 ($90 HKD)
Whilst I was in the Etude House store i decided to look at some lipsticks and instantly fell in love with this shade. It's a really pretty mauvey nude colour, which was great for the winter times. It's super creamy and easy to apply. 




Innisfree Long Wear Cushion #21 ($189 HKD)
I bought this after I fell in love with the Etude House cushion from my local Innisfree store. One of my really good friends recommended this to me before because this is the only foundation that she uses and I also heard a lot of good reviews of this online. Unfortunately, I don't like this as much as the Etude House one because the shade I got matched with comes off a lot lighter on my face if i put too much product on and not as natural. It has really good coverage though and lasts pretty long. 

Innisfree No Sebum Blur Pact & Mineral Powder 
Whilst I was in Innisfree I also bought two powders which I know are really popular! The blur pact has a bit of colour which helps to blur the pores as well as provide natural coverage. The mineral powder is a white powder which just helps with oil control and i don't think it provides much coverage. I'm really liking the blur pact but I haven't tried the mineral powder yet !


Koji Snoopy Edition Liquid Liner ($85 HKD) & Long Volume Mascara ($89 HKD)

I don't know why I'm so obsessed with character themed make up this year but when I walked past this at Sasa I had to buy it! It's a snoopy edition mascara and eyeliner by Koji which is also the brand who produces Dolly Wink! I really love using the Dolly Wink eyeliner and mascara so hopefully these two won't dissapoint~

Genking Eyes Cream Duo Set ($180 HKD)

I've actually never heard of this brand before but I thought the packaging looked really cute and it was a really good price for the two eyeliners - a liquid and a pencil. 

VDL Lumilayer Primer ($125 HKD) 
Last year I saw Bubzbeauty talk about how good this primer is so I decided to buy it and try it out. The packaging of the primer bottle is really nice, comes in a glass bottle with a pump. It's an illuminating primer so it makes your face glow like all the Korean k-pop stars ~~ (p.s. Not so recommended for oily skin people) 

3CE Lip Marker #Pink ($139 HKD) 

I don't usually buy things from 3CE but because I got really excited when I saw the Stylenanda store in HK so i went in to look at the makeup. I tried this marker on my hand and the colour looked really nice! But when i actually put it on my lips it turned out really different to what I expected so I'm not a fan of this product and wouldn't repurchase. On a side note the design of the applicator is really funny, it's like putting highlighter on your lips LOL *_*

Mentholatum Medicated Lip Stick (160 ¥)
I actually got this in Japan but I forgot to include it in all the Japanese makeup I mentioned up there ^ Apparently this lip balm is really good and it was really cheap which was why i picked it up at the pharmacy. It's really minty and is really soothing on the lips, one of my favourite lip balms at the moment. 

Shiseido Water In Lip Balm ($39.90 HKD)
759 Kawaiiland was having a 40% off sale on all their makeup so I picked up another lip balm - because you can never have too many lip balms right?? (or maybe I just always seem to lose my lip balms). This lip balm is medicated as well so I'm assuming it'll be minty like the Mentholatum one too! 



K-Palette 1 Day Tatoo Real Lasting Mascara w/Remover ($150 HKD)
A long time ago, I used to really love using the K-palette eyeliner but I started trying out other brands and forgot about it. When I went to Japan this year I bought one to try out again and I fell in love with it all over again!!! So when I saw this at Sasa, I decied to buy the mascara version as well. It's a cute duo set that comes with the remover as well. 

Fairy Drops Platinum Waterproof Mascara ($110 HKD) 
If you've been following me for awhile you'll know that Fairy Drops is hands down my favourite mascara EVER! I think i told you guys how Sasa stopped selling these last year and I was really sad because no other mascara can ever compare with this one. In the last few days of my trip in HK, I noticed that Sasa started stocking these in stores again so I got really excited and bought four of them (just in case they ever stop selling again~~)(Lol, I think you can tell how obsessed i am over this) 

Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner ($90 HKD)
Last but not least, I bought another one of my favourite eyeliners by Dolly Wink! I think this one and the eyeliner by K-Palette will forever be my holy grail eyeliners which never fail to impress me :))) If you're looking for a smudge proof and waterproof mascara, these two brands are the way to go! 


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Thanks to everyone again for making it to the end of this post even though the haul was really long (but what else do you expect after visiting the land of makeup ;) ) Hope you guys have an amazing 2016 (feels a bit strange saying this when it's February already right??) and lets hope this will be another great blogging year :))) 


Review | Scholl Velvet Smooth Express Pedi

Hey everyone! 

Hope you've all been having a great week!! It's been pretty hot in Sydney (I think it was 45 degrees last friday *_*) but somehow, I still manage to get dry skin especially in my heels area. I've recently been sent the Scholl Velvet Smooth Express Pedi so I'm super excited to get rid of the dryness on my feet. I know the topic of feet is not for everyone, but I thought this product was pretty cool and it's been pretty popular as I've been seeing it around in catalogues all year round! This pedicure set is great for giving your feet some love during the holiday season :) 







I think it was the beginning of 2015 when I first started noticing this product in catalogues that are sent to my house. My mum has extremely dry feet (so i think it runs in the family LOL) so she was really interested in trying this product because nothing really seemed to help and this kind of product was pretty new to the market. I think she used to use the NS-8 cream but it worked whilst she used it but after she stopped, it was  back to dry cracked feet again. Let's take a look at the details of this product. 

Brand: Scholl
Name: Velvet Smooth Express Pedi 
Price: $55.99 AUD
Weight:  -
Shade:  You can get it in Pink or Blue
Where to purchase: Priceline, Woolworths, Coles, Discount Chemists
Description: Scholl Velvet smooth Electronic Foot File Get soft beautiful feet effortlessly. Velvet Smooth Roller Head with long lasting micro-abrasive particles now comes with finely ground diamond crystals. It buffs away hard skin in an instant* leaving you with fabulous visibly smooth feet. It's so easy to use - gently rotate the file over hard skin and see the dead skin disappear.
What does it come with? : 
1 x Electronic Foot File
1 x Coarse Roller Head
4 x AA Batteries
1 x Cover

So in a nuthsell, the express pedi is an electronic foot file that helps to buff away dry skin using the coarse roller head that rotates when you turn it on! The Coarse roller head is removable and should be replaced after a couple of uses or else it'll lose it's ability to buff away the dry skin. After ever use, you also need to detach the roller head and give it a rinse to get rid of the dirty stuff. Leave it to dry and then attach it back on, along with the cover that comes with the pack. 

When I use the Express Pedi, I like to get a large sheet of newspaper or any kind of paper to place onto the floor to catch all the dead skin that get buffed away during the treatment. Then you can just go ahead and turn on the Express pedi by turning the metal bit to the left. You hold onto the handle which is made from a rubbery kind of material making it easy to grip allowing you to easily control where you want to buff the roller head, which is mostly in the heel area for me - but this will vary from person to person! You will see the Express Pedi work it's job and fine white specks of skin will be visibly buffed off your feet - it's a pretty satisfying feeling! It's recommended that you don't buff on the same area for more than 3 seconds! 

As for results, I think it did a really decent job in removing the dryness on my heels and so i would recommend this for those with mild dryness on the feet. However, for those with more severe, thick, dry cracked skin on the feet, this will only be able to get rid on the surface and can't completely remove everything. All in all, I think this is a great product but the price may just be a drawback for some people because $55 is a lot to invest into a product like this. However, I guess on the long run it is more worth it than going to a pedicure salon! 

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Scholl Velvet Smooth Intense Serum 



Brand: Scholl
Name: Velvet Smooth Intense Serum 
Price: $14.99 AUD
Weight:  30mL
Shade:  -
Where to purchase: Priceline, Woolworths, Coles, Discount Chemists
Description: The Scholl Velvet Smooth Intense Serum is our first foot serum and contains Hyaluronic Acid, Green Caviar and Pentavitin. The high-quality ingredients ensure that the moisture balance in the skin is maintained. It was especially developed for very dry foot skin.

This serum is from the same Velvet Smooth range and is designed to be used after you've buffed away the dry skin using the Express Pedi for foot care and treatment. I like that this comes in a pump bottle form. It contains three main ingredients:

 - Hyaluronic acid: for hydration purposes
-  Pentavitin: to retain the skins moisture balance
- Green Caviar: contains nutrients with hydration benefits

My feet definitely feels more hydrated and moisturised after applying the serum to my heels. The best thing about this product is that it's very light and quickly absorbs into the skin which is great during the summer time because the last thing you want is to apply something to your feet that feels sticky and thick!!
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Eulactol Heel Balm Gold 



Brand: Scholl
Name: Eulactol Heel Balm Gold 
Price: $13.99 AUD
Weight:  60mL
Shade:  -
Where to purchase: Priceline, Coles, Discount Chemists
Description: A non-greasy heel balm to effectively restore dry, cracked heels with visible results in 3 days.

The Eulactol Heel Balm GOLD is slightly different to the serum because it targets cracked heels. This comes in a squeezy tube with double the amount of product as the serum. It also comes in the form of a cream so the consistency is definitely thicker so I like to apply this cream before I go to bed so that i'm not walking around and getting the product everywhere! Because the dryness on my feet wasn't too severe, my heels looked pretty great after using this product for 2-3 nights. However, for my mum, after using this cream, her heels were still pretty dry and skin was not as hard and thick as it was before, so the product is slowly working. 

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Thank you to everyone who made it to the end of another lengthy post of mine! I tried to keep it as short and straight to the point as possible (but it still turned out pretty long >_<) 
With Summer just around the corner in Sydney, it is super important to keep your feet looking great when wearing sandals and shoes that expose your feet! Scholl also has other pedicure sets that you can purchase from any drugstore such as Priceline for your nails if you fancy a manicure :) 

That's all for today's post. Hope you enjoyed this content and tell me what you think of this product down below. Don't forget to follow me on this blog and other social media platforms (Instagram: @Beautifyinglifee) (Twitter: @Beautifylifee). I'll catch you guys in my next post! 

*These products were sent for review purposes in collaboration with Zenithoptimedia & Scholl

Review | Tony Moly Backstage Gel Liner ♥

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for this was two days late (I forgot to upload lol!). Another week has flown past which means it's time for another review! Today's review is on the Tony Moly Backstage gel liner, which I know has been out in the markets for a long time already, but I only got my hands on this liner recently!  



Brand: Tony Moly
Name: Backstage Gel Liner
Price: $5.45 USD
Weight: 4 grams
Shade: 01 Black - The collection contains 6 different shades

Where to purchase: StyleKorean
Description: This high quality Backstage Gel eyeliner is designed to give an intense color line. The long-lasting and waterproof thixotropic gel formula means up to 24 hour hold. Easy to apply with built in brush, causing no irritation to the eyes. You can create different looks and intensities with Tonymoly Backstage Gel Eyeliner, from natural eyeline to smoky make-up.


Ever since I started using liquid liners, I stopped using gel liners because I find that liquid liners are so much more convenient and quicker to use! Gel liners are a pain in the neck because I have to use a brush and that just takes too much effort #imsolazy. I'm not sure if it's just me but gel liners tend to smudge really easily on my eyelids as well so i've tried to stay away from them in recent years. However, I've heard that this Tony Moly gel liner is quite popular choice for lots of beauty guru's so I decided to give this a chance. 


The Inbuilt Brush 


The best thing about this gel liner is that the brush comes with the liner so you don't have to use another brush. Downside is that it makes the packaging more bulky but unless you want to travel with this, it's not a problem for me. The brush isn't the best and doesn't work as well as angled eyeliner brushes but it did quite a decent job! Because the tip of the brush is small it means that you can line every part of your eye, even the parts that you usually can't reach with a bigger brush. 

The Formula 


The actual pot of liner is in the little tub at the bottom which you can twist off the lid and use. The only gel liners I've tried before are the Maybelline Studio liner and Essence gel liner. The Maybelline one is quite dry whilst the essence one is really wet and soft. This Tony Moly one however, has a consistency that is inbetween. It's super creamy but it's not so soft that it will smudge and smear everywhere like my Essence one. It glides onto the eyelids really smoothly and sets quite quickly, i didn't experience any smudging on my eyelids during application. 



In terms of whether it's waterproof - I swatched this on my hand and rubbed it under water but I didn't experience any smudging at all which is a good sign! 
In terms of whether it's smudgeproof - on the day I first tested out this liner, I decided to prime one eyelid but not the other to see if this works on oily eyelids (on the website they said it's not that suitable for oily eyelid people). At the end of the day, I didn't notice any smudging at all on the primed eyelid but there was a tiny bit of smudging on the eye that wasn't primed. So I would recommend people with oily eyelids to prime their eyelids first before using this eyeliner to prevent smudging or smearing. 


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Verdict 

Packaging 
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ / 5 

The one thing I really like about this packaging is that the brush is inbuilt into the packaging so I don't have to worry about grabbing my angled eyeliner brush. It's super convenient and because it's made out of plastic, it's light and you don't need to worry about dropping and breaking it.  However, like i mentioned before, this might be a bit bulky for those who travel a lot. 

Price
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ / 5 

Most korean makeup products are super affordable, including this eyeliner! It only costs $5.45 USD and it comes with a brush as well so it's a pretty good deal for those who don't want to splurge on an expensive gel liner. 

Performance 
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ / 5 

I've only ever tried two other gel eyeliners (the Maybelline and Essence one) and i really didn't like either of them because one was too dry and the other was too wet. This Tony Moly eyeliner has a really great formula that is super smooth, making it easy to draw on the line but also doesn't smudge during the day which is something i look for in eyeliners. 

Pros

- Super Affordable
- Convenient because it comes with the brush
- Really smooth formula
- Long lasting
- Doesn't smudge
- Very pigmented
- Wide shade range


Cons

- Might be bulky for travelling 

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Overall, I would recommend this gel eyeliner and it has definitely restored my faith in gel liners because the ones I've tried before didn't work very well on my eyes. 

I hope you all enjoyed this review and if you've tried this eyeliner before, make sure to let me know what you think of it in the comments down below! Hope you all have a fantastic week and I'll catch you guys in my next post. Meanwhile, don't forget to follow me on this blog through GFC and other social media platforms (Instagram:@Beautifyinglifee) (Twitter: @Beautifylifee).