Beauty post!

Hello ladies :)
I’ve always wanted to share with you what skincare and makeup products I use, even though I’m no expert, so here’s an entry for you girls!

my beauty cupboard

My skin got quite bad when I got back to Singapore because my skin had to adjust to the change in climate from a dry and cold one to a humid one! Eventually, I went for a consultation with my cousin who’s a GP and bought a facial cleanser and 2 acne products from her which have since saved my skin! During my 159 days in Korea, there were only less than 3 days when I actually went out without makeup. 

Tray from Muji :) 

Morning skincare regime

I start off my morning skincare regime with the silver ion cleanser from my cousin, followed by a toner from Laneige and then Clarins’ facial lift (no visible effect and I regret buying it for $98). Next, I apply the AHA 8 on problematic spots and I love the burning sensation after applying it because it seems like it’s working its magic. And it does too! It did cause my skin to peel though so it’s not advisable for every day usage but because my skin was so bad when I got back to Singapore, I continued using it everyday and my skin eventually cleared up :) Subsequently, I apply the Laneige balancing lotion, followed by the water bank essence and the moisturiser before finishing off with my favourite sunblock by Chanel. I like that it’s lightweight :) In the past, I never had the habit of applying sunblock until one day last year when I splurged on expensive skincare products and decided to buy the Chanel sunblock because I liked its small and cute packaging. I have a bad habit of using products religiously everyday and then getting lazy and chucking them aside after awhile, only to remember them 1 year later or something. Shelling out $70 for a small bottle of sunblock made me feel really guilty so I started using it everyday to ensure that I don’t waste it.

For rescuing

I have yet another bad habit…squeezing my zits :( I know I shouldn’t but I can’t help it :( I think the best product I’ve tried for the sudden pimple that pops out every now and then is Mario Badescu’s drying lotion. The AHA 8 that I use in the morning and Stieva-A cream for the night, as prescribed by my cousin, also helped me!

Masks and scrubs

On Mondays and Fridays, I use Laneige’s Multiberry Yoghurt Repair Pack after my ion cleanser. The repair pack makes me skin smoother. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I use the Jeju volcanic pore clay mask by Innisfree which leaves my skin smoother, softer and slightly brighter. I heard that Laneige sleeping pack shouldn’t be used every night but I use it anyway because I sleep with the air-conditioning on every night. Makes my skin supple! On Saturdays, I use St Ives’ apricot scrub and Tony Moly’s tomato mask to brighten my skin, both of which are really effective! I think I look better with fair skin so I’m all for brightening products.

Nail polishes

I’m crazy. I only apply nail polish religiously when I’m overseas. Back in Singapore, I get lazy and apply nail polish about 3-4 times a year? And it doesn’t help that I keep buying shades that are similar :(

Top coat: Missha, Missha, O.P.I.

The pinks. Love the Chanel nail polish because it’s so easy to apply! Love the Faceshop one too (the one beside the Chanel). 

Bought the Chanel nail polish in Korea while everything else was purchased in SG. I barely used them :( 

Eye makeup

I have the same problem with eye makeup too…I keep buying similar shades when I only have one pair of eyes :( I love light shimmery shades!

For the face

In Korea, I put on makeup almost everyday.
I would start off with Benefit’s Porefessional to minimize pores, followed by my favourite BB cream by Etude House for its wonderful coverage. Next, I would apply concealer if need be. I used to use a Dior nude concealer but then I realised that it didn’t quite suit my skin tone when Kenneth remarked one day that I didn’t apply my concealer properly or something. I picked up Shu Umera’s cream concealer at the duty free shop in Incheon Airport before I came back to SG and I prefer its texture and shade to Dior’s. I didn’t bring the Skin Food loose powder to Korea with me so I didn’t use any loose powder to set my BB cream. Instead, I just waited for awhile before brushing on 1 layer of Chanel Vitalumiere Eclat (used to apply using a sponge but my makeup got too thick!). As for blusher, I alternated between Mac’s blusher in Ripe Peach (a limited edition for a collection last year) and Chanel’s blusher in tea rose. I don’t really use the highlighter I got from Benefit.

Back in Singapore, the weather’s really unbearable most of the time so I normally use only the Porefessional, a Missha BB cream primer and Etude House BB cream, skipping everything else unless I have a presentation or some career talk to attend.

Eye shadows

Bought everything except the Bobbi Brown nude eyeshadow palette in Korea! For the 1st few months in Korea, I used the Chanel Ombre D'eau Fluid Iridescent Eyeshadow in 40 Source everyday. Later on, I bought the other 2 Chanel Ombres Contraste Duo in 40 Misty-Soft and 10 Gris-Subtil and alternated between them. My favourite of the 2 is Misty-Soft because I like the pink shade. The 10 Gris-Subtil is used only when I want a smokey eye effect.

Jaesuk gave me this for birthday! First time that I actually received a birthday gift from my buddy :) 

From Banila Co

My new favourite marshmallow eyeshadows! I love shimmery eyeshadows but most of the shimmer always fall all over my eyes. These marshmallow eyeshadows are perfect because of their marshmallow texture which ensure that they stay on my eyelids :) I loooove the gold shade :) The pink’s really nice too! Each one costs 15,000KRW I think. If you love shimmer eyeshadows, this one is for YOU!

Shimmery powder eyeshadows

Most of these were purchased in Korea 2 years back and I don’t think I’ve even tried them all yet :( But the small ones (the Style) from Missha were soooo cheap that I couldn’t resist them. About 1,500KRW each?

Primer, liners, mascara

I love the Etude House mascara primer so much that I bought 2 tubes!
For my eye makeup routine in Korea, I would apply an eyeshadow and gel eyeliner by Bobbi Brown before curling my lashes with a curler from Shiseido and then applying the primer and mascara by Lancome.

For the lip

Lipsticks

My favourite lipsticks are from Chanel- Rouge Coco Shine Boy (for natural looking pink lips) and Rouge Coco Orchidee (for red lips). Youngjin’s mum gave me the Mac lipstick for Christmas 2 years back…so nice of her! I didn’t expect my tuition kid’s mum to give me anything for Christmas so I was really surprised when she did so! She even bought me a pair of earrings, necklaces and an umbrella when she went back to Korea for a visit last year too, before she went back to Korea for good.

Lipcare

I have dry lips because I don’t drink enough water so I bought the lip scrub from Banila Co last year but I’ve only used it once. Too lazy :( I got the tube of Kiehl’s lipbalm for free in school last year as part of some on-campus promotion which explains the misalignment of the text on the packaging…what do you expect when it’s free? Lol. The Himalaya lip balm was given to me by Hyunju unni when she went to India for a month of backpacking 3 years back. Bought the Burt’s Bee lipbalm from Korea last year and I’m still using it now!

Happy holiday to all and... Merry Christmas!