4 x spring liquid lipsticks

Hey guys ! 

It's officially spring here in Korea now ! The cherry blossom time is right around the corner and we are already busy making plans with school friends to go have picnics in the park and ride bicycles along Han river. Spring is my favorite season in Korea because it's not too hot and it's so incredibly pretty.

Anyway! With spring comes spring colors. I updated my liquid lipstick / liptint collection by few new colors from Innisfree. I've had the same kind of lipstick from them before too and I liked it a lot so I decided to go for the same brand and collection. 

[From L. to R.] Innisfree Real fluid rouge NO. 6 햇살 사과 한입, NO. 4사과나무 옆  오렌지, NO. 5 볼 빨간아기사과, NO. 3발그레 꽃송이

I was stupid and swatched the colors in wrong order, so the number order for this picture is from L. to R. 6, 5, 4, 3 !

[From L. to R.] Top: NO 6 & 5 Bottom: NO 4 & 3

I hardly ever go full coverage with these lipsticks but for the sake of proper color payoff I did the whole lip - look. Usually I use these as a tint on my inner lips with a lot of blending and lip balm and go for the typical Korean gradient lip (click) but the lipsticks work really either way ! I am especially loving the orange one, which looks just adorable and very subtle when used just to give that small tint of color to your lips. You can see what I meant by checking that picture I linked in the previous sentence, picture no. 4. Orange is a really popular lip color here in Korea and I've honestly felt kind of weird about it until I went and gave it a try. 

Anyway yes I've been loving these new lipsticks for the past week and I love how they go with spring makeup! I've been doing lots of like peachy / orange-ish looks lately. I don't know what's with me and orange suddenly, hahah! But you gotta try new things, right?  Just proved myself wrong with the whole Orange lip situation. They have really nice light pink colors in this collection too so next time I go lipstick shopping I will probably check those out too. 

On completely other news I just got a message from my classmate informing me we are keeping a pajama party at my place and asking what day suits me the best, hahah! I also joined a club & have literally every other day of this week full of plans with my friends except for today, but I will get back to that in the next post. 

I hope you all are enjoying this new week and have a great day / night ! <3 

ps. Holding a Korean beauty giveaway on tumblr when I reach my next thousand, stay tuned !

xx,
Julia

Teeny tiny Nature Republic skincare haul

Hey guys ! 

While you're reading this post I am adventuring somewhere in Seoul with my family. I wanted to keep my blog somewhat active during this week so I wrote a little bit of something beforehand (at 1AM while packing my stuff and waiting to get to leave to the airport, to be exact) and scheduled the post. Admitting right from the start aht this is gonna be short and pointless. 

I ran out of absolutely everything essential to my daily life few weeks ago and just in time Nature Republic had a sale up to 50%. Everything in the store is green and fresh and pretty so I absolutely love shopping at Nature Republic. Plus their face masks are the softest, most deliciously scented masks I've ever tried. 

Lately I've fallen in love with green tea. Green tea drinks, ice cream, skin products, hand creams, you name it. So of course I wanted to try their green tea masks. Turns out few days earlier my friend bought the Acai berry mask pack so we split them in half so we get to try both. 

I also got a Jeju sparkling cleansing water and a Forest garden olive cleansing oil. The cleansing water has a slightly stronger scent than I thought it would have judging by the fact it's a Jeju sparkling water product, but I'm kinda growing into it and it's still really gentle on the skin. Definitely need to start shopping more at Nature Republic! Their products seem really good and I found like a bunch of new stuff I want to try out someday. 

On a side note it's been raining in Seoul for the last 3 weeks to the limit where I, the person who loves rain, is starting to get sick of it. Anyhow. Have a great week everyone !

xx,
Julia

Tonymoly makeup haul

Hey guys !

Continuing with the beauty theme this month! School makes sure I don't have a social life nor have time to go to places so materialism is all I have! Hahah and maybe it's good every once in a while. I've been taking better care of myself lately, practically living with carrots, eggs and soup. I spent the whole summer ruining my diet and eating whatever so eating a bit healthier for the next few months. And while doing so I decided to reward myself by going to a manicure for the first time in my life and get gel nails. 

So apparently my theme for this month is pampering and taking care of myself better, hahah. So inspired by that I did some makeup shopping while taking a long walk yesterday around our neighborhood. Tonymoly is quickly rising to be one of my favorite makeup brands there is. Their products are simple and the quality is good. So this is what I brought home with me yesterday. 

1. Tonymoly finish loose powder face mix 23. Natural beige
This product is meant to be used on top of your foundation or BB-Cream to create a finished, matte look. I've been using just regular powder but decided to try loose powder instead. I tried it on my hand on top of the new foundation I bought and it really created a flawless finished look and went well with the color so I decided to give it a try. (available here)

2. Tonymoly pro mascara - volume
I've been using Etude House's 4 dollar mascara that has worked like a dream but since I ran out of it few days ago and was in a Tonymoly store I bought one of their products just to see how it works. It has a thicker brush than the Etude house one so let's see if it really gives more volume. I've been using fake eyelashes like everyday lately and it damages my own lashes a lot so I'm trying to cut down using them and just use a good mascara instead, hence the volume mascara. 

3. Tonymoly easy touch cake eyebrow 01 natural brown
This is something I've been wanting to try for a loong time but I've had another brow palette that's been working just fine so I never bought it. Now its life has come to an end so it was time to get a fresh one. These colors are exactly the ones I use on my brows so I'm sure this one will not be a disappointment. (available here)

4. Tonymoly timeless carat cover foundation 23. Natural beige
The purchase I'm the most excited about. I've been using BCDation by Tonymoly for the last months and while it has been working really well I've also noticed the same effect BB creams seem to have - it doesn't stick well on my skin. Which makes sense because in the end it is a mixture of BB-cream and foundation. It also feels really sticky at times and I need a lot of powder to get rid of the shining effect many BB-creams and foundations here have. I actually tried this new one on my hand with my current foundation and while it's a bit darker shade (closer to my own skin tone, actually) it also doesn't feel sticky at all when compared to the BCDation. Plus topped with the same natural beige colored loose powder it looks very matte yet natural! (available here)

5. Tonymoly easy touch auto eyebrow pencil 03 dark brown
Just something I picked up to make shaping brows a bit easier. The color goes well with the eyebrow color palette and it has a brush on the other end! Also by buying 2 eyebrow products I got a free gift, a  foam cleanser, so that might have affected my decision to get this hahah! (available here)


After my Thursday afternoon shopping I went into the nearest starbucks, ordered a venti-sized latte and studied for my midterm exams until 9pm. Today I've been just wandering around our apartment and then turned Sara's room into a photo shoot studio and started blogging. I have plans with my girl friends tonight, we're going to Gangnam for a proper girls' night with cocktails, wine and a lot of talking.

P.s If you want me to review any of these products or if you have any blogpost ideas leave me a comment below! I know you guys want me to write more about my daily life but honestly, my daily life is always the same, with school and home and stuff, so if you have anything you want me to write about concerning my daily life here, let me know ! 


xx,
Julia

New in: Urban Decay mini haul

Hey guys! 

I know I've been writing a lot of beauty - themed posts lately, but here I go again with another beauty-related post. Obviously haven't had the chance to go around Seoul a lot lately, and I really don't feel like travelling to unnecessary places now because of the mers - virus that's going on here in Seoul right now. I'm trying to be careful and limit my metro rides et cetera on going home and school for the most part. But don't you worry, I am definitely not turning into a full on - beauty blog! 

Anyway, to today's topic! A very good friend of mine went to America during the same time I visited Finland, and got me something I've been craving for years but never actually bought it because of the pretty high price and just simply because Urban Decay doesn't have a store in Finland. I'm not sure if they have a store here in South Korea, most probably yes, but the price is going to be high compared to the original prices in the US. So I asked her for a little favor aand.. 

..Ordered two of the things I wanted the most. I've also wanted to try out their "Eye shadow primer potion" so it's almost amusing that as a free gift I got 4 x a week's worth of that exact product. 

The Naked - palette is a pretty obvious pick, because it's pretty much a legend when it comes to eye shadow palettes. The All nighter makeup setting spray is something I've had my eye on for a few months now and I've heard so much good about it that I decided to give it a try. I already tried this one out last Saturday when I went out with my friends. I sprayed this on around 8pm, and I didn't have to apply or fix any of my makeup during the evening, even though we visited 2 restaurants and hung out outside in the typical Korean humid summer night. When I got home at 5am my eye shadow was not smudged whatsoever and my eyeliner and foundation was perfect. I was so amazed, guys. So. Amazed. If even the Korean June weather can't beat this little thing up, I don't think anything can.

And my absolute, absolute favorite, The Naked - palette. The colors are really pretty and oh, oh the amount of pigment in these shades. I am all about neutral, bronze-ish colors when it comes to eye-makeup, so this palette is like a piece of heaven. Do you know how hard it was not to sit in front of my mirror and try out every combination with these colors I could possibly think of? Really hard. I've been touching and fiddling with this palette every now and then for 2 days already but didn't want to actually use it before taking proper pictures for this post (blogger problems part I don't even know).

The palette has 12 gorgeous colors from which the Sidecar, Half baked, Smog & Hustle are the ones that look the most delicious if you ask me (swatches for those in the last picture). It also has lighter shades for highlighting and few really dark shades to create a great contrast to your eye makeup. And it comes with a really nice shadow & blending brush. 

From upper left corner clockwise: Hustle, Side-car, Smog, Half baked

So this is the story of how I lost my Urban Decay virginity ! That's something every budding makeup junkie will go through, yeah? hahahah~ I'm gonna have so much fun playing with all these colors and I can't wait to get to that.

Now I'm going to study and later on when the weather cools down a bit going to take a long walk and do some cheap fruits - hunting in the small markets around our neighborhood.

Have a great day everyone !

xx,
Julia

Spring beauty favorites 15'

1. Arsainte eco-therapy essential mist, The face shop
I ended up buying this mist on a very hot summer day while being frustrated that my makeup is like, literally, melting away and face feels sticky and it was just so incredibly uncomfortable. It contains baby bamboo extract and moisturizes and refreshes the skin. And let me tell you, it sure does what it promises to! It's not sticky at all and instantly makes you feel fresh. The summer weather in Korea is very hot (can go up to 40 degrees) plus it is very, very humid so keeping your makeup fresh and, you know, actually on your face will require some extra help. This doesn't wash away your makeup or smudge it. I keep it in my bag everyday no matter where I go and definitely will consume bottle or two during the coming summer. 

2. Peri's tint water #1 cherry juice, Peripera
I got first introduced to this tint when I was out with my friend. We went eating and then drinking and to sing karaoke and I was amazed how her lip color just stayed and stayed on as the hours passed. Finally as we were leaving home she put on some more of the product and I just had to ask what it was. I went to buy the exact same product next week. Lip tints are pretty hot in Korea right now, and I can understand why. Peripera makes these watery tints that are very light and still full of pigment. Plus they are incredibly long lasting. You can eat and drink without having to apply more of the product every other hour. When you apply it literally gets absorbed in your lips. Be careful with these though, if you stain it on somewhere it will stay there for a good amount of time and is semi hard to remove! 

3.Timeless carat dual concealer, Tonymoly
This concealer comes with a liquid concealer and with a concealer stick on the other end. I only recently purchased it, but I am already head over heels for this one. It goes really well with the Tonymoly BCDation (below) and covers up all the small imperfections on your skin. I have it in "light beige" so it's just a tiny bit lighter than my foundation, so I've been also using it to softly highlight under my eyes, nose and forehead. It doesn't make your foundation look cakey and blends in perfectly. 

4. BCDation, Tonymoly
My friend gave me a sample of this product and I instantly fell in love! It's a combination of CC cream, BB cream and a regular foundation and promises to "say bye bye to the heavy & thick makeup" It's also SPF30 PA+++.  Korea is a huge fan of whitening creams and whitening bb creams and whatnot, everything that lightens your skin, they have it. I do not need that, since my skin is already a pretty light shade. So in order to actually make my skin look good I need to apply a lot of bb cream, and I end up looking like a ghost. Also, I have noticed that those bb creams do not stick very well on my skin. So I was planning to get foundation and ta-dah, found this beauty. It feels very light on my skin and blends in beautifully. It's also long lasting and does not dry towards the end of the day and make you look sloppy. 

5. Naturalth goat milk peeling lotion, Tonymoly
Is it obvious already that I am into Tonymoly's products lately? hahah~ One of the main reasons why this product made it to this list is that it smells like watermelon! I am not sure how that's possible because it's a goat milk product and I seem to be the only one who smells watermelon while using this..nonetheless, it smells amazing and it really makes my skin feel clean and bright after. It's used as any other cleansing product, I apply appropriate amount on my face, gently massage for a minute or so before rinsing it off. There's a lot of cleansing products out there, but I have a somewhat sensitive skin and some of them actually make my skin burn and feel really dry after using them, but this leaves it soft which is something I really like. 

So here's some of my favorites for this spring! Do you have any beauty essentials / amazing finds for this year, or all-time favorites? Let me know! Also if you're interested in some of the products in more detail or would like me to review some of them, comment below ~ 

xx,
Julia

Helsinki calling & New in !

Hello! 

It's a super warm day today here in Finland. I came to Helsinki few hours ago after a short morning shift at work. I had an hour and a half to kill before my train left, so I (oops) ended up buying a denim jacket, new purse and some cosmetics. But I'm a happy girl now, so I guess that was worth it ! 

First of all though, can we take a moment to appreciate Arnolds (Finnish doughnut shop/cafe/something like that) for selling Aloe vera water? I absolutely love everything that has coconut or aloe vera in it, and it's almost impossible to get products like that from Finland (why oh why?). I used to drink this all the time in Japan, and today I was reunited with my long lost love again. ahhh~ My day immediately became way better, even though there was nothing wrong with it in the first place.

✕ Short L.O.G.G. denim jacket - H&M

✕ Brush set & blending brush - Cailap

✕ Intense color riche Lipstick, 285 "Pink fever" - L'Oréal Paris

✕ Wild rose lipstick, 65 "Flowers Perennoja" - Lumene

✕ Perfect wear makeup powder -  We Care Icon

✕ Hot pink clutch - H&M 

I'm usually pretty careful with colors, but since I bought yesterday a pink dress, I thought I might as well buy a hot pink envelope clutch to go with it, lol. Also I'm in love with L'oreal's Intense color riche - lipsticks. So far I have two of them, but there's still few more colors I'd like to have~

Anyway, now I'm gonna hit the bed because I have to wake up early tomorrow. 

xx, Julia