Review: The Face Shop Stylist Mild Bubble Hair Color

Hello! Long time no see :) Today I'm going to review a hair dye by a brand I had never tried before; The Face Shop. I've been dyeing my hair for a year now with Etude House's Bubble Hair Coloring (once in Mocha Pink and once in Dark Brown) with great results, but I felt like going back to my natural color, dark brown. And for that, The Face Shop's Stylist Mild Bubble Hair Color in Dark Brown seemed perfect to me. I got it for $15.67 here.

 Here is the box. The color in the picture seems darker than in reality, so do check out the link I posted before for the real color.

 According to Koreadepart, the box contains the actual, uh, dye, the oxidizing agent, a hair treatment, directions I can't read (thank god for the internet) and gloves I forgot to show you.

 If you can read Korean, these may be useful. If you're like me, you throw these away and trust your experience with previous bubble hair colors and online directions. It's actually not hard to use this kind of hair dye, if you have you know what I mean.

  The other sides of the box. On the left you can you see what your hair color will look like depending on your previous hair color. Let's pretend you can't see my shadow trying to take pictures. The box seems so cheap compared to Etude House's hair dyes, yet this one is more expensive.

Dyeing my hair with this was... a unique experience, to say the least. I've dyed my mother's hair more than 20 times. I had dyed mine twice before. But this? It was very, very messy. I don't know if I am to blame or the dye is, but when I was finished, my arm looked like this: 

You do not want to see my clothes or neck. Or ears. It took a lot of scrubbing  to take all the dye off and, because it was so messy, I was too afraid to take pictures of the foam and generally the process. If I did, my phone would be black now.
However, I would be willing to forget everything had this dye given me what I wanted; a vibrant brown color, neither too dark nor too light. So time for before and after pictures!~

This was me before. You can't really see it here, but my roots were quite visible, so I wanted to go a little bit darker.

And here is the result. It is as black as my soul when I look at myself in the mirror. I have not bothered straightening it, because I refuse to go out with hair that black. I don't know how visible it is, but it's pitch black, like a raven is sitting on my head. Not to mention it made my hair drier, but that's to be expected because I've washed my hair a million times to make the color fade and it's still there. I also tried everything else I could: hot oil treatments, washing with dish soap, with laundry detergent, the vitamin c way (which cost me more than the hair dye itself), everything and it did not budge. Thus, I bought a new box of Etude House's bubble hair coloring in Mocha Pink and it's right next to me right now. I will try to lighten it with this today or tomorrow, but I still don't understand what went so wrong. The box said to leave the hair dye on for 30 minutes and I left it for 20 because I could clearly see the foam turning black. Also, it did not color evenly. I still have some red highlights on the front you can't see and I can guarantee you they look absolutely ridiculous, like the whole of my hair. Now my family is making fun of me, singing traditional Greek songs about black-haired girls in front of me and I just put my hair up in a bun and go outside -only when I have to- full of shame.
But as for you, unless you want pitch black hair, avoid this hair dye at all costs so you do not shed the tears I did.

Review: Skinfood Tea Tree Essence (for trouble skin)

Hello, hello! Every time I get a follower (thank you so much btw T_T) I feel guilty for not having enough posts. So today I'm going to review something I got months ago for my acne. I'm not a big fan of Skinfood, nor could I find any reviews on this at that time, but I had heard quite a lot about how beneficial tea tree oil is for 'troubled' skin and had never tried an essence before. Thus, I got this from rubyruby76 on ebay but I'm sure I didn't get it for such a high price, it was $12.98 back then. Definitely search for something cheaper if you're interested. The capacity is 30 ml, which I can assure you that is more than enough.

So what does Skinfood claim? On their official website, they say: A soothing essence for troubled, oily skin, containing tea tree oil and willow herb extract that control excess sebum.
The product itself says something different along the same lines, has Skinfood's motto and the rest is in Korean. Too bad, I'm curious about the ingredients. If someone can read Korean, do let me know!
The bottle itself is made out of hard plastic and the 'paper' feels a lot like, uh... paper. Not very smooth, if you know what I mean.

Ah packaging, how I love you. Look at dat butt.

 Having a pump is definitely a plus, very hygienic. Not to mention it looks more elegant this way!

 

But let's get to the product itself.

This is pretty much the amount of a pump. Two are enough for my whole face.

The consistency is runny, but not too much. I would describe it as thick water. Or a thin gel. The first thing you will notice about this is the strong smell. Have you smelt tea tree oil? It smells like that, but a bit more pleasant. To be honest, I really don't like how the actual essential oil smells (I get nauseous ;__;) but this is okay! It goes away after a while too, so no worries. It's also a bit sticky before it dries. Not the annoying kind of sticky, as if you're applying an H&M lip gloss all over your face. Just a little bit~

So does it work? I can't say I notice a dramatic difference. My acne is slowly but steadily getting better, but I doubt it is because of this product because when I skipped this for a couple of months, I saw no difference. It doesn't irritate my skin, but the improvement is either little or nonexistent. It does feel very refreshing and I will continue using this until I finish it, but I feel you could spend your money on more effective acne products.

Review: Holika Holika Dessert Time Lip Balm

Hello? How have you guys been? My life is kind of hard right now; it mainly consists of studying for my Panhellenic Exams, which means I'll be busy for a whole year +_+
On another note, I've been doing a lot of online shopping and today I'll review the cutest lip balm I own (or have seen generally, to be honest).

 It looks like a cupcake! Most people prefer the pink one of the same collection but what can I say, I love this one.

 This is what the bottom looks like, not that I can read anything. The downside is that it comes without a box so you can't read the ingredients. I really hope it doesn't contain mineral oil ;____;

 

How gorgeous is that color? And the best thing is, it totally smells like a cupcake. One day I was applying this and my brother was like 'what smells so nice?'. It's a really sweet, yet kind of artificial scent. Very very nice!

Time for before/after pictures!

Here comes the disappointing part. On my lips you can't really see it. It makes them glossy, slightly more red (you can't see it very well on the pictures but it is kind of pigmented), but that doesn't last. This is a lip balm though, not a lip tint, so I can't really blame it. So how does it serve as lip balm? I don't have chapped lips at the moment but I don't feel like it is super moisturizing. It's nice but I'm not sure if it would cure extreme dryness. I'll update this on winter, that will be the real challenge!

I got this on sale on Cosmetic Love, it costs $7.86 now. If you think it's worth it (I, for once, don't regret this purchase), give it a try!

Review: 3W Clinic Fresh Aloe Mask Sheet

Hello! As you can see, today's review will be one of a sheet mask. I like sheet masks, even though I've had a traumatic experience with one once; I feel asleep with it on and woke up the next day with my pillows full of the essence o_o Anyway, this is the Fresh Aloe Mask Sheet by a company called 3W Clinic. I'm not familiar with it, but I get this mask for free whenever I buy a lot from Cosmetic Love. I've also tried the pumpkin one, the lemon one, the collagen one & the potato one. There are more types, even a placenta one,  I just--- why would anyone want to put that on their face? Anything for beauty, I guess.

The back of the packaging! Thankfully, there are English instructions and a list of the ingredients. However, the ingredients are not very good; pretty typical of a sheet mask, but worse. Not the mention, there are more preservatives than aloe extract in it. Same goes for the other types; the ingredients are the same, it's just the extract that changes. I understand why a sheet mask must contain preservatives, but for God's sake, don't boast about how the mask contains aloe with 'excellent hydrating effects', because you could as well call this is a Methylparaben mask, since it contains more of this. Ugh, marketing.

This is what the mask looks like when you get it out of the plastic. It has parts for your eyes (I don't know what to call them...) and that's always a plus for when you want to close your eyes and relax, good job!

Me looking ridiculous displeased with the mask on. The fit, guys, the fit! The mask is too big and the 23g of essence weren't enough since it got dry pretty soon and kept getting out of my face at the sides. The scent is so-so, kind of artificial; I never paid much attention to it to be honest. After removing the mask, my face felt sticky until I patted it softly to the point it felt okay. But that has been the case with most of the masks I've tried. The effects don't really impress me, unfortunately, I feel like my skin gets oilier, but at least it doesn't break me out.

Would I recommend this? No, but if you get it for free it's worth trying :)

Review: Etude House Surprise Stick Concealer (Light Beige)

Why hello there! Today I want to review a concealer I've been using for some weeks already, the Etude House Surprise Stick Concealer in Light Beige. There's also a Natural Beige shade for darker skintones. Given the fact that I have dark circles, blemishes and surgery scars on my face that I need to cover, a concealer is a must-have!

 As you can see, you get quite a lot of product, and that's after having used the stick for quite some time. Do you recognize any of the products in the background, by the way? A review will be coming for some of them~ (when I find the time *sobs*)

Swatched on my hand. On the top is the concealer alone and on the bottom, one swipe of a random eyebrow pencil with the concealer on half of it so you can compare the coverage.

Blended both of them. The eyebrow pencil is like it never existed! All in all, the coverage is amazing, as expected from a concealer. However, it can look a tiny bit orange-y, and given this is the lightest shade, I don't like that very much. 

Now, let's see how it works on dark circles, shall we?

Unfortunately, comparing before and after pictures, I can't say the coverage transfers on my dark circles or at least, not as much as I'd like to. I've heard it's good for your concealer to be orange-y if it's meant for dark circles but still, I don't know what to think. Not to mention, this makes my eye area look dry while it's not (if anything, it's super oily). But it looks better from afar, it really does. By the way, do you know any good products for lines under the eyes? I definitely am in need of that.

Okay, so how about blemishes? I've had quite the breakout on my cheek lately, so that's a challenge!

Sorry the 'before' picture is blurry, what's wrong with my camera, seriously? I also want to apologize about my hair in the 'after' picture, it kind of hides what I want to show you. Anyway! I applied quite an amount and blended the concealer with my fingers. The redness is gone! However, it's pretty obvious there's concealer on the area; it's yellowish, cakey and dry. Again, it doesn't look bad from afar, but I can't imagine what the result would be if you just rubbed it all over your face (in cases of bad acne).

All in all, and even though it might seem like I don't like this concealer, I find it quite good and would probably repurchase. Is it the cute packaging? Or maybe the fact that the coverage is much better than my Maybelline Cover Stick? I don't know, but if you think it suits your needs, you could give this a try for $11.38 on Cosmetic Love (I buy from them too much, seriously) or your local Etude House shop (lucky!)

Review: Etude House Missing U Lip Balm I Can Fly! (Cerulean Warbler)

 

I usually like to make my own lip balm with beeswax, almond oil etc, but when I saw this super cute egg-shaped lip balm from Etude House, I couldn't resist. ^__^ If you've seen this product before, you might think, 'What's up with hers? Why doesn't it have the grey dots it should have on it? The answer is simple; they started to fade some days after I got it >_> So I just rubbed them off and now it looks like an EOS lip balm, but the shape is still cute! I own the Cerulean Warbler.

 This is how the bottom looks; no ingredients list anywhere, but Etude says: "By profound ingredients such as sunflower oil, shea butter and moisturization, it will keep your lips smooth and moist." So I hope it's mostly natural!

  

There used to be more but I've been using it for months and months, so...!

 

 Comparison: the first picture is my bare lips, the second with the lip balm on! It goes on clear and gives a nice shine.

I actually really like this lip balm. I could say it's one of the least moisturizing ones I've ever tried; it didn't cure my chapped lips when I had this problem and some hours after I applied, my lips felt slightly dry again. However, it is made for a good cause, it looks very nice and smells amazing - just like peach. I look forward to using this all the time because something about it makes me happy, I don't know~

I bought this for $7.99 from Cosmetic Love. I would honestly recommend this to everyone who doesn't have a huge problem with their lips and just wants a nice lip balm. ^__^

Review: Tonymoly Clean Dew Broccoli Sprout Cleansing Cream

Hello everyone! For my first review, I chose Tonymoly's Clean Dew Broccoli Sprout Cleansing Cream, which I've been using for ages. I wear makeup everyday, so it's important to use a cleansing oil/cream, following up with a foaming cleanser, in order to remove it properly! Imagine applying skincare on a dirty face? Gross! >_<

What Tonymoly says about this product:

"The fresh cleansing cream that removes impurities and make-up as it contains the broccoli sprout of the Super food."

I will never get over how cute the packaging is. Having this in my bathroom makes my day. Also it's fun playing with the plastic leaves, somehow. They're all wiggly, ehehe ( ゜∀゜)彡

 This is what the cream looks like! As you can see, I'm almost out of it. There are tiny green beads in it, but they dissolve quickly on your face and I don't feel like they exfoliate. Who knows? They give a nice effect though, I guess?! The cream itself smells okay, kind of fresh.

Now, how about we test its cleansing abilities?

 

From left to right: lip tint, lipstick, eyeshadow, blush, bronzer, mascara, liquid and pencil eyeliner, foundation, BB cream, concealer (woah, that's a lot!)

Here's a closeup of how the cream looks like. Sexy finger, right? //gets shot

 Covered my arm with cleansing cream, massaged it seductively...

 

After wiping with a tissue! No water used yet. You can still see the lip products and eyeliners.

And this is after using a foaming cleanser afterwards, like Tonymoly suggests. Squeaky clean!

Okay, except for the lip tint, which probably won't hurt in that amount if it stays there.. come on~ 

This is the ingredients list for those who read it, like me. I had to put a piece of toilet paper inside the packaging, so that it is legible, ehehehe... Anyway, the ingredients are wonderful, full of natural extracts like lavender, rose etc, but I'm really bothered by the second ingredient; mineral oil. Also, petrolatum and parabens. If you don't mind these (they're not all that bad, but I have a strong hate for petroleum products in my cosmetics and there's the anti-paraben hype, you know...), then there's really no problem with it.

I bought the 200ml tub for $13.29 on Cosmetic Love, which is a great price! They also give out samples and freebies, so check their site out. You can also find it on ebay, Tonymoly stores (if you have access to these, I'm eternally jealous) etc. 

I wonder what cleansing oil/cream I should buy next? I want something without mineral oil~ Thanks for reading, have a great day!