K-BEAUTY MAKEUP STARTER KIT WITH EASY ACCESS PRODUCTS

Today I'm sharing with you a k-beauty makeup starter kit I put together. This makeup starter kit is featuring Korean makeup that you can easily get from Memebox.com. In case you are wondering, Memebox is not sponsoring this post. I included my referral link to Memebox in this post but I purchased everything in the post myself. 

I decided to feature everything from Memebox simply because that's where I started my k-beauty journey and in my opinion, they are one of the best k-beauty online destinations. This makeup starter kit is great for creating natural and fresh everyday makeup look that is suitable for both school and work.

FACE - IOPE Air Cushion XP #N23

IOPE is known for their air cushion and their air cushion is definitely a cult favorite for a good reason. The one I'm using is in N23 and "N" stand for Natural Finish. This is a great starter cushion as it provides decent coverage and lasting time but also gives your skin a slightly dewy natural look. You will not look like you have tons of makeup on but your skin will look flawless.

#N23 matches pretty well with my NC20-25 skin tone. If you are lighter than NC20, #21 will probably work better for you.

Unfortunately, #N23 is sold out on Memebox but you can still get it from Amazon with Prime shipping. 

EYE SHADOW - I'm Meme I'm Stick Shadow

Stick shadows are very easy and quick to use, which is great for makeup beginners. I'm Meme brand stick shadows have a great color selection and are very affordable. The color payoff of these shadow sticks is pretty good and I also like their shimmery and almost metallic finish.

The two colors I chose for this starter kit are #ES402 Ash Stone and #ES409 Hazel Topaz. Hazel Topaz is a really pretty champagne color with a purple hue. I like to use this color all over my lid. Ash stone is a grayish bronze shade, which is perfect for outer V.

Here are the swatches of these two colors: Ash Stone is on the left and Hazel Topaz is on the left.

MASCARA - Beauty People Bubble GGum Mascara - Long Lash

Memebox has a very limited mascara selection. However, this cute mascara from Beauty People is surprisingly good. The mascara creates a very natural look and adds great length to the lashes. I also love the playful name and packaging of this product.

The Mascara wand is very small, which make it very easy to use and also great for bottom lashes.

BLUSH - Botanic Farm Romantic Blooming Lip & Cheek - Soft Coral

I love cream blushes as they are very easy to use and very blendable. This Botanic farm blush gives a very soft and natural color.

This is a lip and cheek 2 in 1 color. However, I think it works better on the cheeks.

LIP - SECRET KEY Sweet Glam Tint Glow & I'm Gel Tint

As a lip junky, I have to include more than one lip products. Secret Key sweet glam tint glow has always been one of my favorite lip products. See my previous review on it here . The pink color is very wearable and easy to handle.

I'm gel tint from Memebox is one of my recent discoveries. This tint is very lightweight and stays on the lips for a very long time.

In the image below, I'm wearing I'm gel tint in peach coral.

Here is the finish look and I'm wearing the Secret Key sweet glam tint glow in pink in this picture.

Hope you enjoyed this post! Please come back for more posts!

*This post contains affiliate links as this is how I support my blog.

MY AB BLUSH COLLECTION WITH SWATCHES

Today, I want to share my entire AB blush collection with all of you. As I'm pretty new to AB makeup, my blush collection is pretty moderate but I think it will still be interesting to share.

Let's start with an overview of my entire collection which has 6 blushes in total.

#1 Innisfree Mineral Blush in #4 

This blush has a frosty finish with some very subtle gold sparkles. However, it does give a very natural flush to the cheeks. #4 is a very nice light pink color that is perfect for a natural makeup look.

#2 Skinfood Rose Essence Soft Cream Blusher in #4

I love to use cream blushes in the summer and this is one of my favorite blushes. This blush is very blendable but also buildable, which is perfect for any makeup look. I also think the rose scent is very pleasant. #4 is a muted coral color that is very easy to wear.

#3 CANMAKE cream cheek in #07

This is the only Japanese brand blush I have and I think it is an okay blush. The packaging feels a little cheap but the color pigmentation is pretty nice and it has

a decent lasting time too.

You can now get this blush on Amazon and Prime is available. Click Here

Here are the swatches of the above three blushes:

#4 TONYMOLY Cheektone Cream Blush in #C04

A cream blush with a thicker consistency. I like that it is a matte blush and has a very great color payoff. #C04 is a nice dusty rose color that's great for fall and winter. This is probably my 2nd favorite blush out of all.

#5 Etude House Princess Happy Ending Rose Cheek Blusher in #2 Coral Shine Rose

Gorgeous packaging and blush design! The blush is very shimmery and has a gold sheen to the color. I like to use it as a blush topper to go on top of my cream blushes.

#6 Etude House Dreaming Swan Eye and Cheek in #04 Releve Purple

Super cute packaging and very dreamy concept! Just looking at this blush makes me feel happy and full of joy. I'm also a big fan of the tin packaging! However, the color payoff of the blush is not great and the purple color barely shows up on my NC25 - NC30 olive skin tone...

Comment below to share with me your favorite blushes! I love reading all your comments!

*This post contains affiliate links as this is how I support my blog.

MY CURRENT FAVORITE AB LIP PRODUCTS

I'm doing a short post today to share some of my current AB lip product favorites. These are my most wore lip products for the past two to three months and they are all very affordable.

#1 Innisfree Creamy Tint Lipstick in #1

I love this lipstick for its awesome color payoff and long-lasting effect. It is also very light weight and will not dry out your lips. #1 is a lovely bright rosy pink color, which is great if you want your lip to be the main focus of your makeup. (see swatches at the end of the post)

 #2 Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge in #2 Flushed Peach

As you probably can tell by now, I'm a big fan of innisfree's lip products. This lip tint has been my favorite lip product for months now. 

It has a jelly like light weight texture. Once it sets, it does not feel sticky at all and to be honest, I can barely feel it on my lips! It gives a beauty glossy and vivid color and will leave a nice tint on your lips even after the lip product wears out. The #2 color looks really nice on my asian skin tone!

#3 BBIA Last Lipstick Velvet Matte in #4 Intelligent

I usually turn to my AB lip products when I want a glossy lip look and use my non-AB lipsticks for a matte lip look. This lipstick totally changed that! It beat all my non-AB lipsticks and became my favorite matte lipstick! 

It has a velvet like texture; very moisturizing on the lips and gives a nice matte finish on the lips. The #4 color is a really nice rosy color that is great color for everyday use.

From L to R: BBIA Last Lipstick Velvet Matte in #4 Intelligent; Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge in #2 Flushed Peach; Innisfree Creamy Tint Lipstick in #1

#4 Secret Key Sweet Glam Tint Glow in Funky Pink

I posted a detailed review of this lipstick couple months ago and have been using it ever since. It is still one of my go to AB lip products. See my previous review here.

*This post contains affiliate links.

MARCH FAVORITES

Today, I'm sharing with you my favorite products for the month of March. March has not been a very adventures month for me, thus many favorites in this post are actually my all time favorite products.

These Mediental healing masks are my absolute favorite masks for a long time. They are very gentle and calming but effective at the same time. The masks are great at bringing moisture back to the skin and calming down any skin irritations. Also, the mask sheet fits my face perfectly.

I love all of them but I have to say that my favorite is the green one, which is for troubled skin. I found the green ones are extra calming and great at reducing skin redness.

Another mask that I'm in love with in the month of March is Sulwhasoo's Clarifying Mask. This mask is one of the lower price item from Sulwhasoo but its performance is excellent. Normally, I'm not a fan of peel off masks as they are quite harsh for the skin. However, I found this peel off clarifying mask is not as harsh as other peel off masks and it is very easy to peel off once it is dried. I found my skin looks instantly brighter and feels smoother after every use and the result will last until the next day. 
This is now a Holy Grail product for me.

As a lip product addict, of course there will always be lip products in my monthly favorites. 

This month, I have been loving these two products: NYX Whipped Lip & Cheek Soufflé in Berry Tea and MAKE UP FOR EVER Rouge Artist Natural Lipstick in N9

NYX Whipped Lip & Cheek Soufflé is a new product that I discussed this month. Unlike traditional lip products, it has a mousse like texture and dries to a semi-matte finish. I like how lightweight this product feels on my lips and it is fairly long lasting too. Also,this product is very versatile as you can use it for both lip and cheek, which is great for traveling.

The color I like is called Berry Tea, which is a gorgeous berry pink color that looks nice for both lip and cheek. 

I got this MAKE UP FOR EVER lipstick in N9 for Sephora's birthday gift about a year ago. I swatched it a and totally forgot about it. This month, I totally rediscovered this product and found it to be the perfect everyday lip color for work. I will probably purchase a full size after I'm done with the mini sample.

These are all the products i liked in the month of March. Hope you enjoyed reading this post!

NÜGG LIP MASK REVIEW

Today, I'm going to review one of the new things I picked up from Target recently: nügg lip mask.

What is it?
Lip mask is essentially just like a wash off face mask for your lip. You leave it on for 15-20 mins and then tissue off the remains.

Price
I got mine from Target for $7.99.


The Claim
This highly nourishing mask is a delicious treat for your lips. Shea Butter & Coconut Oil help to hydrate and soften, while Licorice Root Complex helps to create the highly sought after plumping effect. 100% Natural, 100% Vegan and produced without petrochemicals, parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances and colors.

Packaging
The golden ball shape packaging is really cute and unique. The brand also recommended to use the empty case as a jewelry holder for rings or ear rings, which is a very nice feature.

Scent
This product has a light minty scent.

Texture
It feels like a heavy cream moisturizer.

Performance
My lips do feel more hydrated and softer after I use this product. I also saw a slight plumping effect, which is nice.However, the hydration effect does not last very long so I think this is more of an emergency or primer type of product instead of a lip treatment product.

Score
3/5
I will use up what I have but will not repurchase it.

SECRET KISS SWEET GLAM TINT GLOW VS. DIOR ADDICT LIPSTICK

I heard a lot of people said the secret kiss sweet glam tint glow is a dupe for the Dior addict lipstick. I happen to own both lipsticks so I decided to do a comparison between these two lipsticks and find out if they are a dupe or not. Please note that I'm not talking about color dupes but formula and product finish/texture dupes.

Secret Kiss Sweet Glam Tint Glow

Dior Addict Lipstick

Packaging
One of the main reason people think these are dupes are because they have very similar packaging designs. Dior's has a magnetic closure and the packaging is heavier and feels much more premium than secret kiss' packaging. 

Price
I got my secret kiss sweet glam tint glow from seller beautynetkorea on eBay for $8.01.
Dior Addict lipstick retails for $35 in the US.


Scent
Secret Kiss: It doesn't has any scent.Dior: has a villainy sweet scent. It is not overpowering and you can barely smell it once it is on the lips.

Secret Kiss Sweet Glam Tint Glow in Funky Pink

Dior Addict Lipstick in 780 Bold

Texture & Application

Secret Kiss: The lipstick goes on very smoothly and it has a very lightweight and almost gel-like texture. I almost feel like I'm not wearing anything on my lips.

Dior: It feels heavier than the secret kiss one and this one has a very buttery and balm like texture.

Finish

Both lipsticks have a glossy shine finish. The secret kiss one has a better color payoff than the Dior Addict lipstick and the Dior one is glossier.

Swatch of Secret Kiss Sweet Glam Tint Glow in Funky Pink

Dior Addict Lipstick in 780 Bold

PerformanceBoth of them are very moisturizing but none of them are long lasting lipsticks. Both lipsticks last on the lips for about 4 hours. However, the secret kiss one will stain your lip, so even after the lipstick wore off, there will still be color on the lips, which I like a lot.

Are they dupes for each other? I would say: NO, they are not dupes for each other. I think they are two completely different formulas and the texture of the products are quiet different as well.

Which one do I like better?
I have to say I like the secret kiss sweet glam tint glow better since it last longer on the lips (because it stains the lips) and it feels very light weight!

See more lipstick reviews here.