The History of Who : Qi & Jin Essence

This essence has as thick of a texture making it, in my opinion, more of an emulsion than an essence.

I can see why it is so expensive. After using it, I feel that it is more catered for people over age 35 with dry skin. 

 

Primera Miracle Seed Essence

Primera Miracle Seed Essence 150ml / 45,000 won - 36,000won

Lotus Seed Extract ingredients allows this product to accommodated people with sensitive skin and improves skin tone.
Especially in you live in the harsh city environments, your skin are prone to bad molecules that can damage your barrier so you need a strong defense barrier.
I have been bypassing the toner and going straight to this essence after cleanser and my skin feels nice and hasn't broken out which is a plus.
I have noticed that my face brightened, smoother and looks very healthy now.
1-2ml per day is enough for me, allowing me to finish it in two-three months.
I will repurchase this in the future, but first I have to get through 5 more huge bottles from different brands of essence.

Sephora Favorites - Summer Hair Saviors

Sephora Favorites - Summer Hair Saviors
I got this dring the July 4th weekend in Philadelhipa
I wanted to finish all the products before writing a review.

I have never been into hair products and I thought that I should start somewhere considering that I am prone to split ends so why not start with this bag.

1.8 oz Living Proof No-Frizz Humidity Shield
Hairspray that I tried to use daily, but I didn't reach for it much.


1 oz Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk from France
Dry Shampoo that I tried will always be compared to the Batiste Dry Shampoo and up to this day no other brand can compare.


0.5 oz Madam CJ Walker Scent & Shine Coconut Oil 
Best for dry curly hair, but not a fan of this.


0.5 oz DryBar Bay Breeze Hydrating Shot 
This serum was new to me, but to stand in the shower for 10 minutes to wait for this. It does hydrate your hair and makes your hair feels extra soft, but it's just too much work. I rather use conditioner.


1 oz dpHUE Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Raise 
holy shyt! This stinks!!! Smells like ammonia. I used it 5 more times to finish it, but it was painful to smell this chemical scent as you were trying to wash your hair.


1 oz Bumble And Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Primer 
A primer for your hair. Just too much for my hair.

0.5 oz IGK Rich Kid Coconut Oil Gel 
Someone suggested this and I did, but will pass.

2.4 oz VERB Sea Spray 
Totally didn't like it. It did give you a little bit of beach waves but it was hard to run your hands through your hair after a while.


1 oz Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Mask 
Smelled bad after 2 washes, but hair was soft afterwards.


1.35 oz Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt 
The only one that I didn't expect anything from and the sea salt shampoo made me love this product. Exfoliate my scalp and my hair, this was something new. This is the only product that I enjoyed in this bag and that I will re-purchase this product alone.

Beauteque July Mask Maven 2016 review

Beauteque July Mask Maven 2016 review
Beauteque's Beautiful Blend
The perfect blend to take your skin to paradise

Shipped : August 26

Arrived : August 27

Use promo code "ILENE" for a special something (10% OFF) at checkout at beauteque.com and/or beauteque.com/subscriptions.

Every month there could be 9-11 masks in every bag which can range anything including sheet mask, hand mask, wash-off mask, eye mask, foot mask and etc. If you buy it per month or up to 3 months it is $15, $14 for 6 months or $13 for 12 months.

I brought it for a year to try it out. 

I FINALLY RECEIVED MY JULY MASK MAVEN!

1. Scinic Intensive Dual Mask: Soothing Solution - good for sensitive skin
2. esfolio Honey Essence Mask Sheet
3. esfolio Green Tea Essence Mask Sheet
4. Tsiao Green Tea Whitening Mask
5. Tsiao Chamomile Licorice Skin Soothing Mask - best for dry and sensitive skin. The second I opened this packaging, my eyes went towards this mask and I immediately tried it and took a nap with it on for 30 minutes. My skin felt refreshing afterwards.
6. tsaio Sweet Orange Moisturizing Mask - very hydrating
7. Scinic My Juicy Bottle Mask Soothing Ampoule
8. TheFaceShop MasCream Sheet Brightening - very creamy and moisturizing
9. Missha Pure Source Cell Mask - Green Tea - Missha sheet mask aren't my best friend so I passed this along to my sister

I believed that I got a lot of Green Tea this month, which is fine because those are good for anti-inflammation and perfect for end of summer weather nonsense.

Beauteque August Mask Maven 2016

Beauteque August Mask Maven 2016 review
Post-Race Cooldown
Join In On this Month's Mask Marathon

Shipped : August 15

Arrived : August 18

Use promo code "ILENE" for a special something (10% OFF) at checkout at beauteque.com and/or beauteque.com/subscriptions.

Every month there could be 9-11 masks in every bag which can range anything including sheet mask, hand mask, wash-off mask, eye mask, foot mask and etc. If you buy it per month or up to 3 months it is $15, $14 for 6 months or $13 for 12 months.

I brought it for a year to try it out. And then It was automatically renewed before I got last month's Mask Maven. 
At the time that this August blog is published, I have yet (meaning did not received) my July Mask Maven.

1- LadyKin Saference Skin -RX Moisturizing Mask - moisturizing

2- Missha Real Solution Tencel Sheet Mask - Ceramide (soothing) - not good for sensitive skin

3- Beauty Friends Pomegrante Essence - passed along to sister

4- Beauty Friends Vitamin Essence - passed along to sister

5- Dr.Jart+ Vital Hydra Solution Mask - This was my first Dr.Jart+ mask and I had high expectations but I believe that the LoveMore brand is much better, but this was very hydrating.

6- Yadah Cactus Soothing Mask Pack - One of my favorites - very hydrating and face felt softer afterwards.

7- Yadah Honey Moisturizing Mask Pack - ditto to the above.

8- It's Skin Cream Mask Sheet - Glow - Very hydrating

9- Mystery Mask - Pore Ghassoul Pack - Not a fan and passed it along.

Shisedio Anessa Perfect Essence Sunscreen

Shisedio Anessa

Best sunscreen so far.
Light weight and very easy for foundation  to go on top.

No white cast.
Light gel-like cream texture.

Will buy more at the duty-free store at Asia airports!
Favorite Sunscreen so far for this summer.

 

General Haul #36 - Second Annual Peach and Lily Sample Sale in NYC!

I went to this sale right after working the midnight shift at the hospital.
I arrived here at 8:45am and there were about 250 people in front of me, allowing me to get in around 10am. Not bad, but there were so many people that got off the line before me because they were going to be late for work. I feel that attending sample sales on the days that you work are such bad ideas because you have no clue when you will be in the doors. If you made it in, you really did survived lol.

I missed the first annual Peach and Lily sample sale last year so I attended this year at the much larger rented warehouse ground floor space at Stollway at 250 W 39th St. The hours were from 8 am - 10 pm or until supplies last today. I heard that the first girl was here about 6:30am - that's dedication! No point in RSVP-ing because everyone was getting on the line and going in at an ordering fashion. Once in, there was a mandatory bag check on the right. I didn't bring any bags so I just grab a Peach and Lily tote and bypassed that line and started shopping.

The staff was organized and restocking and maintaining order allowing people to shop for 20 minutes. To be honest, that was more than enough time to look at the products. The products were all priced with colored stickers so you knew the prices without having to waste time asking the staff! The prices were straight forwarded-$3, $6, $10, $15, $22, $35. I wasn't as lucky to get some of the $35 products that I was hoping for, but that's ok. There were more than plenty other options to choose from.

The goodies that I got were:

1. Lagom Cellus Deep Moisture Cream - $29 retail - perfect for winter time
2. MayCoop Mini Raw Sauce - retail $14 - wasn't happy that they didn't have the full-sized product.
3. MayCoop Raw Moisturizer $40 retail - 80ml - good for all skin (perfect for summer)
4. Be the skin - Botanical Nutrition Power Toner - $29 retail 150ml- perfect for dry skin
5. Be the Skin - Botanical Pore Toner - $25 retail 150ml- perfect for combo to oily skin
6. Be the Skin - Botanical Nutrition Serum - $35 retail 50ml - good for all skin types
7. Be the Skin - Botanical Nutrition Power Cream -$39 retail 50ml- good for dry skin
8. CremorLab Mineral Treatment Essence - $42 retail 270ml - best for combo-oil skin
9. Cremorlab Shadow-Off Eye Cream - $48 retail 15ml - best for my sensitive skin
10. Kicho Sheep Oil Cream - $58 retail 65ml - best for all
11. The Lotus Essence Lotion with Lotus Leaf $64 retail 125ml - I will be using this as an emulsion
12. The Lotus Essence with Lotus Leaf $64 retail 125ml
13. The Lotus Leaf and Aloe Calming Serum $52 retail 70ml - best for this summer's bad sun rays
14. Shangpree S-energy long lasting concentrated serum $120 retail 30ml - good for sensitive and aging skin
15. Tosowoong TimeShift First Essence AP Therapy - 150ml I didn't see this on their website, but the packaging looks like a dupe for the SK-II
16. Primera Massage Cream - I think I got the last one. I'm a fan of this brand but I was surprised to see it here. I will use this as a body cream for this upcoming winter.

I was looking for the Kicho Sleeping mask but that was nowhere to be seen, but I was happy that I saw the beautiful packaged Sheep Oil Cream product. I was also looking for the Koh Gen Do brand, but since it was new to Peach and Lily, chances are that it wasn't going to be at the sample sale today. There's only a few more hours left to attend this one-day sale today.

You get your receipt either via email or text and the receipt is based on color coding not organized by product name so count how many products you get and double check when they charge you.
I think I purchased enough skincare for this upcoming winter and summer seasons to come!
Happy Shopping!
Individual reviews coming up soon when I use these products one by one!

Sephora Play August 2016

My second Sephora Play box just arrived and I think I will keep this subscription for a very long time.

This month theme is "The Eye Opener" which they focused on eye makeup and eye skincare.
Some people might like which others wouldn't.

1. Makeup Forever Artist Shadow in I-544 - my first makeup forever product. I never got around into using makeup forever, so I was excited for this nude pink color. Perfect for natural and casual looks.
2. Algenist Eye Renewal Balm - I'm going to be shopping for a new eye cream soon after I finish up my belif one. I have sensitive skin, so choosing an eye cream is a major miss or hit for me. These sample sized items are perfect to see what suits you or not.
3. Urban Decay Perversion mascara - Pergect for travelling and I heard that they are really good for volumizing your lashes.
4. Lancôme Energie de Vie Smoothing and Glowing Liquid Care Moisturizer - another great travel sized cream.
5. Sephora Collection Countour Eye Penicil 12hr Wear Waterproof in Love Affair - Perfect plum color for the autumn. I have this Sephora line in another color and I like that this texture is very creamy and pigmented.
6. The perfume - Clean Reserve Warm Cotton

General Haul #35 - Club Clio Sample Sale at the Union Square NYC

Load and behold the first Korean sample sale that I brought my mom to!
She loved it!
She keep throwing stuff into my hand held shopping basket.
Club Clio is a Korean makeup cosmetics company that has really highly pigmented and quality products.
I have been using this brand for about a year and I will keep using it for a while.

Onto the sale, it was my first time visit to the union square location and it was pretty spacious if compare to the Brooklyn location.

I decided to go on the third day out of the four day sale to avoid the crowds.

But the skincare stuff were gone-it's ok, I will gladly wait for the Peach and Lily sale next week!

This current sale had a lot of makeup-mainly lipsticks and powders. Lipsticks were 3 for $10. I ended up getting three Lippies, one lip balm, 1 eye crayon and 1 eye shadow. I tried to get stuff that I don't owe as of now at home, especially the "art" line.

I think the foundations and powders were worth more because they were on sale for 3 for $20 but I have way too many foundation so my mom just picked a few. I'm surprised that they had shade 5-sand and shade 6-tan which are the darkest shade.

The goodies that I got were:

1. Clio Kill Cover Highest Wear Foundation in shade 6-Tan
2. Clio Kill Cover Highest Wear Foundation in shade 5- Sand
3. Clio Kill Cover Highest Wear Pact in shade 5 - Sand
4. Clio Virgin Kiss Tinted Lip in shade 15- Hwa
5. Clio Virgin Kiss Tinted Lip in shade 23 Clubber
6. Clio Gelpresso Melting Lipsticks in shade 5 - Lady Peach
7. Clio Virgin Kiss Tinted Lip Primer
8. Clio Concealer
9. Clio Art Lipstick in shade M014-Rose Pink
10. Clio Art Shadow in Shade 417- Forte Green Brown
11. Clio Virgin Kiss Super Moisturizing Pot Lip Balm in shade 2-Miss Peach
12. Peripera Letter Me Waterproof Eye Crayon in shade 7-So Bad
13. Clio Diamond Lip stick in shade 13 - GlamBeige
14. Clio Diamond Lip Stick in shade 15 - MistyBeige
15. Goodal Energy Oil

I will do some individual reviews on the products I got for myself in the upcoming future!

Nature Republic - Provence calendula Daily Sun Block SPF50+PA+++ 57ml

Nature Republic - Provence calendula Daily Sun Block SPF50+PA+++ 57ml

Really nice sunscreen/sunblock.
I like the "medicinal flower" scent-it doesn't bother me.
You have to rub it evenly onto your face to get rid of the white cast at first.
It isn't sticky and it blends well with foundation on top of this skinscreen product.
But I rather use this for my body or during no makeup days.

Innisfree Long Wear Cushion

It took me long enough to buy an innisfree cushion.
Innisfree has never been my first choice of brand to reach for but I wanted to try it as part of my summer skincare routine to see if my face reacts well with it.
It's a ok cushion but a bit too dry for me during this summer.
I think I will pass on this cushion and move onto the next.


Moisturizing - not enough for my combination skin during the winter but ok for the summer.
Coverage - light
Wear - matte
Dewy Glow - none
Lasting Power - good for 6 hours
Oxidizing - none
Scent - I don't

General #34 - TesterKorea #16

Date Orderd - Jul13
Date Shipped - July15
Date Arrived - July27

Total Amount : Total Amount : 34,3470won + Shipping Cost 9,000won = 43,470won

1 - ETUDE HOUSE Big Cover Concealer BB 30g / # Sand  - 10.500won

2 - THE FACE SHOP Essential Damage Care Hair Essence 150ml - 6500won

3 - TONYMOLY The Fresh Phytoncide Pore Essence 55ml - 10720won

4 - INNISFREE The minimum Sun Cream SPF25,PA++ 40ml - 6.750won

I'll admit - I didn't need to purchase these things from this haul, but I really wanted to try that Big Cover concealer.

Individual reviews coming soon!

INNISFREE Jejubija Trouble Cleansing Gel

I needed a new cleansing gel  or oil after my failed Missha BB cleansing oil.
This is my third cleansing gel after TonyMoly and Missha counterparts.
Up to this point, I wanted something that was fitting for the hot summer temperatures and something that will help with ance-prone skin.
The "bijia trouble" line caught my eye as it does the job and it glides smoothly upon contact with the face.
I even got the counterpart toner (skin softner) under the same line.

 

Dr. Morita Caviar Moisturizing Essence Eye Mask

Dr. Morita Caviar Moisturizing Essence Eye Mask - even though the packaging say to leave it for 10-15 minutes, I had it on for half hour and it was still filled with essence.

I have been using this on my mini road trips or weekend trips and they don't disappoint. It's like a wet face sheet mask for the lower eyes.



        

Ladykin Glow Lipstick

Ladykin Glow Lipstick

I got #8 fall rose which is a mix shade of dark pink and beige. 
I didn't have high expectations and I ended up enjoying this lipstick.
Very pigmented. Scent is nice, packaging is kind of weak and cheap materials, but I overlook this because the lipstick was very creamy and moisturizing on contact but it becomes semi-matte afterwards. 

Perfect for the summer for me!

TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL Artclass By Rodin Highlighter

TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL Artclass By Rodin Highlighter 11g

 

To be honest, I am slightly disappointed in this product.
Everyone online raved about this so I finally decide to buy it after a year.
This is more of a setting powder than a highlighter for me at first, but it soon grew on me so I have mixed feelings about this product now.
I used this after applying my foundation and blush and my face went from poreless dewy foundation to dry, matte and seeing every single pore on my face on my combination skin.

Peripera Blur Pang Peach Milk Blur

$7.36 at a Clio partnership store owned by JKnLee

     

I love the scent of peaches and one applied onto your face, the aftermath is very "white".
The "white" actually helps with brightening and then I put foundation over to cover that.

But I am a little disappointed because I was just going to use this on my face if I was running late, but the color isn't natural beige or oxidizing as a primer but at least there is a bit of sunscreen in this product!

  

Birchbox July 2016

My first Birchbox subscription box just came in the mail. Looks like it was punched on the sides of the box but as long as the products inside are fine, then I am fine!

Avene Thermal Spring Water - perfect to placed in my travel makeup bag for my west coastal trip in October!

Balance Me Radiance Face mask - two- time use of mask.

Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle - another hair product that I can add to my newly pile of hair products that I brought from my Philly trip last month.

Marcelle Xtension Plus Curl Mascara - something that I can throw in my "give-away" to friends pile since I don't have much of eye lashes.

Supergoop! Daily Correct CC Cream SPF 35+ - Light/Medium - another thing that I can throw in my travel bag for a single use.

Overall, nothing to "wow" about. Now I can say that I have brought this box once and it didn't surprise me.