REVIEW: SKINFOOD WATERY BERRY LINE (TONER, SERUM, EMULSION)

I wanted to try Skinfood Watery Berry line because I loved the packaging and the CF (silly reasons, I know), but as the prices were quite stiff, I didn't want to purchase them and end up regretting my decision. Imagine my happiness when I received the samples for the toner, serum and emulsion! Now I'll stop blabbering and tell you what I think about them.

• Main ingredients (source: eng.theskinfood.com):

- Berries: Cloudberries, lingonberries, and raspberries from Lapland, a region famous for its Santa Claus village, provide superior antioxidant properties.

- Hyaluronic acid: holds up to 30 times its weight in water, transforming dry skin into a soft, glowing texture.

• Skinfood Watery Berry Toner:

- Description: A dewy moisture toner that promotes soft, glowing skin with berry extracts and hyaluronic acid.

- My opinion: This is a gentle, non-stripping and non-drying toner. I don't think it provides much moisture to the skin, but at least it doesn't irritate or dry my skin out. It also has a light scent which I really like. If you have dry/sensitive skin, I highly recommend this product.

- Score: 8/10

• Skinfood Watery Berry Serum:

- Description: A dewy moisture serum that promotes soft, glowing skin with berry extracts and hyaluronic acid.

- My opinion: This is my favorite product out of the bunch. I used this when my skin was dull-looking and dehydrated, and when I woke up the next morning, my skin was revitalized, moisturized and visibly brighter. Its light texture enabled it to penetrate quickly into the skin without leaving any greasy residues behind. However, I used this in spring, when the weather was still cold, so I'm not sure if it'll be suitable for the scorching summer. But in my opinion, it'll be fine because of its light consistency. I think every skin type can use this, but if you have really dry skin, make sure to follow up with a moisturizer.

- Score: 10/10

• Skinfood Watery Berry Emulsion:

- Description: A dewy emulsion that promotes soft, glowing skin with berry extracts and hyaluronic acid (OK, Skinfood is really lazy with their English translations as the descriptions for their line are basically the same, minus the product names :/)

- My opinion: This is basically a light moisturizer, which absorbs quickly as well as provides moisture and brightening effect. I really like it but I think the moisturizing and brightening properties pale in comparison with the serum. That's understandable because serum is more concentrated and meant for treatment, while emulsion is just supposed to provide extra moisture and comfort for the skin. Again, I can't attest to how it'll perform in hot weather, but if you have dry/dehydrated skin and feel that the serum is not enough for your skin, follow up with this emulsion.

- Score: 9/10

Purchase?: I love this line, but I'm quite satisfied with my skincare routine at the moment, so I'll have to say no. But I may buy them in the future if the current products stop working for me. Overall, I highly recommend these products for those with dry or oily/dehydrated skin because they're so light, gentle yet effective.

TRAVEL SERIES PART 2: MY TRAVEL MAKEUP BAG

Hi everyone! I'm back with part 2 of my travel series. Today I'm gonna talk about what makeup products I bring with me in my upcoming holiday.

This super kawaii bag is a GWP that I got from It's Skin. It's just freakin' adorable >.<

• Base makeup: Skin79 VIP Gold Collection Super+ Beblesh Balm and Skin79 Sun Protect Beblesh Pact SPF30 PA++. Both products have been reviewed on my blog. Just click on their names and you'll be redirected to the posts.   
• Concealer: Skinfood Salmon Darkcircle Concealer Cream. This doesn't completely cover up my dark circles, but again I haven't found any concealer that does this, so it'll have to do.

• Eye makeup: I don't wear eyeshadow but eyebrow powder and mascara are must-have items for me. KATE Designing Eyebrow N and Kiss Me Heroine Make Long&Curl Mascara fit the bill perfectly. 

• Blusher: I love KATE Cheek Color S in PK-1 (click on the name to see full review). It's a very natural and pretty pink shade. 
• Lipstick: Since I plan on purchasing several lipsticks overseas, I only bring one with me and it's Tonymoly Prestige Crystal Lipstick SPF13 in Muse Coral which I raved about when I first started my blog. The color makes my face look brighter, livelier and the lipstick itself has SPF13! 
• Makeup tools: I love bringing The Body Shop Retractable Blusher Brush when travelling because it's small, compact, light and has a lid! I hate using powder puff because it makes my face look cakey. For eyes, I always curl my lashes before applying mascara. I've used Shiseido Eyelash Curler for about 4 years and it's still going strong ^^ I also have Etude House Eyebrow Razor to trim my eyebrows. I never pluck my brows as I'm afraid it'll make my eyes become droopy.

Well, that's everything I plan to put in my makeup bag. Wish you all a happy holiday :)

REVIEW: SKINFOOD OMJIA WHITENING LINE

Apart from the Salmon Brightening Eye Cream, I've never used any skincare products from Skinfood, so I was quite excited to try this Omjia Whitening line. However, I was sorely disappointed, not because of the products themselves, but rather the quality of the sample packagings :( 

For some reasons, most of the products have evaporated/disappeared by the time I opened my samples. For the toner, I was able to get 2 drops out, which, frankly speaking, wasn't enough to wet my cotton pad. As for the serum, ALL of the serum had gone and the inside looked like this:

Although it seemed there was loads of product, it was just the mark of the used-to-be-there serum. This sample was completely empty so I couldn't try out the serum T-T

The  emulsion wasn't much better as I was able to get only a green bean-sized amount out. I applied it on my philtrum and... that was it!

The cream fared the best out of the four. I got a pea-sized amount which was enough for my T-zone.

OK, so here's my first impressions of 3 products: toner, emulsion and cream.

- Toner: It was OK, nothing to write home about. It was gentle, non-drying and non-sticky.

- Emulsion: Honestly, it's hard to write a review based on a green-bean sized amount, but at least it didn't break me out and made me philtrum feel smooth and moisturized.

- Cream: I like this product because it absorbed into my skin quickly and didn't make my face become oily or greasy. It made my skin baby-smooth and moisturized without clogging my pores or breaking me out. When I woke up in the morning, my face looked bright and healthy. However, I have a feeling that it'd be quite heavy for my oily-combination skin in summer.

Purchase?: No. To be honest, the quality of the samples kinda puts me off :( 

REVIEW: SKINFOOD SALMON BRIGHTENING EYE CREAM

I've tried some eye creams, from affordable to high-end ones, and my most favorite so far has to be Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Cream.

Description: An eye cream with arbutin that helps brighten skin around the eyes. Norwegian salmon roe extract nourishes skin.

How to use: Use on toned skin. Apply an adequate amount around the eyes and then gently pat using fingertips for faster absorption.

Ingredients: N/A

Size: 30g

My opinion: This eye cream is supposed to lighten dark circles, but it didn't work in that aspect for me. I have permanent dark circles under my eyes since I was little and I've always tried to find an eye cream that can get rid of them. Now I finally accept the fact that nothing can get rid of my genetic dark circles T-T. I also have some fine lines under my eyes, but this doesn't do anything for them. OK, so I guess you're wondering why I consider this as the best eye cream I've ever tried. Well, it's because of its brightening and moisturizing properties. My eyelids have always been darker than the rest of my face, and after 4 months of using this eye cream, I feel that they are slightly brighter. This eye cream is  moisturizing without being too greasy or heavy. No matter how much I apply, this sinks in within seconds and leaves no residue. Yet it still manages to moisturize my eyes really well! It also doesn't sting my eyes. A bonus is that this cream smells really good. It has a floral scent (it reminds me of jasmine but I don't think this flower is on the ingredient list) and despite the fact that it's made from salmon, it doesn't smell fishy at all ^^ It's not cheap but I only need a tiny amount for each application. I've been using this for 4 months and there's still 2/3 left!

Price: I bought this in Malaysia and forgot the price :( But it's ₩17,000 in Korea.

Pros:

- Brightening and moisturizing

- Last for a very long time

- Non-irritating

Cons:

- Not effective on dark circles and fine lines

Score: 8/10

Repurchase?: Yes, but not immediately because there're other eye creams that I wanna try :)