Category: Reviews (Page 2 of 19)

KLAIRS BB CREAM AND CONCEALER REVIEW

September 30, 2015 / The Beauty Wolf

Let me start off with a caveat, it sucks beyond belief that these products only come in one shade. Like, it really sucks. They’re shutting off so much of the market and denying so many people the chance to enjoy these well formulated, affordabe gems, but I guess it is what it is. But still, damn, it sucks! However, if you have the dumb luck to fall into this incredibly narrow shade range (say somewhere between NW or NC 15-30) please read on to hear about two wonderful products!

I’ve always liked Klairs, with their Aesop derivative packaging and affordability, they’re usually right on the mark. Their masks and chocolate soap are two of my favourite products from their line, and I’ve just added two more favourites to that list.

Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream, simply put, is an excellent BB cream. It comes in a little squeeze tube roughly the size and shape of a small toothpaste. The single shade is perfect for my skintone and once on it leaves me with a gorgeous dewy glow. The coverage is medium, and it goes on creamy and smooth. It never picks up on flakes or dryness the way some other BBs can *cough Etude House cough cough*.
The colour is true and doesn’t leave a grey or pink cast, just a clear, natural, healthy looking glow. I appreciate that a lot. Also appreciated is the full spectrum UVA and UVB protection from the SPF40. This is an excellent BB option for anyone looking for an affordable, uncomplicated, dewy, non-cushion BB cream. Since it’s not a BB cushion, it makes it easy to mix with volumers and other complexion boosters. I’ve been loving it mixed with the VDL Lumilayer Primer with a 1:2 ratio, it makes for a flawless radiant finish. I’ve worn it practically every weekend this summer. Here’s a slapdash application on the back of my hand to give you an idea of the finish

I’ve even given a tube of this away as a gift to a friend who is just now dipping her toes into Korean Beauty and BB cream, she absolutely loved it! Another convert to join our ranks, thanks Klairs!

The perfect compliment to this BB cream, and a real standout standalone winner is the Klairs Creamy & Natural Fit Concealer. Holy wow, I LOVE this concealer! Since I’m in my 30’s now I have the dreaded fine lines under my eyes that makes wearing concealer such a damn ordeal. The Creamy & Natural name for the product certainly fits, it goes on like a liquidy cream and doesn’t settle into those bitchass lines. Yesssssss thank you again, Klairs! It does a great job covering my dark circles without looking cakey or like I’m wearing obvious concealer (which is a huge pet peeve of mine!). This doesn’t quite have the same kind of coverage as my beloved Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Concealer, but it’s a whole different animal. This is a liquid, doefoot applicator concealer. It’s much lighter and airier. However, it does have very decent coverage and I love it. To show how great the coverage is, here it is on a pretty dark nasty purple scar I have on my leg

Pretty dope, right? Imagine what that could do for your dark circles.

On my most hungover of days I wear this and my Salmon concealer together, using the Klairs all over the undereye and lightly dabbing just a bit of Skinfood Salmon concealer on the darkest of spots. I’m really impressed with this product and will certainly repurchase it in the future when I run out!

Both of these products are really great and deserve a full five our of five turtles

Available at Wishtrend here and here
And as always you can get $5 off your first order by signing up via my link https://www.wishtrend.com:48598/?s=022463306 and entering code 022463306 upon sign up!

HERA UV MIST CUSHION ULTRA MOISTURE REVIEW

August 14, 2015 / The Beauty Wolf

I have a new favourite cushion for people looking for a little more glow and moisture. I still love my Iope cushion for it’s moderate glow and light coverage, my Missha cushion for the semi-matte look, and now I have my a newly crowned Queen of the moisture and glow, the Hera UV Mist Cushion Ultra Moisture.

I had previously tried the Hera UV Mist Cushion but found that it just wasn’t moist enough for me. It was good, really good, but not a favourite. I still preferred my Iope cushion for the moisturizing role it played. I really love the feel of moisture in my face products, I find they plump up your skin and give it a really youthful appearance. When I saw that there was an Ultra Moisture version I really wanted to give it a try. I’m very partial to my Hera CC cream, which is my favourite CC cream on the market right now, so I knew Hera was capable of making a great cushion product and I hoped this was it.

Since I’m writing about it now I’m sure you can deduce that this was everything I was hoping it would be. The description from the InsiderBeauty website, which is where I got this from, describes things very well:

http://insiderbeauty.com/collections/makeup/products/uv-mist-cushion-ultra-moisture

HERA’s innovative ‘UV Mist Cushion Ultra Moisture’ has all the benefits of its predecessor ‘UV Mist Cushion’ but only better. With its ground-breaking ability to glide liquid foundation onto skin like a mist in the convenience of a puff, this unique cushion compact has a huge cult following in South Korea for its ability to give you natural, buildable coverage with a radiant, dewy finish. This formula offers ample hydration with broad spectrum SPF 34 and PA++ sunscreen.

Provides 4.2x more enhanced moisture than its predecessor ‘UV Mist Cushion’
Effective for all skin types
Long-lasting moisture and glow
Includes Camellia Oil and Achillea extracts known for its antioxidants and skin protection
Includes a full-sized refill cushion

We carry this product in 3 shades:

Cool Ivory #13 – Suitable for those with pale to light skin tones
Cool Vanilla #21 – Suitable for those with light to medium skin tones
Cool Beige #23 – Suitable for those with medium beige skin tones

It’s summer here so I went with the #23, which was perfect. The finish truly is radiant and dewy and my skin just feels so insanely cushy once the BB cream is patted on. It’s an instant wake-up looking skin and dull complexions. It also has really nice coverage. To illustrate that, I’ve swatched it here on the back of my hand with all of it’s gross green veins, as you can see the cushion all but covered them and left my skin looking dewy and even.

This really proved the “you can fake it till you make it” mantra I’ve been telling people in the media about Korean cosmetics.If you already have the original Hera cushion, here they both are used next to each other. On the left we have the Hera UV Mist Cushion and on the right the Her UV Mist Cushion Ultra Moisture, as you can see there is a marked difference in finish but the same great coverage.

In addition to how lovely the actual product is, it’s housed in a beautiful, sturdy, iridescent ,grey pealescent compact. It’s very well constructed and heavy, like most luxury brands are. The price point is roughly double a lot of other cushions, however keep in mind you’re actually getting TWO compacts at this price, so the actual price is on par with cheaper cushions. So for $45 each box comes with an already filled new compact, and a refill that you pop into the compact once the initial one is depleted and discarded, so it’s a sound buy. I truly love this compact, and I think I’m going to especially relish it this winter when my skin is crying from the -45c temperatures. This is a must try cushion if you love luxurious formulations, buildable coverage, and moisture in your BBs!

Five out of five turtles plus one more for being a holy grail!
+
I got my Hera UV Mist Cushion Ultra Moisture from InsiderBeauty here, which is where I recommend picking it up! They are truly wonderful to shop with.

It’s also available on ebay here

and Amazon here with Prime shipping

IT’S SKIN PRESTIGE CREME GINSENG D’ESCARGOT REVIEW

August 13, 2015 / The Beauty Wolf

I’m a sucker for exquisite packaging, and I’m a sucker for snails. I mean I really, really love snail. I will be leading the charge the minute I see a snail product, flyin’ that Snail Squad flag.

Dramatic reenactment

So between snails and sublime jars, I’ll be checkin’ for you. Combine the two and I’m going to be hooked. It’s Skin Prestige Creme Ginseng D’escargot did just that, and they also invited my old friend ginseng along for the ride. Oh hell yes.

First of all, I can’t start this review without talking about this gorgeous pot. I mean really, it’s almost stupid how pretty this stuff is. Whether you’re a hyper modern minimalist (like me), a more traditional person who likes high-end maximimalism fanciness, or a plain ole’ basic ass bitch, this package is going to look perfect on your dressing table. It really fits with everything and yet it’s stunning no matter what it’s competing with. And really, that’s the perfect metaphor for it’s performance as a moisturizing cream as well!

The first ingredient of this cream are Panax Ginseng Root, which is the same chief ingredient in my beloved Sulwhasoo Ginseng Concentrated Cream. As if that wasn’t enough, the second ingredient is Snail Secretion Filtrate, one of my absolute favourites. Perhaps that’s why it reminds me of a slightly lighter version of the Sulwhasoo Ginseng Cream. It has the same buttery texture, but is a lot more airy, while still managing to be creamy and moisturizing. It’s been a perfect alternative to that cream for the summertime. I especially like it at night, under my sleeping pack, when I wake up my skin is happy, glowy, and not at all sticky, even in the heat.

It has a pretty basic core formulation of great emollients, surfactants, antioxidants, and humectants, aside from amazingness of the top ingredients of ginseng and snail filtrate. There’s also some notable interesting things like Grifola Frondosa Mycelium Ferment Filtrate Extract, a mushroom extract that’s both a serious antioxidant and a humectant. It’s also very low in acne triggers, if that’s important to you. You can see the full ingredient list here.

It’s also priced about $140 less than the Sulwhasoo, so you can ball on a budget http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sulwhasoo-Concentrated-Ginseng-Renewing-Cream-60ml-Free-sample-/121108700295?hash=item1c32a41c87. You can get it for $45 on Amazon with free shipping here. As of the time of writing this there were only 17 units left in stock though so hurry http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AK7EW5W/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p194_d2_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=1BZVJW6YSFP6GCM1N576&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

It’s also available with free shipping for about $66 here
http://www.amazon.com/Skin-Prestige-Creme-Ginseng-Descargot/dp/B00SU4QM6Y/ref=sr_1_5?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1438296135&sr=1-5&keywords=It%27s+Skin+Prestige+Creme+Ginseng+D%27escargot

and for $45 and free shipping on Ebay here
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ITS-SKIN-Prestige-Creme-Ginseng-Descargot-60ml-Korea-cosmetics-/271276529136?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f295755f0

For it’s beautiful packaging, great formulation, and excellent performance, five out of five turtles for It’s Skin Prestige Creme Ginseng D’escargot!

PERIPERA WHOLLY DEEP JEWEL POTS REVIEW

August 1, 2015 / The Beauty Wolf

I love glow, I love glam, I love glitter. Well, I love grown up modern glitter, not the 90’s chunky glitter of yesteryear, but the shimmering kissed by the gods glittery formulations of today. Until very recently, if you wanted to have something light reflective on your lids you were going to have a little hell to pay in the form of fallout. Fallout is when your eye product comes loose and drifts below your bottom lash line, creating a mess. If you were lucky it was just a glittery dusting, at it’s worst you came out looking like you got punched by the toothfairy and ended up with a very glam black eye. Either way it was almost impossible to come out unscathed. My favourite performer, but worst fallout offender, was always the Mac loose pigments. They would delivery excellent colour payoff and shine but using them was a pain since you dealt with fallout from application and then more fallout after they’d been worn awhile. I both loved and hated them on set, I’d be armed with a fanbrush and makeup wipes just waiting for the inevitable dust cloud to settle under the model’s eyes.

When I first saw the Peripera Wholly Deep Jewel Pots I instantly thought of the Mac pigments. They were gorgeous but I was dreading the aftermath. As soon as I was able to play with one, my whole world got flipped upside down. These things are amazing. They’re so amazing I had to go back and edit the last sentence I wrote because it had three curse words in it, that’s how much I love these, they made me cuss. This product joins my Tonymoly Backstage Gel Liner as a holy grail must-have Korean cosmetic. Here’s why

With 8 beautiful shades to choose from, these things have insane sparkle without being overly teeny-bopper glittery. They’re sparkly and perfect for nighttime wear, but totally appropriate for daytime as well IMO. The formulation is insane, it’s somewhere between a cream and a powder, it reminds me of that magic sand stuff my toddler plays with. I’ve never used anything like it before. Because of the unique formulation you get all of the rich colour payoff, all of the shine, and NONE of the fallout.

It’s genius! It’s gorgeous! It’s genius and gorgeous! It’s a top supermodel neuroscientist! It’s the impossible! Really, you’ve got to try this product out. I’m about to buy the entire shade line, it’s that good! These are both cute and glamorous, sophisticated and fun. They apply best with your finger and sweep on easily with amazing colour payoff as you can see in the swatches above. I can’t sing their praises enough, I’m in love with these little pots of pure joy!

Grab yours at W2 Beauty for $15 http://w2beauty.com/en/clio-eye/16455-clio-peripera-peripera-wholly-deep-jewel-pot-8-colors.html
I have always loved w2Beauty because of their free shipping, generous samples, and excellent customer service! And as always you can receive $5 off your first purchase by signing up for an account through my sponsor linkhttp://w2beauty.com/?s=071087605 and entering code 071087605 at sign up!

Available on eBay here
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PERIPERA-WHolly-Deep-JEWEL-POT-Multi-Angle-Glitter-Multi-proof-as-brownie-/152072036330?var=&hash=item2368331fea:m:mUScq7-jsvUapOH5M0z5naA

Amazon here
http://www.amazon.com/Peripera-Wholly-Deep-Jewel-Trendsetter/dp/B010WLST5E/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1462523676&sr=1-2&keywords=peripera+jewel+pot

Five out of five turtles, plus one extra for changing the pigment game! Ugh, where have you been all my life?! Clio/Peripera continues to slay with their quality and innovation!
+

You can also get these directly from Club Clio USA if you’re in the States. And if you happen to live in NYC drop by one of their locations to grab them in person!
http://clubclio-en.com/product/PERIPERA+WHOLLY+DEEP+JEWEL+POT/116

Lastly, you can see them in action in a tutorial I did over at the K-log, where we gave Kpop makeovers on a lazy Saturday using these pots and a few other great products!

ILLI TOTAL AGE CARE CLEANSING WATER REVIEW

July 31, 2015 / The Beauty Wolf

I feel like a salty old sea dog when it comes to beauty products but once in a great while, a product comes along and I’m like “wtf..where does this fit into my routine?”. It’s been a long time since that happened to me, but when I saw the Illi Total Age Cleansing Water on the InsiderBeauty store website, I was kind of lost. Illi is one of my favourite brands right now, I am having a serious love affair with their Total Age Care body products and getting compliments left and right ever since I started using them. They smell heavenly and they make my skin insanely soft. I had yet to try anything from their face care line but I figured it had to be good if it was even half as effective as the body care line.

I guess I should start with what a cleansing water even is! I wasn’t entirely sure myself so I reached out to InsiderBeauty for some illumination on the subject of how to use this product correctly and they sent me this reply:

“So, the simple instruction is soak the cotton pad with the cleansing water and sweep away the makeup on eyes, lips, and face. They advertise the product as an all-in-one cleansing product without the need to wash off with water, but most Korean reviewers and bloggers seem to use it as the first part of their double cleanse. It’s slightly acidic so it mildly tones your skin, and also contains Polyol, which is awater-soluable moisturizer. It’s an incredible cleanser/skincare product with lots of nourishing ingredients like green tea, ginseng, and camellia oil that leave your skin feeling great.”

Ahhh! I’ve got it now!

Also from the InsiderBeauty website is this description:

“A cult favorite in Korea – remove all face and eye makeup debris with illi’s anti-oxidant rich cleansing water with one gentle sweep. Formulated with ginseng root extract, beans, camellia flower extracts, and green tea extracts from Jeju Island, your skin will absorb nutrients upon contact and be left soothed and refreshed. Total Age Cleansing Water guarantees comfort and easy for makeup removing efficacy while brightening and retaining skin’s moisture barrier.

Green tea extract is filled with anti-oxidants to soothe skin and combat free radicals
Ginseng root extract activates skin’s metabolism helping tone and firm skin
Camellia flower extract is rich in vitamins A, B, and E “

So essentially, a cleansing water is almost like a makeup remover, only it contains skin beneficial ingredients and doesn’t need to be washed away afterward, unless you want to follow up as part of your double cleansing routine. This Illi cleansing water in particular is, in short, gorgeous. It smells gorgeous, it works gorgeous, it just is gorgeous. The smell is really just intoxicating to me. If you’re familiar with the Total Age Care body care line, it’s the exact same scent, a beautiful subtle floral (the scent is really reminiscent of the Hayul Chrysanthemum serum). I wish it were a perfume so I could wear it.

It does a really great job of removing point makeup. Here I’ve swatched Tonymoly Backstage Gel Liner, Clio Gelpresso Waterproof Pencil Shadow, 3 Concept Eyes Eyeshadow Palette shadow, Etude House Look At My Eyes Cafe Eyeshadow, 3 Concept Eyes Lipstick in the shade V, The Face Shop Cream Blusher, and Peripera Wholly Deep Jewel Pot on my arm, which are all tough customers when it comes to tenacity and pigmentation

And here’s what happened after one very light pass with the cotton ball, and then a more thorough cleansing. As you can see, it removed every trace of makeup and deposited it onto the cotton pad! (I used my favourite Cosrx Cotton Puffs for the job.)

And while this is positioned as a makeup remover, I really like using this first thing in the morning in place of a face wash with water. Instead of using my foaming cleanser, I sweep this across my face instead. It’s crazy refreshing and does a great job preparing my skin for the rest of my routine. Used in the traditional makeup remover way, this does a really nice job removing point makeup. It even removes my Tonymoly gel liner! However, it doesn’t do well removing waterproof western mascara, so if you’re using this as part of double cleanse, you’re definitely going to have to follow up with an oil or sherbet cleanser to completely remove waterproof mascara. I wouldn’t recommend completely replacing your oil/sherbet cleanser with this anyway, as handy and revolutionary as it is, your face still needs a deeply thorough removal of sunscreen and I wouldn’t trust that to anything but an oil/sherbet cleanser! That being said, there is definitely room for this in your routine, it’s a great product for correcting any accidental “oops” you might have done with your makeup, for refreshing your skin on a nasty day (hello hot yoga! I’m going to get another bottle of this strictly for my gym bag!), and for a gentle water-free morning cleanse. Illi has me believing they can do no wrong, this is an excellent product and coming in at under $20 it won’t break the bank either! I haven’t even seen it anywhere on eBay or Amazon yet, so as far as I know it’s only available at InsiderBeauty (If I’m wrong let me know in the comments!) here http://insiderbeauty.com/collections/skincare/products/total-age-cleansing-water

Five out of five refreshed, plump skinned, smelling like they’re straight from heaven above turtles

KLAIRS BB CREAM AND CONCEALER REVIEW

HERA UV MIST CUSHION ULTRA MOISTURE REVIEW

IT’S SKIN PRESTIGE CREME GINSENG D’ESCARGOT REVIEW

PERIPERA WHOLLY DEEP JEWEL POTS REVIEW

ILLI TOTAL AGE CARE CLEANSING WATER REVIEW

About Me