Etude House's Lip Tint Eraser

Something I love about Korean cosmetics brands is that they frequently come out with products that make a beauty regime a whole lot easier to execute. An impromptu shopping trip in Mong Kok yesterday resulted in me discovering this gem: Etude House's new Lip Tint Eraser. I'm sure this product isn't a totally new invention, but it's the first time I've actually come across one.

What it is is basically a lip product remover. The product is clear and lip gloss-like in consistency. You take a small drop onto your fingers and massage it into your lips, then rinse off everything with water. Since lip tints are difficult to remove, this product should come in handy when removing stubborn lip products. 

While I'm not as interested in lip tints, I am an avid user and consumer of liquid lipsticks and matte formulas. I tested out the Eraser on four lip products: Colourpop's Ultra Satin Lip in Botanical; Nyx's Soft Matte Lip Cream in Abu Dhabi; Mac's Whirl; Too Faced's Melted Lipstick in Melted Fig. Products like these are known to stay on the lips and require oil-based removers for removal.

I took four small drops for each individual stripe of product, massaged it in (making sure that the entire area of colour came in contact with the Eraser), and rinsed with water. 

I am quite impressed with how the product worked! Typically I would use a makeup wipe or an oil-based remover to remove my lip colour at the end of the day, but I sometimes have to scrub into my lips to get everything off. The lip colours came off my hand at ease, and didn't require any scrubbing.

Should you buy this product? While it's not an absolute necessity, I would say go ahead! It's a less painful method of lip product removal, and the Eraser contains Shea butter to help moisturise the lips. At $42, it's a very inexpensive product that could help you out during tough times.

A Purchase From jewellerybox.co.uk

After reading many, many bloggers praising jewellerybox.co.uk, I knew I had to check it out. The site offers an extremely wide range of jewellery in different finishes, and for a while I've had my eye on this particular Claddagh ring. Though the site offers worldwide shipping, an opportunity allowed me to skip that £4 fee and have it delivered to me directly. 

I am without an ounce of Irish in me, but I find the origins and meaning behind Claddagh rings absolutely beautiful. The design in itself is quite unique and eye-catching on the hand. If you're interested on more detail behind the history of Claddagh rings, this site offers a detailed rundown.

I'm very pleased with the overall experience shopping through jewellerybox.co.uk. Granted I myself was not on the receiving end of the package, but from what I know the process was quick and easy. A slight challenge was choosing the size of the ring. The site offered to send a free ring sizer to accurately obtain my ring size; I wasn't able to find the page to do so and I wasn't sure if the offer was extended to outside of the UK. With a bit of luck and some twine, I luckily ordered a size that fit my ring finger perfectly. 

Shop my exact ring here or have a look around the site here!

Tokyo Haul

Hey there!

It's no surprise that I went shopping in Tokyo, so check out my haul video below!

See you! x

Spring Haul

Hello all!

How's your Easter going? I'm doing pretty well myself; I'm making sure I get enough time to relax and work. Holidays are meant for us to catch up after all!

I've got a haul for you today! It's my first ever haul video so excuse me if it's a little rusty. Enjoy!

Bye for now! x

A Day in Causeway Bay

Hey there!

I went out to Causeway Bay and thought I would vlog parts of the day. I hope you enjoy!

See you! x

CoverGirl Jumbo Gloss Balm: Haute Pink Twist

Hey there!

Today's post is a review on a CoverGirl lip product: the Jumbo Gloss Balm in Haute Pink Twist. I own another colour from the collection, Ballet Twist, and it has served me well. The formula worked well with my lips and I was eager to try more from the line.

As usual, packaging must be mentioned. I quite like the packaging if this balm, the twist-up crayon function is handy and it's easy to slip into a small crossbody. The coloured lid is also useful for identifying the product colour.

The balm has a pointed tip, perfect for filling in your lips accurately. It has a subtle olive oil scent; it may not sound like the best scent but it reminds me of a very moisturising product, which luckily this is. The colour glides on well but beware if you have chapped or flaky lips. I like to apply a layer of lip balm before applying this balm to ensure that my lips are hydrated and the colour won't sink into the lines on my lips.

I'll admit, I was a bit intimidated by the colour at first sight because it just seemed so bright. After the first try, I fell in love with it! It's a nice Barbie-esque pink with a slight blue undertone and an actually wearable colour. Pigmentation would be light to medium.

 natural lip colour

Haute Pink Twist

CoverGirl, unfortunately, is not available in Hong Kong, which is a pity because I would really like to try their nail polishes, specially the Hunger Games line. Anyways, if you have a chance to try out these balms I would definitely recommend it. 

How are you guys? The holidays are coming and up, and I'm excited to have a break and do more DIYs. I'm thinking a small dish for keys etc. but clay doesn't always agree with me...

That's all for today and I'll see you next week x

Japan Haul

Hey guys :)

Last week I went to Osaka with my family for term break and I went shopping there. We visited a few cool places like Tokyu Hands (up till the trip I had been calling it Tokyo Hands) and Shinsaibashi. The shopping bug struck me and I couldn't help myself because I, like most others, am a hard-core shopper and consumer of... things.

Before I start I would like to say I am in no way showing off about what I have purchased. Just wanted to clear that up!

Starting off with the most exciting purchase: a polaroid printer. I decided to purchase this because the day we went the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the exposure went crazy on all my polaroid pictures due to the sun. With the printer, you can use your phone to take and pick the photos to print. The outcome is a high-def polaroid that maintains the vintage quality of polaroid cameras.

Another exciting purchase: an iPod nano. I really needed an iPod to store my growing music collection and my phone was running out of storage (curse you mysterious Other storage that I can't get rid of!). Space grey seemed like a nice colour for the iPod so I went with that. It's such a funny little electronic, so different to the iPod nanos of the past. Truthfully I prefer the 4th or 5th generation nanos but unfortunately they don't sell that anymore. 

'Midnight Kiss' on repeat!

Japan is basically Stationery Wonderland. In Y5 I was seriously obsessed with stationery. I hauled 3-4 pencil cases to school everyday, filled with gel pens, glitter pens, felt tips and other unnecessary bits and bobs. I do like stationery now but I'm not as crazy about it as I was back then. Still, in Japan I had to fight off the urges to buy pens, lead pencils and notebooks. Japan takes stationery to a whole other level. In Hong Kong you get the basics with a few gems. In Japan you are exposed to the whole treasure chest. I luckily managed to restrain myself and did not buy fifteen pens.

L-R: Pilot Acroball, Zebra Colour Flight, Bic ballpoint pen

The same happens with pencil cases. I found this one in Tokyu Hands, and it was slightly less expensive in HK so I justified buying it.

You all know I am a lip balm hoarder. The selection in Japan was incredible but I narrowed it down to two; of course one of them had to be a Baby Lips lip balm (the berry flavoured one with a limited edition Fashion Week tube), the other a mint-scented Shiseido lip balm. The packaging of these two are one point!

A crystal nail file

In Monki I picked up this set of coloured bobby pins. Coloured bobby pins are in right now, and I really like the rose gold ones. 

missglamorazzi recently came out with a video on how to style coloured bobby pins so check it out!

Near our hotel was a ginormous Forever 21. My brain nearly shut down with excitement when I got there because it really was a shopper's paradise; it was huge. The decor was also really nice and everything was set up well. I picked up several accessories there because they have a wide range for not that expensive. 

These ear cuffs are slightly different to the normal ear cuff. These ones have a part for your standard piercing but than goes up the cartilage. I'm always up for trying new accessory trends because you never know when you'll find one that suits your style. Speaking of accessory trends, I keep seeing the hand band on the internet. Seems pretty cool!

Aside from simple chain necklaces, I have recently started wearing crystal point necklaces. They are so fun and tumblr-y.

I also purchased two sweaters; one a nice, warm rust colour and another one in a grey-tinted mint.

That is all for today's haul! I stayed up late last night to watch 'The First Time' for the first time (heh) so I'm preettyy tired. I'm going to end it here but I'll see you guys next week xx

Guardians of the Galaxy-Inspired Outfits

Hey guys :)

We are a week into school and I guess you can say I've survived it! This year I've started carrying binders, and let me tell you, binders are hideously annoying. Yes, I understand they are useful but they just take up TOO MUCH ROOM. Everyday is a struggle to see how I can tetris everything into my locker. If you feel the same pain, just know you aren't alone on this one.

Anyways, going back to today's post. Firstly, if you have not watched 'Guardians of the Galaxy' you need to go out right now and grab tickets for the next one playing, because it is honestly one of the best - if not the best - Marvel movies I have ever seen. I would elaborate more on this but you'll see what I have to say in full in my monthly favourites, which so happens to be next week.

The first outfit is inspired by Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord. His outfits have this retro, laid-back vibe, and he is never seen without his trademark red leather jacket or headphones and walkman.

Bag, Boots, Headphones, Skirt, Shirt, Earrings, Jacket

Inspired by

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Next up on the list is Gamora: adopted daughter of Thanos, killer assassin, and gorgeous in green. Her suit consists of all black leather, but we are sadly not living in the Galaxy and full leather is impractical *sad face*

Shirt, Shoes, Pants, Necklace

Maybelline Baby Lips Electro in Berry Bomb and Pink Shock, available at Dudes HK

Kevin Murphy Colour Bug hair chalk, available at iPrivatei Salon

Inspired by

pic

Lastly, Nebula. Although she's a bad guy, she is a seriously kick-ass bad guy. One of the things I was most inspired by was her makeup, and all the layers to it. Looking from her face makeup, there are a lot of hardware components of which the origins are unknown. Oooh, a mystery!

Skirt, Boots, Bag, Chain Bracelet, Ear Cuff, Cuff Bracelet, Tank

Inspired by

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And I am done! All clothing items and accessories are available in Hong Kong (I made sure of it!), or online on websites that ship to Hong Kong. To check for more info on each piece, click the words below each collage. For some reason my blogger template gives me no option to make the click- through links more visible; now you now that they actually are there. Have fun creating these outfits and you can totally change any component if you don't find the exact one :)

That's all for today and I'll talk to you next week xx

The Body Shop Foundation - Dragon Fruit Lip Butter

Hey guys!

School starts in a few days. Eeeeeep.

Today's post is a review on The Body Shop Foundation's Dragon Fruit Lip Butter, as you can see from the title. I picked this little guy up a few weeks ago and I'm here to tell you my thoughts on it!

First things first [I'm the realest]: details. This product is a project The Body Shop is working on to raise money for select charities around the world in the categories of human rights, animal protection, and environmental protection. The list of ingredients is long, but the main thing is that the lip butter includes plenty of natural oils and Shea butter, which works wonders on the lips. For the full description of the product, click HERE (linking the Canadian site because the Hong Kong site is currently down and the description is the same). For more details on the project, click HERE.

pic

So it is imperative that I highlight/praise/gush about the packaging. As said before, I am the biggest sucker for packaging, and this lip butter instantly caught my eye. I don't even remember what I was doing in The Body Shop, as I rarely go in! Anyways, the colours are supposed to resemble the colours of a dragon fruit. It reminds me a lot of a pop art piece of work, the colour palette something Andy Warhol would have worked with. It's fun, it's bright, and the pair of lips on the front gives it some sass. I am definitely loving the packaging! The size of it is convenient; I can easily throw it into my bag and find it amidst the junk everything else.

The smell is absolutely divine. It has a strong dragon fruit fragrance with hints of mango and peach mixed in; the combination results in fruity, summer-y goodness. Some people may not like the smell as it can be quite heavy, but it's a winner for me.

tumblr

reminds me of this scene!

The consistency of the lip butter resembles what it is named after: butter. Personally it feels like melting butter, the kind that you would leave out of the fridge to use for baking. Then again, lip butters and balms tend to 'melt' slightly in hotter climates, and Hong Kong summers definitely count as one. To prevent this the lip butter could be chilled in the fridge, but it's not that much of a bother to me. The creamy, rich formula feels great on the lips. 

Although it comes off quite opaque on the lips, it turns clear when you rub it in well. I prefer to apply this at night to let it properly sink in. The outcome in the morning is a pair of soft, hydrated lips.

Admittedly, the price of this lip butter was a little bit steep ($79). I normally try to stick under $50 as the Burt's Bees lip balms have kept me satisfied and my lips moisturised for $49. Nonetheless, 100% of the $79 goes to charity. They have set it up in a system where when you pay at the counter, you get to vote for which charity you would like to donate your money to. The selection of charities differ around the world, and in the HK stores they include Half The Sky Foundation, Lifelong Animal Protection Charity, and Clean Air Limited Network. The winning charity, out of three charities, will get 50% of all that The Body Shop receive from selling the lip butters. The second will receive 30%, then 20% for the third. I thought it was a pretty good concept, and I handed over my money guilt-free :) 

all from google images

I voted for Half The Sky in case you were wondering!

Overall, I am really enjoying this product. The price is a little high, but aside from that it's something you should definitely consider buying. The smell is yummy, the packaging rocks, it is moisturising, and it's all for a good cause. Plus, these lip butters only come out during certain times of the year so make sure you snap one up before they are gone!

That's it from me today, and I'll see you next week xx

Review: Baby Lips in Grape Vine #20

Hey guys :)

How have you been doing? School is almost out and I am dying for summer. There are so many things I want to do, such as go on more walks, catch up on my reading, and do more DIY posts! Today's post is a review on a Baby Lips lip balm in Grape Vine #20.

Yesterday I went to Dude's. Again :) They had started selling the Baby Lips Dr. Rescue lip balms and I wanted to try them out because I am obsessed with Baby Lips. When I was in Dude's, I was looking through reviews of the Dr. Rescues. Many bloggers discouraged readers to purchase them, because of the smell, weak pigmentation, and cheap packaging. Grape Vine caught my eye and I was SO happy to find it. I have been wanting this particular Baby Lips for a really long time, but Dude's never seemed to have it in stock. Fortunately, there was one more on the shelve so I snapped that up.

Ok, first things first: the packaging. I am in love with it! I am a huge sucker for packaging just because. The bright teal and fuchsia compliment each other well, and the bright colour is perfect for summer. The tube is also really easy to manage, and it is compact enough to slip into a small bag or pocket.

Of course, I didn't only buy it for the packaging! When I first saw Grape Vine, I fell for the colour. For lip colours, I either like really pale pinks (like Cover Girl's Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Ballet Twist) or purple-y pinks. This lip balm fell in the purple-y pinks category; I would describe it as a mauve-y purple.

As you can see on my hand, the pigmentation is quite sheer. It was a lot more sheer than I thought, so that was a little bit disappointing *sad face*. Nonetheless, it would be a good colour for school because it's not too dark or purple, and it gives a flattering sheer wash of colour to my lips. 

Grape Vine is on the right, and next to it is Berry Bomb from the Baby Lips Electro collection. Berry Bomb is my absolute favourite out of all Baby Lips because I love how vibrant it is on my lips. It is definitely my holy grail, go-to lip product.

The lip balm claims to have a moisture-staying power of 8 hours. I'm not entirely sure on this account because I tend to reapply after 2-3 hours. I do like how moisturized my lips feel when I'm wearing it, and it doesn't have that gross, waxy texture many other lip balms have. Another awesome thing is that it smells like grape candy :)

So to sum it all up:

Pros:

• cute packaging
• compact size
• nice feeling on lips
• good texture
• yummy smell

Cons:

• not as pigmented as I had expected

Overall, I like this product. It didn't fully turn out the way I had expected it to be, but I still really like it. If you are looking for a lip product that is moisturizing and isn't too in-your-face, I would recommend Grape Vine!

My Baby Lips collection!

That's all for today, hope you enjoyed today's post. Have a good day/night!

Leave a comment down below and don't forget to follow Love From Icy on Bloglovin or by email!

Shopping in Seoul: Myeong Dong

Hey guys :)

So a couple of weeks ago, I went to Seoul with my mum for a mini shopping spree during the long weekend. We didn't go to too many places as our time was limited, but we stopped at several places like Ehwa Woman's University, Dongdaemun, and of course, Myeong Dong. I've been to Myeong Dong a few times in the past, and it is literally shopping HEAVEN. From the station's Exit 7 (Myeong Dong station, Line 4), you come out from the station to face an ever-lasting road of shops.

First is a freaking GINORMOUS Uniqlo.

As you go in, there will be shops like Tony Moly, innisfree, Etude House, all sorts of makeup brands. There are actually several of the same shop as you head further in, so if you can't find the thing you're looking for in one shop, it's bound to be available in the same shop 2 minutes away. 

The best thing about Myeong Dong (to me) is the absolutely HUGE Forever 21. The founder of Forever 21 was a Korean guy and his wife, who moved to L.A. to open up stores. Last time I visited this store was maybe two years ago, and since then they have renovated the store. The new design resembles a fashion runway, and it looks amazing!

More stores include:

• SPAO
• Bean Pole
• H&M
• American Apparel
• 8ight Seconds
• Top Ten

and many, many more...

As for beauty brands:

• innisfree
• Etude house
• Tony Moly
• Holika Holika
• Nature Republic 
• The Face Shop
• A'pieu
• Olive Young
• Atrium
• Skin Food

and again, many, many more!

I did a haul post of the stuff I purchased in Korea, so if you would like to see that click HERE.

If you have a chance to visit Seoul and you love shopping, definitely check out Myeong Dong. It's a really tourist-y spot, so a must-see!

Not much today, but I promise I'll have a really exiting post for next week :)

One last thing: I now have a Twitter account! Ok, technically, like the tumblr account, I did have an old one. However, I didn't really use so it so I thought I would delete it and start fresh. Follow me @icygirl79 https://twitter.com/icygirl79

That's all for today. have a good day/night!

Have you been to Seoul? Leave a comment down below and don't forget to follow Love From Icy on Bloglovin or by email!

Seoul Haul

Hey guys :)

So the stupidest thing happened to me today: I sneezed in class, and had a sudden mega-nosebleed. The worst part was that we were in the middle of writing a practice exam-style Chinese essay. UGH, I'm still cringing :/

Anyways, I'm back from Korea! Ok, technically I came home last night but only now have I gotten the chance to write. As promised from last week, I have a haul of what I purchased in Korea. Here goes!

The most exciting purchase first, no? AHHHH I love these Toms sososo much! The shop had a ton of styles, and I really wanted to get the blue ombre crochet pair. But, I own a lot of blue-green clothing so I probably wouldn't get much wear out of them. This pair has a more neutral colour palette and I look forward to wearing them out.

If you've seen my post from a few weeks ago, you'll know I use innisfree skincare products. I purchased a night cream and everyday lotion because I was running out, and I really like the green tea line. I haven't previously used these products so I hope they moisturize my skin well. 

Surprisingly, I didn't buy too many accessories in Korea even though I had expected myself to go overboard. I bought these earrings to use as pushpins for my cork board which I bought, maybe last month? I find that it adds something to the plain frame, without having to actually decorate the frame. The cork board will most likely appear in a future post, if anyone wants to see it. Oh, and these earrings were from Naughty Cat, a chain store of accessories which you can find scattered all over Seoul. They were only ₩1000 (HKD 7.6) per pair. Score!

Rings from Naughty Cat and Forever 21

To be honest, maybe I did go a teeny bit overboard with the nail products. I just had a long list of stuff I wanted to purchase, and luckily I managed to find them all. 

Black and white polishes from Holika Holika

Sally Hansen Insta-dri top coat from Olive Young (I have been looking for this for ages!)

Laneige sheer blue tint polish from Atrium

I was especially excited when I picked up the blue tint polish because it reminded me of the OPI Sheer Tints, only it was a lot less expensive.

L-R:

Black nail striper from The Face Shop

#41 navy nail polish from innisfree

Modi Quick Dryer drops and Nail Polish Thinner from Atrium

Sometimes in beauty stores, they have insane buy one get one offers. It just so happened that the period of which we went to Korea, Modi in Atrium was having a buy one get one offer on all their products. I was in need of a nail polish thinner because some of my nail polish had gone gloopy, and I considered getting the Seche Vite one, only I wasn't sure I wanted to pay that much. I was so glad when I found the thinner in Korea, and it was very affordable considering I was getting two bottles. 

Hair ties from Olive Young

Hand cream from innisfree

Nail polish remover in cream form from A'pieu

Petit Art perfume mist in Pure Yellow by Tony Moly

I absolutely love the packaging on the bottle! I also own the Fresh Green scent of this line, and it has a really cool vintage graphic of Lana del Rey.

Two more things before I end this post:

1. I have a tumblr now!

I recently decided to join the madness that we call tumblr. I did own an account in the past but I didn't really do anything on it, so I deleted it and started fresh. Follow me? http://icygirl79.tumblr.com/

2. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is freaking amazing!

God, every single episode is like watching a Marvel movie and it keeps me on the edge of my seat. There's so much action and there are so many plot twists. I especially like FitzSimmons :) I really, really hope this show gets picked up for more seasons after the second season ends!

That's all for today. I'm super tired now as I didn't get much sleep last night. Have a good day/night!

Leave a comment down below and don't forget to follow Love From Icy by Bloglovin and/or email!