REVIEW: Espoir Eyeshadow in Hibiscus

Espoir Eyeshadow in Hibiscus

Shimmery peach 

The shade is very light and flattering on my light-medium skin tone

You can see the shimmers

 

~AG~

Bought this at the Espoir store in Myeongdong, Seoul, Korea. The Espoir brand is not as popular as Etude House, Innisfree or Nature Republic. You do not see as much Espoir stores in Myeongdong, where all Korean beauty stores populate. I only found one Espoir store while I was there. The products from this brand is not as well-known. But I seen their products on Get It Beauty and other Korean beauty websites.

 

Hibiscus is a shimmery peach pink eye shadow. My intent was to use it as an everyday eye shadow to brighten the eye area. I decided to try a Korean beauty habit - Koreans actress and singers love wearing shimmery eye shadows. I forgot to note down the price of this single eye shadow. The price should be under USD $10. It is a great shade for those that loves shimmery eyeshadow. Even though the color looks light, it does show up on my light-to-medium skin tone. I usually use my ring finger to tap a little eye shadow across my eyelids. I find that it helps illuminate the eye area. The staying power is decent. It does not crease or fade away throughout the day. Nor did the shimmers run off to my lower eyelids.

Overall, I will not hesitate to buy another Espoir eye shadow. The pigment and staying power of their eye shadows are pretty good. Though for those that prefer matte eye shadow, they will not appreciate it as much.

NEW BUY: Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

Typical Etude House packaging with its long cap applicator

 

Bought this eye primer during my trip in South Korea. There are many good reviews on this Etude House eye primer. Since my HG Nars Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (click link for REVIEW: NARS EYESHADOW BASE ) is almost empty, I decided to pick up a more affordable replacement. Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer costs less than USD $8, which makes it 1/3 the price of Nars Eyeshadow Base. It comes with 10 grams (0.35 oz) of product. It will be totally worth the money if it works well for my oily eyelids. I cannot work to try it out! Stay tuned to find out whether Etude Proof 10 Eye Primer works to keep my eye shadow and eyeliner from smudging.

 

REVIEW: Essential Damage Care Rich Premier Hair Mask

~AG~

This hair mask has been in my shower for almost two years now. Yes, I should be tossing it soon. The packaging says it is good for two years after date of manufacturing. I checked to make sure it was still safe to use. With my dry and uncontrollable hair, I initially tried to use this mask once a week. However, this hair mask become long forgotten. This is a very very belated review of this hair mask.

 So what can I say about Essential Damage Care Rich Premier Hair Mask?

Essential Rich Premier Hair Mask is for those with very dry hair. The hair mask contains high purity honey and shea butter. Essential's Advanced Cuticle Technology claims to smoothen cuticles to the last 15 cm of hair, which is most prone to dryness and damages. The ingredients in the mask claim to strengthen hair and effectively prevent damage.

This hair mask smells lovely! You can definitely smell the honey ingredient. The texture of the hair mask is thicker compared to regular conditioner. I usually apply a generous amount to my medium-length hair, more than a $1 coin-size. I apply the conditioner to only the bottom half of my hair, concentrating on the ends. Since I am constantly plagued by split ends, I try my best to apply this hair mask every other week. Most beauty experts recommend putting hair mask once a week, but I am too lazy for that. Haha! The recommended use is to apply the hair mask to the hair for five minutes, after shampooing. Usually, I can only wait for about three minutes for the hair mask. Five minutes seem too long in the shower. The packaging also says that it is best to use this hair mask once or twice a week. If you really want to pamper your dry hair, you could use it more than once a week.

This hair mask is very rich. So it takes a while to rinse-off. Seriously, it takes me more than three minutes to rinse this hair mask off. My hair does feel more moisturized after use. Though, my hair is as frizzy after use. Overall, it is a good at-home hair mask.

NEW BUY: Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Purpose Dry Oil Face, Body & Hair

~MG~

Bought this multi-purpose dry oil from Nuxe at Watsons. They were having a 20% off promotion + 5% for members. The original price was S$45 but I only paid S$34.20 for it. This dry oil can be used for the face, body and hair. A few years back, I received a sample of this product in my Birchbox but did not try using it. Nuxe's dry oil is a popular product. I have seen it numerous times in beauty stores. This highly-rated product has been given good reviews online by beauty bloggers. The reason why I purchased this product is because I wanted to try using body oil on my legs instead of body lotions. As my legs tend to be quite dry, I find that lotions are not moisturizing enough. I was finally convinced by the relaxing floral scent of the dry oil. It reminded me of spas and massage oils. I will do a review of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuese Dry Oil once I use it long enough.

Huile Prodigieuse is France's leading beauty oil.
This multi-usage dry oil, made using six Precious Plant Oils (Macadamia, Hazelnut, Borage,
Sweet Almond, Camellia and St. John's Wort), nourishes, repairs and softens skin and hair.
It has a unique dry oil texture and a captivating fragrance.

 

REVIEW: Hera CC Cream

~AG~

This is MG's most raved about product. Now it is my turn to give my take on this award-winning CC Cream from Hera. Bought this CC Cream during my trip to South Korea last month. This was one of the top items on my must-buy shopping list.

According to the packaging, "Multicream, with an evolved and innovative skincare texture, merges skin-friendly cell biotechnology for complete coverage of blemishes and create a firmer and younger skin." Their clinical trial test claims that the use of Hera CC Cream will improve moisture content by 13.3% and skin tone brightening by 17.3%. It also claims to that the makeup will lasts for 8 hours. 

Pump packaging with a protective cap

Bought this CC Cream from Lotte Duty Free for KRW 31,000 (S$38,000). It is expensive for a CC Cream compared to other brands such as The Face Shop, Nature Republic or Innisfree ! Hera is considered an high-end Korean cosmetics brand so you pay more for their products.

The CC Cream has a light coverage. It feels like a tinted moisturizer rather than a foundation. For those with blemishes and redness, Hera CC Cream provides little coverage. You will need a concealer to cover up more problematic areas such as dark circles or pimples. The CC Cream does not feel heavy on my skin. The light texture still allows my skin to breathe. It also does not feel sticky or leave an oily residue. The best thing is that the shade matches my skin tone. It does not cause my face to have a grey or white effect. It evens the skin tone with masking the face. The shade I chose was True Beige (23), and it looks natural on my skin. Hera CC Cream is available in three shades: Pink Beige (17), Natural Beige (21) and True Beige (23). 

 It brightens and evens out my skin tone but still looks natural

There is no unflattering white or grey cast

 You can still see my blemishes

The only bad thing about this CC Cream is that it will melt if you are perspiring. During one of my experiences with Hera CC Cream, the makeup smudged badly around my eyes area when I was wearing sunglasses. It was embarrassing! I even used Giorgio Armani powder to set the makeup after the application of the CC Cream. So Hera claims that the makeup will lasts for 8 hours is not valid to me. 

However, I have resolved that issue. Hera CC Cream staying power is extended when you pair it with a face primer. I had no issues with the makeup melting or smudging off when I used Benefit POREfessional with Hera CC Cream. Bottom line is, if you live in a humid climate or during the summer, you have to use a primer before applying Hera CC Cream.

After several uses, Hera CC Cream did not have any adverse effects on my combination sensitive skin. It did not cause my skin to breakout nor did it cause any bumps on my cheeks area.