Beauty haul- mainly Asian

sian makeup is not the most accessible where I live so when I get a chance I try to pick up a few products. I currently have a few days off from work so I decided to check out a few places where I can easily get Asian makeup. I was using a sample of the Missha M Signature Real Complete BB Cream in shade 23 that I got a while ago, but I was starting to run out. The Dr. Jart BB Cream that I was using in the winter time was too light for summer so I started using the Missha one. Let me just say that I'm really loving it. It covers really well and it gives my face a flawless finish. I have oily skin and this one gave my face a satin finish.

This is the bag that my Korean makeup came in.

I picked up the Missha BB Cream, but I also got the Missha M BB Boomer. The sales lady told me that the BB Boomer was 50% because I bought BB cream. I tried it on the back of my hand and I was curious to try it. I got the BB cream for $28.99 and the BB Boomer was $9.50 (original price was $19).

Here is the BB Boomer (left) and the BB cream (right) swatched on my hand.

The BB Boomer is supposed to go on your skin before the BB cream and it's supposed to make the BB cream last longer and also give your skin look brighter. You know how Korean actress' skin looks so luminous in the ad campaigns? Well, this is supposed to do exactly that. Here it is blended out a bit. It has a pearlescent finish to it.

Here is the BB cream blended out. I know it looks really light on my hand, but when it oxidizes it's not as white. Plus, I use a bronzer on my face after applying this and it matches pretty well.

Here it is blended out completely. See how it blends in?

Here's another look.

What I love most about Korean beauty counters is all the freebies they give you. They are all Missha samples. I got a Super Aqua Oxygen Micro Essence Peeling- this is a peel that you leave on your face after washing your face and after a few minutes it's supposed to form bubbles. After the bubbles pop (I know it sounds gross!) you're supposed to rub it gently off your face. It is a peel that is supposed to create cell turn-over by getting rid of dead skin cells. Next I got 2 Misssha BB Boomers. I'm going to give one to my co-worker who is wanting to try BB creams. She is Greek, but she started hearing all about BB creams and is curious to try it. I also got a sample of the BB cream to give to her as well. Lastly, I got a sheet mask in lemon.

Next I went to an Asian mall, which isn't that close to where I live, but they have all the hard-to-find makeup brands.

I got more cotton pads. The Asian ones are far superior than the Western cotton pads. They are oh-so-soft and some of them are bound at the edges so they don't come apart. I bought this one because it was bound at the edges and it has 2 sides- a textured side (shown here) and a plain side. The textured side might be good for taking off harder-to-remove makeup. I'm not sure how many comes in this box because all the writing is in Japanese, but it was $4.

I also got a cleansing lotion. This one is by Mandom Beauty. I was using the Shiseido Perfect Cleansing Oil, but I didn't love it. I didn't feel that it removed my waterproof makeup completely. I think the Laneige one I bought did a better job, but that one was heavier. The Shiseido one was much more water-y.

So when I was talking to the sales associate she recommended this one. It's a little more costly than the Shiseido one, but she said this one was way more potent. She said you don't even need to wash your face with water after using this. You can wipe your face with a cotton pad and you're good to go. I think I would still wash my face with water afterwards though. I got the Mandom Cleansing Express Brightup Cleansing Lotion. This is the lavender coloured bottle. This one is supposed to brighten your face afterwards. There were other ones, but this one was the one I wanted to try.

Here's a non-beauty item. I got a portable fan. It's been super hot where I live and I just wanted a portable fan that I can have in my purse to cool me off during the day. Isn't this cute? I think this was $4 or something like that.

Next, I got some NYX products. NYX is not available at drugstores here. Well, they sell it at Rexall Pharma Plus, but they don't have the whole range. Plus, it's REALLY expensive there. The Asian mall I went to had way more NYX products and they were better priced. I got the Jumbo Eyeliner in Milk (white). I already have Black Bean (black), Dark Brown, and Oyster (light pearlescent purple). This was $4.99.

I got a whole bunch of NYX Round Lip Glosses. They were $2.99 each.

This one is in 22 Natural. It's a nude-y pink with no shimmer. It's a cream finish. They are more water-y than MAC Cremesheen Glasses, but I still love it. It is quite pigmented and is not sticky at all. I would say they don't last as long, but I still love how it looks on my lips. I'm very happy with these.

This one is in 20 Kiss (2nd swatch). It is a nude-y pink, but is a tad more pink and bluer toned than Natural. It has a pearlesent finish to it. This reminds me a lot of MAC's Love Nectar Lustre Glass, but Love Nectar has very find gold glitter and is a tad more peach.

This one is in 06 Mauve (3rd swatch). This is a pink-y nude and it's in a cream finish. This one is really pretty on.

This one is in 34 Real Nude (4th swatch). This is an in-between colour of Natural and Mauve. It is a cream finish. There were other colours in the range, but I only chose the colours that had more pigmentation. There were pink one, but they were more of a clear gloss.

Lastly, I got 24 Café Latte (5th swatch). It is a peach-y nude gloss with a pearlescent finish. This one is probably the most sheer out of all the glosses that I got, but this one makes my lips look delicious! I think this would look great over lipstick.

Here's another view of all the colours. I'm sorry I couldn't zoom in. My camera lens won't let me go closer than this.

MAC 2011 Surf Baby! haul + other beauty extras ;-)

s some of you may know, I've only recently been into MAC beauty products. Considering how much I LOVE anything beauty related I can't believe I never really took an interest to MAC. Actually I was into it while I was in high school, but only their nail polishes. I never really had any other MAC products. I've been following their limited edition collections recently and even though they come out with new ones practically every single month I just can't stay away! When I heard about the Surf Baby! Collection which is this year's version of last year's To The Beach Collection I knew I wanted to check it out as soon as it hit stores. I only got one product in last year's To The Beach Collection and I regretted not getting any more. I got the Lazy Day lipstick and I am absolutely in love with that lipstick! I wish I got a back-up... Anyways, I didn't go too crazy with the purchases, but I picked up 3 things.

And here they are...

I got 'Swell Baby' which is a mid-tone gray. It's a satin finish. Out of all the colours (there was a white shadow with gold shimmer, a mustard gold colour, a reddish brown colour, and a turquoise/teal colour) I was most interested in this one. I think it'll look nice with my skin tone. Plus, I'm obsessed with gray. I know people are going crazy over the turquoise/teal one- Surf USA, but at my age I really can't pull off crazy eyeshadows like that anymore... It was beautiful though.

And here's a swatch. Sorry about the poor lighting. I took this close to midnight.

And here it is with flash. I know it doesn't look that intense, but I'm hoping to use it as an all-over lid colour so I didn't want a really dark gray.

I know Christine from Temptalia wasn't too crazy over this Cheek Powder called My Paradise, but I couldn't resist not getting this. It's so pretty and when I swatched it at the store I quite liked the pigmentation.

The gold hibiscus pattern is an overlay, but I don't care. The coral blush is quite nice on its own.

And here's a swatch of the 3 colours. The one of the far left is the swatch with the gold and coral mixed together. The one beside it is just the coral swatch. And the one beside that is the gold one swatched on its own.

With flash. As you can see, the gold and the coral mixed together is a completely different colour. It's a beautiful peachy gold.

This one is called Hibiscus. I wasn't interested in any of the other lipsticks. I think this one is going to be the big seller anyways in this collection. It's a beautiful coral red. It's a deeper version of Viva Glam Cyndi. I wore this the day I bought it and numerous people commented that they liked my makeup that day. That's always a plus!

Here's a swatch of the lipstick on the far right.

And with flash. If you're afraid of trying red lipstick, but want to try a bolder shade I think this one is perfect. It's not as bold as a true red lipstick, and it's a perfect shade for spring/summer.

So that's all I got from the collection. I could have gotten more, but I recently went on a clothing shopping spree so I didn't want to go too crazy...

Today I had a day off from work and I got a chance to stop by an Asian mall. I've been dying to go to one recently because I've been obsessed with Asian skincare products. They had several beauty stores in the mall and the first one I went into I bought a mascara. I bought the Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Volume On (wow, what a name!) Mascara. This mascara has a cult following in Asia and I knew I had to try it out. Now, they have several different formulas for the Majolica Majorca mascaras, but I didn't know any better so I just bought whatever I saw. The one I got is the volumizing mascara, but there's also a lengthening one and many others. I wish I got the lengthening one, but oh well...

I don't suffer from the typical Asian lashes- the short, stick-straight, barely-there lashes, but I still love trying out different mascaras that will lengthen my lashes. I will keep you guys posted how I feel about this particular one.

Enough blabbering, on to the stuff I got:

I didn't have a whole ton of time at the mall (I had a restless baby with me!) so I wasn't really able to browse in the stores. I went in with a mission and I bought things rather quickly and left. From left to right: Majolica Majorca mascara, Nyx Round Lipsticks, Moroccan Oil.

The mascara is actually quite small. I think the packaging is really cute. I paid $25CAD for the mascara. A little steep, but again, I didn't have a whole ton of time to check out other stores to see if I can find a cheaper price.

The wand is so different from my Makeup Forever Smoky Lash. It's a plastic wand and quite puny looking. I'm kind of skeptical what it can do, but I've been looking at reviews online all afternoon and it's gotten great reviews. We shall see...

I already have a bottle of this that I'm almost out of. This small bottle lasted me for over 3 months. I got this for just under $15CAD. This stuff is amazing! I have coarse, thick hair and when I use this my hair feels so soft and shiny.

I know this (and even the last product) is not an Asian product, but when I saw a store carrying the whole line of Nyx products I had to get a few lipsticks. We here in Canada don't have Nyx at the drugstore. Well, actually they sell it at Pharma Plus, but only a tiny range. They don't even carry the round lipsticks. Well, this little store at the Asian mall had it and I got Strawberry Milk (which was on my wish list for a looooong time) and Narcissus.

This is Narcissus. It's a lot more brighter and pinker in person.

This one is Strawberry Milk. It's showing up more nude, but it's actually a baby pink.

Narcissus on the left and Strawberry Milk on the right. Both have no shimmer. Maybe a little sheen.

I was amazed how creamy the texture was.

Here it is with flash.

I'm hoping to go back to these stores soon so I can pick up a few more products.

I hope you guys all have a great weekend!