Worth the Splurge?: BH Cosmetics Blacklight Highlight, 6 Color Pallette Review

I recently got into BH cosmetics. I think their items are a good quality at an affordable price. I am not a highlighting girl. As much as I love to look at lovely ladies on Instagram and my favorite Youtubers rock amazing highlight, I just do not find it to look professional in most instances. It is something I cannot see myself wearing to work.

I think the Kat Von C Alchemist Pallet is so unique and beautiful, especially the colors and duo chrome sheen that I wanted to get it. However, $32 for 4 small pans seem very pricey. Most important of all one of the primary ingredients in Kat Von D alchemist is ethylhexyl palmitate. Most cheap make up has it, including BH. If I put that ingredient on my face in large quantities I notice it clogs my pores. Honestly if the Kat Von D did not have that ingredient I might have believed it would not clog my pores and would have splurged for it. I don't have a problem with it in eyeshadows as my eyelids don't really get clogged as the pores are super small, but on my face I notice it.

 I saw youtubers compare the Kat Von D to the BH Cosmetics Blacklight Highlight and as soon as the BH one went on sale I went and got it.

 No Flash (above picture)

Flash (above picture)

Please forgive me for getting some red lipstick in the palette! I paid around $13 for this pallet. It is very large in size compared to most highlighters on the market and the glow is pretty amazing. The container is a sturdy cardboard material. It has a magnetic enclosure.

Here are some swatches with and without flash:

 With Flash (Above Picture) Colors left to right: Electra, Laser, Kween, Strobe, On Point, Illusion

No Flash, Colors left to right: Electra, Laser, Kween, Strobe, On Point, Illusion

I am not sure if it is safe for consumption but I have used it to layer over lipsticks and eyeshadows and I love it. *Try this at your own risk*

I can't pull off bright red lip color well but I have 2 beautiful ones as gifts that I refuse to throw out. When I layer "On Point" over it, I get metallic hot pink! How gorgeous is that!

             No Flash                                                                     Flash

So first I did 6 strips of my Elizabeth Arden Rogue 01 Lipstick. Then I layered each one with a different color of the BH Cosmetics Blacklight Highlight palette.

 No Flash, Colors left to right: Electra, Laser, Kween, Strobe, On Point, Illusion

 Flash, Colors left to right: Electra, Laser, Kween, Strobe, On Point, Illusion

No Flash, Colors left to right: Electra, Laser, Kween, Strobe, On Point, Illusion

I added a strip of of the original color on top so you can see how the different highlighters changed the color. I really love this palette because it is so cheap and versatile. It made my unwearable red lipstick super wearable. I just can't seem to pull off the classic red without looking like a child who found her mother's lipstick.

Here are some of the layering done on the lips:

Elizabeth Arden Rogue 01 alone no layering

Elizabeth Arden Rogue 01 + On Point. This is one of my favorite combos!

Elizabeth Arden Rogue 01 + Electra

Elizabeth Arden Rogue 01 + Kween

Elizabeth Arden Rogue 01 + Illusion 

I did not do the other 2 shades, Laser and Strobe because my lips were getting dry from removing and reapplying the lipstick, but you get the gist. This palette expand your existing makeup collection to give you so much more looks. Great product, excellent price point. Highly recommend. I recommend you wait till it goes on sale. BH cosmetics always has sales, but I believe it is around $17 if it is not on sale, not including shipping. 

The Great Christmas SAMPLE HAUL !!!

I did not even know you could purchase samples, silly me. After discovering there were Korean skincare samples for sale I had to try some!

One of the places to get samples is Ebay. Ebay has a large range of samples for all brands, especially Korean brands. This one is only $10 free shipping and comes from Korea.

LUCKY BOX SECRET SAMPLES

It offers 30 samples for $10 which comes to around .33 cents a sample. Now as much as I would have like the samples to come in a pretty box like the picture above, it comes in a hot pink pouch (thumbs up for the nice color) as seen below:

Now I am really super excited at what was inside!

Yup, mostly ALL skincare, only make up item in there was 2 pouches of HERA CC cream. The whole order was full of mid-high end Korean brands; HERA; Lirikos; Donginbi; Sulwhasoo; The history of Who; O HUI; and some of the cheaper brands, Holika Holika. 

The Holika Holika Good Cera sample you see in the picture above counted as 2 samples. The O HUI Miracle Aqua gel cream came with two, but I already used one. I got 3 uses out of it and absolutely loved it. Remember my constant struggle to find a good moisturizer that is not too light or heavy? I think I just found it. I love, love this box and would definitely repurchase. If you were to buy samples of the higher end stuff in this pack on ebay the prices are around 50 cents for one sample. I was just shocked almost all the samples were high end! The only cons I have is that most of these samples are written in Korean and there are no instructions on how to use them, so if you want ingredients or instructions you need to look them up online. The only other con is I am going to try all these lovely high end samples and might fall in love with them. My wallet is going to cry.

It is July 3, 2016 as I write this and as an after though, this was not a good idea. Trying really expensive products that may be wonderful and then knowing it is out of your price range. I really love the O Hui cream but there is no way I am paying the price tag that comes with it.

Lee Ji Ham Vital CC Cream Review

I love this brand, Lee Ji Ham (LJH) was apparently formulated by dermatologist and sensitive on the skin. I had nothing but positive experiences with the Tea Tree Essence and Tea Tree Cream.

Being as their CC cream was on sale, I had to give it a try. Note to my readers, I do not usually use CC or BB creams. My makeup is mostly American and I have been so scared to try anything new because 90% of new foundations give my skin issues. I have been using Estee Lauder Double Wear and Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Powder for the last 8-10 years with no issues.

The packaging is nice, clean, and sanitary. I really love the pump system, it delivers good portion control and is very sanitary to use.

 

This CC cream is thick and white and has sun screen.

 The CC Cream magically turns the shade of your skin tone.

I thought of it as tinted sunscreen, and it made me look slightly paler and natural. The coverage was not bad and at first I loved this product. However, after going out for an 8-10 hour day. I came back and washed off the CC Cream to find hundreds of tiny white bumps on my skin. 

The ingredients as found on The Happy Prodigy's blog.

water, cyclopentasiloxane, titanium dioxide, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate,caprylic/capric triglyceride, glycerin, butylene glycol, PEG-10 dimethicone,ethylhexyl salicylate, niacinamide, phenyl trimethicone, zinc oxide, talc,disteardimonium hectorite, magnesium sulfate, iron oxides(CI 77492),dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, dimethicone, C12-14 pareth-3,portulaca oleracea extract, vinyl dimethicone/methicone silsesquioxane crosspolymer,mica, iron oxides(CI 77491), phenoxyethanol, sorbitan olivate, trihydroxystearin,silica dimethyl silylate, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum stearate, methicone,polyester-1, iron oxides(CI 77499), ethylhexylglycerin, tocopheryl acetate,propylene glycol, acacia senegal flower/stem extract, adenosine, citrus limon (lemon) peel oil,citrus aurantium bergamia (bergamot) fruit oil, citrus grandis (grapefruit) peel oil,citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, amorphophallus konjac root extract,centella asiatica extract, pelargonium graveolens flower oil, aminopropyl dimethicone,polymethylsilsesquioxane, cedrus atlantica bark oil, spirodela polyrrhiza extract,hippophae rhamnoides extract, juglans regia (walnut) seed extract,persea gratissima (avocado) fruit extract, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed extract,aloe barbadensis leaf extract, angelica dahurica root extract, asarum sieboldi root extract,chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower/leaf extract,chrysanthemum morifolium flower extract, cnidium officinale root extract,eclipta prostrata extract, morus alba root extract, sambucus nigra fruit extract,thuja occidentalis leaf extract, urtica dioica (nettle) extract, vitex trifolia fruit extract,cananga odorata flower oil, cymbopogon nardus (citronella) oil,illicium verum (anise) fruit/seed oil, eugenia caryophyllus (clove) leaf oil,anthemis nobilis flower oil, jasminum officinale (jasmine) oil,santalum album (sandalwood) oil, ferula galbaniflua (galbanum) resin oil,rose flower oil

When I ran the ingredient list through Acne Mantra, these were the results:

Butylene Glycol is mildly comedogenic
Dimethicone is mildly comedogenic
Talc is mildly comedogenic
Zinc Oxide is mildly comedogenic

I guess one of those above ingredients are clogging more pores or I am allergic to one of their many other ingredients.

Conclusion 

 

The CC cream clogged my skin really bad and I personally do not recommend this product. However, I will say overall this product has positive reviews online so maybe it is just my sensitive skin type. I really wanted this product to work for me because the finish was so light, luminous, and natural.

.

Review: Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch

This product is very interesting. I honestly would not have purchased alone to try it. It came with the Memebox Cosrx box.

So it comes in a pouch like this:

It is a zip lock baggie. Inside you find this:

It is a plastic square with circles sealed inside a smaller squaure pouch. Keep in mind the sheet is full of circles. I have used mine over the course of a few months or so, so there are some circles missing.

Inside the pouch in the picture above, there is a clear hard plastic sheet over it.

I have been using mine for a while.

You are suppose to pick a circle that would fully cover the size of the pimple and place the circle over the pimple over night. It is suppose to reduce the size the pimple. I tried this on a few spots and saw minimal results. I was utterly unimpressed, it barely made any difference to the pimple size. However, I don't think this product was actually supposed to be used for "pimples", but for "zits".

This is really good for zits, specially the kind that after you pop, just continues to ooze liquid. Now I have in the past tried to use a piece of paper towel with some kind of an acne treatment soaked in it and placed over the zit overnight. What happens is after the paper towel absorbs the secretions it is literally like bonded to your face. When you pull it over you pull off the hardened secretion which reopens the wound. This patch is like a jelly/rubbery texture. It absorbs all the pus and liquid from the zit after you pop it. It also as it says on the front of the product "Acts as a barrier to dirt and bacteria" which is pretty awesome. It does reduce the sizes of zits that are POPPED noticeably. Honestly this product doesn't do anything if you just place it over a pimple/zit that has not been popped.

The best part is, in the morning it gently peels away. It doesn't adhere to the pimple or fuse with it like a paper towel does. You will be able to notice the secretion it absorbed. In my experience, with my zits, it is not like I do it one time to a zit and it magically goes away. It will absorb the secretion and reduce the size, but if I notice there is still pus in there (as is often the case), you need to pop it again and do the patch process another night. My zits typically require 2-3 nights with patch treatment to be flat. Notice I did not say it magically goes away, it still needs a longer time to heal, but it will be flat and if I put on makeup the zit should not be noticeable.

I would probably purchase this item again. It really doesn't get used up that fast, it depends on how often you break out with zits. Most pimples for me are fairly easy to pop and they don't continuously ooze liquid, so I don't really use these for pimples, just the zits. It is around:
-  $5 on Memebox
- $4 on Ebay
- $2.45 on Ebay if you buy a set of 10

It is pretty cheap, comes with 24 patches. I really love the design, it feels very sanitary and i like the resealable pouch. After seeing that price per pouch on Ebay I would definitely buy them in a set. I just hope I don't have that many zits that I have to use up a set of 10!

Memebox 100 days of Masks Unboxing BLACK FRIDAY HAUL

I am so exited! It finally arrived. My Black Friday Vault Box 100 days of Masks!!!

The box is huge!

Here are the Memebox Mini K-Beauty Travel Kits. They were only $5 each! Great Christmas presents. I wish I could have bought more but there was a limit of 3.

Tada! The Black Friday Vault Box. I thought it was going to be in a special box. Not gonna lie, but the stick a sign on a regular cardboard box dissapointed me a little bit.

Here are the goodies, so many face masks all wrapped in sets in plastic.

Here is all the different facemasks from the packs.

The spread sheet above compares the prices of the masks as listed on the Memebox siteto the ebay value. Most of the times the masks MUST be purchased in bulk to obtain the above values. The red lighting means the items could not be found so I either ball parked the value or used what Memebox or ebay had for it.

The box is totally worth it. I paid $79 for the box that means each mask is 79 cents! The cheapest I have seen masks sell for is $1 and they have some pretty expensive ones in here. Notably, the Kocostar Foot Peeling mask, I have been trying to try it for a while, but $10 for a one time use item is too expensive. I did see it for $3 at a Memebox sale but it sold out before I was able to get to it. I am very happy with what I got especially since its Christmas!!! I get to share all these goodies with my friends. Good thing Memebox game me multiple copies of the same types of masks.

Wish Trend COSRX BOX! Worth the Splurge?

So I am in love with COSRX. Those who have read my last Memebox post will know I bought 2 more Memeboxes of that stuff. It has never broken me out or caused me to have an allergic reaction. It works great to keep my skin acne free and is gentle as well. Due to the great experienced I had with the COSRX items in that Memebox COSRX box, I decided I wanted to try other COSRX items. The problem was purchasing the items on their own is pretty pricey, box sets are a lot cheaper because companies give a discount for the bulk purchase and you save on shipping.

So I was googling COSRX and VOILA it took me to Wishtrend. I was so happy to find out Wishtrend releases box sets. Prior to my happy find I did not even know Wishtrend existed. This month's  box happens to be a COSRX box!

FYI none of the codes worked for me. I signed up as an affiliate as well hoping to get 10% off using the nov2015wish code. I also tried making the purchase on my phone using secret10 (only for mobile shoppers) it did not work as well. When I emailed Wish trend, the told me it won't work with any clearance or box discounts. But had I removed the COSRX box I would not qualify for free shipping. In short that code sucked because it would only work on non discounted items? Not sure if that means regular discount, clearance or both. What the code should have done ideally, was given me the discount on all items BUT the boxed set as opposed to not applying the code to anything. Was very frustrating.

I was so excited to see this box. I threw it in the cart right away. I had not tried ANY of the COSRX in this box and was so happy none of the products overlapped with what I got in the Memebox. This box comes with:

1EA X [COSRX] Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser (Full Size)
1EA X [COSRX] BHA Blackhead Power Liquid (Full Size)
1EA X [COSRX] AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid (Full Size)
1EA X [COSRX] Ultimate Moisturizing Honey Overnight Mask (Full Size)
1EA X [COSRX] Centella Blemish Cream (Full Size)
1EA X [COSRX] Acne Pimple Master Patch (Full Size)
GIFT X [COSRX] Sample Pouches (4EA)
GIFT X [COSRX] Decoration Sticker Set (3EA)

I love gifts, especially the sample pouches. I hope they are samples of other COSRX items I have not tried yet! The stickers are meh, the ones shown above are super ugly and I don't think me or any of my friends would enjoy them. I'd even be too embarrassed to give them to a random kid because they are THAT ugly.

click to enlarge spreadsheet

That being said in order to bring my order to over $69 for the shipping, I also purchased:

Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol  ($14.67) [12.90 on ebay]
Aloe Soothing Sun Cream SPF50+ PA+++  (12.69) [12.48 ebay]
Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask + Ultimate Moisturizing Honey Overnight Mask (22.49) [26.49 ebay]

I did get a good value on the box set, I saved about $4 and am getting free samples! In hindsight I probably should have purchased the "Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol  ($14.67) [12.90 on ebay]" on ebay. I already had amount to get the free shipping and purchasing the BHA A-Sol on ebay would save me $1.77 which is the price of 1-2 face masks depending on what you get. Overall the box is a good value and I would recommend you buy it if you like COSRX. Unlike Memebox, Wishtrend does not have a great return policy. Since it is shipping from and to Korea, the delay is long and you have to foot return shipping costs unless Wish trend requested that you return the item for whatever reason.

Both Ebay and Wishtrend seem to have the cheapest prices for the above COSRX products. I really love KoreaDepart (they have THE cheapest prices) but they don't have a limit for free shipping, you just pay for weight all the way and the shipping costs is killing me.

New Memebox Haul and Allure Prize!

About a month ago I won the below items from allure.

Unfortunately they were mostly lip products and I generally do not look good with lip color so I gave them away. You could win too if you join and become a member at http://www.allureaccess.com/.

I know they have a beauty box but I never bought one, the items didn't seem like stuff I would like.  They have free product giveaway and contests though!

Anyway here is the Memeboxes!!!

What could be inside this big brown box?

Lots of Pink Confetti!

 Here are the 3 Memeboxes along with the Donkey Milk Masks I ordered.

Two of them are the COSRX boxes. I love COSRX and I did the math. Buying the boxes with 20% off, even if it included two products I don't use is cheaper than buying them separately anywhere else. I use my COSRX everyday and my skin has been pretty damn good. Only got 1 zit in the last 2 months and no pimples, it also evens my skin tone.

I also decided to try the August Mask Box. It was $15 for 7 masks!!! However with the 20% off I only paid $12 so it was $1.70 per mask.

Considering the cheapest mask included is $2 and the most expensive one is listed as $6, but around ebay its $4, it is still a good deal. Ordering these mask individually and incurring multiple shipping costs would cost way more. Who knows maybe I will find a favorite in these masks. Looking forward to writing reviews on them. The total costs of all 3 boxes + the 2 donkey milk masks was around $88.00.