[Etude House] Color in Liquid Lips

It's arrived! I've been dying to get one of these since I saw these pictures!

This is a review for the Etude House Color in Liquid Lips, which is the newest release from Etude House!

The design of these totally remind me of the Maybelline Color Elixirs, the whole lipstick design but SURPRISE! It's actually a lip gloss! (Or in this case, a lip mousse.)

As always, Etude House packaging is spot on. Is there really a time where Etude House's packaging didn't do it justice?

Just some close ups of the design and size. It's really designed to look like a lipstick, but it's described as a "water sliding texture". However, as you can see in the following picture, it's definitely more like a mousse or cream than gloss.

Got mine in BE101, which is supposed to look like this.

I keep trying to find the perfect, beige-y, soft, everyday lip colour, which I was so hopeful this time. Did it live up to my dreams?

Oh yes, the tear-drop applicator; extremely useful and well designed. Already, out of the tube it looks slightly darker than the picture shown on the Etude House website.

Swatched on my hand it shows up a muted pink coral, which really is not a beige. The texture is definitely not "water sliding texture", and despite its claims of not being sticky, it is a little. Definitely not sticky like the Innisfree Lip Lacquer, but still a little sticky. 

Sorry, I had my four wisdom teeth pulled out the day before and my lips are quite dry U_U
I definitely do not call that beige. I seem to have hit another coral-y colour, in a different formula... sigh.

And the formula... is just so unforgiving.
Which I find weird, because it's supposed to contain sweet almond oil and sunflower oil for "vivid colour" and "long lasting shine"? 
Don't get me wrong; it's is glossy when you apply it, but it applies on a little patchy, and the only way to really fix it is by patting it in, which loses the shininess, and also cause it to feel a little drying...
On the plus side, the scent is nice; my boyfriend commented on that before anything else.

Maybe lipliner and practise will help me get better with this formula, but that does seem like an awful lot of work :c

Maybe I'll pass it onto a friend?

Much better after moisturising and exfoliating!

If you take the time, it can look quite nice I guess :D

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Pros:
☺Amazing packaging
☺Nice scent
☺Pretty colour

Cons:
☹ Unforgiving formula that's also a little patchy
☹ Colour doesn't match up to the site colour

Overall: 3/5
Verdict: B-. I think the two things that really let this down was the formula being really unfriendly on chapped lips and being a little patchy. Also, the colour for BE101 is totally not what they show in the picture; a major let down, and not the first time for Etude House.
I guess I'm still on my hunt for the perfect everyday colour, but I might have to stop shopping online since I seem to keep not getting the colour I want. 

You can buy it from jolse.com, or F21beauty on ebay (which is the cheapest option so far). Not sponsored; all opinions are my own.

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[Etude House] Sugar Tint Balm

I bought this in a recent haul that can be seen here.

What's up everyone? The first month of the year is already nearly over!

Thankfully it's still hot and summery here, which calls for pink lip colours :D
For example, the Etude House Sugar Tint Balm in Pink Macaron.

I love the box it comes in; it's absolutely gorgeous. Etude House always nails their packaging, and I think this is another example of their prowess. I never have the heart to throw out their boxes even though they sit uselessly in my drawer. 

Ingredients and descriptions of the balm is on the exterior of the box. 
Mine is in #05, PK002, Pink Macaron. 
On the Etude House website, the colour is shown on the lips is sort of different to the colour it shows on the tube which is a little misleading. I thought the colour of the balm would show up like the picture on the lips but it really doesn't. 

Anyway, as you can see in the images above, the base of the tube is screwed, so the lid doesn't come off randomly, which is quite nice as I can see this product as something people would carry around in their bags. 

Cold lighting

Swatch in warm lighting 

The colour is a lot cooler toned and less opaque as shown in the pictures provided by Etude House.

The Sugar Tint Balm is described on the Etude House website as coming with 'a sweet colour that gently melts into lips for long-lasting soft and moist lips'.
It's more opaque than I thought, but definitely not at the level of lipsticks or lip butters. It does create moist looking lips, but the moisture sits on the lips more than penetrating in to improve the condition of your lips. Also, it's not entirely forgiving on dryer lips.

This product is scented; it smells sweet like the typical Etude House product. A slightly cheap, sweet scent, but not off putting.

Pretty nice for an every day touch of colour!

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Pros:
☺Provides moisture
☺Good packaging (no loose lids floating around in your bag)
☺Subtle, everyday colour

Cons:
☹ Scented (which may be off-putting)
☹ Not amazing on chapped lips (but not bad either)

Overall: 3.5/5
Verdict: B. Good, but not something to write home about. Probably wouldn't buy another one--not because I didn't like it, but because I know there's better out there. Bought from jolse.com here for $8.98 USD. Not sponsored; all opinions are my own.

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[Etude House] Play Nail Arctic Aurora

I bought this in a recent haul that can be seen here.

The full name of this product is pretty long actually; it's Etude House Play Nail, in the Arctic Aurora edition (otherwise known as the 2014 Winter Edition), "Dancing Aurora", #302.

Originally, I wanted to get the Snow Queen and the Falling Polaris shades as well, but both were out of stock too. This line seems to be pretty popular huh.

On a side note, can we just appreciate how gorgeous the names are? Falling Polaris? Dancing Aurora? Totally makes me think of this beautiful, frozen landscape with ethereal lights in the skies.

My boyfriend's mom (who's a total nail polish junkie) loved the shade "Dancing Aurora" when she saw it on my nails, and she's asked me to buy one for her as well. I agree with her though; this is one gorgeous shade.

The one I got is the one smack bang in the middle. 

The bottle in real life isn't nearly so light coloured. 

Here she is--on the pelt of a polar bear. (I jest; we don't go hunting polar bears in NZ.) 

As you can see, the formula in the bottle appears much darker than the on in the image. 

There's minimal packaging on here, and somehow Etude House can still  manage to make it fricking adorable. The snowflakes? The mama polar and the baby polar bear? So cute.

I have no idea what difference there is for the Etude House brush compared to other brands but it's just so easy to apply, even for a total nail polish noob like me.

Here's with one layer on. It's sheer and pretty; adds a sheer pink sparkly layer to my nails, and can I just emphasise again how easy it was?

Second layer makes it more opaque. I didn't go for a third layer. 

One thing I just adore about this nail polish is the formula. It doesn't streak, it applies on like a dream, and it starts setting within a few minutes.
I accidentally smacked my nail against my keyboard about 2-3 minutes after applying and I was certain I'd have to start over, but it had already set enough to not dent! O: It takes a bit longer to totally set, but I love how quickly it starts to harden.

I totally love this nail polish shade and formula. I'm definitely buying more from this line when jolse restocks.

One final picture of my nails again~

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Pros:
☺Streak free
☺Applies on like a dream
☺Starts drying quickly
☺Can go from sheer to opaque

Cons:
☹ Smells like nail polish, but what do I expect? XD

Overall: 5/5
Verdict: A++! I love it! I'm going to buy other shades as well when they're back. I got this review up as quickly as I could because I just love it so much I wanted to share it with everyone.

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Mini Jolse Haul

Not even sure if this qualifies as a haul LOL, but just a couple of items I wanted to share.

As usual, jolse shipped these items out incredibly quickly; got it in NZ in 5 days. Impressive as always. 

I didn't even realise all these items were in a similar shade until it got here so I figure this colour must be a new phase I'm going through.

From left to right:

• BBIA Shade and Shadow, colour no. 7
• Etude House Sugar Tint Balm, colour no. 5, "Pink Macaroon"
• Etude House Play Nail ARCTIC AURORA, colour no. 302, "Dancing Aurora"

Will review the items soon, especially the nail polish; I tried it on as soon as I got home and safe to say, I already love it. I'll talk about it very soon. 

Jolse seems a little stingier with their samples this time; only three. I'm pretty keen to try the Lioele Secret Pore Rich Balm, which I've read a couple of good reviews on. 

Not too interested in the other two though; I've got enough bb cream samples to use for at least half a year, and I've already got lotions I'm loving.

I reviewed the nail polish here!

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[LANEIGE] Light Balancing Emulsion

When we went to Japan I brought along a limited selection of makeup as well as Laneige samples of lotion and moisturisers so I wouldn't have to carry full-sized products.

Additionally, this meant I got to really try out these products and see how they work.

Laneige describes it as a 'lightweight emulsion with purifying and hydro balancing care for fresh and clear skin", designed for oily-combination skin. 

It's supposed to "control excess sebum and balances oil and moisture for clear and transparent skin" as well as brighten the overall complexion.

All the promises of clear and transparent skin and skin brightening are pretty atypical of Asian skin products actually, and I've never really notice any exceptional changes.

Sample size did mean that it was easy to take to Japan. Since I don't have the full size product I won't comment on the packaging.

The texture is like a lotion. Less runny and light than the tonymoly seaweed lotion, but more moisturising. 

I found this emulsion actually really moisturising on my dry cheeks, and not overpoweringly moisturising on my t-zone; I feel like it really does live up to being designed for combination skin.

After using it twice daily for over two weeks, I felt like my skin was behaving well, and even possibly better. My cheeks are occasionally rough from leftover itchy rashes from allergies, and after prolonged use of this (in addition to another product which I hopefully will have a review up soon) felt smoother and refined.

It's currently priced at $190HKD (approximately $32NZD or $25USD) on SASA, currently on sale. This is for 120ml.
For the giant cheapskate in me, I find it a teensy bit on the expensive side, but I feel for the results I get, I can bear to part with my money.

Looks pretty huh.

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Pros:
☺Light weight
☺Moisturising
☺Good for combination skin
☺May improve skin texture
☺Easy to spread and doesn't require much product to cover face
☺No pungent smell

Cons:
☹ A bit pricey

Overall: 4.9/5
Verdict: It's an A+ for sure. It's worth the price and I'm asking a friend of mine to pick up one for me while she's in HK. I plan to replace my tonymoly lotion with this when that one runs out.

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[Etude House] Sunprise Water Essence

It's Summer time right now down in the southern hemisphere, and thankfully our summers are quite nice and sunny, when the weather decides to be good. 

It does mean that we do need a good sunscreen when we go outside if we don't want to sustain any sun damage though, and I decided to go through some of the samples I've been collecting up. 

It was a close call between the 'Lioele Fresh Sun Screen (SPF45)' and the 'Etude House Sunprise Water Essence (SPF30)', since I liked the texture and finish of both. 

In the end I decided that, since I rarely go outside for extended periods of time, and when I do, I use stronger sunscreen and reapply every so often, and also because Etude House' sunscreen was cheaper, I'd try it out first.

The packaging is simple and pretty; I really love how bright the yellow is, which is shown better in the first image. I thought it'd come in a tube but it came in a bottle that's plastic and quite sturdy. 

Apologies for the terrible quality and lighting of that picture :/ 
It's not a terribly large bottle but I only use it for my face so it's a good enough amount at 80ml.

It claims to be a 'light weight watery gel...without greasy residue'. It's light weight and watery and without any greasiness but it's more lotion than gel. 

Its texture is like a slightly watery lotion; light and absorbs quickly into the skin. Because it's easy to spread, you don't need to slap on a great amount to cover your face.

It does supply a bit of moisture like any lotion would, and sometimes when I'm lazy I skip applying lotion and make do with just this under my daily cream.

Priced at $14.98 USD I'm really happy with this purchase. It's quite true to the sample I tried. I'd happily purchase this again if I don't feel like trying another sunscreen hurhur.

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Pros:
☺Light weight
☺Moisturising
☺Non-greasy
☺Packaging is cute and sturdy
☺Easy to spread
☺Not a lot is needed to cover your entire face 

Cons:
☹ UVA and UVB protection could stand to be higher, but it's good enough for daily use

Overall: 4.99/5
Verdict: I'd give an A+. I'd easily buy this again when it runs out.

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[Holika Holika] Heartful Glossy Lipstick

Recently I bought a couple of items off jolse because I'd been eyeing the new products for a while. While this isn't exceptionally new, the colour is kind of "new" on the scene? The pinky brown shade that Kylie Jenner made popular.

Originally I was going to buy the non-glossy formula, but then I read a review that it was a bit dry, and let's face it, if my lips get any dryer, camels will start walk across them.

Jolse is always quick with their shipping but this came so quickly I thought it was something else I ordered. I think it came in about 6 days..?

It claims to give a "subtle sheen", and to be "moisture-laden", giving "firmer" and "moist lips".

The tube it comes in feels metallic and sturdy; it feels much more expensive than Etude House's lipsticks' tubes. It's not a large tube by any standards.

The shade I bought is No.1, Honey Beige (BG402).

Isn't the heart shape of the bullet adorable? I was worried that it might make application difficult because I already suck at it in general, but it's actually really easy to apply. Dare I say, even easier to apply?

In terms of colour accuracy, on my computer screen I find the swatch on my lips more accurate than the one on my hand. The swatch on my hand is more orange than the shade in real life.

It's a lovely warm-toned pink brown colour; the colour on the lips is quite true to the colour on the bullet. 

Wear time is average; a couple of hours if you don't do anything. It doesn't leave much of a stain on your lips if you eat.

Contrary to the description, I wouldn't call it a subtle sheen; it's got more of a medium colour pay-off. 

It's amazingly glossy when you apply it on, but about an hour or so into wearing it, the gloss disappears and it kind of gets a bit dry. It's by no means a substitute for chapstick.

It reminds me a little bit of the Revlon Lip Butters or the Maybelline Color Whispers. I definitely recommend giving this a try if you can't buy those where you live.

Also, it's scented. For me, I don't find the scent unpleasant, and the smells fades once it's on your lips.
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Pros:
☺True to bullet colour
☺Glossy
☺Good colour pay off
☺Packaging is nice
☺Easy application

Cons:
☹ Glossiness disappears after an hour or so
☹ Not a "subtle" colour pay-off as described

Overall: 4/5
Verdict: I'd give an A-! I like this a fair bit and I'd consider getting other shades in this formula. I bought it for $8.08 USD off jolse.com. Find it here. (Not sponsored.)

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