[Kpop Inspiration] CL Eye Make Up in Missing You MV

Continuing their trend of moody love songs, 2NE1 has come out with a new single, named "Missing You". While "Falling In Love" and "You Love Me" were more upbeat, this one is definitely more on the melancholic side and reminiscent of one of their biggest successes, "Lonely". I've always enjoyed 2NE1's MVs, because the make up and clothes are always flamboyant no matter the mood of the song. 

This is a quick tutorial on how to recreate CL's grey eyeliner look in the MV. 

Products used were: 
- Skinfood Red Bean BB Cream in #1
- Koji Eyebrow Pencil in Brown
- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- Urban Decay Eyeshadow "Tease"
- Too Faced Eyeshadow, gunmetal color from the "Glamour on the go 2" palette
- Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in black
- K Palette liquid eyeliner in black
- L'Oréal Volume Millions de Cils mascara
- Lips: MAC Crème de Nude

Sorry for the lighting, the sun set while I was taking pictures. 

- Start off with a clean moisturized face, and apply the BB cream

- Apply some shadow base on the eyelids and on the undereye zone, and while the base sets, work on your eyebrows. CL's eyebrows in the MV are circumflexed, and reach a little outside the end of her eye.

- Once the base is set, apply a taupe brown eyeshadow with a fluffy brush, blending from the outside to the inside of the eye, to create a brown halo.

- With a flat brush for more precision, apply the gunmetal eyeshadow on the lower part of your eyelid, extending it slightly in a v shape like a very thick eyeliner. 

- With the gel eyeliner, line the waterline above and under, making sure to connect the lines at the inner corner of your eye but leaving a space on the outer corner. Apply more eyeliner on the outer corner in a triangular shape. The top line of that triangle should be parallel to the extended line of your gunmetal eyeshadow.

- With the liquid eyeliner, intensify the upper line and extend it slightly following the lower line of the gunmetal eyeshadow. 

- Apply some fake eyelashes.

- Curl your lashes.

- Apply mascara. 

xoxo

[Skincare Review] Skin Food's Steam Milk Mask Cream

Picture from Skinfood's English Website

Following my Sasa post, here is my review for this product.

I am nearing the end of one of my favourite products, Laneige's Water Sleeping Pack, and I liked the concept of an overnight mask, so I went looking into that direction for a new product. What attracted me to this one is the use of steam milk, which reminded me of steam cream, which is another product I'd like to try. I didn't have the opportunity yet because I want to finish other products. 

How does it work? On top of your night time skincare routine, apply a generous amount of cream for overnight hydration effects. Summer might not be the best period to try it since my normal skin gets so oily, but when I tried it the weather was still pretty cool. The packaging is a small pot so not the most hygienice but I use the little plastic sample spoons they give away at Sephora (very practical for all cream pots, I always make sure to grab a few when I pass by). 

The texture of the cream is similar to a thick yogurt (think greek yogurt maybe). It looks comfortable, with a soft baby powder smell, unfortunately upon application, it just sits on your skin. I didn't think much of it at first, since it's supposed to be absorbed overnight. However, by the time morning came it was still just sitting there. On my face. Which felt oh so greasy. Not the best feeling in the world. 

By the end of the day, I had the worst case of overhydrated skin reaction since forever. I don't know if many people encoutered this, and I don't know if I really want to describe it, but it's not pretty. Basically my skin was telling me: not happy. 

I didn't throw this away; I think it might be usable in case of extreme dehydration, maybe in winter after a week at a ski resort; I will give it another go if I have a chance. But for now, I will definitely store it away... And get another pot of Laneige's Water Sleeping pack. Why fix it when it's not broken?

The official pitch: 

A steamed milk-infused cream that immediately melts into skin, transforming dry skin into a soft, firm, smooth texture, like a facial mask does.

[Steamed Milk Story]
When steamed, milk turns into a mound of microfine bubbles that are sustained with all the benefits milk has, and yet feels silkier and sogter to the touch. 

*To Use
At the end of your daily skin care routine, apply an ample amound to the face with gentle strokes. 

xoxo!

Sasa Order and First Impressions

Sasa is probably the best-known website for Asian cosmetic and skincare products. It offers a huge selection, not only of Asian brands but also European and American. The only drawback for me is the minimum order amount for free shipping to Europe ($100) which is just about the limit over which you get custom duties. From my experience, I've noticed anything over 100€ gets taxed, and I'd rather not risk it for $100. However, Sasa regularly organizes free shipping events for lower amounts (usually $19.99, $29.99 or $39.99). This is the latest order I've received from them. 
 

Skinfood Steam Milk Mask Cream

I was attracted to this for three reasons: 

1) I am running out of Laneige's Water Sleeping Pack, which works great against sudden bouts of dehydration (after sun exposure for instance) 

2) I've recently finished my Skinfood Avocado Rich Toner and Emulsion, and I was quite satisfied with them so I wanted to try another product from the brand 

3) I've been considering purchasing Steam Cream, and this one had Steam in the name. Lol yes I'm totally buying the marketing. I haven't had the chance to try it yet, but the packaging is super cute, it's a small milk carton.

From the official website:

A steamed milk-infused cream that immediately melts into skin, transforming dry skin into a soft, firm, smooth texture, like a facial mask does.

[Steamed Milk Story]
When steamed, milk turns into a mound of microfine bubbles that are sustained with all the benefits milk has, and yet feels silkier and softer to the touch.

* To Use

At the end of your daily skin care routine, apply an ample amount to the face with gentle strokes.

So basically the instructions of use are the same as Laneige's sleeping pack, apply a generous amount after skincare routine. 

K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner 24h WP Limited Edition

I had a discussion a while ago with the super nice author of Bittenbefore who recommended this as a really waterproof formula which could resist through sweat. I tried it today and unfortunately, on me it doesn't perform as well as Dollywink's liquid eyeliner. Maybe it's a difference in formula between the Japanese and HK editions, or between the regular and limited edition, but Dollywink held up very well after my sweaty dance lesson with almost no smudging, and K-Palette couldn't last through a regular day (and very cold to boot, since winter has been awfully persistent this year around here). It smudges noticeably on my single eyelid and also tends to transfer on my undereye area. I'll do a more detailed review after I've tried it some more and compare it with the Dollywink. 

Koji Spring Heart Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

Cheap + automatic + integrated brush, that's all I ask for in an eyebrow pencil. 

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion R

This was my HG lotion when I was living in China. Amazingly I don't think my skin has ever been better as when I was there. Pollution you say? Apparently my skin loves it and thrives in it. Maybe I should do facials in the parking lot or something. So I've been wanting to go back to that time of skin bliss and recreate my skin care regimen of old (but I think good sleep schedule also played a huge part in that). It's also quite pricey for a lotion (about 15€) so if I find a suitable replacement in France I won't repurchase. I've only used it a couple of times so I'll update on that later. 

xoxo!