Monday, January 9, 2017

Review: innisfree Real Hair Make Up Jelly Concealer

Innisfree just released new makeup for your hair! I used to have really thick hair before moving to Korea but it seems like the water completely changed my hair. I now have really thin hair that tends to get greasy just hours after washing it. I really hated parting my hair down the middle or the side because you can really see my hairline! This new product from innisfree is supposed to make your hair look fuller and it didn't disappoint :)

Here's the front and back of the box. The packaging is similar to a BB cushion but smaller.

It comes with a mirror and a smaller cushion. The product comes in 5 colors, #1 black, #2 espresso brown (dark brown), #3 urban brown (light brown), #4 rose brown (reddish brown), and #5 honey brown.  I purchased color number 3 urban brown.
The inside is a solid jelly-like powder that easily grabs on to the cushion.
Swatch of #3



Here is what my hair looks like from the top...sorry if it's not too clear (it's tough to take a picture from the top). My thin hair is really noticeable when it's parted and I've stopped wearing headbands because they just made my hair look worse.


Jelly cushion product applied to front
I'm sorry if the pictures aren't too clear but you can see the difference with the product on towards the front of my scalp and without product on the back. It also does a great job of toning down the greasy look I get hours after washing. You can also apply this to the area around your forehead for a fuller hair look. This product does a great job of making your hair look fuller in a natural way. The only negative is that you need to hold down your hair so you can get the product on your scalp instead of the hair strands but it gets better after a few tries. This product also comes in a pen/market format and that might be better! I tried rubbing my fingers over the painted area and none of it came off. I finally got it out of my hair when I washed it the next day :)

Overall for the result and price (12,000 won) I'll definitely be buying this product again! I feel like I don't have to worry about how horrible my hair looks in a headband or when it's parted.

Score: 4.5/5







Haul: innisfree Orchid Lucky Box


Some Korean cosmetic stores like to release special products or boxes at the beginning at the year. This year innisfree released a special orchid lucky box containing many items from the orchid line. I've heard good things about the orchid line, especially it's extreme moisturizing results, so I decided to splurge and buy 2 boxes along with some new products.

Left: Orchid enriched cream box Right: Orchid intense cream
I was really hoping to get either the eye cream or the candle to try out but I wasn't very lucky. The back of the label lists all the possible items you could get. With each box you are guaranteed the enriched cream full size (light purple box) or the intense cream (dark purple box), a 2017 calendar, 2 packs of cotton pads, and 2-4 lucky items.





 Each bag is actually a really nice cosmetic bag. I was thinking of buying a bigger one for traveling but I got lucky with this purchase :)
This is the back of the bag label that shows you the products you will get in the box.

Here's what the enriched cream (light purple) box looked like once opened. I recieved the full size orchid enriched cream, a 2017 calendar, 2 packs of cotton pads, 50ml orchid enriched essence, 30ml orchid skin (toner), 30ml orchid lotion. I think I got lucky by scoring the big size essence and I think it will pair perfectly with the cream.
Inside the intense box (dark purple) I got the full size intense cream 50ml, 30ml orchid hand cream, 30ml orchid skin (toner), and 30ml orchid lotion along with the calendar and cotton pads.


I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get the eye cream or the candle in either bag but I did get a 20% off my next purchase so I'll be buying the eye cream soon. I'll be reviewing the products soon!
Closeup of the free calendar
I also bought 4 more things, the green tea mint fresh scalp shampoo and conditioner, rice capsule recipe pack, and the new real hair make up jelly concealer.

I've only tried the real hair make up jelly concealer because its supposed to make your thin hair look
fuller! I'll review it in another post.
I also received a bunch of free samples and 2 free gifts for spending over 50,000won (I spent wayyyy too much that day) with your point card (membership). 
Samples many sheet masks
Special collaboration with Sticky Monster Lab gifts. Tote bag and matching cosmetic bag. 
I only tried the green tea sheet mask and I wasn't too happy with it so I'm excited to try the other masks they gave me. The tote bag and matching cosmetic bag came in brown, navy, or red. They all had the same 'monster' that looks like a rooster (it's the year of the rooster) but the shirt tones were different. I also opted to purchase the collaboration LED clock for an additional 3,000 won. It looks really cute!
Sticky Monster Lab clock
I'll be reviewing these products soon! The orchid lucky boxes are available at each innisfree store, their main website, or gmarket until they run out!




Thursday, January 5, 2017

Review: innisfree it's real squeeze mask green tea

On my last trip to innisfree, I was gifted this sheet mask with my purchase. This was my first time trying a sheet mask from innisfree since I've only been interested in their other products. Like most other sheet masks I've tried, this one was a bit too big on my face so I had to fold over the excess material. The mask was full of essence and I ended up using some from the packaging on my neck.
Here are the ingredients:
 The main ingredient I was interested in was the orchid extract. Many youtubers and bloggers have been raving about innisfree's orchid line for moisturizing so I was interested to see if this mask would really help my dry skin this winter. I was really overwhelmed by the perfume smell coming from the package and the mask itself. It wasn't too bad but it was a mix of floral and citrus smells. I left the mask on for about 30 minutes, when it had completely absorbed into my skin.
I wasn't too impressed by this mask since it provided basic moisture that any other sheet mask can do. I wouldn't spend my money on this (price 1,000 won each) unless it was on sale. I really prefer Etude House's sheet masks which I will review soon!

2/5 I'll try it again if I get another as a free gift.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

DB Story Cafe Hongdae

DB Story cafe



I headed to Seoul for Christmas weekend with my friend and this place was at the top of our to do list. DB Story Cafe is a DIY cell phone case cafe located in the heart of Hongdae. It was a little tricky to find it at first because of the huge crowds on Christmas Eve but we found it :) Head towards the MCM store in Hongdae and take a right when you're almost in front of the store.
Daum maps

 Right down the street to the right, you'll see a VDL store (makeup store) and above it the sign for DB Story cafe.
 Daum maps



 Turn around the corner and you'll see the small door with steps leading to the second floor.

Daum maps

Daum maps
When we entered the store, one of the workers said we would have to come back because there was no more seats and some people were already waiting. Luckily we decided to just wait around for 15 minutes and we got a table! First thing to do is grab a tray and select the phone case. Many of the offerings were silicone(bendable material) or hard case and they were all 2,500won. I had an iphone6 plus and my friend had an iphone5. She was the most worried about finding any case for her phone but luckily they have a wide range of models for all apple or androids phones. Next, decide on what design you'll make or just go crazy and choose everything you want! This is what took up the most time of our visit because there was so many cute things to choose from.






 I wanted to have some sort of theme for my case so I opted for flowers and sweets with a huge Sailor Moon keychain to hang off the phone. The deco flowers, berries, and deserts were around 100-800won and the 2 ryan rubber pieces were around 1,000 or 2,000won each. The Sailor Moon keychain I made cost around 13,000won but I was warned by the cashier that each piece was 4,000won :( After making your selections, you take the tray to the cashier and they will ring you up for everything. There's no prices listed on anything except for the phone cases at the flat price of 2,500won. This was the only negative part of the cafe because it's really easy to spend a lot on a phone case. My total was 30,200won and my friend's total was 12,500won. It is possible to make a cute case for under 15,000won like my friend did so don't worry! I knew mine would be a little too much because of my sailor moon selections but it was worth it :) When you've made your purchase head back to your table and start making your phone case! This was the fastest part of the whole experience because I already knew what I wanted to do. If you're stuck on ideas, the cafe has a bunch of cases they made that can inspire your case. When you're all done with your case, take it back to the front/cashier area and a worker will set your case to dry. If you end up making a keychain/chain to hang off your phone, you'll have to wait a whole 24 hours for it to be completely safe to hang on your case. The workers will bring your case back to you in a box with your keychain/chain attached to the box.
My friend took this picture for me while we waited for our cases to dry.
I love Ryan!


 I really love crafts and DIY so this was a great experience for me and my friend really enjoyed it too! I would recommend going on non-holidays, weekdays, or early on the weekends because this place gets packed! Definitely try this if you're around Hongdae with 1-2 hours to spare!
Case wrapped up in box

My case :)


Address and map