Day Number 3 of the Tony Moly 5. Day Project! As mentioned previously, the peeling and water glowing masks treated me well. I'll mention the same disclaimer as in my last post. Even though this post is coming much later than the original "Day 1" post, I completed this mask set in the allotted 5 days.
Since it's been a while, let me refresh your memory on the five masks that come with the program.
Concept of Vitamin injection (Brightening) / Lightening up the skin tone. With a effects of whitening from niacinamide and vitamin C derivative, the whitening mask sheet lightens up the skin tone and makes skin clear and clean. The cellulose fabric with excellent adhesion and transparency helps lock in active ingredients within skin with its moisture retention ability.
My super tired before face! After you've pulled out all the toxins from your face and restored moisture, day three is entirely dedicated to evening out your skin tone.
I didn't expect this to work wonders (I wish there was a single treatment that could even out my skin), but since the first two masks went so well, I had high hopes for this mask too!
Like the water glowing mask, this mask is made of plant cellulose as opposed to paper or cotton.
The mask experience was the same as the previous mask: cool, refreshing and relaxing.
As usual, I waited longer than the allotted 20-30 minutes and wore it for 50 minutes.
Despite the change in lighting between the before and after photos, I do think the cooling nature and the vitamin C lightened my redness a little bit! I don't think it did anything for my hyper pigmentation though.
Between Day 2 and Day 3 I didn't think there was that big of a difference. My skin was certainly happier and my acne was getting better, but I didn't have that "stare in the mirror" moment like I had after Day 1.
As I say over and over again on this blog, my true weakness is lip products. Lipsticks to me don't require too much skill in application and I can always count on a bright pop of color to elevate my mood. If you know me–I'm looking at you Malucent Makeup–you know that my ultimate kryptonite is a red lipstick. I have a million reds, but I always, always want more.
TLDR: I like it! The longevity is pretty good. I needed a reapplication after eating a spaghetti bolognese lunch, but other than that I was impressed with the staying power. It's a deep red that makes my teeth whiter and I like the consistency of the formula. It's not drying, but it's not moisturizing either. It also smells like a fruit roll up.
The Tony Moly Shocking Lip was pointed out to me by the sales associate when I asked about her favorite item in the store. She told me that the lip stain was new and that you had to be very careful during application, because it stains and sets. If you mess up or go outside your lip line, you're done. I was totally sold when I saw a giant cardboard cutout of Tony Moly spokeswoman HyunA rocking her signature red lip using this product.
This was the most expensive of all the lip products I walked away with. For $22, you get 7 grams of product in a large container. The packaging is pretty big, so you won't easily be able to slip this into your clutch if you're going out, but you don't need to worry too much about re-application. What the sales associate said was totally true.
This lipstain has a a traditional doe-foot applicator and is very easy to apply. Just to reiterate, be careful during application and feel free to use a lip brush for even more precision.
Nude
The consistency of the lipstain is somewhere between a lip lacquer and a water stain, but to me it most resembles a gel. This might actually be my favorite red lip product at the moment, not only because of it's longevity, but also because it stains a deep red and has a demi-matte finish. It also smells really fruity and tasty–think fruit roll ups–even though I'm 1000% sure you're not supposed to eat it.
Freshly Applied
It's not as drying as traditional lip stains, but it's certainly not moisturizing either.
End of Day
I purposefully didn't reapply the lipstain just to see how long it would last and I think it did pretty well! Even though it looks a little patchy, my lips are still colored. Also, if you layer your lipstain the longevity goes way up.
Just to do a true test of longevity, I applied one swipe of this lipstain before I went to work (at 7:30am) and took pictures throughout the day to see the wear. The last photo I took was at 6:30pm when I got home. I applied lip balm to make sure that my lips would stay hydrated, and I think that negatively affected the staying power of the stain.
When I got to work I got my usual cup of water and I noticed some transfer on the rim. My top lip also tinted the water pink.
You can definitely see in the last two photos that my lips are chapped and dry. I could have probably gone with a quick reapplication after lunch, but it still seemed to hold up pretty ok. Without the lipbalm, I think it would have lasted a little better.
I also like this stain because you can layer it pretty well and use it to do the "gradient lip" that's so popular in Korea.
Overall, I like the formulation. It stays on pretty well, it smells good and comes in three additional colors: Pink Shocking, Ruby Shocking and Orange Shocking. Although it is a little pricey, I may have to pick up another one of these.
You can buy it here (non-referral): http://en.koreadepart.com/item/1426746265/tony-moly-shocking-lip-perfect-lips
Thanks for reading and also thank you to Synthia Maramis for requesting this review! I hope it was helpful!
TLDR: I would highly recommend this product to anyone that wants a medium to full coverage, easy to apply, high SPF foundation. My only qualm is that it does get a little too "dewy" for individuals with oily skin. If you're on the oilier side like myself, remember to bring your blotting papers or powder to touch up! It can get really, really greasy.
Even though I've been posting off and on for five years, I've been a pretty consistent fan of Laneige throughout my blogging journey. I was pretty disappointed when they revamped their pore care line and after I moved back to Vancouver/Seattle it became increasingly hard to find Laneige. My usual go-to strategy was actually to smuggle an insane amount of vials and boxes of Laneige in my suitcase after visiting Taiwan. I distinctly remember one time being pulled aside by the Canadian border agent, them x-raying my suitcase and demanding to know what all the bottles in my suitcase were. I just cried and they let me go.
Imagine my surprise when I walked into my local Target to find a huge display of Laneige with their BB Cushion Compact front and center on display! Now I don't have to pay exorbitantly high fees for shipping or risk being detained by Border Agents.
So what exactly is a cushion compact?
It's a sponge housed in a sturdy plastic container that has been soaked in BB or CC cream. Iope, a child of the enormous Amore Pacific cosmetics corporation, was the first brand to release a cushion compact. Amore Pacific did an insane amount of research on what sponges to use to house the product. The sponge in the container makes sure that the components of the BB cream don't separate, allowing for even and consistent application each time. The powder puff applicator that comes with the compact is also different from any powder puff you've seen before. It's dense, thin, and has a unique texture that doesn't absorb too much product. Supposedly, the sponge is also anti-microbial!
I've been dying to try out a cushion compact, mainly because of my obsession with the Korean beauty phenom Pony, but I wasn't willing to shell out $60 on the Amore Pacific CC compact. The price point of the Laneige BB Cushion is much more palatable at $34.
I was super pleased when I opened the box and saw that the compact came with an extra refill. I'm pretty lazy about sunscreen so the 50++ already built into the the BB Cream makes me feel slightly more secure that I'm not letting the sun blast UV damage all over my face.
The compact is hefty and well made. There's two levels to the compact, an upper level to house the sponge applicator and a lower level that houses the BB Cream soaked cushion. The divider that separates the two actually seals the lower chamber so that the BB cushion doesn't dry out.
You can also see that Laneige seals the cushion with a sticker to prevent any premature drying of the product.
Right now "cushion compacts" are huge in Korea and and almost all Korean Brands, including innisfree, Tony Moly, 3 Concept Eyes, etude house, etc., have their own versions of the cushion compact for sale with different finishes! Only Amore Pacific, Laneige, and Lancome offer easily accessible cushion compacts in the states. However, you can also buy Korean branded cushion compacts from independent sellers on Amazon, eBay, and G-Market.
The biggest advantages of the cushion compact are the ease of application, the benefits of increased SPF, and because of it's creamy new compact form companies can jam more nutrients for your skin into it.
Now for the application...
I woke up like this.
So this is me right out of bed. Pretty messy and as you can see I'm having a little breakout focused mainly on my cheeks. Having watched Pony's videos, I knew that any Cushion Compact can be layered to achieve the coverage you want. Obviously this also depends on the formula of the BB Cream, but I'm rather happy with the medium to full coverage of Laneige's compact.
I did one layer of the BB Cream on my chin and forehead and I did around three passes on each cheek. It left me with a slightly dewy look, which looks quite nice on camera! However, since my face is a small OPEC nation the "dewy" look can quickly evolve into full on grease-face. To combat this, I dusted a light layer of my finishing powder over the BB Cream to set my makeup and take the dewiness away.
This is my completed makeup with all the other steps finished. I went to an amusement park after putting this makeup on and it did a pretty good job holding up throughout all the sweating, screaming, and water rides my friends and I went on.
My Cousin Jom
Even though this is a pretty horrible photo of me, you can see that the BB Cream held up well.The one thing I probably could've done was touch up with some blotting papers or some powder foundation. After a while, the BB Cream does get pretty greasy.
Edit: Aug 26, 2015 Here's what my makeup looked like when I got home. I found this photo hiding in my computer. It looks like it help up alright. =D
My only other qualm with the BB Cream is hygiene. The sponge applicator and cushion compact seem like germ farms to me, but they do advertise the sponges as being antibacterial. Nonetheless, I still like to wash my makeup applicators at least once a week and I tried to wash the sponge applicator that came with the compact. It was a bit tough to wash and I felt like there was a lot of product buildup held within the sponge. Also post-wash my once pristine sponge looked like this:
I've been using this compact for a month now and I've found that the product tends to gather in the edges of the compact. If you think you're out, try the corners before you switch to your refill!
I'd been "good" in terms of purchasing frivolous cosmetic things and by good I mean straight up not buying them. I promised myself I'd be "good" for the rest of the year. However, when I visit my sister, sometimes it's the perfect storm of laughter, enthusiasm, and craziness to get me swiping my credit card. This time our target was the Tony Moly flagship store that recently opened in NY.
My sister and I have fallen completely in love with Asian Beauty products, from "My Beauty Diary" facemasks to Majolica-Majorca blushes to Etude House Liptints. In the past couple of years Korean Cosmetics and Skincare have truly taken center stage with their packaging, efficacy, and quality. I originally wanted to purchase some Korean skincare from Sephora but my sister suggested heading directly to the source: the Tony Moly flagship store in K-town.
Well, I went a little crazy at Tony Moly and I just wanted to share that craziness with you. I'll also review these products individually as the weeks pass, so keep your eyes peeled! I've included non-referral purchase links underneath each product photo. The US Tony Moly site doesn't have a complete roster of all their products yet, so I've included retailers like Amazon, Ulta and anyone who offers the exact product I purchased. Please buy at your discretion!
The prices I've listed below are what they cost in the store.
I think everyone's initial reaction when they hear "snail gel" is to cringe. Snail gel in beauty products is a tough sell. However, scientists recently have discovered that Snail Gel has incredible benefits for the skin. It's incredible at diminishing fine lines and wrinkles and has benefits for acne, acne scarring, hyper-pigmentation and dryness. Less cringe worthy, right? My sister and I decided to try out the snail essence mask in it's "hydrogel" form.
Tony Moly had so many different and adorable masks it was hard not to go crazy and get them all. Their packaging is so ON POINT. I'm so easily mind-melded by the packaging, I'm shocked I didn't walk out with the whole store. However, this particular box caught my eye. It was so plain in comparison to the rest of the store and very to the point.
5 Clinical Grade Masks for use 5 days in a row to improve your skin. Easy! I grabbed it and stuck it in my bag. Imagine my surprise when I got to the cashier and it rung up as the most expensive thing in my entire haul.
This 5. Day Project Mask set retails for $54 dollars.
My sister and I are always on a quest to get fabulous hair. Tony Moly had a cute assortment of hairmasks, but my sister and I were most impressed by this one. Not only becaue of the cute angel wing design, but also because it had an extra sachet of hair essence to slather on your hair in addition to an essence soaked "shower cap." This retails for $6.
I bought these because they were so dang cute. LOOK AT THEM. Little hydrogel masks that you stick on your laugh lines. I love beauty items with a self reflective sense of humor. They were also the only product that the boyfriend was interested in! So obviously I purchased one for him as well. I think when we try these out we're going to be taking lots and lots of selfies. These retail for $4.00.
I purchased these for the same reason I purchased the "Mr. Smile" lip patch: they're so dang cute! I also am a Jenn Im acolyte and she reviewed this lip mask in one of her videos so I too had to give them a try! My lips have been extremely dry lately and this seems like a good thing to do when I'm not feeling in the mood for slapping on a whole face mask.
As with the two little hydrogel masks above, I couldn't resist this "little red riding hood" themed mask. I have extreme red cheek problems due to acne, acne scarring, and general irritation. I know this mask won't cure everything, but I'm looking forward to the refreshing effects of the essence infused hydrogel.
I actually purchased this by accident...I thought this was the black head treatment, but it was not. I'm not sure about this one, but you can never go wrong with a kaolin clay mask! Especially if you have acne prone skin like I do.
The service in the store was...definitely below par. They were quite busy, but there were just some things that rubbed me a little bit the wrong way. One of them was that the cashier actually charged me for this mask twice...it retails for $17.00 so charging me twice....wasn't cool.
I needed a acne spot treatment and this was suggested to me by one of the more helpful sales associates. It has calamine and centella extract to help sooth cystic angry pimples and uses kaolin clay to help dry them out.
If there's one statement on my blog that I've said over and over again it's that my ultimate cosmetic weakness is for lip products. I'm just in love with them and Korean Lip products just consistently knock my expectations out of the park. I'm excited to try all of these and I'll be giving each type of lip product a thorough review.
Kiss Lover Lip Master retails for $14, Kiss Lover Live Tint retails for $11, and Perfect Lips Shocking Lip retails for $22.
With all the money I spent they also gave me two freebies: their makeup remover wipes and a full size of their Floria Whitening Emulsion.
That's the whole haul! I hope the splurge didn't shock you too much. Honestly I was shocked at my own cosmetic gluttony. I'll be eating chili for the next couple of weeks....
If you're interested in Tony Moly, I've linked their website here! They're also running a promotion where you'll get 5% off your purchase to celebrate the grand opening of their flagship store. So feel free to splurge online! So long as the promotion is running, purchasing products online right now is cheaper than in store.
