Tony Moly Egg Pore Tightening Cooling Pack

So I keep on mentioning that Tony Moly has adorable packaging, but I haven't showed you any of their products that actually adhere to this rule. Well, today that's all going to change.

Here's a member of the Tony Moly "Egg Pore" line, their "Tightening Cooling Pack." I actually purchased this thinking it was the "Egg Pore Blackhead Steam Balm." It wasn't. Which isn't to say that it's bad! Both products come in very similar packaging with the only difference being the color: white or brown.

It just had a different application than what I wanted. Like most people on this planet, I'm constantly looking for a product that will rid my nose of pesky blackheads. I've heard fantastic things about the "Black Head Steam Balm," but that review will have to wait for another time. The cooling pack's primary function is to minimize pores, tighten skin and restore elasticity.

Look at that attention to detail!

Let me start off this official review by saying there's no way to truly minimize your pore size. According to science, and Google, your pore size is genetically predetermined, so I didn't go into trying out this product with those expectations.  Instead I was thinking about its oil controlling properties, acne fighting properties, and overall skin health.

First thing that I immediately notice, the texture is WEIRD. It's aerated clay. It feels very spongey and has a bouncy texture. You don't be able to sink your fingers in, spoon it out and spread it on your skin. You'll have to break it apart and smooth a little "mask nugget" over you skin.

The second thing I noticed was the quantity that you get. I expected the egg to be more than half full of product, but you really only get the bottom third of the plastic egg filled with mask. You only get 30 grams of product.

The instructions on the box say to take a "moderate to heavy" amount and spread it over you face for 10-15 minutes or until dry. Then wash off with warm water.

The ingredients include:Water, Kaolin, Butylene Glycol, Bentonite, Titanium, Dioxide (CI 77891), Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Vinegar, Egg Shell Powder, Sea Silt, Glacier Water, Perfluorohexane, Tromethamine, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cellulose Gum, Perfluorodecalin, Potassium Alginate, Pentafluoropropane, Disodium DETA, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance. 

Here's my bare face before the mask. (Super Tired)

Despite the strange texture the mask was easy to smooth on my face. With clay masks I prefer an opaque covering of mask to really absorb all the impurities from my face.

Most of the masks that I use are clay based, I've tried bentonite, kaolin, and umbrian clay, and I find they really help with oil and sebum control. Waiting the 10-15 minutes wasn't unbearable, I just queued up some youtube videos and sat down.

Unlike the rest of the clay masks that I've had the pleasure of trying, that crack and crumble when they dry, this mask coalesced together and really did feel like it had a "tightening" effect. It was a bit difficult to talk after the mask had fully dried. 

After I washed the mask off my skin felt really good. My skin didn't feel stripped, but I did notice whatever bubbling breakouts I had underneath my skin became smaller.

This before and after picture is slightly deceiving, as the after makes my skin look more angry and red, but the next morning when I applied my makeup my skin's texture was phenomenal and looked markedly different. Again, I don't think it can "shrink pores," but in terms of acne fighting powers, sebum control and skin refining this is a pretty good mask.

The real drawback for me, is that you get a small amount of product.  On the other hand it retails for $13 so that's not necessarily too bad? The ultimate test is whether I'd purchase it again and yes I would. Despite the small negative of the amount of product, I felt like this mask offered something new and beneficial to my skin.

I hope this review helps anyone looking to invest in this product! I purchased mine from the Tony Moly flagship store, but if you're curious, here's a purchase link below:

Pretty and Cute
Amazon*

Kocostar Foot Therapy - Review

I was shopping at Urban Outfitters when I saw the blue Kocostar Foot Therapy package nestled in with all the Tony Moly goodies they stocked. A friend of mine, who worked for Soko Glam's Klog, did a review a while back on a Faceshop's "Smile Foot Peeling" pack. Intrigued by the foot peeling phenomenon, I had to purchase this pack and try it for myself. Luckily, I was able to force boyfriend into trying it too.

He's more religious about running than I am, but it's safe to say that both of our feet have taken a beating and, unfortunately, we're not very diligent about giving them some well needed TLC.

WARNING: VERY GROSS FOOT PICTURES 

Again, apologies for the gross foot pictures, but here are our "before" photos.

Did you know Kocostar is actually a Canadian company? They offer treatments for your hands and nails as well.

Active Ingredients: Alcohol, Water, Propylene Glycol, Lactic Acid, Isopropyl Alcohol, Urea, Glycolic Acid, hydroxypropylcellulose, Betaine, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Triclosan, Menthol, Fragrance, Disodium EDTA, Water, Butylene Glycol, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Viola Tricolor Extract, Taraxa cum Officinale (Dandelion) Leaf Extract, Chrysanthemum Morifolium Flower Extract, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Flower Extract, Prunus Serrulata Flower Extract, Butylene Glycol, Chrysanthemum Indicum Flower Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Melissa officinalis Leaf Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Aspalathus linearis Leaf Extract, Thymus vulgaris (Thyme) Flower/Leaf Extract, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Flower Water, Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-yuen Seed Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed E xtract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Seed Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Phaseolus Radiatus Seed Extract, Zea Mays (Corn) Kernel Extract, Angelica Gigas Root Extract, Cnidium Officinale Root Extract, Coptis Japonica Root Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Extract, Phellinus Linteus Extract, Phellinus Linte us Extract, Rheum Palmatum Root Extract, Laminaria Japonica Extract, Chlorella Vulgaris Extract, Porph yra Yezoensis Extract, Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit/Leaf Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract.

Look at that gross blister. 

Safe to say that boyfriends feet were in significantly worse shape than mine. 

When you open up the packet, don't expect it to be like a traditional face mask. It's dry and the little "painter's booties" are self sealed! Cut them open, jam your little feet-sies in and use the tabs to adjust for a tighter fit.

They were easy to get on, but sitting still for an hour and a half was actually a bit difficult. I'm naturally a fidgety person with a small bladder, so the only advice I would give is go to the bathroom first and turn on Netflix, Hulu, Youtube or whatever floats your boat and sit still.

The hour and a half passed by uneventfully and I didn't feel unpleasant tingling or burning. In fact, I felt nothing at all! Which made me curious to see if the treatment truly worked. Our feet were also pretty pristine after removing the "foot mask" and washing our feet off.

My feet felt a little "tight" due to dryness, but it wasn't unbearable. You can see that my feet are a little red and irritated.

However, we didn't truly see the effects until around 3 days later.

REALLY GROSS FOOT PICTURES 

Boyfriend's foot had significant shedding and continued on for about a week. He said that his foot did feel softer, but it didn't have any effect on his blister. I think continued use of the foot mask would be more effective.

My shedding was significantly less, but still there. I really wanted the callous on the ball of my foot to go down or get softer, but again I think one treatment was not effective enough.

Would I buy this again? Yes probably! We definitely grossed out all of our friends, but I think routine use of this foot pack would definitely give you softer feet. However, there's no way to target specific callouses or blisters in this pack (since you're wrapping your foot in the mask) and I would be worried about how the rest of my foot would hold out. I think I would probably use this once a month?

Purchase links:
Kocostar
Amazon*

Chloe Mini Drew: Review and Styling

Hey there, I hope you're doing well. Long time no see right?

I've put something a little new together that I hope you will like! I started blogging a long time ago to provide information that I thought would be useful to people when purchasing stuff on the internet. I'm not a very strong writer, so thank you for your patience, but it's always a bit difficult for me to type out something that balances humor and information.

So I've given a new form of a media a try....YouTube! I have a small collection of videos on there now, but I wanted to link my first one here. Let me know what you think!

Tony Moly Perfect Lips Shocking Lip: Red - Review!

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!

Tony Moly Angel Glow Ring Hair Mask - Review!

So when my sister and I walked into Tony Moly, the first thing we saw was their mask stand. I think because everyone is obsessed with Tony Moly facemasks that staff was hardpressed to constantly refill their mask stand. It seemed like they were out of a lot of the "regular" face masks and had placed some hairmasks as place holders in their mask stand. My sister and I gravitated towards this particular hair mask because of the cute wing design and the "Two-Step" Process of the hair treatment and hair cap.

It retails in store for: $6, but they currently don't have it stocked on their site. I've placed an alternative purchase link here to TonyMoly's Amazon Store. Full disclosure, this link is not a referral link.

Here are the ingredients for those of you that are curious, but the instructions are pretty similar to any other hair mask or over the counter deep conditioning hair treatment. Shower, shampoo and condition, towel off and apply the essence!

So this is my natural hair to begin with. I have a Korean "digital perm" on the ends, but other than that my hair is pretty much un-touched. I don't like to blow dry my hair and expose it to the excess heat, so I let it air dry every night. That being said, my hair is still a little crispy on the ends and could use some loving.

So I popped into the shower! After towel drying and taking all the excess water out of my hair, I ripped open the first little pouch on the tip of the "Angel Wing."

The essence was a thick cream and it didn't have too strong a smell. It just smelled "clean" and the consistency reminded me of Macadamia Professional brand hair masks. The amount in the pack was just enough to cover my hair, but I did put more on the ends and focused less on my scalp area.

As I was applying the cream to my hair, I noticed that it had little yellow micro-beads of essence further embedded in the cream. As I applied them to my hair, they melted right away. You don't have to worry about putting the cream on and leaving the beads and their nourishing essence un-popped in your hair.

You guys get to see my ugly "I'm doing stuff with my hair" shirt. 

Overall the application was very easy albeit a little messy as all hair things are.

I was actually a little disappointed when it came to "Step 2." My sister and I purchased this pack because we thought we would get "double" the amount of hair essence with the essence pouch and an essence soaked "hair mask." When I opened the main body of the angel wing, I pulled out a dry, thin, and flaccid looking shower cap with no essence to be seen.

You guys also get to see my icky makeup-less face! 

I can understand the benefit of covering up your hair to lock in all that moisture, but this "Angel Glow Ring Hair Mask" was slightly more expensive than the other essence soaked hair mask and I felt a little bit let down. I do have a lot of hair, but it wasn't difficult to fit it all into this shower cap. 

After you shove all your hair into your shower cap, the instructions say to massage your head for an undisclosed amount of time.

Having no patience and being a little lazy, I massaged my hair enough to make sure that the product was being evenly distributed, but I essentially let it sit for the 20 minutes after that. During the waiting period I noticed that my hands, which I hadn't rinsed off from Step 1, were burning uncontrollably. There was a stinging sensation all along my palms and fingers and that didn't go away even when I washed my hands with soap and water. Obviously the sensation faded by the end of the 20 minutes, but it made me wonder what was going on in my hair and on my hands.

After the twenty minutes, I popped back into the shower and rinsed the treatment out. Here's how my hair looks post treatment and rinse.

I let my hair air dry overnight and I slept on it, so we'll time warp to this after photo. Yes, I did wear essentially the same outfit two days in a row, but I did change the top!

The overall results were tangible. I felt a difference in my hair, it was definitely smoother, softer and shinier. When I asked the boyfriend if he noticed anything different, he said that my hair was shinier. So the "Angel Glow Ring Hair Mask" definitely stands up to its name in that respect.

My permed curls did fall out a little bit, but I think that's because my hair got a little softer and wasn't able to hold the curl as well.

Two days later, my hair still feels softer, but it has lost some of that shine. My curls have bounced back, but I wouldn't say this made a life changing difference to my hair. I think I'd purchase it again for fun, but I wouldn't put this product into my normal routine of hair care. Next time, I'll try to blow dry and see if my curls hold up better.

Overall, I'm neutral about this product, but I can see myself buying it again. And I can also see myself washing my hands off immediately after applying "Step 1."

I hope this helps!