Jolse haul #1

Okay, so this was my first Jolse haul back in April (I know, I posted my third haul, then my second, my fourth, and now my first?!). I guess this is another one of those subtle introduction into the products I have used or currently own.

Ordered: 24/4/14
Shipped: 25/4/14
Arrived: 2/5/14

Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum + Black Sugar Perfect First Serum Cotton Pad Review

Skinfood's Black Sugar line is one of their best selling lines. I purchased two of these serum and cotton pad sets back in Christmas 2013 and promptly used them up in the first half of 2014. 

This is a first essence meaning you use it straight after cleansing. It's supposed to help your skin absorb your other layers (e.g., serum, essence, cream) better. This formula contains niacinamide as the fifth ingredient for brightening! Alcohol is the third in list, so you may want to be careful if you are sensitive to alcohol.

Front...

...and back.

Innisfree Jeju Peach Hand cream review

My hands are so dry, so I have been on the look out for nice, fruity hand creams. I was using this during Spring/ Summer when butters and heavier creams were too heavy (yes, my hands still get chapped during warmer seasons). Innisfree as a brand didn't appeal to me all that much, but I am trying to get more familiar with them. So far, I've purchased a lipstick, lip concealer, several sheet masks, and a hand cream.

Contents: 30mls. It comes in a somewhat flimsy plastic tube. The colour from the packaging may rub off; especially the ends of the tub, and the circular neck area.

Price: 2450 won (sale). RRP ~$4

My Thoughts

This hand cream has a light, airy texture. It was just enough for me in the Spring/ Summer seasons, but I don't think it will be moisturising enough for the Autumn/ Winter months. 

It has a very strong, fruity peach candy smell. I love the scent! The scent of the hand cream will linger, so be cautious about purchasing if scents give you a headache. I would recommend the Nature Republic hand creams which have since been renewed in 2014 for a more subtle fruity scent, and a steamed cream texture.

See how dry my hands are in Summer? D:

This Innisfree Juju hand cream series has many more variants such as:

• Jeju Narcissus
• Jeju Daphne
• Jeju Camellia
• Jeju Lotus
• Jeju Gardenia
• Jeju Rose
• Jeju Hallabong
• Jeju Wood
• Jeju Udo Peanut

I think they also had a fig one at some point. I would love to try that one as I prefer fruit scents to flowery or nutty scents!

☆☆☆☆/ 5

Repurchase? Sure, why not? It's a reasonable price, smells nice, and does the job in warmer months.

Mizon Special Therapy Honey Black Sugar Scrub review

Since there is still that awesome free shipping Mizon deal on Roseroseshop (you just have to pay $2.50 for a tracking number per order/ package), I will write a review of a Mizon product! I purchased this way back in October 2013 . 

I'm sure everyone has heard of Skinfood's famous Black Sugar Mask Wash Off right? I thought this might be a good product to try and to ascertain that Skinfood's famous Black Sugar Mask Wash Off is famous for a reason. However, Skinfood has since released their version of the Honey Black Sugar Mask Wash Off in 2014, so I guess that product would be most comparable with this Mizon Special Therapy Honey Black Sugar Scrub. 

What They Say: Natural black sugar powder exfoliates dead skin cells and black heads effectively and controls excessive sebum. Honey and various plant oils nourish skin, leaving it radiant and smooth. 

Contents:  90g in a plastic tub. Comes with a plastic separator.

Application: While face is still wet after cleansing, apply a proper amount, avoiding eyes and lips. Massage softly, drawing circles, then let it set for 5 minutes. Wash off with lukewarm water. 

Cost: $12.20 (shipping not included)

Peripera Peri's Tint Water #5 Candy Juice

I love lip tints! They come in so many colours and textures, and you can create the super trendy and extremely pretty Korean ulzzang gradient lip look with them. 

This is my first product from Peripera. What do I think of it? Read on to find out!

I picked up this colour in my February 2014 Testerkorea haul (you can read more about it here). I think this colour was previously released as a Gmarket exclusive and I couldn't find it on ebay, BeautyNetKorea, or Rose Rose Shop during early 2013. It was constantly sold out on ebay. I also only saw two blog swatches of it, but it looked amazing so I knew I had to have it!

Sydney Sephora Day 1 Gift

Today, I went past the new Sephora that is going to open at Pitt Street Mall on the 5th of December to see the Lego Christmas tree. Kat Von D herself is going to come to the opening on Friday! It is the first Sephora to open in Australia, so there is definitely a lot of hype and excitement with the promise of never before available brands (such as Tarte, Makeup Forever, KVD etc.). Unfortunately, Urban Decay is still not going to be available to Aussies:(

On the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of December, Sephora will be handing out little gifts to help celebrate the opening. 

Today is a pink compact mirror! I don't think I'll be back the other days, and it's probably not worth lining up for the freebies, but do drop by if you are close.

TIP: Benefit is also doing a liner swap until the 5th of December. Just bring in an old eyeliner and swap it for a free sample of They're Real Push-up Liner! There's a Benefit inside Myer at the Westfield right across the street from Pitt St Mall if you are going to visit Sephora. 

Benton BHA Aloe Toner Review

I'm sure most of you beauty and skincare lovers would have heard of snail products. Benton was one of the brands that I wanted to try out when I was first doing research on snail mucus products back in 2013 as they are known for having no fillers and preservatives in their products. I ended up buying the Benton Snail Bee Essence and put the Benton BHA Aloe Toner on my wishlist. The combination of BHA, aloe vera, and snail mucus sounded perfect (and no, snail isn't gross. It's actually very nice). Being an avid visitor to /r/AsianBeauty and seeing the mixed reviews on the Benton Toner further piqued my interest-- will this toner work miracles for me, or will my skin react badly to it?

Jolse was running a contest on facebook for 20 reviewers to try the Benton BHA Aloe Toner, and I was selected! Thank you Jolse~ 

Anyway, onto the product review!

Hong Kong House (Sydney shows support for the Umbrella Revolution of Hong Kong 2014)

I'm sure by now, everyone has heard of the political situation that is happening in Hong Kong. I won't go into detail about the circumstances, but my parents are from Hong Kong and I lived there for a few years when I was a child. Many of my friends also have parents who come from Hong Kong so we definitely have been keeping an eye on the situation. 

On 2nd of October, 2014, I went to visit Hong Kong House at Town Hall to read some of the messages of support for the people of Hong Kong. This silent show of support mirrors the 'Lennon Wall' that has been set up in Hong Kong.

I have left some of these pictures in their original resolution so the messages can be read.

Sasa, Bonjour, Mannings Hong Kong sunscreen and skincare haul

So this was a from end of July/ early August. My dad went to Hong Kong for business and he asked me what I wanted him to get me. I replied with 'Socks and lollies.' Then I wrote down a list of stuff I wanted which he passed onto his high school friend's daughter (who is also my friend who is a few years older than me) to get! I was really excited because this stuff is expensive in Sydney T_T

My friend got most of these from Sasa, Bonjour, and Mannings. She gave me the receipt but I just chucked it in a box somewhere after adding up the prices. Be sure to shop around in HK. Even different branches of the same store (I'm looking at you Sasa) have different prices. You can easily get ripped off.

Testerkorea haul and review #2 (Nature Republic EXO Standees, masks, photobook|| O HUI, Laneige edition)

*Sigh* I actually wrote this on 4th of September and it got deleted! The entire thing. Here is my review again that I managed to salvage as an image that I lovingly retyped -_-

This haul was from a while ago, so these are my thoughts on the old site, before Testerkorea had a total site overhaul in June, 2014. I have not ordered from them since. Unfortunately, my second shopping experience was not as fantastic as my first one, but it was still great service!

Order Timeline

Email for manual order: 11/02/14
Confirmation of order: 12/02/14
Payment sent: 12/02/14
Payment confirmed: 20/02/14
Items shipped: 25/02/14
Arrived: 04/3/14

As you can see, the order process was a pain. It took around a week and a half for everything to be shipped. The package arrived surprisingly quickly through standard shipping though (four working days)!

Oh, so many foam pieces!

Jolse haul #3 (Etude House Etude Pink Dear My Blooming Lips Talk Limited Edition Lipstick) swatch + review

Just a quick review. Still gutted that I spent ages writing a very long haul and review I did on Testerkorea that got deleted (!). It was filled with my OHUI and Laneige purchases.

For this purchase with Jolse, I waited until it was their 10% off Etude House week and used a $5 coupon I won from their Facebook competition from awhile back.

Pictures from Etude House's Facebook page--

MCM x LuHan

Stress, stress, everywhere. Stay safe everyone! <3

(For the first time this year, I felt like sketching something... and it came at 2am. I hope those terrible rumours about Lu-ge aren't true and that he takes some time to recover well). 

[10/10/14 edit]: So the rumours were not baseless. I hope Luhan recovers well and is able to progress with his career. EXO-M was the first group I followed from debut. What's going to happen next? Is EXO-M going to merge into EXO-K and permanently be EXO? Or will K members join M whilst doing promotions? 

Asian Sheet Mask Haul (Etude House, The Face Shop, My Scheming, My Beauty Diary, Missha, Innisfree) and Quick Review

(31/8/14: Work in progress, I've picked up ten billion other boxes of masks since I've drafted this post in February. My favourites are Leaders Insolution and My Beauty Diary)

I love sheet masks. Unfortunately, it's an expensive habit I've developed for something a one time use item. They're fantastic for nourishment and for giving your skin a bit of pampering throughout the week. I used to think that $3 a sheet is a pretty good deal and the most I've paid for one mask is $4.50 (The Face Face Vita C Gel Mask).

Personally, I would not pay for more than $1.50 a sheet mask anymore, and you can easily find good deals around Sydney. Here are the masks I used last year (and some quick thoughts):

Missha:

My very first sheet masks of 2013! I decided to venture out and try them in around February. Missha has since closed down in the QVB. 

Jolse Haul and Review #2

I've purchased from Jolse and their ebay shop a few times before, but this is my most recent haul from them (I'll put up haul #1 another time haha orz)! I've also had a Testerkorea and a Roseroseshop package from earlier this year. I've also gotten a package from my dad/ friend in Hong Kong, and purchased so many things from a new shop in the city called Kim Sun Young. And I'm thinking of ordering more stuff from Roseroseshop soon coz they have free shipping for Mizon items. I'll put them up another time:D

As always, Jolse has lovely customer service. They have 10% off sales on Tony Moly, Missha, Innisfree, and Etude house every week of the month, other special deals, and a Facebook giveaway every Wednesday. On top of that, they have quite a nice reward program where you can accumulate mileage points to use on your next purchase.

They have world wide free shipping, and you are guaranteed to get three free samples with every purchase. These benefits stack up. For example:

One item: 3 samples 

Over 2 items: +3 samples and blotting paper

Over $20: pore strip

Over $40: free tracking number

Over $50: free sheet mask

Jolse's site crashed for around a week mid July, so they had a store wide 15% off sale along with extra gifts and vouchers for when they opened back up. Perfect timing as I had just finished my Ohui essence and cream, my Nivea foaming cleanser was up to its last days, and my Etude House BB deep cleanser was also running out. I was looking for a new moisturising toner and had been wanting to purchase OR205 for a long time... this was my chance to pick it up at a great price!

The package^^

The History of Whoo at Sydney

I was in Central yesterday and noticed the shop that used to sell Liz Lisa clothing across from Market City is gone. It has turned into The History of Whoo! The History of Whoo is conveniently located next to the shop that sells Stylenanda clothing and their cosmetics brand 3 Concept Eyes (3CE).

The History of Whoo is a luxury oriental Korean skincare brand under LG Household and Healthcare. Yes, the same LG that makes phones, fridges, washing machines, TVs... you know, that LG. LG Cosmetics also owns other big name Korean brands such as O HUI, The Face Shop, Beyond, and Isa Knox.

Inside this store, I saw they were selling History of Whoo, O HUI, and Leaders Insolution (Leaders). I love the masks from Leaders! I've currently tried their Vita Bright, Aloe Soothing, Tea Tree, Aquaringer, and Dr. Therapy Foot Mask. From O HUI, I'm currently halfway through The First Cell Revolution Essence Advanced and the Hydra Formula Moisture Deep Cream. I think the essence may be too rich for my younger skin, but the cream is awesome for getting rid off those annoying flakes on my face. 

2yearswithexo

Just dug up this photo from my hard drive to celebrate (and to procrastinate). Two years since EXO became life ruiners.

Some of my *ahem* EXO collection

From from left to right --> top to bottom

1. Sunny 10 Grape (D.O)
2. Sunny 10 Pineapple (Kai)
3. (Kris' pirate) Baby Alpacasso aka. "Ace"
4. XOXO First Year phone swing
5. Nature Republic EXO photobook + envelope underneath
6. Nature Republic Snail Solution Hydrogel Mask Sheet
7. Nature Republic Hand & Nature Apple Mango Hand Cream (Baekhyun's choice)
8. Nature Republic Hand & Nature Wild Cherry Hand Cream (Luhan's choice)
9. Nature Republic EXO Standees; Xiumin, Luhan, Kris, Lay, Chen, Tao, Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, Sehun (I'm sorry I cut you off ;__;)

A very tiny collection to celebrate their two year anniversary! Gonna stare at my EXO-K MAMA poster and regret my life decisions for not picking up their The Face Shop advertorial posters when I had the opportunity. Also making angry eyes at the website I picked the standees from-- I got them for 1500won each and now it's 9900won for the entire set. But it's still worth it to see these happy faces smiling at you when you're studying:)

:)

I'm pretty excited for their comeback and their solo tour! I wish my full time job was a combination of a fangirl/ TouhouPokemonVN gamer/ cosplayer/ Vocaloid karaoke singer. If only. Back to the terrible reality of 1000000 assignments and responsibility.

Rilakkuma Valentine's Day Chocolate~

Edwin got me A LOT of Rilakkuma stuff as a 'farewell' present for finishing up a year of work. What a nice nii-chan he is. One of the things he got me was a Rilakkuma chocolate decorating kit. I think he inadvertently just wanted to receive some chocolate for Valentine's Day (and I delivered!). 

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Rilakkuma chocolate decorating kit

Study Time (AT for King-sama)

I finally drew something this year! Lots of mistakes but it was drawn with love for King <3
メガネ(♥ω♥*)

Nature Republic: Hand & Nature (aka Nature Republic EXO's Hand Cream) Review/ Baekhyun and Luhan's Pick

I haven't really seen many reviews of these hands creams by Nature Republic floating around so I thought I'd give my two cents. Ever since EXO started endorsing Nature Republic, I've actually taken up the want to try something besides their highly raved Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel (which is still on my wishlist). Looks like their marketing ploy is working. Just according to keikaku ಠ_ಠ

There are more varieties in this hand cream series than even EXO can endorse:

I purchased Baekhyun's Apple Mango and Luhan's Wild Cherry from Testerkorea for 4620 won each (normal price is 6600 won). 

一生懸命勉強して！

A (not so secret) drawing for someone kekeke. High school!any character is my favourite AU because I love drawing uniforms. One day I will learn to love drawing jeans (but it's so hard T^T).

I'm still currently fawning over pictures of Baekhyun from GDA. My gosh... the circle lens, eyeliner, hair, suit ಠ_ಠ

Testerkorea review + haul!

So... I've been eyeing items on my wishlist on Testerkorea for awhile. The final push was when they were having a fantastic 30% off sale on a lot of popular brands (Missha, HolikaHolika, It's Skin, Tonymoly, Skinfood, Etude House, Innisfree, The Face Shop, Nature Republic, A'pieu, Too Cool For School, Sum37, The History of Whoo, Sulhwasoo, Ohui) throughout the 6th to the 20th of December, 2013. Best of all, they had the Exo Nature Republic hand creams I've been dying to get!

Background
Testerkorea is a website that sells full-sized and sample sizes of Korean skincare and makeup. Prices are extremely competitive (pretty much market price in Korea) and are given in Korean Won. Of course, you need to pay for shipping in addition to the price of the goods. The website accepts payment via PayPal or Thai Bank Transfer.

New members receive a 10% off coupon to use on any item. There is a membership service for those who spend over a certain amount with them. You will get an additional discount on your items.

My Experience
My first experience with Testerkorea was actually a pretty good one despite a few hiccups.