Benton & Mizon Snail haul~ (more Korean skincare -_-;;)

At the end of October (25/10), I finally caved in and did another skincare haul. My skin has been progressively getting worse and worse towards the second half of 2013. It may have been due been due to switching out and trying too many skincare/ makeup products in a short amount of time. Having more money means wanting to spend more money!

I know that these items were not the cause as I had used them in the first half of 2013 and my skin was perfectly fine:

- Etude House Happy Vitamin C Foam Cleanser
- Etude House Wonder Pore Freshener
- Skinfood serum
- Skinfood Black Sugar/ Rice Wash-Off
- My Beauty Diary masks

Halloween picture

Le sketch of Marisa. Some exciting things have been happening recently (like yesterday, Ronan Keating walked into our store and I spoke to him! I was also on NHK in cosplay lol).

Sasa haul and review~ (more Korean and Japanese goodies ofc)!

I love, love, love visiting Sasa whenever I go to Hong Kong (I think I've got the two Mong Kok and the Tsuen Wan store layouts memorised by now). With all the raving reviews of Sasa floating around the interwebs, I decided to give their online shop a go. My experience with Sasa has always been positive and continue to be so as their prices are reasonable. 

I was lucky and was able to take advantage of Sasa's free shipping to Australia. All you had to do is spend over $29USD-- easy peasy with the dropping AUD conversion rate.

Hello there Dolly Wink

Byakuren //A Thousand Years of Loneliness//

My first and only drawing of 2013.

I used to be so ranking and point hungry on pixiv and other sites... I had to see myself on the rankings tables (my gosh, Jin and I used to talk about getting enough points to be on DR. I think he did manage to get in the top 100 and I stopped drawing haha). It feels better to draw because I feel like it.

I need to focus on studying hard and filling in my applications~! Wish me luck <3

Dior Voyage The Make-Up Palette (So Dior Travel Collection)

So I got given this huge Dior makeup palette recently:

Ehehe, I already swatched everything >_<

The palette contains:

- four eyeshadows
- pressed powder
- mascara
- blush/ finishing powder
- two lipsticks

It also contains:

- double-ended eyeshadow applicator
- sponge
- lipbrush
- blush brush

The only things I think I could use are the eyeshadows and the mascara. I don't use finishing powder and the blush doesn't show on my skin. The lipsticks don't match my skin tone (and I don't wear lipstick anyway).

Unfortunately, even then, the eyeshadows swatch out the same as my Dolly Wink brown palette:

And the purple and the cream colour is pretty much the same as my "Dior me, Dior me not" Lip and Eye Colour Palette (though I do think the travel palette's purple is prettier... but it's too light to suit my darker skin).

So all in all, I'm fairly disappointed I can't make much use of this palette. I already have sets/ palettes which do a better job (such as Benefit/ Estee Lauder). I'm not a huge fan of Dior beauty products in general. Sorry. I guess I do like the Dior Kiss lipgloss, but even then there's still points I don't dig. Don't even get me started on their perfume. 

I think I will love Dior a lot more in ten years time. The brand is a bit too sophisticated and mature for me right now. So yeah, just my thoughts and not really a review.

Burt's Bees "Tips and Toes"

So I purchased this Burt's Bees kit for my good friend as a birthday gift~ it's one of those brands I've always wanted to try but did not ever purchase because it's too expensive for myself ;___; 

I actually wanted to get her some hand cream from The Body Shop, but I couldn't find a scent that I thought she would enjoy. I was then going to get her the Orange and Ginger hand cream I found in another store... but I went back the week after to purchase and the shop no longer stocked that entire line of creams lol. 

She said she really liked this gift set yay! My money was well spent ☆

Skinfood Fruit Juice C (Whitening) Serum Review

Skinfood Fruit Juice C Serum (for Whitening Care)

I purchased this serum in my February skincare haul from Bonjour HK. The Bonjour website is actually quite friendly-- I initially wanted the Skinfood Tomato moisturiser, but my friend in Hong Kong said the line was discontinued in Hong Kong shops (so sad). I purchased this as a substitute because I wanted to try a whitening (brightening) product to lighten the scars on my face.

Let's find out if this baby works!

What they say: 'This skin-brightening essence contains fruit complex extracts with vitamin C and nano-processed vitamin C derivatives to revitalise skin. It also contains arbutin to keep skin looking radiant and vibrant.' (from the English Skinfood website)

Contents: 50ml; the serum is packaged in a half frosted bottle with a pipette dropper

Application: Use after your toner. Squeeze a few drops onto your palms and pat into your face for absorption. Follow it up with your moisturiser.

My Thoughts

Vitamin C is notorious for brightening so I picked this up in a heartbeat. IT SMELLS SO LOVELY; a fresh, citrus smell. Unfortunately, it didn't really work out for me. My face was not visibly brighter even though I used up the bottle very thoroughly everyday and night for around three months straight:( I'm not sure if it was because I only used a drop rather than three drops as others have suggested to cover my face.

The serum is light and non-sticky. It absorbed quite quickly and felt light on my face. I think it did a good job moisturising even though it was not slanted to do such a thing. Ironically, I think my face has actually gotten a shade darker even though I no longer see sunlight during my weekdays and have stopped wearing sunscreen with my 6am- 6pm schedule (so naughty).

Pros:
- smells good
- light weight, non-sticky formula
- cheap (I purchased it $13)

Cons:
- didn't whiten or brighten my skin
- no visible lightening of pimple scars
- quickly used up

Overall:
I have heard Skinfood is very hit-or-miss with their skincare products. This serum is a miss for me. I'm not pulled in by their makeup range but I do adore their wash-off packs (yes, the famous Rice and Black Sugar one I hauled together with this serum). I have heard good things about the more expensive Omija Whitening range from Skinfood though!

☆/ 5


TL;DR: It smells good and feels nice on the skin, but it did not do what it claimed for my skin. I would personally give this a miss. 
Have you tried any whitening or brightening products? What would you recommend?