Beauty Culture

Talking about Beauty culture , i really have to admit that our East Asian counterparts are really good at it. You can have fake boobs that feels and looks like real boobs. Eyelids that were done but no one knows that you had surgery. Creating healthy looking and beautiful skin with just make up.  Cosmetics are easily available and cheap. You can find them even at MRT stations or convenience stalls. They are sprouting everywhere at street or underground level. The Japanese , Korean and Taiwanese ladies are really good at dressing up.

With Korea producing and inventing some of the products that are widely sought after and used today ( like the BB cushions , CC creams and BB Creams etc ) . It is no wonder their ladies there are so used to putting make up and they do it really well. Though not all have really good skin , they can create healthy looking skin with the use of cosmetic products.

There are the road side shops and departmental stores which sell cosmetics and skincare products.

Road side shops are the ones like Etude house , Innisfree , The Face Shop , Tony Moly, Missha , Holika Holika , It’s Skin , Nature Republic , The Saem etc. They are cheap and priced no more than KRW 20,000. With just KRW 55,000 you can easily buy a basic set of blusher , BB cushion , lip tint/lipstick and eyeliner pencil.

Here’s some of what i’ve got. There are still some powders , make up removers , make up fixer spray and eye shadows which i will share next week separately.

Some people may think these products are cheap and no good. The reason why they are cheap is because they are made in Korea.

Before i was “addicted” to Korean beauty products , i was into French skincare and make up products. I was using Avene skincare and Chanel make up and skincare products before switching to my first Korean skincare Laneige. I was using Chanel foundation , blusher and eyeliner then . Reason was because of the price , suitability and the range available. Chanel was too expensive and i cannot play with the colours and Avene’s range was too little. Most European products only comprise of 3 steps ( cleanser , toning , moisturizing ) . But French makeup remover are one of the best. Esp the Bioderma one. I am currently using the one from Creme Simon.

I love shopping at Korean road side shops because they are always promotions like 1+1 or discounts. And they do give alot of free samples which can be quite tempting because sometimes i ended up buying the full size products after trying them. But most of the time , i only ask for cleanser samples or lip tint samples. Yes , they have cute little lip tint samples which is good for travel and for me to try new colours. I HATE putting testers on my face because so many fingers already touched it.

Even though they are cheap , i don’t just anyhow grab and buy. I did that during my first trip to Korea because i “sua ku” . First time see cheap and nice make up mah.  Now i just buy what i did and what i will use and to stock up what i always use.

Cheap doesn’t mean it is no good. Being cheap , you can buy ALOT of colours and play around with your looks. You can layer the powders , foundations and products because most of the cosmetics from these Road side shops doesn’t really have strong pigments. Korean goes for the natural “no makeup” make-up look if you get what i mean. So the colours are subtle and good for layering. That’s why you can layer alot of things to create healthy looking skin without looking too overly done up and no one knows you actually had 3 layer of bases on your face.

I layer my cheeks with a lilac and a peach colour blusher. When these 2 are mixed together , they give a dreamy and natural blush look. After i shopped for make up in Korea 3.5 years ago , i stopped buying make up in SG. Price and variety are the factors.

Here’s a peek at my dressing table or should i say corner.

I think there are too many things and too heavy. The table kinda curved downwards in the middle.

Top are the ones i use daily or often whereas all the stock ups are under the table.

I think i over did it . LOL .

The facial corner. Grouped according to “Basic” and “Special care”. Basics are the ones i use everytime whereas the special corner are the serums , creams and sleeping masks.

Then i have the make up corner on the left. Products which i may use.

Samples that were given by my friend’s sister when i bought my HERA products from her. Too many samples..Can’t use finish even after 1.5 years.

The make up corner where i keep all my foundations , pencils , eyeshadows , sunscreen , lotions and lipsticks

Drawer stashed with make up stock ups.

Eyelashes and which i bought from Hongkong at SGD 3 per box. Shops in Far east plaza are selling at $23 per box. If you are going to Hongkong , you gotta stock them up. I bought like 8 boxes from HK . Or you can buy them from JB. It is at least $5 cheaper per box. I saw a shop at Aeon Shopping Mall in JB Bukit Indah selling them at RM29.90 per box.

Hair rollers for fringe , BB Cushions , refills and sponges. All for stock up.

Sunscreen , make up removers , cleansing tissues ,  cleansing foam maker and mists. These are full size samples given to me actually.

Besides that , i have boxes and tupper wares filled with HERA , Sulwhasoo and Primera samples. Too many…equal to 2 full size bottles per product.

Here is a lip tint which i want to recommend to everyone.

The Honey Melting Tint from Aritaum.

I always wanted to get this but shipping fee from Korea to SG costs more than the lip tint itself.
So i managed to get this during my Korea trip and i bought 2 sticks.

I decided on the colour Peach Crumble.

 

What’s my review ?

It is super moisturizing. It feels like a lip balm and i like how i glides on smoothly. The colour is rich and it smells really good like peach. I like how i moisturizes my lips in the cold weather and how it doesn’t dries up easy like other watery lip tints. It also leaves a subtle glossy look. Not very glossy and not very matt like other water lip tints.

Colour is actually peachy orange.

Colour looks quite rich if you don’t apply any layer of foundation or BB Cushion before the tint.

Colour is more subtle if you apply it after a layer BB cushion or your foundation.

No make up here and you can see i have abit of dark circles. Still thinking to go for eye bag removal in Sept or not. Already think for 1.5 years already lol.

 

Peach / Coral / Orange lipsticks are suitable for all skin tones.

I was tempted to get the Laneige water lip tint at Aritaum after seeing my friend Elaine’s beautiful lip colour. I didn’t buy in SG though. I bought it at Aritaum because i have the discount card. I layer it on top of my lipsticks. Not recommended to apply alone because it is very sheer.

Here’s a comparison of the 3 lip colours i bought from Laneige , Tony Moly and Aritaum.

My favorites in order :

1) Honey Melting Tint in Peach Crumble

Reason : Subtle peachy coral without being too loud and it is super moisturizing. Very cheap at only KRW 7,900

2) Tony Moly in Spring Orange

Reason : Subtle orange without being too long and it has a little sheen and it kinda brightens up my whole look. Very cheap at only KRW 7,900

3) Laneige Water Lip Tint in Apricot

Reason : Adds a subtle coral glossy look. More than KRW 22,000 but i get to enjoy 10% off with Aritaum membership.

You see , with SGD 8.50 , you can get a decent lipstick.

The first time i went to Korea back in 2012, i got a beauty culture shock. Girls curling their fringe with velcro curler in the restaurant while their hands were busy eating their meals. And when i was in a bar , some girls beside me brought out a big mirror from her bag and started touching up her make up. When i was in the train , some ladies openly took out their make up pouches and put on full make up right in front of public eyes and yet no one bats an eyelid and no one cares. You will probably get stomped or have your face posted on FB by someone if you were caught doing that in SG.

When i went to the toilet , there is always a make up corner where the are alot of tables and mirrors. There are only 3 basins for you to wash your hand but more than 5 mirrors and tables at the make up corner. Even at departmental stores like Shinsaegae and Lotte, there is a room where ladies get to sit down comfortably in a cushioned chair and put on their make up infront of a professionally lit make up mirror.

Beauty culture is so strong and everyone do their best to look good everytime and everywhere they go. If they don’t put on make up , they will wear a cap.

Even my bf often looks into the mirror or reflection to check his hair. Lol.

Though you often see good looking women there , some men are not stupid. Sometimes i told my Korean guy friends that this or that girl in the photo or whom we saw on the street is pretty. They will often reply me “must see her without make up first” or from the first look , they know whether was it photoshopped or not. I guess they were experienced enough.

There is no ugly women ..except lazy women.

This saying is really true.