Review & Swatches: The Estee Edit Metallishadow Creme + Powder in Scarlet Eclipse

The Estee Edit Metallishadow Creme + Powder in Scarlet Eclipse includes a burgundy cream eyeshadow base and a loose rose gold (but more like golden tan) pigment. The cap also includes a small, but still usable, mirror. I actually got this because the cream base + pigment duo I wanted from Dose of Colors was out of stock. The Estee Edit is a new line from Estee Lauder and is geared more towards the younger generation. There is 0.07 ounces of product and it retails exclusively at Sephora for $25.

Review & Swatches: Etude House Look At My Eyes Eyeshadows in BR421, PP509, BR422, and PK008 [PinkBird Box]

Etude House released some new Look At My Eyes eyeshadows for their 2016 S/S Color Flower Lesson collection and they sent me BR421, PP509, BR422, and PK008* to review! BR422 is the darkest of the shades I've received, but all of the shades are light / midtone shades that fit the spring season. I also received the Flower Lesson Empty Eye Shadow Palette* that can fit 4 depotted Look At My Eyes eyeshadows! You can buy all of these products on the global Etude House website here!

Review: Etude House Pink Vital Water Serum & Toning White C Bright Kit [PinkBird Box]

It's time to talk about my recent Etude House Pink Bird Box! This is part one and it's focused on the Toning White C Bright Kit* and the Pink Vital Water Serum*. The Kit includes minis of the Clear Toner, Radiance Emulsion, Tone Up Cream, and Double Effect Sleeping Pack and they all work together to whiten hyper pigmentation and hydrate the skin.

Hao Goes Outside pt. 1

I was shocked to learn that it was possible to go outside. 

Just kidding, I have sensitive eyes and couldn't deal with the sun without my sun glasses.

When I took a small blogging / life break, I decided to go "hiking" and to the zoo with my boyfriend! Part one is just going to be for the hike and part two will be the zoo to keep the rambling to a minimum. 

The trail I went on was the Torrey Pines State Reserve in La Jolla, CA and as a fragile blob, I couldn't have gone on a better trail for my first hike. The path is pretty flat and if it's not, there's only a low incline or stairs. 

My boyfriend and I hiked for 2 hours and wasn't able to get through the whole thing. I did feel really good the whole time, but we got pretty hungry and went and got KBBQ instead. 

Honestly, it was a good thing I stopped since I haven't done anything physical for about 2 years. I ended up taking a nap after KBBQ and woke up with my legs totally dead. 

Look at me trying to be artsy fartsy and failing because it's just landscape. 

I'm weirdly very proud of the above picture. I took my handy dandy Glossier Balm Dotcom with me not only for my dry lips, but also for any dry skin emergencies. Even though it was so gorgeous outside, it was kind of windy since I was so close to the water. 

Again, the sun is my enemy.

I'm planning on going on this trail again sometime soon because I really want to see the rest of the view. The end is supposed to be even more gorgeous than what I saw in the beginning and so I can't wait! 

Anyway! One last note before I end this post. My Etude House giveaway did end and a huge congrats to Emily P! I've already contacted her and will be sending out the package soon. 

I will be doing another giveaway in May for my blog anniversary and so look out for that!

Glow Baby Glow! ft. Liquid Illuminators / Highlighters

Liquid highlighters / illuminzers have become a recent obsession of mine and now I kind of want at least one from every brand. I've also been getting some illuminating bases as well to give myself even more glow. 

I pretty much want to look like a Twilight vampire but not as emo. 

Swatched L to R - 

Becca Cosmetics Backlight Priming Filter

Benefit Cosmetics High Beam

Becca Cosmetics Liquid Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal

MAC Cosmetics Strobe Cream

Burberry Fresh Glow Luminous Base

Etude House Dreaming Swan Shine Volumer in Twinkling Tutu

Benefit Cosmetics Girl Meets Pearl (review here)

Life's Entropy Galaxy Glow Illuminator in Solar Flare (review here)

For illuminating bases, my favorite out of the ones I have is probably the Becca Cosmetics Backlight Priming Filter. It gives me just enough glow and helps prolong my foundation. I felt like the Burberry one did nothing to my face and I didn't have strong feelings about the MAC Strobe Cream. I did like that it gave my dry face some more moisture though. 

For liquid highlighters, all of them are my favorite! I can't choose since they're all great, but just have different undertones. 

The Life's Entropy Galaxy Glow Illuminator is the most pigmented and so I'm scared to use that one when I'm in a rush, but it's gorgeous. It also works well as a liquid highlighting blush if I layer it on. 

I also like to mix the Becca Cosmetics Liquid Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal in foundations since the undertone matches my actual skin undertone more. 

For more subtle highlighting but still with some color, I love the Benefit Cosmetics Girl Meets Pearl. I really can't get enough of this product since it's so easy to throw on to add a little something to my look. 

The Etude House Dreaming Swan Shine Volumer in Twinkling Tutu is actually limited edition, but it's still available for a little bit longer! It's more on the glitter side and so I only use this on my eyes. It works great as a base for matte shadows and in the inner corner or lower lashline to draw more attention to the eyes. 

Let me know what your favorite illuminators / liquid highlighters are! I want to try one of the NARS ones next, but there's also some MAC ones I might get first.

Haul | Feeling Fresh with Lush!

I went to Lush recently to mostly pick up a lip scrub, but ended up also buying two Fresh Face Masks! Something about that store always makes me want to get more. Lush was one of the few brands that worked really well on skin when I was constantly breaking out and so I always like to stop by to see what's new. 

The item I went into Lush for is the Mint Julep Lip Scrub. Even though it's Spring, the weather is sill a bit cold and it's been drying out my lips. I used this lip scrub years ago and loved it so I wanted to repurchase it to make my lips soft and smooth again.

The Fresh Face Mask that I've been wanting to try for weeks is Catastrophe Cosmetic. I wanted a mask that was geared towards breakouts other than Cosmetic Warrior, which smelled so strongly of garlic that I hated it. The sales associate said that the Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask is made up of more skin calming ingredients.

The other mask I got was Don't Look At Me and it's supposed to be for brightening. The bright blue color immediately drew me in, but the ingredients slightly worry me. The sales associate said that this mask is made up of 20% lemon juice and I've read that the pH of lemon juice is generally too acidic for the face. I'm going to proceed with caution, but I've used it once before writing this post (I couldn't wait!) and my skin didn't feel irritated. I don't know much about skincare and so please educate if you know more! I've found a lot of posts about just lemon juice, but not as much about lemon juice as an ingredient (besides lemon juice + baking soda/sugar mixtures). 

Have you tried any of these products? What's your favorite face mask?