Geo Princess Mimi Starmish Brown Circle Lens Review

Why, hello, my lovelies! Surprised to see me? I have finally come out from hibernation at last! I know it's been a really LONG time since I've updated, and it does feel a little strange to be typing this right now. I do apologize for disappearing, but around the time of July, I started a new job and was quite busy trying to get the hang of everything. And it got difficult to get back on track with blogging, especially since I had been doing a lot of social media and blogging for my new company. But recently, I've decided that I wanted to get back into the blogosphere and blog when I do have the time. ^^

I was recently contacted by Maplelens.com who were kind enough to sponsor me for review purposes. Before I get started on my review, I just have to applaud them for their super speedy shipping times. From the time I chose my lenses to when I actually received them was about less than a week. And please note that they're shipping from Malaysia as well, and since I'm based in the US, this was probably the fastest I've ever received lenses from anywhere. They offer free shipping for orders over $50, and $10 for shipping to the US with a time frame of 3-5 days.

When it comes to circle lens, I have a tendency to stay on the conservative side and I don't really wear other colors besides brown or green. I know the whole MLBB (my-lips-but-better) schtick has been making its rounds in the beauty community. Well, I'm definitely more of a MEBB (my-eyes-but-better) kind of circle lenses girl. The Geo Starmish Brown lenses was a perfect combination of sexy and natural, without coming off too costume-like.

Product Information

Brand: Geo Medical

Origin: Korea 

Diameter: 14.5 mm

Base Curve: 8.6 mm

Water Content: 38%

Life Span: 1 year disposable 

I was pleasantly surprised to find the lenses wrapped neatly inside a cute heart shaped box. Other places I have ordered from usually just send the lenses wrapped with many layers of bubble wrap. Like many other circle lens stores, they were kind enough to include an adorable animal contact lens case. 

Upon taking out the lenses, I was a little intimidated by how light they looked. I had never worn any brown lenses besides the normal dark-brown, natural-looking ones, but I was definitely excited to try these, since I've heard nothing but good things. 

Low Light 

Daylight 

However, after putting them on, I was definitely blown away by how beautiful they looked. When it comes to sporting lenses like these, you really do get the best of both worlds. Natural yet vibrant, the Geo Starmish Brown lenses are for people who want something that will stand out but still look subtle enough to complement a look, not overtake it. The pattern is simply gorgeous with a blend of brown, orange and gold and blends well with darker colored eyes. And of course, the outer black rim, which is characteristic of the Geo Princess Mimi lenses, do an excellent job of enlarging and enhancing the color. 

While these lenses do fall into the "Brown" lenses category, I have to say, they are not your typical natural-looking brown lenses that you would use for subtle enhancement. Most people would definitely be able to tell you're wearing colored circle lenses but not in an overly fake way. The best way to describe the color would be along the lines of a gorgeous amber. While I in no way endorse the Twilight Books, I felt a bit vampy with these on and was definitely reminded of their golden eyes. 

Natural makeup - Done with the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette

What I really love about these lenses is how versatile they are. You can wear them with natural looking makeup like I have done here or you can go for a more dark and smokey look. Either way, the color of the lenses really makes the eyes 'pop' while adding just a hint of sexiness. I have to admit, my boyfriend could not stop raving about how much he loved these and my guy friends complimented them. The sparkling, vivid honey color will complement a wide range of styles and look great for those of you who want to sport the gyaru look or Japanese-style makeup. 

Comfort-wise, these are pretty comfortable, but my eyes did start to feel a little tired after about five hours. However, I have found that they don't feel much different from the other 14.5mm lenses I've tried. They felt exactly like most of the other colored varieties in the Geo Princess Mimi series. 

Pros

• Gorgeous amber or honey-brown colored lenses, depending on the lighting 
• Vivid color payoff without looking overly fake 
• Beautiful blend of different colors
• Great enhancement at 14.5mm (which in my opinion is the magic number for circle lenses)
• Versatile and great for both minimal or heavy makeup
• Looks natural enough to blend with brown eyes 
• The ideal lenses for Japanese or gyaru makeup

Cons 

• Can feel a bit drying after 5 hours 

Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

At $20.90,  I definitely feel like these circle lenses are worth owning. For those of you who like natural lens with a hint of dolly cuteness, you will definitely like these. A lot of brown lenses that don't fall into the darker category, have a tendency to look unnatural, but these are the perfect in-between that you can wear if you want your eyes to stand out without looking too obvious. Will I be purchasing these lenses when it's time for a new pair? In a heartbeat!  

So what did you think of the Geo Starmish Brown circle lenses? Do you own a pair yourself? What are your thoughts upon them? Are these a pair that you would be interested in wearing? And are there any other brown circle lenses that you'd recommend? Let me know in the comments below!

With Love, Tiffany 

Review: Lioele Aroma Soft Peeling Gel + With Love, Tiffany's 50+ Follower Giveaway Winner!

Hello, everyone! I have finally decided to come out of hibernation to update you guys on my giveaway winner and talk about a product I've been loving. I know it's been over a few weeks since I last updated but things have just been really crazy and busy and I haven't been able to squeeze in an entry. I apologize that I haven't been able to keep up with your blogs on my blogroll lately but I definitely will be checking them out again. Hopefully, you guys haven't forgotten about me! Now that I've freed up some time, I will be back to my regular posting schedule again. 

Anyways, let me tell you about a product that I've been using religiously for the past few weeks! I'm not sure if you regularly use peeling gel as part of your skincare routine, but it would be quite useful to include it in your regime. I prefer to use peeling gel over exfoliating scrubs because peeling gel gives you the same benefits without the harsh, abrasiveness that is usually found in exfoliators. I ordered the Lioele Aroma Soft Peeling Gel from Pretty & Cute for $18.20. 

I used to swear by the Laneige Strawberry Yogurt Peeling Gel a few years back but I believe it's been discontinued and replaced with the Laneige Multiberry Yogurt Peeling Gel. I didn't quite like this product as much so that's why I ended up trying out Lioele's peeling gel.

Peeling gels are great to use a few times a week for getting rid of all that dead skin and left over makeup gunk that accumulates on your face. It's quite hot and dry here in the US this season so I often find my makeup melting off a lot faster during the day. By the time I wash my face, I end up feeling kinda gross and oily. The Lioele Aroma Soft Peeling Gel gives me the assurance that all signs of dead skin and icky residue makeup is cleaned out from my pores and I can go to bed with a fresh, clean face.

Product Information

"This product controls dead cell and impurities of skin effectively by including natural cellulous which is organic peeling substance. It helps to speed up the skin turnover cycle to make your skin clean and health and also by including vitamin A and E, it makes your skin soft."

Directions

"After washing your face, use adequate amount and apply it and massage onto face. Brush down the impurities made by massage and wash your face. After that, use Toner with a cotton pad, wiping the skin gently."

Ingredients

Water, Cellulose, Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Betaine, Betyl Ethylhexanoate, Phenoxyethanol, Carboxymethyl Chitosan Succinamide, Carbomer, Arginine, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Methylparaben, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, PVM/MA Copolymer, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Fragrance, Sodium Hyluronate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate

The design is quite simple and refreshing, with a small floral design towards the bottom of the tube and a small, cute Lioele logo. While Lioele products are still cute, they're not quite as fancy as say Etude House or Skinfood, so I don't have too much to say about the design. At least it gets the job done.

The tube is thin, smooth and sleek and fits comfortably in my hand. Thankfully, the product can be dispensed through squeezing the tube, thus eliminating any sanitary issues. However, the hole is a bit large for its size, which means that you have to be careful not to dispense too much at a time. 

During my first time testing out this product, I was surprised to see that the texture of this peeling gel came out cool and watery instead of gel-like or goopy. I tried to take a steady picture of the gel upon dispension, but it wasn't long before this tiny drop started sliding down my hand. 

To be honest, the fragrance was a bit underwhelming. The name of this product includes "aroma" but I wouldn't say that it's really aromatic in any way, just pleasant and unassuming. I would say it has a bit of a floral-ish scent with a hint of a chemical smell. I had some pretty high expectations for the product's fragrance, but oh well. 

Upon spreading it out, you may be confused to find that the watery texture seems to just spread thinly across your skin without thickening. This is why you don't actually need THAT much product to clean your face. Just a small dime sized drop onto your hand and dotted evenly onto your forehead, cheeks and chin will suffice.

After you spread out enough product on the surface of your skin, you can start massaging it in small, gentle circular motions. The peeling gel will start to pick up on the pieces of dead skin and makeup residue in small, tiny clumps. Make sure to rub all over your face including underneath your chin and the skin close to your hairline and ears. Believe me, you'll get a lot of the gunk out and your face will end up feeling a lot cleaner. I don't know about you but I enjoy the thought of going to bed knowing that my face is as fresh and as clean as it could be. Obviously, this is no Clarisonic brush but I think this works as a good alternative if you don't feel like dropping $120+ on facial cleaning products. 

And here is a picture demonstrating the effects of this peeling gel on my face. The before picture is before I washed my face. The results are quite obvious and in the after picture, you can see that my skin is definitely cleaned and brightened and my pores tightened (ooh, that rhymes!). Definitely use toner and a moisturizer right after since the pore tightening effect actually feels a bit uncomfortable on the face.

Pros

• Does a more thorough job of removing make up and cleaning out your pores than just using regular cleanser
• Refreshing and cooling 
• Brightens the skin 
• Allows you to see how much gunk and debris you're cleaning from your face 
• Includes Vitamin A and E 
• Softens the skin after application 
• Tightens pores 

Cons 

• Nothing really aromatic or special about the fragrance
• Can dry out your face if you don't use toner and moisturizer afterwards

Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Lastly, I've been meaning to update on this sooner but I'd like to congratulate Nhi Nguyen at Tangerine Babi as the winner of my 50+ follower giveaway! The prize was sent out last week and has arrived to her safely. This giveaway ran for a month and I'd just like to thank everyone for participating and for helping me grow my blog. The growth has just been incredible and I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful and talented bloggers. To tell the truth, I really didn't expect my giveaway to receive this many entries, but thanks to all of you, this giveaway sort of blew up on its own and attracted all sorts of awesome participants. For that, again, I'd like to thank you all.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will be holding more giveaways in the future this year so if you didn't win this time, don't worry, there will be plenty more opportunities to win some lovely prizes from me. I'm hoping that you stick around, because I'm always up for meeting new upcoming and old bloggers alike. I know I didn't respond to comments in my giveaway entry because it was more of a suggestion box but please know that I always respond to comments in my other entries, so feel free to introduce yourself and share your blog with me ^^

With Love, Tiffany

Tutorial: DIY Flower Headband/Crown

Hello, old and new readers! As you can see from my title, I decided to take a break from the beauty reviews and do a D.I.Y tutorial instead. Summer music festivals all over the world are coming up in less than two weeks and of course, with such a massive event, you gotta have the daisies!

Flower headbands have picked up in the trends for music fesivals, such as this year's Coachella Music Festival. I saw so many flower headbands on Instagram this year. While many of them looked beautiful, I couldn't believe how expensive they were--$130 and up! Those better had contain some rare, exotic, real flowers flown in from the jungles of Brazil! or something Anyways, all kidding aside, in this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to make a flower headband for less than $25. In fact, this tutorial is actually good for 3-4 headbands.

Before I get into the tutorial, let me just say this--WOW. I'm overwhelmed by how quickly my giveaway has grown. I really didn't expect my giveaway to receive that many entries, but thank you so much to those who have participated! And also, thank you for all of the wonderful suggestions in my comments. :') I truly appreciate how everyone has helped this blog grow and I will continue to try my best to put out fun, quality entries. The giveaway is still going on until the end of this month, so for those of you who haven't joined it yet and are interested, please feel free to join here.

So let's get started! Since it was such a beautiful day, I decided to take my workstation outside. For this tutorial, you will need: 

• Fake flowers - $6.50
• Hot glue gun (high heat) + glue sticks - $6.99 + $2.99
• Elastic headbands - $4.89
• Thumbtacks - $1.73
• Scissors - $1.00

The total comes out to $24.10, which is definitely under $25. I got the fake flowers from The Dollar Tree, which sells a wide variety of fake flower bundles. A truly great value, I must say, considering you get around six flowers for $1. I got six bundles of flowers, thirty-six flowers in total,just in case I wanted to use them on other articles of clothing or make extra headbands. If you live in the US, there are plenty of stores throughout the nation. 

1. First, remove the fake flower from its stem. You should be able to pull it off easily, but if it's glued to the stem, simply cut the flower off from the stem. If you wish to add leaves, remove the leaves from the stem as well. They should slide off easily after you have removed the flower.

2. If the base that is stuck to the flower is too long, then feel free to cut it with a pair of scissors. The shorter the stick, the better it will be for when you need to glue this to your headband. You'll want your flower to be able to attach to the headband as closely as possible. 

3. So that you have an idea of how your flower headband is going to look, roughly map out where you want your flowers and leaves to be. 

4. After you figure out where you're going to place your flowers, take a thumbtack and pierce the elastic headband. It should pierce with relative ease. I know I'm being Captain Obvious here, but please buy flat thumbtacks, you really don't want anything to be poking your scalp when you're wearing your headband =p

5. As soon as your glue gun is heated up, squeeze a small amount of hot glue by pressing on the glue gun's nozzle lightly. Don't distribute too much product or else you might burn yourself when you press the flower onto the headband. Just dispense enough so that the pointed end of the thumbtack is coated all around with hot glue. 

6. Fit the small hole over the pointed end of the thumbtack and press the flower down until it lies flat against the headband.

7. Hold it there for around 15 seconds or until you know the flower is secure. Hot glue dries pretty quickly, so it shouldn't be long until you can move on to the next flower. Be careful not to burn yourself. Of course, me being the klutz I am, before I began this tutorial, I accidentally picked up the glue gun on the wrong side.......don't ask me how that happened. 

8. Repeat this step with your flowers, leaving some space in between your flowers for when you place your leaves. Try to keep your flowers evenly spaced, but it doesn't have to be exact. 

9. After you have glued all of your flowers to the headband, now it's time to add the leaves. You can place the leaves wherever you wish, whether you want it to be evenly distributed or random. I alternated mine in between the flowers. Repeat the steps that you did with the flowers, using a hot glue and thumbtack to secure the leaves. 

10. You can use any type of leaves that you want, but I wanted mine to look neat for this headband, so I made sure they were arranged as symmetrically as possible. 

Ta-da! Now you're finished and you have a lovely flower crown that you can wear to any music festival, concert, fair, photo shoot or just about anywhere you'd like. You can mix and match different flowers, add more or less; that's pretty much the fun of making this flower headband. 

For my face, I kept my makeup simple with just a dark brownish bronze smokey eye and to match my pink flowers, I added a bright pink lip as well. Since you're probably going to be wearing this outdoors, you don't want your makeup to melt and look messy, so I'd advise you to just keep it simple and feminine.  

What I love most about this headband is how versatile it is. You can wear it many ways such as with silky, straight hair or with loose waves, like I did here. You can even wear it with a nice side braid or a trendy fishtail braid. You can wear the headband around your forehead a'la hippie/flower-child style. You can even just glue one flower onto the headband and place it so that you have a flower on the side of your head. 

Since I had a lot of extra material, I decided to make another flower headband. For this one, I used yellow daisies, combined with small purple flowers. I didn't make it quite as uniform as my pink flower headband, but I thought it still looked lovely. 

Flower crowns often evoke a sense of etherealness and whimsicality, which is why they look so perfect for the spring and summer season. I tried to keep this tutorial as informative and simple as possible and I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please let me know what you think of this tutorial in the comments below! Have you made any flower headbands or are you looking to make or purchase one? Where would you wear your flower headband to? 

Well, until next time guys, happy flower crowning!  

With love, Tiffany

With Love, Tiffany's 50+ Follower Giveaway: Korean, Japanese and Sephora Goodies

Hello! It's been a week since I last updated and I really hope you all enjoyed my last entry on CC cream. That was one of the most fun entries/reviews I have done so far! Anyways, I'm really excited to announce that I will be holding my very first giveaway! It's been about two months since I started blogging and I'm so happy that I have hit 50+ followers on GFC. Blogging has always been my biggest hobby but to finally share my blog publicly and get active within the beauty blogging community has been one of my highlight's this year. I just want to thank all of you who have followed me, commented on my posts and come back to check on my updates. You're all are the best! I'm really grateful to be part of such an awesome, sweet and supportive community, so this is my way of giving back to you guys. <3

In this prize pack, I will be giving out a combination of Japanese, Korean and a couple of American beauty products. Some of these are samples that I got from my friend who was kind enough to share some with me after picking up some Tony Moly items for me in Korea while others are from my own purchases. I have a couple of full-sized products in here as well. For the complete list of the products included in this giveaway, please refer to the Rafflecopter description listing out all the items. 

Before we get into the prizes, I'd like to mention that I forgot to add an individual picture of the Bene Premium Crystal Shampoo and Conditioner and I just wanted to let you know that it will be included as well. 

Because I love false lashes, not including false lashes as part of my prize pack was out of the question. I was having a hard time choosing between Dolly Wink or Diamond Lash because I love them both but I settled with the Dolly Wink False Lashes No. 2 in Sweet Girly. A great combination of natural yet dolly, these will definitely make your eyes 'pop' and will look great on just about anyone. I feel like everyone has different preferences for the length and volume of their false lashes and this one happens to go right in the middle.

A closeup of these gorgeous lashes

I also included three sheet masks in this prize pack. Tony Moly's Floria line came out a couple of years ago but it has been one of their most successful and best-selling lines yet. I've used the Whitening, Pore Minimizing and Youth Energy line and I can honestly say that they are all wonderful. The Youth Energy Mask will really help plump up your face with moisture, making it bright, young and supple. 

I chose the My Beauty Diary face masks in "Black Pearl" because out of all the My Beauty Diary masks that I've tried, these have been shown to deliver the best results. These masks are wonderful for whitening and brightening, as well as moisturizing. I know whoever wins this prize will make good use of them. 

Now these are a few goodies from Sephora that I got as samples. Anna Sui's "Fairy Dance" fragrance was launched in 2012 and the packaging on the actual bottle is absolutely gorgeous. Sephora's website describes its scent as "sparkling top fruity notes of tangerine, mango and pink pepper", making this the perfect light and whimsical scent for summer. The Josie Maran Argan Moisturizing Serum Foundation is self adjusting and designed to match your skin tone. It kind of reminds me of CC cream; the concept seems pretty similar. And lastly, Benefit's the Porefessional is a balm designed to minimize the appearance of pores. I've heard nothing but great things about this primer, so I'm guessing all you ladies looking for pore minimizing products would like this. 

This is another full-sized product I'm giving away. Some of you who read my Korean and Japanese beauty haul entry may have noticed the CandyDoll Lip Gloss in "Macaroon Pink". The reason why I'm giving it away is because I realized that I don't look as good in lighter lip colors than I do with bolder colors such as fuschia, bright pink or red. I don't believe I would end up using this often so I decided that I would rather give it away to someone who would. 

This is the Tony Moly gel eyeliner pen. I don't use gel eyeliner anymore but when I did, this was literally the best gel liner pen I've ever used. Its small yet firm bristles pick up just the right amount of product and is flexible enough to apply precisely as much product as you'd like. 

A couple of samples from Tony Moly. I've only tried samples of both of these products but both are definitely moisturizing. While the idea of using anything with snail gives me the shudders, snail products have actually been quite popular in Korea for a few years now and have been shown to have intense moisturizing properties. The Dear Me Waterful cream is great to use as a daily moisturizer or a night cream. 

Lastly, here are samples from the Tony Moly Whitening line. I actually use the toner and emulsion on a daily basis and it's been great for keeping my skin bright and clear. I'm not really sure if it really whitens since I believe you need to use a whitening soap along with this. But if you're looking for something that refreshens and brightens up your skin for the next morning, then you will like these products. 

So here are rules for entering this giveaway: 

One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter 

The giveaway is open to both readers in the United States and internationally 

This giveaway ends on June 30th at 10:00PM

The winner will be contacted through email after he or she is chosen. If the email doesn't receive an answer within 72 hours, I will choose another winner. 

To enter, please follow me on GFC. Extra points will be given to those who follow me on other social media outlets, which can be found on the right sidebar. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please right-click and save this picture if you want to post this as a banner in your side bar

Alright, well that's it! Good luck to everyone who participates in this giveaway. I hope you all like the prizes and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments below! 

With Love, Tiffany

Review: Etude House Correct & Care CC Cream in No. 2 "Glow"

CC Cream, also known as Correct and Care cream, has been all the rage nowadays, expanding from Asian markets to global very quickly within the past year. Nowadays, BB cream can be found not only at Asian beauty stores but also at your local drugstore. And it appears CC Cream is quickly catching up! Leading Korean brands such as Tony Moly, Etude House and and Banila Co. are just one of many that produce CC cream and believe me, competition is fierce! Today, I will be reviewing Etude House's CC Cream in No. 2"Glow".

So what exactly is CC cream and what are its benefits? Like its predecessor, BB cream, CC cream provides all of the benefits that bb cream offers such as whitening, SPF, base and coverage while also adding additional benefits. CC cream is also lighter upon application and is supposed to provide a more natural coverage, as opposed to BB cream. Whereas BB cream is more about providing coverage, CC cream is more about providing a more even, clear skin tone, thus emphasizing your natural skin's beauty. It's the true "no-makeup" makeup hahaha.

Etude House's CC cream claims to have eight benefits in this one little tube. Does it actually live up to its claims? Well, keep on reading to find out :)

Benefits: 

• Anti-aging 
• Stress relief 
• Hydration 
• Whitening
• Sun Protection 
• Tone-up
• Smooth texture
• Luminosity 

Source: Etude House

Doesn't Krystal from F(x) just look radiant? I think she is just the perfect person to endorse this! 

For those who aren't familiar with Etude House's CC Cream line, there are two types of CC cream you can choose from: No. 1 "Silky" or No. 2 "Glow". For those with oily skin who want a more matte and plush finish, you would go with "Silky", whereas those who with dry skin who would opt for a more dewy, natural finish would go with "Glow".

Source: Etude House 

My skin type is normal. However, I have a tendency to get dry spots around my nose and mouth area so I decided to go with "Glow". I'm also a fan of the dewy look, as opposed to matte. Especially in the summer, who can resist glowing, dewy skin? 

The packaging is reminiscent of Etude House's cute and princess-like concept. The box is a delicate light-pink box with gold lettering and helpful instructions in both Korean and English on the sides. As someone who only knows how to introduce herself in Korean or order Coca-Cola at a Korean restaurant, I'm grateful that Etude House included instructions in English. 

Description

"This multitasking, 8-in-1 formula hydrates, primes, conceals, treats and protect skin at an easy single step for a healthier complexion, inside and outside. It glides on with a glowing finish. 

Directions 

"Apply liberally and blend evenly with your fingertips for natural, sheer coverage. Use it alone or layered under your favorite foundation for more coverage. 

This tube of CC cream is actually a lot slimmer and sleeker than the Etude House Mineral BB Cream. While the BB cream contains 60 mg of product, the CC cream contains 35 mg which I think is significantly less. Oh well, it's still selling like hotcakes! It's not that big of an issue, considering you don't really need much CC cream for coverage, but I had to admit that I was a bit surprised to see how small this was. 

For application, the tube comes with a pump, which dispenses a small, delicate pile of product, which is good for sanitary purposes. For me, based on two different experiences, one pump was definitely enough for me. For those who want more coverage, you can use the CC cream as a base and layer BB cream/foundation over this. But DON'T apply too much product to your face. I will explain why later in this entry.

The scent is a pleasant, floral-like smell, similar to that of Tony Moly's Triple Expert BB cream, not too strong or chemical-like. I'm assuming that this is a pretty common scent among Asian face products. 

Ahhhh, it's so white! That was my first reaction upon dispensing the product and I was skeptical on how in the world would this match my skin tone. But take a closer look. Can you see the tiny little capsules within the white cream? These tiny little capsules will burst upon application, self-adjusting the color to match your skin tone and texture and provide a moisturizing, glowing finish. Yes, it's just like magic! 

Source: Etude House 

 It's highly recommended that you use your hands to apply the CC cream onto your face. I usually use a foundation brush to apply my face makeup but in order to 'pop' all the capsules onto your face, it's best that you massage it into your skin. 

Please be advised you should only apply one light layer at a time. So why have I emphasized to not put too much on your face? Well, I made the mistake of applying two pumps, which ended up being way too much. Some of the capsules ended up not popping and therefore, the product didn't merge with my skin tone and I was stuck all afternoon with a white ghost-face. Therefore, I concluded that one pump is sufficient and it quickly matched my skin tone within 10 minutes. If you need more coverage, you can add a layer of BB cream or foundation on top.

Before - No makeup whatsoever, After - 10 minutes after application

See the difference? While I don't have major problems with acne or spots, I do experience some dullness and uneven skin tone, which really benefitted from this CC cream. My skin looks brighter, whiter, hydrated and my overall complexion is improved. In this before and after, I don't have any base or moisturizer on. The coverage is very light, compared to BB cream and foundation. But I love the "my skin, but better" effect and I really think it was a genius idea for Etude House to market to those looking for the most natural coverage as possible. 

Before - 5 minutes after application, After - 10 minutes after application with finishing powder

Now for the 'glow' effect, I had to admit, I found the dewiness in the product a little overly dewy and to me, it just looked a little oily for my taste. Just a little though. I feel like this product would really benefit people with dry skin but for those with oily skin, you're really better off with the No.1 Silky instead. To mattify the oiliness, I added just a pat of finishing powder and then I had the nice, luminous finish that I wanted. 

Final thoughts on this product? 

Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Pros:

• Delivers most of what it promises--hydration, whitening, sun-protection, skin tone brightening, skin-texture smoothing and luminosity. As for anti-aging, we'd have to see but it's good to know. And stress-relief? No comment. 
• Fixes my dull, uneven skin tone 
• Love the one-step process of just applying it directly onto my face. This will save me a lot of time in my makeup routine. 
• Great for people who are looking for a natural, fresh-faced look 
• Long-lasting, did not start looking oilier until around 5 hours 
• Affordable. I ordered mine at Kollection K for $15.60
• Love the glowing, dewy effect 
• Feels really light on my skin, definitely great for the summer

Cons 

• Coverage is realllllly light. If you're looking for the least bit of coverage, you may need to use a BB cream in addition to this 
• Can look a bit greasy to those with oily or normal skin--I'm wondering if I should've ordered the No. 1 Silky instead. 
• May not match darker skin tones. I have a warm medium skin tone in the summer and the product looked just a tad light for my skin.
  

Overall, I quite like the Etude House CC cream because it's just what I needed for the summer. My skin looks refreshed and brightened and best of all, the one step application process makes my makeup routine so much faster and easier. However, I had to deduct one star because I know it's not for everyone. While I appreciate its concept for providing skin with a more natural look, the coverage would definitely be too light for those with moderate acne and would be better off a primer. I know this probably has been said before, I feel like CC cream is designed more for people who already have decent skin and are just looking for enhancement. 

And for those who regularly use BB cream, I can't really see the CC cream offering significantly better benefits maybe besides anti-aging. You'll notice that out of the eight benefits this product claims to have, coverage is not one of them. The CC cream is good to have on hand when you're going for the "my skin, but better" effect but this may not be the best substitute for BB cream or foundation. However, this does not mean that this is a bad product, as I like it very much. But I would definitely do my research on CC creams to see which one would be the best for what you're aiming for or if BB cream is better for you.

So what did you think of this product? Have you had the chance to try it yet or are you planning to try it anytime soon? I hope my review was informative in helping out those who are interested in purchasing the Etude House CC creams or any other CC creams of that matter. If you have your own review of this CC cream, feel free to share your links with me. Are there any other CC creams that you have used or want to use? What do you think of CC cream overall? Let me know in the comments below! 

With love, Tiffany