Skin79 Diamond Collection Star Glow Ball Powder Review and Swatches

More beauty abroad coming atcha today chicas.

I've been having a ton of fun sampling all the goodies that I got with my Skin79 Diamond Collection Set. This set is an incredible deal as it includes a slew of items for one low cost.

Although the sets aren't sold in the US you can purchase individual items from E-bay and a few select online shops if you Google a bit and search around.

Today I'm reviewing the Skin79 Diamond Collection Star Glow Ball Powder.




Tale a peep after the jump!

This is much like my Esprique Precious Illuminate Nuancer which I simply adore however not as nice, tell you why in a few.




The "powder" is made up of several shades of pastel colored balls to be used to highlight certain areas of the face. It's supposed to brighten the face up while highlighting however the formula is terribly frosty which is unflattering on my face.

The highlighter is housed in a cute, simple pink jar with a super soft puff included. Love the puff...it's truly luxurious and super soft. The balls all range in shades from pastel pink, green, purple, etc...much like you'd find in a jar of Guerlain Meteorites. Where as Guerlain and Esprique is a subtle little highlight this is a rather frosty, shimmery affair that looks like a disco ball blew up in my face. Of course I adore sparkle and the likes but this was a bit overkill.






Not much else to say about it sadly other than the fact it was a sore disappointment and will end up on my swap list directly.

No likey.

Most of the Skin79 Diamond Collection has been a joy up until now but this one is a safe skip if you're not wanting a frosty mess on your face. Pretty in the jar not on the face.

Skin79 The Oriental Smooth Sun BB Pact Review

When I first started Musings it was very much a blog about Asian beauty. I'm not Asian but I plan to be in my next life. With my love of all things Asian and all things beauty, Musings was a rather ideal place to combine both. Much of my original posts were on Japanese brands and a fair bit of MAC thrown into the mix.

As of late I find I do less and less Asian posts and that really upsets me as I feel like I'm not bringing you enough great beauty abroad purchases particularly because of my great love of Asian makeup finds.

I plan to redeem myself in this. Hopefully if you've been reading a while you'll rejoice over more Asian themed cosmetic posts and if you're new to Musings you'll enjoy discovering products you may never have been privy to before.

Today I'm going to bring you a review on Skin79 The Oriental Smooth Sun BB Pact.


Jump ahead for it!

You know since it's demise I've been trying to relive my time with Raycious. I have a stash of four powder palettes I'm stowing away for a rainy day from Raycious and it terrifies me the day they'll be gone. Raycious is an incredible line of base makeup products created by Sofina in Japan. Sadly, it's long since gone but I loved it so.

I'm always on the look out for a similar powder such as that but never have succeeded at finding one as great.

For now Skin79 The Oriental Smooth Sun BB Pact will do the job (not as great but just as good).

This powder is part of a collection that Skin79 has out at the moment entitled The Oriental. The powder is pretty much your basic mattifying powder from Korea with a few added benefits slapped in for good measure.

Allow me to say that the powder is made with Asian skin in mind so large pores, oily skin, etc....are kept at the forefront in the production of the powder so it does excel at helping with these problems. Also the powder does come in a single shade so it's best used on light to fair skin or yellow undertones but sadly not darker or olive tones.

The compact comes housed in a lilac compact with sponge. It has a protective seal that closes off the powder so you can lay your sponge on top without worrying about having a fly of loose powder all over the place. Little touches like this are why Asian makeup excels at quality.








The powder itself is a creamy shade which isn't richly pigmented but still manages to even out skin tone, set makeup (particularly BB Creams), and create a smooth working canvas for makeup or to simply mattify the skin. It's slightly chalky in texture and has a finish as such but regardless most Asian brands sport a similar formula. This formula actually aids in keeping oily skin matte. Even though the texture is strange it still manages to create a very smooth look to skin hiding flaws such as acne scarring, enlarged pores, etc...with proper prepping and priming the powder aids in creating a good flawless canvas.

The powder is meant to keep skin fresh and natural looking even with continued application. Meaning retouches won't cause a "made" up look to face but will simply look natural and flawless. It's SPF 25 formula also makes it very appealing as the sun protection alone could urge you to want it.


I'm a very big fan of Asian pressed powder as it does a great job at making my face look flawless without having a made up look and also doesn't flake on my dry skin.

Overall, I wouldn't say that Skin79 The Oriental Smooth Sun BB Pact is particularly special but it is a nice item to have for setting my BB Cream and holding it in place.

I got mine directly from Korea for retail but I've seen it on E-bay for $16.99 which I think is a fairly good deal. If you're a fan of powders or if you've never tried an Asian pressed powder this is a good place to start!

Beauty News: The Face Shop New US Website

Hey peeps!

Bestest news ever. The popular Korean brand, The Face Shop, has launched a brand new US Website. This is absolutely thrilling news for me because as you know I'm a very big fan of Korean skincare and cosmetics. As more and more Korean brands launch US websites (Etude House, The Face Shop, etc....) I can't help the proud mama feeling as many of these brands appeared on my blog over a year or more ago when they were still available within Korea and not yet launched in the US.

Jump ahead for more details on new Face Shop site!

I just browsed the site myself and it's just now in it's infant stage as a few of the color collections and skincare items haven't been updated with product as of yet however they have many, many inexpensive skincare items that are online and available for purchase.

Like many Korean brands you get quality for a very low price. One thing that's exciting about this launch is the fact that sheet masks and BB Creams are available for purchase. As you've heard me discuss in the past both sheet masks and BB Creams are somewhat unknown to the US market. The Asian market is saturated with face masks of all kinds and sheet masks are a popular part of an Asian's girl daily skincare regime. BB Creams are also unknown with the US which gives me hope that they will become more popular with The Face Shop leading in on these. So far only one cream is available but I hope they'll begin to launch further BB's from the line as I've tried a few from Korea and they are quite good. Unknown to me The Face Shop products have also been available in Walgreens. Ha who knew?

Anyone ordering from the new online shop will recieve free samples with each purchase and orders over $25 will recieve a free Mask Sheet and finally orders of $50 will get free shopping and a Nature Garden Cleansing Bar for Face and Body.

Visit with the new US shop at www.thefaceshopusa.com

Skin79 Diamond Collection Sun Protection Balm Moist Review

I guess we established the Muse is very much obsessed with sun protection. SPF 500? Sign me up on that dotted line.

I'm the type of person that's slathering SPF on my face when there's six feet of snow on the ground and heaps more falling from the sky. The moral of this story is the sun is evil and if you aren't protecting your skin you're insane. Get to a store right now and get some SPF, I demand it. You don't want to be using your skin as a leather handbag in 10 years people.

I'm always looking for a good way to get my SPF on. Something easy, something not greasy or oily, etc....Anything really that will help my skin to stay as young looking and healthy as possible. Sun? Very nice to hang out in. Skin and Sun? Not good together.




Jump ahead for the latest way I'm protecting my skin!

Loving Skin79 Diamond Collection Sun Protection Balm Moist at the moment. This is the funniest and really quite an easy way to protect yourself from the sun with an SPF 50.




Basic application is an absolute snap as this is a balm which allows you to spread the SPF onto face after your moisturizing, primer, and foundation but before your makeup. It comes in a pink jar with sponge application. Simply swipe the balm onto the sponge and pat gently onto skin and blend. It has a fresh scent as well which is quite pretty if you don't mind scented skin care. The product does every so slightly leave a white cast to skin but blended out with makeup in place (blush, etc...) that will quickly clear up. The formula is very light, very sheer, non greasy or oily. After it's in place it doesn't really feel like you have anything on at all.












Overall, I absolutely adore the application of this and just the idea. It's a rather unique way to get good strong sun protection. If you're as obsessed as I am with SPF this could be worthy of a pick up. It is a Korean product and not available within the US but a quick trip to evil-bay should yield results.

Skin79 Diamond All Day Sun Powder Review

Skin79 is a Korean Brand responsible for creating some incredible BB Creams. I recently purchased one of the new Skin79 Diamond Collections which includes a slew of great goodies for one low price. Included with the set was the Skin79 Diamond All-Day Sun Powder.




Jump ahead to hear the review.

This retails for 24,000 (around $19) won but comes sold in a kit for a mere 53,900 won (around $43). The powder is ideal if you're wanting extra sun protection and a transparent powder to set your foundation or BB Cream. This has an SPF30 and protects from UV rays A and B. It's rather great as it offers sheer coverage, evens out skin tone ever so slightly, plus has the added benefit of an SPF 30.


The powder comes housed it the most convenient packaging. A sifter jar holds the powder and the top screws off to reveal a built in puff for smoothing the powder onto face. The puff does a great job of blending the powder onto skin and keeps the task mess free.








The powder itself is very silky and smooth, quite lightweight so once in place it doesn't feel like you're wearing anything at all. It doesn't cake or flake on dry skin but provides nice even coverage. Although transparent for the most part it does give skin a very nice even finish. It sets BB Cream and foundation as well as mattifies skin ever so slightly.




Overall, I love the idea of a finishing powder that has a strong SPF and multitasks to set my foundation and even out my skin tone. Plus the packaging can't be beat, loves it!

I purchased this directly from Korea but I have seen it on E-bay for close to regular retail of around $19.99. This isn't too bad a deal especially if you're as freaky as I am about sun protection.

If you're wanting to forgo the nightmare of greasy, oily SPF (many are you know!) this is a great alternative.

As Seen By the Muse: Kim Hyun Joong Spokesperson for Tony Moly

Hyun Joong as the model/spokesperson for Tony Moly.




Squee!

Just makes me want to run out and buy a case of Tony Moly BB Cream, love me some Hyun Joong!

Source

Banila Co S Night Standing

I can't look at Banila Co lately without a new palette popping before my eyes. Obviously these are selling really well since Banila Co releases one every few months. The new Banila Co Collection, S Night Standing includes a brand new palette along with several other very interest pieces.

Jump ahead for a peek!

S Night Standing seems a little bit of a privy to Fall but it could also be a chic Summer Collection. The palette is a range of blues, pinks, and a few odd shades. It's not one of the best palettes I've seen from Banila Co from the colors to the packaging but I think collector's and fans alike will probably want to haul it regardless.

Here's some of the release, also not pictured, two new nail shades are being released with these items!

Banila Co S Night Standing Eye Palette 22,000KRW




Banila Co Kiss Collector Color Fix Lipstick (S Night Standing packaging) 12,000KRW Each



Banila Co S Night Standing Marbleized Eye Shadow 12,000KRM Each




It's quite a nice selection for collectors of Banila Co but nothing catches my interest or shouts out at me as a must have! Can probably safely skip it!

How about you?

Loving it?

Tell the Muse!

Etude House Fresh Cherry Blusher Duo Review and Swatches

Etude House Fresh Cherry Blusher Duo was released as part of the Etude House Precious Mineral Skin Project Collection. Someone mentioned that this was actually supposed to be apart of a collection all it's own. A collection in fact like the peach one! Imagine a cherry themed Etude House collection? Omg love! It's too bad that Etude House didn't go through with the idea but I am happy they included the Fresh Cherry Blusher Duo with it's Precious Mineral Collection anyway!




Jump ahead for a review!

Etude House Fresh Cherry Blusher Duo is a tiny compact that houses duo cream blushes. The shades you'll receive are a nice off pink shade and a brighter peach almost coral color. You can use the blushes separately or together to create various looks. Combining the two shades creates a rather bright orangey coral that's very pretty and flattering for Summer.

The formula of the blushes is the real surprise. Although creamy in texture these dry down to a matte powder finish which lasts and lasts and lasts. I was quite impressed with how long wearing these were! Although a Spring Collection, they make a fine Summer makeup addition due to their long wear formula.




The color blends easily, seamlessly, and flawlessly onto skin. Cream blushes can prove tricky during application but this is simply a matter of smiling, locating the apples of your cheeks, a quick dab and a swirl and you're done. Beautiful, flushed cheeks. The blushes are pigmented enough that you can get decent color payoff from either shade but are also allow for sheer, subtle application if you prefer. Anyone with oily skin can appreciate the powdery finish.














Overall, a rather great little blusher from Etude House and a winner for Summer. I paid $4-5 retail for this from Korea but I've seen it on E-bay for around $10 bucks plus free shipping. I do think it's worth the price jack as it's a very nice blush that's universally flattering for all skin tones plus it's long wear formula makes it a great blush all around.

PS I'm kinda wishing it was cherry scented, that would be awesome! Don't you agree?

Muse Approved for purchase!



Likey!