!--> Pinky-Ribbons









IBUYBEAUTI: Korean Cosmetics Haven ~
Hello all ~


So back a few months ago I have discovered the online website 'ibuybeauti' through YouTube. I was always a fan of the show 'Get it Beauty' which I have mentioned before a few times on my blog already but although I can understand some Korean, although I am not fluent in that language as I am not fully Korean so I definitely do appreciate the whole IBuyBeauti team for subbing these videos in English.
They don't fully sub the whole episode but sections of it that have relevant beauty information, advice, tutorials and etc.

They not only sub 'Get It Beauty' but also 'Son dambi's beautiful day's' as well, which isn't as popular but still has some really good beauty tips as well.


Now enough of their YouTube and lets focus more on their online website which to make it easier so you don't have to copy and paste the URL just click HERE and it will redirect you to the page ~ They offer a big variety of products and different brands which includes some of the most popular ones such as 'Etude House', 'The Face Shop', 'TonyMoly' and etc but they also offer some less popular or hard-to-get-your-hands-on-those-brands-if-you-live-outside-south-korea such as 'Pure Heals', 'Espoir', 'Hera', 'Isa Knox', 'SCINIC', 'Banila Co', 'Teen's Nature (TN)' and etc.




I have bought twice from them before, once was for the order of the Espoir Face Slip Nude Cushion Foundation after I saw that one episode of Get it Beauty featuring this ~ I have a full review here




Teen's Nature (TN) Baby Face Tone Up Skin

Teen's Nature (TN) Facial Foam Cleanser

Teen's Nature (TN) Baby face Tone Up Moisturizer SPF 25 PA++


The second time recently I have bought some items from Teen's Nature (TN). I have previously tried other types of TN products before from their AC line which I bought from GMarket and although it is more expensive to buy from Ibuybeauti than if you were to get them from GMarket, in general IBuyBeauti is much more easier to use and the customer service is a lot better than GMarket in my opinion.

I have yet to still try out the other two items, which are from the baby face line. Which is meant to be a moisturizing line, although I have oily skin my skin can tend to be on the stressed and dehydrated side as well which I will need more moisture than usual when my skin is going through that stage ~ I will review the cleanser soon and the other products when I have the time to actually try this range out ~


The one thing that I am extremely impressed about is the customer service between the client and the employees. They have a comment section on each page of the products in which the customer can ask further questions about that particular product and whether it is suited for them, or alternatively you can email them as well. They genuinely get back to you within a day or so which is really fast considering how many questions they get asked a day and also I don't find that they are trying to push the customer into buying that product that they have asked about either which a lot of companies tend to do as they are trying to 'sell' that specific item, whilst with IBuyBeauti I find that they are actually there to help you choose the right and most suitable product or shade for you. They put their customers in priority first rather than the item which is very generous and kind of them and it is hard to find any companies who will actually do this type of customer service, even if you enter in a professional store.
The people who reply to your comments also seem like they know what they are talking about and what they are saying, unlike some service assistance that I have come across when emailing them from a different online website, seems to know very little about the brand or the product that I have an enquiry about.

Once you have placed the order, it usually takes 3 days to process your item orders, if you order less it could be processed in a shorter amount of time like when I placed my order on the Espoir Face Slip Nude Cushion it was processed and dispatched within the next day.


Shipping also is extremely fast, it takes approximately 1 week to reach the UK, sometimes it can take a few more days depending on customs and stuff, but that isn't their fault that is usually dealt with at the borders of your country/region.
I also like the fact that IBuyBeauti has different shipping options, free international and also EMS. Some Korea based online websites such as Gmarket only offer EMS shipping or some only offer standard delivery, EMS is obviously more expensive because it requires a shorter amount of time to process and to reach within your hands but do remember that custom borders generally do hold onto your package for longer, and also if you live in the UK customs are slightly more strict and if you parcel is over a specific amount £38 I think it is for personal goods, they will most likely charge you for import tax, so if you want to prevent this you could ask them to lower the value of the package.
I have never ordered through EMS delivery with IBuyBeauti but honestly speaking even with standard delivery, your package arrives within a week or so, so it's not that long of a wait and also it is a lot cheaper as EMS shipping can get quite expensive as it calculates by weight usually, so if you order a lot at once then the shipping cost can be quite ££££.


They also guarantee 100% safe worldwide shipping and refund if your item is damaged or extra taxes are applied on your parcel, you just have to take a picture of the item as proof and also send them a copy/photograph of the receipt of custom charges.
Click here to see more details and information about the 100% safe worldwide shipping and here about shipping and returns policy ~



depending on the total amount that you pay for your order, they also give out a certain amount/value of samples for you for free to try out ^^ ~ Unfortunately, I have used up pretty much all of the samples that they have sent me when I made my last purchase whilst I went to Hong Kong last week because I didn't want to lunge around full size products with me and I knew I wouldn't be able to bring back all of them as I would be buying loads more whilst I am there (btw, a haul post will also be up soon, I just need to find the time to actually take photographs for the products, I probably won't take them all individually as the post will be extremely long and boring and it will take me years to do as there is so much...) But they included samples from TN, a face mask and even a nail polish *O* ~ I do love it when companies send you a lot of samples to try out because I am a sample whore haha!
For some reason, blogger won't upload my other pictures or let me paste the screen prints of the website :/ I do apologise for that but you can check out the sample values on any product page just keep scrolling down and if you scroll down even more you can find the comments section as well ^^ ~ for example, for a random product item click HERE


I would definitely recommend IBuyBeauti for their wonderful customer service, if your into Korean beauty talk shows and the products that they use, definitely check out their website.
Majority of their products are more expensive than their retail price than if you were to buy them from stores in South Korea but that is expected because they can't possibly be selling at the same price as them with free delivery or else they won't be able to make any profit and every business has to make some profit one way or another.


I would definitely repurchase from their website again :)



Take care ~ ♥



Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, 12 July 2013, 04:58 | 5 lovely comments
Review: Espoir Face Slip Nude Cushion SPF50+ PA+++
I believe this is probably one of my first foundation reviews on this blog, but believe it or not I am a complete and utter foundation junkie. Back 2 weeks ago I probably had over 15 bottles of foundation in my collection until I threw some away, used up one, and gave some of them to my friends because I just couldn't cope looking at that many *_* I just have a love relationship with foundations and I keep purchasing more even though I probably don't need it...

That being said I guess when it comes to reviewing foundations I will be able to compare and tell you exactly how I feel about them to other products I have tried.
So a little bit of background I have tried many different brands, different formulations, different coverage and etc. I have tried from drugstore brands such as Rimmel London, Maybelline, Revlon, Bourjois, Max Factor and etc to more higher end brands such as NARS, Bobbi Brown, Dior, Chanel, Georgio Armani, Shu Uemura and etc but this Espoir foundation is the first Asian or specifically Korean branded foundation I have ever tried (excluding BB and CC creams).

I've always been interested in trying Espoir's cosmetics because of the packaging, they look really pretty but sleek and chic at the same time but I never placed a order on Gmarket for some reason :/ That is until I watched one of the episodes of 'Get It Beauty' which is a South Korean beauty show and they featured this product in there and when I saw it, I was sold. I bought this on www.IBuyBeauti.com which sells a lot of the products which they sell on Get It Beauty and Son Dambi's Beautiful Days which I know can be quite hard to get access to especially when you do not live in South Korea.





I bought this in the shade Ivory Pure which is the bestselling shade and is the recommended shade for me from the advice of the Ibuybeauti customer service so I decided to trust them on this and I must say they were spot on because the colour matched me perfectly.

These 'Cushion' type of foundations have been going around in Korea a lot recently and is the new trend of 2013. Brands such as Holika Holika, IOPE, Hera, Laneige and a few others have also got their own cushion foundations/bb creams and what it basically does is it's meant to be a lightweight and breathable foundation and still adds a moderate amount of hydration to your face. Majority of these foundations do have quite a high SPF which even some are named as sun cushions which are meant to act like a 2-in-1 or 'n'-in-1 type of product. This can be a con and a good thing depending on whether you are going to be taking pictures with flash photography that day or not and I know some people don't like wearing foundations that include sunscreen either.



The packaging I must say is so elegant, Ok maybe elegant isn't the word to put it but it's very professional and very sturdy, you can tell that it is well made and it's not made from some cheap plastic but then again the price of this is on the higher end of spectrum and I would definitely expect the packaging to be well made. 




However, the packaging is ALL in Korean, like the instructions and information/details about the product, with just a little bit of English at the top 1/4 of the box o.O ~


"FACE SLIP NUDE CUSHION SPF50+ PA+++
15 G X 2 / 1.05 OZ

CUSHION TYPE FOUNDATION SUPPLIES FABRIC TEXTURE FOR A SUPERFINE FIBERS EXPRESSION.

[WARNING] KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. FOR EXTRERNAL USE ONLY"

          -  ESPOIR






The product comes with a free refill so basically you are getting two foundations in one :D ~


Also there is NO INGREDIENTS LIST on the packaging o.O ~ I find that to be literally very strange I mean it's not on the back of box where majority of the description is or the bottom and I see no sign of it on the inside either... Majority of cosmetics now days all have their ingredients list on the packaging, but no not for this one :/ so I am sorry I can't tell you exactly what is in this, if any of you find it please let me know...


I apologize that my puff looks a little bit dirty, I forgot to clean it one time and it stained it ㅠ_ㅠ ~

Anyways this product also comes with a puff which is the recommended use of application, the puff is very interesting because it's not like a normal sponge that we get in regular compact foundations it has a suede/fabric type of texture which is blue (sorry mine is quite dirty, I recommend washing it every time you use it or it will stain it, like mine) but this puff is meant to add the extra silkiness to the skin so it looks dewy but natural which I thought was very intriguing indeed. However, the puff doesn't give you a lot of coverage like a brush would or your fingers but...
a) I would not recommend using your fingers because that's unhygienic to be digging your fingers in and out of the foundation
b) I would only recommend using a brush if you like dewy looking finish to your skin and when I mean dewy I mean DEWY like I-just-came-out-of-a-hot-shower-or-sauna-type-of-face-look, unless you have normal/dry skin then I guess this would be a preferred choice for you but if you have combination/oily skin don't even think about it.


haha ~ I just wrote about how we shouldn't dip our fingers into the product but in order to show you how cool the texture of this foundation is I just had to, it feels like a cushion! SO cool ~ ^^


And then this is what your finger ends up looking afterwards... I do find you do get more product on your fingers than with the puff or a brush though ~

Now onto the puff ~ you pretty much do the same as you would with the finger just press the whole puff or a part of it into the product and product will turn into a liquid texture on your sponge

This is what your puff should look like, as you can see I didn't push it very evenly but the job will do for this review, make sure to place the puff and press it all down to get the whole surface covered.
Sponges tend to apply less products with any foundations though as they have a tendency to soak up a lot of the product, a way to help it a bit is to soak it under warm water but I am not sure if this method will work on this type of puff ~



I have never tried any other cushion type of foundations though I do really want to try out the Laneige version as I love Laneige products in general ~ But if you are looking for a foundation with HIGH coverage then do not purchase this as this offer light to medium coverage.
Obviously though if you don't have a lot of problematic areas on your face then that wouldn't be too much of a problem but I find myself having to use concealer on areas where I need it such as my acne scars and under eye circles for when I don't get enough sleep.

Before Anything Applied ~
Swatch with the finger, see how much more product is applied on? ~

Swatch with the sponge, not as much product is transferred on ~
Blended out with the puff (sorry I forgot to photograph the results of the finger swatch) but as you can see you can hardly see any difference apart from the 'after' looks more white that's because of the camera flash since this has a SPF 50+ and it looks slightly more dewy but nothing too much ~


Furthermore, I find this foundation isn't all that long lasting either... I have tried using several different primers; The Face Shop Face it Velvet Skin primer, The Face Shop Face it Cut Oil Pore Balm, Makeup Forever HD primer in Green, Touch in Sol No Problem Primer (review will be coming soon), Etude House Baby Choux Base in Berry and Benefit Porefessional Primer which all didn't quite work with this... so I'm guessing that it might just be the foundation since this is a more hydrating formula.
That being said, even though the company labels this product for 'all skin types' and can be used on both oily and dry skin, I would say this product is definitely more suitable for normal/dry skin types.
Now, I'm not saying this won't work for oily skin because I do tend to get quite oily throughout the day but the problem arises when you have oily skin and HOT weather or humid weather as this will no way be able to last all through out. Just a heads up here.

Fragrance: 4/5
Texture: 4/5
Lasting Ability: 2.5/5
Finish: Dewy
Coverage: Light-Medium
Hydration: 5/5
Overall: 2.8/5
Other comments:
The fragrance of this is very strong, it smells like a typical floral perfume but maybe a little bit toned down. If you have ever owned, tried or know of the scent of Laneige skin care products it smells a bit like that. The smell stays for about 35-50 minutes and then it starts to fade away, that is quite a long time, it's not as noticeable on your face but once in a while you can be able to sniff it which I know for those who may be sensitive to strong perfumey scents may find it hard to use throughout the day.
The texture is lightweight so it feels like you have nothing on the skin which is the best thing about this because I don't like the thick feeling of a foundation sitting on top of the skin but this also makes the foundation lighter in terms of coverage and to be not as long lasting I find, if you have dry and perfect skin to begin with you will love this foundation. I find myself having to blot my T-zone and around my nose throughout the day whenever I wear this because the oil control is not great but then again do remember this is a foundation targeted more towards hydration than oil control ~
I love the finish of this, I like how dewy and glowy it makes my skin during Autumn, winter, spring and sometimes in summer as in England we hardly ever get 'hot weather' only occasionally but the coverage is a bit too light for my liking ~ I prefer medium coverage foundations, they don't have to necessarily cover everything on my face but at least 80% of my problematic areas will be nice as I am usually in a rush to get ready for college in the morning.
Don't get my wrong, I like this foundation and I think it will work nice during Autumn/Winter when my skin gets really dry but this just isn't the foundation that I will opt for on a daily basis even during those seasons unless I am not in a rush that moment and am willing to take the time to apply this and make it look nice ~



Would I Repurchase: No



Take Care ~ ♥

Labels: , , , , , , ,

Sunday, 16 June 2013, 06:41 | 3 lovely comments
Yet another haul...
First of all, I want to apologize it has taken me so long to write up a blog post but I have been extremely busy with all my coursework and projects in which the deadline is coming closer and closer and I am stressing out because I haven't done a lot of work yet so I will probably not update as much and take a few weeks break for the mean time
and also when I have gotten all ready to do a blog post, blogger wasn't working for me and I couldn't manage to upload any images so I couldn't make this post public yet >.<


But recently I have made another purchase of some beauty products and I thought I would share with you what I got ~

I do apologize if some of the stuff are quite dirty but this is a collective haul over the past month or so and of course I have used a few of the products a few times ~


Firstly, I placed an order on TheFaceShop's white secret body set (body wash and lotion). I'm not the palest person on earth, actually I would consider myself being quite 'tanned' which I don't really like... don't get me wrong, I have nothing against tanned or darker skinned people but I just want to be more pale because well I guess it may be a cultural thing? So I heard good things about this line so I am putting it to the test, I will probably review this after 6 months of use as I want to give it a good try before reviewing it and seeing if the results show through.


 
The Face Shop White Secret Whitening Body Essence & Bright Capsule Body Wash


I'm not sure if you have all heard of this online shop 'IBuyBeauti' but I heard them through YouTube where they sub some Korean Beauty Shows in English which mainly consists of Get It Beauty and Son Dam Bi's Beautiful Day's Beauty Class. Anyways, I saw a video of a Get It Beauty make-up tutorial of them using the Espoir Nude Slip Cushion Foundation and I immediately wanted to try this out. I have already seen this episode on TV but I always found it hard to find places that stocked Espoir cosmetics apart from Gmarket of course but I didn't want to pay for EMS shipping, so I went ahead and bought it on Ibuybeauti, I've only used it twice so far so I can't really give a full review but so far I am liking it ~


 
Espoir Face Slip Nude Cushion #Ivory Pure

Now I recently heard about a product called Hiruscar, I'm not entirely sure what country it comes from but I think it's made in Thailand? correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard many reviews raving about this and seeing some of the images at how impressive it looked, I searched it up on ebay and purchased it through alphabeautyuk alongside a green tea facial soap from cow soap because I wanted to try a green tea facial cleanser that didn't include many ingredients in the product, but obviously I can't read exactly if this is pure green tea or if it's mixed in with other stuff because it's all in Japanese >.< ~ but basically I was going to wait until in the summer to buy the hiruscar but I thought why not just try it out now and if I like it I will stock up on this when I go to Hong Kong.


Cow Soap Green Tea Facial Cleansing Soap (Don't know the actual name of it)
Hiruscar Post Acne
The last place I ordered from was off a Korean Online Shopping Mall called 'Stylenanda'. I have to say that I haven't come across to many Korean Online Shopping Malls that ship internationally so when I saw that this shipped worldwide I squealed! I came across this website because of one of the models there, Park Sora and if you don't know who she is I recommend you to google her up and many many images of her will come up. She is a Korean model/ulzzang and is fairly popular in South Korea because of her pretty and unique looks. She is GORGEOUS! which made me want all the make-up from the brand 3CE and all the clothes. I did make quite a big purchase so it is no surprise that I had to pay custom fees, and that is actually one thing to bear in mind, when we are importing from another country we do usually have to pay for custom fees depending on your countries law, for England anything over £36 we will have to pay import VAT, but because parcelforce are horrible and like to charge you extra they have a clearance fee for you to pay as well.
But anyways onto the things I got:


 
3 Concept Eyes Glossing Waterful Foundation #Milk Ivory


 
3 Concept Eyes Nursing Cream

 
3 Concept Eyes Skin Finger Sponge
 
3 Concept Eyes Waterful Concealer #001


 
3 Concept Eyes Eyebrow Mascara #Brown
 
[FREE GIFT] 3 Concept Eyes Nail Lacquer #YE05


And that is it for my mini collective haul over the last month or two, I will probably not buy as much since I will be going on holiday fairly soon and will be stocking up on a few things which I will share when I come back ^^ ~
Take Care ~ ♥

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, 6 May 2013, 09:36 | 2 lovely comments



« Older posts


Follow @helloimmay95