1028 Makeup Haul ❤ Smoky Cat Eyes Night Look Tutorial

Hey guys! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I got great feedback on my first video tutorial and I really appreciate all the encouragements and support for my new beauty shop and blog =). So as I promised, here is my second video tutorial! This time I am doing a much heavier look that is great for going out at night or attending parties/clubbing. I personally don't wear such heavy makeup very often since I quit partying long time ago lol but I still love experimenting with different products. It just so happens that the 1028 makeup haul was perfect for neutral shade smoky cat eyes look, so I figured why not? So here it is and I hope you guys will enjoy it  ❤

1028 Visual Therapy Cosmetics Makeup Haul (From left to right):

• Toffee Eyes Set (The eye shadow palette, eye liner pencil in brown, eye & lip makeup remover)
• Brownie Eyes Palette
• BB Foundation Primer with built in concealer
• Waterproof Eye brow Pencil
• Classic Smoky Eyes Palette 
• Dual Blush Compact
• HA Hydrating Compact Powder SPF25
• Dual Tone Flawless Concealer

The smoky cat eye look I created with the products above from 1028 =).

Detailed list of all products that I used for this look:
1. 1028 BB primer
2. 1028 Dual Tone Concealer
3. 1028 Hydrating Powder Compact in #01
4. 1028 Waterproof Eyebrow Liner in Light Brown
5. KATE Eyebrow Palette in EX-4
6. Integrate Eyebrow Palette in BR731
7. Heavy Rotation Eyebrow Mascara in Light Brown
8. 1028 Dual Blush Compact
9. NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna
10. 1028 Waterproof Eye Liner in Brown
11. 1028 Toffee Eye Shadow Palette
12. 1028 Classic Smoky Eyes Palette
13. Bonavoce Black Liquid Liner
14. Bonavoce Lengthening Mascara
15. Miss Bow Bow False Lash #112
16. 3 Concept Eyes Lipstick in #504
17. YSL Rouge Pur lipstick in #144

Other than the numerous products I got from 1028, I also purchased 2 things from BONAVOCE and 2 brushes which I also used in this tutorial. I was very pleased with the BONAVOCE products, especially the liquid eyeliner, but what absolutely blew me away were the brushes! I bought the Dior Backstage Professional Finish Fluid Foundation Brush and BonTon Small Contour Brush. BonTon is a Taiwanese based company that specializes in cosmetic brushes. Each BonTon makeup brush is hand-crafted through complicated processes, such as arranging, brushing, tying and trimming and most of their brushes are made from 100% genuine hairs. I bought this brush because I have not seen a contour brush that small. It is so perfect for contouring small areas such as inner sockets for shadowing the nose. The hairs are very soft and so far not a single piece of hair has fallen. But I still gotta admit the highlight and best investment of this week's makeup haul has gotta be the Dior Foundation Brush! Yes, it is pricey ($1760TWD so about $60US) but trust me, you will not regret buying it! It is definitely an excellent investment that is so worth spending the price! I've always liked MAC brushes but after using this Dior brush, I think my MAC190 will be put away for quite some time. What makes this Dior brush so special is that the shape of the hairs is actually slanted and I usually get lines when I apply foundation with a brush but this! I did not see any lines at all and it sets the foundation so incredibly well making the skin look flawless yet light weight! I have taken numerous photos so see for yourself =). 

I believe this brush came out in September last year so those of you who have not tried it, you must go out and get one! Trust me, it is SO worth it!

And here's the video tutorial for this look! You will see the two new brushes put to work in the video so enjoy =).

Overall, I was quite pleased with the 1028 makeup haul. I particularly liked the compact powder. Some people call it the "Giorgio Armani" in drug store brands and after trying it, I think its quality definitely deserves that name. I really liked the eyebrow pencil as well. The flat shape of the pencil makes drawing fine lines easier at the ends. The pigmentation of the shadows were decent as well. All in all, I think all of 1028's products would be a great investment considering the prices for them.

So I've been going crazy online shopping for new cosmetics that I actually don't need this past week. I literally spent at least 1g in USD on cosmetics and skin care =(. I think it's time I put my credit card away for good. What can I say? I am such a makeup junkie! But on the good side, there will be plenty of reviews and tutorials coming up for the rest of the month! So excited! So stay tuned ❤
If you are interested in buying any of the products I used in my tutorial, please visit my shop at Beauty ChAmnber or private message me through my Facebook page.


XoXo,

Amber

Christine Ladies Argireline Ultra Tightening X Whitening Masks Review

A woman's diet changes throughout the course of their life. It changes in their 20s, 30s, and so on. So why should your skin be any different? What worked for you when you are 19 will not work for you when you are 25. Of course, everyone knows that the biggest cause for wrinkles is age but there are ways that can make you wrinkle-free for a longer period of time and the key is to ACT NOW. It is very important to start caring for your skin at an earlier age rather than wait til you are 30. Because your collagen production and cell renewal is slowing down, so environmental issues can play a heavier role since your cells aren't regenerating as often, you need to rely on other sources to solve these problems. And over the past 3 years, my biggest helper was great masks. After I came back to Taiwan, I came across this local skin care brand that is only sold in specific high end salons and through online distribution. After reading about this brand, I decided to give it a try and completely fell in love with their masks! I've been using them at least twice a week for the past month and I noticed a genuine improvement in my skin. People always say you should never keep the goodies to yourself so I decided to do a review on their masks.

I purchased the brand's best selling product which is the Argireline Ultra Tightening Mask and their newest addition which is the Ultra Whitening Mask. The tightening mask has received an Exceptional Performance award by FG who conducted an extensive study on women from the age of 25-35 with experience of this product, and came out with an amazing score of 9 on a 10 scale rate. 

What makes this mask stand out among millions of others in the market is that it uses Japan's invisible mask fabric which is 100% cotton fabric with thickness of only 0.03cm. It is able to fully absorb 20ml  of essence.Using skin density difference principle, it allows the essence to be quickly transferred to the underlying skin with zero distance between the skin and mask; penetrating the barrier of skin cells so the essence can be 100% utilized. 

EFFECTS: Protect skin tissues, repair damaged cells, smooth fine lines, tighten, whiten and moisturize and to increase skin radiance, keeping it in its best condition.  

This mask really feels amazing on my skin! Because my skin is very dry, very often right after I wash my face and apply masks, I feel an uncomfortable sting and lasts for at least a couple of minutes. I just finished showering that day as well which would make my skin even drier than usual. With Christine Ladies, I didn't feel any discomfort at all! I can move around and go on with my tasks without having to worry the mask would fall off. It literally feels like my second skin! I was honestly blown away at the quality of this mask with the price I paid for. Also, after I took out the mask, there was so much left over essence left in the packet so I squeezed it out and applied a generous amount to my neck and collar bones as well. 

The above photo was taken with a decent digital camera right after I pealed off the mask. There was absolutely no alteration or photoshop. This is a 100% genuine test of how well this mask works. I was surprised how good my skin looked! The  minor redness disappeared and skin is looked so healthy and rejuvenated. The level of moisture it provided was incredible too! I rate this mask a definite 5/5 and I would 100% repurchase this product again! I highly recommend this mask to everyone and I am sure you will not be disappointed as well. 

About 5 days after I tried the tightening mask, I tested the whitening mask right after I came out of the shower and cleansed my face. The whitening mask is a new product launched this year and it has received great reviews. 

Using the same type of technique and fabric as the tightening mask, the mask is designed to inhibit the activity of melanin pigmentation, whitening of any dark spots or scars while restoring the skin to a young, crystal clear, plump and bright condition. 

MAIN INGREDIENTS AND ITS PURPOSES: 

Hyaluronic acid

Long-lasting and quick high moisturizing features to ensure the skin becomes soft and smooth.

Ferulic acid compound of natural skin brightening agent

Whitens the skin while weakening the tyrosine enzyme activity, so skin appears younger.

Marine Collagen

Due to small molecular weight, it is easy to penetrate into the skin with moisturizing, anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, accelerate metabolism, making the skin more elastic and bright.

Placental extracts

With a special alkaline phosphatase, it helps with skin cell reproduction, resulting in finer and healthier looking skin.

Allantoin

Stimulates the growth of healthy cells, and promotes wound healing.

Vitamin C Glucose 

Long-acting vitamin C derivative effectively inhibits melanin synthesis. It also promotes collagen synthesis which strengthens the skin's stability and helps with wound healing and skin tissue repair.

Hydrolysed Silk

With the extraction of precious substances from the Silk: Fibroin, Protein and Q10, the micro-molecule protein hydrolysate has outstanding feature which is suitable for the skin. Protein Hydrolysate creates excellent film forming ability, rids of uncomfortable stickiness and gives hair and skin glow, moisture, softness and elasticity. 

Christine Ladies' whitening mask did not disappoint me as well! It felt so great on the skin without any discomfort and the quality is as good as the tightening masks with 20mL of essence! It is obvious that Christine Ladies has done an awesome job at quality control, ensuring every piece of mask is sent off to it's buyer with the perfection. I am a huge fan of whitening masks. Almost 60% of the masks I use are target whitening effects and I must say Christine Ladies has definitely climbed up to my top 3 best list. 

The above photo was taken with the same digital camera right after I pealed off the mask. Again, no alteration or photoshop. My skin really did appear a bit whitened and my freckles were less visible. Also, my skin had a healthy glow and was sufficiently hydrated. I rate this mask a definite 5/5 and I would 100% repurchase this product again. Overall, I was extremely pleased with Christine Ladies masks. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I think it beats pretty much 90% of the masks I have used in the past and most of the very expensive counter brands as well. I highly recommend Christine Ladies to all you girlies and I am sure you would fall in love with it as I have =). If you are interested in purchasing, please visit my online beauty store here or private message me at Beauty ChAmber's Facebook page.

Please support my shop and blog by liking my page! Million Thanks <3

Hope you all enjoyed this post and found it helpful~ Stay tuned for my second video makeup tutorial coming very soon ❤

XOXO,
Amber

It's Skin X Etude House X MISSHA Makeup Haul Review ♥ Natural Day Time Summer Look

The number 1 rule I have in the summer is during day time, especially under bright sun light and scorching heat, unless you have a special event to attend, it is very important that you keep your makeup simple and clean. I would spend more time to perfect the skin rather than the eyes so avoid heavy smoky eyes and thick false lashes. That is the main focus of this tutorial. Last weekend I came across these products from various Korean cosmetic brands and read some good reviews on them so I decided to try them out. Because it is summer time now and it is incredibly hot and humid in Taiwan, I have been longing to achieve the "no makeup" look I always see in Korean dramas. Well, not necessarily "no makeup" on the eyes and lips but just the face. Their complexion always look so sheer and has a beautiful natural glow to it.
The one question that I've been pondering forever is the secret behind pretty much all Korean celebs' gorgeous flawless skin that just seems to glow so naturally on its own. I guess you can say it's a glow caused by skin oil but not in a bad way like you haven't washed your face for days but in a way that gives a natural youthful vibe to the skin. After some research, I found out that it is not because they all just have perfect genes but rather created by cosmetic products which are oil based.  In order to create this honey baby like skin full of natural glow, you must use products that give off an oily illuminating finish. That's one huge reason why I bought these products, hoping to at least somewhat achieve that very natural complexion which would really complement the natural day time look. The products in the weekend makeup haul are listed and reviewed in details below.

1. IT'S SKIN 5-IN-1 Star Cream
According to the official description, the Star Cream with SPF25, PA++ provides natural glowing skin and helps to minimize the appearance of fine lines and enhance the brightness of complexion by Adenosine and Niacinamide. It contains starfish collagen extract which improves skin firmness, elasticity and vital hydration, thus explains the name "5-IN-1". I have heard some say it is an even higher upgraded version of the popular CC cream. It's ingredients are listed in the picture below.

I liked this product overall becaus it actually felt great on my skin. Most products that contain SPF tend to feel a bit greasy which I really dislike. It's not as thick as most of the cream I have used in the past, making it easy to blend. However, one of the down sides was it was a tad too dry for my skin so next time I use this product, I probably have to spend even more time hydrating the skin before applying. But I am sure most girls probably won't have this problem since my skin is very dry. Secondly, this cream is only suitable for those with a light-fair skin tone. Any shade beyond that, this cream is just too pale for you and it's going to look very odd. I recommend girls who need extra coverage to use this cream as a base and apply your foundation on top of that. Also, if you know you are going to out for more than 4 hours, you should only use this cream as a base because it isn't very long lasting, especially under weather like Taiwan's in the summer. I rate this product 4/5.

2. ETUDE HOUSE Nymph Aura Volumer Baby Glow Stick
The purpose of this stick is to instantly provide the skin with a transparent, youthful glow with just one dab. The very well known Taiwanese professional makeup artist Kevin who is featured so often in various TV
shows also recommended this product in his blog entry sharing his makeup haul from his most recent trip to Korea in 2013. The list of ingredients can be found below.

 


I must say I was very pleased with this product! It glides on so easily and the glow is so natural! It feels great on my skin without feeling too oily. The stick's sweet smell makes the application process that much more enjoyable, if that's even possible lol. I used this product before applying the star cream but you can also apply it after your finish your base makeup. Both ways work =). I rate this product 4.5/5.

3. MISSHA Wrinkle-Free Smoothing Lipstick Primer SPF14
This lipstick primer is suppose to feel light on the lips, smoothly fill the wrinkles and helps with the lip vitality. It's main ingredients are wrinkle-free elastomer gel, smoothing fitting agent and copper peptide, acetyl hexapeptide, palmitoyl pentapeptide which are the top anti-aging ingredients used in the world right now.

I purposely didn't apply lip balm before I went to bed the night before because I wanted to test if the lip primer was really moisturizing. My lips were quite dry in the morning and had many fine lines, but the primer wasn't hard to apply at all! It glided on smoothly and felt moisturizing. It was able to conceal my natural lip color with a subtle nude shade while softening the fine lines. I really liked this product and I would definitely purchase it again so I rate it 4.5/5.
4. MISSHA Beautiful Lip Tint in the color Rose Red
This lip tint is suppose to keep your lips moisturized while giving it a natural tint. It contains natural botanic colorants and cooling ingredients from Xylitol that makes your lips feel refreshed. Also, it is said to be 6-FREE which are Paraben-free, Talc-free, Oil-free, Silicon-free, Benzophenon-free and Phthalate-free.

I really liked the subtle pink shade it gave my lips. Even though the color was said to be red which I couldn't understand why since the shade was clearly pink to me. Because of the cooling ingredients used in the tint, my lips felt a bit odd at first but the coldness goes away quite quickly. One downside to this product is some people might find it hard to apply since the texture is quite watery. I didn't think it was that big of a problem though. What I loved the most about this product was it was very long lasting! Even after I ate dinner that day, the light pink shade was still visible. Also, I tested it out on my hand by washing it with an eye & lip makeup remover. After rubbing multiple times on the back of my hands, the pink was still there even though the shade a bit lighter. Nevertheless, its resistance to water and the remover took me by surprise! I rate this product 4.5/5.

I used these 4 products and created a natural light makeup perfect for day time in the summer. Whether you are going to class or work, I think this look is just right; not too much but is able to give off that energetic and lively glow. The Etude House glow stick really brought out my features and gave my skin a beautiful natural glow and I don't need to worry about the sun since the Star Cream gave me a great protection layer. I also loved the lip primer which really did moisturize my lips and lighten the lines. After applying the lip tint, the pigmentation is perfect for occasions when you just want a natural shade that people could possibly mistaken as your natural lip color!

I had originally filmed a video tutorial for this look and was done 85% of the editing but guess what?! I accidentally deleted the file when I was doing a disk cleanup! I seriously wanted to throw myself out the window!!!!! How stupid can I be???? I was so mad at myself that this perfect blog entry is ruined because there's no video tutorial!!! I wish I had the guts to just I don't know, stab myself or something for being this stupid. All that hard work, GONE! JUST LIKE THAT!! I'm sorry guys, no video this week =(. So I will just list out the products I used for this look and briefly explain the key points to pay attention to.
1. IT'S SKIN Star Cream
2. Etude House Baby Glow Stick
3. Lioele Perfect Jumbo Concealer
4. YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch
5. NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna
6. Dior Illuminating Powder
7. Navalli Hill Blush Compact in Macaroons
8. Giorgio Armani Micro-fil Loose Powder
9. Miss Hana Eyebrow Liner in Light Brown
10. Integrate Eyebrow Palette in BR731
11. Lunasol Limited Edition Christmas 2012 Eye Shadow Palette
12. Navalli Hill Eye Shadow Cream in #10 and #17
13. MSH Love Liquid Liner in Black
14. MSH Love Long Mascara
15. Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara
16. MISSHA Lip Primer
17. MISSHA Lip Tint in Rose Red
Key Points:
Like I mentioned earlier, it is important to achieve that natural glowing skin for this look so only conceal the flaws with a great concealer after applying the Star Cream. Skip the heavy foundation and spend more time on concealing any redness, scars, spots, etc. Keep in mind that you want to look like you just have naturally gorgeous skin as much as possible. As for the eyes, stick to neutral shades for the eye shadow. Lightly apply a subtle champagne gold shade then apply a medium brown eye shadow up to your crease. Use a slightly darker brown and apply to lower eyelids with a flat eye shadow brush. Because we are trying to achieve a natural look, do not apply any false lashes. Simply curl the lashes and apply lengthening mascara. When applying liquid eyeliner, do not flick the liner too much. Just apply it straight outwards following the curve of your upper lash line. For the lips, avoid any very pigmented shades or high shine glosses. If you have great lip color naturally, you can skip the lip primer and just apply any lip balm and then the lip tint. Again, we want to try to make it look like we naturally have healthy pinky lips.

In order to complement the crazy heat right now in Taiwan and to 100% give off the summer vibe in the coming month, I went to see my nail artist on Monday and we came up with this adorable design full of macaroon colors which is huge this season. I'm totally in love with my nails right now <3

If you are interested in purchasing these 4 products, please visit my Facebook page at Beauty ChAmber and private message me =).

Lastly, I am going to announce the winner for the DHC skin care sample kit. Kathy, congrats! Please private message me your mailing address through my Facebook page<3
For this week's free giveaway, I will again be picking out 2 random visitors who comment on this entry and this time, I will be giving away full sized Miss Hana products!!! For those who never heard of this brand, you must visit my page and check out the amazing selections they have to offer! So stay tuned and comment. You wouldn't wanna miss this giveaway! <3


XOXO,

Amber