So I recently got back from a trip to South Korea and brought back so much cool makeup! Most of it is from Skin Food and Asian brands, some of it I bought at the duty-free stores in the Seoul airport, but this post is going to be all about the Skin Food (I'm not going to include the prices of things here, mostly because I paid for everything in Korean Wons and the exchange into dollars is a little different, but also because all of my receipts are in Korean).
Can I just say, I'm OBSESSED with Skin Food! I couldn't get enough of it when I was over there; I must've gone to Skin Food stores on at least three to five separate occasions. If you didn't know, Skin Food is a Korean makeup and skin care brand; they use mostly natural ingredients and are mostly paraben free. I like Skin Food for those reasons, and also because it's healthy for my skin and I feel good about putting it on my skin. Skin Food describes itself as "Special food for the skin to eat. Contains lots of nutritive and energetic ingredients such as fresh plants, fruits, and etc. to maintain our bodies healthy and lively". Definitely go to www.theskinfood.com and check them out (plus, they give you a boatload of free samples with every purchase)! Here's what I bought:
1. Black Egg Pore Gel Base- basically a primer. It's described as "a pore-refining primer gel with a velvety finish that improves the appearance of enlarged pores while preparing skin for makeup. The apricot color base brightens lackluster skin tones." I was a little disappointed that this didn't control my oily skin a little better, but then again it doesn't say that it will. I do agree on the velvety finish, and it has kind of a flowery scent (it smells like a skin care product). The tube contains 25 grams.
2. Buckwheat Loose Powder(#23)- loose setting powder (duh). This came in three or four different shades, including translucent and lilac! I picked the darkest one (a lot of the powders and makeup over there are so pale). It's very soft, has a velvety finish, and blends smoothly onto skin. It came with a powder puff and contains 23 grams.
3. Oil Control Film- aka blotting sheets. "It controls oil, reduces sebum. Leaves a velvety-soft natural finish. The results are immediate and lasting all day." I haven't had a chance to try these yet; as you can see, they are still in the package. I think that it contains 50 sheets, but I'm not completely sure (I can't read Korean, but there's the number 50 and the size of the sheets on the back of the packaging).
4. two Nail Vita nailpolishes- in the colors RE102 (red) and BR614 (brown/taupe). The bottles says "This nail contains vitamin and keratin. Advanced formula colours and covers in one quick, mistake-proof stroke." I have had the chance to try the red one, and I have to say I LOVE it! The color is so opaque, you really could get away with just one coat. The color is rich, the polish is thick, and it dries to a beautiful, almost satin finish. I hated to put a top coat on it because I loved the way it looked without it! I wore it during a four-day trip, and it did start to chip during the fourth day, but I'm going to blame that on the Seche Vite top coat I put on it, which always chips on me. I haven't tried the taupe one yet, but I absolutely must have more of these nailpolishes!
5. Rose Essence Volume Lip Gloss- in #7. It's a nude, pinky shimmery color that looks great over any color lipstick. Sometimes I can feel it tingling like a volumizing lip gloss, but whether or not it actually does volumize my lips is questionable. It has a very strong, old-lady rose scent, but isn't unbearable. It's not sticky and lasts for a decent amount of time. I like to put this over any lipstick I've been wearing if my lips need more moisture; it gives a little oomph to any lip color that's starting to feel dry. It has a straight doe-foot applicator (is that even a thing? Straight doe-foot?)
6. Sugar Cookie Blush-(the number on the bottom is stamped over, but it's the purple one). I know that I will probably never wear this, but I had to get it, because it's a purple blush. I have never seen a purple blush in the U.S. before! I haven't actually tried this on my face yet, but I swatched it with my finger and it had zero pigment; nothing even showed up on my finger, so it wasn't even worth taking a picture. Bummer. But it looks cool!
7. Allantoin Clear Mascara-I bought this to comb through my eyebrows; my eyebrows stay in place for a little while longer, but clearly (no pun intended) it's not meant to be an eyebrow gel. It also darkens my eyebrows a little bit by taking off the setting powder that gets on them; it gets the job done.
8. Passion Fruit Rich Lip Balm- Grapefruit flavor. This smells like a legit grapefruit. It has a slight pink tint but nothing too opaque. It's not sticky, is decently lasting, and has SPF 8. 15 grams.
These were all of the Skin Food items I bought while I was in South Korea, and I'm already checking out Amazon.com for more! Skin Food is definitely one of my favorite makeup and skin care brands; I recommend it for everybody!
--Shine bright
