Influenster - Physician's Formula #ButterHighlighter Review

Just last month I received the new Physician's Formula Butter Highlighter courtesy of Influenster for testing purposes. The box included one of four available shades of the new cream-to-powder formula highlighters. The highlighter comes in the shades Rose Gold, Pink, Champagne, and Gold. I received the shade 'Pearl', which looks exactly as it would sound: pearly. The highlighter retails for $10.95 on the Physician's Formula website.

As someone with medium tan skin, I tend to stay away from white or very light shades for highlighters since they tend to not blend very naturally into my skin so I will most likely be passing this along to a friend. I do find, however, that I can use these bright shades for highlighting under my brow or the inner corner of my eyes, but they are just too bright for my cheeks.

The color of this highlighter was definitely strong when I swatched it, but surprisingly, it wasn't that strong once applied. I found that I had to apply several "layers" to get the look that I wanted, which wasn't nearly as strong as I thought it would be based on how it swatched. Perhaps I need a new highlighter brush!

The highlighter comes in a screw-top pot with a clear top so you can clearly see the product shade without having to remove the lid or open the box. I really appreciate this type of packaging since I'm definitely someone who is more hesitant to buy something if I can't see the product shade clearly or swatches since I have a hard time matching products to my skin-tone.

This also has that delicious coconut-y smell that all Physician's Formula products tend to have. Their products are known for being made from natural ingredients, which is great in the new world of sustainable beauty and skincare. Though I'm not someone who's religious in only buying sustainable products, as someone who struggles with acne, I try to be more conscious of what's going on my face and into my skin.

The formula for the Butter Highlighter is actually really great. I find that it doesn't feel too thick like some cream or liquid highlighters can be, and it doesn't feel too powdery or cake-y as many powders can be. This formula sits somewhere in between. I have combination-oily skin, and I'm always on the hunt for powdery products that will sit on my face without accentuating the dry areas of my face, and this highlighter definitely is miraculous in that sense. It doesn't sit too close to my skin so that it shows off all the dry spots, but it doesn't sit completely on top either where it will just fall off after a few hours.

My main concern with this highlighter is that while the product applies very smoothly and sits well on my face, it appears to be even more powdery in the actual pot. When I swiped my finger across the top to swatch the product onto the back of my hand, I noticed that the swirled shape of the top started to break down almost immediately. Also, I was able to tap quite a bit of leftover product out of the pot before I put the lid back on. It seems like you would end up wasting as much product in fall-out as would actually end up being applied to your face and body.

Overall, I loved this formula, but I think I will go with a different shade.

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All photos are mine unless stated otherwise. Photos that do not belong to me will be linked to the source. Please do not repost photos without permission.

Memebox Haul #2

My second Memebox purchase was literally one day after the first one. Memebox added more items to their March doorbusters sale, and some were items I had been dying to try, particularly in the makeup section. The rest were either items that I needed to replace (not necessarily the same brand) or items that I honestly drooled over a little too much and picked up purely for the packaging. (I'm looking at you Cloud cream...)

To get right in to what I got!

This first item I got to send to my sister. I had gotten this as well as the Eglips Oil Cut powder pact, and while this was very cute, I decided the powder pact was simply more convenient for me. (Note: The little wings are on the plastic packaging, not on the pot itself.) The packaging is seriously so cute, how could I resist! I have a few other items from It's Skin that I'd picked up in Korea, but this was one that I had seen everywhere but never actually bought.

What I paid: $6

Purchase here:
It's Skin - Babyface Pore Powder, $9

Size comparison with iPhone 6

Next, I picked up this super cute makeup bag! I didn't do a size comparison, but it's a pretty decently sized makeup bag/travel bag. I got this also for my sister. I mission was to purchase her a skincare routine and mail it to her (since I'm apparently an expert on this stuff), and I wanted to mail it in something fun and convenient. So, makeup bag it is! I did accidentally order two, and I'm 100% not sure how I did that. However, the bag is super cute, so I'll definitely be able to find someone else I can give it to.

What I paid: $4

Purchase here:
Memebox - Meme Maniac cosmetic bag, $7

Next up were two items that I needed. I've been wanting to add an eye cream into my skincare routine for a while now to do something for these eye bags and dark circles that I have, but eye creams are so expensive here in the US. The ones at Ulta that I had seen were usually $20+, and I wasn't about to dish that out for undereye cream. Thank God I didn't, because this Scinic Snail Matrix eye cream was on sale during the March doorbusters sale. I very happily added this to my cart for a neat $6, though the original price of $10 wasn't too bad either.

I also grabbed this RE:CIPE cleansing oil because 1) I love cleansing oil and 2) I'm almost out of my BareMinerals Mineralixirs one that I adore. However, I wanted to branch out, plus I had bought that BareMinerals one on sale, so I wasn't sure I wanted to repurchase it. This cleansing oil is also very pretty since it has rose petals inside hence the name Rose Petal cleansing oil.

What I paid: $6 (eye cream) + $9 (cleansing oil)

Purchase here:
Scinic - Snail Matrix eye cream, $10
RE:CIPE - Rose Petal cleansing oil, $17 (sold out on Memebox, available on BeautyBox Korea for $23.24)

Now, this cream I picked up solely for the packaging. I'm a sucker for minimalistic and pretty packaging, and this definitely fits both of those descriptions. I honestly have no idea if this cream is going to be any good, but this company definitely knows how to package.

The cream comes with a small plastic scoop tucked into the bottom of the box, which is great since I kind of hate digging my fingers into a jar of cream since it ends up getting tucked under my fingernails.

I will definitely be writing a review on this in the future since I know nothing about this brand or the cream! So keep an eye out for that.

What I paid: $10

Purchase here:
SB Marketing - Cloud 9 Blanc De Brightening cream, $12

From this second haul, the next makeup products were what I was most excited about with this haul. First up, I'd been seeing these Berrisom lip tints literally everywhere, and I'd been meaning to try them out, but I didn't want to pay $19 for 6 of these in case I hated them. Well, I figured I could pay $12 for all of them which put it at $2 a piece, which seemed a little bit more reasonable for me. Little did I know that I would fall in love with these without ever trying them. The packaging is cute but also perfect for gifting a set to someone. Also, these are much larger than I thought they were, which definitely made this purchase worth it for me.

What I paid: $12

Purchase here:
Berrisom - My Lip Tint pack (6 pc), $16

Hands down though, these were my favorite items that I ordered. I am a lover of all things Gudetama, and when I saw these were on sale, I was so happy. I hadn't tried this brand's sheet masks before, and I honestly don't really care whether these give any results, I just wanted these for the sheer fact that they have Gudetama on them. Which is definitely not really a reason you should buy something. However, buy them I did. And they're adorable, and I love them.

What I paid: $1.50 (x5) = $7.50

Purchase here:
Holika Holika - Lazy & Easy All Kill sheet mask, $3 (sold out on Memebox, available on MaskSheets for $2.80/1 pc)

I ordered these Labiotte wine lip tints and lipsticks not really knowing much about the actual product. I'd seen a ton of K-beauty/skincare bloggers posting about these and posting pictures of them, and I saw they looked pretty. All the reviews I had seen of them were great, until one day. Then I saw someone on Instagram that posted a review on the lip tint and said they went on splotchy and smelled bad. There were some other people in the comments who agreed and some people who came to the defense of the lip tints.

So, here I am, unsure of whether these were worth the price tag or not. Once again, I will definitely be writing a review on these so as to try to help others who are interested in these to figure out whether these are worth the hefty price tags or not!

What I paid: $8 (x 2 lip tint) + $10 (x 2 lipstick) = $36

Purchase here:
Labiotte - Chateau Wine lip tint (burgundy), $14.43 (Amazon, sold out on Memebox)
Labiotte - Chateau Wine lip tint (Shiraz red), $10
Labiotte - Chateau Wine lipstick (Cabernet red), $13
Labiotte - Chateau Wine lipstick (Malbec burgundy), $13

And that is all for my second Memebox haul! I'm definitely happy with all the things I got. The Labiotte items were a bit smaller than I thought they would be for some reason, despite seeing pictures. I guess they looked a bit taller in the pictures, but I'm not unhappy about them.

To total everything up, I spent $99.50 on all of these items, for a total current value of $142.43! More great deals, especially on the Labiotte.

But as always, feel free to follow along to see individual reviews of all these items! Also, follow me on Instagram to see more Korean beauty/skincare posts at edit_jeong!

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This is not a PR sample. This was purchased with personal funds, and all opinions are my own.

All products are linked as available. If I have not been able to find a link or website where you can purchase a product, then I am unsure if they are available for sale online or not. If you have seen that product for sale online, feel free to leave a link in the comments or message it to me over social media or through e-mail (xoxosplace@gmail.com) and I'll be sure to link them into this post.

All photos are mine unless stated otherwise.  Photos that do not belong to me will be linked to the source. Do not repost without permission.

My First Memebox Haul! 💮

Just recently, Memebox had an amazing sale going on to welcome the month of March. Many of the items are still on sale, but when the sale first started, I knew I had to go ahead and finally make my first Memebox purchase. I've been window shopping on the Memebox website for months, but two weeks ago, I went ahead and finally took the plunge.

I ended up doing two big orders since some other items went on sale after I had already made my first purchase. While I haven't tried most of the specific items I purchased, I have tried most of these brands before. I think one of the things I was most excited to get was the Nooni seed essence toner! The toner has been on my wishlist for quite a while now ever since I used up a deluxe sample I had gotten free with a purchase while in Korea.

Anyways, on to what I bought! This was the first of the two hauls!

As I said before, I have previously tried out this toner, and one thing I liked about it is that it's not super water-y like many toners are. This toner is a tiny bit thicker. Somewhere between a gel and a water. It's a bit difficult to explain the texture without a video demonstration, but I'll leave it at that. What I can say is that this toner is great for dry skin or combination skin since the texture is a little bit thicker than a more runny toner. The thickness helps seal in moisture.

I wasn't going to get the cleansing water originally because I still have my Son & Park Beauty Water that I haven't touched yet, but the Memebox sale had this toner + cleansing water + a box of cotton pads all for $27! That was the best deal from Nooni that I've seen so far since the toner by itself is $22!

What I paid: $27

Purchase here:
Nooni - Seed Essence toner, $22
Nooni - Root Energy cleansing water - $17
Nooni - So Silky cotton pads (80 pc) - $4

Size comparison with iPhone 6

I'm a huge sheet mask addict. More so in the collecting part than the actual using part. Oops. Anyways, I decided to add these sheet masks to my collection because $1 and $1.50 are unheard of prices for sheet masks here in the US if you don't have a physical Korean skincare store nearby. The Tosowoong sheet masks were $1 each so I picked up 5 of the Pure Green Tea masks and 5 of the Pure Snail Masks. I also grabbed 3 of the Donkey Milk brightening gel masks for $1.50 each! Seriously, great deals on sheet masks. I haven't tried either of these brands yet, but I'm excited to add these to my April resolution of doing one sheet mask per day!

What I paid: $5 (snail masks) + $5 (tea masks) + $4.50 (skin gel masks) = $14.50

Purchase here:
Tosowoong - Pure Snail mask (anti-aging), $2 (sold out on Memebox, available on Amazon; 10 pc for $15.25)
Tosowoong - Pure Green Tea mask (whitening), $2
Freeset - Donkey Milk Skin Gel mask (brightening), (sold out on Memebox, available on Amazon; 10 pc for $30)

These two items are my next favorite items that I snatched up. These are the J.One Jelly Pack and the Cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa mask. The J.One Jelly Pack is raved over all over the K-beauty internet and I was so happy to finally get my hands on it! Normally, it goes for $42 on Memebox, but during the March sale, I was able to snatch it up for only $19 (that's 55% off)!

I'm a tiny bit disappointed in the Cosrx mask because this item is listed as the "jumbo", but the bottle isn't nearly "jumbo" sized. I was surprised by the normal size of the bottle so I did some research, and this mask usually comes in a non-squeeze tube pot of 50g. This "jumbo" size is 60g, so I suppose it could be worth it. Either way, I paid $10 for 60g of a product that costs $18 for 50g on the Ulta website.

What I paid: $19 (jelly pack) + $10 (overnight mask) = $19

Purchase here:
J.One - Jelly Pack, $42
Cosrx - Ultimate Nourishing Rice overnight mask, $18

Next up, I have the Skinmiso Pore Corset serum and the Heimish All Clean balm. The serum I had never seen before, but I'd heard of Skinmiso so I figured I would give it a try, especially since I'm about to run out of my beloved Moonshot serum I bought in Korea that I refuse to purchase online due to crazy shipping prices. The serum is supposed to be anti-inflammatory as well as hydrating, which are two things I'm all over, so we'll see how it goes.

The Heimish All Clean balm I've been seeing all over the place with Korean skincare lovers, so I was happy it was on sale. I'd also been wanting to give this a try, but I had never gotten around to ordering it. And then what do you know, it goes on sale! The only thing is that when I received it, I think the pot had leaked a little bit because the bottom of the box has oil spots on it, and the outside of the pot was a bit greasy feeling. However, it was still sealed, so I'm not sure there.

What I paid: $15 (serum) + $10 (balm) = $25

Purchase here:
Skinmiso - Pore Corset serum, $30
Heimish - All Clean balm, $15.82 (currently sold out on Memebox, available on Amazon)

Actually, I was super excited to buy the AprilSkin Magic Stone soap! I'd been seeing ads for this little circle soap since last year, but I had a hard time finding it in Korea in-store, and I wasn't about to deal with the difficulties of shopping online in Korea. So, I didn't buy it. When I got back to the US, I didn't want to pay shipping. And then I found out Memebox carried it, but I didn't want to dole out the $11 for a bar of soap. It seemed a little bit extravagant to me, but...sales. The sale on this wasn't super amazing, but it was enough for me to decide to pick it up.

The Eglips Oil Cut powder pact was kind of a random purchase. I had no intention of getting it, but I did anyways. I've been getting more into the dewy makeup look, but I am also very oily throughout the day, so I figured why not. The powder pact comes with a sponge similar to the ones that are in the foundation or BB/CC cushions, so it seems to have an easy application. I'm not sure how keen I am about dipping that sponge into powder, powdering my oily face, and then dipping it in again, but we'll see.

What I paid: $7 (Magic Stone soap) + $9 = $16

Purchase here:
AprilSkin - Magic Stone soap, $7
Eglips - Oil Cut powder pact, $9

And that's all for my first Memebox haul! Well..."that's all". To add everything up, I spent a total of $111.50 for a total value of $187.45! I would say that's a pretty good deal. The major money-savers were the Nooni products. Essentially, I paid $27 for the toner and the cotton pads and got the cleansing water ($17) for free. Seriously, an awesome steal.

Stick around to see my second Memebox haul and to see reviews of each item as I add them into my skincare routine!

You can also follow me on Instagram at edit_jeong to see more photos of Korean skincare and beauty items!

~

This is not a PR sample. This was purchased with personal funds, and all opinions are my own.

All products are linked as available. If I have not been able to find a link or website where you can purchase a product, then I am unsure if they are available for sale online or not. If you have seen that product for sale online, feel free to leave a link in the comments or message it to me over social media or through e-mail (xoxosplace @ gmail.com) and I'll be sure to link them into this post.

All photos are mine unless stated otherwise.  Photos that do not belong to me will be linked to the source. Do not repost without permission.

Eric Nam 'Interview' Mini Album Review

Eric Nam's 'Interview'

Facts
♪ - Release Date: March 24, 2016
♪ - Country: South Korea
♪ - Label: ℗ CJ E&M Music, B2M Entertainment
♪ - Language: Korean and English
♪ - Number of Tracks: 5 (including 1 'international version')
♪ - Run Time: 16 minutes, 58 seconds
♪ - Photobook:

Opinion
Eric Nam has always delivered, and his latest mini album was no different. Yes, I am aware I am a year late on this, but better late than never! (Happy Anniversary to Interview!)

In this day and age, and especially in K-pop, artists are constantly switching up their sound (whether by choice or not), and it honestly drives me mad. But then there's Eric. I'm really happy that Eric Nam has been one of those artists that remains consistent with his musical sound.

This mini album starts out the title track 'Interview', and it's a soft ballad if I ever heard one. The mixture of soft bass melodies and drum beats are mixed with Eric's soft voice that makes it into a great mood song for a sunny spring day. At the same time, the title track has a versatility that also makes it appropriate for a snowy day when you're stuck inside curled up with a warm blanket, a good book, and hot chocolate or tea.

The second song (Good For You) definitely ought to be on every cafe's playlist. The song even mentions cafes and lattes. The song has a similar vibe to the first track though with more piano. The way Eric croons "For you, baby, you" makes you wish you were sitting in a cheery-looking cafe across from him talking and laughing over two fancy lattes. But, since the majority of us are not his close friends, we will have to let this second track from the mini album suffice.

Hands down, the third track is my favorite. 'Stop the Rain' is actually the first track from the mini album that I listened to. I usually try not to spoil myself by listening to songs that are released as music videos first and then later in the album. That way, I can get listen to the songs in order and with no pre-formed opinion based on songs I've purposefully or accidentally already listened. However, I always make an exception for Eric Nam.

In this case, there was no music video, but I did listen to the song prior to getting the physical copy of the mini album. And I have no regrets. 'Stop the Rain' is a little more upbeat than the first two songs, but it's not a loud song, which I appreciate. It still fits Eric Nam's style. (Can you tell I'm all about consistent style?)

I'm not someone who gets very technical with music in the "but the lilting piano melodies clashed with the electro-blahblahblah" way, but I do appreciate good mixing. All around I was impressed with this mini album. It's his first solo mini album in a long time so I was very happy when he had announced this one (all that time ago...).

Overall, I was really impressed by this mini album, and I'm always ready for new music by Eric Nam. To mention his songs he's released since 'Interview', his collaboration with KOLAJ was a really great summer-y song. Definitely more upbeat than his solo music, but his capability to dabble in other styles isn't unappreciated. That being said, I still prefer his actual solo music.

~

This is not a PR sample. This was purchased with personal funds, and all opinions are my own.

All photos are mine unless stated otherwise.  Photos that do not belong to me will be linked to the source. Do not repost without permission.