Asian makeup

(BB creams will not be included in this post as I intend to write about those separately). 

I don't have a huge collection of Korean cosmetics it has to be said; I'm still only just branching out after all. Despite pretty much all of my skincare products being shipped directly from Seoul, I was reluctant to try any makeup from the same region at first. I tend to favour plums and mochas over the fashionable orange/pink tones in Korea. Asian eye makeup however, seems to be predominantly geared to heavily accentuate the eye area, making the eyes look bigger. I've always liked this look, particularly how I've always felt that my straight eyelashes make my eyes look smaller. So... I purchased a few bits and pieces do add to the stash of everyday eye makeup. (Some of these pics were taken last year in hospital while I was being induced and while I was in labour, hence the clinical white sheet background. That's commitment for you ;)

Etude House - Drawing Eye Brow no.2 Grey/brown

A dual ended, twist-up pencil with a wide angled tip and attached spoolie. I prefer the slanted crayon as oppose to the standard pencil point, as it allows for more directional application. The crayon itself is soft with a slightly waxy texture which helps define individual strokes as well as build a very natural looking full brow that actually lasts! This is great for me, as I don't really favour the overlined, slicked on, angular brow look that seems to be popular in the western world these days; I prefer my brows to look as natural as possible. The colour matches my natural brows perfectly, which means no mixing at least three shades of powder, which in turn makes for less time consuming application - hooray! The spoolie is a little smaller than I'd like, but I tend to use my own brushes anyway.

Etude House - Lash Perm All Shockcara

This mascara isn't very good to be honest - the wand is nice and thin which makes clumping less likely to occur, but the 'perm' aspect is a bit of a misnomer. Unless you curl your lashes both before and after application a perm effect won't be achieved using the mascara alone. It's good at coating individual lashes, but it doesn't deliver good results in either length or volume. Bit of a bleh product unfortunately. Won't be repurchasing, I'm sorry to say.

Holika Holika - Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner 

One of my top five new makeup products last year. The level of blackness is comparable to Stila's kajal eyeliner in Onyx and can be easily smudged and blended for a quick smokey eye. It's waterproof, (which is handy if like me, you apply on both lower, and upper waterlines as well as lids), and it stays put! When it first arrived I was under the impression that it was a twist up since the section on the opposite end to the pencil made it look dual ended, and the outer pencil felt like it was made out of sturdy plastic, but you simply use a normal sharpener and voila. I was that impressed, I've since ordered these in a few more colours, and I never buy coloured eyeliners!

Tony Moly - Backstage Gel Eyeliner

This really is a super buy! Not only does it look like something the wicked witch of the west would have on her dressing table, but the liner itself is one of the nest gel liners I have ever used. The durability is fantastic, the gel texture gives the blackness that added 'oomph' which can be difficult to achieve with a liquid since it tends to catch the light easily. The lid conceals a compact stiff pencil brush, which is handy for travel, but not so handy if you want to draw finer lines given its stubbiness. This is fine if you're going to do a dramatic Cleopatra eye for a night out, but for work I have to use my own liner brush to thinly outline my upper lid. The brush aside, I would definitely repurchase this once it's run out.

Etude House - Proof 10 Eye Primer

This eyeshadow primer is comparable to the Urban Decay primer potion I've used in the past. The texture is soft and velvety, quite like bareMinerals Prime Time, only with a slightly peach toned finish. I wear primer near enough every day, it's important if you want your eyeshadow to A) appear more prominent and B) Last. It's a decent enough primer, does the job it's meant to do and comes in a nice shaped bottle. Below are just two very quick photos I took to demonstrate the effect of eyeshadow both with and without primer. (**It's really difficult to get my phone's camera to focus when taking close ups of my face so please excuse the poor quality**)

Without primer

With primer

The colour used was just from my pretty little custom duo of Shu Uemura's range of pressed eyeshadows - iridescent medium purple 795 and glitter gold. I know Shu Uemura is Japanese, but I haven't purchased any Korean eyeshadows as of yet. 

-Leo-