September 2016 3B Beauty Bag Review

3B (Beauty Beyond Borders) is a beauty subscription box that sends four to five deluxe Asian beauty samples for $12.00 a month. I say samples but most of the time there is also a full-sized product included. I’m a huge fan of Korean beauty (cause ya know). So a subscription box with Asian beauty samples was too hard for me to resist. If you’re already into Asian beauty and are well versed in the products this is probably not the box for you.

On to all the things!

The Aloe Vera Moisture Real Soothing Gel by Welcos Kwailnara was pretty hard to miss and believe it or not this is still not the full sized product! The Gel contains 98% organic aloe vera, cucumber extract, and vitamin E. What it doesn’t have is alcohol. This is a huge plus for me because of my sensitive and dry skin. I always wondered why companies put alcohol in products marketed to those of us with sensitive skin. “What’s something we can add that will irritate and dry out their face…? OH I know!”

It also contains no parabens, benzophenone, silicone, mineral oil, animal oil (what?) or pigment. It has a seal so I haven’t smelled it but the ingredients list does not have any added fragrance that I can see. I will be trying this product right after I make sure my new toner isn’t going to effect my skin (smile).

Super Plus Triple Function BB Cream by SKIN79 is 100% not my shade. There is no way I can test this but I can give you some information on the product.  “SKIN79 triple function blemish balm cream that shields skin from premature aging with potent SPF 25, while whitening skin and reducing existing lines and wrinkles. The creamy formula effectively covers up skin imperfections, creating a perfect base for makeup and foundation. Skin feels and looks fresh, with a gorgeous matte finish all day long. Recommended for combination and oily skin types.”

There is no scent to this BB Cream, which I really like. The product seems more like a thick foundation rather then a BB Cream and I think it will be pretty full coverage. I can’t find any information about the product’s ingredients but searching online has yielded no results. If you have a lot of sensitivities you may want to do a more in-depth search for an ingredients list.

Next we have a very small sample of the All Clean Balm by Heimish. I’m not even sure I’ll be able to use this to remove any makeup the sample is so small. Active ingredients are citrus herb oil, coconut extract, Shea butter, and donkey milk (maybe this is the animal oil they were talking about earlier?).

The last two products in the bag are by Etude House. We have the Honey Cera Cream and Honey Cera Priming Eye Serum. Unfortunately the scent of these products is a huge turn off for me. It smells like a fairy fart and I cannot put this on my face (yes I said fairy fart).

That’s all folks! I’m happy to have the Aloe Gel but I’m not sure that product alone is worth the bag. I’m thinking about canceling this subscription to be honest. I can buy Korean Skin-care without having to get this beauty box every month. What do you think?

Sephora VIB Rouge Event September 10 2016 Review

I have to say that this is only my second VIB Rouge event. I almost didn’t go because the first even I went too did not impress me. Living in Central Florida I have a few Sephora stores around me. When I attended the spring event I went to the Sephora at the Mall at Millennia a high-end mall located in Orlando. The Sephora at this mall is fairly small but because of the location I expected a lot. I was very disappointed. It only had two new products and while the staff was friendly they seemed uninterested in the event.

When I got the invitation to attend a second VIB Rouge Event I wasn’t that excited. Recently a new Sephora opened in Disney Springs (what use to be Pleasure Island for the locals) next to Disney. The area also has a lot of high-end retail and since I had not been to this Sephora location I decided why not. I had a return I needed to make so I RSVP’d with a friend and waited for the date.

I have to say I’m a bad Floridian and I rarely go to the theme parks or the surrounding areas. Saying this I had never been to Disney Springs. I get the idea shopping, fancy stuff, the mouse is there yadda yadda. I’m pretty unimpressed by touristy things in general. I have to say it was nice though. I probably was a little biased because we were there at 8:30 and the crowds hadn’t started to gather (I’m also not a big fan of sweaty strange people touching me in huge crowds).

I was very impressed with this Sephora. It was open had a lot of product and the people there are very friendly. Funny enough one of my favorite Sephora employees from the Millennia location is now working there. He recognized me and we had a great conversation.

They had a lot of product for the event. In no particular order:

Tarte Pretty Paintbox Collector’s Makeup Case (Sephora Exclusive)

Bobbi Brown Bobbi to Glow Shimmer Brick Palette (Sephora Exclusive)

Drunk Elephant AHA Moment Set (Sephora Exclusive)

First Aid Beauty FAB Beautique (Sephora Exclusive)

Buxom 6 degree Below Sexy Mini Full-On Lip Polish Set

Stila Star Light, Star Bright Highlighting Palette

Laura Mercier Fall in Love Face Illuminator Collection (Sephora Exclusive)

Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Wild (same scent different packaging)

Bite Beauty The Perfect Bite Set (Sephora Exclusive)

Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Trio

Caudalie Premier Cru Ultimate Ant-Aging (Sephora Exclusive)

Make Up For Ever Artistic Lip Ink Liquid (Sephora Exclusive)

The Estee Edit Guest Editor Skincare Picks Go Glow (Sephora Exclusive)

Smashbox Light it Up 3 Mini Palette Set: Eyes, Contour, Lips (Sephora Exclusive)

Ole Henriksen Love it All Blockbuster Skincare (Sephora Exclusive)

Drybar Merry Mini Must-Haves Blowout Extending Essentials To Go (Sephora Exclusive)

Too Faced The Chocolate Shop (Sephora Exclusive)

Marc Jacobs Beauty Up All Night Lip Crème

Holy crap that’s a long list…

They had all of the products there and they had plenty to go around. For a heads up of sets that may become limited after their full release the Tarte Paintbox and the Laura Mercier Collection were the two products that sold out during the event. My suggestion is if you want them buy them as soon as they’re available. Right now they’re available for VIB Rogue’s only on Sephora’s website.

If I reviewed all of the products this would be a 100-page blog post. So I’ll talk about the highlights.

Drunk Elephant AHA Moment $96.00

The set contains

0.27 oz/ 8 mL B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel

0.27 oz/ 8 mL C-Firma Day Serum

1 oz/ 30 mL T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum (Full Size)

The T.L.C Serum is $90 on its own so getting the deluxe size of the Hydration Gel and the C-Firma Serum is worth it if you’ve wanted to try out the line. Now, if you already have the C-Firma and Hydra Gel I’d skip this one. This set is available to VIB Rogue’s now on Sephora.com here http://tinyurl.com/zfponw2. Just so you know I’m not an affiliate in anyway and if you click on this link I get nothing. So don’t worry and click away!

Bobbi Brow Bobbi to Glow Shimmer Brick Palette $69.00

If you’re looking for a highlighting palette or just want to glow this is an amazing palette. I swatched it at the event and I was very impressed. It is shimmery and can come off sparkly. So if to much sparkly is not your thing this is not for you. There is little fallout (and I went to town on the pans) and is very blendable. The formula is buttery and even when combining all the colors together the strips of color stay individualized and do not become muddy. Overall a great value and I have to say gives Laura Mercier a run for it’s money.  Available here http://tinyurl.com/hfw3dtu

First Aid Beauty FAB Beautique $48.00

The set contains:

6 oz/ 170 g Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration

0.5 oz/ 15 mL Ultra Repair Hydrating Serum

2 oz/ 56 g Face Cleanser

28 x Facial Radiance Pads

0.34 oz/ 10 g Ultra Repair Intensive Lip Balm

I love First Aid Beauty and I’m going to be reviewing it in my skincare routine, which will post Tuesday. If you haven’t tried their products I suggest picking this up right now. Go do it I’ll wait.

In all seriousness I have used every product in this set sans the lip balm. It really does help with hydration (I have dry angry skin) and the six oz. of moisturizer will last you for a long time. I also have sensitive skin and rosacea and the facial radiance pads and the cleanser work well for me. The price point for FAB is low for such a great product. The set is available here http://tinyurl.com/j65fbc7. If you have dry and sensitive skin I suggest giving it a try.

Those are my picks from the event. Yes the Tarte and other sets are also good but they didn’t wow me. Take a look at them yourself and let me know which ones you’re going to get this fall!

I'm baaaaccckkkk with a life update and the start of new reviews, content and YouTube!

Hi everyone! I know I’ve been away for a while but I’m back with exciting things and a few fun life updates!

First the updates - I have new job. I’ve been at it for a year and this is the reason for my very quiet blog. My job has nothing to do with make-up but I love it. For those that don’t know I was not working due to Cancer. I have Multiple Sclerosis and with the chemotherapy I could not hold a full-time job. The fear was I would never be able to work full-time again. Well everyone I beat the odds and I realize how much I love working. Honestly interacting with people daily is something I missed more then I realized.

I’m also two years cancer from as of February! This is a huge milestone with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. I’m still going to my Hematologist Oncologist every four months but my prognosis is good. Which leads to my Multiple Sclerosis, which I am also happy to say, is keeping itself in check. I had a horrible couple of weeks after a car accident (I’m fine the car was not but car is fine now) of severe fatigue with dizziness and nausea. That was not ideal but if that’s the worse I get after a bad car accident and massive amounts of stress I’ll take it!

Now onto some blogging/vlogging updates which I am very excited about. I will be launching a new website soon for the blog. This will separate medical, food, and make up and skincare into separate sections. The tabs will help with navigation and will help me keep OCD organized (smile). Expect the re-launch at the end of September!

My reviews will start back up this week.  I will start with a review of the Sephora VIB Rouge Event that happened on September 10^th. I will also be posting my new skincare routine! That will be live Tuesday!

My YouTube channel will be launching October 15^th! When I tell you that the YouTube channel has been a work in progress believe me. We had videos ready to go last year but with my new job I didn’t feel that it would be appropriate to post three videos and then shut it down.

Now that I’m comfortable with my new job and know how much time I can devote to recording I am ready to launch!

Please follow me on instagram @halfkoreangirl25 for more content and more real time updates. I’ll also be hosting a giveaway when the new page launches (Hmmmm Korean, Lorac, and brushes oh my!).  I’m very excited to be back and I cannot wait to share everything with you guys again.

My 3b Beauty Bag Unbagging for September 2015

It’s time to start the September Beauty Subscription unboxing blogs! I know I’ve been slacking on reviews but I’ve got some exciting personal stuff going on which I will update everyone on as soon as I can. I anticipate September and October to be very exciting! 

My first unbagging will be the 3b Beauty Bag subscription. 3b (beauty, beyond, borders) is a monthly subscription service that that focuses on Asian beauty. For $12.00/month they send you four to five sample to full sized samples of beauty products. The 3b beauty bag is a great way to experience Asian beauty products without having to break the bank (or go on a scavenger hunt). 

Now, All The Things! 

I saw this product and thought “Oh no”. This is the Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream sample size – full-sized price $25.00. This is a Japanese brand that was developed by a pharmacist in 1957. The issue for me with this product (which I have tried before) is the smell. It smells like a mix of coconut oil and Vicks VapoRub. I do have to say that I love the way Vicks smells (yeah I’m weird) but I cannot see slathering it all over myself as a moisturizer. The lovely smell is due to camphor, which is also used in Vicks VapoRub. I have been told that it’s an amazing product. I just can’t get past the smell. 

Here we have the RiRe Luxe Eye Lash Essence that was promised to us in last months 3b bag. This product is full sized with a retail value of $4.74. This lash essence helps to strengthen eyelashes with peptides, black bean extract, and black sesame extract. 

You apply the Lash Essence daily at bedtime to clean lashes coating the entire eyelash from the root up. I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews for this product. I’m going to try it out on a Friday in the event i have an allergic reaction. Ya know, enough time to get some anti-inflammatory medication into my system and be able to see – smile. There is no scent to speak of and the product is clear. The brush want has a ball at the end that reminds me of the ItCosmetics Hello Lashes wand. I will report back on how this product affects my eyelashes (if at all). 

I had the Leaders Mediu Therapy Hand Cream Collagen Therapy in my hot little hands for 2 minutes – full-sized value $4.00. Just enough time to take a few blurry pictures before and identify it as a Korean product before my mother snatched it away. My mother has a problem with eczema on her hands and as soon as she saw that this is to help with elasticity she was more excited then I’ve ever seen her about a product I’ve received in a beauty subscription. 

This hand cream contains collagen extract and honey and I know that’s not a lot of information. However, the box has been coveted and stolen so I can’t do a translation of the ingredients just yet. It has a subtle scent that smells a bit like verbena. It’s very fresh, not overpowering, and dissipates a few minutes after application. I will let you know how it works on my mothers hands. 

The last product in this bag is the Secret key Honey Bees AC Control Spot Remover full-sized $16.07 (on the Secret Key Website it is more expensive but I used the memebox.com website for price). This product contains bee venom, tea tree oil, and salicylic acid as well as propolis to help with excessive sebum secretion. To sooth the skin Secret Key added Centella and Portulaca extracts. It does not contain parabens, mineral oil, benzophenone, orphenoxyethanol, or artificial color. 

If you’re familiar with Murad Acne Spot Treatment then you’ll be familiar with the formula, consistency, and smell of this product. If you are unfamiliar with the Murad Spot Treatment, the product is clear and gel like. It goes on smoothly and has a bit of a artificial/acetone smell to it. I have not tried this product yet but am very hopeful that it will work as well as the Murad product. Which would be a huge savings (and Korean – smile). 

And that ladies and gents is my 3b beauty bag unbagging for the month of September. I’m happy with most of the products. The Yu-Be sample is a huge no for me. However, the price of the bag was worth having my mother act like a kid over the Leaders Mediu Therpahy hand cream. I’ll also use the RiRe Essence and the Secret key Spot remover. So, overall this was a great month for 3b. 

August 2015 Ipsy Unbagging

My last beauty subscription unbagging for the month will be the August 2015 Ipsy bag. Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription that costs $10.00/month. Each month you get a makeup bag and at least 5 beauty samples (sometimes full sized products). You can also get beauty tools such as brushes in the bag (make sure you fill out your beauty profile when you sign up!). You can check them out at www.ipsy.com. 

Ipsy and I have a complicated relationship. The first few months I received it I was not happy at all. As time has gone on and since I have been filling out reviews (yeah I suggest you review your products) it has slowly been getting better. Lets see how this month goes. 

Now all the things!

My first product is the OZ Naturals Amino Herbal Hydration Mask sample-size (full-sized price $21.99). This mask contains rosehip oil, pro-vitamin B5, amino acid complex and an organic herbal blend that deeply nourishes and penetrates again skin (I guess my skin is aging). The brand is cruelty free and organic, does not contain alcohol, parabens, or sulfates. 

I did not open the product to smell it because it has a seal on it. I am going to try this mask because rosehip oil is supposed to be good for people who have rosacea. I will report back after using the mask to let you know if my face burned off or not – smile. 

Next we have the Batiste Dry Shampoo in the scent Blush sample-size (full-sized price $7.99). Everyone knows what dry shampoo is right? The Batiste is no different it’s there to make your dirty hair look good again. I was really worried about the smell but it’s not that bad. It does smell like perfume but it dissipates pretty fast. I don’t think I would purchase it because I am a huge fan of the Klorane Dry Shampoo. Overall if you’re looking for a different option this is something you should try. 

The Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eye Liner Pen (full-sized price $19.00( seemed to be the answer to my eyeliner prayers. I’ve been looking for a small pen applicator to travel with. Don’t get me wrong I love my Tarteist Clay Paint Liner but when I travel I lose things. I can just see myself losing my brush so the pen applicator seemed like a great option. 

As you can see I made a little doodle on my hand (because who wants a boring straight line am I right?). I looked good. However, the long lasting claim seems to be misplaced. I allowed it to dry and was able to wipe it off with a little water. Maybe I did not let it dry long enough but if it wiped off that easy with some water it will not stay on my eyes. I’ll see how it goes on a day I don’t mind the potential panda eyes. 

I was not excited to see a Hikari Cosmetics product in my bag. I did not like the Hikari eyeliner that Ipsy sent me in another bag so I didn’t have a good feeling about this lip gloss. The Hikari Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Salsa (full-sized price $13.00) is a high-shine lip matte gloss. I have to say that the color of this lip gloss is intense. Very opaque and the formula is not sticky. It did smell like plastic but it wasn’t an overpowering smell and wouldn’t stop me from wearing it. I am glad to say that my impression of the brand does not apply to all of the Hikari products. A great lip gloss! 

The last product in my bag is the City Color Cosmetics HD Powder sample-size (full-sized price $5.99). This translucent powder is a finely milled 100% silica powder that helps blur any imperfections. I don’t use powder because I have dry skin so I am going to be passing this sample along. I will say it’s a pretty small sample and I’m not sure that you would be able to get a good feel for the product with this size of a sample. 

Well, that is my August Ipsy Bag. I am not that happy with the bag. While I do use dry shampoo the perfume smell isn’t for me (but I’ll keep it for emergencies) the HD powder is something I wont use and while I did like the idea of the eye liner if it really is not waterproof it wont work for me. I’m also not sure if the mask will work since I have sensitive skin that has a tendency to get angry. So, that leaves the lip gloss. The lip gloss is worth the price of the bag but I would hope that I could use or try at least the majority of the products. This month was a bust for me. What do you guys think of your bags?