My Lucid Intervals

After my love affair with Japan Products, I am once again into Korean Beauty. Korea is the first country I have been to and God willing, my husband and I can not wait to go back to that beautiful country when we could (sana next year na ulit please!!!!hehe). Since I can not go back to Korea anytime soon because of my pregnancy, I am thrilled that Althea PH, an online shopping website carrying a wide array of Authentic Korean Beauty products. I have found a lot of new brands in this site and I could be any happier because they shipped straight from Korea at a very minimal shipping fee or free shipping on orders 1500 pesos and above. Most of the time they are offering discounts. Althea just turned 1 and they are still offering a site wide sale which all of you may be interested in. Visit their website here: http://ph.althea.kr/

Althea Korea contacted me for their birthday celebration and gave me 1500 pesos credits for shopping at their site. I got three products and I tried to stay within the budget. Here are the products I got:

I got the Bling Some lip Tint Pack which did not work on my dark lips!!!! Thankfully my two other purchases are winners that I totally forgot about the lip tint pack. The Elizavecca Skin Liar Primer smells so fresh and nice, it reminded me of my first ever BB cream from the Face Shop. It also has a nice texture for a primer. I only got it for 240 pesos. Next, I got this April Skin Magic Snow Cushion for only 650 pesos. This baby is being sold for 1500 pesos at some local online stores. If you are interested in trying out this product, it still on sale on Althea's website.

For this post, I will be reviewing the April Skin Magic Snow Cushion. I have been seeing this product a lot of times in facebook ads. I have never heard of April Skin before and I have not seen their stores in Korea.

April Skin Magic Snow Cushion is housed in bulky black packaging. Compared to Etude House's fancy packaging, this is a regular black compact. When you open the compact, the cushion sponge is not soaked with product compared to other cushions that I have seen. I have to pressed on to the compact to release the product. It also has that curve cushion appearing to be bulky and concae as compared to other cushions that are flat on the surface. I thought that feature gave the product additional product weight but April Skin said that it has two cushions overlapping each other to prevent the moisture from evaporating and to keep the product in place. It came with a fluffy sponge which feels light and squishy.

This cushion has a weight of 15 grams and contains SPF 50 + PA +++. It comes in three shades: Light Beige, Pink Beige and Natural Beige. I got the shade Natural Beige which is a shade lighter than my skin.

April Skin promises:

Flawless Coverage

Excellent Spreadability

Blocks UV Rays

Whitening and Anti Ageing

This cushion also contains natural extracts from Jeju Aloe Vera Leaf, Blueberry, has Vitamin C and Iceland Glacial Water.

With one press on the cushion, my finger immediately picked up alot of product from the compact. The cushion is very blendable and creamy. It does have high pigmentation and coverage. It goes on dewy on the skin and gives off a natural finish on the skin.

I find this cushion hydrating enough for my dry skin. It blends beautifully on the skin creating a very flawless canvass especially on the areas where I do not have any psoriasis flare ups. It also does a great job of smoothening my face and covering up my pores in an instant. It does cling on to the dry patches of my face and more than two layers can really make your skin look cakey. It is best applied with a patting motion minimally and with one layer only. It covers up my dark circles really well and other imperfections such as dark marks but it could not cover my red rashes. This cushion needs to be set with a matte powder to prevent it from creasing or moving around.

Despite having a high SPF of 50, this does not have a major flashback issue on photos. It looks good on photos too! I love how seamless my face looks after applying this cushion. Staying power is great. i love using it for everyday wear and it delivers excellent coverage throughout the day sans regular touch ups.

My personal tip, make sure to let the cushion dry and settle on your face before setting it with powder to prevent the product from moving around.

Overall, I really love this cushion very much!!! I can not wait to try other products from April Skin.

Have you tried shopping at Althea Korea? What are your faves?

Godbless

Wrote by donnarence

I did not know that Etude House has a new cushion other than the Real Powder variant. I grab this immediately but I did not have high hopes on this one because the AC line is meant for those with acne and troubled skin which is obviously not my skin type. I got it anyway because I am really into cushion bb/foundation.

Before going to the review, let me give you a background on my skin condition: I have a yellow medium skin tone. In MAC, my shade is NC30. I have an acidic skin, thus, I usually purchase foundations or powder that are one shade lighter than my skin color. I have super dry and sensitive skin. Due to preganancy, my psoriasis flare ups got worse. I have psoriasis patches on my forehead and in between my brows and on the brow area.

What Etude House claims:

1. Chemical free inorganic formula with an effective cover effect.
2. It controls the skin balance with 60% of skin soothing and moisturizing Teatree, Madecassoside, Salicylic acid contents.
3. It naturally covers a sensitive skin without irritation or causing a trouble.

Just like the Real Powder Cushion, this is housed in a slim compact and weighs 14 grams. Compared to the bulky casing of other cushions, this is really more lightweight and is space saving in my kikay kit. It also has that click/snap on lid that has lock function preventing the cushion from drying up. It has a mint green color colored compact which looks really clean. The sponge that came with it is fluffy and smoother compared to the rubbery blue cushion sponge of other cushion bb products of Etude House. It comes in three shades: Light Beige, Natural Beige and Honey Beige. Just like my Real Powder, I got this in the shade Natural Beige which has a yellow tone. Natural Beige is a shade lighter than my skin tone but since it has yellow undertones, it blends well my skin color and gives off a brightening effect.

Upon opening the lid of this cushion, I instantly noticed the fresh and clean green tea scent (parang green tea ahh I am not really good at describing scent.. ). I love the scent so much.

The cushion bb itself has a far different texture compared to the Real Powder. This Ac Clean Up has a light and watery texture. It feels very hydrating but does not feel heavy or too moisturizing at all. It has a light to semi medium coverage and it blends smoothly too. It has a bit of cooling effect when applied.

To my surprise, I am so in love with this cushion!!!!!! I was not expecting that I will love this more than the Real Powder variant. I find myself reaching for this compact everytime I go out of the house. This has a nice pigmentation and can cover some discolorations. It can also tone down the redness of my rashes. I do need to conceal my undereyes and some of my prominent rashes and discolorations. What I love about this is that this feels so light on the skin yet it delivers a decent coverage and natural finish! I can also layer the product without fear of caking or product build up. I love the fact that it has a high physical sunscreen of SPF 50+ PA+++.

Due to the hydrating properties of this BB Cream, this does not cling on the dry patches on my face. I also notice how refreshing this cushion bb feels when worn. (Or guni guni ko lang ito!!) This does not make my skin look greasy nor oily by mid day. This Cushion BB has a natural finish which is great for everyday wear.

Overall, I am in love with this cushion. I did not expect that I will really like a product that is meant for acne prone skin. This BB Cushion feels light and refreshing on the skin and is perfect for everyday wear. It delivers a nice coverage and did not irritate my skin. Its hydrating properties makes this cushion perfect for my dry skin. I highly recommend this to all of my readers looking for a nice everyday BB Cushion especially for those with acne prone or normal to combination skin type.
This Cushion retails for 1039 pesos.

What BB Cushion have you tried?

Godbless

Do not forget to join my NEW READER OF THE MONTH (July- August) giveaway:

http://www.mylucidintervals.com/2016/07/mli-reader-of-month-giveaway_6.html

Wrote by donnarence

[NOTE: SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU DO NOT LIKE MY PERSONAL LIFE CHIKA haha]

Hello!!! It felt so good to be blogging again after a tiring week. We finally had the chance to move in to our tiny home. :) Nakakaloka pala maglipat bahay!!! Now, I feel like a true house wife. hihihi I also had the congenital anomaly scan for my baby and we now know the gender!! Yay!! I will be doing a mommy series on this blog. I have lots of questions and have been doing research ng bongga. So this will be a beauty/mommy blog na!! Yay!!! Pero of course, more of beauty pa rin. Anyways, I do not have a stable internet connection because I am only using my mobile data as hotspot.

Anyways, enough of my chika, I am very much into cushion bb and/or makeup. I have been using cushion bb as base for almost 2 weeks now and it has made base makeup application easier and more hygienic. Plus, I do not need any brushes anymore to apply my base makeup because the sponge that came with these cushion bbs/foundations apply product very nicely.

For this post I will be reviewing one of the newest BB Cushion of Etude House. Etude House gave me a shopping spree for blog review purposes and I knew I had to get cushion products. I first saw this from Morgan of the Beauty Breakdown. I chanced upon her when I was looking for cushion reviews in youtube because I was planning to buy the Maybelline Cushion BB. Morgan is like the cushion bb queen in youtube!!! Haha She has tried a lot of brands and she is super duper pretty. She does remind me alot of Jes Roque. :) If you are looking for Cushion reviews, her videos are very helpful. Morgan featured this product and I was thrilled when I saw this product at Etude House a week after she featured it! This Cushion BB literally killed my lemming for the Maybelline BB Cushion. I also got the AC Clean Up Cushion which I will be featuring on another blog post.

Firstly, I really like the rose gold packaging. It looks so posh and elegant. The Spong that came with it has a nude/peach shade compared to the usual blue cushion sponge of Etude House. The compact of this Cushion BB is slim as compared to the usual bulky cushion bb/foundation in the market. Due to this, I immediately checked the weight and found out that it is only 14 grams as compared to my 15 grams Any Cushion and April Skin BB Cushion. I also noticed that the inner flap cover that holds the sponge and covers the cushion itself has tiny clickers around it securing the flap unto the compact very well. This prevents the cushion from drying too fast. I do notice that my first any cushion from Etude House does not have this kind of lock function hence, it dried up easily. The mirror is also big enough. The sponge that came with felt more fluffier and smoother as compared to the more rubbery texture of the any cushion sponge. The label does not only mention of the product's shelf life but it did mention the expiration date which is very useful.

Let's move on to the product itself, this newest bb cushion from Etude House promises liquid foundation to matte powder finish. It offers a high physical sunscreen of SPF50+ PA+++ . It has a subtle sweet fragrant scent which I cannot describe. When I first swatched this product at the Etude House counters, I blown away with its coverage, pigmentation and texture. This has a a velvety matte feel and dries immediately to a powder finish. I knew that this cushion bb may not work for my super dry and troubled skin but I still gave it a shot.

There are three shades availabel: Light Beige, Natural Beige and Honey Beige (pls correct me if I am wrong). I did not get the Honey Beige, although being the darkest amongst the three, this shade somehow looked light on my skin and appears a bit pinkish. The shade Natural Beige is one shade lighter than my skin (NC30) but since I am acidic, the shade somehow blends with my skin giving a brightening effect. I love how this cushion bb applies smoothly and covers my redness instantly with just one layer. I just need to tap the product on my face faster than usual because this product sets very fast. I also need to use a much heavier moisturizer to make the product work for my dry skin. This cushion keeps my face mattified throughout the day but I do notice cakey build up on the sides of my nose and chin area. Compared to other bb cushion, I prefer a thin single layer of this product as opposed to piling up two layers because this product cakes easily. The coverage of this bb cushion is medium and can cover up my redness except for the inflamed psoriasis flare ups.

Here is a photo of my face with psoriasis flare ups on my forehead. You will notice that Natural Beige cushion on my lower cheek has a yellow tone and it lighter than my skin color.

After one layer of the Cushion BB. It somehow covered my dark circles but the product clung on to the dry patches on my face.

Before and after using Etude House BB Cushion.

Overall, this Cushion BB is a nice compact base makeup that has awesome coverage and mattifying power. Sadly, it does not work on the dry areas of my face especially my forehead but looks great on other parts of my face particularly my cheek area. I would probably use this more on hot humid days.

This product costs 1039 pesos at Etude House counters.

Godbless

Do not forget to join my NEW READER OF THE MONTH (July- August) giveaway:

http://www.mylucidintervals.com/2016/07/mli-reader-of-month-giveaway_6.html

Wrote by donnarence

I am turning 31 this year and I hate to admit it but I am seeing signs of ageing on my face. My undereyes have been riddled with fine lines more noticeable than before. What I fear the most is that my dry skin condition makes the ageing process a bit faster compared to those with oily skin. As a result, I always see to it that I am always hydrated by drinking lots of water but as a precaution, I use anti ageing producs as early as now. Yes, we do not have to wait until we are all wrinkly and old to use anti ageing products. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.

As a Sampleroom Beauty Insider (www.sampleroom.ph), I get the latest dibs from beauty and skin care product releases. The recent skin care run they did featured Olay Regenerist. I am quite hesitant to try it because Olay and my skin started on the wrong foot way back in high school. I was really into skincare at such a young age (more than makeup) and at that time uso si Olay Total Effects. When my mom bought a bottle, I asked a for a few drops and tried the moisturizer immediately. The next thing I knew, I woke up with a face filled with rashes. It went on for a week. From then on, I was a bit wary in trying on Olay Anti Ageing products. This time reading through the label these miracle duo made me try it. I first tried if on my chin to check if I have allergic reactions. Luckily, I did not react negatively to the product.

The Olay’s Miracle Boost Pre-Essence is powered to super-charge skin cell energy by 35% in 28 days to strengthen skin inherent young power.

--10X layers skin penetration penetrates to basal layer.

--Bring skin 5x hydration improvement instantly.

--Witness skin translucent, hydrated, and radiant after 1^st time usage.

--Improve 20% skin barrier function after using for 4 weeks.

Olay Regenerist Miracle Boost Youth Pre-essence: PHP 1,399

I love applying natural oils all over my face to keep it moisturized. This pre essence gel from Olay is really nice. It takes a while to dry but I can instantly feel immediate hydration. This does not feel heavy on the skin and goes on light. It does not feel heavy too. I love applying this with a patting motion. It has very refreshing feel after application and the scent is so nice tok. There are times that I use this in the morning if my face is too dry before applying my waterbased moisturizer.

The Pre-Essence is your immediate next step after cleansing your skin as it prepares your face to absorb the next steps of the regimen. After cleansing your face, apply the new Olay Regenerist Miracle Boost Pre-essence on your forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. Let your skin absorb the product for a few minutes.

Anti-aging moisturizer hydrates and renews to firm and lift, helping retain skin’s youthful surface contours. Reduces the look of up to 10 years of wrinkles in just 4 weeks. Formula with advanced Amino-Peptide Complex penetrates deep into skin surface to visibly reduce the appearance of wrinkles fast.

Olay Regenerist Microsculpting Cream: PHP 1,699

On my first use of this cream, I felt tingling sensation. I really thought this won't work for me. On my succeeding tries, I did not feel any stinging at all. Good thing this worked fro em becaus this Microsculpting Cream is perfect for my dry skin. This is a heavy duty moisturizer but feels relatively light on the skin. This gives instantaneous softening effect. My skin looks supple and youthful after every use of this cream. The scent is light and refreshing as well.

After the Pre-Essence Gel, Apply the Olay Regenerist Microsculpting Cream focusing on your forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin.

When combined together, my skin feels very well moisturized and the hydration can be felt even after the next day/morning.
Overall, this miracle duo works well on my sensitive and dry skin.

Have you tried Olay Regenerist products?

Godbless

Do not forget to join my NEW READER OF THE MONTH (July- August) giveaway:

http://www.mylucidintervals.com/2016/07/mli-reader-of-month-giveaway_6.html