skincare/makeup 8.0

[stoplight]

another year later

skincare

• CLEANSER: skin1004 madagascar centella light cleansing oil🌌 — standard generic oil cleanser but i will say that this is on the thinner side (hence i like it more). the only reason i wouldn't repurchase is that something is wrong with the pump(?) so it doesn't dispense properly... that might just be a defect with my specific one. but the cleanser itself is fine
  
• CLEANSER: b.lab matcha hydrating foam cleanser 🌅🌌 — WE'RE BACK... honestly perfect outstanding amazing incredible etc etc. bought 2 tubes for $9 so no one is doing it like her for real
  
• ACTIVE: isntree chestnut bha 🌌 — unfortunately this isn't doing anything for me :/ it might just be that it's not strong enough(?) because i'm using it every not and still not getting much out of it. but also AHAs definitely work better for me than BHAs so maybe it's that... unfortunately paula's choice is worth shelling out for!
  
• TONER: glow recipe watermelon glow PHA/BHA toner 🌅🌌 — yes i used this day and night in spite of the actives. i got this as a sephora birthday gift sample ages ago so i just used it up during various trips... pretty sticky & very strongly scented but it did the job. i wouldn't buy this personally though
  
• MOISTURIZER: dr. g red blemish clear soothing cream🌅🌌 — i remember really liking this when i first tried it but now i'm like ehhhh it's nothing special... moisturizers in general are boring so like. i think this is worth it only if your skin is sensitive/other moisturizers are breaking you out. i still like it but i can get something similar for much cheaper!
  
• MOISTURIZER: innisfree green tea seed HA cream🌅🌌 — got this as a sephora birthday gift x2 so i wouldn't buy it myself but it works fine. very strong perfume-esque scent... didn't irritate my skin but could be a problem if sensitive
  
• MOISTURIZER: cell fusion C calming down cream🌅🌌 — got this as a gift from L! it's scented but not as strongly as other ones & i like the scent (fresh/clean). the packaging is sooo deceptive though so i don't think you get enough bang for your buck even though it works well/is generally more moisturizing
  
• MOISTURIZER: aestura ato barrier cream 🌅🌌 — using this for the first time was the most devastating moment of my life for real. IT'S JUST THAT GOOD... yes it's a thick basic boring winter cream etc etc but the aestura is sooo much more cosmetically elegant than the illiyoon one. i used to not know wtf people meant when they said that but after using this i get it. the illiyoon is just kind of waxy/feels like it sits on top of your face sometimes... the aestura sinks in super fast and just feels really good. extremely devastating info to have because that price is not wallet-friendly. and it's now being sold in sephora so it's only going to get worse from here :/
  
• SUNSCREEN: isehan sun killer perfect essence sunscreen 🌅 — bought this after using shakti's in new york because teso life was selling it at $8 for 2... LITTLE DID I KNOW!!!! seriously the perfect sunscreen to me (lemon-scented, sinks in fast yet no alcohol, moisturizing) so it's a shame that it costs so fucking much elsewhere!!!! i should've stocked up when i had the chance...

makeup

okay i'm a lot better at makeup now. and i actually wear it almost daily unless it's the weekend or something. i also bought a ton more so now i have options:

• mistine silky flawless concealer in 01 — yes i bought this solely because zhang hao was advertising it. but honestly i'm really glad that i did i had no idea what a difference peach concealer makes to your under eyes. my only complaint is that it's a tad thick/cakey, and also that the yellow shade is wayyyyy too bright to use. but considering i paid like $2 for this i'm not mad
  
• purlisse perfect glow BB concealer in light & too faced born this way concealer in swan — just trying to use these up... the purlisse is way too dark for me even after tanning and i'm too lazy to mix it so now i just suffer. the too faced is a tad too pale for me but still works fine if i'm careful
  
• about tone blur powder pact in #21 light — i use this to set concealer and admittedly i don't have anything else to compare it to (aside from the missha i was using before, but that one's white so it's not good for makeup) but i really like this! does the job perfectly. i don't use the cushion puff it comes with because i found that it was applying too much and making me look super matte but if you like that look then that's also an option. i use a brush and just lightly dust it under my eyes/wherever else i put concealer. my only complaint is that i've been using it for 3 months and i'm already close to hitting pan on it... i wish it lasted longer
  
• judydoll starlight highlighter in 01 & urban decay naked flushed palette in naked — i use the judydoll highlighter on my inner corners & cheeks because it's slightly gold so it blends in pretty nicely with my skin, and then i use the urban decay highlighter on the outer edge of my undereyes because it's rose gold. i really like both! but i would prefer if the urban decay was cooler
  
• romand better than eyes quad in dry buckwheat flower & wakemake soft blurring eye palette in bluecore blurring — still the only two eye palettes i own because i really can't be bothered to do eyeshadow on a daily basis. i like doing it for events but that's kind of it. the wakemake one is still perfect to me and in fact i now like the column of grays which i previously thought were too warm. like no actually they're perfect now. but the romand palette looks terrible on me... i think i just hate how browns look! it's neutral but winds up pretty warm on me so i'm not a fan
  
• fwee mellow dual blush in follow me RD01 — love this blush <3 i have to be kind of careful with it because it's very pigmented on me but both shades look really good. the red looks natural and the pink more brightening. i wear the pink during spring/fall/winter and then red in the summer because the red's payoff is a little too much for me lol. i'm glad i picked the shade i did but i do think it's a little bright for me...
  
• peripera pure blushed sunshine cheek in 24 mauve cream — this has a similar texture to the fwee one but it's more smooth? less bouncy/putty-like. i like the texture of the fwee one more but the color of the peripera one... this is a really nice mauve pink on me
  
• judydoll glazed blush in 05 plain embryo — really beautiful embossing but i don't actually use this blush too much... this is a nude shade so it's nice if i want to look like i'm wearing nothing. but i never feel that way so i only ended up using this around my grandparents because i didn't want comments on wearing makeup lol
  
• judydoll blush in 52 salty bubble & 68 sleeping grape — the blue is supposed to be a base but i actually like it better as a matte highlighter for eyeshadow so i don't use this as blush. the purple one i really like the shade of it but i have to layer it quite a bit to get it to show up and at that point the white base in it becomes too obvious, so i actually use this to "set" the fwee/peripera blushes
  
• muzigae mansion fitting blush in 01 odd — gift from shakti <3 i use this on top of other powder blushes if i want the shade to be cooler. unfortunately it's a bit too white to use on its own
  
• house of hur moist ampoule blush in 04 lavender flush — dudeeee this one is so disappointing because the finish is great but the color is not it!!! in the bottle it's this really nice lavender mauve but when it's actually applied it just looks like a generic rosy pink 💔 also i have to apply this with a brush because if i use my fingers then it disrupts the concealer underneath 💔

usually i just do concealer/blush/highlighter/powder, but i'll do eyeliner & setting spray too if i'm going out. i no longer do my brows... my natural ones are dark enough so i feel like they're fine. and then i don't like the look of bronzer/i'm too lazy to contour so i don't. i also don't wear mascara simply because the process of taking it off is way too much... in general if it can't be applied with fingers then i'm much less likely to use it. also learned that i like dewy finishes more than matte ones, and since my skin's slightly dry i don't look too greasy with it. also i think darker colors look better on me... though the jury is still out on that.

makeup i'm eyeing

• properly dark berry/purple blush — preferably cream, though i'm not too picky on that. this is a surprisingly difficult ask though like why is the only option that's coming close the rhode blush in plum! yes it would pain me to drop $24 on a blush but i do think i need to look at western beauty for a shade like this
  
• blue & purple highlighter — OFRA SPACE BABY YOU ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO OBTAIN... and also way too expensive. and then ameli neon orchid is even more impossible to obtain (not available on global oliveyoung so i think i'd have to buy it in-person in korea)
  
• liquid highlighter — still undecided on whether i want this or not because the reviews on the rare beauty/saie ones say that it can be patchy
  
• some kind of pressed setting powder — charlotte tillbury seems to be the most popular but ummm it's kind of expensive... but then the givenchy is even more expensive???? i just need to find some easily available equivalent to the about tone one now that tariffs are a thing. and it has to be good for dry skin... which is a tough ask
  
• concealer — dior concealer you are so expensive but somehow so perfect. i'll cave once my other two are gone
  
• peach concealer — i have the luna one lined up as a backup but i think i'll need to try non-asian ones soon because of tariffs
  
• dewy setting spray — i'm currently using the nyx one but it's not really dewy at all? i think i'll get the milani one next but after that i'm not sure what else to try

if anyone has recs for the things listed above please let me know 🙏