Beauty

Shiro Black Friday Sale Purchases + Mini Reviews!

1:33 AM

Samples!

I'll admit, if I had to list a couple of my greatest weaknesses Shiro Cosmetics would probably be in my top 5. So when they had their Black Friday sales this weekend (and the release of Great British Bake Off themed goodies), I had to go pick up some stuff for myself (and some friends!) Caitlin was also super accommodating and shipped out my order earlier so that my housing unit would have time to process the package before they close for the holiday season. Truthfully, I believe Shiro's customer service (coupled with amazing quality and quirky themes, of course) is what keeps a lot of customers coming back to their products!

Enough rambling and onto the swatches!

Note: The lighting in my room is slightly warmer than natural lighting, so the swatches lean a bit warmer than they actually are in person. My light also has a tendency to wash out and lessen the sparkliness of these shadows, so any glitter/sheen you may see in other (natural light) swatches are definitely there in person! 

                                      The Great British Makeup Box: Showstopper


Inside the Box (look at all the pretties!!)
The GBBO box came beautifully wrapped in some old-timey newspaper that fits the vintage art style used for the all of the GBBO boxes. One of the shadows (Star Baker—I think), had a little bit of leakage (thus the bits of glitter on the jars and lip gloss), but the amount of shadow in all the jars look about the same. I've only had one other shadow in all of my past Shiro orders leak a bit on the trip south and it has never been a significant amount of product lost. 

The "Showstopper" box comes with the following products (shadows are swatched below over NYX's Glitter Primer): 
1. Star Baker: eyeshadow
2. Sugarwork: eyeshadow
3. Tempered Chocolate: eyeshadow
4. Hollywood Handshake: blush
5. Showstopper: lip gloss


Top to Bottom: Tempered Chocolate, Sugarwork, Star Baker


Hollywood Handshake

All 3 of the shadows pressed beautifully and didn't lose any of their sparkle. I would say that both Sugarwork and Star Baker are more metallic, while Tempered Chocolate has a satiny brown base with discernible gold glitters. Hollywood Handshake is completely matte and reminds me of a brighter (more saturated) "been out in the cold" flush when blended out with a brush. 

In addition to the GBBO box, I also picked up some of the new Detrivore shadows as well as Through the Wood (from Shiro's "Into the Unknown" collection). Copper/Orange shadows are definitely another weakness of mine, so most of these shadows fall into that color vein. 




Top to bottom: Through the Wood, Carousel Calliope, Burn Yourself at Both Ends

Overall, my camera definitely does not do these shades justice. Through the Wood is far more orange and sparkly, Carousel Calliope is deeper and more metallic, and Burn Yourself at Both Ends is a bit more saturated and has more shine! These shadows definitely pressed just as well as all of my other neutral Shiro shadows! Sidenote: the only shadows I've ever had a problem with pressing from Shiro have been The End is Nye and It's a Misnomer! They're not unusable by any means, but require a bit of scraping (lol) to get normal pigmentation. Both have ultramarines in them (which probably accounts for their crumbly/slightly chalky(?) texture), which are notorious for being difficult to press. I know that some people do have success pressing them though! Also, I would likely use a little less alcohol and a little more oil/binder if I were to press those shadows again. 

Eyeshadows waiting to be pressed!
Carousel Calliope is a little bit more plummy than I thought it would be which was a pleasant surprise! It could also be my warmer lighting but, when blended out, I think it could be a great outer crease color! Through the Wood and Burn Yourself at Both Ends perfectly fit my bill of reddish/coppery shadows and are super shiny~ 

And last, but not least, the lippies!

Top to bottom: Technical (ordered as custom), Showstopper, One Way Ticket to Cozy Town

Top to bottom: Technical (ordered as custom), One Way Ticket to Cozytown, Showstopper

Top to bottom (slightly blotted): Technical (ordered as custom), One Way Ticket to Cozytown, Showstopper

These glosses are sooo beautiful and wearable! Just like all Shiro glosses, the formula is not sticky at all and are super smooth. Cozytown is described to have a "fig, citrus, and touch of pine" scent, but all I really get is bubblegum? I was super excited for the pine note (I love anything reminiscent of Christmas trees). Both Technical and Showstopper have the same "Costco Birthday Cake" scent (in the best way possible), although I think I'm more of a fan of Shiro's "Pink Frosting" scent. 

Neither of the lighter glosses left a strong stain, but Showstopper stains a beautiful cool-toned pinky/red color after a couple hours of wear! 

Overall I'm super satisfied with my order and can see myself reaching for all of these products quite often in the upcoming months! 





Beauty

Favorite Shiro Fall Lip Colors

6:55 AM

 (L to R): Nic Cage Nibbling on Petit Fours In a Posh Victorian Tearoom, This Provincial Life, Darth Side of the Moon, Shiro and Co. Cold Pressed Pumpkin Juice, Shiro and Co. Oak Barrel Fire Whiskey
It's finally getting a bit cooler over in Korea (where I'm vacationing until school starts) which means that it's finally time to write up this post! I'll admit, I intended to post this a bit earlier but season 7 of Game of Thrones and vacationing (but mostly Game of Thrones)  has distracted me from finishing up this post. So, in no particular order, here are my top 5 favorite fall lip colors!

1. Shiro: Nic Cage Nibbling on Petit Fours In a Posh Victorian Tearoom

So I might've gotten this gloss based on its name alone, but it's truly a beautiful gloss that you can throw on regardless of how much makeup you're wearing. It's a medium opacity (leaning towards fully opaque) pinky brown gloss that reminds me a lot of traditional mlbb shade. This gloss, like most of my glosses, pulls more pink on me (which I prefer). It's not streaky at all and is very creamy; almost reminiscent of a non-drying liquid lipstick. Plus, it smells like classic vanilla frosting! 

2. Shiro: This Provincial Life

This was a Color of the Month inspired by the live action Beauty and the Beast movie! It smells like maple syrup (although I think it smells more like sweet pastries to me) and is a nice pinky coral (with a hint of copper) on me. It has tiny golden shimmers all throughout, but it doesn't register enough to show up on my lips. If Nic Cage Nibbling... is a classic mlbb color, This Provincial Life is the more lively, vibrant cousin. 

3. Shiro: Darth Side of the Moon

Ugh, I have such a love/hate relationship with this gloss. It's such a deep, rich blackened cherry shade with no shimmer and full opacity. But the smell! It's supposed to smell like coffee and bourbon (I was so excited for the coffee scent), but it smells more like one of those banana flavored laffy taffies to me. I'm not completely appalled by the scent, but I was a little disappointed that it didn't smell like coffee :( Otherwise, it's a very opaque, buildable black-cherry color that leaves a beautiful plummy stain! 

(L to R): Shiro and Co. Oak Barrel Fire Whiskey, Shiro and Co. Cold Pressed Pumpkin Juice, Darth Side of the Moon, Nic Cage Resigned to a Loveless Marriage for the Good of the Realm, This Provincial Life

4. Shiro: Shiro and Co. Cold Pressed Pumpkin Juice

This gloss has to be my favorite scented gloss by far. It's a spicy, pumpkiny blend that leans towards a brownish/copperish orange. It's also fairly sheer, in comparison to other glosses, but that also means that it looks fairly natural (considering that it's an orange gloss.) It's also the most glittery of all of the glosses in this post, which makes it a wonderful topper to other lip colors! My absolute favorite combination is Pumpkin Juice on top of Nic Cage Nibbling on Petit Fours! 

5. Shiro: Shiro and Co. Oak Barrel Fire Whiskey 

This one looks a bit too pink in the arm swatch and looks a bit deeper and more burgundyish. It's also quite cinnamony, which means that it could feel a bit tingly for those with sensitive lips. This one is sheerer and jelly like and doesn't contain too much noticeable shimmer on the lips. Most of the glitter is red and orange, so it blends with the original color of the gloss in most lightings. It noticeably adds a bit of cherry cola like color with a light application and is my favorite no makeup gloss. 

Honorable mention to Shiro's Nic cage Resgiend to a Loveless Marraige for the Good of the Realm (LOL) as my favorite berry pink color for all seasons! I don't wear this one specificially in the fall though, so I thought I'd mention it as my year round favorite! 

Cruelty-Free

Recent Skincare Additions!

9:00 PM





WOW! It's a blog post! 

It's been a crazy couple of months and I've regrettably neglected my blog for far too long. My schedule for April-June was insanely busy with prom, graduation, new jobs, and general screaming about college preparations. That said, I'm so relieved to have everything sorted and to finally have some time for myself and my blog! 

That said, I'm trying to save the rest of my life updates for another post, so fingers crossed that it'll be posted next week. Instead, this post is dedicated to some of my recent (is two months ago recent?) skincare additions! 

My skin had been going through a period of controlled (?) breakouts during the months of April and May which had me thinking about switching out some of my old skincare products for new ones. Mainly, I was running out of my Cosrx moisturizer and some generic brand of makeup remover. Since the Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream worked so well for me, I stocked up on their Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil and Supple Preparation All Over Lotion. 

Since using these products for the past 2 months, I can honestly say that my skin has been looking so much better. I think the Klairs lotion may need be switched out for a more hydrating moisturizer during the winter months, but this has been amazing for my dry skin during spring/summer. I can't say that I was very surprised though because I've already had such great experiences with other Klairs products (especially the Supple Preparation Toner which is from the same line). 

The Supple Preparation Lotion feels super light but hydrating, and not greasy at all! This is geared to dry and sensitive skin and it hasn't caused me to break out or create those small weird bumps that I get as a reaction to many skincare products. My mom has been stealing off of my desk too so I'm guessing this is a hit for both of us. Like the name suggests, it can be used all over your body (although I guess that all moisturizers can?) and it's fairly priced at $18 for 8.45 ounces (250 ml). I've only used about a quarter of the tube in the last 3 months or so, and I'm expecting it to last me at least until this fall. 

Next, the Klairs cleansing oil is kind of a "meh" product for me. It gets the job done and I will definitely be using this product until it runs out, but I'm not sure if I'm going to repurchase it once it runs out. It definitely removes all of my makeup but leaves a bit of an oily/slippery film even after I wash it off. I usually double cleanse with another gel/foaming cleanser afterward, but on lazy days I'm not sure that it's worth the trouble. I still have about 1/2 of the bottle left, so all I can do is use it up and see if it changes my mind along the way.

*Screams* this next product is probably my favorite out of the bunch! It's already has a huge dent in it and, considering that a little product goes a long way, I can already tell that I'm going to repurchase this once I'm done with the jar. Cosrx's Overnight Rice Spa Mask is a godsend for my dry, sensitive skin. I've been using it religiously every weekend and it's been a miracle worker on my dry patches that exist even in the summer. It's not even the slightest bit greasy and is surprisingly comfortable to wear to bed. It smells super spa-like and nice too— not overwhelmingly so though. Highly recommend this product to anyone who is looking for a nice, hydrating cream to wear at night too!

And that's a wrap! (lol you never use that phrase, Julia ) This blog post is at least 2 months late, but hopefully, it's helpful to anyone reading/looking for new cruelty-free, Korean skincare! 






Beauty

March Favorites + Shiro Cosmetics Haul

12:30 AM

Top Left to Bottom Right: Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream, Shiro Cosmetics Polyjuice Lip Gloss, Lush Sleepy Body Lotion, Klairs Supple Prep Facial Toner, Shiro Cosmetics Custom Lip Gloss 

IT'S FINALLY SPRING BREAK!!! Which means that I actually have some spare time to invest into this blog (even though I know that I don't have many visitors.) Since this blog is still very much a work in progress, I have decided to try my hand at monthly favorites! Although I can't guarantee that I'll post a favorites post every single month (especially since I am working during the summer and starting my first year of college this fall!!!), I promise that I'll try my best! So without further ado, here are my monthly favorites! 

I'm going to preface my skincare favorites with a little backstory on the condition/ general information about my skin type. I generally have a very normal skin type with some dryness around my mouth, cheeks, and forehead. Other than that, I have the very occasional breakout on my nose, chin, or forehead that will usually go away in a couple of days unless I pick at it (which I, unfortunately, do.) That said, my skin was a HUGE mess this month. I'm not sure if it was because of the pre-college stress, finals, or other problematic occurrences, but my skin was super dry and I even had some eczema flare ups around my mouth and chin area. Despite this unfortunate circumstance, it was a great time for me to switch up my skincare! I was already trying to switch over to more cruelty-free products (see my previous blog post for more information), and I've heard only great things about Klairs' skincare. 

I've used the Cosrx Advanced Snail 92 All in one cream for the last 3 months now and it was working really well for me until my recent eczema flare up. Since I was pretty much scraping the bottom of the jar I went ahead and ordered the Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream to use instead. 



It's BLUE! 

This cream isn't a conventional cream in the sense that it's super hydrating (nor does it claim to be),  but it's amazing for soothing any itchy, red, or otherwise irritated skin! In about a week and a half, my eczema was totally gone! Although I still have some dry patches around my mouth, it's not nearly as bad it was at the beginning of March. My eczema is notoriously difficult to get rid of, so it's absolutely amazing that this got rid of most of it! 

Another product (?) that I've been using to treat my eczema is washing my face with oatmeal in the morning. This sounds super weird but trust me, it works! Since I remove my makeup with a micellar water type product before washing my face with the Cosrx Low Ph Good Morning Gel Cleanser at night, I rarely have any makeup left on my face in the morning. I just grab a handful of oatmeal (plain rolled oats that I store in my [now] empty Cosrx Snail Cream container) and run it under some warm water and smush it around until it's fairly soft. The oatmeal is super gentle and (obviously) doesn't have any weird chemicals or ingredients that will dry out your skin— it also works great as a super gentle exfoliator! 

The next skincare item I've been loving this month is yet another Klairs product (seriously this brand is amazing). 

                                                                                                        Picture Credits: Wishtrend.com

 The Klairs Supple Prep Facial Toner is described as "Calming formula" meant to restore and balance "PH levels." Because of this, this toner is not meant to be a "cleansing" or astringent toner. Instead, it serves to hydrate your skin and prepare it for the layers of skincare you can put on top (ie: emulsions, ampules, creams, lotions, etc). I can honestly say that this toner has worked better than my old Cosrx toner (I believe it was a BHA or AHA one?). While that toner left my skin feeling slightly stripped and tight, this toner leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated! I think this is more because I found a product that works better for my skin in this current weather than because the Cosrx toner is a bad product. In fact, the Cosrx toner worked fine for me throughout the summer! The Klairs toner smells very nice and herbally as well, which doesn't hurt :) The only complaint that I have about Klairs' is that their skincare is quite expensive for me. However, if it means that my skin won't freak out and make it impossible to apply makeup, I'm willing to spend a little extra. 

Moving away from my facial skincare, my favorite body lotion that I've been enjoying is the Sleepy Body Lotion from Lush! Yet another cruelty-free brand and beautifully colored product! Sleepy Body Lotion is limited edition product that was newly released last Christmas. It was also a lovely gift from one of my friends who visited me when she came back to suburbia during winter break!  Sleepy smells absolutely divine and I was trying to save it for special occasions, but I couldn't resist opening it this month as it's a bit warmer here in California and everyone has started wearing skirts/shorts without tights. The lotion isn't greasy or sticky at all and I don't feel gross even when I put it on right before bed. 

My next two products are going to be lumped into one category as they're both from the same brand and are both lip glosses! I've recently discovered the indie brand Shiro Cosmetics and they absolutely fill the growing fandom void in my heart. I'm absolutely obsessed with all things Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Series of Unfortunate Events, and Game of Thrones (among others), so this brand was absolutely perfect for me! I recently purchased some other products in addition to the lip glosses (I might've spoiled myself a bit this month) so I might do a haul/review after I use some of them some more. Anyhow, these two lipglosses have to be my favorites out of the bunch. 
Picture Credits: Shirocosmetics.com

Polyjuice is a very very sheer green tinted "jelly" lipgloss that can be used to give a glossy shine on top of other lip products and slightly make red lips (or lipsticks/tints/etc) look ever slightly more brown. I've mostly been using it as a topper for lipsticks that look too "bright" or "over the top". It smells slightly like pumpkin and mixed with honey and a herbally note that, once again, I can't get enough of. I think it's most likely an acquired taste (smell?) but I adore it! The company's website describes it as "Spicy and herbal, unexpectedly very pleasant! Honeyed pumpkin and a dash of pine trees." which I think is fairly accurate. Smells a bit like Christmas! 
                                                                                                    Picture Credits: Shirocosmetics.com

The other lipgloss that I received was actually a replacement gloss for the ever so popular, "Nic Cage Churning Butter One Crisp Thanksgiving Morn" (did I mention that the names are hilarious). The lipgloss that Caitlin (Shiro Cosmetic's founder and product creator!) made me didn't quite look the way I wanted it to (nor did it look like the swatches online that I've seen. Mine was far too pale and purpley) so she kindly made me a replacement gloss that looks exactly like what I was looking for when I decided to purchase it the first time! It's a bit more peachy/orange than the original (which is what I wanted based on the swatches I've seen online), although not quite as orange as in the photo in the beginning of the blog post. I think I may end up ordering more custom lip glosses once I get through some of my extensive collection of lip products as Caitlin is super amazing at matching colors that you may not be great at relaying. Both lip glosses are not sticky and very smooth as well as hydrating! 

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed this longer post as I tried to be as thorough in my reviews as possible! Next post will likely be a music recommendation + rambly post, so if you're into reading that kind of thing please keep an eye out! 



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