Etude House Cherry Moisture Lip Glow Swatches

Etude House Cherry Moisture Lip Glow was launched in January this year, and it's a really cool product! Basically its sort of a cross between a lip oil and a lip gloss, offering both shine, as well as some colour, while claiming to moisturize your lips. I think it'll be a pretty popular product, owing to both the nice feel and colour, as well as that uber-cute packaging - check out the cherry on the tube!

Etude House Cherry Moisture Lip Glow: A cross between a lipgloss and lip oil

Well without further ado, here are swatches!

Mega Empties Post Part 2: Masks, Serums, Essences, Sunscreens, Eye Cream and Makeup

This is my epic empties post part 2 (part 1 was written a few weeks back), and yes, we're going to do a quick-hits rundown of what I liked, what I didn't like, and why! And yes, there are some products I didn't like in part 2, unlike in part 1 where everything I did actually like. Which ones? You'll find out!

Yes, I am indeed capable of using up my massive stash of skincare products!

Today's post will focus on sunscreens, serums and essences, masks, sleeping masks, and exfoliating products, as well as the lone eye cream. Basically we continue from part 1 and cover all the product categories part 1 did not.

Instagram post of all my empties!

Well, we've got a lot of products to cover today, so if you're ready, let's get started!

Makeup Empties: Eyeshadow, Eyeliner, Lipstick, Liptint, Powder

In addition to the skincare empties that I blogged about, I've also actually emptied some makeup! I'm particularly happy about my makeup empties, because it typically takes me longer to use up a makeup item than a skincare item. Anyway,

Makeup empties accumulated over the past few months!

This time round I've got some staples - like my Coastal Scents loose powders - as well as some new appearances! Most of these are products I love and would totally use again, and as we go through each of these items, I'll explain why.


Makeup empties: Lipstick, liptint, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and powder!
Without further ado, let's get started!

Etude House Play 101 Blending Pencil Swatches: All 25 Shades!

Etude House's Play 101 Blending Pencils were launched some weeks back, and I've finally gotten around to swatching them for you! For those who are familiar with Etude House, you'll remember that two years ago the brand had launched their Play 101 Pencils, which I had reviewed at the time. The Play 101 Blending Pencils are a different product, and an extension to the Play 101 line.

Etude House Play 101 Blending Pencils: A new addition to the Play 101 line

Like the original Play 101 Pencils, the Play 101 Blending Pencils are also little pencil-form sticks of makeup that are multi-purpose - you can use them on your eyes, lips, or cheeks. But the difference is that the Play 101 Blending Pencils are thicker and chubbier than the Play 101 Pencils, and are more like lip/cheek pencils in size, than eyeliner pencils (which is what the Play 101 Pencils looked like). Also, the formula and texture of the Play 101 Blending Pencils on the whole seems to be more emollient, making them much more blendable, and more suitable for lip and cheek use.

I've finally gotten around to swatching all 25 shades above, so without further ado, let's get started!

Etude House True Relief Review: Moist Cream, Mist Toner, Emulsion, and Ingredients Analysis

Etude House's True Relief skincare line consists of 3 products - the Moist Mist Toner, Moist Emulsion, and Moist Cream. As the line indicates, this is supposed to offer "true relief" for sensitive skin, without irritation. This certainly is pretty unusual as compared to Etude House's typical skincare range, which tends to be geared for a pretty young age group, as it seems geared towards a broader age range. So this is actually a fairly unusual step as far as Etude House skincare goes, and I'll be taking a look at how this fares!

Etude House True Relief Skincare Range: Meant for dry and sensitive skin

If you've read some of my Etude House reviews, you'll probably know that while I do love their makeup products in general, their skincare tends to be something I'm more ambivalent with - in fact, my last Etude House skincare product review wasn't exactly a positive one. This is perhaps because at nearly 30, I'm slightly older than the typical Etude House customer, and a lot of their skincare products are really best for very thick and oily skin. So, I was kind of interested to see if finally, there was a skincare range from the brand that made more sense for my skin type.


Etude House True Relief Moist Toner, Emulsion, and Cream: Slightly different from the typical Etude House skincare products
And as usual, for each of the products - the True Relief Moist Mist TOner, Moist Emulsion, and Moist Cream, we'll start off the review with a look at the ingredients list! We have three products here, so it might be a tad (just a tad, don't worry) longer than the average review, but I'll try and keep it as short and sweet as I can!

Etude House Real Powder Cushion Review, Swatches, FOTD and Ingredients Analysis

Etude House's Real Powder Cushion SPF50+ PA+++ was launched just a few weeks back, and this isn't your typical BB cushion - instead of being all liquid-y and dewy like most BB cushions, what's interesting about this is that it claims to dry down to a powder. So essentially, it is a cream-to-powder cushion, which is pretty unique. Certainly there are existing matte cushions out in the market, but as far as Etude House products go, I do believe this is the brand's first attempt at putting out a matte cushion. I'm happy about that - I always love more options.

Etude House Real Powder Cushion: The first matte finish cushion from Etude House

I've been getting quite a bit of interest in this product, so I thought I should hurry up and do a review on it. Here in Singapore, we have 2 shades, Light Beige, which is the lighter shade, and Natural Beige, which is the darker shade. Online though, I've seen a third shade, Honey Beige, which would be darker than Natural Beige.


Etude House Real Powder Cushion: Starts off liquid, dries to a power
So let's get started with the review. We'll do my favourite thing first and look at the ingredients in the product, and then move on to the swatches and review proper!

Etude House Precious Mineral Moist Any Cushion Swatches and First Impressions

Etude House's Precious Mineral Any Cushion line of BB Cushions is one of their most popular products, and in November last year, the brand introduced the Etude House Precious Mineral Moist Any Cushion - yes, the word "Moist" indicates that this is a new line to the BB cushion range, and the line is new. The Moist Any Cushion is supposed to give you the dewy, moist-looking finish favoured by so many Kbeauty looks, and also, according to Etude House, contains some skincare ingredients too.

Etude House Moist Any Cushion: A new addition to the Precious Mineral line of BB Cushions

Just so you aren't confused, the "regular" line of Precious Mineral Any Cushion is just called "Precious Mineral Any Cushion", and is the original BB cushion launched by Etude House. To this range, Etude House added the Precious Mineral Magic Any Cushion in 2014 (the "Magic" word denoting the line), and these were basically colour-correcting primers/bases in BB cushion form, which I had swatched and reviewed before. And in 2015, Etude House added the Precious Mineral Pearl Aura Any Cushion, where the "Pearl Aura" is supposed to denote a nice, dewy "pearl-like" finish, reviewed before too. So as you can see, although the products are different, they do have similar names, and if you're new to the brand, it can get a tad confusing!


Etude House Precious Mineral Moist Any Cushion: The 3 shades in the Moist Any Cushion line
Given that Etude House already has a "Pearl Aura" BB cushion to help give skin a dewy finish, I was curious as to why they launched a "Moist" BB cushion. Wouldn't it be a bit of a duplication? So, the other day when I was in store, I got some swatches of the Precious Mineral Moist Any Cushion, and although it's a little overdue, I guess it's better late than never to share these swatches!

Empties Galore Part 2: Makeup I've Used Up!

Alright, you've seen my skincare empties in the previous post, and now, we're moving on to the makeup items that I've used up in the past 6 months or so! (There's also a skincare item that I forgot about for the previous post - oops - but otherwise, all the other items are makeup!) I'm pretty excited to talk about some of the items here, because some of these items are really my makeup staples, and although I don't often talk about them on my blog, they are some of the day-to-day backbone-of-my-routine type products.

Makeup and skincare empties that I can finally say I've used up in 2015!

On reflection, it's pretty appropriate that this post is going live on the last day of the year, because it really has that "out with the old, in with the new" vibe. And while I'm excited for the new products that I will be buying this upcoming year, it's also weirdly satisfying to see that I managed to use up some of my older products, too.

All the skincare and makeup empties I've accumulated over the past half a year or so

So, without further ado, let's get started!

Etude House Snowy Dessert Swatches and Quick Reviews: Pudding Tint, Ginger Cookie Blusher, Contour, Play 101 Pencils, Scented Tablets

Etude House's Snowy Dessert Holiday 2015 Collection certainly seems to be a hit this year. Between the food-themed items, the absolutely adorable packaging, the attractive products, and the affordable prices, I think Etude House has basically ticked all the boxes for a winning Christmas collection! I've taken some swatches of the colour makeup, namely the Pudding Tint, the Ginger Cookie Blusher and Contour, and the new Play 101 Pencils, so without further ado, let's check out the swatches!

Etude House Snowy Dessert Collection

First up, though, I have to apologize for the swatches. I had some items from the collection but not all, so I tried to get the full range of swatches by going into the store to swatch the shades I didn't have, but I think the lighting in the store was less than optimal. Still though, I think the swatches are good enough to give you ad indication of the colour!

Etude House Wonder Pore Tightening Essence, Black Mask Sheet Review and Ingredients Analysis

Etude House's Wonder Pore skincare range is a pretty popular one, targeting the concerns of oily skin and enlarged pores which are common among young women. Now, Etude House's Wonder Pore range has expanded to include two new products - the Wonder Pore Tightening Essence, and the Wonder Pore Black Sheet Mask. I had previously reviewed the Wonder Pore Freshner, which is one of the key products of the Wonder Pore range, so I decided I had to follow up and review the new additions too!

Etude House Wonder Pore Tightening Essence and Black Mask Sheet

Etude House makes some interesting claims about its Wonder Pore Tightening Essence and Black Mask Sheet. It claims that the Tightening Essence "tightens pores for smooth and firm pores", while it claims that the Black Mask Sheet "controls sebum and cleans pores with its black sheet containing oak tree charcoal cooked in a kiln with temperature over 1,000 degrees". So just like the rest of the range,


Etude House Wonder Pore Tightening Essence and Black Mask Sheet: New additions to the Wonder Pore skincare range for oily skin
I decided to review both products, and while I don't quite have the young, oily skin these products are geared for (I do have some oiliness, but a lot of oil-control skincare is too harsh for me), I figured I could still break down the products and see how they worked, in addition to just sharing my experiences with the products. So, of course to do that, we start at the ingredients list!

Etude House Bling Me Prism Swatches: Color in Liquid Lips and Eyeshadow

Etude House's Bling Me Prism collection has just been released here in September, and these are very summery bright pops of colour! Two of the products that seem to be getting a lot of attention are the Bling Me Prism Eyes, which are cream eyeshadows, as well as the Bling Me Prism Color in Liquid Lips, which are a lipgloss-liptint hybrid.

Etude House Bling Me Prism Color in Liquid Lips: 5 new shades

As is always the case with Etude House, the packaging for this is uber-cute, and super girly and princess-y to boot. I'm not sure if the shades are added to the permanent collection, but the packaging is usually a limited edition thing. So if you're eyeing any of the items for the packaging, you probably might want to get them earlier, rather than later.


Etude House Bling Me Prism Eyes: A cream eyeshadow in 5 shades
Anyway, enough of my chatter - let's get to the swatches!

Etude House Any Cushion Pearl Aura Review and Ingredients Analysis

Etude House's Any Cushion Pearl Aura (full name Precious Mineral Any Cushion Pearl Aura) is the latest BB cushion to come from the brand. The Pearl Aura Cushion is, as the name suggests, infused with a brightening liquid for "pearl aura", or a highlighting effect. The idea is that the "pearl aura" will give you the glowy skin finish that is so popular in Asia, particularly Korea. As an additional benefit, the Pearl Aura Any Cushion also comes with SPF50+/PA+++ for sun protection, too!

Etude House Any Cushion Pearl Aura: The latest addition to Etude House's Precious Mineral Any Cushion line

I kind of have to admit, despite the popularity of glowy skin, I've found it to be something I have mixed feelings towards. While I love the idea of glowy skin - I mean, nothing says youth like radiant-looking skin, right? - when you live in a hot and humid climate, as I do, sometimes the "glowy" finish really verges more into "sweaty, and really gross looking" instead. It's rare to find a product that has enough glow to be noticeable, but still subtle enough to not look too glittery or overdone. So, I decided to put the Any Cushion Pearl Aura to the test, and see how it fares on me!


Etude House Any Cushion Pearl Aura: The idea is to give a "pearl aura" glowy finish to the skin
Etude House's Pearl Aura Any Cushion comes in only two shades, "Light Pearl Aura" and "Natural Pearl Aura". I have the shade Natural Pearl Aura for review today. There's so many questions we have to answer: What's the finish of this really like, glowy or gross? How does it fare on your skin? And what exactly is the "Pearl Aura" made of, anyway? So, let's get to the review!

Etude House Dreaming Swan Swatches and First Impressions

Etude House's Dreaming Swan collection just launched here in Singapore, and like most Etude House makeup collections, it's as cute as can be, with a very girly ballerina theme, too! I saw it, and I knew I just had to swatch it for you guys. After all, you can't look at a limited edition collection (yes, it is limited edition) without swatching a few things!

Etude House Dreaming Swan Eye and Cheek duo blush and eyeshadow

The collection is not a large one - there are 5 shades of Dreaming Swan Dear My Wish Lips Talk Lipstick, 5 shades of Dreaming Swan Eye and Cheek, which are products that double both as a blush and eyeshadow, and 1 shade of Dreaming Swan Veiling Pact, which is basically compact powder. There are also 5 limited edition Any Cushion cases, which are cases for the Etude House Any Cushion range of BB cushions. The cases are empty, and you pop a refill for their BB cushion into the case. The collection is also seriously pretty, packaging-wise. I mean, look at the Dreaming Swan Eye and Cheek Blush/Shadow and the Dear My Wish Lips Talk Lipsticks!


Etude House Dreaming Swan Dear My Wish Lips Talk Lipsticks
Anyway, enough of me blabbering about the packaging. Let's move on to swatches! These were taken indoors at Etude House's new store at Vivocity, which has the collection, so the lighting isn't that great, but I think it's good enough to get a sense of the individual shades.

Etude House Beauty Shot Face Blur Review, Swatches and Ingredients Analysis

Etude House's Beauty Shot Face Blur is the latest base makeup product from Etude House, and while it's not quite new to Singapore, having been launched about a month or so ago, I figure better late than never! The Face Blur functions sort of like a cross between a primer and a sort of light foundation, and according to the Etude House English website it is a "lightweight cream" with "multi-blurring effects for instantly refined and smooth skin" for a "3-in-1 multi filter effect like adjusting light on skin". It even has SPF15/PA+ sun protection to boot! Sounds great, huh?

Etude House Beauty Shot Face Blur: The latest makeup base product from Etude House

The Etude House Beauty Shot Face Blur is supposed to give your skin a perfect finish and instantly make your skin "selfie ready" - I suppose given that "selfie" was named Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year in 2013, I guess there's no better way to market a product! Of course, in Asia, base makeup is always important - all sorts of base makeup like BB creams, BB cushions, and the like sell very well here. I'm totally expecting this to do well here!


Etude House Beauty Shot Face Blur: Make your skin "selfie" ready!
Anyway, I know you're wondering - how does this differ from all the other primers out there? And does it really cover pores, perfect skin, and so on? Well you're in luck! We're just about to start on a little nerdy ingredients analysis of the product, before going on to swatches and a demonstration!

Etude House Color in Liquid Lips Review and Swatches!

Etude House's Color in Liquid Lips has launched here, and according to their website it's a as a "melted liquid lipstick with the intense color and high shine to make provocative yet lovely sheer lips", with "cushiony water-sliding texture" to keep lips "supple and hydrated".

In that sense, it's a product that's sort of a hybrid between a lipstick and a lipgloss - a liquid lipstick, if you will. Based on appearances, it's fairly similar to the Dior Addict Fluid Sticks and Maybelline's Color Elixirs, and even looks like a lipstick, although it's actually a lipgloss! Of course, this is Etude House, so the Color in Liquid Lips comes packaged with a fanciful, princess-y feel, with cute, girly lip motifs.

Etude House Color in Liquid Lips: A cute, girly take on all the liquid lipstick products going on

There are 20 shades of Color in Liquid Lips in all, but I have 5 of them here, ranging from orange-based shades, to pink-based shades, and to reds. So far, they seem to be getting good reviews from other bloggers, so I thought I should get around to reviewing these too!


Etude House Color in Liquid Lips: A melted lipstick with intense colour and shine
Of course, I wouldn't be a good blogger if I didn't have swatches and reviews for you, right? But, because I'm something of an ingredients geek, let's start by dissecting the ingredients in this product! I promise it's more interesting than it sounds!

Stuff I Actually Used Up: Skincare and Makeup Empties!

Yes, I did it! I have pan porn and empties to show you guys! And because my last empties post was sometime back in September last year, and because I've been diligently consistently using products until they were all gone, I do have a good amount of finished products to show you this time, and I'm so excited about it! It's been six months, and I've accumulated all this pan!

So proud of my many empties!

Look at all that! Look at all that makeup and skincare that I managed to pan! While it might seem odd to non-beauty junkies, the sheer amount of makeup I have means that using up something is always an acheivement - I take it to mean that 1) I'm not as much of a hoarder as I think I am, and 2) Why yes, I could indeed buy another lipstick to replace the one I just used up! (Nevermind the fact that I already have many other lipsticks...*ahem* incriminating Instagram evidence here.) But I guess if you just have a lot of makeup, it's always a good feeling to actually use something up!

So, without further ado, let's take a closer look at what I've managed to use up in the past half year!

Etude House Stay Up Foundation Review, Swatches and FOTD

Etude House's Stay Up Foundation SPF40/PA++ is the brand's latest liquid foundation, and it claims to have a smooth texture and moisturizing properties for a smooth and flawless base. It also claims to have whitening properties to boot. On the product box, it says that it has a "smooth up, cover up, moist up 'Stay Up' formula" - so now you know where the name comes from!

Etude House Stay Up Foundation: Liquid Foundation with moisturizing properties

I found it interesting that Etude House launched a liquid foundation - after all, in the age of BB/CC/DD creams/cushions/what-have-yous, a liquid foundation seems pretty old school. But, Etude House does have some pretty good makeup, so I was interested to see the brand's take on the good ol' traditional liquid foundation - I imagine it's probably good!


Etude House Stay Up Foundation: I have 4 shades of the liquid foundation for review
These come in a variety of colours, and I have four shades for review today - Ivory, Rosy, Beige, and Sand. Without further ado, let's take a look at the swatches!

Etude House Give Me Chocolate Eyeshadow Duo Swatches

Etude House's Give Me Chocolate Collection is a limited edition, Valentine's Day-themed collection. The collection consists of a few nail polish colours, and also three eyeshadow duos, which are packaged to look like little chocolate bars! I guess Valentine's Day and chocolates are a no-brainer of a combination!

Etude House Give Me Chocolate Eyeshadow Duos: Limited edition for V-Day

Initially, I actually thought these were some combination of bronzer/blush or highlighter/bronzer (perhaps I was influenced by other brands like Bourjois, who had also packaged bronzers in chocolate-looking packaging). It only dawned on me that these were eyeshadows when I saw them being used in a demo. So, let's move on to the swatches and my quick thoughts on them!

Etude House Dear My Wish Lips Talk Lipstick Review and Swatches

Etude House, the Korean beauty brand known for its cute, girly and princessy aesthetic really needs no introduction on my blog, because I do have quite a few Etude House product reviews on my blog. The brand has launched its Dear My Wish Lips Talk lipsticks, which are new additions to its already pretty extensive line of makeup. And, if you are an Etude House fan, everything you like and know from the brand can be found in these lipsticks - pretty girly packaging, budget-friendly price, and good quality!

Etude House Dear My Wish Lips Talk Lipsticks: Bright, cheery, and girly

Etude House seems to have quite a few product ranges beginning with "Dear My", including the lipstick ranges Dear My Blooming Lips Talk, Dear My Jelly Lips Talk, lipgloss ranges, like the Dear My Enamel Gloss, and eyeshadow and cheek colours, like Dear My Blooming Cheek and Dear My Blooming Eye from previous collections. So if you're say, shopping online, or shopping from a list, and trying to differentiate between different product ranges, it helps to know the full product name to prevent confusion!


Etude House Dear My Wish Lips Talk Lipsticks come in 10 shades with something for everyone
The Dear My Wish Lips Talk lipstick comes in 10 shades, from bright hot pinks, to corals, to nudes, to reds, and vampy shades, so no matter your colour preferences, there is a shades for you. The shades I have for review are PK001 Dreamy Propose Pink, PK003 Secret Date Pink, and BE101 Chic Hollywood Beige. And as with Etude House, the packaging is in a really cute pink plastic casing, with tiny metal "ribbon" in the middle of each lipstick.


Etude House Dear My Wish Lips Talk Lipsticks (L-R): PK001, PK003, and BE101
With that, let's proceed to the swatches and review!

Top 10 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2014, and 3 Honourable Mentions

2014 is ending, and I thought it would be appropriate to do a recap of some of this year's popular blogposts! After making 2013's list of most popular blogposts, there were some unexpected results, so, just for fun, I thought it would be great to do one for 2014, too!

Some of my Top 10 most popular blogposts, as well as the 3 honourable mentions!

Just like in 2013, this year, I have also picked the top 10 by raw number of blogpost views, because it's the simplest way to go about doing things. I've written last year that I feel this method isn't totally ideal because it disadvantages posts that are popular but were written at the end of the year, or "evergreen" posts (like posts on classic topics like skincare, foundation, etc., such as my post on parabens in skincare, as opposed to a more trend-based post, like the latest MAC makeup collection) that may not garner as many initial views, but tend to do very well over a longer period of time. I always feel like counting the raw number of views tends to overlook the evergreen posts and the posts written towards the end of the year. Nevertheless, this seems to be the simplest way of doing things. Of course, if you wanted to be really particular about it you could pro-rate the number of views to the length of time the post was up, but this seems to present its own problems, because not every post follows the same viewcount trajectory - some (like the trends-based posts) do really well for a short time, and then quickly taper off, while others tend to follow a steadier growth trajectory.

But in any case, since we are using raw views, let's get to it, and here's the top 10 posts of 2014! I've also included 3 honourable mentions, which are posts that did well views-wise, but didn't get into the top 10 because they were written in the later part of the year. So let's check out the top 10 posts!