Google+ My Beauty Hive! : December 2013

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

Korean Beauty Haul ft. Holika Holika, Skinfood & Etude House!


Hey guys!

So today I have a haul to share from Toronto based Korean beauty site Momomango.com!

I've been curious to try Asian makeup & skincare for awhile now (especially Skin79 brand) and Momomango carries a really great selection of products from some more popular brands such as Etude House, Skin79, Holika Holika, Skinfood etc. In particular I'd been wanting to try an authentic Korean BB cream and from what I learned, Skin79 seems to be the most popular so I decided to go with this brand.

My order arrived very quickly (a matter of days) and came neatly packaged in a small square box. Inside the flap was a handwritten note along with some sweets (which I promptly ate) and my invoice was folded into a tiny pouch filled with samples! All of these added touches are major bonus points in my book c : 


My order consisted of Skin79 Diamond Prestige BB Cream w SPF25, Holika Holika Strawberry Pore Cover Powder w SPF50, Skinfood Rose Essence Lip Balm and Skinfood Chlorella Clear Nose Pore Strip.


The first product I ordered was this Skin79 Diamond Prestige BB Cream. The Diamond Prestige formula contains SPF25, whitening properties (to help even skin discolouration) and wrinkle improvement. It also contains a ton of other ingredients to help benefit the skin such as Arbutin, Collagen & Aloe Vera. The list of ingredients includes Diamond, Amethyst, Pearl & Coral powders as well but I am a bit skeptical of that!

Now, can we please just all admire the packaging for a moment?! I LOVE it! It's very smart and efficient with the pump design and perfect for traveling. Also loving the fact that it's pink! Note: This is the smaller travel version, not the full size.


I decided to go with the Diamond Prestige BB Cream mostly because it was the lightest of the Skin79 creams I had seen swatched. Once it oxidizes, the shade adjusts to match my skintone fairly well and offers light to medium coverage with a very dewy, luminous finish (maybe from the diamond powder lol).

This BB cream is perfect for everyday wear bc it has a slightly build-able formula. I can apply this in place of a moisturizer in the morning and look "done", even on days when I don't wear makeup.


The next product I picked up is Holika Holika Strawberry Pore Cover Powder with SPF50. This adorable pink sphere is not only pretty but contains SPF50 which is unheard of in Western beauty products!

I also love the little puff it comes with and will be reusing the container when the powder runs out.


It's a very finely milled, loose powder meant to mattify pores and has a sort of HD finish to it. It's a very light shade and can become chalky very easily if you apply too much so I recommend using a fluffy powder brush when using this product.

As a comparison, it really reminds me of Benefits' Camouflage powder concealer.



The last two products are from the brand Skinfood. I ordered this Rose Essence Lip Balm because again, the packaging drew me in! I loved the little cherub on the lid and the rose gold/copper pink tin is also pretty & reusable.

It really is an amazing lip balm though! The product itself is a translucent baby pink rose scented balm.


I was prompted to get this product after hearing Elle Fowler (Allthatglitters21), Ingrid Nielsen Missglamorazzi) & Fleur De Force (FleurDeForce) -all YouTube gurus- talking about Dior Creme De Rose lipbalm.

The problem is that Dior Creme De Rose is about $35 and Skinfood Rose Essence is only $10. I haven't been able to do a comparison between the two ingredient lists so I'm not sure if they're the same but from swatches, they look very similar. If you like the scent of rose, you will LOVE this lipbalm but fair warning, if you're sensitive than this might not be the best balm for you.


Lastly, I picked up a blackhead clearing pore strip from Skinfood. The Chlorella Nose Clear Patch contains Chlorella extract which is a type of green sea algae used in skincare. According to eHow.com chlorella bonds to toxins and helps remove impurities in the skin.


Basically, you use it the same way all pore strips work. Wash your face, dampen your nose bridge & apply the strip. Then wait until it dries & rip those blackheads out of their happy home ^__^

So, that's it for the haul! Thank you so much for checking out my haul and if you have any questions about the products please leave a comment & I will get back to you!

Items Mentioned:

Skin79 The Prestige Diamond BB Cream SPF25
http://www.momomango.com/skin79/diamond-collection-the-prestige-bb-cream-15g/
$16.99 CAD

Holika Holika Strawberry Pore Cover Powder SPF50
http://www.momomango.com/pore-cover-powder-spf50-pa/
$14.99 CAD

Skinfood Rose Essence Lip Balm
http://www.momomango.com/skin-food/rose-essence-lip-balm/
$9.99 CAD

Skinfood Chlorella Nose Clear Patch
http://www.momomango.com/skin-food/Chlorella-Nose-Clear-Patch.html
$.99 CAD