MAKEUP | Youthforia Date Night Skin Tint Serum Foundation

 

Purchased by me

I have been raving about Youthforia for the last couple of months and since it is Asian-owned and founded, it seemed like the PERFECT brand to showcase for #LunarFebruary as I usually don't get the chance to feature a lot of makeup brands. It is often skincare brands that are Asian owned and what is interesting about Youthforia is that the premise is that this is "makeup you can sleep in"! 

NAILS | Matte Cartoon Hearts #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

Continuing on with my #LunarFebruary theme AND gearing up for Valentine's Day (I only like the nail art and cheap chocolate on Feb.15th), today's featured brand is Cirque Colors, which is Asian-founded and owned by Annie Pham. In addition to some of the most unique colours and collections on the market, Cirque also creates "Do Good" polishes with a portion of profits going towards organizations like To Write Love on Her Arms, a mental health and addiction non-profit, City Harvest, a food equity non-profit and Vietnamese Boat People, a non-profit that works to share experiences and connect people to the history of the Vietnam War. I have only met one Vietnamese Boat person and she told me that she was only 5 when she escaped and while on the journey, she almost drowned and then ended up getting an infection that left her deaf in one ear. It was an incredible story and I cannot even imagine coming to a foreign country not knowing if you will even make it. 

SHEET MASK | Love, Jude Cat Pouch, Sexy Radish and Three Fingers #LunarFebruary

When it comes to skincare and sheet masks, Jude Chao of the blog Fifty Shades of Snail, has been around for a loooong time and it was one of the first blogs I came across years ago that had very in depth skincare reviews for Asian products and with a great sense of humour! She is also similar in age to me so it's nice to know that what works for her has a high probability of working for me! We have seen SO MANY influencer beauty product launches in recent years, but THIS launch is one I had full trust in just because of how detailed and thoughtfully critical Jude has always been of skincare. The perfect sheet masks were a love letter to all of her followers, readers and support that Jude has received over the years hence the brand name Love, Jude!

Purchased by me

HAIR | Soo'AE Honey Avocado and Sooth Tea Tee Rosemary Hair Masks #LunarFebruary

I have always been a very devoted hair mask user as I am actually quite terrified of what my hair will look and feel like without the help of some extra dimethicones! After doing some beauty organization the last few weeks, I have come to realize that with my focus being less on makeup, I have now zeroed in on other parts of my body and my hair has been a big one! 

Purchased by me

BEAUTY | Shu Uemura Crafted in Japan Collection #LunarFebruary

Better late than never, right? Released about six months ago, the limited edition Shu Uemura Crafted in Japan collection is made in Japan and is inspired by the beautiful art of origami. While the actual pieces in the collection are not limited, this design was, but rest assured that you haven't missed out on the products if you are interested! This compact collection consists of: Ultime8 Sublime Beauty Cleansing Oil, Petal 55 Foundation Brush and the Hard Formula Eyebrow Pencil.

Press samples 

SHEET MASK | Banobagi Vita Genic Jelly Masks #LunarFebruary

When I initially took photos of the Banobagi Vita Genic Jelly Masks, I thought this was going to be an EPIC review as there were so many different masks all addressing varying skin concerns. As you scroll down, turns out it won't be that epic after all!

Purchased by me

SHEET MASK | Dr. Belmeur Cica Peptide Intensive Face Mask #LunarFebruary

Has your skin been super dry lately? I couldn't tell at first if it was the retinol I started using over a month ago, but my hands and the inside of my nose have been dry to the point of getting nosebleeds which I NEVER get so I have been trying to amp up my moisture levels on all fronts! I'm just going to  come right out and say it - this Dr.Belmeur Cica Peptide Mask is AWESOME and now I get to tell you why!

Press sample

SKINCARE | 23 Years Old Aqua Bab Modeling Mask #LunarFebruary

Now, that I sheet mask every day, I have been massively neglecting my other potted masks, but #LunarFebruary has forced me to re-evaluate my stash (something I try to do once a month) and discover gems that had been hiding...behind other skincare gems...starting with the renowned Korean skincare brand 23 Years Old! After trying a couple of their sheet masks, I starting reading some REALLY good things about their Aqua Bab Modeling Mask and picked up a package of 4 when I saw them on sale at T&T!

Purchased by me

NAILS | JINsoon Red and Pink Dotticure #CBBxManiMonday

For the month of February, our CBBxManiMonday theme will be red and pink, BUT I will also try my hardest to incorporate my month-long theme of #LunarFebruary! This is the third year I have done this and I quite enjoy it! I've never been a huge Valentine's Day person, though bath bombs are my weakness for this occasion so I make an exception with my annual Lush posts, but for those of you who don't know, #LunarFebruary is in celebration of the Lunar New Year. This is where I focus on Asian brands and products and I have a great time with it because Asian products can be quite different from North American ones! Usually my posts end up being very skincare focused because Asians LOVE their skincare, but the technology and skintertainment value is WAY UP from what you can find in the North American market.  For today's post, I wanted to find an Asian nail polish brand and I actually don't have very many until I started going through my drawers and found some untrieds from Korean, vegan, 10-free nail polish brand JINsoon! 

JINSoon polish purchased by me. Sally Hansen polishes are press samples.

KBEAUTY | Laneige Two Tone Lipstick and Getting The Perfect Gradient Lip #LunarFebruary

In July 2016 I went on a little shopping spree with two blogger buddies to Aberdeen Mall in Richmond (the Asian cosmetics mecca in Vancouver) to check out the newly opened Aritaum store. I picked up one Laneige Two Tone Lipstick in Pink Salmon and swore to myself that I would talk about this "brand new" lip product at some point. Then they launched in Sephora a year later, I received a press package and when I looked at it last December I realized I now had two Pink Salmons! I guess I made a good choice in selecting it the year before! Now, I have tried to achieve the Korean gradient lip and it felt like a lot of work with lipstick so having two seemingly perfect lip shades that I can apply in one swipe seems pretty awesome!

PR samples

KBEAUTY | Peripera Mini Luggage Cosmetics Kit #LunarFebraury

When it comes to ridiculously cute packaging, Asian cosmetics always win hands-down! They really do a brilliant job of making sure adult women continue to squeal with excitement well into their middle ages over a lipstick shaped like a parasol, a cat-shaped cushion foundation or in this case a miniature rolling suitcase filled with mini lipsticks, a concealer and a cream contour! Leave it up to Peripera to release something as cute as this! I picked this up last year and recently got around to trying out some of the products inside and realized that if I thought this was adorable, some of you might as well!  

Purchased myself

KBEAUTY | Sulwhasoo ShineClassic Powder Compact #LunarFebruary

Happy Year of the Pig! This is MY year and I have never been more excited because pigs are so cute with their chubby faces and ears being signs of fortune! I have been trying to hunt down cute pig cosmetics, but it is hard to find the line between cute and kitschy. So far, I have only picked up one makeup item that made me happy and while there are quite a number of Kbeauty releases with the pig design on them, I still want the products to look luxurious which is my segue into THIS -the limited edition Sulwhasoo ShineClassic Powder Compact! This is a thing of beauty and I actually had my name at Holts on a waitlist for when this came in because this needed to be mine!

Purchased by me