Etude House - Korean Cosmetics Haul!

Hi Sweethearts,

Sorry for the delay in getting this blog post to you - I've been hard at work lately and feeling really tired so haven't been able to focus properly to sit and write, sorry! >.<

I got a wonderful parcel from my super lovely and pretty friend Sah, who had been back in Korea and picked me up a surprise mix of Korean Cosmetics from Etude House! 

Those that know me personally, know all too well that I wax lyrical about Etude House, and get ridiculously excited every time I get some new products from them.

The reason?

The products are FABULOUS! Seriously, the quality of their products is amazing, especially given the extremely budget friendly price tags - and the packaging is ADORABLE!
    Etude wants to give ladies the Princess experience, and make applying makeup fun again, and not so much like a daily chore, and they've definitely got that down to a tee!

( C'mon girly girls - all the packaging is pink, cute and super feminine...what's not to love?)


I've recorded an un-boxing video to complement this post, which will be going live on my YouTube Channel later on in the week, once I've finished editing/clipping & removing all the terrible bloopers!
This is more of a general, show&tell, haul post, but I'll be going into details about the products with example looks that I've created using them over the next few posts - so please stick around for that!

So, let's get to it! 

Here is the package that arrived for me (I tore out the addresses, so no dodgy mail sending opportunities folks!) and I was SO EXCITED when the Postman arrived with it - I ended up running to the door with a yoghurt in one hand and the spoon in my mouth frantically trying to sign the electronic pad.

 I received this on a Thursday, but didn't have any time to record a video until Sunday, so I faced the super hard challenge of not opening it for a few days...I'm not quite sure how I managed it! >.<'

Packaging:

This is where the magic starts to happen! Sah also included the Bag that Etude pack your items in when you buy in store - and it's so cute!!!! It's an Etude House, House Bag...and it's pink & white!

One day I'll definitely travel to go into a real, physical Etude Store as they look just like their packaging!  Have a look at some of their stores on their story page:

http://www.etudehouse.com/index.php/brand/etudestory.html

I mean, seriously? How can you not find this utterly irresistible? 

Inside the Box:

The first thing I saw inside the box, was a cute Blue Rose, that I ended up clipping onto my jumper (sadly I didn't take a photo, but you can see it in the video) - it now lives on my living room table ^_^


Next up are these awesome looking Pomegranate Face Masks!
I haven't gotten round to trying these yet, but I'm looking forward to trying them out when I get some "me" time. Pomegranate is really great for you, and these masks are the cotton sheet variety which means they won't be a nightmare to get off (unlike other masks I've tried) which is even better!

This is the 2nd type of Face Mask that I got - Dr. Ampoule Dual Mask Sheet.

This is a 2 part face mask, where you first apply a serum to your face before applying the mask.
There are a few variants of this, but this one is the "Lifting Care" mask which I am really interested in trying out. I'm in my mid 20's, so I should really be paying more attention to my skin and doing my best to prevent the age related sagging/wrinkles that are already making an appearance. Unfortunately I'm really lazy with keeping up a proper routine, so I'm hoping these new products will give me the motivation I need to keep myself in check!

The last Skincare product from the box is the Baking Powder BB Deep Cleansing Foam.
 This one was actually a free gift that came with everything, so plus points for a freebie!

I've been looking for a cleanser to try and deal with my skin and properly remove makeup, so this looks promising. It's meant to be designed to remove BB cream from what I know, which is pretty hard to remove at times, so hopefully this will take off my inch thick makeup and shrink my pores a little.

Onto the Makeup Section!

First up on the makeup front is this adorable Dear My Wish Liptalk lipstick in a Coral colour (See top of box - OR201) 

This looks super adorable in its' pink container with a little bow in the middle where it opens! This is totally princessy and right up my street. Before I discovered Etude House, I didn't think such cute makeup was available - I definitely fell in love at first sight!
 I have a look in mind that will fit perfectly with this, so please stay tuned for it.

Also from the "Dear My" range is the Crystal Gloss in shade CPK001 which is a lovely sparkly pink colour.

I'm a huge lipgloss fan, so this is a perfect addition to my collection. From previous experience, I've found Etude's glosses to be great quality and lovely coloured, so I believe this will be no exception.
 Layering lipsticks and glosses is something that I like doing quite a lot, so it will be interesting to try this out and see how it goes.

Following on from the Lip specific products, this is the Sweet Recipe All Over Colour Cupcake in OR202 - Peach Sugar Cake.

This is ridiculously cute! Packaged in a mini cake box, the all over colour is in a cupcake decorated tin that's easy enough to pop into your purse and take with you.

 I absolutely love multi-purpose products, and I've had my eye on this for a long time now. As it says on the packaging, it's an all-over colour - so you can use it as a blusher (which is mainly why I picked it) a lip balm, or eyeshadow. It's pretty much the whole package.
 I've given this a little try, and it's defintely fast becoming something I'm going to use most days. It's a light creamy product, much like a good lip balm, but blends really well and feels completely weightless. I had wondered if it would be sticky, but it's absolutely perfect and gives me a wonderfully natural glow.  

These are the Play 101 Pencils, which I first heard about from a friend in Korea last year.
Play 101 Pencils are much like the All-over colour Cupcake, in that these can be used across your entire face/makeup look.
They can be your eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, blusher, lipliner, lipstick, eyeshadow - the choice is yours!
I will go on about these in a specific post, because after trying these I am completely in love. Seriously, these things are absolutely AMAZING!
 With 50 different colours/textures to choose from, you'll never be bored or out of inspiration!
I got these 3 in the photo below, 2 of which I intend on fusing together on my lips, after seeing a look on the main Korean Etude site, and a black as I had ran out of my last black liner pencil
Some of these products, whilst versatile, are slightly more geared towards certain elements of your makeup look, but they can still be used anywhere.

Having sampled these briefly because I couldn't help myself, I can honestly say that I need to collect all 50!

Lastly, I got a couple of eyeshadows from the Look At My Eyes range.

On the left is the from the Jewel Range, in shade GR705 which is a cool, minty green pearly shade.
The right hand side is also from the Jewel range, the shadow sparkly and a deep purple - shade: PP505.
 What's really sweet about these single shadows, is that the pressed shadow itself has little heart details on it! I tested out the mint one, and wow it's sparkly! It does require you to prime your eyes with either a primer, concealer, white eyepencil etc to give it something to adhere too and allow the colour to really pop, but they're such pretty colours and only a couple of pounds each so it's well worth experimenting with different colours.(there are loads to choose from!)

Final Thoughts: 

Phew! -_-' That was quite a lot to go through, right?

I am actually so grateful to my lovely friend for bringing me these back - I'm so excited to take some time to pamper myself and try out some really sweet new looks with my goodies!

Please stay tuned & subscribe to my YouTube Channel for the Unboxing video of me going through this for the first time - expect squealing, bouncing around and general excitement. (I get a bit over excited and sound like a small child...I promise I can be mature sometimes >.<)

I hope this little haul run-down has been good reading for you all, and maybe you've seen something you'd like for yourself? Please also stick around for the looks I create with my new supplies, including more in depth details about the products!

What products do you like best? Have you tried Etude? Let me know in the comments!

Love,

           Kasumi x

DIY time! Sweetie pie Princess Boots!

Hey Sweethearts,

This weeks' post isn't the most informative, but I really wanted to share my little DIY project with you all.

For Xmas, my Bf usually gives me a clothing allowance, so that I can update my wardrobe (I know, I have 4 wardrobes & 2 chests of drawers....but trust me, I NEVER have anything to wear!). Unfortunately there were a couple of items that I couldn't get from my list, so I ended up getting a super cute pair of boots!

I totally fell in love with them when I saw them, and I've been needing some nice warm boots, so figured these would be perfect to go with some cute warm co-ordinates ^_^

The only drawback for me, was that I found them to be a little plain for what I was looking for, so decided to do a little bit of DIY/embellishing to give them some impact.


                                                 

For the front, I decided to add a little swag of pearl beads, with a cute sparkly alloy heart just under the bow. I also added a little leafy embellishment to the front of the bow that I found amongst my haberdashery pots. (The lucky part about being a designer, is that I always have interesting things floating around for many a craft use)

Around the entire platform of the shoe, I added a row of pink flatback gems, and attached pearl beads to the bottom layer of lace, for a subtle addition.


                         

For the sides, I remembered that I had some pink ruffle & rhinestone trim that was looking for a project to be a part of, and figured that they'd fit perfectly to add some shimmer and sparkle, so I stitched them to the fur around the boots. Although you can't see it in these photos, it really catches the light well!

I also found some AB plastic bead trim in amongst my pots of treasures, and thought they'd be a fantastic addition to jazz up the otherwise pretty dull heel! After much humming and hawing about whether or not I had enough trim to create a swag on both sides of the heel, I tried my luck and it was a success! I got out my trusty gluegun, and placed a line of glue from the connecting seams, and started off the trim from there, and when I made the swags, I just needed to bring the trim up and glue at the back of the heel!

For the outer side of the boots, I added a couple of acrylic roses (also using the glue gun) so that it would have a little more than the inside - I thought the different pink tones worked really well for this!

As I mentioned when I talked about the front of the boots, I lined the platform/heel with a row of pink flatback gems, and I also added pearl beads all the way along the bottom of the lace to add that extra something. The glue that I'm using for the gems wasn't dry when I took the pictures, so they look white - but rest assured, the glue I used dried clear and sparkly - I was just too excited and had to take pictures!


                                          

This is the back!

I found an old pair of earrings (once again in my pots of treasures) that were pretty simple and heart shaped, so I thought that they would look alright hooked in just under the ruffle trim (which is flapping down a little in this pic..oops!)

You can see here how I've created the swags, and I love the way it looks from the back! I added another couple of pink toned acrylic roses to complement the ones on the sides, and added a little flatback gem under each of the roses at the bottom to tie in with the gem trim!

I'm super pleased with how these came out, and can't wait to find an outfit and occasion to wear them! I'm thinking they would suit a Himekaji look pretty well! What do you all think?

Did I do ok for my first attempt at DIY-ing my shoes?
Let me know in the comments section ^_^

Love,

Kasumi x