Laneige - Waterbank Essence Ex

I got this as a freebie when one of my friend from Philippines bought something from Laneige when she went on a vacation here in Hong Kong. Since I was a Hong Kong resident, they have a special offer for residents that once you join their membership and give your details to them, you'll get a special free pack of testers from them. And this product, is one of the freebies that we got.

This product from Laneige claims:

"With Multi Nano Liposome technology to boost water supply and retention to 12 hours and deliver micro-moisture ingredients to quench your skin, with no stickness."

Usage:

Apply day and night, after emulsion and before cream. Gently massage onto face and neck.

So that means, this is like an asian version of "serum."

For my own opinion, I don't really like this product from Laneige. This was the first product that I got to use from Laneige and it's quite disappointing because I'm not that impressed with it. First of all, if it is a serum, it doesn't really look like a serum. It looks like a combination or in the middle of being a serum and being a cream for my own opinion. Second, my skin doesn't really react to this product. It stays the same, doesn't really do anything after application. I tried applying it 6 times already, but still, no results found. It just adds another step for my every day skin care routine which is a bad thing since I am ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS in a rush every morning. (I sleep very late at night talking to my boyfriend that I always wake up the next morning all groggy and sleepy! LOL!)

Anyway, I give this product a rating of 2/5 since it's not bad after all, but no help as well for me.

Rica's Rating : 2/5

Estee Lauder - Double Wear Powder Foundation

This is my HG powder foundation! My sister gave me this as a Christmas gift, so I have no idea how much it costs here in Hong Kong. But I know that she got it from Seibu, Langham Place, Mongkok.

I love this very much because it has a good coverage and it stays in place for hours. It is also non-cakey when applied a few times all over the face, not to mention the luxurious compact that comes with it. (NOTE: You need to purchase the compact separately from the powder.)

I use this to blend my liquid or cream foundation of the day to my concealer so that it would look natural and people won't notice my concealer at all, and in fact, it works! As you guys have known, I have a lot of scars and dark areas around my face that needs concealing a lot. One of my friend from Philippines went for a vacation here in Hong Kong and she said, "Hey, it's good that you don't have any scars on your face anymore!" LOL! The bad thing that she didn't know about, is that it's still there, only that I made something to hide it. Which is good... Because that means it looks natural.

It stays for around 2-3 hours on my face, without retouching and without being oily. I use it all over my face, from the T-Zone area, under eyes, chin, cheeks before putting on powder blush. I still have mine upto now, and I've been using it continuously for 5 months already and my compact only has a little dip. Meaning, it takes a long time to finish, compare to the other powder foundations that I got to used that within one month, it's all used up already.

I would say that this is my HG for now, but actually, I'm still not that quite satisfied with what it gives.

Kose Esprique Precious - Eye Shadow Singles - OR210

This is one of my favorite eye shadows. I rarely, rarely, rarely use eye shadows because I'm too lazy to blend and mix and I would usually go for a natural look with just a lipstick and a blusher on, so I get to use this very seldom. But this eye shadow from Esprique Kose never fails me.

It's in orange with little gold sparkled glitters on it. The texture of the eye shadow is very smooth and silky, not to mention it is very easy to apply. I think you can also apply this with a wet applicator for a long lasting effect. For me, I use my Benefit She Laq sealer.

For my medium-fair skin-tone (NC30 / NC35), this has an orangy-bronze-gold finish look which I usually love. Japanese brand eye shadows are really good with eye shadows, they rarely fail!

Kose Esprique Precious - Moist On Rouge in PK811

This is my very first purchase from Kose's Esprique Precious Line. Since I'm into lipsticks at that time, I decided to play safe it with Esprique's Moist on Rouge. I am more of a pink-gal lipstick rather than red or nude brown color, so I purchased PK811. I got it from Seibu for I believe HKD 195-ish in Langham Place, Mongkok.

At first sight, I love its packaging. It is an all white packaging with a tiny glittery-like belt around it. Its lipstick has little glitters all over but not that visible when applied. It is very sheer and light, if you just want a very light kind of lippy. My only problem with this lipstick is that it's not moisturizing. It dries up my lips making me want to take it all off everytime and then re-applying it.

Anyway, you can find my swatch for this lipstick here.

I don't have this lipstick anymore since I'm not really fond of it. I believe I can get the same color with other brands with more moisturizing effect on my lips. I swapped it over a wonderful MUAer last month.

Benefit - That Gal

This is my HG primer! I read a lot of good comments about this product PLUS my sister told me good stuffs about this primer that's why I bought it. I got this from Sephora for HKD 280 (as far as I can remember). Take note: Sephora stopped operation here in Hong Kong last April 06, 2010, so you can just buy this wonderful product at Benefit counters all over Hong Kong instead.

First, I love the smell of this product. It has this floral bubbly gummy smell that I really, really love. My sister told me before that this primer would actually let your skin have a "glowy-blushy" effect when used, but that does not apply for me. But hey, this primer is non-sticky and dries fast compare to other primer. As soon as I finished applying it on, I can apply my liquid / cream foundation right away with no worries. :)

About the staying power, the staying power is great as it is! I can last the whole day without retouching (maybe one or two ocassionally but very seldom) which makes it my HG primer! Also, my makeup stays in place, doesn't go sticky the whole day and non-oily.

It also comes in a girly packaging. Instead of the squeeze tube, it comes in a twirl container that makes it very unique from the others. I would keep this primer in stock always for my everyday use! :)

Sephora - Nourishing Lipstick (Lip Balm)

Someone gave this to me as a gift when we went to Sephora the other week. We purchased it together with a few items which can be found here. Sephora here in Hong Kong is located at Mongkok, Kowloon but unfortunately, they are going to stop operations here in Hong Kong and they're only upto March 31st.

We went there last week to check out which items are still there for sale and we bought loads! Everything is on sale!

I got this Lip Balm from Sephora for only HKD 20. Good deal, right?! It comes in a plain and simple white packaging. The lip balm itself has its own scent. I cannot explain to you guys the scent, sorry. All in all, I don't really like this lip balm. It makes my lips very stick and makes me feel that my lips are always sticky and wet is very annoying. Plus, I wanted something that is always unscented. So, this is another minus point for this item.

Good thing we just bought it on sale for HKD 20. I'm not going to buy this item if it's more than HKD 50. LOL!

Another Innovation from Japan - Mirror With Its Own Lights

This may look like another normal mirror for you.. But believe me, this is no ordinary mirror...

What makes this different from the others? Well, it's cute, it's pink, it's girly... But what's important is, it has its own light!

It's perfect for clubbing, or when you're inside the cinema, and after munching stuffs, you just need to check if you need a touch up.

I love this mirror and in fact, I don't really like mirrors ever since, but when I got this last Christmas with my sister in Mongkok, I love it!

We bought this for HKD 75 each in Mongkok. Quite pricey, but worth it.