Chanel Le Blanc Fond de Teint Compact Review

Being in Korea, I'm able to access some really great cosmetics - from Korean street brands to high end designer. From even before I came to Korea, there was one thing that I knew I absolutely had to get - the Chanel Le Blanc Fond de Teint Compact Powder Foundation. 

I had first heard of this foundation from Catalina from CL2425 (who is one of my favourite beauty bloggers!). It's an Asia-exclusive foundation. The foundation shades are more catered toward Asian skin tones and there are a vary range of shades for Asians. If you are more tan, then you may not be able to find the right shade. 

The trouble I find when looking for foundation is that often I'll be in between shades. Even when at a department store, it's really hard to find a shade that matches me. While they have a broad spectrum of colours, they offer very little in between colours. 

 I often use a shade that's a bit lighter just because my chest is a bit lighter. My neck is a little darker - from shadows and a skin condition I had as a child, so I'm not too concerned with my face matching my neck. Therefore, I purchased B20 Beige. 

Since this is an Asia exclusive, the packaging it comes in is white as opposed to the classic black. 

The powder gives a matte finish and it stays looking for a few hours, even with my oily skin. I don't expect powders to last very long on me, to be honest. I use a sponge to apply this rather than a brush. I find that while the brush gives a lighter coverage, it doesn't achieve the effect I want when I use it as a foundation. I use a brush to apply this when I want to use it as a setting powder. 

The powder isn't chunky at all which is great. It doesn't give a cake-y look even when you use the sponge to apply it. I like to use it on top of my BB Cream. I also like to use it as my compact mirror. It saves me from putting an extra mirror in my bag and it looks kind of nice when you pull it out.

I paid about $70 AUD for this, which is about what I would normally pay for a high end foundation back at home. I would repurchase this without a doubt. 

And since I'm in Korea - the land of beauty samples - the SA gave me two samples (which I consider quite generous from Chanel). 

My Filofax Week - Week 3

I present to you, this week's Filofax pages!

On Monday, I ate at another Korean BBQ buffet with Jade. The place is called 'Meating' which I think is the cutest name for a Korean BBQ restaurant. You're meeting with a friend to eat meat.

Tuesday was a day I had to myself. I went to 홍대 to explore it on my own. That was also the day I was late to class - by an hour! I was so frantic in the morning that I even forgot my homework!

Strawberries are normally ridiculously expensive in Korea. However, recently they've been reduced to half their price! I couldn't resist and bought a box. I had to eat them pretty quickly though (so much sugar!) but so worth it! I've been missing summer fruits.

Thursday saw a trip to 명동 with my friend Andy. He was pretty set on getting a pair of skinny jeans, as he's never owned any (!). This time of year in Korea, there are huge sales! Up to 50% ~ 70% off. I picked up a knitted cardigan that I had my eye on since the start of this trip for half price. It wasn't as flattering as I had hoped - but that's only because of my misunderstanding of my body.

My STYLENANDA package arrived on Friday, and I immediately used the nail polish that I ordered. It's a beautiful grey-blue colour. I'm seriously considering buying more - as backups, but I don't want to ship it back and who knows if I'll fall out of love with the color by the time I finish with it.

The weekends for me, are pure laziness. Overindulging on eggs and just gaming and sleeping my way through the weekend.

Review: STYLENANDA - Lip Color #501 Bella

I recently paid a trip to the STYLENANDA store in Hongdae. I've been interested in Stylenanda's cosmetics line for a while now and only just managed to go to the store and see. 

COMPANY HISTORY

STYLENANDA started in 2004, selling only clothes. The name STYLENANDA roughly translated means "My Style". It quickly established itself as a favourite brand among women. Since STYLENANDA began, it has won awards from various websites and received the  "The Best Fashion/Clothing Award" by Web Award Korea in 2009. In the same year, they launched their own cosmetic line - 3 CONCEPT EYES.

Current models for STYLENANDA include Park Sora and Kwon Su Jeong.

I've purchased a number of things from the 3 CONCEPT EYES line, but I'll review the other items at a later date. 

THE LIPSTICK - LIP COLOR #501 BELLA

Before I went to their Flagship store in Hongdae, I had a look at their website for what items I wanted to purchase. The one item that caught my eye immediately was the Lip Color #501 Bella. 

Source: Stylenanda

Bella extremely different from any other lipstick offered by STYLENANDA. 

Description on the site: "This Vampire Burgundy Color transforms dull makeup into a unique and chic makeup."

This lipstick certainly is vampire-esque. It follows the vamp-lip trend that has been really popular in the last year or so in terms of winter colours. The colour of the stick may be off putting, but as a rule with any lipstick - never judge a lipstick by the colour of the stick! More often than not, a lipstick will look different on your lips as opposed to the stick and even the swatch on your hand. 

Source: Stylenanda

I have a yellow undertone to my skin that's quite noticeable. Hence, I can't wear many pink or peach lipsticks well. In fact, any bright colours don't suit my skin tone well. I find that wearing darker lipsticks more favourable and to look better on me than a pale lipstick. in fact, the lightest lipstick that I wear on a regular basis is my Chanel Coco Rouge in 05 Mademoiselle. 

APPLICATION

I like to apply this lipstick with a lip brush. I feel like with any darker coloured lipstick, using a lip brush is a must. Not only does it spread the colour more evenly on your lips, but it can help you achieve a more defined lip and make your makeup look more polished. After applying an initial layer, if I want it to be more pigmented, I'll apply the lipstick straight onto my lips in small strokes and then use the lip brush again to spread it more. The lipstick itself is creamy and it's fine if you just want to apply straight onto your lips.

The finish is slightly glossy but it dries fairly quickly to an almost matte texture. This also means that the lipstick can feel a bit drying, It has no sparkles or shimmer of any sort, so it doesn't define how dry your lips would like a shimmery lipstick would. There's an easy solution of just wearing lip balm before or after applying. 

After eating and drinking, this lipstick leaves a lovely burgundy stain on your lips. So while the initial effect is gone, you're left with stained lips and it looks very nice. 

This lipstick is a lipstick that I like to wear when I want a bold lip look. It doesn't look overdone - like some bright lipsticks can look. I wear this on a semi-regular basis.

There aren't a lot of bad things to say about this lipstick overall. I would definitely buy it again when I run out!

Source: Stylenanda

WHERE TO PURCHASE

In Korea, there is the STYLENANDA flagship store in Hongdae and the makeup counter in the Myeongdong Young Plaza. However, in order to obtain in if you live overseas, then you can buy it from the STYLENANDA website. They ship worldwide for a small fee. 

My Filofax Week - Weeks 1 and 2

Having invested in a Filofax late last year, I've decided to participate in Angela of Paperlovestory's 'My Filofax Week'.

My Filofax week started out as an exclusive series of posts by Angela, who would take a picture of her Filofax week and post it. It's become so popular among Filofax aficionados that she's hosting it on her blog. 

Since I'm two weeks into 2013, I'm posting up two weeks worth of Filofax pages. 

My Filofax pages are a lot emptier since I'm using another diary to record the homework I have to do. I've discovered that with the workload that comes with university, that the Filofax days just don't accommodate well. 

The Filofax I currently own is the Metropol personal in Raspberry. At the time I bought it, I was eyeing the Filofax ranges and it so happened that there was a sale on the Metropol. I managed to snag it for about $35 AUD! The problem I have with this particular Filofax is that it doesn't lie flat. The fake leather just doesn't accommodate. 

My Filofax is extremely empty. I only have about 4 months of 'Week on Two Page' diary and about 10-15 other pages. 

I have another Filofax on the way - the Compact Osterley. It was previously owned by Angela, but she decided to put it up for sale. I was lucky enough to purchase it from her. It's currently sitting at home. In Melbourne, so I'll have to wait till I get back home in order to actually get my hands on it.

I'm a person who can't remember things in a chronological way. I often forget the order in which I've done things, much less which days I do things. I keep a blog and Filofax for this reason. I also need to write things down because it feels like all my thoughts gather in my head and I feel all cluttered and dizzy. 

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

Stationery Haul { Artbox, Morning Glory & Others }

Being in Korea, there is little excuse not to explore the stationery options that stores provide. 

Personally, I absolutely hate the stationery you can get in Australia. The Western idea of "cute" is a far cry from what Asians consider "cute". Western style stationery usually comes in a variety of bright garish colours that attempt to blind you as you pull them out of your bag. The paper quality of these colourful notebooks are abysmal - they're grainy and thin. Also anything that is absolutely adorable is extremely overpriced (I'm looking at you, Kikki.K).

So imagine my delight when I come to Korea and cute, affordable stationery is everywhere!

ARTBOX & MORNING GLORY

I loved these two stores when I was young. There used to be one of each of these stores in Box Hill in Melbourne, but their products were so expensive! Due to their price point, they eventually closed down (Morning Glory about 6-7 years ago, and Artbox in 2012). However, they are still very popular in Korea. Their products are still a little bit more expensive than the Alpha Office stores but the things they sell are so cute!

Credit: Miss Loi

Artbox in Korea sells a variety of things from cosmetics, home products, clothes to stationery. Morning Glory on the other hand has fewer selections but has more Rilakkuma and Hello Kitty merchandise. 

At Artbox, I found Moleskine note books! I wanted a plain notebook because I want to improve my artistic skills. However, Moleskines are expensive and I couldn't really justify paying that price. Fortunately, I found something better!

A brand called Mimesis makes notebooks and how it works is that you choose the cover you want - colour and size - and choose the type of notebook you want inside. There are lined notebooks, plain and also diary type monthly notebooks. The paper is on the thinner side, but it's so smooth. 

Artbox also sells a variety of letter sets. I think they're completely adorable and plan on picking up a few to send back home. I love letters, especially love letters. I want to write a love letter for somebody this year!

At Morning Glory, I couldn't resist the temptation of these Rilakkuma Stamps! They really brought me back to my childhood. I used to own a Hello Kitty stamp kit and I loved it to pieces. Mind you, I never had such a huge selection - and I only had four! So to have this stamp kit brings out the child in me.

PENS

I love pens. I love colour. So it should be no surprise that I have since bought what I can only call a generous supply of pens since arriving in Seoul. 

My primary goal was to buy Muji Pens. I think the packaging of these pens are so sleek and they don't look childish. I have a thing for having sets of pens so that they match in my pencil case. I don't like to buy individual pens when you can buy them in a set. 

I also bought a box of Monami Plus Pen 3000. I used have a full set with all the colours and I really liked the felt tip. I definitely won't run out of these any time soon.

I love felt tip pens so much, I bought these too. They're dual ended - felt tip at one end, and a thick highlighter-esque marker at the other. I really like using the lighter colours to match with the Muji gel pens. 

In fact, I love them to the point that I bought a set of 36 more.

Crazy? Just a little. 

PEN SWATCHES.