♥s..

Korean actresses always look so flawless. So when it became known that one of their secrets was BB cream, Asian women went crazy for it hoping that they too could have flawless skin. Korean BB cream has for the last few years been touted as the end-all and be-all of all base makeup in Asia. Most are marketed as supposedly multitasking products that provide skincare benefits such as anti-aging and whitening, SPF, hydration, and good coverage all which can be had for a rather decent price (this can vary greatly as I've seen one for over $100US, but I've seen some for as low as $20US). There are so many brands to choose from in Korea, each brand making a plethora of different BB creams that promise to do different things. I won't go too much detail on the product genre as there is already so much information out there reported by other wonderful beauty bloggers especially since I have not tried many BB creams: a mere six. I treat BB cream like any other base makeup. I still make sure I moisturize, and if the provided SPF is less than 30 I will apply my own separate sunscreen before I apply the BB cream. I make sure I remove every last bit of it from my face before I go to bed.


The rest of the world is starting to jump on the popular BB cream bandwagon. A few Japanese companies like Kanebo have come out with their versions of BB cream. Western companies like MAC, Dior, Lancome, and Boscia have as well. I've been intrigued by the idea of western brands doing their own take on BB creams, and I hope to be able to try them out some day. Dr. Jart+ is actually a Korean brand that made the jump over to the US with two of their BB creams. The one I am reviewing is NOT available at Sephora. I bought the Silver Label BB cream (50ml) for $38US at a little local store called Cosmeland (if you are in SoCal, it is inside the Puente Hills Mall. I know. Random, right?). They do have an online site, which I haven't looked around much or bought from. It's far easier to go to the actual store for me. There may be other online stores that might sell it for a little less. I just checked Imomoko.com, and they sell it for the same price.



The color of the packaging corresponds to its name. It has nice and simple packaging overall. The squeeze tube is very convenient for dispensing product. I prefer it this way as with a pump I tend to get more product than I can use so I feel more wasteful.

The Dr. Jart+ Silver Label BB cream embodies most of the features I expect out of a Korean BB cream. It's a medium to high coverage cream with a semi-matte finish. The texture is kind of thick, but a little goes a long way. I use maybe a small pea-sized amount for my whole face, blending it into areas that I think need the most help first. It evens out my redness quite well, conceals my broken capillaries, and brightens my skin tone a bit. I usually don't try to conceal zits because I feel it only makes it worse when I do. It helps my under-eye area, but I don't think it can replace a good under-eye concealer. It has 35 SPF PA++, which I think is good enough if I'm just going to work. This BB cream is supposed to help control oil, but I'm not sure if I can say it's super effective at that. I have an oily T-zone that will get oily no matter what I use after a few hours. But at least I can say that this doesn't make it worse. I blot my chin and T-zone at around 4-5 hours after initial application in the morning.

Three swatches of it in this photo (all with approximately the same amount of product). First is an unblended dollop, second is spread thinly to show texture, and the third is completely blended into the skin (it's difficult to see, but it's there!).

I can't speak for the skincare benefits it promises such as whitening and anti-aging. I simply haven't used it long enough, but I'm going to venture a guess that I won't notice much of a difference. Like many Korean BB creams, it comes in only one color, which I think can work for NC15/20 (not sure if it will work for someone darker than that). It looks a little dark in the unblended swatches on my skin, but as you can see in the photo above, it blends into my skin quite well. I have not found this BB cream to oxidize on me, which is great cause nothing says sexy like an orange face with pale arms and legs amirite?!

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I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm just getting burnt out from work (work + commute really.. I lump those two together because I carpool with a kindhearted yet extremely irritating coworker. He has always been kind to me, but 2-3 hours in traffic with him is most definitely work). I don't know how some bloggers are able to juggle work, working out, kids, pets, significant others, social networking, and blog regularly! I don't have all those things, and I still can't handle it! You are all so amazing! :) When I get home from work, I'm just exhausted. My brain is too numb from dealing with impossibly stupid asshats all day. Sometimes I wonder if maybe blogging just isn't for me, or if I should just suspend blogging until I actually had time and energy for it. I suppose you can say I'm on hiatus for now until I decide. Thank you for being patient with me. I'll be around on Twitter once in a while, and I will try to keep up on reading all the wonderful beauty blogs I follow because you know.. you can't keep me away from makeup. NO WAY NO HOW! ♥

I'm a very low-key nail girl. My girlfriends think I'm a strange creature because I've only gotten a manicure once in my life. I just never had the need since I played piano for most of my young life. When I got older, I had chem labs with acetone to worry about. This results with me being in my late 20's and unable to wield a friggin' nail file. I only know how to cut my nails short.. and I do mean SHORT. Only a sliver of white showing. I'm clueless on how to shape my nails, and I gave up trying a while ago. Also, I'm just plain lazy, but if I weren't so lazy and in New York, I'd definitely go to Rescue Beauty Lounge to hang with Ji (while having my nails done obvi). However, since I am geographically challenged, I did the next best thing.. bought her stuff online! Like always, I'm late to the party so other bloggers have already ooh'd and ahh'd at RBL polishes so I'll make this post quick.


I had been staring at RBL's site for some time. It seems like I do this often for things I can't see/touch before I buy. I finally bit the bullet and bought quite a few polishes. For the moment, my favorite of the RBL polishes I bought is Starfish-Patrick, which is why I chose to try it first. It's got that adorable kinda juicy soft peachy-pink thing going on. Ji's description of "if your nails could blush" is dead-on. I only went with one coat of polish (because I am lazy and impatient) so the nail line is still visible, which does not bother me, but go for two coats if you want more opacity. I used the RBL Treatment Set with this polish, but I want to save talking about the set for another post because I want to see how it plays with other polishes first. The consistency of Starfish-Patrick was just right. It wasn't overly thin or gloopy, making for easy application. Drying time is decent as well with the RBL top coat, but not as quickly as I'm used to with the Seche Vite top coat. These photos were taken maybe a day after application. It's now been about a week with very minor tip wear despite the abuse my nails get from my day to day. In terms of price, RBL is kinda in the high-end range at $18US each (compare to Chanel at $25US), but I think it's worth it for the quality. Do I like RBL more than my favorite Chanel polishes? I don't know if I'm ready to say that. It's pretty high on the list so far though!


To close, here is a picture of my new RBL polish army sans Starfish-Patrick and the Treatment Set.

Pardon the dust on the boxes. Not quite sure how they got so dingy looking.

Rouge Bunny Rouge is a high quality Russian cosmetics brand. I haven't yet had the pleasure of trying most of their products as they are only available to me via Zuneta and are expensive, but I think I found a new brand to love. I got my Zuneta haul in January and started this post in March. I just never finished it until recently (because I'm a total slacker like that). A lot of posts have been made on RBR lately so my post will probably be boring.

RBR's most popular product (judging by the number of posts on beauty blogs I've seen) is their eyeshadows. So that is where I started. Zuneta had a sale code at the time so I took this opportunity to buy a few things, which I will get to in future posts.




Solstice Halcyon is kind of a darker beige-taupe (if that even makes sense..) to my eye. I'm really awful at describing colors so I don't know why I try sometimes. Hopefully you'll see what I mean through my photos. Zuneta describes it as a "semi-matte mauve beige". This is one of my go-to neutrals appropriate for work or for when I don't feel like trying too hard.


Delicate Hummingbird is a gorgeous color. It's somewhere between purple and taupe (at least to me). Zuneta describes this color as a "cold, dusky sugar-frosted plum iridescent with pink shimmer". I don't really think it is shimmery, but it does have a pretty sheen. This was the shadow that drew me to RBR in the first place. I obsessed over it a little bit like how I did for LMdB's Corinthian. And like Corinthian, I adore the color, but I find myself not reaching for it as much as a softer neutral like Solstice Halcyon or LMdB's Jojo.


Both shadows are pigmented and smooth. I always have to use an eyelid primer because of my oily lids, so I can't speak for their claim of "extended 8-hour wear". But I personally get over 10 hours of no-creasing with a primer like UDPP. The packaging is simple, yet whimsical. At the price of about $28US, RBR shadows are not cheap. However, I think they live up to the hype and are thus worthwhile to get. The only bad thing about these shadows is how difficult they are to find and purchase. I like Zuneta a lot, but I wish I could easily find RBR at Sephora to play with.

Are you tired of my eyeshadow reviews yet? I promise I'll have other things to blog about. Although.. I really do love eyeshadows..

Remember that Rock & Republic cosmetics counter in the Aria Hotel/Casino (Las Vegas) I told you all about? Well, I was right. They were clearing stock so that counter is gone now. In its place is now a brand called Rain, which originates from Sin City itself.

I wanted to see what this brand was all about so I swatched up a storm. Thinking back, I should have taken photos of that. I rarely take photos at cosmetic counters because I feel self-conscious doing it. It makes me appreciate Karlasugar's work that much more! Back on point.. I bought their Diva Eyeshadow Quad in Legends. I did buy a few other things just to try, which I will eventually post reviews for when I can. The MUA at the counter told me that Rain cosmetics was inspired by Vegas and made for Vegas. It's supposed to be long-lasting makeup that can stand up to the rigors of Vegas nightlife and the desert heat.


I'm kind of.. ehh about the blue, metallic quilted packaging. I'll give it that it's unique. Most of their products have similar packaging.




The shadows are very pigmented and smooth. Is it possible to be too pigmented..? I don't know, but that white shadow is crazy pigmented. Legends is all satin finish according to their website, but the charcoal and white shadows feel more matte to me. The colors aren't terribly unique (smoky eye material), but I actually didn't have these colors in my stash at the time. Also, I liked this combination more than the others they offered. I always need to use a eyelid primer, so I can't offer much of an opinion on the long-lasting claims.

I think that it's a decent eyeshadow quad for the price of $38US. The bad thing is that most of the locations that sell their products are in Vegas (all are listed on their site) so it's not easy to get to a counter. However, you can buy direct @ Rain. I think I will revisit this counter the next time I'm in Vegas just to see if maybe I missed something or if I will change my opinion on some of their other shadows.

Jill Stuart is one of those brands that I know I probably shouldn't like as much as I do. Their blushes are great, but I have such limited use for all the other glittery products. I know this, and yet I can't help but pine for their new releases anyway. I told myself that I wouldn't purchase another JS eyeshadow palette unless the colors are really unique. I've stayed true to my word.. until I laid eyes on 102 Amazonite Dazzle. I thought this was one of the most interesting JS palettes I've seen. I don't think they've done anything remotely similar before, and so I had to have it.



Amazonite Dazzle is limited edition and part of the Dreamy Garden Collection (Spring 2011) exclusive to Hong Kong and Taiwan. The packaging is slightly different for this palette. There are butterflies across the front. I don't hate butterflies, but I thought JS packaging design was princessy and kiddie enough without them. I've talked about it previously.. JS packaging really grew on me so I don't mind it now, but I do not prefer it.



The colors in this palette are rather atypical as far as JS palettes go. Those two middle colors are soooo pretty. I'm happy to say that these shadows are not super shimmery. They are still a little shimmery (especially the first color on the left) since it wouldn't be JS without some shimmer, but it's a lot more subdued in this quad. The texture, while improved from my last palette, still isn't what I hoped it would be. There is a touch of fall-out so I'd suggest using a eyeshadow primer (as I've done in the swatch photo) to help the shadows stick and to bring out the color.

This cost me $390HK, which is about $51US. The only online store I could find that carried this quad was Yesstyle with some markup.

Special thanks to Jennifer!!