Review: Etude House Wonderpore Freshner

Today, I'll be reviewing one of my favourite products -- Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner. I've been using this for more than a year and this is my second 500ml bottle.

This retails for 15,000 Won for 500ml. It also comes in a smaller 250ml version that retails at 9,000won. The 500ml bottle also comes with a pump, while the 250ml version does not.

500ml is quite a big bottle! (FYI, this bottle is empty. haha)

I love this toner as it is all I'm looking for in a toner. It claims to be a 7-in-1 total pore solution. It also says that it maintains the pH of your skin, which is one of the main purpose of a toner and I don't really see a lot of toners that claim to do this (even though they may?). When I was looking for a new toner to try, I wanted one that can cleanse pores because clogged pores cause pores to enlarge & become very visible, and they also cause acne. I was starting to notice that the pores around my nose & cheeks were getting more visible. This product really did help me with that. I've been using this for a long time and I can say that it does minimize the appearance of pores! I've also gotten less acne after using this product. This never broke me out and it is also not drying. I apply this morning & night, and I also always use toner before applying any makeup to ensure I apply makeup on a clean, moisturised skin.

They also suggest that you can transfer some of the product into a mist bottle. I haven't tried to do that because I'm currently using Innisfree Green Tea mineral mist.

 

 

Like I've mentioned, the 500ml version comes with a pump. Its very convenient to just open the cap and pump it onto the cotton pad directly. You don't have to worry about pouring out too much. That said, the pump takes some time to get used to. You must ensure that you cover the nozzle part with the cotton pad so that the product will soak the cotton pad instead of going anywhere else & wasting any of it. My own tip is also that you should try to just press it a bit at a time, rather than pressing it all the way down. Sounds troublesome, but I've already gotten used to it and I don't really have to be particularly careful when I use this now. I use about 1/2 pumps to soak the cotton pad each time I use it.

& finally, the ingredients list:

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This product is really worth the price. It is only 15,000 won for 500ml of product can last you a long time. I don't know how long my first bottle lasted me, but I've been using my second bottle for 3 months and its still more than half full. I use 1/2 pumps every morning & night and whenever I need to apply makeup. It does have a faint scent but I've gotten too used to the smell that I can't point out what it smells like.

Both times I got it, I bought it personally (or through a friend) from Korea, packed in a luggage. Both times, it leaked a little. So if you're thinking of buying this online or from overseas, be prepared for some leakage.. Pack it separately in a bag or remind your seller to pack it securely so as to minimise leakage. The 500ml is quite a big bulky bottle, so take note of that if shipping costs is a factor to you. I prefer to purchase from Korea directly if I can because the price is so much better. Singapore's Etude House retails this at almost twice the price in Korea.

Overall, I definitely recommend this toner. I've already on my second 500ml bottle and both my sisters also started to use this. I think that's already a really good testimony for this product!

Let me know in the comments section if you have any good toners to recommend too! :)

Review/Haul: Luxola (Mario Badescu & Sigma)

Today I've got a mini mini haul from Luxola to share.

My sister was the one who introduced Luxola to me. She told me they have Deborah Lippmanns and they were having some birthday sale. I'll do a post on the Deborah Lippman nail polishes another day! But today, I'll be sharing about my experience shopping on Luxola and what I got from there.

From their "About Us" page, Luxola claims to be the "first online luxury cosmetic and skin-care site in South East Asia as well as the first to be 100% backed by every brand we work with, ensuring our customers are receiving authentic products each and every time they order." They are based in Singapore and they provide free shipping for orders above $10, and the fastest you can receive your buys is 1 business day. I think that's quite impressive!

The delivery team messaged me to say they will arrive in 30-45 minutes. I actually arranged for the delivery to be made to my house for my mom to collect. I was actually waiting for their message that day before calling my mom to inform her to watch out for them. Somehow, not everyone can correctly use our doorbell somehow and it doesn't always ring when people think they've pressed it. Some courier companies don't bother to call us and they leave if we don't answer the door immediately, even though we leave our door/window WIDE open to at least indicate that someone is at home. Back to my recount: Anyway, I happened to be busy that day and did not see the message and did not get to call my mom. When I finally saw their message, I also had 2 missed calls from the delivery person. Thankfully, my mom called and said she received it. So, thumbs up to the persistent delivery team.

Here's the bag my order came in. A little too big for the things I bought, but still nice to receive a nice bag. Only concern is that since it is not sealed, you should check your order when you receive it just in case something got lost along the way.

My sis and I got the "Drying Lotion & Buffering Lotion" set to share. Both are full sized. The price for the Buffering Lotion is $32, and Drying Lotion is $33. We bought them as a set and it was only $60. With the 25% discount, it was only $45. I think I saw them at Sephora for about $40+ each? Luxola is definitely more competitively priced.

My sister also got the E30 Pencil brush from Sigma Beauty. It retails on Luxola for $19.50. 

I got this drying lotion to try. I needed a new product to replace my benzoxyl peroxide, partly because I can no longer find the small sized version of it in Singapore. I thought I'll get this to try because I've read so much good reviews of this. I would not have purchased this at full price because my BP is cheaper than this and works well for me. I was excited when I got this until I saw this: 

 6M. 

This product is only good for 6 months after opening. I don't even think I can finish it in 6 months! I haven't seen anyone mention at all! Either no one takes note of these symbols, or this still works well after 6 months. I usually abide by them EXCEPT for nail polishes. Do you take note of these symbols?? Let me know! So if you're considering getting this, consider if its worth the price to cure 6 months of... erm, the amount of acne you have. I'll be trying out this product soon & hopefully it works like a miracle!!

Ingredients list:  Ingredients: Isopropyl Alcohol,Deionized Water (Aqua), Calamine, Camphor, Colloidal Sulfur, Salicylic Acid,Glycerine, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Talc

 

This drying lotion is for my sis. This is also only good for 6 months after opening. 

Ingredients list: Deionized Water,Isopropyl Alcohol,Sodium Sulfate, Zinc Oxide,Hydrolyzed Serum Protein, Hydrolyzed Yeast Protein,Pyridoxine, Niacinamide, Panthenol,Propylene Glycol, Allantoin, Biotin

 

& lastly, the E30 brush for my sis!

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Overall, I'm satisfied with my purchases & experience with Luxola. Delivery was timely & fast, and they also bubble-wrapped the fragile items (the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion comes in a glass bottle). Definitely recommending everyone to check out that site. They have a good selection brands but I'm not familiar with a lot of them. Several brands are not that easily/commonly found in Singapore and the prices are quite competitive too. They also accept cash on delivery, so you can opt to pay only after receiving & checking the items.. For online shops, we aren't able to test the products before purchase, so I think it is very important to read up on reviews of the products before purchase. Luxola rewards customers to post reviews on the product pages and I think that's good because it encouraged people to post reviews & now there are a lot that you browse through before purchasing. I browse through the popular products and there are already a few that I may wanna try out in future. They occasionally have flash sales or just random sales... but usually a lot of the popular items get sold out really fast.. so be quick!

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Disclaimer: I'm not paid to do this review. All views are my own. The links however, are affiliate links. You can support me if you use them to make a purchase :)

Review: Innisfree Eco Nail Colour 1: 100, 101, 124, 121

100, 101, 121, 124

From left to right:
100 블루베리 제리 (Blueberry Jelly),
101 소녀의 땡땡이 스커트 (Girl's Polka Dot Skirt),
124 해피 바이러스 (Happy Virus),
121 빙글빙글 희전목마 (Round & Round the Merry-go-round).
I directly translated the Korean names so the english names are not the official names, but just what I translated with my super basic Korean. I'm most unsure about 121 so it's probably all wrong.

These are photos of the Innisfree nail polishes I bought from Korea earlier this year. SO PRETTY AREN'T THEY!! So chockful of glitter. These were really inexpensive. Innisfree Eco Nail colours are all 2,500 won each, for 10ml.

1) 100 블루베리 제리 (Blueberry Jelly)

The flakies are bronze/green, which are really pretty with the blue base. The flakies aren't very obvious. I do 3 thin coats for full opacity, but you can get away with 2. Great formula, no pooling, no uneven flakies or bald patches.


2) 101 소녀의 땡땡이 스커트 (Girl's Polka Dot Skirt) (aka dupe of Deborah Lippmann's Mermaid Dreams)

lol. I don't know if I slaughtered the name with my translation but isn't that what it is? Anyone with better korean skills please correct me if I'm wrong! I just think the name is a little weird because I don't see any association with a girl's polka dot skirt. Anyway, any nail polish lover will probably immediately think of Deborah Lippmann's Mermaid Dreams when you see this. I don't own that, but I've seen photos of them online and they are practically dupes! And this is only one-tenth of the price of a Deborah Lippmann. I almost didn't want to get this because my sis was already getting a bottle. But she asked me why wasn't I getting it, and she convinced me to get another bottle! Well, it is pretty inexpensive so that's okay. I don't wear glitters that often but I really like this after wearing it on my nails. This polish is from the Poem Nail collection.

Formula wise: Great. I'm beginning to love the formula of these Innisfree nail polishes. These are my firsts. The glitters aren't big, so you won't have problem getting them evenly on your nails. Just like before, 3 thin coats for full opacity, but 2 coats is good enough!


3) 124 해피 바이러스 (Happy Virus)



I was probably most excited to get this when I first got to the nail polish counter. Blue is still my favourite nail colour. These have purple square glitters, silver hexagon glitters, smaller white hexagons, and tiny white dots. The glitters are harder to get on the nail, probably because they are bigger. You'll need to dab them on. I had trouble getting them evenly on all nails. Some nails I dabbed more, some less... but overall I still love this polish! Application-wise, it isn't my favourite out of these 4, but this is my favourite polish out of these 4 and I'm probably more likely to wear this more often.


4) 121 빙글빙글 희전목마 (Round & Round the Merry-go-round)

I love this! I mentioned before that I don't like glitter polishes that much, unless it is in a opaque base. I like how the layers of polish semi-cover the glitters in the previous layer. There are square glitters, hexagon glitters, and tiny glitters in a milky base. I like the combination of colours in this polish. The big glitters are harder to apply and you need to use the dabbing method to get more glitter and get them even. (but it isn't as bad as 124) The base isn't very opaque, so this needs 3 coats. I dab a little more at the nail line to cover it. You could probably first cover your nail line with a layer of white polish first. 

And... another photo, just because: 

Swatches on nail wheel: 

These are without topcoat.

As you can tell, the flakies on 100 isn't that obvious, but I also can't seem to capture it properly on camera. It is more obvious in real life than in these photos though.

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Overall, for the price, I think they are really good polishes to own. Probably my favourite korean brand for nail polishes right now. They also have a selection of gel nail polishes. My mom actually has one but I've yet to borrow to try. I forgot to take a photo of the brush, but they are comparable to the size of OPI.

Innisfree Eco Nail colours are 4 free: DBP-free, DFHP-free, Toluene-free, Formaldehyde-free. I'm not sure if all colours are 4-free because it isn't stated on all the pages... You can read more about toxic ingredients in nail polishes here by googling DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde in nail polishes.

For korean nail polishes, I find it a bit harder to find out whether they are 3-free. At least it is stated on Innisfree's page. That makes me more self-assured. Sometimes I wanna ask the sales assistants in store, but I'm not sure if they will be aware... I'll probably ask the next time I remember....

I've got more Innisfree nail polishes to review soon. Meanwhile, if you've got any favourite korean nail polish brand, leave a comment & share! :)

Color Club Holographic Nail Polishes: Cherubic, Halo-Graphic, Beyond

Color Club Cherubic, Halo-Graphic, Beyond

Today, I have some photos of my Color Club Holographic nail polish collection! 

Well, just three.

Holographic nail polishes aren't what I usually reach for, but these were too pretty to resist! I've been considering these for a long time and they were on promotion! These are the only shades I can see myself wearing. I definitely won't be able to pull off a say, blue or green holographic polish on my nails.

Indoors, under lamp
Color Club Beyond, Halo-Graphic, Cherubic

Can you see the holo-ness!! Pictures really don't do justice. 

Color Club Cherubic, Halo-Graphic, Beyond

They are a lot more holo in real life. I promise!

And more bottle shots, just because:
(These were taken indoors with sunlight, but you can still see the holographic-awesomeness. Most holos disappear under the sun. These are more subtle than indoor artificial lights, but I like it this way.

Color Club Cherubic

Color Club Halo-Graphic

Color Club Beyond

Macro (sorta) of Color Club Beyond

My thoughts:

The formula on these were good. No goopyness, easy application, no streaky-ness.
I remember a few years ago I was looking at getting Nfu.Oh halographic or some other brands, but they required the aqua base coat. That was one thing that held me back... Why will I want to buy a special base coat just for a particular polish? Then I never considered getting holographic nail polishes again. Until now!
These Color Club holographic nail polishes apply well on my regular base coat (use Seche Clear) and I did not have any application problems at all. They were also opaque in 2 coats.

I love Cherubic because it is such a pretty colour. I think anyone will be able to carry it off. If you're holding off holographics on your nail because you don't like it being so attention-seeking (me!), you may like Cherubic. I also LOVE Beyond. I actually added these to my order at the very last minute. I already owned Color Club Revvvolution which is also a black holographic but I read that these were MORE holo and I bit the bullet and bought it --- no regrets. I see myself wearing these two more than Halo-graphic, to be honest.

Overall, I love these polishes. All 3 are equally holo and so pretty when the light hits them. For this price, it is definitely a good deal. I'm very satisfied with them!