Nicka K Pastel Blue Nail Polish

I've been trying to find a good pastel blue nail polish and saw this for a dollar. I've used Nicka K's glitter top coat before, which gave gorgeous results, so I decided, "Why not?"

Unlike the glitter top coat, this blue came out quite streaky. Only my pinky finger, which required one brush stroke to cover, came out nicely. The polish took a very long time to dry! Hours after application, I still managed to dig into the polish, causing that unsightly chunk in the photo and several scratches. By the next day, parts of the polish was already peeling off. Maybe this was a bad bottle?

The color on nail was definitely brighter than in the bottle.

Under dull yellow light. You can see the chunk on my middle finger.

Under bright white light. 

Overall, not recommended!


This review presents my honest opinion and was not endorsed by either company. All products were bought with my own money and all photos were taken by me.

Facial Moisturizers: Bioglo & Clinique

With combination dry skin, so finding a good moisturizer has been difficult, especially because many leave me with dry patches.

I have been using Clinique Moisture Surge for a while, and have recently tried Bioglo Aquavit Water Essence Cream.

Bioglo is obviously smaller, but about half the price of the Clinique moisturizer.

Open containers sitting on their lids. 

They both a cool, gel-like texture that quickly absorbs into the skin, but are different colors. Clinique is pink and Bioglo is a blue-green. Both can be used as masks by simply slathering more on the face and then washing or wiping it off after five minutes.

For those who dislike fragrances, Bioglo is not recommended! It has a pleasant scent, that might be a little overwhelming at first, but it fades quickly.

As a test, I used each on separate occasions after washing my face with a facial cleanser after swimming. Since the chlorine had already dried out my face, I required a lot more moisturizer than usual.

Clinique Moisture Surge
Absorbed very quickly.
Used about a thumb-sized amount to get rid of all dry patches on my face.
T-zone became significantly oily after a few hours.
Caused itchiness on eyelids (inflicted with slight eczema)

Bioglo Aquavit
Cool to the touch, even after slathered on face; absorbed slightly less rapidly.
Used a little less than a thumb-sized amount
T-zone a tad oily after a few hours.
Caused itchiness on eyelids (inflicted with slight eczema)

Overall winner: Bioglo Aquavit Water Essence Cream

Despite it being better in all the aspects I mainly tested for, I would not recommend Bioglo to those with extremely sensitive skin for its strong scent. Since the moisturizers' effects are so similar, I would rather stick with the pricier Clinique, because I prefer my facial products unscented and widely available. 

This review presents my honest opinion and was not endorsed by either company. All products were bought with my own money and all photos were taken by me.

Nail Polish Review - Bijou Blue & Secret Admirer

I bought both at Rite Aid for under $2 each!
Wet 'n Wild Shine Nail Polish Bijou Blue - $0.99
This is a very nice teal color with a bit of shine. It requires at least two coats for opacity, but as you can see in my picture, there are still spots. So to be safe, put on three coats. It matches the color in the bottle exactly and looks super pretty! My only complaint is that it's clumpy.

See the translucent spots on the ring fingernail. 

You can see how it clumped a little, making the polish uneven.

Sinful Colors - Secret Admirer : $1.99

This is a beautiful black with tiny, silver sparkles. It truly glints in the sunlight, and because of how compacted the sparkles are, it looks like silver-black from afar. It was very easy to apply, but once again necessitates two coats for opacity. 

In extreme sunlight it looks more like gunmetal.

Overall, I favor Sinful Colors over Wet 'n Wild for ease of application, opacity, and smell. Plus it's cheap!

This review presents my honest opinion and was not endorsed by either company. All products were bought with my own money and all photos were taken by me.

Asmama Order Review

My order from Asmama, a Korean accessory store (asmama.com) , arrived a few days ago. It's entirely in Korean, and doesn't ship to the US, so I had to use Google translate and ask a friend with connections in Korean to order for me.

I ordered DBSK Hero's Crystal Cross earrings, DBSK Xiah's crown earrings, Cubic Star Earrings, and Crystal headbands.

Shipping options were EMS (extremely high prices!), air mail (1-2 weeks, 25,0000 won), ship mail (3-6 weeks, 15,000 won)
Insurance: 2,000 won
Tracking: 8,000 won

I used ship mail with insurance, and, disappointingly, it took 6 weeks.

DBSK Hero's Crystal Cross Earrings  
http://www.asmama.com/shop/goods/goods_view.php?&goodsno=2735&category=004004
8,000 won ~ $9

These are much bigger and heavier than I expected them to be! But they are very sparkly in the light and I was surprised that they came with 925 Sterling Silver hooks. Excellent for $9 earrings.

DBSK Xiah's Crown Earrings (w/ one-touch hook)
http://asmama.com/shop/goods/goods_view.php?&goodsno=3271&category=
9,000 won ~ $10

On the other hand, these were way smaller than I expected! And when the one-touch "hook" is opened, one side wiggles a lot, making it a bit difficult to clip into place. True to their description, these are platinum plated, because they have not caused an allergic reaction. They are very cute, especially how the black crystal shifts around as I walk. These would be perfect if not for the wobbly one-touch "hook."

Cubic Star Earrings
http://www.asmama.com/shop/goods/goods_view.php?&goodsno=4130&category=001001

3,500 won ~ $5

These crystal star earrings are plain and simple. Very sparkly.


Crystal Headbands in Black, Gray, Blue
http://www.asmama.com/shop/goods/goods_view.php?&goodsno=7971&category=001006
11,000 won ~ $11.5 each

These totally caught my eye on the site. All the bands are ribbon wrapped, comfortable to wear, and the beads are tightly wrapped around the headband. It's a pity I didn't get a gray one too, like my friend did, because the grey and black are really pretty. Blue, on the other hand, is AB, so it looks like plastic. Like all the other items, they are very sparkly! 

In total: 

Items: $55. 67

Shipping + Insurance: $17.65

Bank Transfer fee: $8.33

Although I really enjoy my items, shipping seems way too expensive for a few accessories. If I do order again, I would do it in a group to divide the bank transfer fee and shipping fee. 

Physical Sunscreen Review

Since it's close to summer now, I decided to review the 3 physical suncreens I have bought and used. By physical I mean that it has zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide as the active ingredients, not chemical agents.
These are the three:

Trukids Sunny Days Sunscreen SPF 30+, Episencial Sunny Sunscreen SPF 35, Burnout Clean and Clear SPF 32

Texture
Their textures are quite different. Trukids is stiffer, has a slightly grainy texture and takes longer to rub in. Episencial is like a lotion, so it rubs in pretty well. Burnout is a bit more watery than Episencial so it is the easiest of the three to rub in.

Trukids, Episencial, Burnout

White-cast + Feel
They all leave virtually no white-cast, but a slight sheen:

Trukids left my skin the smoothest, Episencial and Burnout were a little tacky.

Waterpoof?
They all claim to be waterproof/ water resistant and/or sweatproof, so I decided to run my arm under the faucet and rub my skin a little.

The water came out a little milky from the Episencial sunscreen! The other two were okay, but Trukids and Episencial became "oily" to the touch, while Burnout remained tacky. 

Sunburn/ Tan Prevention
I was out on a cloudy day for 6 hours wearing Trukids and came back slightly tanned. Not pleased.
Episencial and Burnout work really well in keeping me pale, but Episencial rubs off too easily and is not waterproof like they claim. Burnout left me pale throughout the summer, as if I had never gone outside.

Overall Summary: 

Trukids
Texture: 7/10 A bit hard to rub in.
Feel on skin: 10/10 Smooth.
Matte/oily: 8.5/10 Definitely matte, but it became oily on my face in about 7 hours.
Scent: Nice orange smell, but is a bit overwhelming. It fades in about 10-15 minutes.
White-cast: 10/10 Virtually none
Waterproof: 9/10 A point off for becoming a bit oily in the water.
Tan prevention: Not good at all. If it gets me tanned on a cloudy day, it'll probably leave me sunburnt on a sunny day.
Cleaning it off: It was very difficult to wash it off. Even after using a makeup remover, I could still smell the sunscreen on my skin.
Cost: ~$16 a bottle.

Episencial
Texture: 9/10 Like lotion
Feel on skin: 8/10 A bit tacky
Matte/oily: 7/10: Starts out matte, but quickly became oily on not only my face, but my body.
Scent: Heavy sunscreen smell.
White-cast: Virtually none.
Waterproof:  0/10 Clearly ran off my arm for a sunscreen that claims to be waterproof!
Tan Prevention: 8/10: Good until I sweat or come in contact with water.
Cleaning it off: Very easy, considering it is not waterproof.
Cost: ~$13 a bottle.

Burnout

Texture: 10/10 Like watery lotion
Feel on skin: 8/10 A bit tacky
Matte/oily: 9/10 Very matte, and becomes oily on my face only after ~10 hours of wearing.
Scent: Slight sunscreen smell.
White-cast: Virtually none.
Waterproof: 10/10 Very.
Tan Prevention: 10/10: Excellent. I'm sometimes told I look like a vampire because of how pale I am!
Cleaning it off: Comes right off with a makeup remover facial wash.
Cost: ~$17 a bottle

Conclusion:
Episencial is a cheap physical sunscreen that works quite well if you don't come in contact with water. I often use it on my body because it is easy to spread and cheap. Burnout is my favorite, because it keeps my face matte throughout the day and is the easiest of the three to spread. Because it is so expensive, I use it only for my face.

This review was not endorsed by any of the companies that make this sunscreen. All products were bought with my own money and all pictures were taken by me.

Rainie Yang Earrings Review

Ordered these from Silver Dreams (http://www.shop.ninjapoop.com/). They are titanium-steel, which is perfect for my sensitive skin.
Shipping took about a week, because they came from Canada. The packaging was very well done and came in a  blue box tied with a ribbon ($1 extra).

Blue Cover Earring ($10)

It's very sparkly in the light and features my favorite color. The bottom gem is a little bigger than I would prefer, but I'm glad I bought it. It's a bit heavier than typical earrings, so I wouldn't wear it for several days in a row.

Black Star Earring ($7)

I don't really like the black star earring, because it doesn't sparkle at all. It merely reflects large chunks of light, as seen in the picture. It also looks chunky when I wear it because it doesn't dangle at all, unlike the clover earring.

Overall, I'm happy with my purchases, especially because shipping was free except for the optional box.


This review was not sponsored by Silver Dreams. All items were bought with my own money and all pictures were taken by me.

Cuff Earrings

I started making cuff earrings in October as a prop for a Japanese project. I had to interview "Gackt"so I made my partner a Gothic cross cuff and gave him heavy guyliner to match his role. (He looked better goth, imo). I sold my cuffs in school and there was a huge response.

Cross Cuff, the original version.  

Wire Cross Cuff Earring

And then a disaster happened: my supplier for the cuff component went out of stock and I had orders waiting.
So I started making wire cuffs and it is really great, because I can do quality control, make different designs, and it is hypoallergenic because it's made from silver plated wire. Of course it's a little more time consuming, but that's okay. Plus it's adjustable!

Last weekend I finally made an Etsy. I just started, but I'll be adding more items soon. Please visit~