Wanna win a $500 ASOS Summer wardrobe?

Wanna win a $500 wardrobe from ASOS? Simply click the picture below or the entry link after it. Only for Australian & NZ residents only. Good luck! :)

Click here to enter!

Sigma brushes giveaway!

Are you interested in makeup brushes... not just any makeup brushes.... but...


Sigma Brushes?



..
Yes, legit Sigma brushes!
..

A fellow blogger named Dream Makeup is holding a Sigma brush giveaway to win one of Sigma Beauty's travel brush kits. Tempting right? ^__^


So to feed your interest and also enter the giveaway, click on the banner or link below! Good luck to everyone entering! The winner also gets to choose their colour of brushes as well. :)

http://dreammakeup-blog.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/sigma-beauty-travel-brush-kit-giveaway.html



Giveaway ends at 2nd Nov 2012! So remember to get your entries (out of 18) before the closing date. ^__^ And once again good luck!

The Face Shop mini-haul!

Hello everyone, just wanted to do a quick update on my recent The Face Shop mini-haul (I shopped last week)! :) It's a mini-haul as I only bought one item, a $3 nail polish :P Pretty cheap no? To me it is hehe, because I wanted a nice colour for my social that weekend and I just wanted to test out TFS nail polish too, as they were tempting being $3 and what not (Gloss has nail polish for ~$4 under the BYS brand, which is also tempting, but being the cheapo I am, $3 is the better deal and they are around the same size anyway lol).

So here's my mini-haul receipt below:

The colour of nail polish I chose was the one called 'YL704'. It is a lovely light, feminine and fun pastel yellow colour. I find that this goes well with any colour clothing and accessories you have, and it doesn't look too bad on my skin tone (the main factor I bought it).

I haven't been officially swatched at a MAC store but I'm maybe a NC25? on my hand and I think it goes well. I initially grabbed the pastel blue and pastel green (both are my favourite colours) and swatched them on my fingers but I felt that they didn't really complement my skin very well  - I thought the green made my hands even darker/duller, the blue was okay I guess but I kind of liked the yellow more, as I wanted to try a yellow nail and it also looked vibrant and fun and didn't make my hands look dull. Which is a plus :P

TFS also has a darker yellow shade, I guess the standard not-pastel yellow pikachu shade is what I would describe it lol.

I might do a review for this nail polish soon, but anyways here's what it looks like in the bottle. I personally like this colour, not too obvious and not too nude, just my slice of cake. I like pastels.

It says "The Face Shop" near the bottom of the white lid in this angle there but the camera doesn't seem to note it at all. It's pretty faint in person though haha

Serial code and manufacturing date (31st Aug 2011)

Barcode, and shade name "YL704" and other TFS info on the sticker, except printed in white on a clear sticker and on a light colour, pastel yellow = hard to read (in person as well) -_-' Except if you cast a shadow on the sticker, it becomes kind of easier to read, like slightly lol. Fail ink choices, they should have used black instead lol. That way it would be readable for this colour or light colours especially...

This comes in a lovely recyclable paper bag :)

TFS is in many countries.. yay for Australia ^__^

I also picked up some (free) samples - I might use them soon and possibly do a review on them hehe. Here they are below:

From L-R: Crystal Water Super gel, White Tree Vita Lightening Serum, The Smim Skin Density 101.0 Repair Serum


Anyways I hope you enjoyed looking at my mini TFS haul, if there are any questions please comment below and I aim to answer you ASAP! :)


-Nicky


Disclaimer: All products in this post were bought on my own consideration/liking, and are not provided by TFS or other entities (as soon in the receipt above). All opinions in this post purely are my own, I was not paid to do or provide others' opinions for this post. All photos are my own. If you would like to mention my pictures and/or posts, please reference it back to this url (crushedbybeauty.blogspot.com) and do not blur, remove or alter my watermarks on the pictures.

The Face Shop Westfield Hurstvile before & after photos

Before opening: (with the lovely pic of Kim Hyun Joong) on 13th July 2012:

After opening: 

(I'll take a pic) :) It was on my phone.. then it disappeared. Will update soon lol, sorry about that. The shop is smaller than the one in TGV, Town Hall and has the same iconic white shelves, orderly neat display and of course it has the same products on offer. :) And it still looks pretty, neat, and bright as the city store. ^__^ This is the only Korean skincare/cosmetic brand here apart from Missha (which is also in the city). I wish Skinfood, Tonymoly, Etude House will come over and open... However The Face Shop is a nice store and brand too, good quality, cheap products. Which work well. Which is what I like in a brand, hehe. ^__^

-Nicky


These images in this post are my own, original content and my own opinions. I was not paid to promote The Face Shop.

Skinfood Agave Cactus Toner and Happy Bath Natural Whip Cleansing Foam sample review

I got these Korean skincare samples with my BB cream orders from earlier this year so I wanted to use them today as I have heaps of makeup/skincare samples piling up lol :) So here's my review on the two of them!

I'll start off with the Happy Bath Natural Whip Cleansing Foam:

Happy Bath is a Korean skin care brand under Amore Pacific - they also produce the makeup/skincare brands Laneige, Hera, Sulwhasoo, Iope, Mamonde (endorsed by SNSD/Girl's Generation's Sooyoung), Innisfree (endorsed by Yoona from SNSD) and Etude House (endorsed by Sandara Park from 2NE1 and SHINee). :) I personally had no idea what Happy Bath was until I got this sample with a BB cream I bought and decided to do more research on Google lol

Anyway this sample is 5g, made by Amore Pacific and according to the sample this cleansing foam is dermatologically tested (this term hardly appears on Korean products much), and with the help of Google translate and the pics on the sample it appears to be eye irritation tested, free from the 5 additives that are sulfates, parabens, artificial colours, silicon and mineral oil. All of which can cause a skin irritation to sensitive skin. However I have sensitive skin, and I can conclude that my skin did not have any symptoms of irritation during use of this cleanser - my skin wasn't red, itchy, hot or stinging or having any bumps at all. :)

Han Ji Min made two commercials (CFs) for Happy Bath's Natural Whip Cleansing Foam which are at youtube below:

How to use it:

A general CF:

It also touts to be for all skin types and is 100% from plant-derived ingredients. I wouldn't say this product is organic but probably is made from less chemicals/man made ingredients than your average cleanser whether western or Asian branded. :)

(with help of Google translate) This is a cleansing foam that is fine and rich, cleansing the pores. If you experience irritation, discontinue use.

It also says on the back of the sample (in Korean of course) that if there is any problem with the product, notify the Korea Fair Trade Commission. They also give you a toll-free Customer Service Centre number to call if you do experience problems, which is 080-023-5454, a Korean phone number lol.

And this product lasts up to 30 months from the manufacturing date, however it is best used within the 12 months of it for optimal results. It also tells you to store it between 10-30 degrees C, and avoid putting it in direct sunlight. However, the only thing is there is no manufacture date on the sample or it being imprinted in the crimp.. which is kinda ironic lol. ^__^

I couldn't find the official website for this product for more information but here's some good info in English (finally!) from Bellogirl (an ebay seller of Korean beauty products) regarding this product :)

Time for the review though lol, enough info already haha. Here's a pic of me in the morning, unwashed face straight from 9 hours of lying on the bed. What's on my face is the Tony Moly Berry Berry Wrinkle Sleeping Pack from last night, which has been on my skin for 9 hours too :)

Here's a pic of what the cleansing foam looks like, it's white, opaque and kind of a thick consistency. It spreads easily on a wet face than opposed to a totally dry one. It doesn't really foam up so you can see bubbles or thin out enough to do that but to me it's more like your typical cleanser from a tube - it's not runny or liquidy at all but more of a creamy feel, this is not really what I think is a foam anyway. :) It has a perfume-y scent but it isn't there anymore once you wash your face.

It dries up a bit as you rub it more on your face to be a bit thicker and hard to spread but I think that signals you it's ready to be washed off (I think).

EDIT: After watching the CF I tried foaming it with water with the same amount shown in it. It takes more than a couple drops of water (for a nice dollop of cleanser)! It takes about a palmful of water to foam up that amount. I suggest to make a foam quickly, use a pea size amount and add a spoonful of water to it, then rub your hands together and you should get foam. The foam's appearance and consistency is the same to that in the CF, however with the amount of foam Han Ji Min gets with that amount of cleanser in the first place, it is definitely an exaggeration - I had probably half the amount she got in foam, and it does not appear perfectly on the palm of your hand too lol. It's more like on your fingers and kind of on your palms..

The only thing I experienced when rubbing the cleanser around my eye area at this stage is that it kind of stung a bit around my right eye but it wasn't even on my eyelid o_O So I'm not too sure. But my eye wasn't red or watery though. This sensation quickly disappeared after I rinsed off the cleanser on my whole face with warm water, simply dabbing a wet face towel at my eyes. EDIT: This did not happen upon second usage the next morning and the one after that. ^__^

When I washed this off it was really easy with a face towel, maybe a little bit harder with your bare hands. It left my face and hands have that 'squeaky clean' tight-ish feeling, like as if it took off all my face oils without making my skin flaky or visibly dry with patches. Like that slippery feeling you get after using some cleansers, it's hard to describe lol. It left my face more clean looking, after removing all the dirt and also more clear and transclucent looking, which I like personally. :)

Here's my face after the wash:

Anyway I would recommend this product as a good, gentle cleanser, especially in the night after your makeup removal step as a great cleanser to remove any residue left behind (if any). I personally wouldn't purchase the full size of this (it is a 175g tube) as a cleanser because I need to finish one at the moment lol and that I think I don't really need it because I don't wear face makeup everyday and so that an extremely good cleanser (which this is) is not needed, as it may leave my face tight or dry I think. I've used this only once so far this morning; I think this sample will last you for another 2-3 washes so I'll see whether it dries my face out or not, or make my face oilier or dryer.

The only downsides to this product is that almost all of the important information (except for ingredients which aren't present) on it is in Korean (not non-Korean friendly) and that it isn't available at all locally in Australia, which means you need to buy this online which can be a hassle. It also has a scent, so if you are allergic to scented products this may not be good for you.

Happy Bath Natural Whip Cleansing Foam rating - 4.5/5.

Will I recommend? Yes.

Where to find this product: sasa.com, ebay sellers.

Now for the Skinfood Agave Cactus Toner review! Skinfood is a Korean skincare and makeup brand established since 1957. :) Here's what the sample says/looks like:

 Instructions: (with the help of Google translate again): After cleansing, dispense a small amount to the palm of your hand, rub with circular motions (?) and it will be gently absorbed by the skin's texture.

And it says to contact the KFTC if you are once again unsatisfied. Skinfood's Korean support number is 080-012-7878, along with their official website at www.skinfood.com :) The toner sample is manufactured by Skinfood.

Anyway, I didn't apply according to their instructions because I think their way of using a toner is impractical.. I use it as a liquid to wipe off any dirt remaining on my face after using your cleanser, so I absorbed a cotton pad into the sachet for this purpose because I think that's the way how to properly use a toner, not like a serum to be absorbed by your face as Skinfood puts it.

So anyway, here's what the cotton pad looks like when it absorbs the toner (which is transparent and doesn't really have a colour). It has a slight perfume scent, which disappears quickly after rubbing the toner on your face. :) This sample only lasts for one use unfortunately.

After 8 rubs around my face: As you can see it picks up the dirt off my face really well (it does what it was made to do well lol). I applied this directly to my face after using the Happy Bath Natural Whip Cleansing Foam sample this morning. :)

After 2 wipes on the other side of the cotton pad:

Here's my face after wiping the toner soaked cotton pad around 10 times on my face. My face looks even more transparent and clearer than after using the Happy Bath cleanser, since it removed the more harder to remove dirt residue on my face that the Happy Bath didn't remove.

The full size product is 145ml. I personally wouldn't bother buying the full size because I think it is a pretty average toner - you can't find this locally in Australia which means you need to go online to buy this and time is needed to wait for it to arrive. You can get cheap toners in the supermarket or pharmacies here immediately for around the same price and quality anyway. I'm happy however that it did not give any irritation to my sensitive skin, especially if I use one product after another - the chemicals/ingredients of the previous product on my face may react with the next one which is what happened to me once last year. After using this on my face after the Happy Bath cleanser, (which may have left some residues on my face even after rinsing with warm water and a face towel) I'm safe to say it did not disrupt my sensitive skin :)

I don't really recommend or not recommend this product - the only cons of this product for me is that it did feel that my skin was super tight feeling/slippery/absolutely no oil on my face as if it was almost dry (without any dry patches, redness, flaking, signs of irritation) after the first initial wipes of the toner on my face which I don't really like about the product. It also made my face feel a bit sticky upon touching, as the toner dried. However after an hour or two, the stickiness disappeared my skin felt really smooth and hydrated but then it made my cheeks and my whole face quite oily and shiny after a few more hours. >:| (They weren't oily in the past couple of days, my cheeks are normal/oily.) So this toner moisturises (as it says on the sample, so yes it does what it does), but it depends on your skin type pretty much. I don't personally enjoy using this toner a lot. If you don't like scented products, I think it would be best to avoid this product and find an unscented local one :) You will save money and time. Also there are no ingredients.. which may or may not be on the full size product or online. The directions are in Korean.. but I think using a toner is pretty straightforward so I'll let that one pass. :) Also this product isn't available in person (for me), which means you need to wait for this product to arrive  which can be lengthy, seeing it comes from Korea (about 1-3 weeks).

Skinfood Agave Cactus Toner rating: 3.5/5

Would I recommend: Not really

Where to find this product: ebay.com, online Korean product retailers, Skinfood store (if there's one in your country)

That's my review for today. I hope you enjoyed my first review :) Please also note that these products which have worked/not worked for me may not be the same for you as we all have different skin types that react differently to products. :)


-Nicky


These samples were not given to me for review. I was not paid to promote these products. They are purely my own opinions and pictures.

The Face Shop is coming to Westfield Hurstville this July. Are you excited?

Hey everyone! I'm just going to recount what happened as I walked past Toys R Us, almost going past Target on level 2 in Hurstville Westfield on 1st July 2012.

I'm walking at a slightly fast rate, when I look up and see an Asian woman in front of me in a white jacket, holding up her phone to the left direction, as if she was taking a photo. I follow the 'line' created by where her phone camera was facing to the what was taking a photo of. Like as if it was an arrow lol.

Guess what? I see a gleaming picture of a young Korean Asian man, Kim Hyun Joong, with a brilliant white, teethy smile. If you haven't heard of him, I'm explaining in detail later down this post hehe. The background of this picture was foliage, he was the focus. This woman was taking a picture of him, but what was he doing in Hurstville Westfield? It was a mystery. My eyes wandered a metre to the right. I saw the words of a famous Korean brand's logo, 'The Face Shop' in caps along with the words 'Coming Soon' also in caps. I was absolutely stunned; The Face Shop was going to open in Hurstville! Who could have imagined this moment coming true, especially a Korean cosmetics & skincare branded shop opening in a suburb that was probably never classified as being remotely a Koreatown? I was excited on the inside once I saw the words The Face Shop plastered over this closed up, white walled "I'm under construction in Westfield" shop front that was going to be a new The Face Shop branch. I was absolutely stunned, like 'is this for real?'. Thank you very much to the marketing genius who proposed to put TFS in Hurstville! Now you know I'm definitely going to be spending some money now. :P 

I'm really happy because I don't need to go to Town Hall in the city to get my TFS goodies in The Galleries Victoria anymore, and putting it in Hurstville is really convenient for me because it's near the locality I have lived by whole life! So I would rate the effectiveness of putting a TFS in Hurstville is a A++ for me, personally. :) Also it's nice to think that Korean cosmetic and skincare companies are slowly being more active by taking a further step by opening another branch in Australia, which is lacking in both brands of Korean makeup & skin care available and Kpop. We don't even have a Skinfood or Tonymoly official store here yet, but I'm glad TFS made another store in Sydney because not everyone lives in the city! We have a city Missha store by the way, and we never had a smtown here before ):

I'm not sure when they're opening exactly but according to this job listing by The Face Shop on Gumtree Australia it's in July. Somewhere in July... Gosh I want it to open by the time it's 17th July because I am truely excited. I love their sheet masks and I'm interested in trying out their other skincare and makeup and probably their nail polishes. TFS is one of my favourite brands overall, but nothing beats another greatly priced Korean skincare & cosmetics brand, Tonymoly on my list, hehe.

Also I stupidly did not take a picture of the shopfront under construction, really sorry. But I will on 17th July and will definitely update all of you when it opens. ^__^

If you would like to check the unique under construction shopfront out or just take a pic of KHJ, TFS is on level 2 in Hurstville Westfield, near the newly opened jewellery store Louvisa, Target, Bras N Things, and Toys R Us and the escalators. It's kind of opposite Insport. Hopefully I have helped. :)

For details on getting to Hurstville Westfield, it's literally a 2 min walk from Hurstville Train Station and many buses (such as the m91 from Parramatta and m41 from Macquarie, Burwood, Concord, Croydon Park) literally stop in front of Hurstville Westfield and at the Hurstville Bus Interchange which is 5 mins from Westfield. If you're heading by car, there's heaps of free parking in Hurstville Westfield (there's no carparking tickets here), maybe not at lunch hour (noon to 2pm) hehe.

Have any of you guys seen TFS as you walked past it recently in Hurstville? Or have any other thoughts suggestions about what you think about the new TFS location? Yay or nay? (Yay for me of course!) Please leave them in the comments below and I'll reply to them asap!

For those who wanted to know more about Kim Hyun Joong, he's involved in the Kpop scene, he debuted with SS501, a 5 member Kpop boy group which has since debanded unfortunately; all 5 members have made solo music debuts and Kim Hyun Joong debuted last year as a solo artist. SS501 was under the same label as the Kpop girl group of 4, Kara. Kim Hyun Joong has also made an Kdrama acting debut before. As for his association with makeup and skincare, he was previously a brand ambassador for Tonymoly in 2009/2010. And now is the brand ambassador for The Face Shop. Also my friend loves him, but I like Taemin of SHINee instead hehe. :)

--Nicky

Disclaimer: These are my own honest and independent opinions in this post and always will be. I was not, or at present, paid, asked or encouraged to represent opinions of other individuals or companies. I am not or have been affiliated with The Face Shop or Westfield or any other entity for this blog post.