i've finished all my samples so i'm ready for another sample review. i was torn between missha first treatment essence or innisfree soybean energy essence. both got good reviews from many bloggers, and i just found out that there are many others SK-II dupe like missha and innisfree. some even more cheaper than innisfree, but since i can't get another sample, i try brands that i can get. like innisfree.

here are some pictures about it.

*update: i've bought the mini full version! and i'm glad i've bought it. the other day, i have this growing pimples on my nose. usually, that pimple will grow big dan red and usually take 5-7 days to vanish. but using this essence in the morning and afternoon for 2 days make my pimple go away. seriously! super love this essence! *

the front and back of the sample

FYI, each sample can be use twice. and only the part that has the bottle picture that contains sample.

the front and back of the bottle.

the box. there are some instructions and explanation in english

left: there's the growing pimple on my nose right: it vanished after 3 days!

this is the first sample of skin79 that i bought and somehow i wanted to try this one first. many say that this is suitable for oily skin and the shade suits pale skin, usually like mine.. sooo.. here we go...

this is what's written on their us website: color- light beige, SPF50+ PA+++, skin type normal/oily.

the front and back of the sample sachet

left: swatch on my hand right: blended. you can see it blended perfectly.

left: swatch on my jawline right: full face. see, how it makes my face pink?

i know, i am late joining the bb cream wagon while the other already move to cc cream and probably getting ready for dd cream. but hey.. better late than never right? besides, i tried cc cream and i decided it isn't for me, so hence, bb cream trial series. thank God for korean brand who loves to make samples. hehehe... i decided to try a bunch of skin79 bb creams since everybody said that skin79 is the expert of bb cream. and they offer many types of bb creams.

an easy guide to help you choose which one is suitable for you

both are swatches on my hand left: tiny dots on my hand right: slightly blended

color wise, looks like the vital orange is the best match for me, but missha and hot pink are similar with my bodyshop, which is looks okay for me. and obviously the sunkissed bronzed is way to dark for me. bodyshop, missha and hot pink definitely have gray cast, but vital orange is yellow.

swatches on my jawline left: bodyshop, missha and vital orange right: hot pink and sunkissed bronze

on my jawline, missha and hotpink blend into my kin, but vital orange a bit yellow for me. but funny thing is, when i apply it to all my face, it looks perfect. it blends really perfect.

i've told you before that i bought the oil first but i haven't tried it yet. i tried the vitamin spray first and i love it.. so i hope i also love this oil since i dislike my loreal extraordinary oil for its smell.

what they said about it:
lucido-l hair make supplement triple beauty vitamin oil for dry hair for shiny, smooth and moist hair.
it's non sticky, non rinse, light floral fragrance. with combination of vitamin a,c, and e and avocado oil and moisturizing agent helps to nourish, make your dry hair become shiny, smooth and moist.

the package: a cute genie-bottle shaped. they choose different color for different hair type. pink for normal hair, yellow for dry hair, and orange for damaged hair. so it's easier to grab them from the aisle if you're in a hurry. the bottle has a pump but without stopper, unlike the vitamin spray. it's made from plastic and the size is perfect for travel.

the product: the oil is clear and not sticky. it's a bit runny for oil, but more viscose than loreal extraordinary oil. it absorbed quickly and the smell is soooo goood... i love the smell. hahaha...

the result: i use it on my damped hair. and i repeat it again when it's near dry. and i complete it with vitamin spray before going to bed. and the result? it makes my hair smooth and silky, but unfortunately, not moisturizing enough. i still have some flying hair the next morning. but it doesn't make my hair greasy when i use it on my dry hair.

verdict: if this oil and spray are cheaper than my extraordinary oil, i will definitely change it for these babies. or, i just use the oil instead.

left: front of the box (you can see the yellow botthe inside is the product) right: the back of the box

okay, let's just say after taking care of my hair more, i become addicted to hair care products. and when i shopped at nearby minimarket, i found lucido-l hair vitamin oil and without thinking i bought it. well, for my defense, my hair oil at home is running out and i don't like the smell so i was looking for something else. plus i just saw the advertisement days before. hahaha..

but then, i found out that they have vitamin spray also. i bought the hair oil for dry hair. and after reading a lot of reviews, many said that the vitamin spray for normal hair didn't do much for most of them, so i thought i should level up for the vitamin spray, so i bought the vitamin spray for damaged hair. well, my hair is not that damage this moment. i got my hair smoothed and colored, but that's all. nothing more. and i've been taking care of my hair ever since. well, my husband said that my hair do improved, so i was happy and wanted to find more hair products that work for me.

back to the vitamin spray..
there are 3 types, for normal, dry and damaged hair. and they also differentiate the bottle color, so it's easy to find which one you want to buy without reading the label. pink one for normal hair, yellow one for dry hair, and orange one for damaged hair.
the vitamin spray is packaged in a spray bottle, 200 ml in volume which is normal for me. the bottle isn't too big to hold, but it's not too small to carry everywhere. this is a water based vitamin, no wash needed afterwards. and with subtle floral scent. hmm... i do agree that this vitamin spray do smell good, but sadly, it doesn't last long.
the claims: with vitamin a, c, e, avocado oil and moisturizing agent helps to fresh, make your damaged hair become shiny, smooths, and moist.

how to use: just spray it onto your dry or towel-dry or damped hair. spray especially for middle shaft to end of your hair. repeat if needed.

the hair spray: since it's water based, the consistency is watery, just like water, but smell good. it doesn't leave sticky feeling afterwards.

the package: the spray bottle is made from plastic bottle, feels sturdy and strong. it has safety pin and you just twist it to "open" sign before using it and close it again to prevent your kids from playing with it.

the smell: smell good. they said it is floral scent. well, i am clueless about scents, so i just agree that it's floral. for me it's good.. hehehehe... i just can't stop smelling my hair after using this vitamin spray.

the result: since it's water based, i can't see direct result after using it. usually i use my usual hail oil on half-dry hair, and when my hair is completely dry, i spray with this vitamin. and the morning after, it will look shiny and smooth and smell good. i've been using this after 3 hair washes, so i can conclude that if i use it alone, the effect is unnoticeable. it can't tame my flying hair. but if i use it in combination with hair oil, it is perfect. i guess you have to level up to see result for your hair. if you have normal hair, probably you should buy the vitamin spray for dry hair.

well, i haven't try the vitamin oil yet, but if it works like my usual hair oil, i will dump my old one and replace it with this oil + spray.. who can't resist nice smelling hair?

left: the spray bottle in my hand right: the back of the bottle. you can read the ingredients and directions there.

sample review time! i've used this sample for 10 days now, so i guess i can make a clear review about it. this serum was recommended on almost every beauty blog that i encounter, so i want to give it a try. i also have pores problem on my nose and my cheek near my nose, but they aren't as big as my husband's. but still.. oh, and i have oily skin. but now tend toward normal-combination. oily zone usually on nose, chin and a bit of my cheek.

what they said about it: peach sake pore serum containing rice sake, peach extract rich in vitamins A and C, and silica powder, this soft essence minimizes shine and the appearance of pores.

the product: it's a milky white cream. not too thick and not too runny. it absorbs quickly into my skin.

the smell: i don't know how to describe it. i can smell a hint of peachy scent, but i also noticed strong smell, probably sake. since i don't know what sake smell like, so i guess it probably the sake. my husband dislike the smell. well, i have strange smelling sensor, so i can say much.

the effect: quickly after being applied on, i noticed that my skin looks smoother. it also mattifies my skin. pretty good oil control. usually i use this at night, since many bloggers said that serum was thicker than essence, so better use it at night. and i did. but once i tried it in the morning, and put my usual moisturizer. since both products are intended to control oil, somehow the effect is doubled, and i found my outer cheek (near my jaw) is pretty dry and flaky. i guess if i want to use it in the morning, better find another moisturizer. or just use this at night. for the pore minimizing effect, i don't see the difference. my pores are still the same.

actually, i want to try this on my husband, since he has bigger pores than me, but unfortunately, on his first try, his skin somehow becomes flaky instantly. so he refused to try again on the next day. i guess probably this serum doesn't change pores at all.

overall, this is a good serum for oil control, but no effect in pore minimizing. and for you who don't like strong smelling product, you might want to skip this. will i buy the actual product? i don't think so if i found better serum. i have my eyes on o.s.t vit c serum.. we'll see later...

the sample: at the back there's explanation about this serum in english

day 1: my face after applying the serum, and my pores on my nose

day 10: my whole face - better oil control, and my nose - still has visible pores.

this is another sample review that i bought couple weeks ago. i was into western original foundation, but lately i found that they were too heavy and tend to be cakey one me. and i had difficulties in finding the best shades for me. but then i read about korean skincare, and i was thrilled to try various bb cream and cc cream. though i wasn't sure about cc cream, but after i read more about it, and tried two of them, i decided cc cream is not for me just yet. so, here i am testing a bunch of bb creams.

i had the bodyshop bb cream, and i love it, though after reading a lot of bb creams review, i realised that the bodyshop had grey cast. but it still looks okay for me. so for now, i haven't found the right one yet. the first one that i try is missha signature real complete bb cream no.21. i didn't know there were 3 shades of this bb cream, and the seller didn't told me which shade she had, so luckily i got the shade 21.

source: berriesinthesnow.blogspot.com

the front and the back of the sample

left: bb cream on my hand middle: half blended right: completely blended

this is another sample that i bought last week. actually, after reading other bloggers review, i didn't want to buy cc cream sample, but i was curios about etude house's and skinfood's, so in order to fulfill the quota, i bought these two. actually, both of them were quite opposite so they were good choices to try.

what they said: etude's indonesia website don't offer a lot of explanation about it. they just say that this is daily multifunction cream formulated with rock rose extract that improves and treats skin.
 as you can see above, there are two variants of cc cream, silky and glow. i pick silky since the skinfood was already an example of glowy cc cream, so i wanted to try silky which give matte finish effect.

color: it is a white cream, but if you take a closer look, you will see tiny bubbles which will change the color to your skintone when you smoothened it on your face. it won't change color on other surface (i try to wipe it with tissue and the color doesn't change). this one gives natural color similar to my skin tone than skinfood's. it doesn't give me white cast.

coverage: very sheer, but i haven't compared it with skinfood. it helps a little to cover my dark circles but it doesn't help with my dark spots. it just evens my skin tone. i guess they don't differ much in term of coverage.

smell: i can't describe the smell, but it smells good. not weirdo herbal thingy like skinfood.

oil control: though it creates silky effect, the oil control doesn't differ much from skinfood and my usual foundation. but i don't have to wear powder to set this cream, unlike skinfood.

breakouts: i don't experienced breakouts using this product for two days, but again, it might different for other people.

overall, this is more preferable cc cream for me, but i won't buy actual product from now. like i said before, i prefer bb cream more right now. probably if i had clear and glowy skin, i would purchase this cc cream.

the sample i bought

left: the product on my hand (if you look closely you can see tiny bubbles) middle: half blended right: fully blended. no white cast. a bit glow but it disappeared to matte finish

left: bare face right: with cc cream

you can see from the last picture that there's no big difference between my bare face and with cc cream. the cc cream only helps a little with my dark circles and even my skin tone. make my face a bit brighter.

this is another sample review. so this is just probably a preview, not a complete review since i don't use it long enough. actually, i was mistaken this cream for another cream, the missha super aqua waterfull cream, but when i read the review and compare it to my sample, i realised they were different. and i was right. funny thing is, i can't find the description at misshaus.com, but i do find the description somewhere else.

ingredients: birch sap, baobab tree extract, willow herb extract, antarcticine (glacier glycoprotein extract).
description: activates moisture energy and maximizes moisture holding power to create moisturized skin, transparent gel texture without oil fills moisture. leaves no shine and oil, controls sebum to keep refreshing and matt balance. antarcticine creates smooth and moisturized skin and soothes with cooling feeling. birch sap with excellent soothing effect creates hydrated skin.

now, on to the sample review...
the product: it is a clear gel, pretty thick in consistency. but when i apply it on my skin, it absorbed quickly.

smell: i don't smell any distinctive smell. but you can't trust my nose, somehow i have problems with smelling.

the result: it do leave my skin no shine, or at least no different with my loreal icy gel. (i've tried it along my usual skincare regime). but it sorts of take away all the glow on my skin as well. my skin look dull. perhaps i would purchase the actual size. plus, i have breakout this morning after using it for two days.

overall, it is a nice cream to try for those with combination-oily skin. but be careful for those with sensitive or acne prone skin, this cream probably cause breakouts for you.

left: the sample sachet right: the cream on my hand

yeyy.. some of my samples order finally arrived. actually i wanted my samples from testerkorea.com to arrive sooner, but it's not gonna happen. i still have to wait another month or so. most of the samples that arrived yesterday were bb and cc creams, and the first that i was curious to try was the skinfood vitawater cc cream.

the skinfood vitawater cc cream come in two different designs, but no different formula. the green one is smiley water and the white one is shy water, though i've read in some blogs that one of them was for reducing redness. but most of the bloggers said it had no different. soo.. since the seller that i got it from didn't specified which i will get, so i didn't care, and i found out i got the green one. well, the green one is cuter. hehehe..

cc cream is claimed to be makeup and skincare in a bottle. in fact, there are 5 claims for this product: improvement of skin tone (or color control, therefore cc cream), whitening, anti-wrinkle, SPF 35++ PA, and moisturizing. most of the cc creams are either white or color changing, but this one looks like an ordinary bb cream or foundation. it was beige and slightly runnier than my max factor foundation. when i apply it on my face, it was pretty watery and moist, it's not absorbed that quickly compared to my bb cream. slightly after applying it, my face is glowy and white! i know this vitawater has whitening purpose, but i don't want it to look obvious like that. and though it is nice to see the final look is dewy on my hand, i don't like how it looks on my face. i prefer put a little powder to set it. obviously, if i wanted to make it work, i had to use darker powder than the translucent one. even though some said that it will oxidised, but it still look white on my already pale skin. even my husband notice that.

the color: it leaves white cast on me. too pale. i wonder why they make a shade that will not work for most asian?

the coverage: it is very sheer. my problems are dark circle undereye, a bit redness and some spot under the corner of my right eye, and the cc creams only help to even my skintone. the rest of problems are still there. and it's not buildable, or you will look like wearing a mask.

the finish: it has dewy finish. though i like that it makes my skin glow, but i like matte finish better.

the smell: i can't describe the smell well. inside the sachet, it smells like a herbal medicine, but when i swatched it on my hand, the herbal scent dissapears. some said it changed into citrus scent. but on my face i smell nothing.

the oil control: well, it doesn't make my face greasier, but it doesn't help much either. so it was average oil control. i wear it for 4 hours and my nose get shinier like usual.

overall, i wouldn't purchase the actual size product since the shade didn't suit me. too bad for the white cast. probably if you have great skin and just want an even skintone, probably this product is suitable for you. but for me, probably i'll skip cc and just stay with bb instead.

left: the sample that i received right: product on my hand

left: immediately after application right: a few minutes after, you can see it's blended completely on my hand

left: my bare face - with dark circles, redness and some dark spots middle: right half with cc cream, and left without right: full face with cc cream, you can see my face looks white instantly, and unnatural