i was running low on my trusty missha cushion when i went to singapore. so i was planning to get another innisfree cushion (they have those colorful cushion case that i want to get one) but unfortunately they didn't have my shade. then i went to etude house and tried their new cushion and the BA said that they have special edition cushion case so that got me instantly. my usual shade was 21, but i thought i should go one shade up. but apparently they only had pink base on the higher shade, so i stick with 21 since they have two versions of 21. it was late night when i got my cushion, and when i was back home, i swatched it on my arm and it looked yellow! so i was reluctant to try it on my face until it was due. so.. let's see how it goes...

the description on the box: perfect cover, smooth touch, absolutely long-lasting! any cushion all day perfect provides long-lasting perfect, elastic makeup.

the packaging

the back of the box

the packaging: since i was getting a special edition cushion case, they gave me two separate boxes. one only has the cushion case, which is the limited edition one, and the other is the the cushion refill to put inside the case, along with a backup air puff sponge. the limited edition is a sparkly one, and there were 4 types, and there were only two types left and i got the first one. it was the black one with silver glitter all over it and there's "smile, sparkle, shine" text written on top. both boxes have description at the back in korean and a little bit english. at the top you can see the shade name and also the type of the special edition cushion that you get.

the shade name on top of the box

the case and the puff

the shade: i got the shade 21 beige, which is the yellow base one. and it's very yellow. even more yellow than my missha one. plus, it's a bit dark than my usual missha #21 shade. but it's just slightly.

the plastic separator

the seal of the cushion

the product: once i put the refill into the cushion case, it's just the same as the other cushion. it has cover sticker that cover the cushion sponge and once i remove it, i can see the cushion sponge beneath. now, this is a normal usual cushion sponge. it's not meshed like some cushion that comes after this one. or those tension one that comes a little bit later after that. i don't have any problem with the puff and it seems similar to my missha air puff, which is good since i like missha's air puff very much.

the cushion

arm swatch

the result: aside from the shade color, i like this cushion too. it gives medium coverage, which i like. it doesn't look too much for daily wear but it still cover my redness and a bit of light acne scar. but if i have inflamed acne or new acne scar, i will still need separate concealer. it gives dewy finish, which is not a problem to me. i put powder on top and it will be okay for me. i don't wear makeup all day long, and it holds just fine for me. it holds for about 4 hours before i take my makeup off.

honestly, i have no problem with this cushion. i just wish the shade selection is not off. the #19 shade is pink-base so it appears way lighter on me. i just wish the #21 shade is not as yellow as this one. but i wouldn't recommend this cushion if you have oily skin since this one has dewy finish. especially if you're living in hot and humid country, don't forget to put your powder on top or the foundation will melt in no time. recently etude house is expanding their shade range, although it's still not great at all. so remind yourself when you want to try any of their base products. as for me, i won't repurchase this one as i'm more intrigued to their double lasting line. i've tried their foundation sample and i like it so probably i will try their cushion from that line too.

jaw test

before/after

side by side

after about 4 hours jaw test

left: after application right: after 4 hours

when hubby was going to europe, i set out a list for him to buy mostly catrice and essence products because i knew that it's european products, so it's supposed to be found easily there. but since i couldn't pinpoint where to buy, i just hope he would come across them when he was walking around. and i was lucky. he was going to a minimarket when he found essence's stand. so even though i've sent him the picture and description about what to buy (including the shade name), he still asked me. oh well, although he didn't manage to get them all, at least he got most of them. one of them was this compact powder. this was widely raved by bloggers and youtubers, so considering that i was running low on my canmake powder (this was before my last japan trip), i decided to buy and try this one. unfortunately, after he got this, my usual online shop sell this powder, hahaha.. oh well, at least he got it cheaper there.

this is the description from their european website: if you prefer pressed powder, this fine, compact powder is for you! it can be applied above foundation to mattify your skin and set your makeup. for a matt, natural and smooth complexion. it's perfect when you're out and about with your girls!

the packaging: being a drugstore product, catrice and essence are well known for their cheap packaging, and this one is no exception. it comes in transparent plastic compact case so you can see the powder inside. at the back there's a label and ingredients list. no mirror and sponge, but it's okay.

the packaging

the color: this is a translucent powder. but it's super white in reality. and if you try to swatch it with your finger, it will swatch as white powder. but don't worry, the whitish color will disappear once you blended it on your face. it might appear whitish for awhile, but then it will blend nicely. but i'm not sure will it work the same for darker skin tone.

label at the back

the product: the pan looks boring, it's just a white compact powder with a little bit wave pattern at the bottom. it feels silky smooth to the touch but when i try using it with brush, it gets very powdery. this looks similar to catrice powder, but i recall catrice isn't as powdery as this one. and this one is very fragile. i brought this one on my vacation, one by car and the other by plane. with car, it got bumped a bit at the bottom, but i can push it back to the pan so it was okay after a few more uses. but after the plane trip.. it's completely broken. luckily it was okay when we arrived at our destination, but it didn't survive the trip back home. so i strongly discouraged you from bringing this when you're travelling.

inside

the result: this is a great powder for oily skin. it mattifies my skin even better than my canmake without being cakey. and it hold my sebum even better. i use this on my sister's wedding day at singapore. and it was hot and humid day, but my makeup survived! i put on my makeup around 8.30am and by 3.30pm my makeup still held on pretty okay. as long as i didn't scratch my face, my foundation was still intact.

arm swatch

honestly, i'm impressed with this powder. for me it's better than my previous catrice and canmake powder. however, i still find this powder is slightly too mattifying. so if you have dry skin, you might want to think about it. but if you have oily skin, i'm recommending this powder for you to try. especially if you're in tight budget, because this powder is very affordable. unfortunately, essence is not widely available here in indonesia, but several online shops sell this online. but if you're living in europe and usa, you can get this easier than me.

i love japan. it seems like beauty and makeup heaven. and more over, i like their daiso better. somehow the daiso there has lots more good stuff than here. the daiso there has lots of beauty stuff and they are crazy cheap. i know, some of them that i've tried in the past are half failed, half success. but when i saw that they had toner in 4 variants, i decided i should get it. after all, it's a toner, and i rarely have problem with toner. it might be bleh but it might be a success too. so why not try a thing or two? unfortunately, my kids decided to get sick there so i had no chance going to harajuku's daiso which is the biggest daiso store that i knew. but my husband pushed us to visit a little daiso store near our hotel in osaka and i was lucky. i could find two, although the one that i'm interested in was not available. back here i decided to try the rice ceramide first since the other one is pretty boring to me.

this is the description that i could find from alphabeauty.net: a face moisturizing lotion (toner) contains sake (japanese wine) & ceramide extract from rice. it nourishes skin with high moisture replenishment and gives a supple and smooth feel. no fragrance. no synthetic coloring.

the toner bottle

the packaging: just like any budget products, it doesn't come in a fancy packaging. no box. no leaflet whatsoever. it's just the bottle straight up covered in plastic sealing. there's a label at the back with description and ingredients list in english and japanese. however, this toner only comes in 120 ml bottle, which is less than i've used to use at the past. especially compared to the gigantic hatomugi toner that comes in huge 500 ml bottle. the opening squirt enough product but be careful not to spill it.

description and ingredients list at the back both in english and japanese

the scent: i believe this is scentless. but since it contains sake, i can smell faint scent of sweet alcoholic scent.

the bottle's opening

the product: this is a watery toner, which is liquid as water and colorless as water as well. it's quick absorbing and doesn't leave sticky feeling. since this is watery toner, i think you can transfer it to a spray bottle and use this as mist. i forgot to try it, and i'm almost finish with this bottle, so i think i'll try with another version.

toner on my hand

the result: let me tell you about my skin condition first. i've put my skin in jeopardy while testing retinoid and pyunkangyul toner, which apparently it dries my skin rather than hydrates it. but then i finished them and we had to go on holiday. so i used my kose sekkisui travel set and apparently, they works well in giving back the hydration to my skin. so back home, i tested this toner carefully. when i use only one layer, it does nothing to my skin. it doesn't give me supple skin as well as my kose toner. then i decided to do 4-5 layers and it works well. so i do 3 layers in the morning and 5-6 layers at night. but since i'm putting the product back one by one, that order works well with toner and emulsion in the morning, and toner-vitamin c- moisturizer at night. when i added buffet serum, i only use 3-4 layers at night because it feels too much using it in combination with the serum. honestly, i like this one better than the pyunkangyul because it does hydrate my skin and making it supple. although the effect isn't as good as the kose one.

after patting it in

obviously, i quite like this toner. it's cheap and it works well, although i have to use layers of it, but it doesn't matter as long as it works. unfortunately, this toner only comes in small bottle, so i managed to almost finish it in about 2 months, which is not cost effective anymore. but if you're having layers of product on top of this toner, then you might not need layers of toner. but since i'm putting my skincare regime on diet, i have to put layers of toner to sufficiently hydrate it. scientifically speaking, ceramide in the ingredients helps hydrating my skin but i don't see the brightening effect that usually comes from products with rice in their ingredients. but as i always say, i've already too pale to begin with, so i might not notice the difference. as for you who's concern about the sake, i don't know whether this product is considered halal or not, but you might want to avoid it to be safe. i think everyone can try this toner especially if you like ceramide and sake. but avoid it if you're having problem with booze in skincare's ingredients. i also have to warn you that this toner still contains paraben, if you have any problem with it. price wise, this won't hurt your wallet. as for availability, it might be a little hard to get this product. usually daiso japan only sells their beauty product in japan only so oversea buyers have to buy this online and the price might be different. as for me, i definitely will buy this one again if i got the chance.

ever since i saw ordinary products popping in my instagram fee, i'm curious about them. so i silently waiting for review before deciding which one to buy. but the first thing that i knew i wanted to try is this buffet. based on the description, it seems to be all around serum which is promoted as anti aging serum. i thought it would be similar to missha long name ampoule. so, basically i'm curious to see which one works better.

the description from their website: this formula combines a comprehensive array of studied technologies to target multiple signs of ageing at once. the technologies are matrixyl 3000 peptide complex (with palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7), matrixyl synthe'6 peptide complex (with palmitoyl tripeptide-38), syn-ake peptide complex (with dipeptide diaminobutyroyl benzylamide diacetate), relistase peptide complex (with acetylarginyltrytophyl diphenylglycine), argirelox peptide complex (with acetyl hexapeptide-8, pentapeptide-18), probiotic complex (with lactococcus lactis lysate), in a base of 11 skin-friendly amino acid complexes. the total concentration of these technologies in the formula by weight is 25,1%.

the box

a bit description and direction

the packaging: all the boxes are the same. they're basically white boxes with the name of the product at front, with a bit of information at the sides of the box along with ingredients list. the bottle itself is also same as the other, it's transparent glass bottle with dropper to dispense the product and white label. really suits the brand's name, which is "the ordinary". nothing extraordinary about the products. since the serum doesn't need special care, the bottle is transparent. if it needs uv protection, then it will be a dark glass bottle like the vitamin c and retinoid ones. the dropper is okay. it's quite long so it will reach most of the product (at least that's what i experienced with the lactic acid and vitamin c) and i only have one or two more uses that the dropper couldn't reach.

in french

ingredients list

the scent: i think it's scentless, but you can smell a little bit odor from the ingredients. so basically it doesn't have added fragrance so if you're sensitive to fragrance or scent, then you will like it.

the bottle

the product: the serum is cloudy white serum. it's more viscous than missha's, but i think it has the same or similar consistency as the niacinamide one. it won't slip as fast as the retinoid (which is liquid), but it doesn't as thick as cream of gel. it absorbs quickly and leave slightly tacky feeling but it will vanish if you tapped it in your skin with your palm. this serum is quite tricky. it's pilling up under my melano cc serum, but not under my ordinary retinoid. i've tried using less product but still it's still pilling up under my melano cc serum.

the dropper

the result: actually i'm torn about this serum. i like how it hydrates my skin and making it plump. but it's tricky to use. somehow i suspect that this serum might have a part in putting my skin in jeopardy. i've stopped using this serum during the holiday and i put back things back one by one. and my first week went well with just first essence and emulsion in the morning and toner, vitamin c, moisturizer at night. then i add this serum to the equation. the first three days, nothing happened. but up until today, i will get acnes here and there. tiny little bumps that annoys me. they will be gone in 3-4 days but something else will popped up later. but i've come to the last bit of my buffet serum, so i will use it elsewhere than my face and then i will update you here whether or not my face's clearing up after stopping this serum.

product on my hand

after blending it in

honestly, i'm disappointed in this serum. i have high hope in finding missha's serum dupes which works well for me. considering this is not a cheap one, i also hope that this will work on me, but unfortunately, i don't think this serum and me is a match. but if you're looking for an all-around serum with affordable price, then you can try this serum. i think every skin types can try this serum. but lately there's been commotion with ordinary since there were rumours about the founder, so if you're not willing to support the brand because of the issue, then don't buy it and try something else. as for me, definitely won't repurchase.