Face Product Review: Etude House Powder Highlighters

Product: Etude House (brand) facial highlighters
Price Range: Depends on where you live; I live in the US and they are around $8-$15 on ebay
Where can you buy this brand?: Ebay, Amazon, the drugstore if you live in Korea

Etude House is a brand of Korean Cosmetics that range from making lipstick/gloss, to mascara and eyeshadow, to blushes/highlighters/bronzers. Their claim to fame though, I believe, is their highlighting powders:

The highlighting powders above are just a few of the many this company makes. I have 1 or two that have been discontinued, but are still going strong with me which I think shows how well they are made since they last so long in the pan. Of course, I am a little biased because I absolutely ADORE highlighters!! Particularly powder.

I own around 5-6 of their highlighters of all different kinds, and I happen to love all of them. This is a general review of their powder highlighters, so I won't point any out in particular.

    First off, the texture: The texture of these powders is always a very soft, easily blendable texture. Never have I tried before or after trying these, a highlighter that is as blendable or as easy to apply. They are hard pressed and take quite a while to go through, and they don't flake a lot and don't crumble under a brush unlike some other highlighters that are of the same texture.

    Next, is pigmentation: The pigmentation of these is always (100%) of the time, a-freaking-mazing! You barely need any to get a very prominent, full glow on your face, though this does cause the problem of over-applying to be very easy. I personally do that a lot, but once again, these products are so easily blended out, that with a dense brush, the excess highlight is easily turned down in intensity.

    On to packaging: Adorable. Etude House makes some of the most adorable packaging on the Korean cosmetics market. (See pictures below):

Can't get enough of the adorable, princessy, girly packaging!!

    Now for variety: The color range of these highlighters is very good, typically coming in white, gold, lavender, pink, and multicolored. There is a shade to match any skintone from very deep to very pale.

    To summarize, if you want basically a perfect highlighter and have the money to spend on an ebay purchase (with free shipping, I might add) and are of age to make an online purchase or can get a parent to do so for you, DEFINITELY get one of these!! You will not regret it what-so-ever!

Score:
5 out of 5 cuppy-cakes!!!

January 2013 Faves and Fails!

 Faves!

~ Monistat Anti-Chafe Powder Gel: This is the drugstore dupe for the Smashbox PhotoFinish primer; exact same product, only you get twice as much product for about 1/10th the price. Leaves my skin perfectly smooth and ready for foundation, and only a little bit is required for full facial coverage so one tube lasts FOREVER. I got mine for $4.00 at Wal-Mart.

~ Make Up For Ever Extreme Camoflage Cream Concealer: This is sorta like the Hard Candy Glamoflauge concealer, only it sets to a powdery finish rather than sticky and you need to use even less (if that's possible). It is also waterproof, fragrance free, non-comedogenic, and good on sensitive skin.

~ Chanel Perfect Corrector Concealer: This is bar-none the most expensive concealer I own. But, I have to say it was worth every. Single. Penny. This particular shade is very pink in color so it cancels out my dark circles VERY well. When it sets it is so light on the skin that I forget that I am wearing it, and it glides on and doesn't sink into the lines under my eyes and make me look older. The packaging is so elegant too; a softly frosted glass-like tube.

~ Chanel "Soleil Tan De Chanel" Bronzer in "Desert Corail" #61: This is the ultimate bronzer that I own. All I have to do is sweep this over my face lightly with my Eco-Tools bronzer brush, and my face looks vibrant, alive, healthy, and glowing.

~ MAC Studio Tech foundation in NW15: This fast became my favorite foundation because of he convenience and ease of application. It's a creme foundation that comes in a compact, and I absolutely love the ability it gives me to just carry my foundation with me and touch it up anywhere! The foundation is non-drying and doesn't cake on the face.

~ Wet n Wild's Megalast lipstick in "Dollhouse Pink": This has become my Holy Grail, #1 favorite lipstick on Earth. It's a bright Barbie pink and I just LOVE it! When I decided I liked it I went out and bought all that wear on the shelf (sadly only 4), and one was broken---the hell I'm gonna waste it! I melted it into a little pot and can use it with a lip brush! I hope they never discontinue this color!!!

~ Sinful Color's Liquid Lip Shine in "Pucker-Up Baby": This is the perfect gloss to pair with the Wet n Wild lipstick mentioned above. Basically it's the same color. Now, though this is a lipgloss it is as opaque as a liquid lipstick. It adds a lovely amount of shine to the matte of the Dollhouse Pink lipstick. Sadly, these are really hard to find...

~ MAC Paintpot in "Blackground": This is my favorite black base for my main eyeshadow look--a black smokey eye. The color itself is a shimmery black rather than a matte black, but I feel that keeps it from looking to chalky. This product doesn't crease, smudge, smear, or fade at all! I'd really like to get more colors of Paint Pots so I can use them with all my eyeshadows.

~ NYC Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder: This is the most inexpensive powder I have ever found for the amount of product and the quality. It's less than $3.00 for 20g of product, and the loose powder is silky, smooth, non-drying, non-caking, and works great for setting makeup or catching fallout while you're putting on your eyeshadow.

FAILS!

I only have one fail for the month of January but it is a BIG one! It's those cheap 1-3$ mascaras you can get from China on eBay. I applied one and the SMELL!! AUUUGH!! It smelled like rotten fruit and gave me a nice big migraine (smells will trigger them in me). Told my dad about it and according to him, they smell that way because they are made with a very cheap solvent that more expensive mascaras (and by expensive I mean like a $5 one from the US). I've bought 4 or 5 of them, and I will NOT be using any of them anymore! I don't blame myself for experimenting, I blame them for making such crappy products! Do not pass Go! Do not collect $200! Do not buy these things!