On my neverending quest for glowy K-star skin, I tried Etude House’s Nymph Aura Volumer Baby Glow Stick. Etude House makes various Nymph Aura Volumers in liquid form. (Volumer=makeup that gives a dewy, shiny, plump look. It’s often liquid and can be mixed into liquid foundation and BB cream.)
Since I frequently wear mineral powder foundation and powder over my BB cushion, I thought the stick version would disturb my makeup less than the liquid version.
Dior Nail Glow? More like Dior Nail Whoa, am I right?!
Dior Nail Glow ($25 for 0.33 oz.) is one of those products that I second-guessed myself on all the time in the beginning. $25 for clear nail polish? Psssshh. But pretty soon, I noticed that the bottle was half-full and realized that it had become my go-to polish for lazy days (i.e., most days). It does exactly what it says: the pinks of your nails look pinker and the whites (or yellows as it may be) look whiter.
Let’s be real, no one will think you have a French manicure. But it does make your nails look naturally healthy and shiny. They just look polished in all senses of the word.
The formula is tinted bright, cool pink. You can see the cool bluish tones on the brush in the photos below; the blue counteracts any yellowness in your nails. The polish is as easy to apply and quick to dry as clear nail polish. I also like the wide paddle brush, which is curved on the sides to fit the contours of your nail. I usually apply two coats (no basecoat or topcoat necessary).
The nearest competitor I can think of is Perfect Formula’s Pink Gel Coat. It’s much cheaper at $30 for almost twice the amount of polish and also promises to strengthen and harden nails. In comparison, Dior Nail Glow promises nothing beyond improving the cosmetic appearance. I tried Pink Gel Coat long before Dior Nail Glow came out and ended up returning it because the color was too blue-toned. As in my nails looked like they belonged to an ice zombie with its circulation cut off in certain lights (especially on cloudy days).
Enjoy innovative beauty products? Vote for Sun Pearls, my idea for a moisturizer+sunscreen in travel-ready capsules.
Leave it to Dior to make a polish with just the right amount of blue and which only ever makes my nails look healthy and alive. So I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I would totally pay $25 again for clear nail polish.
No polish. Bor-ing!One coat. Now we’re talking . . .Two coats. Awww yeah!
Pros: Really brightens the appearance of nails. Dries quickly. Brush design makes for easy application. Polish hasn’t thickened after over a year.
Cons: Wears out quickly (3-4 days). Can’t counteract extreme yellowness.
The Face Shop’s Face It Extreme Dot Pen Eyeliner EX in 01 Black can actually be used for the subtlest, most natural look that’s far from extreme. A felt-tip liquid eyeliner pen, the eyeliner’s main selling point is the three-pronged fork tip designed for tightlining between lashes.
I am officially cutting myself off from buying any more BB cushions until I can get through the ones I own. My latest acquisition is the Hanyul Luminant Cushion, adding to my collection of cushions by AmorePacific, IOPE, Laneige, and HERA (links are to past reviews).
I’ll review the Hanyul cushion first and then compare all my cushions. Update: I did an even bigger cushion roundup in this post.
Hanyul Luminant Cushion Review
I bought the Hanyul Luminant Cushion PURELY because it’s shilled by Jun Ji Hyun (Cheon Song Yi from “My Love From Another Star”). Ugh, I’m so obsessed with her glowing skin. Ji Hyun, just start the protective order proceedings now.
#beautyselfie is my homage to Into the Gloss’s Top Shelf and Get It Beauty’s Talking Mirror series.
This inaugural #beautyselfie post features my friend Thuc, whose beauty style is playful and bright. She doesn’t wear much makeup on a day-to-day basis, but she can pull off lipstick from hot fuchsia to hot orange to hot magenta purple to, well, hot anything!
BeautyandtheCat's Beauty Blog 