Pale Products and More

This blush is literally one of the first blushes I purchased after getting back into makeup. I was pretty much convinced that since I was so cool toned, I needed every single makeup product I owned to be cool toned as well, lmao. That said go past me for buying this because its gorgeous.

The Urban Decay Afterglow 8 Hour Blush retails for $26 for .23 oz; for comparison the Too Faced Love Flush blush goes for $26 for .21 oz and the Tarte Amazonian Clay blush goes for $29 for .2 oz. Its supposed to be blendable, sheer, and glowy basically. I think UD is repackaging or discontinuing these, as Ulta had them on sale for a long time and now does not stock them. They can still be found on Sephora or directly from Urban Decay.

The shade Bittersweet is a cool toned, bright purple with shimmer. It definitely looks intimidating in the pan, but goes on as more of a lilacy pink shade.

It blends easily enough, and does live up to the sheer claim. That said it can also be built, and its hard to overdo it.


Overall it gets a 9/10 from me. Its a perfectly fine product that doesn't particularly wow me, but does perform consistently. I would give it a perfect score if the shade was more true to the in pan color, but that's just a slight thing.

Time to review one of my all time favorite products in my all time favorite category of makeup: highlighters. Obviously that would be the Etude House Secret Beam highlighter! I bought this on a whim when hauling some skincare from Jolse.com because mama can't say no to a highlighter.

It retails for $7.44 on Jolse for 1.6 oz. To put that in perspective, the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector comes in 1.7 oz for around $40. Just let that sink in. (and for a more accurate comparison, a drugstore highlighter of similar price, the Nyx Duochromatic Highlighters are $7.99 for .21 oz).

Now, I wasn't really expecting much when I purchased this. Strobing/highlighting/whatever term you want to use-ing is EXTREMELY popular in the Western world, but in Korea, its not as much of a focus. They tend to like glowy skin overall, and prefer highlighters that are a cream/liquid that give a more natural, lit from within look. So I expected this product to give a nice subtle glow, and not be super intense.

Damn was I ever wrong. Etude House really came through with this one. Swatches honestly don't look like much, but applied to the face? LORD the glow is too strong. Like, this highlighter was made for me; if anyone knows me they know how much I LOVE an intense highlight.


There's absolutely no glitter in this, praise. Only downside is it does slightly emphasize pores/texture, but I'm willing to work with that. It literally fades maybe a teeny tiny but throughout the day, but nothing very noticeable. Like, I've napped while wearing this and I sleep on my stomach with my cheek pressed into the pillow; and I'm telling you- minimum fading.


Overall this product blew me out of the water, honestly. 10/10 absolutely. I've never run out of a highlighter but if I ever do, I'll be repurchasing asap.

And here's another review from my recent haul! If you know anything about me you know I love Gudetama. If I had a disposable income, I would have bought the entire Holika Holika x Gudetama line. BUT seeing as how I (sadly) don't, I previously got a blush (review here), and now decided to go with the sebum pact. I tried to purchase items that I would actually get use out of, and not only buy for the packaging.

It retails for around $10 on Jolse. Its essentially a primer you apply to your t zone (and anywhere else that you get oily) before your base makeup. It is supposed to help absorb oil and fill your pores.

I'm in love with the packaging. My other Gudetama product is cute, sure, but the packaging really does feel and look cheap. This compact is much sturdier and has a really cute baby blue/white matte case. The plastic divider between the puff and product is a thick plastic, which means it will last longer compared to the flimsy plastic separator in the blush.

This is a white powder with a very faint sweet scent. When you apply, it might look a little white if you use a heavy hand, but if you blend it a bit it looks fine. After application my skin feels silky smooth.

I tested this with multiple base products on top and found that no matter what foundation I used, it always did a good job of controlling my oil. With some foundations, it had a tendency to make the foundation cling, but only if I had applied a ton of this.

What really impressed me was when I used this with the Peripera Milk Moist Pact (review here). When I used that product without this primer, I immediately looked extremely dewy which progressed into unbearably oily throughout the day. When I used this, I looked slightly dewy after application, which just got dewier as the day went on, and only crossed into oily territory late in the day.

Overall I give this a 9/10. I find that it makes a noticeable difference in oil production, but only keeps my pores filled for part of the day. I could see using this on days I don't feel like wearing foundation (few and far between), as it would still control my oil. I would definitely reconsider purchasing this product, Gudetama collab or not!

Hi Hi okay today I have a review for a highlighter! If you know me you know I love highlighters and will literally never stop buying them no matter how many I have. I'm always on the hunt for more because I have a highlighter problem if I'm being honest. Pretty early on in my highlighter search I came across the Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls in the color Translucent.

This retails for $13.99 on Ulta for .28 oz of product (for reference the Becca highlighters are the same amount for $38). Its supposed to give you a "glowing complexion" and "perfectly even skintone", the latter being a weird claim for a highlighter if you ask me.

As far as packaging its pretty standard for Physicians Formula, and by that I mean its not very attractive and a little cheap looking. But it has yet to break on me or anything like that. You do get a brush with it, but I've never used it.

The color is like a champagney shade that can actually look a bit dark on me sometimes if I'm not careful, It can be applied with a light hand for a subtle glow, or built up to be pretty intense. It doesn't does not emphasize texture or pores at all. It wears really well for 8 hours with minimal fading.

Face swatches are blurry but You can still see how it looks.




Overall I'd say this gets a 9/10, its a really solid product; I just wish the shade wasn't quite so champange, as it can look orange if I'm not careful. I've had mine for quite some time and use it really frequently, and have yet to hit pan. Its kind of like a staple product in my collection, one that doesn't necessarily speak to me, but one I know will always do the job.

Today's foundation review is on the SKIN79 Green Super Plus BB Cream (this has a super long and confusing name but we'll just go with that). I got this guy awhile ago after seeing that it was the lightest bb SKIN79 makes. SKIN79 bb creams get really good reviews, so I was heading into this with pretty high hopes.

I've seen it around being sold for a few different prices, but its always under $20, so there's that. It doesnt seem to be on Jolse, but I've seen it Amazon (and I think that's where I got it, not sure).

As far as the claims, on the SKIN79 website this bb cream is supposed to give you a "natural glowing look and even the skintone". There's really not much else as far as claims. It gives a pretty skinlike finish, maybe slightly satin and/or dewy; but just more natural than anything else.

I applied it over the Rimmel Perfect&Fix primer and sprayed the Loreal setting spray on top. It was worn for 5 hours, but I've worn it for longer on other days and find it performs exactly as I describe in this review.

The shade is a cool toned shade, sadly its a bit dark on me. It seems to have a bit more of a beige tone than an orange one, thank god; so even though its a tad dark, its very easily passable.

Skin79 Green applied to left side

entire face with Skin79

It applied very easily and blends out effortlessly. I get light to medium coverage with one layer. It hides my pores pretty well, and sits really nicely on the skin immediately after application. There is no immediate settling or patchiness.

finished face. I can't take a straight on picture for the life of me lmao

I checked in after 3 hours and it was looking really good. It honestly looked almost exactly as it did when applied, only it had ever so slightly settled into my smile lines. My pores might have been a little more visible than before, but just barely.

my pores look pretty dang good for me

you can kind of see the smile line situation here

I didn't get pictures at the 5 hour mark, but my face honestly looked the same as three hours in. Slightly oily but that's it. On days when I wear this longer, I think it wears the same for 8+ hours. I have honestly never gone a day wearing this when it looks bad at the end of the night. It doesn't break down, or rub off, or anything like that. If anything, as the day goes on it unsettles in my smile lines? I don't even know.

Overall this gets a 9/10. I think this is a really solid product, I only wish it was slightly paler. I have no qualms with the finish, application, or wear time! Only issue is that I can't purchase this off of my normal Korean product website, and have to use Amazon, but that's really a non issue.

On my journey for the lightest foundations, I came across the Graftobain Foundation in the color Silk Sprite, which is the lightest they sell. Its a theatre makeup like the Mehrn Celebre one, so I was worried about cakey-ness and heaviness.

It retails for $20, but I got a sample of it off of camerareadycosmetics.com for $4 for .07 oz. It claims to be "soft, silky, and gentle for sensitive skin", "light enough for everyday use, but with enough coverage to perform through even the most demanding of circumstances."

I wore this for 9 hours with my the Rimmel Fix&Perfect primer and Loreal setting spray.

The color of Silk Sprite is suuuuper light with cool undertones, aka my skin tone, lmao. I've noticed with theatre makeup, when it says cool it actually is cool, unlike regular foundation (drug store to high end), they seem to think "cool" must mean orange.

Graftobain on right side

full face

As with most cream foundations, this is slightly harder than the average foundation to blend out; nothing undo-able though. It applies pretty thick as theatre makeup has a tendency to do, but if you apply it thinly and use a sponge to blend, it looks fine. Immediately after application it looks okay, but settles into my smile lines and forehead wrinkles. It also clings a bit to dry patches. It also does nothing for my pores, they are very visible.


After 3 hours it looked pretty much the same, weirdly enough the product that had settled into my lines seemed to have disappeared. My nose was looking very textured and dry though, and the product was pilling up on my sebaceous filiments. And again, this foundation was doing nothing for my pores.


I checked in at 9 hours and I was honestly impressed. My face looked pretty much the same as the 3 hour mark, just more oily; but that's typical for me. My nose area was still looking all dry and nasty, but not moreso than earlier. There was maybe slight settling into my smile lines but nothing bad.

Overall I do like this product. I'd give it a 8/10. The color is PERFECT and the finish is decent, I just wish it didn't settle and cling to dry patches.

To continue on in my reviews of concealers that are actually pale, today we have a review on the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer (shortening the name because cmon). This is such a hyped up product that I never really cared about until recently when I decided I might as well try it. When I swatched it it was surprisingly light (altho it has nothing on the Kat Von D one), so I said why not and got myself a sample.

This product retails for $28 (jeez) for .16 fl oz of product, which is a bit pricey if you ask me. It promises to give "buildable, even coverage with a luminous, demi-matte finish." It is supposedly "ultra lightweight" and will "never settle into fine lines". Those are some big claims if you ask me.

As far as color its obviously supposed to be fair neutral, since that is the name; although I take slight fault with that. It leans a bit too yellow for me to consider it to be true neutral. Thankfully its not noticeable enough to where I can't wear it. All the claims check out for me aside from the not settling into fine lines but that's really impossible for any concealer considering I have a straight up crease right under either eye. Can't really expect the product not to settle into a fold of skin.

I wore this over the theBalm tinted moisturizer and set my entire face with my Loreal setting spray. I kept my face on for  hours. Like I said before, I don't powder my undereye area so just keep that in mind when reading this review.

applied on right eye only

applied to both

Right after application it settles into my lines a tiny bit, other than that it looks pretty nice. Blendable and can be sheered. Dries on its on pretty quickly, to a natural finish that doesn't dry out the undereye or leave it looking too dewy.

right after I finished my full face

I checked in after 3 hours. I was looking ever so slightly cakey and a tiny bit creased. I have a feeling if I had smiled more, I would have some more creasing. But it wasn't anything anyone would notice unless they were extremely close to my face.




I checked in at 8 hours and the only change was it looked a tad more cakey and creased, but not by much. I didn't get a picture because I was out, sorry. I looked at myself at the 12 hour mark before I washed my face (at two in the morning lmao), and I wasn't looking terrible but I wouldn't want anyone too close to my face if you know what I mean. The creasing was moderate and pretty noticeable.

Overall I'd give this 7/10. It lasted decently well throughout the day and didn't have me looking completely busted by the end of the night. Probably won't be purchasing this, but definitely will use up the sample I have.

I've been MIA for a little bit, sorry! I've been a bit busy with the semester ending and what not, but I'm back. Today I have a foundation review on the Tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12 Hour Primer in Fair. I guess technically this isn't a foundation, but it can be worn alone as one (which I do). I picked this product up along with the UD Naked Skin foundation (review to come) with my 20% Ulta coupon.

This product retails for $36 for 1 fl oz of product, which is very standard. It is a "multi-tasking 12 hour primer offering lightweight coverage" As listed on the Tarte website it "can be worn alone or under foundation for smoother makeup application and enhanced coverage." I wear it alone, as I tend to prefer light coverage. It does contain spf 30, but be aware when using base products that include sunscreen; the advertised spf is not the spf you will be getting, as you would need to apply way more product in order to get that spf. Other people have explained it in much more detail I'm sure; bottom line is to always wear a regular sunscreen underneath your base makeup.

The product has a very silicone-y feel to it, so it feels very light on the face, as if you are wearing nothing. I use the shade fair, the lightest shade. Since the color is sheer, I think most people could make one of the shades work (unless you have a very deep skintone). It swatches slightly orange on me, but when blended in, is virtually undetectable.

I wore this product over the Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer and under the Loreal Setting Spray. I never powder my face, so naturally I didn't for this review. It was worn for 7 and a half  hours. Honestly I always look a mess in these pictures I am so sorry. I am an egg.

Tarte applied on the left side

Immediately after application my skin is evened out, but it looks as if I'm wearing nothing. That does mean that my freckles are showing, as are any blemishes. It does not do a very good job at covering redness, so I would use a green primer beforehand if I had a lot of redness going on.

product applied on whole face

As you can see the fading pimple I have on the left side is not covered by this product. Personally I don't mind, I like a product that looks as if I just naturally have decent skin as opposed to one that makes me look flawless.

finished face

I checked in after 3 hours. The product still looked great. My pores were visible, but they always are. I was slightly more shiny than after application, but the normal shininess I usually am by that time. There was no creasing or settling at all, even around the dry area of the fading pimple..

my glasses rub off literally every foundation so that's not an issue

I checked in again after 7 and a half hours (after I had removed half of the makeup on my forehead, lmao). I didn't manage to get any decent pictures as it was already dark out, but the product looked essentially exactly the same as the 3 hour mark. I was a tad bit more shiny, and there was slight settling around my nose, but that's it.

Overall I give this product a 9/10. I'm really glad I purchased this! Its perfect when I only need a sheer base, and its actually light enough! It wears well throughout the day. I have no complaints. I may try this as a primer under a foundation and if so, will edit this post with how it performs.

Next up on my concealer reviews is the Kat Von D Lock It Concealer Creme. What a mouth full. I will be using the lightest shade aside from the white, which is L1. I was so excited when these came out as the Kat Von D foundation in 42 is an almost match for me. Being as how the current trend is to highlight with concealer, I was fairly sure there would be an extremely pale one, and there sure is.

It retails for $26 on Sephora and you get .22 fl oz, which is pretty standard. It claims to be a "rich, creamy concealer with 24 hour wear and instant full coverage". On the Kat Von D website they say it has been infused with "utra moisturizing hydra boost complex"- whatever that is lmao.

Shade wise Sephora calls it a "fair honeysuckle with neutral undertones" which I definitely agree with. It doesn't lean yellow as so many "neutral" products do on my skin (all Cover Fx products I'm looking at you). I agree with the claim of full coverage as well, although it can be sheered out to light-medium if you want (usually what I do).

I wore this over the theBalm tinted moisturizer (review coming) and set my face with my Loreal setting spray. It was worn for 8 hours. I never, ever powder my undereyes even though that's like a thing you're supposed to do. I find that it always cakes the concealer up, rubs it off in places (especially where my glasses touch), and just overall ages me. So I just completely skip powdering- keep that in mind.

concealer on right side only

both undereyes concealed

Immediately after application I like this product a lot. Its so fucking pale. Like if Kat Von D would make a foundation in this shade (and in like light/medium coverage), I'd be all over it. Its so creamy and blends out really easily. Also there's no immediate creasing, so that's a plus. As you can see it does have a brightening effect.

full face done

I checked in after 4 hours. My entire face was looking a but more oily than usual, as was my undereye area. Nothing terrible though, as you can see. Other than looking a little oily, it hasn't creased or settled.



I didn't manage to get any pictures at the 8 hour mark, but to be honest it looked pretty much the same, but a bit more oily. It still had not creased at all or settled into any lines.

Overall I'd give this a 10/10. There's nothing I don't like about this product and I plan to purchase the full size.

So after lusting over the Anastasia Beverley Hills Moonchild Glowkit until I had the funds for it, I finally purchased it! It retails for $40 on their website, free shipping- no complaints here. I had seen sooo many beautiful, pigmented swatches of this palette so I was pretty excited.

Sadly, when my palette arrived, one of the shades was cracked. But, ABH customer service to the rescue! I emailed them with my issue, and in the span of three emails a new palette was being sent my way. I seriously can't rave enough about this customer service, they replied within ten minutes of my first email, and less than 24 hours after my second email.

So like I said this product is $40 for .15 oz per pan of product. I'm no mathematician so I'm not even going to attempt to break down the cost and do price comparisons. But to my untrained eye it seems like a good deal, lmao.

I'm gonna go ahead and skip finger swatches because there's a million of those online and also its hard to get the accurate swatches on my skin tone.

Now I'm a sucker for crazy intense (blinding) highlight, so this palette was right up my alley. The other reason I was so drawn to this was the shades, obvious there are very little highlighters on the market right now in shades like these (save for Jeffrey Stars', but let's not get me started on that vile piece of trash); you typically see a gold, champagne, or peach highlighter in the mainstream beauty market. As you know I have very cool toned skin and anything golden looks like shit on me, so finding a highlighter is not always the easiest as I tend to be partial towards pure white shades (think Becca Pearl). I only have one highlighter in my collection of an ~unusual~ color (The Face Shop Pink Powder Flash Beam).

So moving on to face swatches and my thoughts on each individual shade.

Blue Ice is the most seemingly "normal" shade in this palette, described on the website as being a "diamond white with an icy blue reflect". This shade when applied is so versatile. I thought it would just be another white highlighter, but no; its got these blue and almost purple and pink reflects to it that give the most otherwordly glow.

blurry but you get the idea, I was having a hell of a time photographing this one

I was really interested in Star, which is a "moonstone fusion of mint, platinum, and silver". To me it just looks silver, not saying that that's a bad thing! Paired with a grey/silver eye and cool toned blush, this shade is killer. It reminds me of like....robots...in a good way.


Purple Horseshoe probably looks the most intimidating in the pan, like that shit. is. purple. ABH calls it a "glittering lavender with arctic blue reflect". The blue reflects definitely show more in the pan than on the face, but if you look closely and/or hit the right like you can notice them. This one paired with Urban Decay's Bittersweet Afterglow blush? Forget it. Perfection.


Pink Heart was not that exciting for me since I already have a pink highlighter, but I was surprised by how much I like it. It comes off a different pink shade than the one I have, so I know I'll be getting my use out of it. "Pearl white with a pink opal reflect" fits it perfectly; it definitely reminds me of opals.


Lucky Clover was the shade I was least excited about, described as a "shamrock infused gold with canary yellow reflects". Literally none of that sounds like it is going to flatter my skin. But when I finally tested it out, I was pleasantly surprised by it. I paired it with Benefit's Coralista and got a really nice, summery cheek. The gold didn't seem to clash with my skin tone!



I really enjoy Blue Moon. First of that's one of my favorite ice cream flavors, secondly the "frozen blue with silver reflect" just pairs so well with my cool skin. Its not overwhelmingly blue blue, you know? Its toned down enough to look wearable (obviously not natural), yet ethereal.


So overall this palette didn't disappoint in any way, and it definitely lived up to my expectations of it. I can't rave about it enough and have nothing negative to say. 10/10.

Until recently I never really used concealer. You can see from a few of my posts that I would use the Nyx HD Concealer in Lavender to highlight my undereye area as is popular these days; but I could never find a real skin tone concealer light enough. Like I said its very popular these days to highlight with concealer, so most brands are coming out with very pale concealers, as you need to highlight with one that is one to two shades lighter than you.

With that being said I now have some options when it comes to skin toned concealers. Keep in mind all my concealer reviews will be based on using them on my undereye area, NOT to cover blemishes. I'm just too lazy to conceal any acne that I have.

My first concealer review will be on the MUFE Ultra HD Concealer in the shade y21. I had always glossed over MUFE's concealers although I don't know why, considering their Ultra HD foundation is one of the closest matches to my skin to date.

It retails for $27 for .23 fl oz of product, although the packaging makes it appear you are getting less product, its actually pretty standard. It claims to "cover dark circles, unify the eye contour and hide signs of fatigue, leaving a smooth luminous flawless finish". That all sounds nice and dandy to me. The color system in MUFE's products (as far as I can tell) is when the number is preceded by an R its red or pink toned and when its a Y its yellow toned. (why a bigass brand like MUFE doesn't have neutral undertoned products is something I have yet to figure out)

It lives up to its claims! I think thats due to not over-stating anything that a concealer can't do. They left the claims very simple and sweet and easy to live up to. As far as the color...MUFE's undertones are weird on me. Their yellow toned products run lighter than their pink toned ones, so I usually opt for those, especially since their pink toned products run really orange. Basically I just disregard whatever undertone they put on their products and look for the lightest one, which happened to be y21. It honestly seems pretty neutral on my skin, maybe slightly yellow, but nothing noticeable.

concealer is applied to the right eye only

I wore this product over my MUFE HD foundation and set my face with my Wet n Wild setting spray. I don't ever set my undereye concealer with powder the way most everyone does. I find that no matter the product, a powder always makes my undereyes cakey and ages me.

this eye has concealer

this one has no concealer

Immediately after applying this concealer, it begins to crease into my lines. That's the only negative though, it definitely gives me plenty of coverage and doesn't look cakey. Like I said the shade looks good, not extremely brightening as its about the same color as my skin, but it never claimed to be brightening so I can't really complain, I guess.

Full face with both eyes concealed

after finishing the rest of my makeup

showing how it settles into my line

I think this concealer looks great. My eye folds are so that when I'm not pulling my eye taut, you can't even see the conceal caked into them. Gives plenty of coverage (I don't need much) and looks very natural.

After 6ish hours I still looked great. There was slight caking near the corner of my eye, but honestly that could be due to my inner corner highlight (you can't even see the caking in the pictures so). There's no creasing and it hasn't faded.


Overall I'd give this concealer a 9/10. I really only have the one complaint of it settling into my eye fold, but like I said that inevitable. If I wear this with a more pink toned foundation, the yellow tone of the concealer is more noticeable. So if MUFE made neutral toned products and had this in a slightly less yellow tone, I'd definitely give it 10/10.