d a t e w i t h s t e p h .

Review: YSL Rouge Volupte Shine #02 Pourpre Intouchable

2014-10-24T16:27:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the disappearance guys! I've just been really busy with work and applying for a Masters and all that other jazz. I just haven't had the time to write and or even take photos really! I've also miss reading other bloggers new posts, but it's all good as I'm scheduled to be on holiday for a week or so starting next monday, so hopefully I'll be posting more then!

So without further ado and onto my review, I'm actually really excited to blog about this product! It's the YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick in the shade 02 Pourpre Intouchable. It took me some time before settling for this shade and I'm glad I did, because this shade is absolutely gorgeous!

As you can see, the packaging is beautiful! The lipstick tube is gold whereas the logo ring around it is silver. This is to help differentiate them from the original Rouge Volupte lipsticks, which is all gold! The colour ring corresponds to the shade of the lipstick which first of all, is really pretty and second, it'll definitely be of help if you have multiple YSL Rouge Volupte lipsticks and want to find a specific one quickly.

The shade is a deepish berry colour and has micro-shimmers but it's barely noticeable. It is sheer but buildable so you can apply it to whichever degree of intensity you want! There are 19 shades in total, from nudes to corals to fuchsia and not all of them have shimmers. I'll definitely be reaching for mine more and more, especially as we're in the autumn season at the moment, which I think this shade is perfect for!

{ one swipe, three swipes }

+moisturising thanks to them hyaluronic acid microspheres

+creamy formula that applies easily and glides on smoothly!

+colour & pigmentation

+lasts for 3-4 hours (although it is marketed to last for 8 hours)

+scent

-price

-as it is sheer, if you want it to be darker on the lips, you'll definitely be using it a lot! (might as well go for the original rouge volupte)

This product retails for £25, although I've seen some places like Debenhams selling it for £24. As much as I love the formula, I wouldn't pay full price for it only because I don't have the funds to be spending that much on a lipstick T_T I actually got mine from feelunique when they were having 10% off plus I used my birthday voucher so I managed to get it for £17.50 instead. With that being said though, I've already got my eyes on shades 01 Brun Insecure, 09 Nude in Private and 17 Rose in Tension :)

Have you guys tried this product before? Let me know what you guys think, and I'll see you in the next post :)

Best Blog Award Nominee

2014-09-19T16:25:00.001+01:00

Major thanks to Michele from sshrimppaste for nominating me! Guys go and check out her blog! She's awesome! :D :D :D

Here are the rules:
1. Link the blog of the person who nominated you
2. Reply to the 11 questions they left for you
3. Tag 11 (max) blogs that you think are awesome!
4. Come up with 11 new questions for the people you nominate
5. Report back to the person who nominated you when you've done the tag!

So let me get answering ~
1. What is your favourite season?
Definitely autumn! Although I'm not a big fan of falling leaves cos it rains a lot in the UK, and the pavements look messy :( but yes, autumn because of autumn fashion! The transition into coats, scarves and boots without it being too cold!

2. What makes you bored?
Procrastinating. So you're procrastinating but you run out of things to do, and you're trying to find something to do but everything just bores you.

3. What is your all-time favourite comedy movie?
I can't think of any straight up, but the last movie that cracked me up was We're the Millers! haha no regrets, like not even a single letter?

4. If you could meet any body in the world who would you like to meet?
Right now, I'd like to meet my future husband haha

5. What is happiness in three words from your perspective?
Love, music and food

6. What is your favourite food that you can eat any day every day?
Noodlesssssss

7. Would you ever go sky diving?
Maaaaaybe, but probably not. I used to think I'd be able to in the future when I was younger, but now that I'm older the chances are really slim.

8. What would your ideal date plan be like?
It'd be in the winter, in a small local cafe, and sitting on them comfy two seater sofa or armchairs :D And we'd be drinking coffee and staying in there for hours all cosy and what not. Or, a long road trip if that counts as a date.

9. What would you prefer? Chocolatey or fruity candies?
Fruity candies ftw!

10. Red grapes or green grapes?
Definite green!

11. If you were granted 3 wishes, what would 1 wish be?
I'd wish for there to be no more wars everywhere in the world.

And here are my questions ~
1. What was your first makeup product?
2. What beauty product would you repurchase over and over again?
3. What is something you've been wanting to buy for ages (clothes, makeup, bags etc)?
4. What is your favourite beverage?
5. Who's your favourite tv character?
6. What song would you definitely recommend others to listen to?
7. What celebrity/ies were you really into back in your teen days?
8. If you had enough money on you, would you ever consider turning up to an airport and buying a plane ticket to the next available flight to wherever?
9. Are you happy with the generation you're born into, and if not, which year would you have like to been born in?
10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
11. Why did you start a blog?

And i'm tagging
http://wunderstar.blogspot.co.uk/
http://kokorosasa.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.thedailydollyblog.com/
http://lovelyanneee.blogspot.co.uk/
http://anjelleee.blogspot.co.uk/
so definitely check them out!

Review: Aritaum Honey Melting Tint in Peach Crumble, Mango Smoothie & Ruby Grapefruit

2014-09-10T17:16:00.004+01:00

I'm pretty sure most of you guys have heard about these tints before, and if you haven't, you're missing out! It's the Aritaum Honey Melting Tints, and I have them in 3 colours! These tints were mentioned in both of my hauls posted before. I had ordered #9 peach crumble from gmarket whilst I got #11 mango smoothie and #13 ruby grapefruit from my friend's visit to Korea. I originally gave her a list of things to get which included 3 Aritaum tints: mango smoothie, ruby grapefruit & lady dessert. When I met up with her after she had came back, she told me she couldn't get me lady dessert in the end, and told me the story of how she went into Aritaum asking for the tints, and the store assistant replied with "We only have 2 in stock left." and my friend goes "I'll take them both!" haha :D

There are 16 in total. #1 to #10 are the original ones, with #11 to #16 being a part of the Summer Collection.

8000원 // 4g

{ shade number &name in korean }

The packaging is simple and the colour of the lid corresponds to the shade inside really well! On one side of the lid, it has Honey Melting Tint written on it, and on the other it has the colour name. On the bottom, it also has the colour number and the name but in korean.

{ peach crumble, mango smoothie, ruby grapefruit }

{ same order as above; one swipe, three swipes each }

Although the name suggests they are a tint, they are very well pigmented! It's more in between a lip balm/tint and a lip stick, because of how moisturising it is and the strong pigmentation. You can apply it in a gradation style or fully on the lips.

+ price

+ well pigmented

+ staying power & stains lips (especially with the darker colours)
+ moisturising
+ buildable

- one might say the packaging is too plain
- could accentuate flaky lips

I definitely recommend these for everyone to try. I always keep one of these in whichever bag I'm bringing out for the day just because it provides great colour and because the size of it is like a lip balm, it doesn't take up much space! I'm actually thinking of getting more!

Have you guys hear of these before or own any? Let me know and I'll see you in my next post!

Review: Clio Virgin Kiss Tinted Lip in #7 Happening & #16 Blackout Red

2014-09-01T20:10:00.000+01:00

In my recent gmarket haul, I purchased some products from the Clio store. I've always heard really good reviews about their pen eyeliners and gel pencil liners. So I bought 2 of their pen eyeliners and along with that, 2 lipsticks which I'll be reviewing today: Clio Virgin Kiss Tinted Lip in shades #7 Happening and #16 Blackout Red.

Price: 10,800원 // Net weight: 3.5g

There were originally 5 shades (indicated by The Beginning Collection), then another 16 shades came out. In addition to this 3 new neon shades have been introduced for the Summer Collection, bringing the total to 24 shades.

{ taken from clio's website }

"It is a long lasting tinted lipstick with a satin matte finish. Hydrating essence helps your lips to a flawless finish without dryness."

The lid has the words 'Virgin Kiss Tinted Lips' repeatedly printed on it. The words are in different colours on the two lipsticks tube, which gives an indication to which shade the lipstick is.

When you take off the lid, the same printed text is on the tubes. The bottom of the tube has a sticker which states the shade and the manufacture date.

{ #7 Happening }

{ #16 Blackout Red }

I decided to buy these lipsticks because I thought 'might as well!' I stumbled upon the Clio shop on gmarket and then I remembered that I always wanted to buy the pen liners, so as I was browsing through the shop I saw these! From the photos, I knew I wanted #16 Blackout Red, as I'm currently obsessed with berry/burgundy coloured lip products. Along with this, because I was making a haul anyways I decided to buy one more colour. As I've also been really into my corals, I decided on #7 Happening.

#7 Happening is a peachy coral. The colour is not as pink as it is on the official photo, it actually leans more towards an orange red. Apart from that it is also a bright lipstick, which you can probably tell from the photo. As it's the end of August, and the summer weather is practically nonexistent in the UK, I don't know when I'll be able to wear this soon! Nonetheless, it's a really pretty shade.

#16 Blackout Red is the perfect burgundy/berry for me. Compared to my Tony Moly Kiss Lover Style #RD06, it's more burgundy but not too much that it's approaching a fuchsia purple shade. I'd definitely be able to wear it a lot during the autumn and winter seasons.

+ very pigmented
+ doesn't dry out lips (but it's not overly moisturising)
+ lasts for 3 ish hours (w/ eating & drinking), should last longer if you were to just leave it
+ leaves a stain behind

- transfers easily, so I'd definitely blot with a tissue after applying

- will cling to dead skin on lips so use lip scrub before applying
- does dry your lips eventually around the 3 hour mark, so you'd want to reapply around then

I don't think I'll repurchase, purely because the shades of the lipstick are quite generic! There are definitely similar shades out there especially in the Korean market, and instead of sticking to one brand, I'd rather try out different ones. However I'm actually really intrigued about #12, the bright yellow lipstick. According to the information, if you apply it on top of another lipstick, it'll change the colour. Other than this, I'd rather just stick to the 2 shades I have now!

Let me know what you guys think! and I'll see you in my next post!

Steph, x

Haul: Gmarket

2014-08-30T15:58:00.000+01:00

'ello everyone! I've mentioned before, that I recently did a gmarket haul, and here it is! This is the second time I've ordered from there, the first being in 2013. The items shown below are all either makeup or skin care products. There are other things I've also purchased in the same order like jeans, korean textbooks, phone cases etc (not photographed)!

(from left to right, top to bottom)

1. The Face Shop - chia seed sebum control moisture cream

2. Nature Republic - fresh steam cream

3. Laneige - pore control bb cushion in #21 natural beige

4. Innisfree - no sebum mineral powder

5&6. Clio - virgin kiss tinted lip in #7 happening & #16 blackout red

7&8. Aritaum - wannabe cushion tint in clear(clair) & #21 megan

9&10. Clio - eyeliner in kill black & kill blood

11. Innisfree - mineral makeup base in #2 vanilla green

12. Innisfree - vivid tint rouge in #13 maple burgundy

13. Aritaum - honey melting tint in #9 peach crumble

Once again, which I mentioned in my last haul post, the lip obsession is going strong! Nearly half the items are lip products and I can't help myself ;uuu; I don't even know when I'll get to wear all of them!

I've started writing reviews for some of the products already (one should be posted either tomorrow or the day after), but I'd still like to know what products you guys would want a review on! (bear in mind that reviews on the two creams would probably be months late, 'cos I have a ton of moisturisers to go through).

p.s. sorry for the dirty table! there are like random white specks so please don't go rubbing your screen thinking it's dirty OTL

Review: Tosowoong Makeon Dual Shaking Lip Tint in #2 Vampire

2014-08-13T14:14:00.000+01:00

Hello! Today I'll be doing a review which is well overdue! It's the Tosowoong Makeon Dual Shaking Lip Tint, which I received from the Memebox Superbox #17 nearly 2 months ago!

There are 3 shades in total: #1 Orange, #2 Vampire, 3# Blood. As the title indicates, I'll be doing a review on the shade #2 Vampire! This tint uses natural ingredients such as Avocado oil which contains vitamin A, vitamin D, potassium etc and claims to give a plumping and cooling effect on the lips.

Price: 23, 000원 // Net weight: 5.7g

It costs $28 on the Memebox website but it's currently on sale for $16.

The colour of the text on the packaging above differs between the 3 shades.

The manufacture date (2014.04.11) and the expiry date (2016.04.10) is printed in black on the box packaging.

The shade is indicated on the top of the box with the number and the corresponding colour. The other two shades will be different.

{before shaking, after shaking}

This product is comprised of a layer of liquid and a layer of oil. To use, you have to shake it to mix the liquids together.

{one swipe, three swipes, blended}

When swatching on my hand, it would apply as little globules of the tint as shown below. You can also see the globules around the rim of the tube 2 photos above. I would have to use my finger to blend it out for the colour to come out of the oil globules. If I do not blend it, it will stay as these globules.

As opposed to swatching on my hand, the 'globules problem' did not happen on my lips! However the tint will not apply to the top part of my upper lip, as you can see in the photo above. It only applies to the lower part of my upper lip and my lower lip which is slightly strange, but it might be due to the oily nature of the tint. No matter how much I go over that area with the applicator, it will not apply as much as the bottom lip, which is a shame as the colour is pretty and the staying power is great!

Earlier in the post I mentioned it claims to provide a plumping and cooling effect on the lips. For the plumping effect I can notice it, but its not major. However the cooling effect is intense! When I first applied it on my lips I didn't know it had this cooling effect, and thought my lips were slightly tingling and burning. It reminds me of chewing really minty gum, so minty that it almost feels spicy. It's that kind of feeling but its on the lips and it's just about bearable. (Although I did just realise when writing this post that it says spicy gloss on the packaging T T!)

As the tint is oil-based and water+oil won't mix and all that jazz, it's near impossible to remove it with water.You need to try to apply correctly without making a mistake or it'll take ages to remove! Even with makeup remover you need to proper scrub it to get the stain off!

+ staining power is amazing!

+ the tint is pigmented

+ long-lasting

- the cooling effect can be a bit too strong (may not happen to others)

- because of the staining power, it can be a pain to remove if you apply incorrectly

- does not apply on fully on my lips T T (may not happen to others)

- expensive

- toothpaste scent (the scent of the product in the tube, the tint itself is not toothpaste flavour haha!)

As much as I want to like this product I don't think I'll purchase it again. If I do, it'll be purely for the shade. The tingly effect lasts for about 2 mins or so after applying. Despite it being long-lasting, the tint will 'crack'. If you drink anything during the period it's applied, it minimises the 'crusty-looking' lips but still it's not a pretty look :/

Anyways let me know what you think and I'll be back with another review soon!

Haul: Lip Products from Korea

2014-08-12T02:43:00.000+01:00

Hello and sorry for the absence! I'm on holiday and I've been busy meeting with friends and all that jazz! Anyways, today I have a haul to show you guys! I myself didn't actually go Korea but my friends went so I got them to get me some stuff. ((I have some pretty epic friends!))

1. 3CE Square Hand Mirror - Pink

2. 3CE Square Mini Hand Mirror - All Black

I absolutely love the mirrors! I know it's a bit ott to get 2 mirrors but I love that they are square and have a handle haha.

3. 3CE Creamy Lip Color - #9 Kitsch Biker

I've always wanted to try the 3CE creamy lip colors but I couldn't decide between #7 Yippee and #9 Kitsch Biker but as you can see above I decided to get #9.

4. Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge - #11 Daisy Coral

With the tint, I already have 3 of the other colours and absolutely love them so this one is just another to add to my collection!

5. Innisfree Creamy Tint Lipstick - #19 Wildflower Coral(?)

I was planning on buying this on ebay but as my friend was going I thought I might as well make her get it for me.

6. Aritaum Honey Melting Tint - #13 Ruby Grapefruit

7. Aritaum Honey Melting Tint - #11 Mango Smoothie

I've heard really good things about these tints, and couldn't find the new Summer releases on ebay so I got my friend to get me some. I already got #9 Peach Crumble from my gmarket haul, but I had made that purchase before I knew about the new releases T T.

8. Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar - #4 Cherry

9. Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar - #5 Peach

10. Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar - #6 Orange

11. Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar - #7 Neon Orange

My friend recommended these to me so I decided to get some. I only wanted to get #4 and #7 but my sister wanted some too because she thinks it's super cute! And with bunny ears and the faces of course I can't disagree so I also got #5 and #6.

My lip obsession is going strong as everything here are lip products except for the mirrors! I actually got my friend to get a Dolly Wink eyeliner from Hong Kong as well while she was there.

Let me know which one you guys want a review on first, although I still have 2 reviews to do first before these ones and a gmarket haul post!

Review: Tony Moly Kiss Lover Style Lipstick

2014-07-10T12:57:00.000+01:00

So I'm back with a review! I was meant to have this up earlier but my home internet connection went down for a few days because my dad finally decided to let us have (and pay for) fibre optic broadband! Imagine the life I had to live, no internet connection and I had ran out of phone data! Times were tough!

But moving on, recently I've been obsessed with lip products which is weird because I'd normally wear lip balm and I'm good to go, but two months ago ~~((while I was suppose to be revising))~~ I procrastinated and was on beauty blogs looking at all these reviews of pretty lip products and well ... yeah. I started hauling lip products online and in stores, including the Nature Republic Exo Lip Balm in my last post. In my 20 years of existence, I've only ever bought around 10 lip products or less (excluding lip balms) and I pretty much made up for it in the past month or two, because I went overboard...

Anyways today I'll being reviewing the Tony Moly Kiss Lover Style Lipstick. There are 23 shades altogether and I decided to buy #RD04 Red Bikini and #RD06 Burgundy Wine.

Price: 7,800원 // Net weight: 3.4g

left: RD04 red bikini; right: RD06 burgundy wine

The lipsticks come in these really stylish boxes, with a sticker indicating the shades on the top. I think the lipstick itself looks really sleek! The shade is indicated on the bottom of the lipstick, along with the manufacture date.

RD06 burgundy wine: one swipe, three swipes; RD04 red bikini: one swipe; three swipes

For RD04 Red Bikini, I expected a red coral but instead it was edging towards a more pink type of coral! Nevertheless, the colour is still very pretty! However it's just so bright for me, as it's quite a transition for me to go from clear lip balm to this! I don't think I'd wear it fully a lot, but I'll adapt in the future :)

As for RD06 Burgundy Wine, it wasn't as I expected either. As you can see from the swatches above, the colour is more burnt red than burgundy wine, and it's not as dark as I imagined it to be judging from the colour of the stick. However, I really like it because I've never come across a shade like this before ((or maybe I just haven't delved deep enough into the world of lip products))! It's a really vampy colour and I like to layer this on top of more pinky burgundy colours to give me that effect.

+ affordable

+ large range of shades available

+ creamy texture

+ not drying

+ colour is buildable

- will cling to bits of dead skin on lips, so make sure to apply lipbalm/use lipscrub before

- no swatches available on the website, colour may or may not be what you expect

Needless to say, I adore this product especially the shade RD06. The lipstick is affordable and the formula is great.

Review: Exo Nature Republic by Flower Tint Lip Balm

2014-06-26T23:39:00.001+01:00

'ello!

Recently I bought two EXO Nature Republic By Flower Tint Lip Balms! This product was released in Spring early this year, but I don't think the stores stock them anymore? I could be wrong, but I do know that stock is selling fast online!

So as this is a new blog, and I haven't mentioned EXO in any posts before, I am indeed a massive EXO fan! I own every single one of their albums! However, I don't really buy EXO endorsed products etc (because they are normally very expensive, although I did buy the hand cream set a week ago and it should arrive sometime in the near future). I don't know why I decided to buy the lip balms, but after reading reviews I thought it was pretty cool how it's clear in the tub but when you apply it, the colour gradually turns pinker ~~((and cos they give you photocards))~~.

I bought the Luhan and Kyungsoo one!

Luhan and D.O! I feel weird to dig my fingers into their face!

The photocards!

#2 peach and #3 honey lemon; expiry dates: 2016/08 and 2016/09

1 swipe; 3 swipes

I originally wanted to buy Kyungsoo, Luhan and Suho, because they are my biases in EXO and surprisingly all 3 of them were different flavours but I didn't get Suho in the end, 'cos I'm not a big fan of the rose scent!

Overall, I do like this product, the scent from both lip balms are oh so yummy! The colour you get when you apply is a really pretty pink, also it's buildable so you can make your lips even more pink! It's definitely moisturising as it is a lip balm, and I think it's nice just to have this in my handbag :)

Memebox Unboxing: Superbox #17 Gangnam Style Box

2014-06-19T18:23:00.000+01:00

My first ever Superbox from Memebox arrived this week, and too be honest, I actually forgot I had bought it until I received the email saying it got shipped (ahem, I bought it while I was procrastinating during revision period).

So what is Memebox and what is a Superbox?

Memebox is an online shop which releases boxes periodically i.e. memeboxes, superboxes, luckyboxes, containing Korean beauty products. A Superbox contains only full sized products, whilst the memebox and luckybox contains several full sized products along with sample sized products. It is similar to the glossybox, birchbox etc, however you don't need to subscribe to it, you just buy any box you like whenever you like (although buy early to avoid it being sold out)!

I bought Superbox #17 which was the Gangnam Style edition. It came with 7 full sized products, 2 being skincare and the other 5 being cosmetics.

I received the following (all full size):

1. Kskin Moisture Queen's Moisture Cream 100ml, $7

2. T.P.O. V-Line Banding Mask 60g, $24 (x2)

3. LadyKin Real Like Innateline Eyebrow 0.5g, $8
This comes in 2 colours, #1 Dark Brown and #2 Mocha Brown, I received #2.

4. Tosowoong Glam Aegyosal Liner 2g, ~~$15~~ $12
It doesn't say on the card, but after checking the website, it comes in 2 colours #1 Glam White and #2 Glam Pink, I got #1.

5. Tosowoong Dual Shaking Lip Tint 5.7g, ~~$28~~ $16
This comes in 3 colours: #1 Orange, #2 Vampire, #3 Blood - and I got #2!

6. Rivecowe Shine Blusher 7g, $14
This comes in 4 colours: #1 Shine Pink, #2 Shine Minky Pink, 3# Shine Coral, 4# Shine Orange - I received #4.

7. Grinif Skin Repair BB Blemish Balm 50ml, $65

The total price of the products is: $161, but after checking the memebox website, the Tosowoong products got marked down so the actual total price is: $146. I paid $36.99 ($32 for the box + $6.99 for shipping - $2 'cos of the sign up discount)!

Overall I am really happy with the products I got! I've read some other reviews where some people don't feel content with the mix of makeup vs skincare items. I will definitely buy again from Memebox, especially maybe try the Global Box, because I know they are really popular!

I will be reviewing some of the items, and I got a gmarket haul arriving soon, so stay tuned for more posts!

p.s. sorry for the bad quality photos! i'll improve over time (hopefully!)

An Introduction

2014-06-04T23:51:00.000+01:00

Hello all! My name is Steph, and welcome to my blog!

I have always been interested in beauty, and I would always look up beauty blogs for reviews or info on new items! Recently I've been hooked on Asian beauty products, particularly Korean brands however some items I've bought and love have received little coverage online! I thought I'd create a blog and share my findings!

With that being said, I hope to share with everyone not just beauty but fashion, current favourites and everyday life!

To all future readers, hopefully you'll enjoy your stay here :)

p.s. I decided the blog name: date with steph, because I wanted my future readers and I to establish some sort of relationship, where it's like my posts are the information they'll get after going out to a lunch date with me or something, if that makes sense? and because my friend actually hashtagged #datewithsteph on instagram after taking a picture of her coffee on our quick lunch date. Please comment if you think I should change my blog name or if I should keep it, seeing as how I'm just starting my blog out :)