The first two products that I want to talk about are make up products from Tarte and they're both birthday presents that I got from my friends and my mom !

I've been wanting to get myself a highlighting palette for a while and when they launched this new highlight and contour kit - Tarteist Pro Glow, I knew I wanted this. I told my mom about this pretty palette and she got it for me for my 18th birthday. We got it for RM165 during Black Friday Sales on the Tarte website before it was launched in Sephora's stores in Malaysia and now they're available for RM240 if I'm not wrong.

The packaging is really pretty with the minimalistic design but I'm not a fan of it's matte material, similar to the kind that Nars Cosmetics uses which gets dirty and messy very easily.

This is a medium peach with warm undertone. It is smooth and pigmented, very shimmery but did not emphasise my skin texture. It gives my face a nice glow and I have to admit that this is one of my favourite shades in this palette.

Strobe is a pretty beige that felt soft and smooth when applied. It blends out beautifully without emphasising my skin's natural texture. It's buttery and pigmented so it allowed me to highlight my cheekbones with just a little product.

This golden brown highlighter has a warm undertone. It blends well and it's soft and smooth. It's too dark for my skin so I guess it would work better as a highlighting bronzer for me.

Stunner is my favourite highlighting shade in this palette. It's a pink-ish silver shade that is intensively pigmented and it goes really smoothly on my face. Of all the highlighting shade this one felt the most buttery and soft. It also looks the best on me probably because it is cool-toned.

Not really a fan of cream contours because of how difficult they are to blend but this one blends out beautifully and more naturally than I expected. I thought it would be too dark for my medium skin tone but surprisingly it matches with my skin pretty well.

Sculpt is a powder contour which is warmer and more of a bronzing shade than the cream contour. Even though Shade gives a more shadowy look which appears more naturally, I still use Sculpt more often because it's easier to apply and it felt more blendable.

Overall I'm really happy with the palette. The powder shades are very pigmented and they feel really buttery. Not to mention each highlighter gives an intense glow and doesn't get too glittery as they are promised. However there are some powdery fallouts so I'll have to tap my brush before applying.

This is another Tarte product that I received as a present from my friends ! The Tarte Pretty Paintbox Collector's Makeup Case is only available for a limited time from the Tarte Holiday 2016 Collection and it is a Sephora exclusive. This palette contains 24 eyeshadows, blush, highlighter, bronzers, eyeliner, lip gloss and mascara.

The eyeshadows looks really pretty from the palette but many of them don't look as great on the eyes. Some of them are patchy, crumbly and not that pigmented which kind of disappointed me because I had pretty high expectations from Tarte. Some of the shades I like and use more often than the others are van Gough with it and frameworthy which are matte shades, metal work and self portrait which have metallic glimmers. These shades felt smoother than the others and were easier to work with.

There is a small compartment which holds a mini Tartiest Lash Paint Mascara, Rainforest of the Sea So Fine Micro-liner, and Tartiest Glossy Lip Paint in Obvi. I am very disappointed in the mascara as it is very clumpy and difficult to apply. I'm not a fan of lip glosses as I don't like how they make my lips feel sticky but this pinkish nude lip gloss doesn't make my lips feel that way.  The waterproof eyeliner is very fine and it's so easy to apply, you can easily draw a fine line or build it up for a thicker line. 

I think this makeup case is really convenient when travelling because you have almost everything in one box. I brought this whole palette with me when I went travelling in Korea and on a cruise and didn't have to bring too many other makeup products. Other than the mascara and some of the eyeshadow shades, I'm pretty satisfied with this holiday palette.

If you've read my previous posts you would've known that I travelled to Korea during last Christmas and over there I bought many Korean skincare products as I've heard about their excellent quality but never really tried it myself before. I can't be talking about every product I bought because there's just too many (!!!!) so here are some of the Korean products that I've tried

I got this sheet mask from Olive Young which is a health and beauty store in Korea that you'll see everywhere. It was one of the products on its best selling section so I decided to get one piece and try it out. The mask is cute and attractive with the green Shrek face but I think it's just an extra. The ears on top were too long and I had to fold it down to prevent the serum from touching my hair. It did make my face feel moisturised and tightened so I guess it worked well and I'm pretty satisfied with this product.

Many have said that this product is a good dupe of the SKII Facial Treatment Essence. I bought the latest one, the third generation (Intensive Moist), which has a different formula from the last two products. I use this in my daily skincare routine for both day and night after applying my toner. It is suppose to improve skin moisture and radiance level. It also claims to have whitening and wrinkle repairing properties. The product is clear and watery and my skin absorbs it really quickly. I do feel that my skin is brighter and more radiant but I need to use it a while more to see it's results better. It does makes my face feel smoother instantly and I always like to touch it after I apply it!! I've read reviews about this product having the effect of reducing redness on the skin but I still haven't seen an improvement on the redness problem over my cheeks yet.

I got this big bottle (500ml) of toner for RM60+ in Korea while it's being sold for RM120+ in Malaysia. This toner claims to have 10 benefits for the skin including balancing the skin's pH, removing dead surface skin cells, cleansing pores, moisturising skin and many more. I use this twice everyday in my skincare routine, after I cleanse my face. I use a cotton pad to apply the product on my face and I always see the impurities and dirt on the cotton once I'm done with applying, which shows that the toner is effective in removing dirt from my face. I did notice my pores have reduced in size and they're less noticeable. Though my skin can still get oily at the end of the day, it is less oily than it used to be before I used this product. However I don't recommend this product if you have dry skin because the alcohol in this product may worsen your skin. It's important to use moisturiser after using this toner to prevent your skin from getting too dry.

Heimish All Clean Balm

I got this online from Hermo Malaysia after I came back from Korea because the website was selling it at a cheaper price than the original price I saw in a shop in Hongdae, Seoul. It's one of my favourite products in this haul and I'm absolutely in love with it! It's a Banila Co. Clean It Zero dupe, but it has better ingredients so it's a more natural alternative. Its ingredients are very natural and there's no added fragrance.

This cleansing balm melts into a smooth oil when applied to dry skin. It'll break down all the makeup, dirt and sebum on my face when I massage it onto my face. You can wipe the balm with the makeup off with a tissue or wash it with lukewarm water but normally I just rinse it with water and the balm then turns into a milky liquid before it gets washed off completely. What I looove about this is that it doesn't hurt my eyes when I use it to remove my eye makeup although my vision still gets blurry temporarily. 

It also has a separated compartment for the spatula which I think makes it hygienic

This has 30 single use exfoliating pads that are soaked in red wine and lactic acid. These help to remove dead skin cells and impurities on the face and leave you with smoother and hydrated skin. It's simple to use, all you gotta do is to slip your fingers into the sleeve of the pad so that the gauze side is facing downwards then gently sweep it outwards across the face and neck. Once done, wash it off with water. These are so easy to use and they don't get messy easily. I notice the pads get yellow/light brown stains once I'm done with exfoliating and those are actually the impurities on my face. It makes me feel so satisfied to see those dirty stuff being removed off my face. Besides, it also smells amazing, sorta like blackcurrants or grapes. It makes my skin feel so smooth and soft after using it and it preps the skin for the rest of my skincare routine steps.

Skin Food Black Sugar Mask Wash Off

This exfoliating mask moisturises your skin and leaves it smooth and clear. It's kinda rough due to the sugar grains in the product so water or oil should be added to make it feel less rough. You have to massage it all over the face (avoiding eyes and mouth) for a while before leaving it on your face for 10-15 minutes. After washing it off, I felt that my skin had gotten brighter and smoother as the black sugar had already scrubbed the dead skin cells off. I am so satisfied with this product because I could really feel my skin being softer and smoother after using this even though the result is only temporary. I couldn't stop touching my face and smelling it (smells soo goooood) !! I personally think this is really a good exfoliator and it worked very well for me. However, some people may dislike it as they might not be comfortable with the rough texture. 

This product is one of the products in Too Cool For School's Egg series. I've seen many videos and blog posts about this product but never got to try it because it's always sold out on hermo.my so when I finally got the chance to visit this brand in Seoul I got it without hesitation. I still haven't quite figured out which step exactly am I suppose to fit this product into my skincare routine because some websites said this is a cleansing product (??) but for now I'm using it in Step 6 - Mask since it is a mask after all. It comes in pump bottle which mousse hair products usually come in, and the product is in a soft, foamy, mousse form. As the name says, the key ingredient of this product is egg.

The mousse will slowly absorb and sink into the skin after applying it all over the face and it gave my skin a ticklish sensation. After 10 minutes the foam will disappear, leaving the face with a clear, sticky film which is then washed off. My skin felt softer and smoother after washing it off. However, I couldn't see any difference in the size of my pores as the product claimed that it would. 

Too Cool For School Pumpkin Sleeping Pack

This sleeping pack is one of the best-selling products from Too Cool For School so I decided to get one and try it out. It is suitable for those with dry skin but even though I have normal to oily skin, my skin can get pretty dry at night because I sleep in an air-conditioned room. The product is a thick, slippery cream which can be absorbed into my skin very quickly, so it didn't feel too greasy or sticky. It did help to keep my skin moisturised and hydrated at night but after washing it off the next morning my skin didn't feel any smoother than usual as it claims.