Beauty Battle: Tony Moly Kiss Kiss Lovely Lip Patch Blueberry vs Etude House Cherry Jelly Lips Patch

Welcome to a new series called Beauty Battle!

There are so many different Kbeauty brands that have a wide variety of products. A lot of times those products are similar. Because of the overlap, I decided to take some of these products and put them up against each other.

There will be four different categories that I will judge the products by: packaging, application/ease of use, experience, and results. Points will be awarded in each category and will be tallied up in the end. Whichever product has the most points wins the battle!

For the first Beauty Battle, I am putting the Tony Moly Kiss Kiss Lovely Lip Patch Blueberry against the Etude House Cherry Jelly Lips Patch.

Tony Moly on Left, Etude House on Right

Package

Both of the lip patches come in sturdy plastic and pink packaging. The Tony Moly has ducks and blueberries on it and the Etude House has a cat on it. I feel like both of the products are cute and adorable and to be honest, I really don't have a preference over one or the other. Because it's a toss up to me, I'm calling it a draw and awarding each of the brands 1 point.

Application/Ease of use

For application/ease of use of the product, I found that both products fit over my lips nicely at first. However, as time went on, I found that the Tony Moly lip patch tended to come off easier and didn't want to stay put. I constantly had to adjust the lip patch. On the other hand, the Etude House lip path stayed in place and I didn't find myself having to adjust the lip patch, which is why I'm awarding Etude House 1 point for the better application.

Experience

Both the lip patches felt cooling and tingling on the lips, which I felt was pleasant. The feeling was essentially the same, but what differed between the two was the scents of the products. The Tony Moly smelled of berries and the Etude House was supposed to smell like cherries. However, the Etude House lip patch smelled more like a wine/alcohol scent and I really did not like it. The Tony Moly lip patch is getting the point in this round.

Results

As for the results, I paid close attention to my lips during and after the treatment of each lip patch. I used these lip patches around the same time and  didn't change anything else about my routine. I noticed that after I used the Etude House patch, my lips felt hydrated and soft. This wasn't the case for the Tony Moly lip patch. My lips were dry and patchy after use. For whatever reason, it seems that the Etude House brand was better  for my lips, so it gets the point.

FINAL VERDICT: 

 

Tony Moly: 2 points

Etude House: 3 points

And the winner is…

 

Etude House 

Just a note, even though the Etude House lip patch won, I really think that I won't be repurchasing either lip patches in the future. I just felt like overall both lip patches were not impressive and I'm going to have to search for a better one to use.

Anyway, I hope you all liked this Beauty Battle series! I'll be sure to find more similar products and put them to the test in the near future!

 

DISCLAIMER:

Just wanted to note that the products I review are all purchased with my own money, unless I state otherwise. If you do use any of these products, please do so at your discretion as the results will vary depending on the person and their skin type.  I am in no way responsible for the results or outcome if you decide to try any of the products I recommend. These reviews are my 100% honest thoughts. Please don't be offended if I didn't like a product that you happen to love. What may work or not work for me, may be totally different from you.

Holika Holika Prime Youth Bird's Nest Gold Moisture Cream and Gold Leaf Cream

What is it for?

A moisturizer for whitening and wrinkle care

Active Ingredients:

Swiftlet Nest Extract, Gold

To look at the full list of ingredients, its function for each, and its safety/irritant levels go ahead and click on this website:

For Bird's Nest Gold Moisture Cream: I tried to look up this product at www.cosdna.com, but couldn't find it listed.

For Bird's Nest Gold Leaf Cream: http://cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_3645204608.html

Directions:

Gold Moisture Cream:

1. Take desired amount with spatula
2. Use fingers and dab around face
3. Gently use hands to massage product onto skin

Gold Leaf Cream:

1. Use spatula to scoop both cream and gold particles
2. Use warmth of hands to melt product
3. Apply to face while massaging

Review:

I got this from my visit to Korea last year. I was shopping at Holika Holika and this caught my eye. I really wanted to try a skincare product that contained bird's nest because I heard that it's beneficial and good for the skin. For those of you who don't know what exactly bird's nest is, they are nests that are made up of solidified saliva from birds known as the edible-nest swiftlets.  Bird's nest typically helps with skin and tissue repair and can help with one's complexion.

At the store, they were having a BOGO promotion on this product. The sales associate at the store told me that the white jar was for the day time and the blue jar was for the night. In total, both products came out to be around $55.00. As you'll see below the sets are  beautiful, elegant, and lux. Each box set came with the Gold Moisture Cream (white package) or Gold Leaf Cream (blue package), a spatula, and an additional two travel size Gold Moisture Creams. 

There is 55mL of product in both the Gold Moisture Cream and Gold Leaf Cream. They are placed in a glass jar with a shiny gold top. The Gold Moisture Cream is the day cream contained in the white packaging. The cream had visible gold flecks that easily absorbed into the skin. The cream helped moisturize and hydrate my skin, but aside from that I didn't see any other drastic changes to my skin. There is floral scent to product, which was fine and pleasant. However, the floral scent is overpowered by an alcohol-like scent. Due to that reason alone, I really didn't enjoy the using the product.  Overall, it worked fine as a moisturizer, but I wasn't super impressed with this moisturizer, especially for the price.

The Gold Leaf Cream was different from the Gold Moisture Cream. On the very top of the moisturizer, there is a layer of gold foil. On the bottom of the gold foil, there is a thick solid white cream. Using the spatula you're supposed to scrape both the cream and gold foil and melt them together with your fingers. I was worried that the cream was going to be too heavy because it has a waxy kind of feel/consistency, but it softens very easily and applies to the face very smoothly and evenly, like a normal face cream. It smells similar to the Gold Moisture Cream, but does not have a strong alcohol scent. I found that this cream was perfect for the night. The consistency was enough to keep my skin nicely hydrated throughout the night, but it didn’t feel greasy or oily.

Overall, I think these work fine as moisturizers, but it didn't seem like my skin picked up any other benefits. I really wouldn't recommend these products. The packaging was beautiful and felt lux, but I have used other creams that are much more affordable and work a lot better.

Overall:

Pros:	Cons:
*elegant packaging *moisturized and hydrated skin *easily absorbed into skin *for Gold Lead Cream, a little goes a long way	*expensive (I got this as buy one get one, normally each moisturizer is sold as $55 USD individually) *didn't make any changes aside from hydrating face *Gold Moisture Cream had overwhelming alcohol-like scent

DISCLAIMER:

Just wanted to note that the products I review are all purchased with my own money, unless I state otherwise. If you do use any of these products, please do so at your discretion as the results will vary depending on the person and their skin type.  I am in no way responsible for the results or outcome if you decide to try any of the products I recommend. These reviews are my 100% honest thoughts. Please don't be offended if I didn't like a product that you happen to love. What may work or not work for me, may be totally different from you.

Missha: M Dewy Glossy Eyes

This post will be dedicated to Missha's M Dewy Glossy Eyes. Essentially, they're cream eye shadows full of glitter. These eye shadows are supposed to give a glossy/dewy shimmery look. I love a glittery look, so I bought the entire range. The range comes in 6 shades: Berry Smoothie (J17P07), French Pie (I09P06), Grape Candy (J18P05), Honey Roast (H25P07), Orange Pekoe (H23P06), White Beach (H24P06).

Packaging looks cute!

Each shadow costs about $12.00 on the Missha US website. However, because I have a "VIP" membership (which means you spend $100 within a calender year), I get products for 30% off. So in the end it cost me about $8.40 per eyeshadow.

The packaging is beige and gold with a clear top. It is definitely beautiful and lux looking/feeling. The eyeshadows have a bouncy and creamy consistency.

Berry Smoothie

French Pie

Grape Candy

Honey Roast

Orange Pekoe

White Beach

While applying these shadows, I found that it was best to use my finger. It very difficult to pick up product with a brush . As you can see from the swatches, these shadows are not super pigmented, but does pack a glittery punch.

 

Swatched from top to bottom: Berry Smoothie, French Pie, Grape Candy, Honey Roast,
Orange Pekoe,and White Beach

In the end, as excited as I was for these shadows, I was left disappointed. The shadows creased, faded, and moved around on my eyes, even when I used eye primer. They just didn't perform well for me and I would not recommend them. If you want an impactful and glittery look, I'd actually recommend the Aritaum Shine Fix Eyes instead. They're cheaper and perform much better than this M Dewy Glossy Eyes line.

Riley Rose: First Visit and Haul

Today, I'm going to write about my first experience at Riley Rose in Glendale Galleria. I first heard about this from  one of my favorite Youtubers, Morgan from The Beauty Breakdown. It seems like she collaborates often with Riley Rose. See her video here. Basically, she gave a tour around Riley Rose and what caught my eye was that this store had a large variety of Korean beauty/makeup products. Being that it’s kind of difficult to find a physical locale that has Korean beauty/makeup products in the Valley, I knew I had to visit this store!

Riley Rose Store Front

If you don’t know, Riley Rose was created by Forever 21's daughters Linda and Ester Chang. I really didn't know about this until after visiting the store. It make sense to me now that this was created from Forever 21 because I would explain the style and aesthetics as a mash up between Forever 21 and Sephora. 

Forever 21 Vibes

The store is bright and quite spacious. There is a ton of things to look at and shop around for, but everything is organized nicely so it doesn’t feel cluttered. There is a little something for everyone including: makeup (both American and Korean/Asian brands), skin care, hair care, stationary, home goods, and sweets/candy.

Super cute vanity set up!

Useful tips and tricks!

Sugar section

Home goods

Hair section

In terms of Korean/Asian brands, they definitely have a great selection with some brand I've heard of and some I'm completely not familiar with. Some brands you can expect at the store include: Missha, Tony Moly, CosRx, Banilla Co, Peripera, Ettang, Elizavecca, etc.

Brands: Tony Moly and Ettang

Loads of different masks: lip, nose, and face masks.

I ended up buying things I've never used or heard before. Here are the things that I hauled:

Haul from Riley Rose

Banilla Co Hi Bye Vita-Peel Clear Pad $21.00

Blossom (infused with real flowers) roll-on perfume oil : Honey Jasmine $7.00

Jay Jun Cosmetic Anti-Dust Therapy Mask $3.20

Jay Jun Cosmetic Anti-Dust Whitening Mask $3.20

Jay Jun Cosmetic Full of Water Cream $36.00

Because I bought more than $50.00 worth of items, I got a free silver cosmetic bag which included a H2O+ Beauty Sea Greens Body Butter and a Lapcos Milk Moisturing Mask. It was a pleasant bonus!

Freebies

I was very happy with my first trip and I will definitely be going back! I usually buy my Kbeauty things online and I will continue to do so. However, I do like the convenience of going to a physical store because I can swatch and look at the products in person. It's really nice to be able to feel, smell, and see an item so I cant get a better understanding if it's something I really wanna spend my money on. It's also nice to get the item immediately and not have to wait for shipping.

If you can, I definitely recommend dropping by a Riley Rose store near you. If you can't they do have a website you can order off of: https://www.rileyrose.com/us/shop/

DISCLAIMER:

This is not sponsored! I bought everything with my own money and I genuinely wanted to write a review about this store.

Empties #3

My third set of empties!

As previously stated, if I don't have a mini-review down below, then I have already or am going to make a more in-depth review/post about that item!

Here are my Empties #3:

Bonvivant Botanical Mellow Clay Mask

Ettang Modeling Take-Out Cup Pack Propolis

Holika Holika Cheoeum : Balhyo Miracle Seed First Essence

Holika Holika Prime Youth Bird's Nest Gold Moisture Cream

IOPE Live Lift Serum

Mamonde Rose Water Soothing Gel

Mizon Enjoy Fresh - On Time Sweet Honey Mask

Neogen Code9 Tox Tightening Pack

Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Cream

Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray (Read my thoughts on this here: http://mbhbeauty.blogspot.com/2016/10/empties-1.html)

Bonvivant Botanical Mellow Clay Mask Jeju Volcanic Mask

I got this as a kit of 3 clay masks for "rainbow masking" on hautelook for around $30. This was one of three clay masks. This clay mask specifically targets blackhead, oil production, and pore control. The mask is a jelly like consistency and feels cool when applying to the face. It doesn't dry out the skin and does a decent job at helping with clearing up the skin.  Overall, it’s a good clay mask. Just keep in mind, that Bonvivant has now been rebranded to I Dew Care. So if you want to try this mask get the I Dew Care Pure To The Pore Mask.

Ettang Modeling Take-Out Cup Pack Propolis

This is 1 of 8 cup packs. I believe the whole set cost about $26 dollars. I used this because I was having a problem with some breakouts at the time. Propolis has good anti-inflammatory properties and helps with healing problematic skin. You're supposed to mix water into the cup and use the spatula that's provided to apply it on the skin. The product has a more paste like consistency. It was difficult to apply  to the skin and dried to a rubery texture. Although this specific cup helped with reducing redness during my breakouts, I really didn't like the way it applied to my skin and felt. I'm not going to be repurchasing these.

Holika Holika Cheoeum : Balhyo Miracle Seed First Essence

I got this as a sample when I went to Korea. I love this stuff. I'm definitely going to have to purchase the full size of this. This essence smells lovely, feels nice on the skin, hydrates, and helped with the texture of my skin.

Mamonde Rose Water Soothing Gel

I got this at an Aritaum shop in San Gabriel for about $20. I ended up using this as a body moisturizer during the summer. It worked okay, but didn't absorb well and was sticky after it dried. It smelled like roses, but there is also an overwhelming smell of rubbing alcohol. I love some of the Mamonde Rose line, but this is not one of the products I will be repurchasing.

Neogen Code9 Lemon Green Caviar Essence Tox Tightening Pack

I got this in a bundle when memebox used to sell skin care. This has 25 dual ended pads. One side was like a netted mesh that helped with exfoliating and the other side was more of a smooth cotton surface that helped distribute the product onto your face. This particular pack smelled of lemon. I really liked these a lot for the nights that I was lazy or short on time with my skin care. This provides you benefits of a more elaborate skin care system in one single step. I will definitely repurchase from Neogen eventually.

Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Cream

I picked this up at Ross on a whim one day for like $7. It was fall/winter time and my body tends to dry out a significant amount. This is a very fragrant and thick cream. It is definitely a heavy duty moisturizer and a little goes a long way. However, because of the strong perfume scent, I didn't really enjoy this product as much and won't be repurchasing.

DISCLAIMER:

Just wanted to note that the products I review are all purchased with my own money, unless I state otherwise. If you do use any of these products, please do so at your discretion as the results will vary depending on the person and their skin type.  I am in no way responsible for the results or outcome if you decide to try any of the products I recommend. These reviews are my 100% honest thoughts. Please don't be offended if I didn't like a product that you happen to love or vice versa. What may work or not work for me, may be totally different from you.