Product Review: Etude House Cleansing Milk

What: Etude House Happy Teatime Cleansing Cream in Milk Tea

Price: Approx. Php 200.00

Bought: Etude House, The Block

For a long time, I have been wanting to try out Pond's Cold Cream to remove the slight everyday make-up that I put on to achieve a semblance of being "presentable". You don't want a gnarly pimple while seating next to your crush in class! 

So I went to the mall one day determined to get the cold cream as I have noticed my face have already started looking dull (which I assumed was because of my everyday use of makeup that I am unable to completely remove at night). However, the pink paradise that is Etude House lured me in and I found this one instead.

When I compared it to the Pond's one, it just seemed so much more practical to buy this 180 ml tub for a little less that 200 pesos, than to buy the 50 ml pond's for something around 90 pesos. If you're looking for evidence of its practicality, here's my EH Happy Teatime tub after four months of use! I think it's still more than half full :)

It comes in this cute peach tub with a dainty little teapot on the cover.

It smells like powdery heaven to me, the subtle scent disappears as you apply it to your face. Just the way I like it. Consistency is comparable to a light cream or lotion. This cream makes my face feel so soft and smooth after I use it - definitely one of the things I love about it. A little caveat for me though is that is stings a little bit on my eyes, but the sensation goes away after a few seconds so I am willing to look over that. 

There are two ways to use this cream: with water or with tissues/cotton pads. 

Here's my hand with a swatch of maybelline mascara, bench lip and cheek tint, and etude house lip product. Let's try to remove this makeup with the cleansing cream and tissues, and see how it will fare. 

With one wipe of tissue, some mascara got wiped off, the tint's got subdued and the lipstick almost completely removed.

After massaging the cleansing cream into my dry made up hand, I wiped it with tissue until all cream came  off.

Ta-da! After wiping with tissue, there is no trace of mascara and lipstick. The bench tint, as I reviewed here, has really strong staying power and is still quite evident after using the cleansing cream.

The second way of using this cream is with the use of water. Here I have in my hand some Tony Moly Shine Blusher, Nichido Eyebrow Powder and Careline Powder Blush. 

First, I run water over the makeup.

Then I massage the cream over my hand where makeup is present.

Then I rinse it off and... Ta-da! All makeup completely removed :)

Mainly, I like it because it smells good and it leaves my skin soft and smooth for a few seconds after cleansing. However, I still want to try some other cleansing products preferably something that won't sting my eyes and comes in a pump packaging.

Would I Repurchase? No, I want to try other cleansing products :)

Over-all Rating: 7/10
Packaging: 6/10 (Cute but bulky and the tub is unhygienic, I'd rather if it came with a pump or something)
Performance: 7/10 (wasn't able to remove my bench tint and stings my eyes a bit)
Price: 8/10 (you get a whole lot of product for an affordable price)

How about you? What do you use to remove makeup? :)

Product Review: Bench Pretty When Pinched Lip and Cheek Tint

Ola! Welcome to my first ever product review! *cue drumbeats and slow claps*

Brand: Herbench

Price: Php 180.00

Bought: Bench, Trinoma

I mainly use tints as blushes just because I like my blush in liquid or cream form rather than powder form. When I swatched this tint inside the store, I was hesitant to get it because I noticed that the line I applied with the brush shows harshly after I blended it. However, I have actually realized that the mistake was mine when I applied a thick line over my hand to swatch, looked at it for a few minutes and then blended. What I immediately learned from this tint is that it dries easily.

Here's how the tint looks when swatched:

Here's how it looks like blended:

One of the caveats of this tint is that it transfers color on your fingers as you apply it. Based on my experience, I felt like 40 percent of the product got transferred on my finger.  

There are actually two ways to wear this on your cheeks. The first time I used this tint, I apply three dots on my cheek and then I blend with my fingers, buff with a contour brush from Marionnaud and then top with powder. But then I learned from a friend that a technique to make the application easier and foolproof is to mix it with a little bit of your moisturizer which tames the color, makes it easier to blend and also make it last longer.

I tried mixing the tint with my Nivea moisturizing sunblock.

And here's how it looked:

Personally, I prefer the dot and pat application because it's quicker, easier and I think the undiluted color works better for my skin tone (medium). What I think is best about this tint is that it really lasts all day! That makes it a winner for me. 

It comes in a practical packaging that makes it look like, for lack of a better word, a pail. I really do wish they make it a bit more girly or fun or cute. It comes with a built in brush on the twist open cap, This brush looks like a nail polish brush but it is soft and dots the product in effectively so I have nothing against it. 

The last time I wore this was friday, which was a jam-packed day for me. I met a friend to catch up over coffee in manila, met another friend in BGC to do last minute shopping in the giant fullybooked store (traffic was crazy!), then went back to manila to meet some cousins for dinner. And throughout this whole ordeal, when I came back home and looked in the mirror, I still got it. That healthy natural looking flush on my cheeks. 

I didn't reapply primarily because I had no time to do so, and because I don't like carrying the tub in my bag. But albeit no re-application, just oil blotting and powder application, the color stayed and made me healthy looking despite all my haggardness. 

And that is why I am able to tell you this: I am so in love with this tint right now and it's a lifesaver for me! 

Would I Repurchase? I don't think I'm going to run out of this anytime soon, there's a lot of product in that tub! But if I do run out and I definitely will! :)

Over-all Rating: 9/10
Packaging: 7/10 (Practical but I'd really love if it comes in a girlier packaging)
Lasting Power: 10/10 (lasts me the whole day under intense circumstances)
Color Pay-off: 9/10 (provides a healthy natural looking flush)
Price: 10/10 (affordable and performs well)

How about you? What's your favorite cheek product? :)