Hello, I’m Marissa
28 years old. Based in Singapore.
Asian lifestyle blogger. A fan of colour and tapirs.
Chatting beauty, skincare, small businesses, self-care, wellness and Animal Crossing.
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The Best Of 2022 – Beauty Edition
The end of the tumultuous year known as 2022 is around the corner and frankly, what a crazy year it has been!
As the year comes to a close, so comes my end of the year post about my beauty and makeup favourites. The ones that dominated the year, the ones that I repurchased throughout the year and the ones are I think are the most worth your money!
Sit back, relax and enjoy The Best Of 2022 – Beauty Edition!
Base Makeup
Wet n Wild’s Tinted Hydrator You already know how OBSESSED I am with this Tinted Hydrator by Wet n Wild. Definitely has to be my favourite face base of the year.
I wrote a post about this product just a few months ago, comparing it to the Fenty Eaze Drop Skin Tint, but to summarize, it is a lightweight and watery skin tint with medium buildable coverage and an added bonus of skincare! Squalene and hyaluronic acid are present in this skin tint, 2 ingredients that my skin loves!
I’ve already repurchased this skin tint 3 times throughout 2022 and I only discovered it in the second half of the year as I was adventuring into the world of tints and trying to get out of the world of foundation.
Absolutely in love with this product, would highly recommend.
Elf’s Hydrating Camo Concealer in Light Beige The amount of Tik Tok hype around this product influenced me to jump right on the bandwagon. And.. I love it!
The Hydrating Camo Concealer is exactly like it is named – hydrating, and very high coverage. Slightly less coverage than my trusty Loreal Full Wear Concealer, but also less drying, which is nice and doesn’t make your skin look cakey thoughout the day.
Repurchased twice already, and don’t see myself stopping!
Powders
Elf’s HD Loose Powder (Sheer) I’m a massive loose powder fan and as an oily skinned gal, I find it a detrimental part of my makeup routine in order for me not to turn into an oily mess after 2-3 hours of wear.
Elf’s HD Loose Powder in Sheer has been a powder I’ve really been enjoying! It doesn’t give off a white cast, is super lightweight and basically invisible, and keeps my oil production at bay! The container it comes in also seems bigger than majority of the loose powders I own, and it has lasted me ages! Definitely worth the money.
So far, Elf products have not let me down.
Essence’s Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder in Sunny Ever since I finished using my trusty Benefit Hoola bronzer, I struggled to find something that was as good but for a price cut (as I’m all about those drugstore prices). I was browsing Shopee one day and found the Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder by Essence and decided to give it a try as it looked… well… like a Hoola dupe.
Although it is not exactly like Hoola (not as blendable), I really like ti! For the price I paid ($13.90), the pan is ginormous, has lasted me months, smells like coconut and matches my light-warm toned skin!
Honestly, this is the biggest pan product I’ve ever owned. I don’t know how or why Essence decided to make this particular bronzer so massive but it doesn’t bother me, considering the fact I don’t bring it out of the house. The colour payoff is lovely, and it smells great. No complaints!
NYX Sweet Cheeks Matte Blush in Rose & Play Don’t judge me when you hear this but I dug this blusher out from one of my old makeup bags from when I visited the UK, probably in 2019. I KNOW, I KNOW, it’s horrible and probably expired but I can’t seem to find a blusher that suits me that is also matte!
This NYX Sweet Cheeks matte blush has worked very well for me and is almost at the end of its lifespan! Sadly, I can’t get a replacement as there are no more NYX stores in Singapore – they were shut down a few years back. I can only get them imported.
The shade Rose & Play works really well for me, although I would like something peachier and less pink. Not complaining though, as I haven’t found any blush I like more than this (yet). The perfect blush must be out there somewhere, waiting for me!
Too Faced’s Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush in Sparkling Bellini This is the one and only non-matte blush that I own. I got it last Christmas as a gift and although I’m a fan of more matte looks, the Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush gives off a very nice, natural glow. Great if you’re looking for that semi sunburnt natural makeup look.
I received the shade Sparkling Bellini and I believe it would be my perfect blush if only it wasn’t so glittery, as it is a good cross between rosy and peachy. Anyone have any dupes in a matte version? Let me know!
Eyes, Eyebrows & Eyelashes
Rom&Nd Eyeshadow Palette – Pampas Garden I recently discovered this Korean brand Rom&Nd from YouTube via Dobochobo, one of my favourite Asian YouTubers – she talked about it in a favourites video and I knew I had to get it!
I chose the series Pampas Garden because I like peachy, pink and orange tones, and so this was the perfect palette for me. It has a few mattes, a few shimmers and 2 very beautiful glittery shades that are lightly speckled, I love them as an eyeshadow topper!
This palette is also very compact, which makes it great for travelling with.
LA Girl Pro HD Color Corrector in Peach I’ve been very bothered lately by how dark my eyelids and undereyes look. And when topped off with concealer and powder, it ends up looking grey and ashy!
After scouring Reddit for some answers, I was advised to try a colour corrector. The most affordable one I found was by LA Girl, and I took the colour Peach instead of Orange because my skin tone is quite light and I didn’t want to look too bright orange around the eyes.
It surprisingly works very well! I say ‘surprisingly’ because I did think colour correctors didn’t do much – but after putting foundation and concealer on, I realised it does help reduce the ashiness!
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo in Dark Brown I’m not very adventurous with brow products as I don’t see the need to change up brow powders especially if you don’t change your hair colour often. My hair stays between black and dark brown, so I’ve been using the same brow products for years.
ABH’s Brow Powder Duo in the shade Dark Brown works a treat for me. It’s the tiniest little pan ever, but it has also lasted me ages. It is definitely more of a high-end priced product which I don’t usually go for, but it has lasted me more than a year, so I’m not too mad about that.
Essence’s Lash Princess Mascara I have almost exclusively been using mascaras by Essence for the past few years. They have simply never failed me, and at ridiculously low prices, what’s not to love?
My current favourite has been the pink Lash Princess Curl & Volume mascara. I already have the purple one as backup, and who knows – I may end up liking that one more!
My favourite of all the Essence mascaras, however, has been the What The Fake! in Green. It has been sold out for months in Singapore so I haven’t had the chance to use it for ages, but it is definitely the best out of the entire lot. I would love to bulk purchase it if given the chance.
Etude House Dr Mascara Fixer I absolutely love mascara primers now, and I don’t think I could live without it. How did I all these years?
Etude House’s Dr Mascara Fixers are clear-brownish eyelash primers that you coat your lashes with before applying mascara to help them stay curled and voluminous and it really does help! I even think it gives the lashes a ‘fuller’ look.
Would highly rate them and they’re very affordable!
Setting Spray
Elf’s Stay All Night Micro Fine Setting Mist Man, I can’t hype this product up enough. I even recommended it to the makeup artist who did my wedding makeup.
I swear by this Stay All Night Micro Fine Setting Mist. It is SO SO SO SO good. I don’t know what the hell Elf put in it but it works. I cried a lot when my dog passed away in the beginning of November and I remember I was wearing this setting mist on the day, and my makeup didn’t budge.
It also smells great, kind of like aloe vera and cucumber. Will definitely be repurchasing this until I can find something better (which hasn’t happened yet). I would say it is the closest dupe to the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray I’ve come across, but for a fraction of the price.
It’s another win for Elf Cosmetics!
What makeup products did you enjoy in 2022? Let me know in the comments below!
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The Best Of 2022 — Skincare Edition
It’s that time of year again where I ramble on about what I’ve been loving on my skin, products that have helped me with my oil, acne-prone skin and also what I would recommend for any skin type!
I absolutely love talking about skincare so let’s begin!
Please note that all products linked are discounted specially for you and if you purchase any linked item, I will get a tiny bit of commission! If clicking links aren’t your thing, do use code MARISSA420 at checkout on YesStyle for discounts on all products storewide! Any links clicked and products purchased will be much appreciated to help a small blogger like me earn a little extra pocket money!
ma:nyo – Pure Cleansing Oil Manyo is a new brand to me and I already have a very good first impression. Their Pure Cleansing Oil was more on the pricier side, but I absolutely loved using it!
This cleansing oil is quite dense and contains jojoba seed oil and argan oil which melts and removes excess sebum and pore waste effortlessly, according to their website. And I would have to highly agree! As someone who beats their face on a daily basis, this cleansing oil did a really great job of clearing all impurities from my skin.
Kose – Softymo Cleansing Oil By now I’m sure you’ve heard of pretty much everyone’s holy grail cleansing oil product, the Softymo Cleansing Oil.
I didn’t fall into the hype until the later part of 2022 and I understand why it is everyone’s holy grail cleansing oil. It is truly fuss free, doesn’t have a fragrance, doesn’t leave a gross, greasy residue and is super affordable! It also comes in 3 types of cleansing oil – White Cleansing Oil, Speedy Cleansing Oil and Deep Cleansing Oil.
If you have oily skin like me, I’d recommend either the Speedy or Deep. I already have 2 more bottles of this in my storage waiting to be used up and one of them has a Pikachu packaging – it’s so cute!
Panoxyl Acne Foaming Wash I am about a thousand years too late to board the Panoxyl face wash train. I discovered this being talked about online and how it ‘saved’ many cystic acne sufferers, which I am! How no one talked about this product to me previously BAFFLES me. Were y’all gatekeeping?!
I chose the 10% Benzoyl Peroxide version (there’s a 2% too) because my skin is thick like rubber and no product can penetrate it well if it is considered ‘mild’. This 10% version has worked very well for me. It has stopped any active breakouts – which is what I wanted!
I even did an experiment. I switched over to another brand when I finished my first bottle of Panoxyl, and lo and behold, within 2 weeks of using an anonymous brand, I had 3 new pimples! This has definitely convinced me that Panoxyl keeps my breakouts at bay. 10/10.
Dear, Klairs – Gentle Black Sugar Facial Polish I know not everyone is a fan of physical exfoliants but I personally like feeling scrubbed out, so I’m a fan of sugar scrubs for the skin!
Dear Klairs’ Gentle Black Sugar Facial Polish is a great sugar polish in the cutest tub ever. It may seem like a small tub, but it lasts a very long time. I don’t exfoliate every day, but I try to at least 3 times a week.
This sugar-based facial scrub contains black sugar, shea butter and cranberry oil to gently exfoliate, and it doesn’t leave the skin stripped of any moisture. It even emulsifies when in contact with water, and turns into a slightly cloudy liquid which I love!
innisfree’s Bija Trouble Skin Toner I kid you not when I say I have repurchased this Bija Trouble Skin toner 6 times this year. SIX. I run through it quickly because I love it so much, and also because it has really helped my acne.
From using this product, I have deduced that my skin really loves salicylic acid. It is not sticky, has a very fresh, almost minty (?) scent and feel to it, and is very very watery, which I like, as I use toners and other skincare products as a base before my makeup.
Definitely my favourite toner of all time, I can proudly say!
L’Oreal’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum This item has been repurchased 3 times over the past year, and I really swear by it and love it.
L’Oreal’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum has been the best hyaluronic acid serum I’ve tried so far. I’ve not tried that many, but this has been the one I’ve stuck to as it feels the best, isn’t sticky or greasy, and also doesn’t give me any adverse skin reactions. It is fragrance-free, paraben-free and contains no mineral oils or synthetic dyes. I also love the glass bottle it comes in, gives it a really sleek, high-end look!
Silky smooth with fast absorption, this is definitely one of those fuss-free serums you could use both day and night.
Skin Food’s Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Pore Chilling Essence I’ve talked about this product in a previous post where I chatted about Skin Food, and it is such a fantastic product.
The Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Pore Chilling Essence (what a mouthful) is a lightweight, watery essence that I usually apply before moisturizer and sunscreen during the day. It has a minty-tingly feel to it and I absolutely love the bottle too!
Its major ingredients include propolis extract (help skin retain more moisture to maintain a healthier, more vibrant complexion), royal jelly extract, (helps to protect skin against the effects of ultraviolet radiation), witch hazel (relieving inflammation, tightening pores, reducing acne) and many more!
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat I’m quite a fan of La Roche-Posay, and I would be a much bigger fan if the price points weren’t so crazy in Singapore. This Effaclar Mat moisturizer is my go-to moisturizer for the day time.
It really keeps my skin feeling matte without it being too tight, or feeling itchy. I love it, it’s great for oily skinned people! I’ve bought this 3 times throughout the year, and I will continue to do so until I manage to find another matte moisturizer that is… more affordable!
SomeByMi’s Snail Truecica Miracle Repair Serum Snail serums have been everything for me over the past 2 years as you would’ve seen in my previous skincare posts. I’ve tried a lot of them, and one tops them all.
The SomeByMi Snail Truecica Miracle Repair Serum is godsent. This is a product I will recommend over and over again, to absolutely everyone. I used this when my skin was drying out due to accutane, I used it when I was my usual oily self, and I used it when I had what people call ‘combination skin’. And it worked so well every time!
This product contains 890,000ppm of Snail Truecica which consists of Black Snail Extract and Truecica, hence the moisturizing soothing and ‘healing’ effect. I see a glow every morning when I wake up after putting this on at night – it’s so great! And affordable! I’ve purchased this maybe 4 times, and one bottle lasts a very long time.
innisfree’s Retinol Cica Retinol has been very popular amongst the acne community both online and offline. And whilst some retinol serums can be very expensive, I’ve found that the innisfree Retinol Cica serum has been the most affordable for the best effects.
I’ve repurchased this twice now, only because I don’t use retinol every day and also because a little bit goes a long way. I’ve definitely seem some skin-evening effects while using this, and that is hard to come by for me because as I’ve said before, my skin is like rubber and products that are meant to ‘treat’ something usually have little to no effect.
According to YesStyle, “The serum fights spots and blemishes and evens skin tone thanks to cica and retinol in its ingredients. Green tea in the formulation calms redness, while madecassic acid and asiaticoside (derivatives of centella asiatica) soothe ad repair skin.”
ElizaVecca’s Aqua Hyaluronic Acid Water Drop Cream ElizaVecca is a very new brand to me and I only discovered it because of the about of hype around the hair collagen cream. As you can tell, I’m very easily influenced into buying recommended things.
ElizaVecca’s Aqua Hyaluronic Acid Water Drop Cream is a lovely, lightweight hyaluronic acid water drop cream. It is ridiculously affordable and works very well. One downside would be that there is fragrance to it, and it is quite strong. Whilst I am perfectly fine with fragrance in my products, I know it is something a lot of people want to avoid. In my opinion, it smells like clean, fresh soap.
I mainly use this product at night before bed, as it gives me a more ‘dewy look’. I also love the packaging – how cute is it?
The Body Shop’s Vitamin E Moisture Cream The Body Shop is a brand I always love going back to. Their Vitamin E Moisture Cream (and frankly, the entire Vitamin E range) has worked very well for my skin.
This cream is non-greasy and contains both hyaluronic acid and raspberry seed oil. Alongside that, it has, of course, Vitamin E. Vitamin E (a.k.a tocopherol) is a protective vitamin that’s well-known in skincare circles for protecting and moisturizing skin.
COSRX Aloe Soothing Sun Cream If you’re not already wearing sunscreen daily, wyd?!
COSRX’s Aloe Soothing Sun Cream has been a stable SPF for me for quite a long time now. I’m on my third bottle and I intend to keep purchasing it. It is also extremely affordable, works well with my oily, acne prone skin and doesn’t have a white cast.
I’d love to hear about what skincare products you’ve been enjoying in 2022! Are any of the items I mentioned your favourites too? Let’s chat a little about it in the comments below!
Have an amazing start to 2023!
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Skincare Products You’re Sleeping On From Skin Food (+ Discounts For You!)
I’m a huge fan of Korean skincare products as you all already know from reading my blog and for good reason. They’re always chock full of amazing ingredients and packaged adorably. Most of them come with super affordable price tags.
One brand I haven’t heard a lot of hype about is Skin Food.
According to their Wikipedia page, Skin Food is a South Korean skincare and cosmetics brand founded in 1957 in Seoul, making it a very veteran Korean beauty brand. I’ve personally known about Skin Food since 2010, when I first got my hands on their Buckwheat Loose Powder – I didn’t even know anything about loose powder back then. I was simply attracted to the packaging and the fact that it smelled nice.
Skin Food has 895 stores throughout Korea and 5000 stores worldwide, located in shopping districts, hypermarkets, shopping malls and residential areas and two outlets in Seoul’s main shopping district.
Only in the past few months have I started to delve into more Skin Food products by myself, not under the recommended guise of anyone else and I’m SO glad I did! Let me now tell you about some products I’ve been enjoying.
Please note that all products linked are discounted specially for you and if you purchase any linked item, I will get a tiny bit of commission! If clicking links aren’t your thing, do use code MARISSA420 at checkout on YesStyle for discounts on all products storewide!
Black Sugar Perfect Cleansing Oil I’m a sucker for cleansing oils, it’s all I ever use to remove my makeup. This Black Sugar Perfect Cleansing Oil works like a dream!
It contains black sugar, refined rice wine and botanical oils, making it moisturising as well as great at removing waterproof makeup. I have to also add that I love the smell – it has a subtly sweet vanilla-ish aroma and it is very pleasant. Doesn’t linger in the skin either so it should be fine for people who don’t do well with fragrance.
You know I have to talk about the packaging. I absolutely love the brown bottle and black label, it gives me amber candle jar vibes and I love it. It looks so aesthetically pleasing on my bathroom shelf.
This 200ml bottle has somehow lasted me forever as a little goes a long way. And for only $13, I will never complain. I would highly recommend this product for any makeup wearer!
Black Sugar Perfect Scrub Foam I love scrubs. I know many people are against physical exfoliants but I personally love them and they’ve never affected my skin negatively. I have grown to love sugar scrubs for my face and body recently too.
This Black Sugar Perfect Scrub Foam is packaged beautifully just like the cleansing oil, and smells delicious. It also contains refined rice wine and botanical oils to remove dead skin cells and impurities. The sugar granules are perfectly sized and the finish of this scrub is a creamy liquid which is very soothing. Definitely not irritating to the skin.
I even use this scrub on my chest sometimes as I do occasionally get some chest acne, and it feels super clean afterwards!
Rice Daily Brightening Cleansing Foam Skin Food is famous for adding rice or rice ingredients into their skincare products and for good reason. Rice or rice ingredients such as rice water is good for soothing sensitive skin and redness, as well as upholding a brightening effect for dull skin.
The Rice Daily Brightening Cleansing Foam is a great daily cleansing foam for just about any skin type! Also love the simplistic packaging.
Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Pore Chilling Essence I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful serum packaging in my entire life. My jaw literally dropped when I unboxed it.
The Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Pore Chilling Essence is a very lightweight serum with major ingredients like propolis extract (help skin retain more moisture to maintain a healthier, more vibrant complexion), royal jelly extract, (helps to protect skin against the effects of ultraviolet radiation), witch hazel (relieving inflammation, tightening pores, reducing acne) and many more!
I absolutely love this, the packaging is stunning, it does indeed give off a ‘cooling’ sensation on the skin which is great for anyone who suffers inflammation or even for when you’re in a hotter climate like me. I use it both morning and night and will definitely be repurchasing a bottle!
Lemon Verbana Body Lotion I love lemony body lotions! I’ve been very into citrus scents lately and when I saw that Skin Food had a Lemon Verbana Body Lotion, I quickly purchased one. And oh my god.. LET US ALL TAKE A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE THE DESIGN OF THE LABEL. One of the best, and most beautifully designed labels I have ever seen. I love the vintage vibes, the choice of font (very retro, me likey!), the illustration style.. I can’t say enough good things.
This lotion contains herbs and lemon verbena extract with a fresh citrus scent, and leaves my skin feeling fresh and not greasy. I use this both in the day and night, it is a very flexible product in that sense.
Deep Cleanse Pear Mint Food Mask From this point on in the post, I will be focusing on face masks. My favourite part of my skin care routine has to be wash off masks!
Once I saw this product had the word ‘mint’ in it, I knew I had to try it. The Deep Cleanse Pear Mint Food Mask is a cooling wash off mask that is perfect for warm weather. It has an ever-so-slight scrub effect to it but definitely does not have a strong exfoliating effect. It also smells heavenly, slightly like a fruit basket with a hint of mint.
If you’re a fan of minty products, do give this a try!
Egg White Pore Mask The Egg White Pore Mask was the first mask I tried. Not gonna lie, I only bought it because it was cute and affordable. I had no idea what the benefits of egg white on the skin were before this, and I’m here to let you know today!
Egg white tightens pores, leaving the skin silky and smooth, as well as brightens the skin. This mask also smells very pleasant – reminiscent of subtle baby powder! The texture is light and fluffy, almost like marshmallow but not as dense. It is also very easy to wash off as I’ve noticed some wash-off masks sometimes takes a few rounds of rinsing to get off but this one doesn’t, so it’s a great mask if you need a quick one.
It is so gentle I don’t doubt it can be used daily too!
Black Sugar Wash Off Mask Ah, here we are again, ending off this post with another black sugar item. This Black Sugar Wash Off Mask is my latest addition to my Skin Food mask collection.
I love this, it smells amazing, just like the other products in the black sugar range. This is similar to a sugar scrub, so I have been successfully using it on both my face and body – it works a treat!
Since it is a physical scrub mask, I would recommend only using it once or twice a week especially for those with more sensitive skin types.
That has been my massive post about the fabulous brand that is Skin Food. What did you think? Have you tried any of these products out?
If you haven’t, don’t forget to click my affiliate links in the post or use my code MARISSA420 at checkout on YesStyle!
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Wet n Wild’s Tinted Hydrator – The $15 Dupe For Fenty’s Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint? — An Honest Review
I am very excited to write this blog post as you guys know I really really love dupes and cheaper drugstore alternatives that work just the same. I’ve never been very good at finding dupes for myself, and this has been a pretty successful dupe find if I should say so myself. If anyone has already compared the 2 products that I’m about to talk about, I swear I didn’t see them prior to writing this.
In a previous blog post, I reviewed the ever so popular Fenty Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint Foundation from Sephora that retails for $49 in Singapore. I’ve been using it almost daily since I bought it a couple of months ago and I’ve even gotten a second bottle – I really love this product so much! But as you have seen from the title of this post, I may have found something that works just as good for more than half the price.
I will not only be reviewing the Wet n Wild Tinted Hydrator Skin Tint in today’s An Honest Review post, but I will also be comparing it to the Eaze Drop Skin Tint. I hope this makes it easier for you to make a decision on which one would suit you better!
Wet n Wild’s Tinted Hydrator The Product
One fine day whilst your girl was browsing Shopee, as I always do, I scrolled and saw a popular local shop that imports American makeup called Juwel Cosmetics. I’ve known of them for quite awhile as I’ve gotten an Essence bronzer from this exact shop before, so I already knew they were genuine, and would happily answer questions I had about any item.
One of their top selling products in the store was the Wet n Wild Bare Focus Tinted Hydrator. At that point, it had 600+ sales. I was incredibly intrigued, as my experience with the Fenty Skin Tint had been positive. Despite me originally being a ‘foundation only’ girl, the Skin Tint had converted me. I now love skin tints and I am no longer afraid of them (I always thought they were too low in coverage).
I don’t know how no one ever converted me before this. I guess it was all about covering up my flaws, my acne and my scarring, and that was considered a good habit in the very one dimensional society that I live in in Asia.
I would also like to mention that this item contains 27ml of product as opposed to Fenty’s Eaze Drop that contains 32ml, so slightly more in the high end skin tint.
Special Mentions – The Ingredients
I don’t usually talk a lot about the ingredient lists in cosmetic products as I am not the kind to look for how organic a cosmetic product should be as realistically, I know that ‘all natural’ products don’t always necessarily work to serve the purpose that they promise. This is the case with skincare and haircare too – it just doesn’t work for me. But then again, this is just my opinion. I am also not someone who is an expert on all types of ingredients so I never really feel confident breaking them down for a reader.
The ingredients in this skin tint, however, are surprising as they are lovely – in it includes glycerin, hyaluronic acid (which I love!) and squalene (I also love!). How amazing is it to find a drug store skin tint for $15 that has all these great skincare benefits already in them? Even Fenty didn’t have this many skincare benefits.
I’m thoroughly impressed as I’m all for makeup that also acts as skincare. If this skin tint had SPF, that would be perfect. But I also think if SPF was added, it would drastically change the texture of the product for the worse, so maybe it’s good that it wasn’t added in.
Wet n Wild’s Tinted Hydrator Shade Range
I quickly messaged the seller and asked them what shade they would recommend me. I informed them that I had used both shades 5 and 8 for Fenty’s Skin Tint and that I could go with a shade that was similar to either one of these colours. She responded promptly and told me that Light Medium would be most suitable for me so I took her advice and purchased it. It arrived in just 2 days!
Happy to report back that Light Medium suits me just fine! Skin tints usually don’t pose that much of a problem even if the shade doesn’t fully match as the coverage isn’t high, so the difference isn’t hugely obvious.
According to Wet N Wild’s website, the range includes 11 shades, starting from Porcelain and ending at Deep. I would say this is an alright amount of shades for a skin tint, but if it were a foundation, it would be a big fat no no from me.
The Packaging
The packaging was.. very drugstore. I don’t know how else to explain it other than you could tell it wasn’t a high end product. This doesn’t necessarily mean it was packaged badly, but more like it was packaged simply. I don’t mind it at all.
It comes in a squeeze bottle and a screw on cap. Very simple and compact and would fit into anyone’s bag or even pocket. Nothing much to complain about the packaging at all but it’s definitely not bougie.
Wet N Wild VS Fenty – The Ultimate Showdown
I’m now going to directly compare the 2 products in terms of everything that I broke down above, and tell you who wins and why.
Price – Wet n Wild takes the cake. At just $15 (SGD), you can hardly find a skin base product that costs that little. Fenty will be out of many people’s price ranges as it almost hits $50.
Packaging – Fenty wins for sure. The Eaze Drop packaging is beautiful and feels very high-end, and comes in a unique oblong shape whereas the Wet n Wild Hydrator comes in a normal plastic squeeze tube.
Shade Range – Fenty has 25 shades whereas Wet n Wild has 11. Fenty has to win on this end. But if you can find a shade to suit you within the 11 that Wet n Wild has to offer, go for Wet n Wild.
Ingredients – Wet n Wild wins. If you look at the Fenty ingredient list, there are hardly any skincare benefits, whereas Wet n Wild has hyaluronic acid and squalene.
Product – I would say both look identical on the skin, but Wet n Wild is more watery. Both are lightweight and have a similar level of coverage, but the Fenty product has a more high-end ‘flawless’ finish that is quite clearly visible. If you’re on a budget, go for Wet n Wild. If you have $50 to spare, you won’t regret spending it on Fenty either. But if you’re particularly concerned about skincare, go for Wet n Wild. Squalene and hyaluronic acid are very important ingredients in skincare.
Based on all the things I mentioned about these 2 products, which would be your pick if money wasn’t an option? And why?
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The Face Shop’s Quick Hair Puff (For Thinning Hair) — An Honest Review
I’ll be the first to say my hair isn’t at its healthiest at the moment. I was born with so much thick, black, curly hair – and now that I’m inching towards 30, my hair is thinning out very noticeably especially at the crown of my head.
I’ve been using hair tonics, hair growth shampoos, and minoxidil for the past few months. I’ve been extremely self conscious about the patch at the top of my head that I’ve taken many many pictures of to see if there has been a difference. Unfortunately I’m not seeing much at the moment, but I do feel like my hair loss in the shower during my daily hair wash has lessened – so that’s something! I suspect it has to do with minoxidil.
Please note that all products linked are discounted specially for you and if you purchase any linked item, I will get a tiny bit of commission! If clicking links aren’t your thing, do use code MARISSA420 at checkout on YesStyle for discounts on all products storewide!
This post is not sponsored by The Face Shop or YesStyle.
Recent photos of patch at the top of my head – probably taken over a month ago I can’t stand those 2 photos of the top of my head but I’ll be transparent with you guys since I’m reviewing a hair product. That’s what the top of my hair looked like between 1-2 months ago. I don’t like it and I’ve been trying all sorts of ways to cover it up including changing my hair parting but it hasn’t been working so well.
I discovered this somewhat dubious looking product by The Face Shop called the Quick Hair Puff. I’m going to tell you more about it.
The Quick Hair Puff’s Shade Range The Product
This product is basically a hair fibre puff – it is made with nourishing ingredients such as soybean seed extract, panax ginseng root extract and artemisia princeps leaf extract whilst also containing some ingredients that I’m aware people may want to avoid such as talc, silica and aluminium hydroxide. Despite the controversies surrounding talc, it being present as an ingredient means this product helps absorb oil too.
As someone with a very greasy scalp, this was a useful factor for me.
I personally chose the shade Dark Brown because my hair is, well, dark brown. I didn’t want to choose Black because I was afraid it would be a too obvious colour difference.
Price
I bought it from YesStyle for just $14 – that’s in Singaporean dollars. And with my discount code, MARISSA420, you’ll be able to get even more money trimmed off that!
$14 is very affordable for this product as I can tell it will last me ages as a little definitely goes a long way!
How It Works + The Packaging
Once you uncap the powder, you’ll have to remove a plastic cover before use. It will allow the hair fibre powders from the bottom of the product to seep through the puff with a few shakes. If you’ve ever used the Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer, it is basically the same concept without the twisting of the bottom of the packaging. It takes a few shakes but very quickly you’ll soon see the coloured powder go through to the puff.
It is, admittedly, very satisfying to start using!
The fibres look exactly like brownish blackish dust or very very fine powder. I got a bit of it on my hands as I was trying to shake the product out during the first use and it was easy to clean off too.
The Product + Effectiveness
Enough of the talking, I’m going to show you what it did to my hair with a shocking before and after.
Be warned, I’m very excited about the following photos.
Before VS after using the Quick Hair Puff Can I just say quickly.. I gasped when I saw the pictures my mum took of the top of my head. I didn’t shift my parting nor did I change the lighting and OH MY GOD LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE! It is such a big improvement!
The fibres covered up the patches of ‘empty’ on my scalp so effectively without making it look like I had brown powder all over me. I would go as far as to say it looks extremely natural and I wouldn’t be able to tell I had any product in.
A Little Downside
The only downside to this product is that you’re gonna have to wash your hair after using it on a day out. As a morning-hair-washer, this means I’ll have to wash my hair twice in a day whenever I use this product which is obviously a tad too drying for the hair to be doing regularly, but I wouldn’t use this product on a daily anyway. Maybe for an event or my wedding?
However, and this is just an assumption on my part, you will notice that the fibres don’t stick to your scalp for hours and hours. Just running your fingers through your hair will cause some to fall out and dust your hands. I would think that this means that if you blew out your hair through the day there would be a chance bag there would be very little product left in your hair. You may be safe to sleep on your white pillow without washing your hair a second time! But don’t take my word for it – do try it for yourself first.
I would also advise you to not wear white when using this product.
Is It Worth The Hype?
YES – ABSOLUTELY.
We’ve all seen those crazy hair fibre videos on Tik Tok where an almost balding person gets some hair product sprinkled over their scalp and it suddenly makes them look like they’ve got a fuller head of hair. I always thought those were exaggerated and edited but after discovering this product and trying it myself, I’m convinced they work well!
There are obviously many different brands of hair puffs on the market, but you know me – I love my Korean skincare and beauty. The Face Shop has also been around for ages and is a brand I trust. However, like I mentioned when chatting about ingredients, you have to still look at the ingredient list of any product you’re buying to check if they contain any ingredient you’re trying to avoid.
I would highly recommend trying out the Quick Hair Puff if you have thinning hair anywhere on your head – just get the right colour!
I hope this review was helpful for any of you suffering with hair thinning or some hair loss and that it can help you make a decision on whether or not to try this product. Let me know what you think!
Don’t forget to use my code MARISSA420 for ANTHING you want to purchase from YesStyle to save some money!
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