daffnee: April 2017

Korean makeup haul

26.4.17

Well well well, I said I was back and then I disappeared there for over a month. A hectic work schedule was a large chunk of the problem, but then I also frolicked off to Korea for a week and a half. Korea is a country I can't get enough of - the food, the people, the history, the scenery...and of course, the makeup.
Let's start off with the staples - yes, I'm still using the innisfree Eco Brow Pencil. I'm on my third pencil and decided to buy another one as backup. Was it necessary? Not really since Taiwan also has innisfree, but it's cheaper in Korea and I was already in the shop so why not?
I continued the brow moment with the Etude House Tint My Brows Gel. Months back, I bought this for my sister, who has trouble keeping her eyebrow on - and then I bought one for my cousin who doesn't have any eyebrows in the first place. But I never got one for myself. Don't ask me why. So this time, I finally got one for myself. This product is one of those eyebrow stains that is perfect for the lazy ones, or the eyebrow-less (plus, there's also the shock factor before you peel off the product - currently, I'm trying to avoid mirrors for the next two hours).
I had set off to Korea with finding an eyeliner as my mission. I swatched many impressive eyeliners, but the 3CE Creamy Waterproof Eyeliner won the battle. I wasn't won over by this eyeliner the first time I tried it out - I had swatched a couple of colours, but put them back down as they didn't seem that special. Fast forward to when I was about to step out of the shop, makeup wipe in hand, rubbing away the horrendous amount of swatches, and holy moly - the swatch did not budge with the water-based remover. It wasn't until I switched to an oil-based remover and did some coaxing did the eyeliner start coming off. So I u-turned back in, grabbed two colours, Caffeine (dark brown) and Les Miserables (a metallic bronze), and went straight to the till. I didn't realise how much the eyeliner names resonated with two of my favourite things until afterwards. Fate? I think so.
I also picked up two other things from 3CE - the Waterful Concealer and the Pot Eyeshadow. The Waterful Concealer in 01 is beautiful to wear under the eyes and with surprising coverage. The Pot Eyeshadow in Baby Latte - another caffeine related name - was also a surprise. It's a soft pale gold with a metallic sheen. It's a soft, almost glittery, shadow when used with a brush, but the real magic comes out when you use fingers to apply. I'm not a finger-eyeshadow kinda girl, but this, this eyeshadow I'm willing to use my fingers for.
I actually surprised myself this time by buying only one lip product - I know. But then again, my lipstick collection is horrendous. After hearing raves about the fresh Sugar Lip Treatment, it was no surprise that I had to get myself one the moment I found out Korea has the brand. I literally only had 5 minutes to grab and go, so I barely did any swatching. But, Poppy - a red berry shade - is beautiful and has taken up permanent residence in my bag. Also, the packaging!
Last but not least, I didn't expect myself to haul back a bottle of liquid, but then I went with a fragrance-freak (hi, Annie), so what did I expect. I had stumbled upon Granhand. the last time I was in Bukchon, but I resisted then. This time, I couldn't. After long sniffing sessions and chatting with the staff (in English...my Korean is limited to asking for an order of mandu), I walked out with a personalised bottle of their fragrance in Kissin - named after the Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin, not the *activity*. It's a bit spicy, a bit warm, and very very cozy. I haven't been able to stop wearing this since that day and did I mention they do international shipping? Granhand makes all their products in their shops - they also offer classes where you get to make your own soy candles, fragrances, fabric sprays...etc. All at an affordable price as well! I'm kinda wanting to do that the next time I find myself in the traditional hanok village.
What are some Korean makeup products you'd like to try? With Love, Daphne x

Hello, Korea. Again. ridiculously photo heavy

22.4.17

I found myself in Incheon International Airport again at the start of April. It hadn't even been a year since the last ICN arrival stamp in my passport, but it felt like ages. I'm not going to do a complete rundown of my whole schedule, but figured there were some highlights in the 10 day trip some of you might be interested in. (FYI - if we're getting technical here, we spent 50% of the time in Seoul, 25% in Jeonju, and 25% in Namyangju)
~~I say highlights - but this post has like 500 photos....~~

T H E F O O D

I'm not the biggest seafood person, but this spread was insane. I mean, this was just half of it - plus it was only £13/person???

Literally all you can eat kimchi at just about every meal but the bean sprout soup was beyond what I expected cuz it was so delicious?!!?!

LOOK AT ALL THE MANDU (or, for the ~~uncultured~~ people who don't speak food Korean), dumplings.

If you didn't chicken and beer in Korea, can you really say you went to Korea?

T H E S C E N E

This was the cutest little candle shop we found in Jeonju - it was in a corner called the "young people market", which is at the second floor of a traditional market. It was originally the storage space of the market, but some young artists renovated the space and made it into an artist center, sorta speaking.

Still one of my favourite corners in Gyeongbokgong - the main Royal Palace.

This was a cafe (the Terarosa Cafe)- a friggin cafe that could fit half my high school?!?! Also, it had delicious pastries and coffee?!?! Sheer insanity.

Korea also has some of the most creative cafes that I've ever seen - like this peeking cat statue lurking outside one of the cafes found in Ihwa Mural Village.

T H E P E O P L E *warning* This is where things start getting slightly narcissistic. I've warned you. Turn back while you still can - actually you can turn back whenever you want.

Here is me trying to take an ~artistic~ instagram photo - it wasn't happening.

I was stopped this day for a photograph - they said it was because I had cool sunglasses, but I'd like to think it's because of my fashion forward outfit.

Either people in the old times were ridiculously tall - or you were supposed to look out the tiny windows.

I was going for a more 'wild child princess playing with sand' vibe, but I think it turned out to be more 'wild child princess being forced to apologise for breaking an antique vase'

Obviously my favourite outfit EVER so I included three photos. The dress is so roomy, so swishy, and so food baby appropriate. I would wear this forever if it didn't make me look like I was trying too hard to start in a period drama.

Featuring my favourite peeps - the one who could find the most fabulous restaurants, the weirdly insane one, and the one that had to write her dissertation on vacation.
With Love, Daphne x

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Korean makeup haul

Hello, Korea. Again. ridiculously photo heavy

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Pages

Korean makeup haul

Hello, Korea. Again. *ridiculously photo heavy*

OH HAI.

MORE ME.

CATEGORIES.

Blog Archive

Instagram

Hello, Korea. Again. ridiculously photo heavy