2016, how did you just flown by so quickly?

Well, it's officially the second month of 2017 and honestly, I wouldn't say I'm ready or anything because everyday passes by quite monotonously for people around my age. Everyday is like a routine - you wake up in the morning, you do your stuff and then, you head to work for 9 hours before heading home for the night.

Does that sound familiar to you?

Anyway, I'm gonna share some of my 2016 best products with you today. These are the products that I tend to reach more almost every day of my life. In 2016, I kinda stopped dolling myself up to work because I found out that in my line of job, it's kinda unnecessary to even put effort to make-up. However, there were still days when I woke up, feeling like putting some make-up on.

In no particular order, these would be my picks.

Mary Kay® Mineral Eye Colour Quad in Sandstorm

These shades are not exactly your most pigmented shades but for an everyday look, I definitely think this quad does it's job well. It's not overly on the top for work and if you want to wear this for functions, yes, just layer them up and you're good to go!

I love the fact that you can easily bring this on-the-go. I used to pack a big palette if I ever go traveling but ever since I bought this earlier in 2016, I found myself reaching out for this quad every time when I travel around. It fits easily in my handbag too!

Maybelline Hypersharp Power Black Eyeliner

I have always been using Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner in the past but due to unforeseen circumstances, I decided to switch to cheaper alternative. I had tried so many liquid eyeliners in the past that promise being waterproof and smudge-proof but more than often, I ended up being a panda. Until when I almost gave up, I discovered Maybelline's liquid eyeliners. These eyeliners are cheap and best of all, they're waterproof!

I especially love the one in Power Black (red packaging) because it is really black and yeah, it's waterproof, baby!

IOPE Air Cushion XP Cover 

Honestly, I started using cushion foundation sometime around November 2015 and decided to love it as the application is easy. Over the duration of one year I have tested out a lot of cushion foundations yet, I still find myself reaching for this particular cushion foundation from IOPE.

The coverage is just nice - not too thin and not too thick. If you need more coverage on certain days, you can still layer it up to suit your make-up.

Missha Tension Blusher in Lavender Basket

Ever since I jumped onto the bandwagon of using cushion foundations, I have started to test out cushion blushers as well. Out of a number of cushion blushers I have tried, I have fallen in love with this particular formula and shade from Missha.

The product, although is not very, very pigmented, does leave a healthy glow on my skin whenever I use it. I did try layering the product to make the blush shade shown, yeah, it worked - every single time!

SKII Facial Treatment Advanced Protect Loose Powder UV

I received this loose powder from my brother as my birthday gift 1.5 years ago and have been using this ever since then. This is by far the best loose powder I have ever tried and I have eliminated other loose powders ever since this baby came into my life. The powder is finely milled and it always leaves my skin feeling smooth whenever I use this powder.

Although I did make-up every single day, there is still a whole lot of product left! The only downside to it is that it is not travel friendly as it it quite bulky.

True Dimensions® Lipstick in Pink Chérie

This is my go-to lipstick whenever I go to work or even if I have any function to attend to. I don't really wear a lot of pinks but this particular shade of pink from Mary Kay really kills it! It is not overly pink to the point it is difficult for Asian skintones to wear this color.

I am a MAC NC20 to NC25 and this shade looks beautiful on my lips!

Biore Micellar Cleansing Water

Biore has always been my No. 1 make-up remover brand. I started using Biore make-up remover in my early 20's and been loving it so, so much even up to now. Quite some time back, they actually introduced micellar cleansing water and ever since then, I've been using this one.

This particular cleansing water removes even the most stubborn mascara but with a few tries, of course! This is water based after all.

banila co. clean it ZERO 'PURITY' for Sensitive Skin

On those days when I use waterproof and smudge-proof make-up, this product will be my saviour! It removes even the waterproof mascara without much effort needed.

Do bear in mind that this make-up remover isn't exactly cheap, that's why I don't really use it all the times.

Burberry Brit Sheer Eau De Toilete

No matter how many perfumes I have tried in the past, I found myself always going back to this particular perfume from Burberry for more.

I don't know how to describe the smell but well... elegant? It's not fruity nor flowery. I'd say it's close to musky but it's not so heavy to the point that it's overpowering.

Laneige Firming Sleeping Pack

For lazy nights when I don't feel like using any sheet masks, this is what I've been using and by far, the best sleeping mask I've used. 

In 2016 alone, I have used 3 jars of this sleeping packs and yes, I am on my 4th jar now. This sleeping mask promises to firm up your skin as you sleep. Best of all, you wake up with nice skin!

However, just like any other sleeping masks, you have to wash it off in the morning. If you don't, probably you'll be prone to break outs later in the day since this is much heavier than their water sleeping pack.

Laneige Multi Cleanser

Hands down - best cleanser ever in 2016. 

It washes off make-up and any impurities on my skin every single time I use it. It's magic that the cleanser doesn't strip off my skin's natural moisture!

Those are all my HGs for 2016.

In 2017, I'm hoping to discover more gems out there if possible.

What are the products that you enjoy using in 2016?

LINE Friends x Missha Tension Blusher

This entry is way, way backdated.

Back then, the entire Missha x LINE Friends line was legit - everyone was talking about it.

I jumped on the bandwagon and purchased several items from the collection. However, due to personal disliking, I let go of all the items except for one - Missha Tension Blusher.

I was practically waiting day and night for Missha to release this cushion blusher and when it got to me, I actually had mixed feeling about this blusher!

The shade that I got was VL03 Lavender.

Judging it from it's packaging, you can almost see that the shade is pink purplish. I can never pull off anything purple on my face but believe me, this shade almost brighten up my entire complexion.

Seriously, I don't know much about colour correction but when a product makes me look good - me likey!

If you're wondering, when you actually open up the product, you are not going to see any sponge-filled blush. Instead, you are going to see a mesh, a netting.

If you're familiar with Etude House's BB cream, perhaps you can relate to that.

The consistency of the blush is just like any other consistency of foundation or BB cream in casings. It's not liquidy and it's not runny so, you don't need to worry about the product getting everywhere during application.

When tested on the back of my hand, I would say, it's not a blush that will show up very well but you can actually build it up to your liking. However, be warned that this shade does not really show up well if you're taking non-flash photography.

In the two pictures above, I actually applied 3 to 4 layers of product just to get the colour to show up in the pictures.

Now, let me share two more pictures of the blusher on my cheeks.

If you do notice, right, you can see the shade of lavender on my left cheek. I kind of had to layer on the products to get the purplish shade to show up in photography.

One thing I do appreciate - you get to control the amount of blush you put on your cheeks so that the product won't look like kabooom, it's on your face!

With non-flash photography, the shade could hardly be seen.

One downside, you'll finish up the product really soon due to the amount of layering you have to do every time you are applying this blush.

Will I be getting more of these blushes?

Well, it depends but right now, no.

Wonder Woman x Missha M Magic Cushion

I was a bit overwhelmed when I went to Korea last year. Part of it was because I didn't know what to buy although I did have a shopping list ready. The first outlet I actually stepped into was Missha. The only reason I went into Missha was because I wanted to pick something up for my sister.

Then, I came across Missha x Wonder Woman collection.

Honestly, I was never a big fan or Wonder Woman nor will I be one in future. However, when I got to know that the entire collection was on sale, I went frantic! I picked up two of the cushion foundation for 6000 won each (without refill), which was approximately RM24 at that time.

Just in case you are wondering about the differences between the blue and red packaging. Well, check out the picture below.

You can clearly see in the picture above that the cushion foundation with the red packaging gives a more matte finish whereas the other one gives a more dewy finish. So, that basically means the read one is for those with oily skin while the blue one is for those with drier skin. I wish I knew about this early. It was due to communication breakdown that I couldn't get what the beauty assistant was trying to tell me in one of the Missha outlets - I purchased the read one while my friend got the blue one.

Here's a picture of my purchase.

Nothing too spectacular because the packaging looks exactly like any other cushion foundations out there. To be honest, it is rather bulky comparing to the other foundations that I have. Well, I shan't complain about that.

The shade that I have gotten was No. 23 and for your information, I am a MAC NC25 and Korean foundations in the shade No. 23 suits me. So far, I have had no issues or problems with the shade at all and if I ever do in future, I'll let you all know.

If you are able to read Korean, here's a snap of the ingredients.

Just like any other cushion foundations out there, do make sure that your new cushion foundation are sealed. If it's not, you know it's not a new cushion foundation.

Anyway, the product does feel a bit to the thicker side if you'd ask me. I was really having high hope on this one since I was having really bad acne breakout at the time I wanted to start using this product. I was secretly hoping that this product could cover really well because all these years of using Missha BB cream, I've loved it so much to this very day!

Honestly, I was a bit worried on the consistency because my skin was in terrible mode and this product felt thick!

I was almost certain I wouldn't like it from just one swatch right at the back of my hand.

Negative thoughts aside, hence, I braved myself on applying the foundation on my skin.

There is nothing special with the application - all you need to do is just to pat the product using the puff onto your skin. Do note that it may take a little effort to blend the foundation onto the skin.

Indeed, with it's thicker consistency, this cushion foundation is able to give almost full coverage. Even the red veins at the side of my right nose is almost fully covered!

I was a bit shaken after half an hour of application because this foundation actually has the white cast effect - a really strong one if you're taking flash photography.

Gosh, I wasn't really ready for that.

I thought I saw a ghost in my reflection - like seriously!

However, under normal lighting, it looks quite okay.

Now, I am going to show you the differences of with and within the product on my skin - be prepared to be amazed!

I did not edit or photoshop my pictures at all and I am baring my skin to all of you.

Looks quite okay but please be prepared for a scare because you're gonna get it now! Imma show you one taken with flash photography.

Are you ready for it?

Wwwwoooooaaaaahhhh??!!

I showed it to the mister after the application and he got so shocked when he looked at me in real life. He said to me, "Please stop using that foundation! You look like a ghost!"

So much for a supportive other half, huh?

After a while, I came to understand the reasons why he said I resembled a ghost when I use the product.

The cracking kicked in just about one hour later and the cracks were pretty bad too!

The foundation sunk into my pores and made them more obvious. I saw streaks and streaks of foundation! Yikes! Blending was already so tedious and this was the result I got after an hour!

Honestly I was a bit disappointed on that day when I used it for the first time.

If you must know, I have already given away this foundation to a friend of mine who loves it.

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream

Over the years, I have experimented with a lot of BB creams from the famous ones namely Etude House, Hanskin, BRTC, Skin79, Lioele, The Face Shop and few others. I have also tried out the not-so-famous ones like Shangpree, Giverny, Acwell, Heynature, Natina and several others.

Honestly, I tried loving these BB creams because they claim that they are much better than our typical foundations with added minerals and extra sun protection.

In the end, I either gave all these BB creams to friends and cousins or threw them away.

Not wanting to let go the BB cream craze, I told myself that I want to try out this final BB cream before fully reverting back to use my trusty foundations.

The infamous Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream.

I have heard a lot of good reviews about this BB cream and initially, I thought of wanting to get this online but then again, I was worried of the authenticity of the product. On top of that, if I am not mistaken, this BB cream is sold at around RM60 to RM90 depending on which blogshop you get it from. My first thought - overpriced!

Please don't judge me - I am not born with a silver spoon. I am quite reluctant to fork out my hard-earned money just to test out some products which I have no guarantee that I would love.

So, when my brother went to Korea early this year, I asked for his help to get one for me. I paid RM54 for a tube of 50ml worth of product - cheap!

On the packaging, you can find this information printed on the box.

The M Perfect Cover BB Cream makes your skin tone clean and natural by concealing blemishes with excellent skin coverage. It is a multi functional makeup cream with blocking UV rays, whitening and wrinkle care effects and simplifies makeup formalities. Its moisturized application with sleek W/S texture makes sleek skintone by supplying moisture and nutrition at the same time.

Directions: after basic skin care, apply an appropriate amount along the skin texture and finish with powder. Do not need to apply Sun cream in addition.

SPF (Sun Protection Factor): SPF of the product is measured by test methods of KFDA (Korean Food & Drug Administration).

One thing that always annoy me - product without pump. I don't like digging into products or having to squeeze them out. This product comes with a pump - that is a plus point

The pump works perfectly fine for me!

I have gotten shade No. 23 and I am a NC25 if you are wondering. The shade is just right - nothing too fair or dark.

The texture of the BB cream itself is quite thick. I was worried when I first pumped it out because the thicker the product is, the hardest it is to blend out.

So, then, I tested out for the coverage because I heard and read reviews that coverage is really good for this BB cream. I took out my eyeliner, make a stroke over my arm and this was what I got.

I wasn't really completely awed by the coverage. I was expecting the BB cream to completely cover the black eyeliner.

Boy, was I so wrong!

When you apply the BB cream onto your face, it does cover up your blemishes!

Notice there is pimple on my lower right cheek? Oh, wow... the BB cream managed to cover it with just one application!

I was impressed at that point!

I thought of going for the second layer but in the end nah... the BB cream felt a bit heavy. So, I was left with too much product on the back of my hand because I was too greedy.

This is how one pump looks like. Initially, I thought this is way too little to cover my face and neck so I pumped twice!

Guess what? Two pumps are way too much! I was being a complete idiot because I thought I have a real big and puffy face!

Best of all for those of you with big pores like me - this BB cream doesn't sink into your pores! I mean I know I hate BB creams and foundations that sink into the pores and make your complexion looks so, so ugly!

Here's a full-faced make-up.

This picture was taken under natural lighting in my room - nothing really special but coverage was good enough!

Here's another - side profile.

I am beginning to adore this foundation... I mean I seriously love this one so, so much. I have been using it to replace my trusty foundations and so far, it has yet to disappoint me!

Way to go, Missha!