Holiday 2016 guide series- Beginners Kits

So Fiddy from Fifty shades of snail asked if I’d be interested in collaborating with her to bring you guys a holiday guide for you guys.  Since I’m more into make up, she’ll be showcasing skincare since she’s more of an expert in that realm.  To start off the series, we will be showcasing products great for beginners.  This doesn’t have to be just for gift purchasing but also any of you guys that are just starting out, these are great staples to start with.  I had in mind all the basics you need, multitasking products while keeping the prices affordable. If you want a skincare version of these guides, check out Fiddy’s! Let’s get started whoo whoo!

Since I haven’t found any good brushes in the K-beauty realm, I’ll have to recommend these brush set from Coastal scents.  I absolutely love the 22 piece brush set which comes with a mix of natural hair and synthetic hairs.  If you don’t know already, natural bristles pick up powder product better and also blends it out better then synthetic brushes.  Synthetic brushes are great for liquid or products with high moisture such as foundation, concealer, cream blushes or liquid highlighters.  If you guys are on a strict vegan diet, they also have a full synthetic bristle set with 24 pieces. 

I personally have bought the 22 piece brush set twice, one time for myself and another time as a gift.  All the brushes are very soft, doesn’t scratch the skin and for $34.95, seriously you can’t find a better deal then that.  Even one Mac brush is already $24-$35, so for 22 pieces it is seriously a steal of a deal.  It also includes a really good variety of cuts and shapes.  I love the dense foundation brush for base make up, the two duo fiber brushes for when I want to apply something light like foundation or liquid tint for the cheeks and the duo fiber fan brush for highlighter or a light dusting of powder on the face.  The flat foundation brush is the perfect size, dense enough to have a put of give and it blends product in effortlessly.  For eyeshadow brushes, there is a good variety of flat dense ones to pack on shadow and fluffy ones to blend things out.  There are also angled brushes (2 I believe) good for brows and eye-lining as well.  This kit pretty much as everything for you to get a good start in your make up game.

Of course in your kit, you have to have a make up remover.  Couple I’m enjoying at the moment are the ones from A’pieu.  I bought two a month before on sale for $2 each but I have a feeling they are discontinued.  These ones featured in A’pieu x Rilakkuma collection is the next best thing and is only 5,000 each.  There is also Skinfood’s milk shake point make up remover (which I have reviewed before)  which is also a great option as well.

Another must have are air puffs.  I use these as a replacement for the beauty blender since I can use multiple of them before I’d have to clean and well, they are a cheaper alternative that works just as well.  A’pieu sells 10 of them for 10,000 won, even Memebox has them for $9.11.  These are an absolute staples for me for blending out absolutely everything, base make up, cream blush, concealer, everything.  These are my best friend 🙂 and plus they are cheap too.

Onto base make up, I’ve  been recommend these cushions for the longest time.  The A’pieu air fit cushions is always the cushions I recommend for any beginner since it is only 6,900 won, low to medium coverage, dewy finish and easy to use. If you have oily skin or just don’t like the dewy finish, they also have a “cotton” formula which is more matte.

Concealer wise, I actually did a K-beauty concealer overview if you guys would like to check that out. One of the concealers I’d recommend is the face shop concealer dual veil since it is a 2-1.  On one side, you get a liquid concealer and on the other, you get a cream concealer, again a best of both worlds.  The formula is great, doesn’t cling onto my dry skin and provides good decent medium coverage.

Need something to fill in your eyebrows?  The brow pencils from Etude House is a great way to ease your way in.  Their drawing eyebrow duo has brow pencil and also the powder on the other side but unfortunately doesn’t have the spooly.  Their regular drawing eyebrow pencil has the angled brow pencil and the spooly onto the other side so you’d have everything all in one.

Another basic you’d need is an eyeshadow primer if your planning to wear eyeshadow.  Those of you who have oily lids would benefit from using a primer since it keeps everything in place and also acts as an adhesive for powder eyeshadow and helps make them look more vibrant.  This one from Etude House is also a great choice and loved by many.  On top of that, it’s affordable WHOOO!

If brown pencil isn’t something you want try Skinfood’s choco eyebrow powder cake.  It is only 3,900 won and it works great for most brow colors.  Since I have dark eyebrows, I usually use powders or a lighter brow product to just fill in the spaces.  There are two shades to choose from and each one has two colours, one darker grey undertone brown and the other side is a lighter version.  I still use this to this day even though it cracked hehe.  I fixed it with a bit of alcohol which was no biggie :P.

Contour, blush and highlighting is something you must learn when you start off with make up. Even if you don’t get eye make up down, face make up is the most important because it can make or break your whole look.  Too cool for school’s contour powder has been one of the most popular contour powders in the K-beauty market and they just released this limited edition palette that has all three products you’d need to start your kit for 28,000 won.  If you don’t need all three products, they also sell them full size as singles (contour, blush, highlighter) for 17,000 won each.

Cream products is something I’d suggest, especially if you are starting out since it is more forgiving and also more moisturizing then powder so you can avoid cake face.  These ones from Holika Holika x Gudetama I’ve been enjoying and it is also super pigmented.  They come in four shades and the formula reminds me of those bounce blushes from Maybelline but these, it comes with a sponge which you use to apply them with.

Highlighters seems to be something K-beauty has been struggling with.  I had this Shara Shara liquid highlighter from a while back that I forgot I had and when I finally used it, I was amazed at how it looked on the skin.  It is very similar to Moonbeam but I found this one from Shara Shara blends into the skin a lot easier and makes my skin look like beams are shooting out of my face but still looking natural.  Is that even possible LOL.  Yes, yes it is with this highlighter.  Hmm…. Shara shara products seem to be a little hard to get your hands on but if you do see this while you shop, do pick it up if the price is right :).

Point make up time whoo whoo! Like I said above, cream products are a lot more forgiving, especially for those who are starting out and just learning the basics.  I personally love the I’m meme I’m stick shadow since you don’t even have to use a primer and these set themselves and lasts a long time.  You can either do an intricate eye look or use use it all over the eye and blend it out with your fingers. 

A cheaper alternative to Memebox’s is the ones from Etude House bling bling eyestick.  They are more shimmery then Memebox’s but they preform just as well, sets on the lid and you can use them as a wash of colour as well.

Powder eyeshadows is also another hit or miss product in the K-beauty realm, especially if you are used to Western formulas that are more pigmented and more bam in your face.  The only decent ones I have found are the Etude House eyeshadow palettes.  Don’t mistaken these as the same ones as their singles.  For some reason, the singles aren’t as pigmented and creamy as their palettes.  This Etude House in the cafe colours eyeshadow palette has a good range of nude shades anyone starting out can use.  It is also half matte and half shimmer shades and also a mixture of couple warm shades with the rest being cold undertones.

Korean cosmetics make the absolute best lip products from lip tints to lipsticks, you can find every shade, every formula.  When I first started out with make up, it took a little bit of easing into to get fully comfortable with wearing bold colours on my face.  Lips is still something that I still prefer to be more muted with, especially with the face that I’m usually bare faced 80% of the time.  This I’m meme I’m tint balm is something I’ve been raving about for a long time since it is a better dupe of Dior’s lip glow that costs and arm and a leg.  It gives the prettiest flush of colour and these balms come in four different shades.  You can even double these balms up as a hydrating tinted blush!  Just apply some to your fingers and pat it onto the cheeks.

Another product the K-beauty realm dominates in is eyeliners.  All the Korean branded eyeliners all are amazing!  They are usually gel formula, long lasting, comes in gorgeous shades and are all super affordable.  Some of my most favourite ones from Holika Holika called jewel light waterproof eyeliner, which is no surprised to anyone that is familiar with K-beauty since these are also super popular.  They are super creamy, goes on the waterline like a dream and stay put like no other.

Mascaras is something I still haven’t ventured out into the K-beauty market since my lashes are super picky.  I have relatively long lashes that droop easily and I have to use a drier formula so I usually go with a waterproof formula.  I used to have an ultimate favourite which was the Maybelline one by one mascara in waterproof but they frinkin’ discontinued it a long time ago.  The next best thing is L’oreal’s million lashes mascara but that one costs up to $12 CDN which is not okay!!  I recently pulled out the Maybelline Rocket mascara which was sitting in my collection for a while and I wasn’t motivated to try it out.  To my surprise, it works just like the one by one but the bristles are a lot shorter and I thought it would make my lashes clump for sure!  Nope!  It actually did a great job and my lashes hasn’t been looking sad and droopy.  Best of all is the price which is around $5.50 CDN here in Canada.

Again if you wanna see a skincare version of these guides, check out Fiddy’s :).

That is it for the first of many for the holiday guide series!  Let me know what you think about this series, do you like it, should we continue?  Did any of the picks catch your eyes or do you have experiences with them?  Let me know in the comments down below what you think and let’s chat!