The popular Korean skincare and makeup brand is now in the Philippines! Etude House is best known for its blemish balm creams and powder compacts that fans swear improve the appearance of their skin. To be honest I never got on the BB cream band wagon since I thought that they’re just glorified tinted moisturizers, but when the well-known BB cream brand landed in Megamall (Mega A, Upper Ground Level), near where I work, I just HAD to pay a visit.

The items inside the boxes are Christmas gifts. For myself, I got a BB Magic Cream(P598) and the Surprise Essence Concealer (P298). Since my purchase exceeded P1,000, I got a free eyelash curler. 

You know what’s awesome about the store? The items are not overpriced! In fact, I’d say the stuff they sell are cheap compared to The Face Shop, Elianto, and Skin Food. Your P1,000 pesos wil go a long, long way in this place. For example, their cheapest blushes are only around P248, retractable eyeliners at P128, single eyeshadows at P148, makeup removers at P198, and nail polishes ranging from P48 to P98. 

The Precious Mineral BB Cream is P698, BB Magic Cream with SPF 30 is P598, and the BB Magic Cream Refreshing and Moisturizing variants are P548.

I’ve been using the BB cream and concealer I got these past few days and I must say, I like them! Reviews to follow, of course. In the meantime I’ll be coming back to Etude House to get the white retractable eyeliner and maybe take a closer look at their powders. 

So, what do you think about Etude? Tried any of their items? 

Something smells like Christmas today! I hope you’re enjoying the holidays. Anyway, a lot of readers have been asking me how to do basic makeup so I made this video to help them along. If you have more requests or feedback, please do email me or leave a comment.

Pre-Foundation

Good skin precedes good makeup. Make sure that your face is properly cleansed. Use a toner that has no alcohol and then pat on a moisturizer with SPF. You should try using tinted moisturizer since it acts as a primer, making your makeup last longer. 

Foundation

For beginners, I suggest using powder foundation. It’s fool-proof, convenient and (for my oily skin) is the best foundation type. Blend the foundation all over your face in downward strokes. Pat a little on your eyebags to serve as base for concealer. I used the Shiseido Supplist in this video.

Concealer

Dot concealer on problem areas first and then blend using your ring finger. The ring finger is the weakest so using it to blend out concealer means that you won’t be able to exert too much force. Use a concealer shade that is close to your skin tone or at least one shade lighter. For eyebags, yellow or salmon concealer is best since these shades cancel out their purplish undertone.