Doctors 닥터스 (2016)

This drama started out well, and with such promising actors. I thought the main cast were made up of such great actors and even the supporting actors were great. The drama got increasingly interesting when more and more different patients come into the picture, and you got to see almost real-life neuro-surgery.

Initially the plot was pretty fast paced and interesting, but towards the middle, things started to get generic, predictable and lack of climax. There was little motivation for me to continue episode after episode.

Towards the end, when more "trouble" came in, I was looking forward to a turn, a twist, etc... But no. :(

Sadly, this drama was quite disappointing for me because of:
1) The lack of climax.
2) It start off too well, that the back couldn't catch up to that.
3) Park Shin Hye's acting was the worst out of the lot. I watched her earliest movies and I loved her but sad to say, her acting has not improved but has gotten worse over the years.
4) The last episode. Makes. Me. Furious. What kind of last episode is that?! It's so abrupt. I guess the producers wanted to move away from a "cliche ending", but this was too abrupt.


My rating: 6/10

Review: Tony Moly Gold 24k Snail Hydro Gel Mask Sheet

From the Tony Moly website:

"Tony Moly Intense Care Gold 24K Snail Hydro Gel Mask is enriched with luxurious ingredients: fermented snail mucus essence, 24K Gold, Ginseng extracts and EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor). It provides skin with intensive nourishment and repair. It boosts skin’s vitality, improving various skin problems like dryness, fine lines and wrinkles. It restores skin’s elasticity and resilience. Skin becomes plumped, supple and smooth. Gel-type mask fits perfectly on skin, making the essence absorbs better."

My first try with this, I absolutely loved how it felt and how it felt like on my skin. Because of its gel consistency (and its gold colour), it felt luxurious and nice on the skin. It stuck on well to my face without slipping off. It also comes with a top-half and bottom-half portion so that it can fit your face better.

After using the mask, my face felt more supple and smooth. I could feel the smoothness even after 2 days later.



My second time using this, I didn't like it as much as the first time I used it. I still liked the gel mask and how it's soaked in serum, but this time round the gel mask kept slipping off my face. I tried both sides of the mask, but neither side would adhere to my skin. :( Nevertheless, I laid down while having this mask on so that it won't slip off.

After removing the mask, my face felt very sticky from the serum, it's almost as if they won't absorb. I put it on my neck as well, and the area also felt sticky for the whole night and even until the next day.

The good thing is that it does make my skin feel more taut, similar to my first try experience, but this time round it felt too sticky (or maybe too moisturizing?) for my skin. I have oily skin and the next day when I used my holy grail foundation, Wet N Wild Photo Focus Foundation, I looked too oily too fast, which was very unlike how this foundation typically performs.

So... I thought this mask gave my skin TOO much moisture..? I think this mask would be great for more mature skin or for people who need more intense hydration.

Review: Laneige BB Cushion Pore Control

Tada! The highly raved BB Cushion, across Asia and non-Asia. I was so excited to finally get my hands on this BB Cushion (late to the game, I know) because I've heard so much good stuff about it and I have friends who swore by this. I took a long time to research on the type of BB cushion that is suitable for my oily skin and read thousands of reviews before finally deciding to purchase this. This "Pore Control" BB cream is suitable for oily skin to combat the pores and oil on skin. 

BUT. It did not perform up to my expectations :(

At first I thought I liked it because the colour match was perfect. Mine is in No. 21 Beige. I'm light to medium skin tone.There was a strong powdery perfume-ish smell and I didn't really mind cos if my face can smell nice, why not right? I also thought the application and finish made me look flawless. It made me look brighter and healthier. Those were the first few times I used it. I loved it! 

However, the more I used it, the more I felt that it applied patchy, especially around the nose areas. It was so hard to get product evenly distributed and applied to the nose areas. And the more I tried to fix it, the more patchy it gets. Application wasn't as easy as I thought (that was why I contemplated so long before getting a BB cushion because I've always thought this whole cushion thing was gimicky). The sponge did not get product evenly when I press into the cushion, even when I press it a few times to try to get more product to get on the sponge, it just doesn't get on evenly. Thus, when I apply it to my face, it first applies in patches too. The best way to smoothen it out is to pat it into your skin, do not drag it across.

It's also hard to get product applied under my eyes because the shape of the sponge makes it hard to get all the way in, and because the first dab on the skin is patchy, it makes it harder to blend out the foundation underneath the eyes with the sponge.

I would rather just stick to liquid BB creams or foundations and use a brush or my fingers to blend it out. It's so much easier than trying to use a tiny sponge and dab your life away, which still won't give a seamless, even application. :(

The finish was semi-matte. It was not dewy-looking at all. Mostly it sets matte but it doesn't look too matte that your skin looks deadly. I find that it doesn't feel tacky or sticky, so there's no need to set it with powder unless you have oily skin and wish to prolong the wear of the foundation. I do like the finish.

Regarding the wear time, I notice the product started to break up about 3 hours in without setting it with powder. And it looks pretty obvious. When I tried to touch up in the middle of the day, layering on the product was super patchy. It made my skin look super cakey and very unflattering. It also settles into my smile lines after long wearing. Not cute :(

For oil control, I did not notice my face turning too oily after wearing it for a long time. So it does do a good job at oil control.

I used to find the scent nice, but after awhile, I did not like it as much. I got sick of the smell. lol.

Also, I find that when I apply bronzer or blush on top of this product, it makes me blush/bronzer application look patchy even though with other foundations and bb cream, they wouldn't. Therefore, I usually just wear it on its own without any blush/bronzer. This sucks because it means I'll never get to have a proper made up face when I wear this foundation.

The coverage is light to medium, which would be a tad better if it were at least a solid medium coverage. It doesn't fully cover my dark eye circles and my blemishes.

Some swatches below.

1. Finger swatch (feels really oily)

2. After spreading the product out with fingers.

 
3. First dab of product using sponge.

4. Blending the product out with sponge.

Overall, this BB cushion has good oil control and I love its finish, matte but brightening. However, what I did not like about it is that its wear time isn't very long and when it breaks apart, it makes my skin look hideous. Layering on the product to touch up makes the patchiness and cakiness look worse. The coverage is light to medium, which is a little too light for my liking. I usually go with a medium coverage foundation.

Would I recommend it? For it's price, I wouldn't. If you just wish to try out this BB cushion to test it for yourself, then of course go ahead.  If you would like a simple and "convenient" (no need brushes or clean fingers) product which has light to medium coverage, then go ahead too.

Would I repurchase? No :(


My rating: 5/10

Review: H&M All-Day Liquid Foundation

I got this liquid foundation during school exchange (aka 6 months stay) in Sweden. It was the winter when I arrived and apart from a BB Cream that's wayyyy darker than my "winter skin tone" (funny how I'm saying this, because in Singapore, this term is non-existent), I only had one other powder foundation with me. So I went out on the hunt for a foundation that would match my skin tone and wouldn't emphasize those dry peeling skin of mine. You know, winters + unfamiliar climate conditions = dry skin + peeling skin. Well, my skin wasn't entirely super dry. Only certain parts like around my nose and mouth, and eyebrows were very dry. My T-zone still gets oily.

I was contemplating between Maybelline, Loreal and H&M foundations, but I eventually went for the H&M one. I think it was because it was cheaper than the other two. The shade that I got was "Cool Beige". Now, I gotta say, shade matching was SO HARD because the lighting in the store was terrible (I'm sure many of you understand that). And I have never tried matching foundations for myself before so it made things even harder. So after fumbling around and trying on a handful of shades, I decided on this one. I think I could have found a better match, but this one isn't THAT bad really.

I found that application of this foundation with my fingers, which is normally how I do it with my BB cream, made my peeling skin look worse. So I went out to buy a H&M flat foundation brush, hoping that it'll help with the application. And viola, it did help. A LOT. It made application easier and more even. It does leave a bit of streak marks but you can easily smooth it out.

This foundation has a matte to satin finish. Its consistency isn't too thick nor too runny, it's just nice. On application it doesn't feel too dry nor heavy. It feels pretty lightweight. It isn't sticky and tacky on the face as well, so you do not need to set it with powder. However, for people with oily skin, you might still want to set it. The coverage is medium, and it was able to cover my blemishes and dark eye circles without a concealer.

 

There is a powdery scent. For people who are sensitive to scents or people with sensitive skin, you may want to keep that in mind. The scent isn't super overpowering but it isn't subtle. You can definitely smell it when you apply the foundation. The smell does fade after awhile.

Lastly, about how long this foundation lasts. Unfortunately, it's not a very long-wearing foundation unlike its name "all-day foundation". I found it to start breaking apart only 2 hours into the wear time, which is pretty damn fast! Also, I wore this foundation only when I was in Europe, which meant that my skin was drier and less oily than when I'm in Singapore, yet the foundation still breaks up so fast. It does not only break up around my oily areas (T-zone), but on my cheeks as well.

I was quite disappointed that it didn't last very long because otherwise I would have loved this product. I thought its finish was quite nice, not too dewy and not too matte, and it could cover my blemishes and dark eye circles pretty well too. And I actually do love the scent. However, even though it breaks up very quickly, it doesn't look super patchy or disgusting at the end of the day. It's just that at very close proximity, I could see the broken apart foundation.

Overall, this product get just a pass from me, because I do like the finish, coverage, consistency and scent. The only down side is that it breaks up in 2 hours and that's not cool :(


My rating: 5.5/10

Benefit "Hello Flawless" Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation Review

I was given a sample of this foundation by the Benefit counter and I was so excited to try it because..
1) It's Benefit
2) It's oil free (I have a super oily face)
3) It's supposed to look like skin but better.
4) The packaging is cute
5) Light coverage. (I don't really fancy thick foundation on my face)

But I didn't like it. At all. What a bummer :(

Pros:
1) It's lightweight and does not feel heavy on the skin
2) It does give you a slight brightening effect.
3) Application is pretty smooth, it doesn't get patchy or cakey.

Cons:
1) It makes me look SUPER oily. I've never looked so oily with any type of base products before.
2) It feels really greasy and gross after just a few hours of wearing (~3 hours). I could literally feel the oil on my face and the once lightweight foundation just feels like it's clogging up all my pores and... it's just doesn't feel good.
2) It oxidizes to a really dark and pink(?) colour. It's just a few hours of wear and the colour difference is crazy and it doesn't look flattering at all.
3) My bronzer and blush products also totally disappeared off my cheeks after that few hours of wear.
4) After that few hours of wear, it makes me skin look clogged and worse than it already is.



Overall, I definitely do not recommend this product especially for people with oily skin because this is your worse nightmare, as much as I wanted to love this. Worn this foundation once and that's enough for me.


My rating: 0/10

Paper Towns (2015)

Am I the only one who was kinda disappointed in this movie? I feel that the characters were empty and I don't "feel" Quentin nor Margo at all. Knowing that it's based off a John Green novel, and how "The Fault In Our Stars" did make me feel a little sad, I was expecting this movie to be "on par" (even though I'd say that TFIOS book wins the movie hands down). Anyhow, this made me make a mental note - go read "Paper Towns" (John Green is such a good writer).

Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff didn't have THAT chemistry though. It actually feels awkward watching them together. The supporting cast, on the other hand, plays their roles better I feel. And guess who appeared as a cameo! Ansel Elgort! (Sorry I don't meant to compare but Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley did a much better job)

I don't think this movie is worth a watch unless you're an ultimate fan (of whatever or whoever) or just ticking it off your movies-to-watch list.

:(

Coherence (2013)

Another psychological thriller, which really scared me at the start. After lots of twists and turns, I'm still trying to figure out the ending haha.

I'd say this movie does good in providing tension, but I'm quite curious what happens to those who ended up in another reality. The "interaction" and confusion between realities are quite cool. Except that I'd like to see more of the consequences of entering another reality, and more "drama" nearing the revelation and so on and so forth. I probably don't even make sense.

This movie also reminds me of another movie "The One I Love" that I just watched awhile ago, when people from one dimension meet themselves from another or something like that.

I don't know what's with the comet thing too, is there a history on this? Someone enlighten me please.

Overall, though, the movie's pretty good. I enjoyed it. Definitely worth a watch!