I'm proud to present... my haul from Korea! And yes, I spent a decent amount of money (yay for saving up my money for an entire year because it was DEFINITELY worth it!). I'm breaking this haul up into three separate parts: skincare, makeup, and fashion items. So let's get started with the skincare haul! (ps. I've updated this post with links to buy all the product I mention in this haul just to make it easier for you to find :) just click on the item name!)

While shopping for skincare while I was in Seoul, I tried to pick things that I felt were unique to the country... and there were a TON of unique skincare products that I was super excited to buy and try :)
CLICK ON THE ITEM NAME TO BUY! 

Literally the first cosmetic store I visited while vacationing in Seoul was ETUDE HOUSE! I had heard so much about this store and was excited to just be in the store! Here are the Korean Skincare items I bought from Etude House. 

 

Etude House (from left to right):

 Etude House Pearl Aura Brightening Essence 100ml 

 Etude House Moistfull Collagen Lotion 150ml 

 Etude House Pearl Aura Brightening Essence Lotion - 100ml 

  Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner 250ml

Masks from Etude House (from left to right, top to bottom):

 Etude House Collagen Eye Patch (10 sheets) 

Etude House Missing U Ginkgo Lip Area Patch (3 Pcs)   

ETUDE HOUSE Greentea Nose Pack AD (5sheets) 

ETUDE HOUSE AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot Patch (5 Sheets) 

Etude House Black Head Remover Dual Sheet Set (5ea) 

[Etude House] Silk Scarf Damage 2X 12ml+8ml #03 Argan

[Etude House] Silk Scarf Damage 2X 12ml+8ml #02 Jojoba

 Miscellaneous from Etude House (left to right, top to bottom):

-Green Tea and Pomegranate Sheet Masks (FREE)

-I'm Blooming Skincare Set (FREE)

TONS of sheets masks (They were BOGO at the time!) (from right to left)
Etude House Acai Berry Face Mask
Etude House Bamboo Face Mask
Etude House Coenzyme Face Mask
Etude House Collagen Face Mask
Etude House Lemon Face Mask
Etude House Mango Face Mask
Etude House Mugwort Face Mask
Etude House Olive Face Mask
Etude House Royal Jelly Face Mask
Etude House Tea Tree Face Mask
Etude House Vita Complex Face Mask

SKINFOOD was another cosmetic store I was excited to visit (well, I was excited to visit them all but I knew Skin Food and Etude House would be the store where I'd make the more purchases ;) ) I absolutely love their concept of "food for your skin".

 SkinFood (from left to right):

Milk Shake Point Make-up Remover 

Pineapple Morning Peeling Gel 100ml 

Black Sugar Deep Cleansing Cream 

Grape Seed Oil Wrinkle Neck Cream 

Black Sugar Mask Wash Off 

Red Orange Makeup Finish #2 Matte Type 

Gold Caviar Collagen Cream 

Peach Sake Pore Serum

  SkinFood Masks:

Egg White Nose Pack 

Chlorella Nose Clear Patch

While shopping in HOLIKA HOLIKA, I wasn't planning on buying skincare at all really. However, one of the sales associates that was helping me was really nice, informative, and ding ding!...spoke fluent english. I felt very comfortable asking her questions and felt that she was very reliable and not just trying to sell me a bunch of stuff I really didn't need. 

 

Holika Hoika (from left to right):
Good Cera Ceramide All In One Master
3 Seconds Starter Hyaluronic Acid
ENPRANI Retino Deep Wrinkle Eye Solution

 Holika Holika Masks:
Pig Nose Clear Black Head 3-Step Kit
Baby Silky Foot

At NATURE REPUBLIC, I only bought a couple things because I'm not completely familiar with the brand. The main product I wanted to pick up was the Aloe Vera Soothing Gel because this stuff if what makes Nature Republic famous!

Nature Republic (from left to right): 

Argan Essential Deep Care Hair Pack 

Skin Smoothing Green Apple Peeling Gel 

Aloe Vera Soothing Gel

While visiting MISSHA, I was really only interested in this essence. It's supposed to be very comparable to the SK-II solution, however MUCH cheaper. So of course, I had to have it :)

Missha:

Missha Time Revolution The First Treatment Essence 150ml

INNISFREE has a very wide variety of skin care products and I loved the idea that a lot of their products are natural. I noticed that a lot of their products also featured resources from the Jeju Islands such as volcanic clay and water from the islands! 

 Innisfree (from left to right): 
Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask
Jeju Volcanic Pore Cleansing Foam
Olive Real Cleansing Foam 

 Innisfree Masks:
Innisfree It's Real Bija Facial Mask Sheet
Innisfree It's Real Rose Facial Mask Sheet
Innisfree It's Real Shea Butter Facial Mask Sheet
Innisfree It's Real Kiwi Facial Mask Sheet
Innisfree It's Real Green Tea Facial Mask Sheet
Innisfree It's Real Aloe Facial Mask Sheet

Everything else I just picked up from other stores! Most of them were impulse buys, except the Laneige Sleeping Pack because I've heard such great things about the product!

Laneiege Water Sleeping Pack_EX

The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Cleansing Light Oil

 -Free masks (loved the GD one!)
-Sea Tree Snail Sheet Masks (yes...SNAIL!)
-Scrubbing/Exfoliating Cloths
-O HUI White Extreme 3D Mask

Last, but certainly not least, is this kit my mom's aunt gave me. This is a kit from The History of Whoo, which is a very prominent brand in Korea. She said she had to preorder this kit and it only comes out once a year! In this kit is a lipgloss kit, a cream, and a spatula. 

 Isn't it just gorgeous! I don't even want to use it, it is so pretty! Want to see what the lipgloss set looks like? You'll just have to watch my video on my Korean Skincare Haul :)

So that's all the skin care I bought while I was visiting Seoul, Korea! If you'd like me to do any specific reviews, please feel free to comment and I'll try to get to it! :) also, please be sure to subscribe to my channel! It helps me out a ton!

xoxo, Morgan

Korean Bites: Lunch of Japchae, Kimchi, and Squid Kimchi

I'm out of food at my house... well at least food I'm willing to eat. Because of this, I decided to venture up the street and visit Market World (Han Nam Market)! I love Market World because they carry all of my favorite Korean and asian dishes. I also love that they freshly prepare the dishes, so they are very authentic and have that "my Korean mom made it" taste. Anyways, I decided to take a couple pictures and should you what I decided to have for lunch!

First off, got to have the kimchi if this is going to be a proper Korean lunch. Market World is great because they offer different kinds of kimchi...everything from whole cabbage kimchi to radish kimchi to cucumber kimchi (my fave!). They also offer them in different sizes! This size in particular is the medium size. They have a smaller jar and a larger jar as well!

Yummy! Love my kimchi :) 

Next up is "seasoned squid". I'm not sure what the proper Korean name is for this dish, but that what the label says! They charge by the pound also! This has to be one of my all-time favorite ways to eat squid!

Look at that tentacle! 

For my carbs, I picked out the "seasoned potato noodles". These are glass noodles that are made from potato starch! I chose this dish because it's been pretty hot where I live and you can eat these cold (I actually prefer them cold!) 

I love that this dish comes loaded with vegetables!

I know what you're thinking...where's the rice?! This was more than enough food for me without the rice :) I know this was a random post but I thought I'd include some more "lifestyle" type of posts! Let me know what you think and what you're favorite Korean/asian dish is! :)

xoxo, Morgan

♥ Summer Makeup and Hair for When You're in a Hurry ♥

Let's talk about how hot it has been lately... or not.... it's too painful. Where I live, it has been in the 90s every single day (which may not be thatttt hot for some of you, but I'm personally dying). Because of this, my motivation for applying makeup has plummeted only because I know I'm just going to sweat my makeup off -_- But fear not! Here's my makeup routine when I'm running late but need to have a little something on my face and need my hair to not look like a total mess.

Here's all the products I used in the video! :) 

The oil blotting sheets I used are from DAISO. They've definitely come in handy lately! The toner is Olay oil minimizing toner with witch hazel. The sunscreen is the L'Oreal Silky Sheer Oil Free Sunscreen with SPF 30. I used my ELF eyebrow kit in medium and primed my eyes with the NYX HD Eyeshadow Primer.

 The bronzer I used is ELF's Warm Bronzer. The mascara is L'Oreal voluminous mascara (it's in limited edition packaging but usually the packaging is black and gold!). The brown eye liner I used is Rimmel's Scandalize in bronze. 

 So for the concealer, I believe it's from Coastal Scents. But you can buy these type of palettes from any wholesale makeup website. For my foundation, I used the Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation and for my blush, I used Sleek's blush in "Rose Gold". Finally for my lips, I applied MAC's tinted lip balm in "Pink Fish" (This was also limited edition but you can easily find a dupe for this! :) I chose this because it's a nice neutral color and offers an SPF of 15!). 

And finally, here's the finished look! Let me know what you think of this video! Also, don't forget to visit my channel to see other videos and be sure to SUBSCRIBE. It would really make my day :)

xoxo, Morgan 

♥ Natural Makeup Tutorial for Glasses ♥

Hey Four Eyes! Just kidding :) haha. But really I am definitely blind when I don't have my glasses on or my contact lenses in. Because of this, I've had to perfect the art of applying makeup for when I'm forced to wear my glasses. In this week's video, I show you exactly how I apply my makeup when I'm wearing my frames!

 

Let's look at the products I used in this makeup tutorial for glasses :)

The primer I used was the NYX HD high definition primer. After, I put MAC's "Let's Skate" Paint Pot all over my eyelid. For my mascara, I used the Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara and the for my eyeliners I used Urban Decay's 24/7 Eyeliner in "Yayo" and Almay's liquid liner. 

These are the eyeshadows I used! I used a matte medium brown, a shimmery grayish brown color, and a shimmery light pink color :) 

For my eyebrows, I used the ELF eyebrow kit in "medium" and this random concealer palette I have (I don't know what brand it is. lol) 

Here's the foundation I used! I used the Neutrogena Mineral Sheer Powder Foundation, the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in "medium", and a kabuki brush.  

For my bronzer and blush I used the Physician's Formula Ph Matchmaker bronzer and the MAC blush in "Blush Baby" 

Finally, for my lips I used the Revlon Colorburst Laquer Balm in "Coquette".

Well there's the finished look! Hope you guys enjoyed and let me know what you think of the tutorial :)

xoxo, Morgan 

Daiso Japan Cosmetic Makeup and Skincare Haul May 2014 + Review

Yay! So I went to Daiso Japan for the first time....FINALLY! If you're not familiar with Daiso Japan, it's a store that sells items for $1.50 (unless marked otherwise). I've seen a couple hauls from Daiso, so I knew I had to go and check it out for myself! So many goodies :) Watch the video below to see all the items I bought! :)

After trying out a couple of the products I bought, I decided to do a quick review! I noticed these products got a lot of hype, so I was excited to pick them up and see if they are worth the money (Hey, a $1.50 is still $1.50!)

So let's check out the BREAKDOWN of all the products I bought at Daiso Japan :)

First, let's look at the PORE CARE PACK...

As you can see, the packaging shows a dramatic difference between the "before" and "after" picture. Yuck! This package also came with 4 nose strips.

As instructions describe on the back, I clean the my skin around my nose and got it slightly damp. I then removed the strip from the transparent sheet and placed it on my nose. The strip did stick to my nose securely, and I did not feel like it was going to fall off.

After 15 minutes, I removed the strip like the instruction said to. This thing hurt a little! It was similar to taking off a band-aid. Because of this I was hopeful and was confident that it would remove my blackheads.

 WRONG! As you can see, there is literally NOTHING on the strip (the little white dots you see were actually there originally.) I was hoping to see a dramatic difference in the appearance of my skin, but it looked exactly the same as before. Wah :(

I did try these strips a second time and thought maybe I had to get my nose wetter. That didn't help and the results were completely the same. I even forced my boyfriend to try the strips because his pores are a little bigger than mine and we couldn't seem to get these things to work for us! 

Pros: 

- well... it did stick to my nose! 

Cons: 

- didn't remove any black/white heads

- smelled funny

- skin looked exactly the same after 

Next, let's look at the breakdown of the Collagen Face Mask... 

Because I can't read Japanese, I'm not actually sure what the benefits of using this product are (if you can read Japanese, feel free to enlighten me in the comments below! :) ). I'm assuming since it's a collagen mask there would be firming, tightening, anti-aging, etc. This pack came with 3 sheets. As the directions stated, I cleansed my face while showering and applied the mask to my face for 20 minutes. Simple enough!  

This thing looks so scary!

After removing it, my face did have a little bit more of a glow and felt refreshed. I didn't see anything dramatic but I enjoyed the fresh feeling it gave my face! 

Pros:

- left my skin feeling refreshed

- relaxing 

- cooled my skin down 

Cons: 

- didn't fit my face well (you can see in the picture how it's almost falling into my eyes!)

- no long term benefits

Next, the Cosmetic Paper "Heart"...

While shopping at Daiso Japan, I was overwhelmed by all the blotting tissues they had! They had so many to choose from! I ended up picking this one because I liked the design on the box and because it came with 250 sheets!! I feel like it's pretty difficult to mess up blotting tissues so these get an "A" from me!

Pros:

- cheap

- blots excess oil

- will last FOREVER

Cons:

- not travel friendly (box is too flimsy)

- slightly bulky

Alright, on the the Mascara Base Coat...

I LOVE this packaging! It's so cute :)

 I was really excited to try this because anything that makes my lashes look nicer is awesome to me. I tried this 2 ways: 1) I applied it before my normal mascara, let it dry and then applied mascara on top 2) I applied this base and before it dried, I applied my normal mascara. However, this sadly flaked on me :( It did build my lashes and make them look fuller, however, it just didn't look that nice. A little too clumpy for my liking :( Below, I got a close up so you can see what the brush looks like!

I actually really like the brush!

Pros:

- nice brush

- super cute packaging!

Cons:

- flaky

- clumpy

- doesn't lengthen 

Finally, the Eyebrow Pencil...

This is something I also saw on other Youtube channels a lot! I'm big on making sure my eyebrows look perfect so I was very interested in this pencil. It has a slated pencil on one side (picture below) and a spoolie on the other side (sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it :( haha )

 For me, this was ok. It's a little difficult for me to work with because it's very light so I have to kind of "layer" it on to get the desired eyebrow shade. Also, once the slant has worn away, I also had a hard time filling in my eyebrows neatly. It's just not precise enough for my liking... I also don't like that I had to press hard to get it to work.

The top swatch is just one swipe on the pencil and the bottom swatch is FOUR swipes.

Pros:

- comes with a spoolie

- a natural looking color

- slanted edge

Cons:

- you have to press hard

- not precise after you wear the slant down

- takes multiple swipes to get it dark enough 

Conclusion: Unfortunately, I didn't fall in love with anything :( Although, the packaging of all the products are super cute and girly and make me happy :) It's also fun to try new things, even if they're not all winners. 

But Morgan... is it worth the money?

Kinda. I mean, all the items were only a $1.50 each but that still $1.50 I could've spent elsewhere. The only thing I would repurchase would be the blotting tissue because they're effective and you get so many! 

Well that's my review :) Let me know if you tried anything from Daiso Japan you love because I want to check them out!! 

xoxo, Morgan 

♥ CL 2NE1 "Come Back Home" Inspired Korean Makeup Tutorial ♥ 이채린

CL is probably one of my favorite K-Pop stars ever. I love her style, fashion sense, and her confidence! She's such a fierce girl and I ALWAYS love her makeup and hair. After seeing the 2NE1 music video, "Come Back Home", I knew I had to try and replicate her look. I love the idea behind the "Come Back Home" music video and I literally can't stop listening to it! Here's my video tutorial on CL's look! :)

Now let me go ahead and show you the products I used for this look! :) 

Prior to filming, I'd already applied my foundation and filled in my eyebrows. I used the same techniques I showed in my Korean Ulzzang Style Eyebrows Tutorial :) 

Here's a close up of the eyeshadows. The top left eyeshadow looks a little bit more brown in the pictures but in "real life", this is a more grey that has a brown tone to it. The top right eyeshadow is a light gold color, the bottom left eyeshadow is a cream colored matte eyeshadow, and the bottom right eyeshadow is a cool-toned matte brown. It looks really red in the picture but again, in "real life" it's much more cool-toned. 

These are the lashes that I used! I bought these off of a Ebay for a couple of bucks (sorry I can't remember the seller's name :( ) These are fairly natural looking lashes with a bit of a flare at towards the end. 

The concealer I used was the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in "Medium".

The brush I used in my crease was a pointed crease brush from Coastal Scents. (I also did a review on some other Coastal Scents and Crown Brush Brushes!)

For my eyeliner, I used the Essence Long Lasting Eyeliner in "Black". 

For my liquid liner, I used the Almay Liquid Liner.

For my lashes, I used the Revlon Lash Potion Mascara.

To prime my eyelids, I used the NYX HD Eyeshadow Primer. 

On my cheeks, I used MAC's "Blush Baby" blush.

For my bronzer and contour, I used ELF's "Warm" Bronzer.

For my highlight, I used MAC's Beauty Powder in "Shell Pearl".

Finally, for my lips, I used MAC's CremeSheen lipstick in "Ever Hip".

I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial and be sure to follow this blog and subscribe to The Beauty Breakdown so you can be notified the next time I post something :) I post often so it's definitely worth it...especially because it's FREE and helps me out a ton ;) 

 xoxo, Morgan 

♥ Taeyeon Girls' Generation SNSD Mr. Mr. Inspired Makeup Tutorial ♥ 소녀시대 태연 메이크업

Here is my new video for my makeup look inspired by Taeyeon in the Girls' Generation music video "Mr. Mr.". Thanks Soshi Girl for requesting this look! It was so fun and it's such a pretty look :)

And as always, here are the up close pictures of the products that I used! :) 

The eyeshadows that I used in this look was a shimmery gold color (bottom left) a medium matte brown with a red undertone (bottom middle), a light matte brown with an orange undertone (bottom right), and a charcoal grey color (top middle).

For my eyeliner, I used the Essence long lasting eyeliner in black, the Rimmel London Scandaleyes liner in Brown, and the Revlon Lash Potion mascara.

For my ombre lips, I used the baby lips balm in the hot pink color and the Revlon Laquer Balm in Flirtatious. 

Finally, for my skin, I prepped my face with the Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre. For foundation, I mixed the Neutrogena Healthy Skin foundation with the Mac Lustre Drops in Pink Rebel. I then concealed with Maybelline's Fit Me concealer in Medium and used Tarte's Cheek Stain in Flush.

Don't forget to check out the video tutorial above and my channel, The Beauty Breakdown! By subscribing, rating, and commenting on my videos, you really support what I'm doing and keep me super motivated! Love all of you who have done this so far :) 

By the way, don't forget to check out my other K-POP makeup tutorial! It's a look inspired by Park Gyuri's makeup in the Kara music video "Pandora"!

xoxo, Morgan