I have been dying to try Colourpop Cosmetics! I kept checking out the website, looking through their instagram and watching other hauls on youtube... yet I almost feel guilty since I know I have so much makeup and I've been trying to cut back a little. Well, long story short, that didn't work. I broke down and figured well, this is my passion so what the heck?! Plus, I get to share it with you guys and maybe introduce you to some products you'd be interested in trying too! Well, that was a bit of an intro. haha.

Let's get to the breakdown....

Colourpop Cosmetics Super Shock Eyeshadows

Now these babies are awesome! If you've watched any videos or read any blogs about these videos, every one raves about the texture of the eyeshadows. I'm jumping on that band wagon! Well, I guess not really, since I genuinely LOVE the texture of these eyeshadows! 

Their eyeshadows are $5 a pop, which makes them pretty affordable. The colors are very pigmented and unique. I love their wide array of colors, shades, and finishes. 

Using these eyeshadows are really easy! You can use the with a brush or your finger. They do say on the website that using your finger improves the color payoff. I feel like thats how most eyeshadows are anyways. The swatches below were done with my finger. Look how pretty they are. 

The shades from left to right are: Puppy Love, Bill, Bandit, Central Perk, BAE, and Friskie.

I wanted to pointed this eyeshadow out in particular because I think this is so cool! All of the proceeds from this particular eyeshadow, Puppy Love, go to Best Friends Animal Society. I think that's so awesome and I'm always down to support a good cause. Plus, the color is really pretty :) 

 As you can see marked on the sides of the boxes, you need to keep the lids of these eyeshadows nice and tight to prevent them from drying up. Another thing I want to note about these eyeshadows is these don't last a very long time. I've used Puppy Love less than 10 times, maybe around 8 or 9, and I've already hit pan! I pointed this out in the video above and you can see where I hit pan. I'm assuming this is because of the smooth texture so you use more product up when you use it. 

 ColorPop Cosmetics Super Shock Blush

This is the only blush I've tried from Colourpop. The shade I have is in Flush'd. The color of this is a really pretty coral color. I was actually hoping this would be a little bit more... brown I guess? I'm not really sure. I do want to say the pictures on the Colourpop website aren't the best. I feel like this is a common issue with ordering online so that's the beauty of bloggers right?! :D I still love this color though and it looks really nice on my skin tone. 

 Colourpop Lippie Stixs

These are a BIG seller for Colourpop. Not only do they come in a wide array of colors, but they're super smooth, comfortable to wear, and very affordable at $5 each. I love the price point of these because I feel like I can experiment with different colors and not feel guilty if I don't wear it everyday. 

From left to right: Grunge, Brink, Lady, Nevermind, Rayezor, and Oh Snap.

 Here are the swatches done in the same order as above. If you want to see what they look like on my lips, check out the video above! I tried every color on my lips to show you how they look on my skin tone. I also did this with the Ultra Matte Lips as well :) 

 Colourpop Ultra Matte Lips

These are also a big seller for Colourpop. Again, they come in lots of colors, are very affordable at $6 each, and they're comfortable to wear for a matte lip color. You can see the color family that I like to stick with can't you!? :) haha. I swear, even though they look really similar in the tubes, they all look very different on my lips. Again, I did apply them on my lips in the video above, so if you're curious to see how they look check that out! 

From left to right: Avenue, Beeper, Teeny Tiny, Chilly Chili, Bumble, and Tulle 

 The swatches below are in the same order as stated above! 

Alrighty! :) That's everything I hauled from Colourpop! I did this haul in two separate orders. The first order I did have some issues with, which I talked about in the video, so if you're curious about that check that out! Just to give you a hint; some of my lippies smelled like PLASTIC. Yuck! Just watch the video and I'll explain :) Hope you guys had fun reading this post! 

Please don't forget to subscribe to my channel, The Beauty Breakdown, for more video reviews, tutorials, etc and follow this blog for more fun stuff :) Love you so much!

xoxo, 

Morgan 

[Review] Etude House Big Cover Concealer BB and Cushion Concealer + Monkey Wish Eyeshadows

In this month's Pink Bird Ambassador Box from Etude House, I got some exciting goodies! In my pink box was the Big Cover Concealer BB in Beige, the Big Cover Concealer Cushion in Peach Pink, and 3 Eyeshadows from the Look at my Eyes Monkey Wish Eyes Collection. I was sure to show you guys these in my recent First Impressions of the products, but let's get into a little written review :)

Let's get to the breakdown...

Etude House Big Cover Concealer BB in Beige

The concept behind this BB cream is to be a high coverage BB. I believe it designed with oily skinned people in mind. The tip is a multi tip, so it has different sides and surfaces so you can apply the BB cream is several different ways. You can use the side to apply a thin layer everywhere, you can use the curved side along your cheeks and nose, or you can use the tip for spot concealing. This concealer is very high coverage and set very quickly! When I apply it, I work with one section at a time. I find that this does ok on my dry skin, but I really think this would be excellent for oily skinned people. Also, I wanted to note that this seems to run a little light. Usually in Etude House shades, I'm always shade 3. However, the shade 3 of this BB cream is a little light. It's not crazy light, but it is a bit lighter than normal. Oh, and there are 4 shades altogether. 

 Etude House Big Cover Concealer Cushion in Peach Pink

I am in LOVE! I love this concealer. This is a color-correcting concealer so it brightens any areas you apply it to. They do have 3 other "skin-colored" shades, which are designed for covering pimples, under eye areas, etc., and 3 color correcting concealers in total. This one is not necessarily for covering pimples but I love using this under my eyes! It really does brighten my face and it blends so nicely! I really do like this and find myself reaching for it a lot. 

 Of course, my only complaint of this concealer is the applicator. I really don't care for these sponge tip applicators. How I use this is I just swipe it onto the back of my clean hand and then apply it on my face from there. 

 Swatches

Below are swatches of both the Concealer BB and Concealer Cushion. The first picture is my hand with no makeup. I use this area for my swatches because of the freckle of my wrist! haha. It's a great gauge to see the coverage and how it looks in general. To see it on my face and see how it blends/the application, check out my first impressions above!

The swatch on the left is the concealer BB in beige. The swatch on the right is the concealer cushion in peach pink. 

 Look at My Eyes Monkey Wish Eyes 

I received 3 different eyeshadows. Etude House brought out these eyeshadows in celebration of the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Monkey (Fun Fact: I was born during the Year of the Monkey!). The packaging of these eyeshadows are limited edition and each eyeshadow has a little monkey imprinted in each eyeshadow! 

 From left to right, the eyeshadow shades are BE109 Pay Day, PK013 Cheer Up, and GR707 Exam Passed.

 Swatches

The swatches below are done without an eyeshadow primer and with my finger. Overall, I'll be honest. I'm not impressed with these eyeshadows. These actually swatched a lot nicer than I thought they would! On my eyes, I don't think they look particularly nice. I feel like these fall short of the quality Etude House usually has for the eyeshadows. My favorite color is Exam Passed but the one that is the smoothest is Pay Day. Unfortunately, Cheer Up is just too chunky and not very smooth.

Alright, so that's what I received in my last Pink Bird Ambassador Box! Hope you guys enjoyed and don't forget to follow this website for more reviews and subscribe to my youtube channel, The Beauty Breakdown! I'll love you forever :) 

xoxo, 

Morgan 

[Review] Etude House Tint My Brows Gel in #1 Brown First Impressions! Tattooing My Eyebrows?!

Ok, so my eyebrows are something that are very important to me. I feel like eyebrows really make your face look complete, so I'm willing to try anything to make my eyebrows look...well...on fleek. haha. When I heard about Etude House Tint My Brow Gel, I thought "YES! Eyebrows for more than one day and I don't have to fill them in?!". So you bette believe I went straight to the internet and bought myself one.

The concept behind this brow tattoo is it's supposed to last for up to a week, despite washing your face, applying makeup, and touching your eyebrows. This is a great concept for those of you who might like to have "no makeup" days, but still want to look put together.

You can pick one up HERE (affiliate) 

So let's get to the breakdown...

Process...

With your face cleansed and dry, you want to apply the gel onto your eyebrows/where you want to dye your hair (or more, the skin underneath). After that, let it sit on your face for two hours. Yes, you will look insane... I know I sure did! It's also advised on the side of the box that you leave it on overnight and remove it in the morning. However, ain't nobody got time for that! I was already shocked I had to leave it on for two hours! Talk about a time commitment. Once the two hours are up, you remove it. It should peel off in one piece. You're supposed to peel it off from the tail of the eyebrow (oops). I didn't do that and lost a couple eyebrow hairs in the process of removing it (which I showed in the video below!). However, I have since tried removing it from the tail as well and STILL lost a couple hairs. So I don't know if I have sensitive eyebrows or what, but I say just remove cautiously and if anything, scrape it off. 

Packaging...

The packaging of this product isn't anything fantastic. Although I will say, I wish the applicator was a little bit different. When applying this, I did manage to be fairly accurate but I think a sharper tip would've made applying this much easier. 

Shade...

I LOVED the shade of this product. I got mine in shade #1 brown and I felt like it was a prefect match for my eyebrows. However, I have heard that the other two shades, light brown and grey brown, are a bit of miss for some people. I've read really mixed reviews on how these shades look. Some people say the light brown is too orange and the grey brown is too grey, while others say they like the look. So definitely check out some swatches and decide for yourself if you think you'd be happy with the colors. I personally think the shade I have looks the most natural.

Results...

I have really mixed emotions about this product. This is supposed to last for about a week and I do have to admit, it did! I really liked how it looked on day 2-4 because after it had faded a bit, it looked super natural.  Personally, I felt like it looked a little too "painted on" on day 1 for my liking.  Now this is where my mixed feelings came in. Besides the first day, I still found myself filling in my eyebrows despite them being colored in more. I just felt that with a full face of makeup, the tint wasn't quite apparent enough for my liking. I also just generally like having my eyebrows held in place by some type of wax or gel as well. I will say that when I didn't have any makeup on though, they looked great and I obviously didn't feel the need to fill them in. Since I wear makeup almost everyday, this just honestly isn't that useful for me. I do like the concept but 2 hours?! 2 HOURS?! For something that I'm going to end up going over anyways? It's just not that practical for me. So take it as you will. This would definitely fit the needs of some, but for me, it just doesn't make much sense to repeatedly buy and use this. 

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5 

Overall...

I'd say I could see the tint on my eyebrows for about 5 days. On day 6, it was completely gone. Keep in mind, I carried on with my normal cleansing routine and wasn't going to tailor my skincare around my eyebrows. On the instructions it does say to avoid pressure (haha), makeup remover, oil, and cleansers in this area while you have it on. That's a bit much in my opinion so I didn't really follow that. By the way, I'm aware I forgot to take a before picture for the website, but you can see in the video what my eyebrows looked like before very clearly! So just refer to that :) Also, I know the lighting is also a little different in each photo but I was traveling and using my phone to take pictures. But, you get the point! lol. Anyways, that's my written review of the Etude House Tint My Brows Gel! Hope you guys enjoyed and don't forget to follow this website and subscribe to my youtube channel, The Beauty Breakdown, for more reviews, travel posts, and more! 

How to Treat Acne Scars & Improve Your Skin's Appearance

I'm not even exaggerating when I say I get hundreds of comments, emails, messages, etc. about acne and how to fix acne scarring. First off, I apologize that I can't respond back directly.. there's just not enough time in the day to answer all of you guys :( Plus, I can't see your skin in person, so it's hard to tell what's causing your skin concerns if I can't actually see your skin concerns... describing your skin as red and irritated can unfortunately mean a lot of things so I can't narrow down how to help you :/ Apologies but hopefully this will shed some light on some issues you might be having. This is where Banish Acne Scars comes in and Dermarolling. 

Let's get to the breakdown...

What the heck is Dermarolling?!

I know, it sounds insane and the tool you use looks like a little medieval torture device. Trust me when I say, it's much more intimidating looking than it actually is. Demarolling is essentially creating little micro wounds in your skin which encourages your body's natural response to "heal" the area. This promote collagen product to the targeted areas among many other skin benefits. 

Let's talk about Banish Acne Scars...

Even though derma roller is great for your skin, it's extremely important to practice this in a safe way. This includes using reliable rollers that are sharp and won't damage your skin. Because of this, I avoided derma rolling for a while. However, when Daisy contacted me and asked if I wanted to try Banish, I was like "YES, PLEASE!". You can even do a little research yourself and see that Banish uses the best materials and ingredients, so I have peace of mind when I use their products. Plus, I've seen a ton of other you tubers use their products and have great results. 

The Benefits of Dermarolling

Derma rolling, in my opinion, is great for every skin type. That is, unless you have severely sensitive skin. Then, let's face it, you have to be super cautious with everything you do to your skin. But for those of you who want to know why you should be derma rolling, here's why I love it! Like I mentioned in the title of this post, derma rolling is great for acne scars. It's one of the best ways, I believe, to deal with acne scars because it's a natural process your body is already doing. It simply expedites the process. However, for someone like me, I don't have a major issue with acne scars. So for me, I notice a major improvement in the smoothness, pore size, and texture of my skin. I feel that the increased collagen production really helps tighten my skin and helps with the appearance of my skin. It's also great for cellulite and stretch marks. So, yes it's awesome! 

My Before and After

I know it'll be a little difficult to see in my before and afters the improvement, but trust me, I really feel the difference. Also, I just happened to get a mark (on my right cheek, by my nose) from a pimple right at the beginning of my experience with derma rolling, so I feel like that's a good marker to see the progression of my skin. Also, check out my video review and you'll be able to see better in the video than just the picture! 

After First Session

After 2nd Session (10 days after first session) 

After 3rd Session (10 days after 2nd session) 

  Like I said, I know it's hard to tell through pictures, but maybe it'll be more apparent in the video :) Anyways, I hope this helps for those of you guys who are suffering from acne scars or other skin issues. For more dramatic before and afters, be sure to check out Banish's website! You can really see the difference in those :) 

xoxo, 

Morgan 

Visiting the Cat's Attic Cat Cafe in Seoul, Korea |The Travel Breakdown

Welcome to The Travel Breakdown everyone! If you're confused on the concept (what the heck is The Travel Breakdown, is this a new channel, etc) please read this post! I explained the whole concept behind the new series to clarify for everyone what this is! Now that we've got that away, on to my experience visiting Cat's Attic in Gangnam, Seoul, Korea...

Let's get to the travel breakdown....

What in the world is a Cat Cafe?!
Oh, my friends, let me introduce you to the wonderful world of cat cafes. They're magnificent, trust me ;) Cat cafes are literally what they sound like. They're cafes you can go to where you can not only enjoy a lovely drink but also socialize with adorable felines. These are super popular in Korea because having a pet is somewhat impractical in Korea. While that's not to say people don't have pets in Korea, just think about it... why own a cat when you can just to a cat cafe, play with one for a couple hours, and then leave? In Korea, most people live in apartments and don't have the space or time to care for an animal. This is honestly why I think they're so popular. Plus, these type of places are awesome for photo-opts. 

Where We Went
In Seoul, there are several different chains of cat cafes. The particular one we went to is called Cat's Attic. They have several different locations, but the one went to is in Gangnam. Please refer to the map below to see exactly where and you can also go to their official website (or do some Googling) to find other chains and locations! 

But are the cats taken care of? 
The cat cafe we went to seemed very cat friendly. Luckily, the cats had plenty of room to roam and lots of hidden places up and away from people just in case they felt a little overwhelmed. The cats all seemed pretty relaxed with the people and each other, which was pretty evident in all the sleeping kitties. I also noticed that whenever the workers walked around to brush or give the cats treats, they all perked up and seemed to really like the employees. The cats had fresh water and food available at all times and also an adjacent room with a litter box, which was only accessible through a little kitty door. I figured if they were really irritated, the cats could choose to go hang out in that room. 

Rules to make sure the kitties aren't mistreated!

Is it clean? 
One concern I had in general was the cleanliness. Overall, the place was well-maintained and I couldn't really smell the litter box (if you own kitties like I do, you're very familiar with that smell!). Before going, I was a little concerned as to how hygienic it could be to combine drinks and cats, but you just have to watch your drink to make sure no kitties help themselves to a couple sips. I mean, let's face it, you're really going to play with cats, not to enjoy drinks! haha. Also, before you enter, you have to wear slippers they provide and sanitize your hands. I really appreciate that because it shows they make an effort to keep the facility clean and their cats healthy!

Tips and tricks 
Visit more than one
If you're a cat fanatic like I am and you're staying for a while in Seoul, definitely check out more than one cat cafe. I went to about 4 (I know, I'm insane) during my couple weeks in Korea and each one was completely different. So if you have a bad experience at one and you're desperate to find a cat cafe you enjoy, try different ones!
Don't wear black!
You're gonna get furry when you're playing with cats. That's pretty much a no brainer. So try not to wear black because it obviously shows hair a lot more! I do want to note that most cat cafes have lint rollers/hand sanitizer/hand wipes available, so you can freshen up before you leave. I just figure it's always better safe than sorry!
Go on a weekday
These places get packed! I had the best luck going during the week instead of during the afternoon. That way, you can get the most out of your kitty time :D 

So if you do end up going to a cat cafe, I hope you have lots of fun.. and no allergies :) They're a really cool place to visit so definitely check and see if there are some in your area or if there are some where you're planning on traveling too! Cheers :) 

xoxo, 
Morgan

My Official Introduction to The Travel Breakdown

Hi guys! Well, I should've made this post a couple days ago along with trailer I posted on my channel, The Beauty Breakdown, but I'm starting a new series on my channel! I know a lot of you have been anticipating the release of my Korean Travel Vlogs but I wanted to give myself time to create something that I'm really proud to share with you guys. Because of this, I wanted to take a moment to explain my thought process behind this new series and the overall concept of it :) So without further adieu, The Travel Breakdown everyone!

Inspiration

There are many things in life that I love. Animals. Food. Rainy Days. Let's also not forget, of course, beauty and traveling. Because of this, I wanted to be able to channel my creativity through a new venue. This is where The Travel Breakdown comes in. Now I know a lot of people casually film themselves doing things (which isn't bad and I'll probably do the same thing here and there) but I wanted to do something that was fun and exciting and something that would make my viewers feel like they're with me experiencing the same things. That's why I made it a point to take my time with this project so I could really showcase different places, foods, experiences, etc.

Concept

The concept behind this travel series is going to be exploring new places and trying new things together. This means it's not going to just be footage from things I did while I visited Korea (although the first "season" will obviously be a lot of stuff from when I visited Seoul). I want to make this series about even exploring local places around me and really taking in every new experience. I feel like a lot of times, we get caught up in the idea of "traveling". Traveling tends to carry this connotation of being expensive or you have to be 1,000s of miles away from home when I really don't feel like that's the case. When I sit back and think about it, there are a bunch of things I want to experience within a 100 mile radius of where I live! I want to share that idea with you guys though this series also because I want everyone to really take advantage of every single moment of life. You don't have to spend a boat-load of money or go to a different country to travel :)

When Will it Air? 

Officially, the first episode of The Travel Breakdown will go live January 8, 2016. At the moment, I don't have a set schedule of a certain day of the week or how often I'm going to upload episodes. This is because I don't like to limit what I upload/film/edit but it'll be often enough I promise :)

I think that pretty much covers everything! Like I said, I really just wanted to take a moment to further introduce all of you to The Travel Breakdown so we're all on the same page. I hope you enjoy and I can't wait to share with you! Lots to come :)

xoxo,

Morgan

[Review] KICHO and CU Skin Natural and Cruelty-Free Korean Skincare

Hey everyone and welcome back to The Beauty Breakdown! It's a new year, which means experimenting with new products and brands so today I want to introduce you to KICHO. KICHO is a newer brand that is available at your local Whole Food Stores and at Green Alley. Before I get ahead of myself though...

Let's get to the breakdown...

Brand Background

I think this is why I'm most excited about this brand in particular. If you're just starting off in skincare or if you're a skincare aficionado, you might have an issue finding a variety of brands that offer natural ingredients, that are paraben-free, and animal cruelty-free. We all want what's best for our skin and obviously natural tends to be the way to go. It's extremely important to find products that prioritize the quality of their ingredients. This is where KICHO and CU Skin comes in. KICHO uses botanical ingredients derived from Mother Nature herself.

KICHO Natural Mineral Foaming Cleanser

Proper cleansing is extremely important because it removes all the dirt, leftover makeup, and oil from your skin. Without a proper cleanser, your skin will look dull, will feel heavy, and will not be at its best overall. Because of this, I'm a little picky when it comes to cleansers, especially foam cleansers since they're my favorite form of cleanser! I've been testing this out for a couple weeks and I have to say, I have to say that this is a pretty nice cleanser. It's formulated for all skin types and can even be used on children! There are no harmful additives in this cleanser, so you can rest assured you're not stripping your skin. It's also made with 7 types of sprout extracts (which sprout extracts.. I'm not sure. haha) which are supposed to help with purifying the skin and soothing your face. My only complaint with this cleanser is I find it's a little too drying on my skin. I do feel that it's excellent at cleansing my skin and removing all the gunk, but since I have dry, sensitive skin, I've found that I can't use this everyday or my skin does feel a little more dry. This would most likely be excellent for oily skin types though! And I'd like to add that the foam is super soft :) 

CU Skin Vitamin U Cellbio Hydro Gel Mask 

 I LOVE hydro gel masks. They're my favorite form of sheet masks because I feel that they hold moisture longer, fit my face better, and are better quality overall. Because of this, I was looking forward to trying this. This mask is also supposed to have EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor) and ceramide to help tighten and improve the overall appearance of the skin. How great does that sound? When I applied this mask, I immediately noticed how nice and thick the mask itself was. As you can see in the picture below, the quality of the mask is really great and it also stretches a good amount so it really does feel like a "second skin". I wore this mask for about an hour (because heck, the longer the better right?!) and then removed it. I did feel like it really plumped up and nourished my skin. I love how smooth and wonderful my skin felt the next day and I definitely feel like I noticed a difference after using this mask. 

KICHO Foundation Brush 

This foundation brush is composed of synthetic fibers so again, you can rest assured that there were no cute little animals harmed to create this brush. I also like synthetic fiber brushes because they wash clean, don't absorb makeup like natural fiber brushes do, and they feel so soft. This one is exactly that. This brush is so soft and smooth and doesn't fray at all. I've also noticed NO shedding whatsoever (and trust me, I put my makeup brushes through the wringer!). I like the shape of this, as well, because it's very versatile so I can use it for different purposes. I've used this to blend my cream contour, apply foundation, and to flawlessly conceal my dark under eye circles. On top of all the things I love about this brush, I also like how sleek and pretty it looks :) 

Well there you guys go! For the new year, I'd like to research and find more natural skincare so I thought this was the perfect post to kick off 2016 :) Let me know if you've also tried any products from this brand or any other natural skincare lines that you've been into :)

xoxo,
Morgan