Korean Make up Trash, Treat or Stash: Etude House's Proof 10 Auto Pencil Eyeliner

Trash, Treat or Stash. The Korean make-up products I've discovered are better off in the bin, the ones you should treat yourself to every now and again, and the ones that are so good that you should definitely make sure you have a stash of them.



Well it's the night before Halloween and sadly I don't have any witchiness planned for the weekend! Boo! Halloween used to be my absolute favourite holiday of the year. I remember being in primary school and deciding on Halloween that I loved the day so much that I was going to have a party. I invited all of my friends and told them to be at my house that night. It was only when my mum picked me up from the childminder's about 20 minutes before the party was due to start that I announced my plans. I don't think she was best happy, but we still had a great time! It's bizarre in Korea as it's obviously not as big a thing here, and when I tell the children it's Halloween this week they're really blase and like 'Oh Really. And?'. I'm way more excited than them! Because of the day it's fallen on this year, people have sort of spread out there plans, celebrating a bit last week and a little this week, but I seem to have missed out on it all. Oh well! There are lots more to come!

So incase anyone is planning on dressing up this weekend, I thought I would share one of Etude House's products which is perfect for creating witchy eyes. It's the proof 10 Auto Pencil.

Cost: This costs 6,000 which is just over 2.50. I think that's a fine price to pay for an eyeliner.
Usability: The product is really creamy so is really easy to draw neat lines on your eyelid. Just screw the top to get more of the product out, and there is a tiny sharpener on the bottom of the pencil, if you really need a precise line. It's not so great as some liquid eyeliners if precision is the sole thing you're looking for, but this does give a really dense colour just by easily applying.
Durability: This product is waterproof, so it can stand up to big fat raindrops that try and take your make up away. It also doesn't really tend to smudge too easily, or leave the black ring on your socket or brow bone which I sometimes get from an ordinary pencil. I wouldn't say it lasts all day, but it will last the majority of the day.


Overall: This is a great, cheap eyeliner that can do the job of a pencil and a liquid liner. It's not perfect, but for the price I think it's pretty spiffing! It's easy to adjust if you go wrong, and you don't have the annoying drying time that you sometimes get with liquid liners. It's waterproof so can last throughout the drizzly Autumn days and is even specially designed for sensitive peepers. I would recommend that if you're looking for an all in one, daily eyeliner then give this one a go!



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I'm Back!

I accidentally took a week long break from everything last week. Everything, that is, apart from trying to be an amazing tour guide for my mum and Julie.

They left last night to catch the train to Seoul where their flight left this morning. In the meantime I've been trying to scrape some order back together. It was back to school yesterday, I had about a billion pictures to sort through and upload, which I'm still in the process of doing, and still have an apartment that is desperate for a clean, despite my mum taking a whole suitcase of stuff. It's funny that even though I live in a tiny studio apartment, and I arrived with just one suitcase, I could probably fill 6 of them now. Where does it all come from?!

Later in the week I'll share what we got up to on our weekend in Seoul, and how we celebrated Chuseok, which is the Korean Thanksgiving holiday. I could get used to adopting all of these new holidays and additional time off!

I'm sad that my mum's gone, but excited that there is some change on the horizon!

I'll be back tomorrow with the next Trash, treat or stash!


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♥ Cute Korea: DIY Craft Kits

I love the DIY craft sets that I see in lots of Korean shops. I couldn't resist this when I saw it hanging on the shelf of one of our local tat shops. Tash and I call them tat shops as they're packed to the brim with stuff that you don't really need, but as soon as you see it, you find yourself searching for an excuse to buy it. Usually they sell cheap stationary, bags, jewellery, sweets and knick knacks. Hours of my life have disappeared while I look around these shops and drool over everything. I'm surprised that I haven't been bankrupted by these shops yet!

So anyway, when I saw the DIY phone dangles that were coupling winged-poops, I couldn't resist, I'd saved it for months and eventually last week when I had a bit of time, I decided to make it.

The pack came with felt, beads, stuffing, thread, needles, ribbon and something to hang them with. Unfortunately the instructions were all in Korean, but it was still pretty easy to make by just referring to the pictures.

I was pretty happy with the end results, and can't wait to give Nick his new gift, and see him display it with pride...or not!



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White Day

It's good being a girl in Korea when White Day rolls around. White Day happens on March the 14th, exactly a month after Valentine's day, which is no coincidence. Apparently Valentine's day is solely for women to give the men in their life a gift of chocolate. A month later, the men are expected to return the favor, three fold.

It's also tradition in Korean schools for the students to share presents with their friends. As Elementary school teachers, we were incredibly lucky and got showered by gifts from the children. Mostly they gave lollipops or small bits of chocolate, but other students had prepared goody bags filled with a mixture of things.

Nick and I went for a skate/run in Busan after school on White day (unfortunately it proved how unfit I am as he was able to run faster than I could skate!). I forewarned him that my students had set a high standard, but I wasn't disappointed. When I went to pick up my stuff I had a nice surprise waiting for me in my locker, accompanied by a somewhat questionable letter.


So, happy belated White Day to all the girls!

You don't have to wait until White Day rolls around again for some treats though! Enter my giveaway that's running all this week and a Korean care package could be making its way to you! Just like the facebook page or follow me on Bloglovin'.

♥ Cute Korea: Photo Booths

On top of the Sonny Angel Dolls, I may have potentially found a new addiction. I feel like this one really shows that I'm adopting some of the Korean culture. Although it's probably not one of their best assets, it's the habit of taking photos of everything, all the time.

We decided, before Anna and Grace left, that we would have to try out one of the photo booths that are really popular in Korea. Basically, they are bright pink shops stuffed to the brim with young Korean teenagers, all ogling over prints they have just had taken in the booths. The booths are small, but contain endless amounts of fun in the form of posing for pictures, which you can then customise with frames, stickers, phrases and CGI props.

I got overly excited about the booths that automatically enlarge your eyes. Something that lots of Korean girls long for.

A set of photos costs 6,000won which has to be paid in 500won pieces. You put in your money and the booth bombards you with questions about which effects you want to use. This includes strange backgrounds, frames, skin tone and the softness of the pictures.

You then have to quickly strike a pose as it starts the countdown to take the pictures. It gives you about 30 seconds between each picture.

Once you've had all of your pictures taken, you leave the booth and enter the editing suite (I've called it this at a push. Really it's just a computer screen with a curtain around it.)

Here is where all the fun starts. In the editing suite you can do all sorts of magic to your photos. We gave ourselves tiaras, bows and even added a Korean caption to one picture. My coteacher has since told me that it translates to 'stupid' but no one at home will ever know.

You have a limited time to edit, then you can pick the layout of the prints. It took us a while to work this out and sadly didn't end up with our favourite picture printed. But, we'll know better for next time, and I'm pretty sure there will be a next time.

What to pack for a year in Korea

Only one more lesson before I have to dash home and start madly packing for a weekend in Seoul, far less stressful than trying to pack for a whole year away from home.

I feel like I packed well last year, although it did take me about a month and I must have packed and unpacked at least ten times before it was moving day.

If i had a delorian, here are the things I would tell my past self to pack:

♥ Underwear and lots of it
Koreans are incredibly tiny and I don't understand their sizing. H&M and F21 in Seoul do sell underwear, but in Busan it's a little hit and miss, so it's a good idea to stock up! Unless you fancy wearing holey knickers to school.

♥ Towels
Koreans seem to be able to dry their lithe and nimble bodies with towels the size of flannels. Homeplus do sell them but they can be expensive so take at least one.

♥ Shoes
Again, they usually go up to UK women's size 6, so if you need anything bigger than that then stock up.

♥ Tights
Because as I previously mentioned, Korean girls are all so tiny, I don't think I could fit my arm in a pair of their tights.

♥ Chocolate
Or any other food that you think that you might not be able to get here. This time I brought lots of chocolate (because from experience, nothing quite compares to Cadbury's), porridge, tea and spices. You can get lots of things from the Supermarkets, Homeplus and Lotte's international section but you will be paying a little more for it.

♥ Deodorant
Apparently, not only are Koreans lovely and slim but they don't sweat either.

♥ Toothpaste
I find Korean toothpaste ok, but I know lots of people who don't. It's not quite as fresh tasting and quite gritty.

♥ Photos
Instantly make any tiny studio room feel a little more homely.

♥ Blu Tac
It would appear that Blu-Tac is a specifically British thing. No-one had heard of it in Korea, apart from one of our teachers who had spent a couple of years in England. Without it, you realise how handy it is. And when you use it in class, the kids think you're magic!

♥ Foundation
You can buy MAC products here, but there aren't as many easily accessible places that sell foundation in shades that I could use, so I stocked up while I was home.

♥ Sun Cream
The lowest they do here is about Factor 40, and you're paying ridiculous amounts to rub gloop into your skin that resembles tippex, it's that white.

♥ Things you really don't need to bring: socks, stationary, jumpers, scarves, gloves, hats, nail varnish, most make up products.

Is there anything that you think you couldn't live without?