My Best Daiso Beauty Buys

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I love Daiso. Even when I’m not after anything in particular, I can’t resist wandering through the aisles, just to look at all the shiny Japanese products, all of which can be had for $2.80. I’ve found a lot of gems in there, as well as a lot of duds – here are my favourite beauty buys from Daiso, as …

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Do Asians really need their own sunglasses?

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(Note: When I write “Asians” here, it’s shorthand for people of Asian ancestry, in particular East Asian.) My entire life I’ve had difficulty getting glasses that fit me. If a pair of sunglasses fit me around the front, they’d tug my ears forward. If they fit my ears, they’d hug my temples too closely and give me a headache. During …

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Elegant Touch Express review

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Since I have pretty nice, sturdy nails (thanks genetics!) I haven’t really had the urge to try press-on nails, but one night I left the polishing too late and had a pack of Elegant Touch Express Nails handy, so I thought why not? These nails come with glue pre-applied. Once you’ve picked out your nails (easily the most time-consuming part …

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Essence The Gel Top and Base Coat review

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First off, let’s get things straight – Essence The Gel Top and Base Coat is NOT a gel product. Gel products have small plastic particles called monomers or oligomers, which link together and form a durable coating when a chemical called a photoinitiator is activated by light. There’s a full explanation of the gel polymerisation process here, but in short, …

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How do enzyme exfoliants work?

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You’ve heard of physical exfoliants and chemical exfoliants – now meet their less famous cousin, enzyme exfoliants! You’ll find them in a whole bunch of popular products, like Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel, Jurlique Fruit Enzyme Exfoliator, MUAC Triple Enzyme Peel and DIY pumpkin, kiwi, papaya or pineapple masks. What’s an exfoliant? If you need a refresher, an exfoliant is …

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Blogger Spotlight: Beautiful With Brains

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Welcome to another installment of the Blogger Spotlight series! Today’s interview is with Gio of Beautiful With Brains – when I was coming up with names for my blog way back when, “Beautiful With Brains” was on the list but she got it first! Her blog is a fantastic read and has been a big inspiration for me, with ingredient …

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Depotting Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

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There’s bad packaging, and then there’s BAD packaging. Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer is a fantastic product (better than Urban Decay’s Primer Potion in my opinion, and cheaper too, about $8 on eBay!), but the packaging is ridiculous. It’s a curvy bottle with a doe-foot applicator, much like a squat version of the Urban Decay Primer Potion bottle, which …

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Snail Slime Skincare Science

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Snail slime is the current It Girl in skincare. It’s been used since ancient times, and was revived in South American about 20 years ago as creme or gel de caracol, with brands such as Elicina. It really took off a few years when East Asian beauty companies caught wind of it and started jamming it into everything, from eye …

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