Question: Etude House store locations; Arissa Studios Trendy Lip Palettes; Products for covering hyper-pigmentation

Happy Mother's Day to all! My husband took my son out to play so I can have some peace and quiet for myself this morning. They will come back to take me out for lunch in a short while. In the mean time, I just sit here surfing the net and drinking my coffee! Ah, life is great! :)))


I decided that I'd answer a couple of questions today as I don't have that much time left after doing all the lazy things I had planned for myself this morning. :P











Where can I purchase Etude House products in Malaysia?






The only Etude House store I have been to is at One Utama New Wing. And I know of a few other places from blogging which I have listed below. Please feel free to fill in more locations if you know them. Thank you!












Kuala Lumpur -
One Utama New Wing Lower Ground Flour (near Cold Storage Supermarket)
Berjaya Time Square
Kepong Jusco (This is just a little corner store so its selection is quite limited.)
Sunway Pyramid

Kedah -
Central Square


Johor Bahru -
City Square
Jusco mall at Aeon Bukit Indah

Ipoh -
Ipoh Parade

Penang -
Queensbay Mall




You have mostly high end products but you've raved about Arissa Studios Trendy Lip Palettes a lot. Do you really like them better than your high end lip products?



Yes, I do prefer high end makeup in general. But there are few drugstore products that have been working for me like no others. One item is Maybelline Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in black. I simply can't live without it.


And yes, I do prefer Arissa Studios Trendy Lip Palettes (as well as L.A. Girl Luscious Colour Lip Palettes since they are exactly the same things) compared to many other high end lip products. They come in great high shine colours and they are very moisturizing and smooth for my dry lips. They come in a travel-friendly compact and includes a good quality lip brush. Best of all, they are super cheap! And what's more is that they don't have that cheap lip product smell found in many other brands. I can't rave them enough.









I've seen your face without makeup so I know that you have hyper-pigmentation. However, I hardly see any spots on your cheeks in your FOTD. They are always glowy. Could you please share with me the products you use to achieve that effect as I have the same problem.



I have been asked this question over and again. Looks like many of you are having the same concern so here is my answer again. :)

Scary before and after makeup pictures!

The no makeup picture on the left was from last year and the made up face was from Satursday before going to our big family Mother's Day celebration dinner. I realized that I wasn't as dark as I thought I was after taking pictures under natural lighting. And I thought I was looking tanned and healthy after all my swimming and cycling. I was daydreaming then!

Click on the picture to view details.

Anyway, you can do a couple of things for hiding hyper-pigmentation if you don't want to go for laser surgery for whatever reasons. Mine was caused by the combination of:


* sun damage at young age - I obviously had no skin cancer awareness back then as I often sat under the sun with bikini on trying to get a tan when I was in college back in the US!

* drug allergy - mainly birth control pills, as suspected by the dermatologist I visited. I am not aware of the real cause as he couldn't come to a conclusion but only confirmed that's drug allergy related for sure.


Because of the above reasons, I was not a good candidate for laser surgery as the dermatologist said that wouldn't have cured the spots. Further more, my skin would be more sensitive the sun afterwards. Well, I have had enough of sun damage so I certianly didn't want to be bothered by that again. Therefore, I became very careful with sun protection ever since. Though I am still very actively involved in outdoor activities, I make sure that I am well prepared before heading out to the sun.


There are a couple of things I do to hide my brown spots:



- Concealer: I am currently testing out Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage SC-2 as my HG Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Full Cover Camouflage Cream #4 isn't very reliable these days. I have been relying on MUFE Full Cover for years so I can't tell you what's causing the problem now. I only know that it doesn't cover as well as before. Perhaps the tube I have has gone bad as it's been quite some time since I purchased it? Perhaps I have gone darker and need to get #6 instead? Perhaps my skin has changed? I don't know and I am still trying to figure that out myself.


But whatever it is, a BLEMISH concealer is a must-have when you have spots. Apply the concealer after liquid foundation and set it (and the foundation) with a powder. Or apply the concealer before powder foundation. This is the basic step for covering up spots.



- Powdered shimmery highlighter: I am not sure how well a matte highlighter covers the spots. I do know that many people avoid shimmery highlighters because they believe shimmery version accentuate pores more than the matte ones.


NOT in my case, apparently.


I have always found that with a shimmery highlighter, the shimmers reflect the light and disguise the brown spots and pores better than the matte version. I seriously do think that if you don't have a major problem with pores but only wish to cover spots (or blemishes), you have to give a powdered shimmery highlighter a try.


And the reason why you have to get power instead of liquid is that liquid highlighter will smear off your concealer underneath! Enough said, isn't it? :)


By the way, my HG powdered shimmery highlighter is Make Up For Ever Compact Shine On #5 Amber. Though this product is no longer available in Sephora, it's still sold at our local Make Up For Ever stores (I think.) I guess I should start searching for an alternative too as my current compact has a big hole in the center. And just in case it's also removed from the stores here...



- Highlighter type blushes: I have recommended these to a couple of readers. Two good product come to mind are Christian Dior Diorskin Shimmer Powder or the latest limited edition Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess SunBlush Illuminator. There are also products like Becca Pressed Shimmer Powder, Bobbi brown Shimmer Brick Compact, or MAC Mineralize SkinFish, BeneFit Face Powder, and Pupa Luminys Velvety Baked Blush, just to name a few! :)


Make sure you use a large powder brush or a skunk brush with the highlighter and blush as they yield more natural finish.


So these are the secrets for covering up those unsightly brown spots on my cheekbones. Trust me, you'd look flawless too! :P



My Colouring:

MUFE Full Cover Extreme Camouflage Cream #4, Lift Concealer #3, Duo Mat Powder Foundation #202, Face & Body #20, High Definition Foundation #125, Liquid Lift Foundation #2, Clarins Instant Smooth Foundation #1.5, Pupa Professionals Triple Action Powder Foundation #02 (when tanned)

Light Asian skin (obvious brown spots on cheekbones, slightly dry & doesn't break out easily), dark brown eyes, jet black hair, medium pigmented lips.

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