It's been a while since the last time I bought Dior's lip makeup, but this new Rouge Dior line reinvented by Peter Philips has certainly made me look. The stunning red lacquered case and the mature yet ever gorgeous Natalie Portman helped, of course. I have been delving into various makeup artist brands and beauty guru collaborations lately but I still look to couture brands such as Chanel and Dior when it comes to saturated reds. There is something about how they do their reds, in my humble opinion. The shade I picked up, 770 Ultra Love did not disappoint.

For those who are not familiar, A'pieu is one of the popular Korean roadshop brands (under Missah umbrella). I am not a Kbeauty expert but if you ask me what to buy from them, I'd say the Mineral Lip & Eye Remover without hesitation. I tried this remover last year thanks to a friend and was surprised to see how well it worked while being so mild. This amazing remover is a cult fave and only 2,500 KRW (about $2 USD) in Korea. Unfortunately, being liquid, the price is marked up by more than 100% if I want to buy them here. The biggest KBeauty store in Manhattan (L'ovue on 5th Avenue) sells them for $5 (and twice of that on eBay), but I still think it is good stuff even for the marked up price.

Impressed by the remover, I became interested in A'pieu's other offerings and ended up hauling quite a bit of makeup in last May. I ordered mine from Gmarket.co.kr. My order also included clothes and some other stuff so the express shipping cost made sense but I can't recommend ordering from the site just for a few items because they only offer EMS. I see YesStyle would be the best option as they carry almost the full range and the markup is reasonable.

Please read on for some swatches and thoughts.

It doesn't make me look very smart talking about a soldout limited edition from a sale that had happened a month ago, yet here you have it. This was my first foray into the ever popular Charlotte Tilbury makeup. While it wasn't my last purchase (I did buy a few more things later on), it didn't change my mixed feeling towards the brand.