Holika Holika Magic Pole Mascara Volume and Curl x2 Review: My Game Changer Mascara + Massive Fall Make Up and Skincare Haul Video

Hello once more! I'm here with a review on a marvelous mascara that's been a game changer to my make up life! Anyone who has been keeping up with me on my other social media sites have known that lately, I've been on a Korean beauty fix. From skincare to cosmetics, I've really been impressed with not only how well these products work but how the packaging is visually appealing/cute and also how affordable Korean make up is considering the quality. 

I've really adored Holika Holika for a long time. Back when they had witch-y magical packaging I really loved it especially. I love anything that kind of has a mystic edge and that's exactly what Holika Holika represented as a brand. If you didn't want to have the minimalist packing of brands like the Face Shop and Laniege but didn't want to be cute and pink like Etude House-Holika Holika was the way to go. It was still cute but kind of mysterious and magical.

A couple years later, HolikaHolika changed their concept. Regardless, I still love their products and this mascara hasn't changed regardless of the packaging change. 

Back during my birthday I decided to try the Magic Pola Mascara out for it's affordability. Beforehand I was using Maybelline Rocket and Colossal mascaras. They were fine but didn't really pack the punch I wanted. As most know on this blog, I am a Japanese fashion enthusiast and I live by my false lashes and circle lenses. However, I am also a student and can't be bothered with the waste of my eyelash/eyelash glue at times and really wanted a mascara that could be an alternative for when I didn't want to wear my falsies. 

 What really attracted me to the Holika Holika Magic Pole mascara was no doubt the ad campaign with CN Blue. Not even for the fact that they used CN Blue but the female model they used was GORGEOUS. When she wore heavy make up she looked like some type of magical modern day witch or mysterious. The purple circle lenses and smokey eye for sure helped with that affect but her lashes looked gorgeous. 

Here is the ad below!

I ended up buying it for myself awhile back and wow, I am impressed. Let's first talk about the packaging. Korea and Japan no doubt always have it together when it comes to packaging.  The box it comes in is interestingly shaped like a triangle. You can't even see what the tube looked like in the box but it has metallic lettering. I also appreciate when Korean products give its claims and instructions in English as well. That is super helpful! I also loved how magical the box looked when you open it. It looks like you just unleashed the power of a magical wand. 

The tube is gorgeous. This is something that I wouldn't mind carrying in my bag because it looks aesthetically pleasing. The tube is a beautiful blue to purple gradient with magic sparkles that loop around the tube. The top piece resembles the Majolica Majorca products and supposedly the formula of this brand is comparable to the Japanese counterpart. 

The wand is very interestingly shaped. The wand is typically long with the bristled like any other wand would be but at the end there is a ball of bristles. This ball is supposed to help you apply mascara to harder to reach areas of your eyelashes and get closer in. It is also supposed to help with the curling effect! 

As for the formula? I am ditching my Maybelline mascaras. Which is really saying something because I swore by them, especially seeing them all in the Japanese fashion magazines. It makes my lashes long and coats them nicely without minimal clumping. This mascara also created phenomenal bottom lashes which I appreciate. 

Here is a picture showing the before and afters of my eyelashes using the Magic Pole Mascara...

Before and After

With circle lenses in but minimal eyeliner and from far away

This mascara also is really easy to take off with warm water which I do appreciate. It doesn't remove with a make up wipe unfortunately like the Maybelline does meaning it does have a significant amount of staying power since it only comes off with warm water.

In all, this is my go to mascara recently. I am definitely going to repurchase! 

Here is a video I did speaking of make-up, on the massive make up and skin care haul of sin I committed for the fall season.  

Holy Water For Your Face: Cure Aqua Gel Review

For years now I've been struggling with my skin and it's always been something I'm incredibly self conscious about. As most of you know, I definitely hide behind a lot of make up. I don't think I'm the prettiest of girls thanks to my skin texture/face shape/weight so I've always been envious of tall girls and ones with cherub-like faces that can get away with very little make up.

History on my skin being, I developed when I was seven years old. I'm not exactly sure why it happened but I broke out horribly so I hadn't really had nice textured skin since. When you're that young skin care isn't exactly something you think about so much. Especially since nobody else your age talks about such a burden. It wasn't until I was nine or ten that I got a bit self conscious about it honestly. I hadn't  been allowed to wear make up yet to cover it and was told that apparently I had a hormone imbalance causing bunches of stuff. I've been on various medical treatments for my acne. Urothermicine which helped my forehead a lot. However my cheek area never ever had healed and the doctors even placed me on Tetrocycoline pills with testosterone in them to lower my estrogen levels (which caused a lot more issues later on in life). So I've literally tried a lot of different treatments for my skin. Over-the-counter and off.

Thankfully, as I've aged some of the skin problems have faded. My skin texture however has always been shit. No matter what cleanser I used or anything...combination skin remained and I could get huge bumps after eating anything remotely greasy. I blame the fact that I have huge gross pores that cling onto anything and make lovely un-wanted holes in my foundation. I can't have pizza or french fries without a lot of consequences and I'm almost thinking of going on a miso soup and water diet JUST TO SEE how skinny I can get and how nice my skin will be with my skincare regimen because clearly I'll be hydrated.

On my birthday as you guys saw, I did a massive haul and one of the things I got sold after using a tester was the Cure Aqua Gel. I had heard so many good things about it. Apparently it sells every minute or so in Japan from what I heard. It's all natural so it's good for sensitive skin. It helps get rid of dead skin cells (it peels through those layers) which helps your other skin care products be more effective.

For a bit I was a bit wary. The price was 35.00-40.00 for this stuff and I just wondered if it was worth it honestly. Oh my god you guys it was THE BEST 40.00 I have ever spent.

When I first used this stuff I went through like...a massive break out phase but I heard from my best friend that using anything that has major results does that. True to that. In a month I was barely wearing any foundation. The texture of my skin massively improved and while the scars and hyper-pigmentation is still there-it has lightened significantly.

My goal is to eventually get away with some concealer and BB Cream.

I did a demo of the product in a video to show what all this gel does but here are some up close pictures of the procedure.

So for the Cure Aqua Gel to be called a GEL it's a very water consistence. Super watery and once you let it set it turns white and milky. You're supposed to rub the product on your face and let it set a moment or two before rubbing to exfoliate. 

As you see, I have a lot of hyper pigmentation and acne scar still but trust me it was A LOT WORSE a couple months ago. They are gradually fading away the more I use this stuff in pair with my daily cleanser and moisturizers. When I rub the set gel on my face in circles, this is what comes off. As gross as this is; it's the dead skin on your face. My skin also looks this red because I'm literally beating the shit out of it when skincare hence pestering it a little. I'm also incredibly pale (literally the palest shade in foundation) so everything and anything shows up unfortunately.

Afterwards! See? It is slowly fading from red to light pink. This is usually what I can cover with foundation and lightly. I used to realy have to cake on. Some of the more irritated bits I use a MAC or Nars concealer for (I'm a MAC and Nars ho for any of you who know) but I seriously haven't been happier for how less stressful my foundation routine is. I just seriously need to stay the fuck away from oily/greasy food/not be in areas where my make up melts off like it did on Halloween (which broke me out more =_= ugh!) 

My entire face! I wish I kind of had a before picture to show you guys what I shitty state my skin was in beforehand. It was really sad because I really do use a lot of things (affordable things tho) to nuture my skin but it just wasn't cutting it. After using this product my skin texture is not only luminous and my hyper-pigmentation is not only lightened, but my skin looks a lot more brighter and luminous. These pictures are taken on my digital camera so they're not cell phone quality and aren't edited at all just so you guys could see what a difference this is! 

THIS IS LITERALLY MY FACE WITH MAKE UP!!!!! Now I intentionally did a lighter style of make up and a different style just because I could not believe how little of foundation I was putting on. Literally the tiniest pump of Kat-Von-D foundation ever. This is with *no filters* unedited tho taken at a nice angle but I kid you not; LOOK AT THAT TEXTURE!!!

This was my skin texture the last time I did light make up. No filter at all. Clearly i have make up on but if you look closely you can really see a difference. I'm having to highlight the shit out of my skin to make it luminous in comparison. As you see there's a lot of texture to my skin here, bumps and just creases. I'm having to throw on a lot even for a really light-cutesy look. 

So in conclusion this stuff is totally worth the 35.00 I spent on it. I really gets the job done and really has been a game changer! I seriously am going to cry when I run out and re-purchase despite the hole it's going to leave on my wallet. It's holy water for my face!!!

Here's a full video review and demo below: