Review: Daiso Blushes - Ellefar Multi Cheek in Beige and Orange

A while back, I was wondering whether there is any cheap (inexpensive) makeup selling in Singapore. I did a little bit of research and of course Daiso was one of the brands mentioned.

For $2, you can get these Daiso blushes Ellefar Multi Cheeks. They are packaged really nicely and in fact, look similar to Canmake Cheek Gradation blushes.

I picked up Ellefar Multi Cheeks in Orange and Beige. I was really drawn to Beige in the box as it's a super pretty peachy pink shade.

From left to right: Ellefar Multi Cheeks in Orange and Beige

Orange is a burnt orange shade which is a little too dark for me but I think it will look nice on slightly medium tanned skin. Beige is this peachy pink shade, which should be flattering on most skintones. When swatched, there's a little bit of shimmer but it's not noticeable on the face. I do not find the blush shades to be extra unique after trying them out but still, these are very decent blushes for the price you are paying. As you can see from the swatches, these blushes are super pigmented. You might want to apply with a light hand when using these.

These blushes come with blush applicators. I usually like to keep the applicators inside the casing (and use them if the bristles are soft) but I would recommend throwing these out because they have a strong chemical smell. Just use your own blush brush.

For $2, I would say these Daiso blushes are definitely worth a try. They are budget friendly for those unwilling to spend too much money on makeup and those who don't really apply makeup often.

There is a total of 4 shades. There's one in Pink, which is just a very sweet pink shade and another in Brown, a dark brown shade which is more suitable for contouring.

Skincare Tips: Removing Blackheads/Whiteheads

Here's my skincare tip on how I remove my blackheads/whiteheads. This is also done to deep cleanse the skin.

I use these 2 products: St Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask and Daiso's Charcoal Mask.

From left: Daiso's Charcoal Mask, St Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask

St. Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask is a kaolin clay mask with deep cleansing properties. It also helps to firm and tighten the skin while cleaning. I've looked it up and found it in another packaging. I'm assuming that's the new packaging so here's the pictures of it.





Daiso Charcoal Mask is just a peel-off charcoal mask. Charcoal is also good at absorbing oil and dirt from the skin. Here's a clearer picture. It comes with a Chinese character "charcoal" and a distinct sticker with a girl spotting a black mask. The sticker is crucial for identifying whether it's a mask or a cleanser since it's not that easy to distinguish between the two (unless you know how to read Japanese).




1. Make sure your face is properly cleansed. Always use a cleanser to wash your face before masking because you don't want any more dirt to fall into your pores instead. Pat your face dry.

2. Squeeze a small amount of St. Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask onto your dry hands. Your hands must be dry because you don't really want to dilute the clay mask. Spread it over your face in a thin layer but yet thick enough that it's opaque minty green on the face. Squeeze more and add if it's not enough. Wait for 5-10 minutes for it to dry when you're done. This mask dries rather fast and you can feel the mask firming up on the face.

3. When the clay mask has dried up, wash it off with warm water. Warm water helps in removing the clay faster. Tap water is fine for me but you just have to be more thorough in washing everything off. After washing, pat your skin dry. You can see some of the whiteheads/blackheads surfacing to the top since the kaolin clay brings the impurities to the surface of your skin.

4. Next, squeeze a generous amount of Daiso Charcoal Mask. You have to be more generous with this because if there's not enough, the mask couldn't be peeled off in one piece. Spread it over the area you want then try to thin it out while making sure it's still opaque black. You don't want this to be over thick too because this mask takes ages to dry. Wait for 30 minutes to an hour for it to be dried completely. To speed up the drying process, I would recommend you to sit in front of a fan. It speeds up the drying process a lot.

5. When the charcoal mask has dried up, start peeling off the sides of the mask. I would usually start from the bottom and go upwards. Slowly peel everything off. You will see all sorts of whiteheads/blackheads or even tiny facial hair stuck on the underside of the peeled mask.

6. After peeling the charcoal mask, use a gentle cleanser again to wash your face. You can skip this step if you feel the 2 masks have over dried your face. I usually do this because bits and pieces of the Daiso Charcoal still get stuck on my face. It is quite hard to get it all off with just water.

7. After masking and all that extraction, your pores are now open. Pat your face with a toner. Perhaps a toner with witch hazel or orange oil as they help to minimise your pores. If you don't want to invest in a toner, just splash icy cold water will do.

8. Follow up with your normal skincare routine by using moisturiser, essence etc.


I've been using this method ever since I learnt this from other forumers. I really find that the 2 masks work well together. You don't have to buy the exact brand. For clay mask, you can try Queene Helene Mint Julep Masque or you can just try purchasing kaolin clay in powder form to DIY your own mask. For the charcoal peel off mask, you can substitute with any charcoal or mud mask.

You don't have to apply it on the entire face. You can just use it on problematic spots prone to blackheads/whiteheads. At times, when I'm lazy, I'll just apply it to my acne prone area. The clay mask alone helps in bringing the pus (in pimples) to the surface and also dries up the pimple. I use it as a form of acne treatment since it's deep cleansing that area. Of course if there's any open wound, it's best to avoid masking.

You can do this mask once every week.

Storing sample jars and Daiso eyelash curler

I'm feeling a little cranky right now. I think I had a bad week although it's only halfway through. And even when I come online, sprees are not going smooth, :(

Got the impulse to do a huge NYX haul.


Anyway, so here I am. To do some ranting......

I went to Daiso earlier and was pretty excited. Picked up a couple of stuff.

I finally found a way of storing my sample jars (they gave me a big headache). Probably got inspired after reading this blog entry. It looks like this.


But I found the price of the case ridiculously high.

So i picked up this at Daiso. This is for making ice sticks and it's 2 pieces stuck together.



And you know what? They fit the sample jars perfectly. I can get 28 jars in it, and they don't roll about as much. And it's only $2.



So there you go. A cheap storage solution for sample jars. Since there's 2 pieces of it, you can store 56 sample jars. But I don't really like the bottom layer as the pattern's concaved in another direction. But it still works as well. And the jars wouldn't fall out since the sides are higher up. You can stack these up but it would be troublesome to look through.I think the best would be to put these in those small tiered drawers.

But of course, you have to make sure your sample jars don't leak when placing them sideways. Some of mine do so I got a little worried when placing them like that.

Overall, I'm really pleased with it. It's really neat now.


I also picked up Daiso's eyelash curlers. Read it off Cozycot forums that a nameless brand eyelash curler works pretty well. There was no picture of it but only a description. Anyway I ended up picking up only eyelash curler with a spring. It's the silver one on the right.




And when I got home to try it, I agree it works pretty well. At least it works tonnes better than the Manicure curler I bought from Guardians (the gold one on the left). You can curl many times with the Manicure curler and it wouldn't work. I studied the both of them. Amazingly, they look almost the same (except the Manicure curler was more sturdy). I've always thought it was the curvature of the Manicure curler that didn't work for me. It wasn't it. The curvature and the length of both curlers were exactly the same. Rather it was only the leverage thing that was different. I know they look the same but the Manicure's lever was actually more steep and protuding out a little more and no matter how I use it, I can't fit the curler close to all my lashes and get my lashes at the ends curled. Suddenly it makes a lot of sense why it didn't work for me. The Daiso curler's lever was a little shorter so when you press it close to your eyes, the curler fits the lashes perfectly. But that applies to me. If you have higher cheekbones, maybe curlers with steeper leverage might work better for me. Just maybe.

Never knew there's so much knowledge to getting an eyelash curler. o.O
I haven't figured out the difference between spring curlers and non-spring ones yet though.



I also picked up their undereye concealer (in the middle) because it looks so yellow. The shade is "Light Beige". And my verdict is, don't get it. Haha.

It comes out in a shade looking like very very light beige. Almost like the colour pencil colour which we use for colouring humans we drew when we were kids. I tried it on the undereyes and yes, they conceal super well because you get two white streaks under your eyes. It was fun though. Haha. It is super illuminating and I still managed to find some use as a highlighter. But I don't recommend it as undereye concealer, unless perhaps you are super fair.

The pencil on the extreme left is a Rhomlom multi-use pencil which I just bought elsewhere. I think I'll blog about it another day.

Drugstore Mask Reviews - Part 1

Nivea masks (in satchets)
I tried most of them. The peel-off masks are useless. When you peel it, nothing really comes off.The wash-off masks are ok. I think there was a Vitamin C one that i liked.

Don't think will try again.

Watsons fruity masks (sheet mask)
Very watery. Soaking wet in the packet and flows down on the face. -.-'. I only tried the rosewater one recently. Hydrating. Very generous amount of essence. A little sticky after usage. Very nice smell. I'm not sure whether perfume in masks are good for skin or not though. My skin was a little irritated due to my intensive scrubs lately. I wanted something to calm and nourish my skin. I was surprised after peeling it off. Skin was very calm and well-nourished. But do not expect it to be lasting till next day.

Would buy again if cheap.

Neutrogena Fine Fairness hydrating mask (sheet mask)
I forgot the exact name. But Neutrogena masks are not famous for nothing. Very hydrating. I think it was a little stinging for me but hydrating effects definitely great. But I only use these for special occasions.

Willing to splurge on to get effects.

Garnier/Pure and Lightening mask (satchet not sheet mask)
Garnier Pure is good. I forgot it's peel mask or washoff. It's for cleaning impurities in skin. Garnier Lightening works well in brightening complexion. Is a washoff mask.

Would get Garnier Pure again.

Ginvera Green Tea mask(sheet mask)
Face + eye mask. Did nothing for my eyes but face is definitely hydrated. For the newer range, whitening is included. Generous with essence and essence is sticky. Might be stinging for some but bearable for me. Effects were obvious after usage. May be a little sticky on the face. Not much comments as i dun remember. But into my third box.

Would stock again if cheap (anyway they have frequent sales)

Cortry hydrating face + neck mask(sheet mask)
Cortry mask has a very strong herbal smell. It is always advised to be sampled before buying the whole box. Smell is bearable for me. If you are not keen on masks with strong smell and brown essence, this mask is not for you. Generally, i like their masks because it is said to aid in blood circulation on the face. My go-to mask when I look dead tired. It makes you feel refreshed in a different manner.The neck mask is very useless (not in terms of effect, but in terms of design). If anyone finds a way to make it stick on the neck properly without falling off, do tell me how.

Would stock up again if cheap.

Cortry eye mask(sheet mask)
Very sleep inducing. It aids in blood circulation in the undereye a little bit. Can see some effects after usage. But effects do not stay. The box advises to use the eye masks frequently in order to work. But as the eye masks are not cheap *coughs*, I cannot afford to do so. And it is getting more and more expensive. Anyone who spots it being sold cheap is welcome to PM me.

Would get it again.

Daiso Charcoal face mask (tube)
Cheap and good. Try not to use this on the face for too long as it tightens considerably. I've left it so long that i can feel my mouth cannot open. -.-' Very good for removing whiteheads and some facial hair. Blackheads didn't budge though. But using a deep cleansing mask before this to suck up impurities might work.

Would get it again.

Watsons Lavender mask (sheet mask)
Very sleep-inducing. However, i found the smell a bit unbearable after a while. Don't really like lavender smell as mask or bath gel.

Won't get it again.

Watsons Aloe Vera mask (sheet mask)
My skin had red patches so i tried this mask. It was hydrating. I didn't notice its whitening properties on my face, but after masking, when i put the mask (still wet) on my leg, it really distinctly left a white patch. I guess it really whitens. My red patches on face did not disappear immediately but the next day after masking, it disappeared. I guess it's quite good.

Would buy again if cheap.

St Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask (tube)
It's a clay mask with deep cleansing properties. I think it's a minty flavour (very pretty mask. haha). Very easy to use. Just spread a thin layer and leave it on for 10 mins. After that wash off with warm water. It really sucks impurities embedded in your skin to the surface. I had headless pimple and when i washed off the mask, a little bit of pus was spotted floating on top.After washing off, I used Daiso Charcoal Mask (tube, peel-off mask). After peeling, a lot of whiteheads came off. So St Ives is really highly recommended as it makes it easier for those whiteheads to come out.

After using such masks, pls remember to use toner/pore-refining serum to close your pores or they will be left very big.

Would highly recommend for deep cleansing usage, especially before peel mask, to make it easier for impurities to come out.

However, do note that I've read some ppl breakout from/after this mask. Later, I also used St Ives as pimple spot treatment. Had a pimple that's like half pimple, half blackhead. Refuses to budge upon squeezing. I just dabbed some on it and the mask dries up. After washing off, I could peel off the pimple. It left a red pimple mark though, but it's a lot flatter than the previous state.

Do this at your own risk. Would definitely buy again.

Watsons Green Tea Mask (sheet mask)
Like all other Watsons masks, it's soaking wet when opened. Very light fragrance. Upon application, it was very cold though it was not stored in fridge ( might be due to weather. -.-') It stings me for a while but is bearable. The mask contains witch hazel extract and chamomile extracts so that explains the stinging for me. Upon removal, my skin was a little reddish, like more tanned than usual. Never experienced before. After massaging in the essence, my face returned to the original colour. -.-'

It's quite a hydrating mask. Anyway I feel so awake after it. Would recommend to use it in the morning than at night, especially those who can't sleep after drinking tea at night. Can't review on pimples cos my pimples still around. Will get back to that if i notice any change to them tmr. Used it as a neck mask too and found that it works well. Brightens and reduces my lines. lol

Would get it again if cheap (and use it as neck mask). heh