FEBRUARY FAVORITES: Audiobooks, Tea and Aritaum - Review of Color Lasting Tint #2 Baby Wink

It's been forever since I've done a monthly favorites round-up! I've got a great mix of Korean makeup (one being more of an actual review!), food and book recommendations for you.

Edit 2017.02.07 : This post contains affiliate links (additionally marked with an * asterisk in the blog post), meaning I will make a small commission from anything you buy. View my 'About' page for the full disclaimer and my review policy! All products are purchased by me.

February was spectacularly unspectacular when it comes to makeup. I had so much work piling up that kept me inside, so my daily routine to look more (or less...) presentable consisted mostly of just sunscreen, lip tint, (terribly drawn) eyebrows, maybe eyeliner or eye shadow if I was feeling fancy, and some concealer.

But what a concealer!

THE SAEM COVER PERFECTION TIP CONCEALER - Mini Review

The SAEM Cover Perfection Tip Concealer is quite famous in Korea for being cheap (retailing for only 5,000 Won which is about 4 USD) and very high quality for that price. I caved last year while visiting Seoul and bought a little tub of this magic potion in shade #1.
I love it.
It's creamy enough to work on dry under-eye skin to cover up dark circles, but it's also high coverage (bye, acne scars) and stays in place over the day, no fading or creasing.

FOTD :D 

Also, the shade is really light! Lighter than the lightest shade from most of the other road-shop brands I've tried/swatched. It's the only concealer I own that works on TOP of my foundation without being too dark or beige.

So if you're a #13 for most Korean foundations or cushions, this should be the right shade for you!

Beware: The packaging isn't the best. If you're not careful, some of the product might smear - I clean it sporadically with tissues.

Now on to the lip tint that saved me this month!

ARITAUM COLOR LASTING TINT #2 BABY WINK, REVIEW & SWATCHES

Whenever I'm really busy, I fall back to coral lip tints. They are easier to pull off (for me) than pinks or reds, I can apply them more smudgy because they are basically just a more saturated version of my normal lip color, and they go well with a bare face.

My current favorite is the Color Lasting Tint by Aritaum in Shade No.2, Baby Wink.

Aritaum Color Lasting Tint No.2 Baby Wink - Direct Sunlight

Isn't that name so cute?

I've previously reviewed two other shades from this line. One is a true red, the other one a bright fuchsia. So, both of those aren't really natural, everyday colors. But as I really liked the formulations of the Color Lasting Tint, I went back to get a more neutral shade. This one actually works better than the other two colors, which have a tendency to leave behind irregular, sloppy lip stains. The #2 Baby Wink fades evenly.

(If you want to read more about the packaging, please have a look at the two linked reviews! As this is just a favorites-of-the-month post, I don't want to make this too long)

Aritaum Color Lasting Tint No.2 Baby Wink - Indirect Daylight

As you can see on the swatch pictures, the texture has the same shiny finish as the other shades. Baby Wink is a lighter color, so the stain it leaves behind isn't that strong, but it still stays put for hours if I don't eat. The shine disappears upon drinking or eating, but the color itself remains behind.

One thing I really like about the Color Lasting Tints is the stain color: It's exactly the same as the product color itself. Some tints that are, for example, bright red upon application, leave behind a pinkish stain instead... If you're sensitive about colors and hues and harmony that can be quite annoying, so I love the color permanency of these!

Aritaum Color Lasting Tint No.2 Baby Wink - Artificial Light

Aritaum did well with these! Baby Wink would be in my January Favorites as well, if that blog post existed...

Arm swatching! Isn't the shade pretty? It's a peachy coral hue that makes me look instantly more alive while still looking really natural!

The swatch below the tint is for my third and last February makeup favorite: A cream eye shadow by Aritaum.

ARITAUM MONO EYES SHADOW #112 AIRY PLAY - SWATCHES

Part of the Mono Eyes range, the shade No.112 'Airy Play' is a creamy, shimmery light brown mixed with gold. In any case: It's just about the most natural shimmer eye shadow I've found so far!

Aritaum Mono Eyes No.112 Airy Play

It works really well on a sunscreen-only or bare face, or when used together with cushion foundation that's dewy in finish. The result looks a bit like I just applied my cushion foundation on my eyelids and that's it - but instead of the easily creasing and smudgy mess foundation can make on lids, this cream shadow stays in place for much longer and has some extra shimmer, too!

Tightline and eye shadow, indirect sunlight

I reach for this to brighten up my eyes (thanks, shimmer!), cover up some of the red arteries (thanks, biology!) on my lid and, at the same time, don't need to worry about dryness. Matte shadows can sometimes be a bit taxing on my lids, but this really just feels and stays creamy. It does budge a bit into the crease after some hours, so maybe I SHOULD be setting it with powder - but it's just so easy to re-blend it with a finger, so I don't bother.

Favorite drink this month: MATCHA POWDER TEA

Green Tea Latte! By some strange, beautiful twist of fate we currently own three bottles of green tea powder, and I've made it my mission to finish at least one over the course of the next weeks!

~70C water, add powder, stir until slightly foamy and deep, dark green, add some almond, soy or normal milk aaaand perfection!

Also, green tea powder is supposedly much more potent when it comes to health and skin benefits compared to brewed tea, so this is my counter-move when I hit the fourth or fifth cup of coffee each day.

AUDIOBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: JANE AUSTEN AND JEAN WEBSTER

So many! Whenever there's a lot of patient but kind of brain-dead drawing to be done, I finish about two or three audiobooks per week... 

That sometimes leaves me out of new books (or rather, Audible credits...) so in February, I was re-listening to some of my all-time favorites: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, as well as Emma... These two books just make me so giddy and romantic (and a bit dramatic), and whenever I re-read or re-listen to Jane Austen's work, there's new details that catch my eye/ear.

Pride and Prejudice on Audible (*)

Emma on Audible (*)

Also listened to Mansfield Park for the first time. I actually enjoyed how loooong and meandering it was, but didn't like the ending. At all. Or where the characters ended up both physically and mentally and all in all, no recommendation for this one. But still:

Sense and Sensibility has to be my least favorite Austen book, though. I just can't with the characters, and not even Alan Rickman (;__;) in the TV series can keep me from wanting to slap or shake people. Especially when re-listening to this. Rah.

The Pride and Prejudice 2005 movie is so, so gorgeously shot.
I want to draw it all.

After my Jane Austen Binge™, I needed something short and sweet, and a friend (on the same Austen Binge™) recommended 'Daddy Long-Legs' by Jean Webster to me.

Still historical fiction, still infused with romance and mundane but lovely details and sentiments, but at the same time very light-hearted. It fit the mood perfectly! The whole book takes only about 4 hours in audio form and is composed nearly entirely of letters, which are so perfectly read by the narrator (Anne Hancock) that I was just giggling most of the time. Can only recommend it (and the follow-up 'Dear Enemy', which was even more snarky and had wonderful Scottish accents thrown in) - these are really perfect as a listening experience!

Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster on Audible (*)

That's it for February! I hope you had a great month and will be back soon with a 'real' review! Thank you for reading! <3