Spotlight | Vice Cosmetics x BT21 Collection.

Local beauty brand Vice Cosmetics dropped a bomb a few days ago and the K-Pop community, most especially the ARMYs, went wild! I'm pertaining to the Vice Cosmetics x BT21 collaboration, which has been the talk of the town ever since Vice Cosmetics started posting teasers of the new collection in their social media pages.

Vice Cosmetics x BT21 collection at SM San Pablo.

The Vice Cosmetics x BT21 collection was launched at Vice Cosmetics stores and kiosks nationwide last October 5, but this buzz-worthy collaboration had an early launching at BeautyMNL on October 1. And just as the husband predicted (lol), I was among those BTS stans/K-Pop fans/beauty junkies who were up at midnight, frantically adding to cart and making a mad dash for the checkout page.

Ironically, my orders arrived the day after Vice Cosmetics x BT21 collection's nationwide launch. It took BeautyMNL almost 48 hours to verify my bank deposit, which should not have been the case had they accepted my credit card payment in the first place. Oddly enough, all four of my active credit cards (which are also in good credit standing, by the way) were rejected by their website. I've already raised this concern with the BeautyMNL customer service, and I'm still waiting for their response regarding the matter.

Moving on, here's my Vice Cosmetics x BT21 haul. The complete collection includes an eyeshadow palette (the first-ever from Vice Cosmetics), four blush and highlighter duos, four liquid lipsticks, and four lip tints. I skipped the eyeshadow palette because I hardly wear eyeshadow these days; instead, I purchased two blush and highlighter duos, two liquid lipsticks, and one lip tint.

My Vice Cosmetics x BT21 haul! :)

The BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo (Php 245) is a compact which contains a powder blush and a highlighter. I got the Universtar duo which features a peach blush and a peachy gold highlighter; and the Prankster duo which contains an orchid pink blush and a pink highlighter.

BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo - Universtar (left) and Prankster (right).

I love the smooth, buttery texture of both blushes, and how nicely pigmented they are. Prankster has a deeper shade which may seem intimidating from the pan, but it looks lovely when blended on the cheeks. The bright, orchid pink blush will work with most skin tones, while the lighter, peachy blush of Universtar will suit those with fair to light skin tones.

BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo in Universtar.

BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo in Prankster.

As for the highlighters, they're soft and finely-milled which leaves little to no room for fall-outs. Both shades give off a nice, luminous glow without looking too shimmery.

Swatched - BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo in Universtar.

Worn - BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo in Universtar.

Swatched - BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo in Prankster.

Worn - BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo in Prankster.

The BT21 Phenomenal Velvet Single (Php 225) is a 'modern liquid lip color' with a soft, matte finish. Like the Phenomenal Liquid Lipstick, the Velvet Single has a creamy, long-wearing formula, opaque texture, and flat matte finish. However, they don't have that subtle, chocolate scent that the Phenomenal Liquid Lipstick has. Still, I love the velvety, non-drying formula, and the intense color payoff of this product.

BT21 Phenomenal Velvet Single in Shooky.

Shooky - a natural, nude color that's perfect for everyday wear.

BT21 Phenomenal Velvet Single in Mang.

Mang - a perfect plum shade which gives major autumn vibes.

Finally, we have the BT21 Water Gel Lip & Cheek Tint (Php 175) an easy-to-blend, water-based tint for the lips and cheeks. Its formula is the same as the regular Vice Cosmetics Lip & Cheek Tint - not too runny, not too watery, nicely pigmented with buildable color. It also has the same fruity scent and long-wearing formula which I love.

BT21 Water Gel Lip & Cheek Tint in Chimmy.

Chimmy - a gorgeous old rose shade (more like berry to me)
that can be worn gradient or full lip.

Here are the swatches of all the lip products in the Vice Cosmetics x BT21 Collection. It's the reason why I visited the Vice Cosmetics kiosk here at SM San Pablo a few days after the nationwide launch. The lip tints and most of the liquid lipsticks (save for Koya and Mang) were already sold out by then. I hope they will restock soon for the benefit of those who were not able to buy online and had planned to buy them in-store.

Swatches (L-R top): Koya (Blushing Pink), Shooky (Natural Nude),
 RJ (Brick Red), Mang (Perfect Plum);
(L-R bottom): Chimmy (Old Rose), Kooky (Deep Red),
Van (Terracota), Tata (Red Orange).

If you're a fan of BTS, BT21, or simply a fan of affordable, good quality makeup, the Vice Cosmetics x BT21 collab is a great buy. Sure, they're a tad pricier than Vice Cosmetic's regular line, but I'm sure BTS/BT21 stans wouldn't mind shelling out a few extra bucks for this limited edition collection. On that note, Vice Ganda surely knows which market to tap and which demographic has purchasing power, lol.

Wearing BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo in Universtar on my cheeks +
BT21 Phenomenal Velvet Single in Shooky on my lips.

Wearing BT21 Aura Blush and Glow Duo in Prankster on my cheeks +
BT21 Phenomenal Velvet Single in Mang on my lips.

The Vice Cosmetics x BT21 Collection is available at Vice Cosmetics stores and kiosks nationwide, at the Vice Cosmetics official website, or at the Vice Cosmetics flagship stores in Lazada, Shopee, and BeautyMNL. They're selling like hotcakes so act fast! These limited edition babies might be gone before you can even sing 'oh my my my... for a boy with love!' :)

Seoul Searching | BT21 at Line Friends Store.

While walking along the streets of Hongdae, Yue and I came across a group of girls holding cute character balloons in their hands. Recognizing the characters right away, Yue gasped, "Mommy, it's BT21!!!" BT21 is a line of animated characters created by Kpop group BTS, in collaboration with Line Friends.

Just then, another group of girls - mostly foreigners this time - showed up, also with BT21 balloons in tow. "Where did they get those balloons?" I wondered, almost on the verge of asking one of the girls that we ran into. Before I could even unravel the mystery, Yue already figured it out, pointing at the huge Line Friends Store across the street.

Line Friends Store in Hongdae.

Almost every individual that walked out of the store had a BT21 balloon, and Yue wanted one for himself. Well, I wanted one, too - never mind if I'm already an ahjumma who's already in her late 30's. Lol.

BT21, the brain child of BTS in collaboration with Line Friends.

As we entered the store, I asked one of the staff how can I avail of the balloon. "Just buy anything, and we'll give you a balloon," he said. "Anything? Even a small item like that?" I asked, pointing to a Brown hair tie worth 5000 won. "Yes, anything!" he said with a smile. And with that, we made our way to the second floor to check out the BT21 goods.

Cute and cuddly pillows.

The BT21 characters were officially introduced in September last year, but it wasn't until December when Line Friends started selling BT21 merchandise. They were such a huge hit among BTS fans, that not even freezing winter temperatures could stop them from lining up in front of the Line Friends store to get their hands on BT21 items.

Yue with the BT21 gang!

He's standing beside his favorite character, Chimmy.

Thankfully, there was no pandemonium of that sort when we visited, nor did we have to fall in line to enter the store. Sure, the place was still crowded with shoppers (and I reckon most of them are BTS fans) but Yue and I were able to look around and take photos without a hitch.

Yue wanted them all, but baggage allowance does not permit, lol.

Kooky, Chimmy, and Mang.

RJ the alpaca.

Plushies!

Prices for the BT21 merchandise range from 2500 won to 55000 won. Plastic folders printed with BT21 characters were the cheapest, while black hooded sweatshirts with patches of Tata, Cooky, and Shooky were the most expensive. As far as I'm concerned, these items are still within the affordable price range, and if you're a hardcore BTS fan, the price really wouldn't matter anyway. Haha.

Passport cases, 12000 won each.

Tata is my favorite, because this represents V. :)

Yue and I finally settled on getting a gel pen, because that's the only thing we had a need for at that moment. Surprisingly, the staff gave us two balloons even if the Cooky pen that I bought (Tata was out of stock) only costs 3000 won!

En route to Digital Media City. Yes, we went all the way to DMC with those balloons, lol.

A few weeks later, we visited the Line Friends Store and Cafe in Itaewon. We were in the neighborhood to pick up the husband's sneakers at the Under Armour store and I asked the boys if we could swing by Line Friends because I wanted to see the cafe, which the Hongdae store did not have.

Line Friends Store and Cafe in Itaewon.

The cafe is located in the third floor, and their menu now includes BT21 drinks and desserts such as Chimmy's Pineapple Smoothie and Tata's Berry Sundae. We didn't get to try them though, as the place was packed (we went on a Sunday) and we wanted to eat at Dairy Queen anyway.

BT21 drinks and desserts.

The stairs leading to the third floor.

If you're a BTS fan, you'll find the Itaewon flagship store a lot more interesting since they have BTS memorabilia on display. For instance, these sketches of Koya by his creator, RM.

Koya by RM (also known as Kim Nam Joon).

And the statue of Space Robot Van, signed by all BTS members.

Signed statue of Space Robot Van.

In addition, the Itaewon store has more photo zones and carries more BT21 merchandise than its Hongdae counterpart. Now if you're an ARMY, I'm sure you won't leave either store empty-handed. We left Itaewon with another BT21 gel pen, lol.

Still no luck with Tata, huhu.

To get to the Hongdae Line Friends Store, take Hongik University Station (Line 2), exit 2.
To get to the Itaewon Line Friends Store and Cafe, take Itaewon Station (Line 6), exit 3.