Wednesday 19 February 2014

February Wishlist

1) Beautezine swatches of Maybelline Colour Elixirs! My favourite is 'caramel infused' omg. It's $10 CAD, I WANT IT.


Photo credit: Beautezine








2) Real Techniques Retractable Kabuki Brush - I love the packaging, and the idea of being able to carry a kabuki around! But.... I'm still thinking about it.... Might not end up buying it though....

Photo credit: Real Techniques 


3) Mary-Lou Manizer by The Balm was on my wishlist as well, but my friend killed the idea by saying she couldn't notice the difference it made, and that it's not worth the $36 it costs. I don't have a highlighter and really wanted to try it :(

Temptalia swatches



Sunday 16 February 2014

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12- hour blush in Tipsy



















I knew from online reviews that NARS and Tarte were the to-go brands for pigmented and long-wearing blushes, and that The Balm Frat Boy was a good option as well. But the Amazonian Clay thing is such a good marketing gimmick; I fell for it. In any case, I was impressed by the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Powder Foundation that I had bought earlier.

I was attracted to a couple of colours based on online swatches: Achiote, Tipsy, Exposed and Glisten. ACHIOTE WAS OUT OF STOCK. It's such a pretty reddish-pink/rose!!! So I opted for Tipsy instead hehehe a gorgeous coral.




It applies sooooo smoothly, and surprisingly creamy for a powder blush! It doesn't look powdery AT ALL. Best of all, it has a satin-like finish. I was so impressed by the sheen!

The blush is also really true-to-colour. I haven't worn it out yet since I only just bought it, so I can't test if the colours will stay on so pigmented for 12-hours as claimed. But so far so good!!

I made a promise to my friend not to buy Achiote until I finish this up.....

><

"I will wait, I will wait for you~"


Friday 14 February 2014

Eye look sketch


LOL drew this on my Samsung Note 3 Sketchbook app. This is what I do when I'm desperately trying not to do work. I was actually playing around with the Naked 3 palette, MAC painterly paint pot, and my new brushes. Just thought it looked nice so I drew it down as a form of record for myself.

Comparison between blending brushes

The Bdellium Tools 776 (Maestro Series) brush is almost a complete dupe for the MAC 217!!! 

Both are handmade with goat hair, the bristles are of the same height and width, and both are equally soft! They blend eyeshadows equally well too. 

This is super impressive considering that I got the Bdellium Tools brush for $9 bucks on iHerb while the usual price for MAC 217 is $33?? I did get it for only $15 at the Valentines' Sale, but still. Phew.

The only difference is that the MAC one is slightly denser than the Bdellium 776. Didn't make a difference in application to me though. 



Left: Bdellium Tools 776
Right: MAC 217

Since I finally got the MAC 217 by itself proper, I compared it with my existing RiRi hearts MAC 217. The RiRi hearts MAC one is handmade too, but as can be seen, the shape is slightly different from the usual MAC 217. It's less rounded, and twice as dense.

When I bought the RiRi hearts MAC one, I chose it partly cus it's 2-in-1 AND cheaper than if I bought the two brushes (239 and 217) separately. BUT, it was also cus i found the usual one a little...flimsy? So at that point in time i preferred the RiRi hearts MAC one. I would say the usual one is more...precise? Since it's thinner afterall. But then again the Bdellium Tools one is even thinner heh. The RiRi hearts MAC 217 blends more effortlessly though.



Left: RiRi hearts MAC 217
Right: MAC 217

(The brushes are a little dirty cus I just washed it yesterday night and used them this morning. But otherwise, they are all white)

iHerb mini brush haul

I became interested in Bdellium Tools brushes after reading raving reviews online. Apparently its anti-bacterial, and the eye brushes are so good that many online reviewers compared it to MAC brushes! I haven't tried them on my eyes yet, but they do feel really soft and not scratchy at all! 



I also bought the Real Techniques Powder Brush since I don't have a powder brush yet, and have been using the puffs that usually come with the loose powders I buy. It's a large brush with soft and dense yet fluffy bristles. Can't wait to try this and see the difference it makes! ^^



I used iHerb.com to buy these brushes, and they gave me a coupon code to share: JCL567. Using this coupon would take $5-$10 off your order. The site totally rocks: flat rate shipping fee of $4 to ship to Singapore!!! Shipping was fast too; I got it within a week of ordering it online.

Thursday 13 February 2014

Swatch of MAC Mineralise Luxe Naturale Rich Lipstick

 The MAC Mineralise Luxe Naturale Rich Lipstick is pinkish nude, and the pink becomes more obvious with build up.

Top: heavy swatch 
Bottom: one swipe across

It's so pigmented! What a good buy. I tried it as a replacement for concealer in doing gradient lips, and it's absolutely perfect for that purpose. Otherwise, it'll be great on its own with heavier eye makeup so that the whole look doesn't look too garish!

Since it's so light, I had to exfoliate my lips first though. I find that it's not exactly 'moisturising' as claimed. My L'oreal Colour Riche lipsticks and Revlon lip butters, lipbalm stains do better in that I can wear them without the hassle of exfoliating first.


Valentine's Day sale in NUS

LOOK WHAT I SCORED:

MAC 217 Brush ($15, original price in Singapore: $33!)
MAC Painterly Paint Pot ($10, original price in Singapore: $30+)


MAC Mineralize Luxe Naturale Rich Lipstick ($12, original price in Sg: $30+)

took this picture on the train LOLOL was too damn excited and spazzed to my friends about the sale.


The best part is: I dug through the stacks of products and found these 2 that were made in 2013! Most of them were made in late 2012, so YAYE for me!!! Swatches and reviews up next ^^

Btw I just remembered that my new MAC 217 is slightly different from my existing dual-ended RiRi hearts MAC one. The RiRi hearts MAC one is fluffier! Will post pictures soon once I clean my brushes hehe.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Birthday Selfie and Review of Babyliss Pro Curl


It was my birthday on the 10th, and I put extra effort into dolling up. I had bought a fake/authentic?? Babyliss Pro curl from Qoo10.sg, and have used it a few times before but this time I had the best results. I really liked how my curls turned out so I went on a selfie spree :P The tool is really easy to use, and I got my whole head of hair done in 10 minutes. The setting to 'alternate' curls is useful for creating a more natural look.

Birthday purchases!

The Face Shop - Chia Seed Moisture-Holding Seed Essence

This 'essence' is actually a serum, and it's so freaking cool!!!! It contains little beads of chia seed concentrate, so that when you rub it into the skin, the beads burst and releases extra goodness ^^

It's only my second day using it, so I'll have to wait and see if it does anything special. But right now, I love the texture - not tooooo sticky, and I can feel it really being absorbed in.

I use this after my Olive Real Skin at night, and after my Hada Labo SHA Hydrating Lotion in the day.


 Innisfree - The Green Tea Seed Cream

I LOVE THE SCENT. I already have the Olive Real Skin (toner) thanks to a friend, and had used it to save my skin during winter in Vancouver. It did wonders, but apparently Innisfree Olive range is more for winter while their Green Tea Seed line is more for summer! Since Singapore is perpetually hot and humid, save for November-January period, I was interested in getting something from the Green Tea Seed line to try for myself.

It's not too rich, and I feel like my skin can still breathe after I layer this on top of my 'essence'. So far, so good! It does work; I woke up to supple skin this morning ^^















Tarte - Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation in Fair Honey (for fair skin with peach undertones)



I got super interested in this after watching Essiebutton review it on Youtube. Btw I love this super hyper girl. She does really entertaining reviews.

I have no idea what peach undertones mean, I only know that the shade blended seamlessly onto my skin lol. It was a perfect match, so I bought it immediately.





LOOK AT THE MESH, SO COOL. I didn't buy the accompanying bamboo kabuki since I already have a real techniques buffing brush which is really dense.

I tested it right after I got home cus I couldn't wait. AND OMG, BEST FOUNDATION I'VE EVER TRIED. This really does gives me an airbrushed effect; it is almost undetectable. It evened out my skin tone and my skin looked flawless. It's medium coverage, not full though, so since I have some rather dark acne I'll still have to use concealer on those spots. BUT I can really just head out of the house with just this product. SUPER AMAZED.

Monday 3 February 2014

NYX Roll-on Shimmer


I LOVE THIS SO MUCH IT HAS ITS OWN POST. This is NYX roll on shimmer in RES15 Nude.

Omg I thought I lost it cus I couldn't find it anywhere, but YAYE I found it in the Aldo bag I bought in Vancouver! I was so sad cus this shit is the bomb. I love making my eyes shimmery, and this baby is gorgeous on my lids.


(Top: blended out, bottom: rolled)

I love pairing it with peachy eyeshadow underneath, and omg I am totally going to buy more shades. I remember swatching salmon, walnut...and some greens and purples. hehehhehe

CNY Selfies

Selfies taken on CNY Day 1 (top) and 2 (bottom)! I really think that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 camera is sooooo much better than iPhone 5's. 

Swatches for UD Naked 3






Tadaaaaa!!! Swatches of the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette!! left (no primer), right (NYX HD eyeshadow base underneath).


The NYX HD eyeshadow base is truly amazing and I can’t stop raving about it.


Anyway, the colours look so much more vibrant with primer! Even dust became less dusty lol cant get enough of this joke. But yep ‘dust’ sure as hell looked more decent on the right!


My favourite colours are: burnout, buzz, trick, liar, and factory. I can see myself wearing these the most frequently, and they are so so pretty! Trickespecially is such a unique colour.


The mattes: strange, limit and nooner are really smooth and finely milled, so I enjoy using them as well. But I have a similar colour to limit in my NYX palette, and strange as well. Nooner is great for deepening my outer crease to naturally and seamlessly lead to a darker brown on my outer v.


Am gonna upload any looks I do using this palette!!

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

I FINALLY GOT MY HANDS ON THE URBAN DECAY NAKED 3 PALETTE!
What a long story behind this; I first got the naked 3 as a christmas present from my boyfriend E, then decided I wanted the naked 1 instead and so went to get the naked 1, but realised that the naked 1 was quite meh and similar to colours I already have, and THEN wanted a naked 3 again and actually got it in surrey! But smartie ass right here decided not to buy it in Canada after all since it was ONE DOLLAR more expensive than if I wait till I get home and buy it in Singapore, so I returned it to Sephora. I really annoyed E cus I kept bugging him to drive me to Sephora to swatch the naked palettes. lol. endlessly. almost daily. I couldn’t decide!!
End of grandmother story, and on to the product.
I really love the effect these eyeshadows create together on me! So girly and feminine. Besides, I love pink hehe. I thought that all the colours here were pigmented and really pretty, BUT ‘dust’, the second colour from the left, really really sucks. In fact, it was the reason why I decided to exchange the naked 3 for naked 1 in the first place. I had tested out nyx eyeshadows in similar colours, and alllllll performed better than this ‘dusty’ eyeshadow. Real big disappointment. But otherwise, all the rest were good! So I just decided to heck it and get it. woohoo!! Can’t wait to do swatches and some looks to post next!
BONUS PRODUCTS:
The dual-ended brush that came in the set is passable, and does manage to pick up product quite well. However, they tend to lead to more fallout, for god knows what reason. Both ends are smooth and gentle on the skin, which is always a good thing. I do still prefer my RiRi hearts MAC dual-end 239/217 brush though.
As for the eyeshadow primer potion samples…. these are just LAME. I really prefer a lipgloss or a proper mini primer potion like those that came with naked 1 and naked 2 instead. You can’t even reseal each patch of sample, so giving us a week’s worth in each pocket is…. pointless and dumb.

Etude House Qoo10 mini-haul

Etude House Colour my Brows (browscara) in #04 Natural Brown & Etude House Tint my Brows in #02 Natural Brown
I really love how the combination of the two products look on me. Tint my Brows makes defining my eyebrows soooo much easier, and Colour my Brows is just the perfect product to lighten the colour of my natural eyebrow hairs. It comes off a lil too wet at first, so I make sure to wipe off the excess in the tube before applying it to my brows.

L'oreal Colour Riche lipsticks

Left: L’oreal Colour Riche CR402 Fairy Touch
Right: L’oreal Colour Riche M401 My First Pink
I’m in loveeeeee these two babies glide on smoothly and and soooo true to colour. They give a solid coverage while not looking too dramatic. These will be perfect for school, especially the peach fairy touch. My first pink would be a gorgeous colour for the upcoming Chinese New Year!


I happened to lack these shades in my lipstick collection, so when L’oreal went on sale for 2nd at 50% off, I bought them. The sale essentially meant $30 sgd for two! Wheeeeeee I love bargain buys

The Body Shop Eye Palette 01 Smoky Brown

The Body Shop Eye Palette 01 Smoky Brown
4 x 1.8g (0.06oz)
This is a sweet deal that I got for $10 CAD before tax as part of The Body Shop’s boxing week sale! Original price would be around $30 CAD? Boxing week sale is lame; the sign is basically up the entire month of december. I left vancouver in the first week of Jan and the boxing week sale signs were still up
-.-
The colours in the palette are really pretty. I use them together to achieve a nice gold sheen on my lids since three of them have gold micro glitter. I like all the colours, and this is another palette that stands well on its own. You can definitely travel with just this palette alone.
The second and third colour especially appeals to me. I usually use the light yellow shadow on the inner corner of my eyes and aegyosal, the orangey gold shadow on the inner lid and the shimmery brown on the outer lids. I would then use the matte brown on the bottom 1/3 of my eyes.
With primer underneath, the colours really pop up and appear more vibrant.
The two mini brushes that came with the palette makes it an even sweeter deal. TWO! QUALITY! BRUSHES! wahahahaa I love the brushes and the slanted one can be used to fill in my brows as well. yayeeee!

NYX Trio Eyeshadow in TS28A Very Delight










Top row is with primer and bottom row without. the pigmentation of the eyeshadows on a primer is amaaazing and without primer, the eyeshadows have a sheer glow that I like as well.

The photos really don’t do the palette justice. The first colour is a peachy-pink colour, the second a bronze, and the third a light pinkish-cream.This palette is totally going into my travel bag!

Primer used is the NYX HD eyeshadow base. I love this, and actually like this better than the urban decay primer potion. The UDPP frankly did nothing for me; not outstanding in terms of enhancing colour payoff nor staying power. In contrast, the NYX HD eyeshadow base does everything you would expect a primer to do, and more. For more than half the price, I got something way better than the UDPP.

"No Makeup" Makeup


Brows: Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in #002 Hazel
Eyes: Annabelle Brown Pencil Eyeliner smudged on outer 1/3, Laneige Eye Colour Pencil Dual Brighter Transparent Pink on the inner 1/3 of my eye and a little bit of mascara on the end lashes.
Face: MAC Studo Finish Concealer in NC20 on my pimple and pimple scars, followed by Laneige BB cushion in #13 True Beige down the centre of my face (forehead, nose, and chin). Finished off with the lighter shade of pink blush in my NYX Waiting for Tonight Palette.
Lips: Revlon Colourburst Lacquer Balm in #205 Demure

A few of my favourite things

These are a few of my favourite things at the moment: (from left to right)
Revlon Colourburst Lacquer Balm in #105 Demure I like this for giving me a natural and sweet pink tint on my lips. The silver microglitter is a little overboard though.
Clio Gelpresso Pencil Eyeliner in #15 Bloody Devil LOVE THIS. I never expected this colour to work for me.
Annabelle Brown Eyeliner Got it for cheap in Vancouver Target! Wahaha this was $4sgd? Really good quality though. Smudges a little, but really pigmented and smooth to apply.
RiRi heart MAC dual-ended brush (239 and 217) ahem. $42 CAD w/o tax. I have not had the guts to convert this price back to sgd yet. That said, the two brushes are as per MAC tradition, hand made. I double checked with their product manager who confirmed that unlike usual Special Edition brushes in sets, RiRi brushes are handmade like those sold separately. PHEW!? Ahem. At least this was a bargain hehehe considering that they’re around $30 each. Anyway, both the 239 and 217 brushes are highly raved about, and rightfully so. I especially love 217?? It makes eyeshadow on my lids look seamlessly blended, erasing all harsh lines. 239 is useful for packing on colours on my lids solidly, and I feel that these two brushes are the only two essential brushes needed for a good look.
Maybelline Big Eye Falsies My summer love. Fell in love with this when I was in Vancouver in May, and have been trying it on my friends to rave about it. And my friends all love it! A friend even said: “Wah I’ve never seen my eyes look this big!” LOL. This mascara lengthens and volumises lashes extremely well without clumping. 
Loreal Voluminous Power 24H I forgot to bring the Maybelline mascara along with me this winter when I visited Vancouver again, so I randomly bought this one since it was on sale. Works well, keeps my lashes up, looks natural and not as dramatic as my Maybelline one. Very easy to apply and catch each lash, even the bottom ones as well, even though the wand is quite fat.

NYX Waiting For Tonight Palette






I’ve used everything except for the greens and blues in the palette, and I’ve been really pleased with the pigmentation of these eyeshadows!


The most frequently used colour is the matte brown on the top right corner. I like it all over my lids, or as a outer v crease colour. I really enjoy using the matte cream on 3rd from bottom left as a highlight colour as well.


For the burgundy eyes look I did, I used the brown on 4th from bottom right with the purple on the 2nd row from the right. I really liked the effect! Can’t wait to experiment more with this palette.


The brow palettes and blush colours are really good too. I’ve used the bronzer occasionally when I wanted some warmth to my face, and it does its job quite well.


All in all, for $55 sgd, this is a really good buy!

Favourite look in Vancouver

One of my favourite looks when I was in vancouver for winter: for the top half, i would do a gradiant of light pink shimmer, matte pink and matte taupe topped off w loreal voluminous power 24hr mascara and my trusty clio brush eyeliner in kill black. For the bottom half, I would smudge out brown eyeliner applied to the outer 1/3, and apply a shimmer to the inner 1/3 for brighter looking eyes.