Eyeshadow Hit List (Updated)

Update:

I've decided AGAINST the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette! There were only two colours that I was in love with anyway: Naked2 and Walk of Shame.

After doing a bit more research, and since I already bought an empty MAC quad, I've rounded up a few MAC ones that are similar in concept. Basically, I want to create a neutral palette that suits my cool undertones as well as my fair skin. I've hyperlink-ed to the best swatches I found for each of the colours (listed in order of preference. Will make final decision when I actually get to Seattle):

1. greyish-brown/taupe: Omega (1)(2) (beige-grey-brown), Wedge (1)(2)(slightly warmer brown, but still neutral), Haux (1)(2) (maybe a tad too similar to Nooner in UD Naked 3)
2. darker outer V/liner colour -- also suitable for eyebrows: Charcoal Brown, Concrete (greyer)
3. champagne/peachy lid colour: Naked Lunch (not VERY pigmented though :\) or All that Glitters 

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I've rounded up these two choices, and currently only these two, because I'm kinda on an eyeshadow ban. I DON'T NEED THAT MANY EYESHADOWS, I only have a pair of eyes! >_<
1. MAC Wedge USD $15 (~ SGD $20 after Seattle tax): pigmented, smooth, light pinkish matte brown.
MakeupAlley Reviews: 4.6/5 
2. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette USD $28 (~SGD $37 after tax): for Naked 2 and Walk of Shame, but the others are serviceable too. The packaging is really appealing as well.MakeupAlley Reviews: 4.4/5
Swatched two colours from the UD Naked Basics Palette (top 2), MAC Wedge (bottom left), and my favourite light matte brown shade from my NYX Waiting for Tonight palette (bottom right) that I love. I have to say, the quality of the UD and MAC shadows I swatched are less...chalky? They're equally pigmented, but the NYX shade kicked up more fallout, maybe cus it's too soft?

Adding on to the list...

I NEED this Beauty in Bloom set!!! It's only $36 USD for so many products?? It's a good opportunity to try out bare minerals too without busting my budget.


I cannot handle this. SO MUCH PRETTINESS.



This is a spring set though, which means it may be gone before I even set foot in Vancouver, much less Seattle?!? And I'm not buying anything in Canadian Sephora man, the tax makes everything more expensive than Singapore. But then again, US Sephora is only a few bucks cheaper...

FOTD

I had make up on from 6.30am till about 10pm yesterday, and I HAVE to mention that I still looked pretty good after that long! The foundation didn't cake up/crease/settle into fine lines, and my eyeshadow and blush didn't fade at all!!! I think the best way to use the foundation is to apply on clean skin (right after washing with cleanser), second best way is over sunscreen. When I add toner,serum and moisturiser into the routine, the foundation does perform less well.

Products used:
Tarte Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation in Fair Honey
Urban Decay Naked 3: Limit on crease, Trick on lid, Mugshot on outer V.
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hr Blush in Exposed
Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick in YR27 Solar Orange

Hehe sent this video to my boyfriend while I was in the Library working on my thesis. Also, took this picture. The lighting's not that good though...

Face Shape

I'm in the midst of finishing up my Honours Thesis now, and I felt super bored so I went online to check out my face shape!

i did a test at http://face-shape.com, and it turns out that I have an OVAL face shape. Surprising! I always thought I was oblong/rectangular. The length of my face is 7inches, width is 6 inches. Since length is not more than 1/3 longer than the width, and my jawline is rounded rather than sharp, I'm oval! ^^

More info about oval face shape and what suits it from
http://face-shape.com/Oval-Face-Shape.html  and
http://thebeautydepartment.com/2012/12/hair-talk-oval-face-shape/ 

EARRINGS

• They should not be overly long and dangling. From personal experience, I've never found myself to look nice with such earrings! Always preferred studs or shorter ones.

HAIR

• key thing to note was just to increase the width and volume of hair, recommended big fluffy curls (WILL DO. was intending to dye my hair back to natural hair colour and then just perm my hair)
• also, keep the face clear

okay, back to working :(

Mega Lipstick Swatch Fest

 I went a little crazy with lipstick recently.The most recent one that just came in the mail is the Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick in YR27 Solar Orange!!! This is $34, but I bought it online for $23.90 hehe. It's really creamy just like Neon Orange, and just so smooth to apply. I find this to be really worth the money since it's so pigmented and high quality. Solar Orange is actually a bright, pinkish-coral? Not so much of orange tones in there actually.





I got really excited and started swatching all the lipsticks I currently own so as to um, justify my recent splurges. They're all quite different!!! I left out my MAC Mineralise Lipstick in Luxe Naturale though, since it's just a nudish-pink shade. It's quite obvious how much I love bright colours on my lips eh? :D

From left to right (under direct white light): Revlon Lip Butter (070 Cherry Tart), NYX Extra Creamy Lipstick (Eros), Revlon Kissable Balm Stain (025 Sweetheart Valentine), Revlon Lacquer Balm (105 Demure), L'oreal Colour Riche (My First Pink), Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick (Neon Orange), Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick - 2 swatches (Solar Orange), L'oreal Colour Riche (Fairy Touch), Revlon Lip Butter (015 Tutti Frutti).

Tones and Undertones

Skintone is quite a straightforward thing to find out, so that's never been a problem. Especially for me, I just go ahead and buy the lightest/second lightest colour in any foundation/concealer range.

The undertones of the skin is a bit more tricky, and it took me some surfing on the web, and a few personal consultations with makeup counter sales associates to confirm that I slant towards cool undertones.

Apparently, there's this vein test, whereby the colours of the veins on the inside of your wrist can tell you what your undertone is.

• If the veins appear blue or purple: COOL
• If the veins appear green: WARM
• If you have difficulty differentiating between blue or green: NEUTRAL  

My veins most definitely appear blue on my left wrist, BUT appear blue/green on my right wrist. LOL SO WHAT AM I?? Anyway, I stick to using the NC range for MAC, and tend to choose more yellowy rather than pinkish-beige concealers for the fact that pink concealers tend to accentuate the redness of the very pimple I'm trying to hide.

Links:
Michelle Phan's Guide - broad overview
Paula's Choice Guide - comprehensive explanation and test
The Beauty Department's Guide -includes recommendations on what colours to choose in order to match skintone and undertone

Concealer options

While I am happy with the coverage my current go-to concealer, MAC Studio Finish in NC20, gives me, I feel that there is just A BETTER ONE OUT THERE FOR ME.

I definitely have to set it with powder, otherwise it kinda disintegrates and cakes up, especially if I had been desperate to conceal a giant pimple and piled it on. It's such a hassle to have to build it up, even though the process is already way faster than if I was still using the MAC Select Cover Up. 

The summer before, I went through a horrible phase whereby only my upper lip area got sunburned (I speculated that it was probably cus of the eczema medication I was using). The SCU did save me by helping me cover that up while still looking natural. I would say it has a light-medium coverage? And since it was liquid base, it blended better into my skin. 

Anyway, the SF is medium-full coverage, and cream base, so I've used it for my pimples and the scars they leave behind sometimes. But I'm just excited about trying other concealers!!

Options I'm considering are: (in USD, since I'll probably wait to get them in US Sephora IF I am actually getting one of them)

1. the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage ($33), an apparently hard cream that needs to be warmed up before you apply it with a brush/finger. The coverage is supposed to be really good, and since it's drier, it won't budge!

photo from Laura Mercier website

2. the Clé de Peau Concealer ($70). FREAKING EXPENSIVE but I have to admit it's damn bloody good. Reviews online have been crazy good, with many labelling it as the best ever, holy grail blah blah. But seriously..... $70 on a concealer....why can't I just NOT have pimples at all :( Ahem but it's supposed to last forever since it's super pigmented and you only need a teeny weeny bit at a time so...

photo from Clé de Peau website

3. The NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer ($29) was a previous contender as well, but I've since eliminated it *ding ding!*. My main concealer concern is my pimples and pimple scars, so this is really way too creamy to help me. It's supposed to work for under-eye concealing though, so I just wanted to note this down in case I ever need it (FREAKING HOPE NOT).

photo from NARS website

Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick in YR25 Neon Orange

Just look at it. HOW FREAKING PIGMENTED IS THIS. AND THE COLOUR IS GORGEOUS.

I found out that Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick in YR25 Neon Orange was used by 천송이 in 별에서 온 그대, a drama i went crazy over for the past 2 months. She inspired a new trend, that of having simple eye makeup and rather bare face with a pop of colour on her lips. Ahem. Actually I bought 2 other lipsticks online and they're on their way to me now....

Anyway this colour looks super good on me! Being fair, I really suit bright colours, so lucky meeeee since I happen to love brights rather than nudes on the lips anyway. This swatch is a really accurate one btw. Looks like that on my lips as well.

BUT I got a guilt attack cus I thought it seemed similar to Revlon Tutti Frutti. It turns out that they're the same colour, but Tutti Frutti is a lot more sheer! That makes it easier to wear too of course. Key point is: THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM. Therefore, I did not waste money! ^^v

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed

Okay so a friend saw on instagram that Sephora was selling mini versions of Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes and I went nuts. For $12, it works out to be the exact cost of the original divided by the amount of product. SADLY, they were only selling Exposed and 1 other colour that I don't remember. I was all prepared to buy at least 2??












So anyway. I LOVE EXPOSED, it's so freaking natural. It's as close as you can get to a natural flush. My grandma even commented: "you look nice like this, don't have to put makeup" LOL when I actually had the Tarte Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation and the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed on.

Top: Exposed
Bottom: Tipsy

Okay my swatch is kinda crappy. But essentially the difference between the two is that Exposed looks more natural, while Tipsy is brighter. I find that when I do heavier eye makeup, Exposed is perfectly subtle while still doing its job as a blush, which is to make me look alive. Tipsy is good for when I do simple but at the same time shimmery looks on my eyes.

Useful beauty websites

If I'm not looking for anything in particular, I like browsing Into The Gloss and Beautylish. Temptalia has a lot of swatches, almost of everything, but because her skin tone is so dark I find it hard to rely on just her swatches alone.

The first website I consult whenever I'm considering a new purchase is Make Up Alley, where I can check out user reviews.

Next, I'll then google search and trawl through blog reviews for detailed swatches and reviews. I also like watching non-pretentious youtubers like Essiebutton ramble on about beauty products to get myself all hyped up for hauling. Kinda like pre-marathon prep hehehehe.

Paula's Choice is a good place to double check the rating of a product: Best/Good/Average/Poor. Anything that's Best and Good is safe, usually.

Once I go through online research on the products, I'll then go on a swatch-fest in sephora/drug stores HEHEHHE my favourite part of the entire process.

Actually, no. My favourite part is reading good reviews of the products I would have already bought, just to multiply the sense that I made a wise choice lol.