My updated skincare routine as requested by my readers. To recap, my skin is dehydrated inside but can look oily outside. My main skin concern is dehydration and skin congestion around the t-zone area. I am also at a sad old age where my skin metabolism rate has gone downhill – as it takes forever for any scar to heal. I do get occasional breakout so I always incorporate a powerful serum which increases and stimulates the cell turnover rate as it is vital to speed up the skin renewal process so it helps to clear up my scars within a short time.
MORNING:
I always use a gentle, non-foaming cleanser to cleanse my skin in the morning. At the moment I am using the Lancôme Galateis Douceur Gentle Softening Cleansing Fluid. I bought the jumbo size (400ml) so I can use a generous amount of it everyday with a special massage tool. It’s gentle and makes my skin super soft after washing, and in conjunction with the massage tool it helps to eliminate the water retention of my morning puffy face. Followed by Lancôme HYDRA ZEN Anti-Stress Moisturizing Aqua Gel which is just an average hydrating gel-to-water type toner. It comes out like gel and transforms into water upon touching the skin. The Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Serum is my absolute must-have for the morning – I have gone through tubes and tubes of it. The smell is relaxing and it helps to lift and sharpen the facial contours. Dr Brandt Pore Effect is applied over the t-zone (reviewed here). The last step is to apply a thick layer of my all time favorite moisturizer Dr. CiLabo Aqua Collagen Gel. For those of you who haven’t heard of the brand – Dr CiLabo is a celebrity dermatologist in Japan. The collagen gel is the signature product of his line, and the story behind the product was that he was very frustrated that he could not find a perfect moisturizer for his elite clients so he developed his own! It was so good so he started selling this to the general public. I got hooked on since it was first released which was 10 years ago! It is lightweight, absorbs instantly, plumping up my skin, stimulate collagen and most importantly keeps my skin staying hydrated all day long. Clinique All About Eyes feels quite soothing to the eyes and moisturizes as well.
NIGHT:
The cleanser and toner used are the same as my morning routine. The Lancôme Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector is my recent favorite anti-aging serum. The patent ingredient is the LR 2414 (aka jasmonic acid) which enhances the skin’s natural self renewal processes. It minimizes skin imperfections, pore sizes and improves skin’s overall texture. I really love it because it works for clearing up my scars. With this serum the new scar forms a scab and then comes off with a faded mark within days. La Mer’s Crème de La Mer Moisturizing Cream is another all time favorite moisturizer. If Dr CiLabo Collagen Gel is the perfect hydrator, then La Mer is one level up for giving me an incredible luminous complexion. The key to using this moisturizer effectively is to activate the ingredient by emulsifying this thick cream. I found that the enclosed instruction never worked for me. Here is a little discovery I made – warm up the cream when there is still some Lancome Visionnaire remnant left in the palm. Within seconds this moisturizer turns into a fluid elixir-like texture so it absorbs into the skin immediately. The combination works like a dream, and I really love the way my skin looks every morning – clear and luminous 🙂 For the eyes I use La Prarie’s Cellular Eye Contour Cream.
WEEKLY TREATMENTS:
SKII Facial Treatment Mask once a week, and SKII Sign’s Eye Mask once every fortnight.
Labels: CLARINS • CLINIQUE • Dr CiLabo • FACE MASKS • LA MER • La Prairie • LANCOME • MOISTURIZER • SKII • SKINCARE
Happy Monday everyone! I realized that I haven’t done a brush post for so long, so I thought I’d show you two of my favorite new brushes lately that took me a great effort in acquiring them! The cute looking Heart Face Brush is by Lam Sam Yick, and the Eye Shadow Brush is by CHIKUHODO Z-series. Both brands are only sold in certain countries in Asia, and I got them through a friend.
CHIKUHODO Z-10 Eye Shadow Brush (only sold in Japan at the moment and retails for around USD$40): I have previously used the CHIKUHODO z-series face brushes. They are similar to my Suqqus but I still prefer the latter as they feel much more fluffier, so that had stopped me from pursuing CHIKUHODO brushes until I spotted this one. The shape of the brush is very unique and looks very promising to be used around the lower lash line. As with all of the z-series brushes, it’s made of 100% squirrel hair so it warrants a super indulgent experience. The size of the brush is similar to my other pencil brushes, but it has a more precise cut and is more tapered towards the end – as you can see in my comparison picture. The cone-shaped brush head allows for a very good control over how thin and thick you want the line to be. Since it is made of the finest hair, it never feels scratchy around my sensitive eyes which I often find is the case with brushes of goat hair. Moreover, squirrel-haired brush deposits the color more softly than brushes of other hair type, so for me this brush is perfect for smudging a soft line along my lower lash line, which is exactly what I want.
LAM SAM YICK Heart Brush Small in pink (aka “Bum Brush”): This is another interesting and unique face brush. It’s made by a traditional calligraphy and cosmetic brush company called LamSamYick based in Taiwan. They adopt a similar traditional brush making technique with a more affordable price. Their heart-shaped brush releases became an instant hit amongst beauty enthusiast in Asia . Girls were smitten by the cute design of the brush, and in the meantime it’s a very functional brush with superior quality. The cheek brush is made of 100% fine white goat hair and dyed pink with an ombre effect! For reference, it has the same softness and smoothness as the MAC 168. The bristles are densely packed and feel fluffy at the same time. This brush also has a nickname of ‘bum brush’ as the design of the brush head is reminiscent of a baby’s bum cheeks! The selling pitch has definitely worked for me as I always dreamt of rubbing my face against baby’s bum (when it’s clean) but I never had the chance. I’ve been using this brush for over 2 weeks now and it has no shedding so far. FYI The heart shaped brush series come in large, medium and small. I always prefer a smaller brush for applying blushes so I opted for the small size.
Labels: BRUSHES • CHIKUHODO • LamSamYick
The highly anticipated Chanel 2012 Holiday Makeup Collection – Eclats du Soir de Chanel has hit our shore today. The collection is not on display yet but they are available upon request. I picked up two products on the way home and here is a sneak preview of what I bought and my first initial thoughts.
Chanel Le Vernis MALICE (retails for AUD$39) – If I could only get one product from this collection, it would be this one! Check out The Beauty Look Book’s review here.
Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow HARMONIE DU SOIR (retails for AUD$98) – Both the design and the texture of HARMONIE DU SOIR are successfully inherited from the Topkapi Quadra Eye shadow from the Byzance de Chanel collection. Each eye shadow feels noticeably more buttery soft and smoother than the regular line, and all are highly pigmented. I haven’t had a chance to wear them yet, and I’m curious to see how the darkest reddish mulberry shade paired with the pale pink will look on me. Check out Makeup Magpie’s review here.
The entire collection is sold on-line here with international shipping available.
Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW • NAIL POLISH
A quick post for Sunday. I thought I’d share something amazing with you which is the ORIBE Dry Texturizing Spray. I love it so much I even have multiple backups of it!
ORIBE is a very exclusive and prestige haircare brand which is based in the US if you haven’t heard of it. They have lots of amazing products with the Dry Texturizing Spray being their award-winning star product. It’s a multipurpose product which can be used as:
1. Dry shampoo – For the hefty price tag (around $60!)I personally wouldn’t use it for this purpose as there are many cheaper products that can do the same job.
2. Adding mega volume to the roots and feels weightless and looks completely invisible on the hair – Amazing…I use it every morning to lift the roots.
3. Adding texture – I love spraying my hair with it after I curl my hair. It gives this effortless beach wave texture to the curl. I spent years trying to figure out how the models/celebs have this “undone” and effortless wavy hair (just like they got out of the bed but much better), and this is the key product! Of course having highlights in the hair also helps to bring out dimension and texture. I have tried numerous texture sprays and I love this one the most as it doesn’t make my hair sticky and crunchy nor does it weigh my hair down. The particles of this spray are so small so they go on invisible and still keep your hair look natural.
Bottom Line: Expensive, but totally worth every penny! I bought mine here.
Labels: HAIRCARE • Oribe
I really appreciate the way Becca release their makeup collections. They are one of the very few beauty houses (or perhaps the only) that schedule releases depending on the season of the country. The Becca Endless Summer 2012 Makeup Collection is just out in Australia. Whilst I find myself inevitably drawn to the dark and plummy shades from the current fall collection, it is refreshing to see the bright, tropical and summery hues.
Allow me to say – the Endless Summer Collection is the best collection Becca has ever done. Every shade is well edited for spring and summer, and the texture is superb. I had a very hard time limiting myself to a few products. After fiddling at the counter for 30 minutes, I settled with the Becca Ultimate Color Gloss Malibu Punch and their famous Beach Tint in Lychee. There were other products such as their Mineral Blushes that I was that close to buying, and even now I just can’t seem to get them out of my mind!
The Becca Ultimate Color Gloss in Malibu Punch is a very intense and bright tangerine shade. This shade is worn by the model in their promotion campaign (here), and it looked absolutely stunning on her so it became their best selling shade from this range. Although it’s called a gloss, it almost feels like a liquid lipstick as the pigmentation is so intense, and delivers the ultimate bold color with a high glossy shine whilst feeling weightless on the lips. The lasting power is also phenomenal, as there is still a stain left on my lips after 4 to 5 hours of wear. Compared to the much raved YSL Glossy Stain, the Becca Ultimate Color Gloss truly deserves more credit, if not better.
I did my makeup differently in my FOTD today. To accentuate the bold lip color, I applied more-than-usual amount of bronzer in Nars Laguna along the cheeks and the jawline for a touch of sun-kissed warmth. Nars Luster is applied along the hollow of my cheekbones for a more defined look. My eye makeup using Burberry Midnight Brown (reviewed here) is also more smoky hence it looks more dramatic than what I would normally wear. The overall result – romantic but with sharpness.
Other products used: Suqqu Moisturizing Cream Foundation( LOVE it!) and Shu Uemura Hard Formula Eyebrow Pencil in 6.
The Becca Ultimate Color Gloss retails for USD$24 and the entire Becca Line is available at Sephora now! I bought mine at David Jones for AUD$42.
Labels: BECCA • FOTD • LIPGLOSS • NARS • SUQQU
I knew this would happen when I jumped on the Burberry Makeup wagon a while back – my addiction for them is growing at a “non-rational” pace. I have collected most of the items that I have set my eyes on, and today’s review is for the lust-worthy Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Mulberry and Midnight Brown. Both are dark neutral shades with an edge which is right up my alley. I bought them at the Burberry counter without even swatching them, so that was how confident I was with them!
Mulberry is from the Burberry Fall 2012 Makeup Collection. A deep burgundy brown shade with iridescent micro shimmer, which looks absolutely gorgeous from the pan. The color translates to the skin quite accurately, with a much stronger mauve undertone compared to Midnight Brown (see my swatch below). Just like the other Burberry eye shadows – the ultra finely-milled texture gives a silky satin finish with a gleam. Although it is a stunning shade on its own, it’s not the easiest color to work with for my skin tone. I needed to be quite cautious with the intensity during application, otherwise it could have looked a little muddy on me. But once I had made it work I loved the finish.
Midnight Brown is the clear winner between the two. I have read raving reviews and it completely lived up to my every single expectation! It is a taupe shade with gold and silver micro shimmer, and translates to a beautiful complex chestnut brown (with one swipe only) shade with a slight gold tinge on the skin, and you can build up the brown intensity by layering more. As I twist my hand to a different angle I see the undertone variations. It’s almost like looking at 50 shades of brown (and that’s my corny joke of the day!)
Left to Right: Mulberry; Midnight Brown
Wearing Mulberry alone
Note: Pictures of wearing Midnight Brown will be shown in my Becca Summer 2012 Makeup Collection Review post which has just been released in Australia.
Bottom Line: If you are still hesitating to get Midnight Brown, then you gotta pull the trigger now! It’s one of the most classic, complex taupe brown shades I have ever used! Mulberry is a nice-to-have but not a must-to-have imho. Both eye shadows are available here and here in the US, and for Australian customers you can buy them through Harrods with international shipping available (which I find is the cheapest after the deduction of VAT). In case you don’t know, Harrods is doing 10% off on everything this weekend!
Labels: BURBERRY BEAUTY • EYESHADOW • FOTD
The Chanel Pearl Glow Powder has been on my radar for sooo long ever since I read about it on Sabrina’s blog. It’s a limited edition Asia exclusive highlighter which was released as part of the Le Blanc collection a while back. Although Chanel had similar highlighting powders in the subsequent releases worldwide, I just felt this one could be the best one ever made by Chanel based on Sabrina’s reviews and swatches here and here. I was finally be able to procure this product at a duty free shop through my friend. *Yay*
I don’t think I have ever mentioned how much I love contouring and particularly highlighting – a few highlights/shades here and there on the face makes a huge difference to define my typically flat Asian bone structure, as well as adding a nice glow to the skin. I don’t contour everyday as it requires more skill and patience, but I use highlighters religiously. My go-to highlighter is in powder form – it’s fuss free and quick to use as the last step of my makeup.
On to the product itself, the size of the compact is the same as Chanel JC. Instead of including a not-so-functional mini brush, the Pearl Glow Powder comes with a large and fat sponge applicator which feels very soft and velvety. It picks up more product than a brush and it’s great for blending.
The powder is very buttery soft, smooth, and highly pigmented. It contains tons of pearly gold micro-shimmer but rest assured, they won’t make your face sparkly. It shows up as pearly soft beige on me with a tinge of gold undertone. The color is very user-friendly and works brilliantly for my skin tone as it brightens as well as adds a bit of warmth rather than silvery or metallic. What makes this product stand out from the norm is the incredibly radiant finish. It adds a lovely soft pearly sheen to the skin that almost has a wet-effect. I’m always curious about how they make the models’ complexion look so fresh and glowing backstage, and I think I have found the answer to that!
Comparison Swatches:
From left to right: Chanel Lumiére Sculptée; Chanel Pearl Glow; Chanel Ombres Tissées Iridescent Effects Eyes in Beiges; Giorgio Armani Sheer Shimmer 1, Nars Nico, Nars Albatross
Wearing Chanel Pearl along the cheekbone, T-zone including the nose bridge, along the Cupid’s bow and the chin
Bottom Line: Possibly the best powder highlighter I own!
Labels: CHANEL • HIGHLIGHTER
I don’t know how I lived without Dr Brandt’s PORES NO MORE Pore Effect Refining Cream, but I’m pretty sure it will be a staple product for my skincare for a long time. My biggest pet peeve about my skin is that it is prone to congestion since my teenage years. It is getting a lot better compared to how my skin was, but the nose and the chin areas are still subject to blackheads, and to combat that I always have a facial done with extraction at least once a month.
If you have seen my previous skincare posts (here or here), you would know that products with AHA/BHA/Retinol have always been a core part of my daily skincare routine. The products that were featured in my previous posts have all improved the congestion by a certain extent. But I thought Dr Brand’s Pore Effect Refining Cream makes the biggest improvement! Having said that, it is not a miracle product as it will not totally diminish anything and nor will it give you pore-less skin (if you already have visible pores). But I have been using this product on and off purposely, and I noticed that my skin appears noticeably more clear when I was using it. In summary I really like this product because:
– It has a creamy texture and gives a nice slip when applying it over the face.
– It feels mild on my sensitive skin with no tinge and no irritation, and it doesn’t dry my skin out after long term use.
– It has a lovely floral tea tree oil scent (some other AHA/BHA products have smelt rather disgusting).
– Most importantly, it works! I have done a comparison – I started using this product on my skin which was completely clear after the extraction. My skin stays clear (and I mean no blackheads at all on my nose for 3 weeks) for a much longer time than with of other products.
Bottom Line: I never expect any over-the-counter product to provide a poreless complexion and completely unclog pores. I judge this type of product purely based on how much it improves, and how long it keeps my skin clear after I deep cleanse with an extraction. And so far Dr Brandt’s delivers the biggest improvement to my skin!
I bought mine here, and it is also available at Sephora.
Labels: Dr Brandt • SKINCARE
