Beauty

Shu Uemura BB Beige UV Under Base Mousse

June 22, 2011

This week I am reporting back my thoughts on the latest Shu Uemura UV Under Base Mousse in BB Beige from its Sakura Collection. The UV Under Base has always been the best seller for Shu Uemura. To celebrate its success, Shu has launched a BB cream version of it in the form of a mousse and it comes in 3 shades – the one I bought is the BB Beige. This mousse contains all the benefits of the original version – has a spf of 30 and PA+++, and has a moussey texture that feels extremely lightweight on the skin. In addition, it also has the same coverage as a BB cream in a natural and luminous finish.

I love the airy and moussey texture, a marshmallow size is enough to do the whole face. Once it is blended out the foam turns into liquid and instantly aborbs into your skin, leaving your skin feeling hydrated.

Pros:

– An excellent multi-tasking product. It has a sun protection factor of 30 without the greasiness and heaviness. It can also be used as makeup base to brighten up or even out your skintone. I personally prefer to use it as a BB cream or foundation.

– The coverage is just as good as a foundation. You can see from the swatch below it totally covers up most of my skin imperfections without looking cakey.

– It makes my skin look poreless! It works better than any of the silicone based products I have tried so far.

– It gives a nice luminous glow and controls the oil for the whole day.

Cons:

– The shade in BB Beige is too light for my skin! Just when I thought I could not be any more paler…

– Just like some other BB creams, it leaves a hint of greyish cast on my skin but it disappears over time.

This picture shows the natural luminous effect.

Will I rebuy it?

Probably not simply because the shade doesn’t match up with my skintone.

{ 9 comments }

Labels: BB Cream • FOUNDATION • Shu Uemura

Butter LONDON Fash Pack Swatch

June 22, 2011

This week I have been wearing Fash Pack by butter LONDON which is a 3 FREE company – No Formaldehyde; No Toluene; No DBP. I am quite impressed with the formulation as I thought the texture might not be as good without all these chemicals. It has a runny watery texture that allows for a smooth and even application. Two to three coats is enough for an opaque finish.

Fash Pack is a nice brown muddy shade that works well with my yellow skintone.

From a different angle, you can see a lot of gold shimmers in the bottle but it doesn’t show up on the nails.

If you have missed out on the much raved Chanel Particuliere, I highly recommend Fash Pack – quite a close dupe of it.

Comparison swatches: 1 coat each

Butter LONDON is slightly more streaky than Chanel

Fash Pack lasted up to 5 days without any chipping on me! FYI, Butter London retails for $20 ( a bit expensive I know…), you can find them in a variety of health food stores in Australia.

{ 5 comments }

Labels: BUTTER LONDON • CHANEL • NAIL POLISH

Kanebo and Etude House Haul, Shoutout to Elaine, and Ramblings

June 20, 2011

I am so excited to show you this haul today! It’s very special to me because I wouldn’t be able to get hold of these makeups if I didn’t have this blog. One of the greatest things I have enjoyed from blogging to date is getting to know people all around the world who share the same passion with makeup as I do. I am not a pro blogger nor do I do this for living, it is really just my hobby to express my love for makeup. The experience has been really awesome so far, reading comments from all of you completes my day 🙂

Okay back to the topic, I want to do a big SHOUTOUT to Elaine. She is one of the kindest and sweetest girls I have met on the blogging community, do check out her awesome blog! I cannot thank her enough for helping me buy some of the Kanebo eyeshadow palettes and Etude House blushes which I have wanted for so long. I did give her quite a long shopping list but unfortunately some of the Kanebo palettes have been discontinuted and are no longer available over the counter – I have to buy them over the evil bay..

My Kanebo Haul

My measly Kanebo Eyeshadow Palettes Collection

still in progress and hopefully I will be able to get hold of more

ETUDE House Haul

they make the best and most affordable cute blushes!

Elaine’s gift to me! So kind of her 🙂

A makeup pouch, lots of facial masks and a Fasio Eyeshadow Palette

Fasio Eyeshadow Palette

Love Fasio..it’s just as good as Kanebo at a fraction of its price

Reviews and swatches will be coming up in the next few weeks 🙂

{ 4 comments }

Labels: BLUSH • Etude House • EYESHADOW • KANEBO • LUNASOL • SHOP

Nars Dogon Duo Eyeshadow Review and FOTD

June 19, 2011

In the past 3 days I felt I lost my mojo for makeup!! Thank god Nars Duo Eyeshadow in Dogon (along with some other makeup which I will show you tomorrow) arrived at my door on time and immediately resuscitated my lost mojo *phew relieved..*

Dogon fits my usual preference of neutral shades and it’s versatile enough to create a look from natural everyday to the more dramatic. The attraction of this eyeshadow duo has to be the shade on the left – it’s a really complex taupe shade which is unlike anything else I have seen. The Nars website refers to it as a metallic taupe with an icy green sheen, but it appears more complex than its description on me. The shade on the right is true to its description – it looks navy blue with fine green shimmer in the pan but shows up as a matte charcoal black on me.

When swatched on my arm without any base: the taupe shade has a warm undertone to it, looking less grayish and metallic.

On my eyes with an eyeshadow base underneath the taupe shade shows up as a cool toned stone taupe with a grayish sheen.

Here is the overall look of using Dogon for soft smokey eyes.

{ 8 comments }

Labels: FOTD • NARS

Giorgio Armani Intense Eyes To Kill Eyeshadow in 8 Nola Swatch

June 17, 2011

There is no way I can leave the Giorgio Armani counter empty handed. Along with my recent lipstick purchase, I also bought a few GA Intense Eyes To Kill Silk Eyeshadows. Today I want to talk about the shade 08 NOLA which is a beautiful champagne color that really wowed me when I swatched it in real life.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with these shadows, basically they have a hybrid texture of powder and cream. They are extremely pigmented and have a high voltage shimmer. I have previously reviewed the shade 15 NOIGA and 13 NOIFA – they were released as Limited Editions from the Holiday 2010 collection and now they have been re-promoted to the permanent line.

My overall thoughts about the new ones remain the same as these previous two. The only difference I want to mention is that I feel the new shadows are more loosely packed compared to the LE ones – the texture is more of a hybrid between cream and pigment as opposed to powder. Some of the testers at the counter all shattered into pigments..the SA recommended to use the included insert to press firmly onto the shadow to make it stay intact after use each use.

The shade 08 NOLA is a peachy bronzy champagne color in the pan, but shows up as a true champagne color on the skin.

Judging by the picture below, you will know that I am quite obsessed with champagne colors. It is just the most flattering color to highlight the inner corner, and I always prefer to use cream based products because they last longer on the tear duct area than the pencil eyeliners.

CLOCKWISE:

MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque

Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow in Beach Honey

Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten

Stila Shadow Pot in Honey

Just to compare these products:

1. Mac Paint Pot is so dry and chalky after a few months of use (as you can see in the picture) so I won’t buy anymore paint pots…

2. Bobbi Brown Beach Honey is a nice base for the eyelids, but not shimmery enough as a highlighter.

3. Stila in Kitten and Honey appears to be the closest dupes, but I prefer GA Nola which has a purple tinge to it.

4. Giorgio Armani is the most pigmented and long lasting shadow out of all these – a little goes a long way and both the color and the sheen stays on for an entire day. So this one is definitely the keeper!

FYI Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Eyeshadow retails for $49 in Australia.

{ 12 comments }

Labels: EYESHADOW • Giorgio Armani

How damaging are your nail polishes?

June 16, 2011

I have learnt this little trick from an Asian Beauty TV show and I was absolutely astounded so I would like to share it with you all. It’s a really simple and fun test to find out how much acetone your nail polishes contain! We all know too much acetone will make your nails thinner, weaker and more yellow right?!

All you need is a piece of polystyrene foam (also known as packaging foam), get your nail polishes in different brands ready, then place one drop of each on the polystyrene foam… Don’t sneeze, don’t blink your eyes..because you don’t want to miss out what is going to happen. The foam will start to dissolve – the depth of the hole will be a good indication of the level of acetone the polish contains.

So here is my little test, I tested it out with a mix of high-end and drugstore brands, as well as the nail polishes that are formulated with 3 FREE (Formaldehyde, Toluene, Parabens free)that are non toxic. The results are..*drum rolls*….haha I don’t want to say in case the cosmetic companies come and shoot me. I’ll leave it to your girls to test it out! However I do want to mention that my favorite brand Chanel didn’t fail on me, it has the shallowest hole!

So will I stop using nail polishes? Probably not because I love them too much, but I certainly know which brands I will be buying more 🙂

Labels: NAIL POLISH

Blush of the Day – Les Tissages De Chanel in Tweed Pink

June 15, 2011

Chanel Tweed Jacket is one of the most coveted items for me..I hope one day I can cross this item off my ultimate wishlist..one day… For now I am happy with Les Tissages De Chanel in Tweed Pink. It looked so beautiful when it was brand new, a two toned pink in the signature Chanel tweed pattern covered in an overspray of gold shimmers. Sadly the gold shimmer will disappear once it is used.

It contains 2 shades of pink – a light pink and a bubblegum pink, and it translates into a soft neutral pink with a hint of shimmer onto my skin. The pigmentation is quite sheer, typical of Chanel, but can be built up to full color. I tend to reach for this blush when I just want a natural flush of pink with a soft glow on my cheeks – one of those fool proof blushes that is office appropriate.

This blush blends in to the skin beautifully. I am normally only half awake in the morning when I do my makeup. With this blush I can apply it with my eyes closed and it would look like I spent a lot time blending it.

What is your favorite get up and go blush?

{ 19 comments }

Labels: BLUSH • CHANEL

Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani Lipsticks 102 and 105 Swatches

June 14, 2011

Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani Lipstick in 102 is my most recent lipstick acquisition. It is a very close dupe of Rouge d’Armani in 105 which is my all time favorite lipstick and unfortunately it was released as limited edition.

In general the Rouge d’Armani lipstick line is fantastic. They have medium coverage, are moisturising, long lasting with a glossy finish – everything you ever want from a lipstick! My lips are really dry lately due to the miserable cold weather here and many lipsticks make my lips look even more dry and flaky. Rouge d’Armani is an exception because it layers on the lips in a silky veil that feels like a lip balm and doesn’t accentuate any dryness.

A closer look at 105 and 102.

Although 105 and 102 look pretty identical in the tubes, when swatched on the skin 105 is more beige whereas 102 has a more pink tone it.

I have previously reviewed 105 but I felt the pictures in my previous review didn’t do its justice. It looked so much better in real life so I’ve decided to take some better swatches of it as I have got a better camera now. It is a beautiful nudish beige with a glossy sheen.

Swatch of Rouge d’Armani in 102, slightly less beige if you pay very close attention to it.

Verdict: Although they are pretty similar my preference still goes towards 105. It just has this transparent sheen that makes my lips look really soft and delicate.

{ 4 comments }

Labels: Giorgio Armani • LIPSTICK

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