Beauty

It is the time of the year when the new spring makeup collections are arriving in Australia. This probably is the time of the year I anticipated with excitement the most (other than public holidays!), as I LOVE spring inspired hues seen in each collection, they are beautiful to be collected yet subtle and natural enough to wear throughout all seasons.

Today I like to talk about Ombres Perlees de Chanel Palette, which has been the talk of the town amongst beauty bloggers for a while. I had this palette for a week now and I can say it totally lived up to its hype. The beauty of this palette is its versatility. These eye shadows can be worn sheer as well as dramatic due to its creamy texture that can be built to your desire.

Ombres-Perlees-de-ChanelSwatch on my hand:

Ombres-Perlees-de-Chanel-swatch

Ombres Perlees de Chanel swatch - daylight

I did a subtle eye makeup with this palette today. It takes no effort to apply these cream textured eye shadows – the easiest way is to apply them with your fingers. I have yet found a brush that picks up the eyeshadow well considering I have an extensive collection of makeup brushes. Please do let me know your preferred brush.

Here are some close-up shots of my eyes:

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I used:

a: pink pearl

b: a very sheer wash of the green pearl

c: black pearl on the outer corner

d: white pearl on the tear duct

e: the purple pearl along the lower lash line

Ombres-Perlees-de-Chanel-on-eye-2Now let’s move on to the products I used on my face. My FOTD is totally inspired by the makeup worn by the model in the Chanel spring 2011 makeup campaign, so most products I used are Chanels.

Face: Chanel Mat Lumiere Foundation and Chanel Illuminating Makeup Base

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Cheeks and Lip: Mac Blush in Pinch O Peach and Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick in 42

Finished Look!

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Ombres-Perlees-de-Chanel-look-2n

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This week I am loving Chanel nail polish in black pearl. As most of you would know, this is the ‘IT’ nail polish of the moment, every girl who loves nail polish should own this one because it is just so unique.

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Chanel Nail Polish in Black Pearl

The shade is truly a reminiscence of black pearl. From the bottle it may look like a boring metallic grayish black. On the nails it looks like a mix of green, black and grey, depending on which angle you look at it. It has lots of tiny shimmers in it, so it dries into a satin finish.  Okay, this is my review for it as I am terribly bad at describing color or scent.

Here is a swatch shot of 2 coats of black pearl, I have to say the picture doesn’t do its justice.

chanel-nail-polish-black-pearl-swatch

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Dior Diorshow Mascaras

February 27, 2011

My makeup is never complete without applying mascara on both the upper and lower lashes; it just instantly opens up my eyes in a way that no other make ups can do. It seems there is a newer, “better” and more innovative mascara that is released every month, as a gullible consumer like me, I always make sure I am kept up to date with the newest mascaras, in case I miss out on the perfect one which I have yet to find.

Today I am just going to talk about Dior mascaras. At the moment I am rotating between these four:

– Diorshow waterproof

– Diorshow Blackout waterproof

– Diorshow Iconic

– Diorshow Extase

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Brushes comparisons:

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From top to bottom: Diorshow Blackout; Diorshow Regular; Diorshow Extase; Diorshow Iconic

Let’s start from the Diorshow regular, as this is their best selling mascara. Diorshow has always been one of my Holy Grails. No matter how many I own, I always like to keep a Diorshow with me. It has everything that I need from a mascara.

– thickens, buildable without clumps

– lengthens

– holds the curl, which is the most important factor for my stick straight lashes

– waterproof, doesn’t smudge

– brush is big enough to grab all the lashes

There is nothing I don’t like about Diorshow regular, on the other hand it doesn’t really wow me, there is room for improvement.

Diorshow Blackout, is the more intense black version of Diorshow. When it was released, I had high hope on this mascara as this is exactly what the regular diorshow is missing. To my disappointment, it is my least favorite. It doesn’t define but clumps my lashes, and worst of all, it dries into a very stiff and brittle spider leg finish…eww..

Diorshow Iconic, another mediocre mascara. According to dior, it’s supposed to give you a lash curling effect without curling your lashes. It might work on genetically blessed Barbie eyes, but definitely not on asian eyes. It has this similar plastic brush to some Chanel mascaras –  I am not a fan of it, the finish is always too natural for my liking. It just doesn’t provide the thickness and length I am after. I quickly lost interest in this one after a few uses.

Diorshow Extase, this mascara would be perfect if it holds the curl! It does a better job in terms of thickening due to the unique design of the brush than any other Diorshow mascara, and it has an intense black finish on the lashes. On the bad side, it weighs my lashes down no matter what I do. I even used my holy grail Kanebo Kate eyelash primer underneath, then apply Extase over it. It still instantly straightens the lashes. I love using it on my low lashes though it totally makes my lower lashes look fake. I would love to try the waterproof version of this one!

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Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani Uptown Mauve Collection lipsticks were recently released in Australia. It was love at first sight when I first saw these lipsticks in the promo pictures. I was prepared to buy at least four of them. Unfortunately I only came back with 1 lipstick as the rest of the shades looked very different in real life to what they are in the picture.

Giogio Armani lipsticks

The one I got is Rouge d’Armani in beige 105. The packaging of the GA lipstick is close to perfection, sleek but chic and elegant, with a magnetic closure. You hear the ‘click’ sound when you close it, quite similar to the Tom Ford’s lipsticks.

giorgio-armani-lipstick-beige-105

Beige 105 in my opinion is semi sheer, but pigmented enough to cover the natural color of your lips. It is a “your lips but better shade”, no shimmers, no glitters. It feels really soft, light and moisturizing on my lips, doesn’t settle into the lines and lasts a long time while still having some sheen to it.

swatch on my hand:

giorgio-armani-lipstick-beige-105-swatch

swatch on my lips:

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Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani Beige 105_indoor lighting

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Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani Beige 105_with flash

Verdict. I love it! It is a perfect day time on the go lipstick as this shade would complement any makeup look I would normally wear.

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Chanel Nail Polish in Fire

February 20, 2011

This week, I am wearing Chanel Nail Polish in Fire.

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– Two coats of Chanel Fire and 1 coat of Seche Vete.

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Chanel Fire without flash

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chanel fire with flash

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Becca Beach Tint

February 20, 2011

This month in Australia, Madison magazine is giving out one full size of Becca beach tint with every purchase! This deal is absolutely a steal as it retails for $42 in Australia.

Being a long time Becca lover, I already have the Becca Tint in watermelon and grapefruit in my makeup collection. They are by far the best tint I have ever tried. Before I had discovered Becca Tint, I actually wasn’t a big fan of tint. They always come off streaky and patchy on my skin, no matter how hard I blend it. However, with the Becca tint, the formulation is really creamy but not greasy. Once it is applied onto my cheeks, it literally melts into my skin and gives the most natural flush of color, it just looks like your own healthy glow from within. Once it sets, it doesn’t smudge and lasts all day.

Becca Tint grapefruit is more sheer than watermelon, I am very pale (NC 20), I still have to layer it on a few times. As mentioned earlier, becca beach tint blends like a dream, they can be easily built up to the intensity you prefer.

 

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Becca Beach Tint in watermelon and grapefruit

To give you a better idea of how they look on the face, I have posted some pictures of me wearing becca beach tint. In the pictures below,  I applied the product with the MAC stippling brush (MAC 187). Basically I just dot it around my cheeks, and voila, no harsh lines at all. For photography reasons, I applied more product than usual to show you the effect.

Swatch of Becca Beach Tint in Grapefruit

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Swatch of Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon

 

 

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I do not like them on my lips as they are quite drying and accentuating my lips lines. There are thousands of other lip products that I own apply and look better on my lips than the becca beach tint..

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