BRONZER

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Surreal Light Palette Review and Swatch

December 4, 2016

I have been showcasing this beautiful Hourglass Ambient Lighting Surreal Light Palette (bought here with free international shipping) a lot on my insta lately. The marble packaging totally captured my heart. I have lots of individual Hourglass ambient lighting powder, as well as the Ambient Lighting palette. Since this palette comes in 6 new never-before-released shades, that makes a wonderful excuse for me to add it to my stash.

Basically, the ambient powder adds a soft lit-within glow to the face. All powders are not fully matte, but they are also less shimmery than a traditional shimmer product. It imparts a luminous glow to the face that looks good with all age groups (unlike the ultra glamorous finish that you see on Insta which may not look good in real life!), and all powders go on semi-translucent with a tinge of color so it would look flattering on all skin tones. The application is fool-proof as the pigment is soft and easy to blend, and the powder does not enhance the pores.

The palette contains 1 finishing powder, 2 blushes, and 1 bronzer and 1 highlighter. All of them contain very fine micro shimmer that does not look visible on the face.

Surreal Light: A sheer nude finish powder that goes on translucent on my NC15/20 skin tone. I like to use it to set my makeup over the center of the face. It instantly brightens, and makes the face look more dimensional and lifted as the powder reflects light softly, as well as controlling the oil all day long.

2. Surreal Bronze Light: A neutral tan shade. Great for creating a subtle contour, and adding warmth to the face.

3. Surreal Glow: A pale peachy pink blush that looks very delicate on the skin. Can also be used as a highlighter depending on your skin tone.

4. Surreal Effect: A cool, pink rose fused with a soft, warm peach for a pop of flattering color. Goes on quite bright and adds a flush of color to the cheeks.

5. Surreal Strobe Light: A glimmering golden peach powder, and can also be used wet for an intense highlight.

Under the sun

Swatch

{ 7 comments }

Labels: BLUSH • BRONZER • CONTOUR • HIGHLIGHTER • HOURGLASS

Tom Ford Skin Illuminating Powder Duo Moodlight Review and Swatch

September 13, 2015

The Tom Ford Skin Illuminating Powder Duo Moodlight was finally released in Australia last week, and as expected it was all sold out within seconds in the Sydney store. I am very glad that I got my friend to bring me back one from the US (available here!) as I knew I wouldn’t stand a chance to get hold of this in Australia. The powder duo is absolutely gorgeous that completely surpasses my expectations. If you miss out on it, it seems Selfridges now ships some of Tom Ford products including this illuminating duo to Australia! And they are also taking the 10% VAT off at the final checkout.

The Powder Duo comes in a signature Tom Ford luxury case. The texture of both the highlight and bronzer powder are creamy but firm, and feel extremely silky smooth. Both powders contain very finely milled micro shimmer, and they are probably the best powders with shimmer I have ever used. With the highlight powder, once it is applied on to the face it blends into the skin seamlessly. I am amazed that there is no trace of this powder on my face (hence it doesn’t enlarge the pores at all), just an illuminated glow that is natural but noticeable. It serves its purpose as a highlight powder, and it makes the skin look radiant, plumped and dewy under the natural sunlight (not frosty). If Tom Ford just releases this highlighter individually, I would definitely buy 10 of these!

The golden bronzer is a multi-purpose shade. Once it is applied, it doesn’t look as dark as in the pan, so depending on your skin tone, it can be used either as an illuminating powder for adding a warmer glow, or can be used as a light bronzer on fair skin for adding a touch of color. Because it contains shimmer I wouldn’t recommend using it for contour. For me I apply the highlight powder from the apples of the cheeks towards the temples, then I mix the highlighter with the bronzer, and apply it around the side of my cheekbones just to add a multi dimensional glow to the face. I have received tons of compliments on how good and healthy my skin looks lately, even though I have had the flu for a week!

Color Description:

Highlighter – A vanilla beige color with a pale rosey gold sheen.

Bronzer – A medium golden sandy brown with silver sheen. Hint that it also makes a beautiful neutral eye shadow!

Swatches

I haven’t reviewed a brush for a while…so I thought I’d include some brush recommendations for this product in this post. I choose what brush to use depending on the texture of the product and of course the purpose and the applied area. With this powder duo, I wanted a more precise application that gave a soft wash effect, so the brushes I picked are all on the higher end – they are very soft and fluffy and are designed to pick the pigments softly.

Brush Recommendations (from left to right) : HAKUHODO J511 Highlighter Brush (similar by MAC here); CHIKUHODO Z-Series Z 3 Contour; Suqqu Cheek Brush; Shu Uemura 17 Brush; CHIKUHODO GSN 02 Cheek & Highlight Brush (short handle version here)

Last but not least, I have included a comparison swatch between this and the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Highlighter and Contour Duo (reviewed here) and Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow (reviewed here).

{ 5 comments }

Labels: BRONZER • HIGHLIGHTER • Tom Ford

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi-Colour Powder in MARINIÈRE 01 – Summer 2015 Collection

June 27, 2015

A very late review for the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi Colour Powder in MARINIÈRE N01 (right) from the Les Beiges Summer 2015 Collection as I have had it for a while now. I have also included the Healthy Glow Powder in N01 (left) from a previous collection in this post as it is very similar to the MARINIÈRE in terms of finish and color when it is applied on to the skin. Both powders are limited edition, so if you missed out on the first one, be sure to grab a shade from the 2015 collection!

The Les Beiges powder is designed for enhancing skin’s natural beauty with a healthy glow and a hint of color. The powder has a lovely delicate “classic Chanel” rose fragrant – I love the smell of this every time I open the case. The ultra silky and creamy powder applies like a dream as it never looks cakey no matter how much you apply, and helps to blur out the pores with a touch of coverage. It comes with a high quality high moon shape brush, that is versatile enough for applying the powder over the entire face, or for shading and highlighting purposes.

MARINIÈRE contains strips of light peachy beige color and pinky lavender color with very fine silver shimmer. The finish is very natural, and it goes on semi-translucent with a brightening effect when applied 2 colors mixed together. On my NC15-20, I can use this as a setting powder that adds a touch of warm glow to the complexion without the visible shimmer. The hint of lavender tone helps to counteract the dullness as well as for brightening. I love a setting powder with a subtle brightening effect, especially with a lavender undertone for my yellow skin as it really helps my complexion to appear more fresh and youthful. (For Asians, the older you get the more dominant the yellow tone!)

Swatches

comparison swatch between the two LE powders

The Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Powder from the Summer 2015 Collection (LE) is currently available here and here.

{ 0 comments }

Labels: BRONZER • CHANEL • HIGHLIGHTER • POWDER

Marc Jacobs Beauty Instamarc Light Filtering Contour Powder 02 Dream Filter Review and Swatch

June 18, 2015

I picked up the Marc Jacobs Beauty Instamarc Light Filtering Contour Powder recently which has become an absolute necessity in my makeup kit now. The matching Shape Contour and Blush Brush is also fantastic and works really well with the product.

My first impression of the palette was that it was huge. It is housed in a very large pan with a big mirror, and each bronzer/highlighter contains 0.31oz of the product. Compared to the other contour kits in the market, this set is absolute great value for money. It comes in 3 colors – Dream Filter 20, Mirage Filter 40 and 60 HiFi Filter. The bronzer shade in the 20 and 40 are very similar, and for my complexion (NC15-20) I could go with either of them. The main difference between them is that 20 has a stronger pink hue in the highlighter shade and 30 has an dominant undertone of yellow/beige. Since I have a cool complexion and I have an affection with pink colored makeup I went for the color Dream Filter 20 in the end.

The powder of both the bronzer and the highlighter is very silky and finely milled. When they are applied with a kabuki brush, they are blended into your skin seamlessly like a natural shadow and highlight effect without looking cakey and powdery. The bronzer is pigmented and is easy to blend (no bronzey patches on the skin!), and it is a medium neutral brown that would work as an ideal contour shade for most fair skin types without looking too warm or muddy. It is also completely matte so it mimics a natural shadow effect for sculpturing the jaws, cheekbones and the nose bridge as well as creating a slimming effect. The highlighter has a silky and creamy texture and is slightly opaque which can be doubled as a setting powder, that provides a subtle brightening effect with a hint of pink hue, and some coverage that helps to blur out the pores.

Heavy Swatch:

Bottom Line: An easy to use high quality contour kit that creates natural looking definition and contour. I also highly recommend the Shape and Contour brush for application which will be covered in another post.

{ 0 comments }

Labels: BLUSH • BRONZER • HIGHLIGHTER • Marc Jacobs

Tom Ford Unabashed Eye and Cheek Palette is in store now!

November 4, 2014

Just a quick post letting all of the Tom Ford Australian fans know that the Tom Ford Beauty Summer 2014 Collection is finally out here! The Unabashed Eye and Cheek Palette has been sold out globally, and since Australia is the last country receiving the Tom Ford collection (welcome to the life of a beauty enthusiast who resides in Australia..), there are still limited numbers available here. I just got mine and words cannot express how gorgeous this palette is in real life. Love the glitter and the taupe eye shadows, and the blush is such a pretty color. Other products from the collection include a Skin Illuminator and two Lip Shimmers.

{ 5 comments }

Labels: BLUSH • BRONZER • EYESHADOW • SHOP • Tom Ford