EYESHADOW

FOTD Nars Pandora for Smokey Eyes

February 29, 2012

This is another post requested by my readers – A FOTD of dark smokey eyes paired with pale blush and lips. I hardly wear smokey eyes so I thought that was such a good idea for me to practice. I wanted to wear black eye shadows, and the Nars Pandora Duo Eye Shadow was the first one that came to my mind. I bought this duo many years ago when I was in the Nars phase, but had never worn them yet! So I am giving this duo a road test today.

Pandora contains a matte black shade and a shimmery white shade, and it is regarded as one of the most iconic Nars duos (along with Rated R) to be collected. Surprisingly, it is not as difficult to wear as I thought. Both the black and white shades apply smoothly and evenly, and are easy to blend. It is very densely packed so I didn’t experience any fall out with this product using a fluffy blending brush (MAC 217).

Face: I wanted my base makeup to look sheer and natural, so I opted for the Sunday Riley Tinted Moisturizer, and the Bobbi Brown Corrector for under eyes concealing. Then I set my makeup with the Tom Ford Translucent Finishing Powder.

Cheeks: A few swipes of Chanel Joues Contraste in Narcisse.

Eyes: Since Pandora is matte and can look flat on the eyes, I first used the Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill 13 Noifa for a sheer wash of color over the eye socket. This is my go-to product for quick smokey eyes – it blends out beautifully with MAC 217 and the shimmer straight away creates a multi-dimensional layered effect without the need of applying 4 and 5 different shades! I then applied the black shade of Pandora starting from the lash line into the crease for a more dramatic effect. The white shade was added under the brow bone to highlight.

Brows: They were done when preparing this eye brow tutorial, though this post shows the nose contour (step 5) better.

Lips: Applied with the Shiseido Sheer Gloss Lipstick in Doll Pink which is my favorite pale pink lipstick, then MAC Creme Sheen Glass in Partial Pink was layered on top. They go perfectly together!

More pictures:

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Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW • FOTD • Giorgio Armani • MAC • NARS • SHISEIDO

FOTD: Le Metier de Beaute True Colour Eye Shadows in JOJO, CORINTHIAN and BORDEAUX

February 8, 2012

As promised this is my EOTD/FOTD wearing the gorgeous Le Metier de Beaute True Colour Eye Shadows in JOJO, CORINTHIAN and BORDEAUX. A preview picture first, I thought the eye shadows look much better on the eyes than how it appears in the swatch in my previous post. As Le Metier De Beaute claims – when the colors are layered together, they really bring out the complex undertone of each shade for a perfectly multi-dimensional effect! Overall I am very impressed.

I applied JOJO as a base color all over the eye socket, then applied BORDEAUX along the upper lash line and added CORINTHIAN to the outer v.

On the lower lash line, JOJO was applied on the inner corner and BORDEAUX was on the outer third.

Close-up shots:

FOTD:

Other products used:

Dior Radiant Base

Dior Natural Glow Hydrating Foundation

Nars blush in Sex Appeal

Nars lipstick in Belle De Jour

This could be the shortest post I have ever done haha…Work has been really taking a toll on me lately, and I am very sleep deprived so blogging on a frequent basis is quite challenging for me at the moment. The good news is that retail therapy still works for me, so I hope I will have some time to show you the highly anticipated Chanel 2012 Spring collection and the Burberry 2012 Spring collection in the near future!

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • Le Metier De Beaute • NARS

Le Metier de Beaute True Colour Eye Shadows in JOJO, CORINTHIAN, BORDEAUX Reviews and Swatches

February 5, 2012

I finally got around to writing up a review for Le Metier de Beaute True Colour Eye Shadows (available here or here) during my recent visit to the States. I have been using them regularly lately, just to make sure my review is not based on my first impression as sometimes people do get a little overwhelmed (including me) with a brand new makeup, particularly with a highly exclusive brand like Le Metier de Beaute. As you all know, Le Metier de Beaute is difficult to get outside Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, and I get asked by several of my Non-US readers – are they really worth the hype? I can firmly say YES!

I purchased mine at Bergdorf Goodman, and I had quite a lengthy consultation with the senior Le Metier de Beaute Makeup Artist (who’s name is Dustin) so I might as well share my shopping experience with you. Dustin is extremely nice and friendly, not only did he teach me a lot about the brand in general, but he also offered me so many samples! Though I have seen swatches online millions of times, I was still overwhelmed with such a mass collection of beautiful eye shadows, and inevitably I couldn’t decide what to pick. Dustin recommended to pick four shades as a basic kit, and he started out looking at my natural complexion and recommended me the following:

Base Color: should match your natural skin color as closely as possible

Shading Color: 2-3 shades darker than your natural skin color

A color that adds warmth to your skin: clench your fist, and pick a color that matches the redness of your knuckle, and probably that is why every kaleidoscope kit I have seen there is always a reddish or plummish shade.

Crease color: Pick a dark color that complements the color of your eyes.

His color recommendation for me was:

JOJO as the base color:

CORINTHIAN as the shading color (yay I was VERY delighted that he picked the infamous taupe shade as my shading color)

BORDEAUX as the crease color, as he thinks the plummy undertone will bring out my brown eyes

I went against his fourth pick – a reddish color that matches the warm undertone of my skin. He swears that it would have worked for me because this is the technique being used on all the celebrities. But hay..do I have blonde hair and blue eyes?…knowing my face I just knew that any red shade on my eyes would make me look hideous.

The texture of Le Metier de Beaute Eye Shadows is to die for – creamy smooth that glides over the skin like silk, with just the right amount of shimmer that gives a luminous satiny sheen. I was impressed that they are the only eye shadows that are as firmly pressed as Suqqu eye shadows. The swatch below does not do these beautiufl eye shadows justice, as they look much better on the eyes, and I will be posting a eotd/fotd tomorrow as I don’t want to make this post too long.

Bottom Line: Le Metier de Beaute Eye Shadows are totally lust worthy! If you are new to this brand, I highly recommend that you invest in 3 to 4 classic shades to build up a basic kit that you can reach out for everyday.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • Le Metier De Beaute

My Picks for the Best Eye Makeup 2011

January 13, 2012

It is Friday night! I usually don’t blog on Friday night as it is my “happy hour” time, but I wanted to lose a couple of pounds after the festive season so I decided to stay home and just vegetate, and in the meantime killing my time off blogging…This post is about my picks for the best eye makeup year 2011! The same with my previous post – I picked one or two of my favorite and most used items from every eye makeup category.

Best Eye Shadow Primer – Nars Smudge Proof Eye Shadow Base

Best Liquid Eye Liner: Dolly Wink Liquid Eye Liner in Jet Black, reviewed here.

Best Gel Eye Liner: Bobbi Brown Gel Eye Liner – an oldie but a goodie!

Best Eye Liner Pencil: Dior Crayon Eyeliner Waterproof – I use an eye liner pencil to define the outer third of my lower lash line, and I like the Dior as it is soft and pigmented so doesn’t tug my skin, and it stays put for a whole day without any smudge.

Best Eye Brow products: I get asked all the time what eye brow products I used in my FOTD. They are always by my holy grail combination – The K-Palette Real Lasting Liquid Eye Brow Pen in dark brown, followed by the Laura Mercier Brow Powder Duo in Deep Blonde

The Laura Mercier Brow Powder Duo in Deep Blonde has a light brown ashy color which works really well with my complexion. I use the dark shade to define my eye brow and the lighter shade to contour the bridge of my nose.Best Eye Brow Tint: MAC Brow Set in Girl Boy. If I go for a very soft and fresh makeup look, I tend to tint my eyebrow slightly lighter and I really love the color of MAC Girl Boy.

Best Cream Eye Shadow: Chanel illusion d’ombre long wear luminous eye shadow, I like the weightless texture and the shimmery semi-translucent finish.

Best Pigment: Inglot Pigments

Best Single Eye Shadow: Le Metier de Beaute True Color Eye Shadow. I haven’t used them long enough to do a proper review yet, but I was impressed and they win for their exclusiveness!

Runner Up: Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eye Shadow. Chanel offers a beautiful and wearable selection of single eye shadows. I have collected quite many of them and both the texture and the colors never let me down.

Best Eye Shadow Palette in general: Without a doubt that it’s my Suqqu Blend Color Eye Shadow, the entire range is easy to wear on a daily basis.

Best Cool Neutral Eye Shadow Palette: Other than Suqqu I have also included a few of my all time favorite neutral eye shadow palettes in this post. For the cool neutrals, Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Prelude wins my heart. Do you know Chanel les 4 Ombres has also won the 2011 Japanese Cosme best eye shadow award?!

Best Warm Neutral Eye Shadow Palette: the legendary Lunasol Beige Beige – perfect for a “no makeup” makeup look.

Best Sparkly Neutral Eye Shadow Palette: Tom Ford Eye Color Quad in Golden Mink (reviewed here)

Best Collectible Eye Shadow Palette: Shiseido Maquillage Eye Creator by Alexander Wang (limited edition). This is my most precious makeup as I am huge fan of Alexander Wang’s modern and edgy design. I was lucky enough to snatch up some products from his first makeup collection in collaboration with Maquillage.

Best Drugstore Eye Shadow Palette: Kanebo Lavshuca Melting Eyes – as the name suggests, the eye shadows are so fined milled that they almost felt they were melting into the skin.

Best Mascara: The Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Mascaras. I have both the original lash queen and the feline extravaganza lash queen. The feline adds more volume to the lashes but the original defines the lashes better and gives a soft and feathery finish. Absolutely adore this range!

Runner Up: Fresh Supernova Mascara – it gives super thick and dramatic lashes (almost doll like). The only downside is it doesn’t hold the curl well so I have to use another mascara or a primer underneath.

Best Drugstore Mascara: Kiss Me Heroine Make Volumising Mascara

Best False Eye Lashes: It’s a tie between the Princess Lee criss cross 7 in light black and the DUP Eyelashes. They are the most natural looking falsies I have used so far – soft and feathery and the human hair blend into your own lashes. I get a panic attack if I don’t have multiple backups of them. Just a note to those of you wanting to buy the Princess Lee lashes, be aware that there are so many counterfeit on the internet as Princess Lee lashes are extremely exclusive.

What a long post! If you have made it to here, well done! Hope you all have a good weekend 🙂

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Labels: CHANEL • DIOR • Eyebrow Pen • EYELINER • EYESHADOW • FALSE LASHES • FRESH • Helena Rubinstein • Heroine Make • INGLOT • Laura Mercier • Le Metier De Beaute • LUNASOL • MAC • Maquillage by Shiseido • MASCARA • NARS • SUQQU • Tom Ford

SUQQU KESHIZUMI Blend Eye Color Review, Swatches and FOTD

January 8, 2012

Hooray to my friend who brought me back the Suqqu KESHIZUMI Blend Eye Color from UK recently (purchased here). I initially passed it up from my first Suqqu order as I thought the shades appear quite grayish from the Suqqu website. But many swatches online I have seen shows that they lean more towards taupish color which is right up my alley!

The quality of Suqqu eyeshadow is very unique and quite phenomenal in my opinion, as they are the most densely packed eye shadows I have ever used. I noticed that as I have used them many times, the eye shadows still look unused (without any noticeable used marks). And best of all, there is no powder debris after each use which is great for a neat freak like me as I hate my makeup looking ‘dirty’ (with debris all over the pan). The texture feels slightly harder than most other eye shadows, so they are moderately pigmented but are buildable to your desired finish. I personally find that one or two swipes of each shade applied on top of an eyeshadow primer is good enough for a daytime wear.

I also adore the finish, some eye shadows may look great in swatches but they can look cakey and heavy on the eyes, particularly on aged eyes. Suqqu eye shadows apply like a silky veil and contains just the right amount of shimmer that reflects in the light beautifully. These eye shadow palettes might be out of your consideration if you are into bold and dramatic eye makeup, otherwise they are a staple for every girl!

As usual, all of the blend color eyeshadow palettes contain two shimmer and two matte eye shadows. The KESHIZUMI has

– shimmery silver and a matte plumy brown on the left, and

– a beautiful shimmery plummy taupe with a hint of silver and a matte white shade on the right.

Swatches of KESHIZUMI

FOTD:

– upper: applied the white shade all over the eyelid and the plummy taupe over the eye socket area. Then I applied the matte brown along the lash line up to the outer v.

– lower: applied the shimmery silver along the lash line and lined the outer third of the lash line with the matte brown.

First picture was taken with flash so the shiny face..but the shimmers always show better in flash photography.

Other products used in the FOTD:

Face: Clé De Peau Teint Naturel Fluide Cream Foundation, Bobbi Brown corrector and Cle De Peau loose powder

Cheek: Suqqu Balancing Cheek in MUKUGE

Eyes: K-Palette 24 long lasting liquid eyeliner in black and Shiseido Perfect Mascara (for the bottom lashes)

Lips: Tom Ford lipstick in Pink Dusk

I thought the taupe and the brown shades in KESHIZUMI looked quite similar to the Chanel Topkapi eye quad from the pan, so I did a comparison for you but they appear different on the skin.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • SUQQU

Tom Ford Eye Color Quad Golden Mink Review, Swatch and FOTD

December 12, 2011

I didn’t update my blog for many days, and I felt bad so I am making sure that the product in this post is extraordinary! – which is the Eye Color Quad in 01 Golden Mink by Tom Ford. I was a little late jumping on the Tom Ford’s makeup bandwagon as his collection has been released in Australia for a while. For some reason I just didn’t have the urge to get my hands on his makeup sooner, and it wasn’t until recent that I read an interview of him talking about beauty. I was really impressed by his knowledge of makeup and was convinced that his views on beauty appear to be in line with my ideal perception. The entire line was created in collaboration with his favorite makeup artist Charlotte Tibury.

Some of my favorite quotes from his interview:

“Number one is to get yourself a good dermatologist. You need to cleanse your skin well and moisturize it. Cosmetics can only improve your looks.”

“Symmetry is what we as human beings find beautiful. I know my face from staring at it in front of a mirror. Be brutal.”

“Makeup is all about light and shadow. People shy away from contour makeup, because it scares them. But it’s as important as the lighting in this room.”

Tom Ford eye color quads contain three different textures – glitter, shimmer and matte. I bought the quad golden mink because it contains two shades of glitter – my favorite texture out of them all, as I had not seen such a high quality texture of glitter eye shadow by any other brand. I normally associate glitter eye shadow as “tons of chunky glitters in a dry and chalky texture with lots of fallout” – just think about MAC and Nars….but Tom Ford offers everything I ever wanted from an eyeshadow to create a beautiful sparkly finish, minus everything I hated. The glitters are extremely finely milled which makes the eye shadow ultra smooth, and it feels moist and creamy upon touching, but applies like a powder shadow and it adheres to the skin smoothly without a single fallout. The finish is sparkly (not metallic) in a grown-up polished way. Under certain lighting it gives a wet look effect which is often seen at fashion backstage makeups that I adore. That is the best description I could think of, but if you get a chance to test them out, you might be just as overwhelmed as I was!

Golden Mink also contains two shimmery shades which are absolutely beautiful – buttery soft and silky with great pigmentation.

My only gripe is the flimsy velvet pouch that comes with the palette – it just feels cheap rather than Tom Ford…

Left: Pale yellow gold (glitter) and beige taupe (shimmer)

Right: Copper gold (glitter) and chocolate brown (shimmer)Swatches:

close up shot:

These eye shadows stay put for the whole day without any fallout. The gold theme of this palette really flatters my complexion, as it doesn’t make me look more yellow nor muddy.

The pictures are only 2-D, so they don’t really capture the multi-dimensional effect of these eye shadows and how they appear differently under different lighting. Thumbs up for Golden Mink, the most beautiful sparkly neutral eye shadow palette that I own, and is not dupable by other brands.

Bottom Line: Tom Ford – the man who does everything to perfection and he certainly knows how to make women look more beautiful. You can’t go wrong with his creations. You can get Tom Ford Eye Shadows here or here in the US.

Tom Ford’s eye color quad is also available here online in Australia.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • Tom Ford

Christmas Party Look with Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill 04

November 28, 2011

Christmas is just around the corner, which means the party season is truly upon us! Are you all excited? I am, because the many “non-neutral-makeup” that I bought for special occasions are finally on high rotation of use. I attended a few parties after work last week, and I needed makeup that can transform my look from day to night within minutes. I thought I’ll give the Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Eye shadow 04 a try – I wanted this one so much until I got the Chanel Illusoire but I bought it anyway at SAKS to qualify for the gifts with purchase.

I love Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Eye shadows in general, and I have already reviewed the other shades in my previous post, so I am not going to review the quality of these eye shadows again. The shade 04 is a gorgeous taupe shade in the pan, but I am little disappointed that the color doesn’t show up on me quite the same as it appears in the pan. It pulls a little too gray with a gunmetal metallic sheen – such color can look too harsh against my complexion and I don’t feel comfortable wearing it alone. I personally prefer taupe with a brown tinge to it and that’s what this shade is missing.

Compared to Chanel Illusoire:

My Giorgio Armani ETK Eyeshadows Collection as of today:

Bottom Line: Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill 04 is a stunning color but I think it takes the right complexion to pull it off. It allows you to create a multi dimensional smoky eyes within minutes, and also serves as a good base for an even more intense and dramatic eyes. I like it but not love it. I think there are better GA ETK shades to invest in, and if I have to choose between ETK 04 and Chanel Illusoire, I would go for the Chanel.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • Giorgio Armani

Lunasol Three-Dimensional Eyes 03 Mysterious Beige Review, Swatch and FOTD

October 24, 2011

Lunasol is known for their neutrals, and this fall Lunasol has taken it up a notch and delivered a set of new eye shadows – the Three-Dimensional Eyes, that lets you to manipulate light and shadow more effectively to add depth to your eyes. The star feature of this collection has to be the graduation of the neutral colors, as in each palette the Highlight Color and the Shade Color consists of three different textures and levels of luster. Being an Asian who doesn’t have deep set of eyes, this concept is really intriguing.

Under the influence of my beauty pal Elaine who is a purple-holic, I went for 03 Mysterious Beige which has a purple color (the old me would have gone for the neutral beige but I decided to venture out…)

The highlight color which is a pinkish ivory comes in three different textures – 2 shimmery’s with slight variations in undertone (however on the eyes I don’t see much difference), and 1 sparkly shade.

The purple leans lavender and is very similar to the purple shade in Nars Nouveau Monde, but a softer version.

The shade color is brown with a hint of charcoal undertone – it comes with 2 shimmery shades in variant undertones, and a sparkly shade.

A safe shimmery peachy beige, very similar to Stila Kitten.

Group Swatches: All shades are very smooth and easy to blend.

How I wear this palette:

I firstly applied the shimmery highlight colors all over the eye lid up to the brow bone, then applied the purple shade all over the eye socket area and added the peachy beige into the socket line only. Applied the shimmery shadow colors along the lash line up to the outer v and patted the sparkly shadow over.

On the lower lash line, the sparky highlight color was added to the inner corner and the sparkly shadow color was added to the outer corner. Blend the edge using the peachy beige color.

Finished with a set of quite dramatic lashes, so if you want your eyes to appear 10 times bigger this is the style to go for! (picture can be found in this post)