FALSE LASHES

Les Merveilleuses Laduree Summer 2013 Collection – Mixed Pressed Cheek Color 101 and 102 Blushes Reviews, Swatches and FOTDs

July 3, 2013

The Les Merveilleuses LADUREE makeup collection has caused a stir when it was first released in Japan about a year ago, and many girls fell head over heels with their French-inspired packaging and their dreamy line of products. I have been resisting the temptation for so long…until I spotted the new Les Merveilleuses by Laduree Summer 2013 Collection. It was love at first sight for the two new Mixed Pressed Cheek Color 101 and 102 Blushes released as part of the collection for me. Everything about this blush is calling my name!

Firstly let’s talk about the packaging. As with most Japanese makeup, the blush and the case are sold separately. The design of the case is on the vintage-side with a Victorian flair. I have to admit I am not the biggest fan of anything vintage…but they are growing on me in an inexplicable way and they do look ‘more appealing’ in real life!

The mirrored-case is made of plastic but it feels quite sturdy. There are two compartments with a brush included.

On to the most exciting part of the review – the blush itself! As you can see, the blush has a beautiful marbled design of different colors. It is very densely packed with a velvety texture, with absolutely no powder debris fall on to the side of the pan when swirling a brush over it. Pigmentation is moderate (as with most Japanese makeup), which means 2-3 swipes is enough for the color to show on my face (NC15).

101 is a neutral pink mixed with of watermelon pink and ivory. Mixing them it gives a wash of perfect soft neutral pink (leans slightly cool on my cool tone skin) that is very girly and fresh.

102 is a peach color mixed with muted lavender and tangerine. Mixing them gives a luminous wash of soft peachy pink, which is the most versatile color for most complexions.

Les Merveilleuses LADUREE Pressed Cheek Color Swatches: Left 101 Right 102

FOTD 1 – wearing Mixed Pressed Cheek Color 101

FOTD 2 – wearing Mixed Pressed Cheek Color 102

Other products used:

1. Cle De Peau Brightening Enhancer Base (reviewed here)

2. YSL Rouge Volupte 13 Peach Passion in FOTD 2

3. Addiction Sugar Rusk Eye Palette (reviewed here)

4. Shu Uemura Eye Brow Pencil Seal Brown

5. Chantecaille Future Skin Foundation

6. Dolly Wink False Eye Lashes 01 Dolly Sweet

7. YSL Glossy Stain 15 Rose Vinyl in FOTD 1

8. Shu Uemura Precise Volume Waterproof Mascara

The Les Merveilleuses LADURE Mixed Pressed Cheek Color LE 101 and 102 can be purchased here.

{ 11 comments }

Labels: BLUSH • CHANTECAILLE • FALSE LASHES • FOTD • Les Merveilleuses Laduree • YSL

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 🙂

{ 22 comments }

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

October Favorites – Drugstore Products Edition

October 31, 2011

I haven’t done a monthly favorite for a while. Reason being I use way too many products throughout a month that is impossible for me to consolidate a list of things into a short post. So I have decided to resume my favorite posts as of this month but will focus on one particular category. For the month of October I would like to do a Drugstore Products Edition! Surprise?! I just feel like I always talk about high end products, but in the mean time there are some really wonderful and affordable products that deserve a shout out!

Western Brands:

PANTENE AQUA LIGHT Lightweight Nourishing Shampoo, Conditioner and Treatment:

These are absolutely amazing!!! I have been neglecting my high end shampoos and conditioners ever since I had them. They have made my hair feel soft, smooth, tangle free and most importantly as light as feather. The first few times I used them I literally could not stop swinging my hair (like the girl in the shampoo ad but in a clumsy way). It is the same feel as if you just had a hair cut – the hair just feels so healthy, manageable and light. I need to re-iterate, these are amazing 🙂

OPI NAIL ENVY

I wear nail polish everyday as a result my nail becomes yellow and dull. This product has completely rescued my nails and serves as a good base for nail polishes.

Covergirl Lash Blast Volume Waterproof Mascara

An oldie but a goodie. It separates, volumises, holds the curl and doesn’t budge. May not be the best mascara in the market but definitely best value for money!

SLEEK Blush in Rose Gold

Gifted by my sweet beauty pal Joyce! She always raves about it and I totally understand why she loves it more than the Nars 0rgasm blush the minute I opened it. The color is gorgeous. I will do a comparison post later in the future, for now please check out Joyce from Atelier Beauty’s review here.

Asian Brands:

LAVSHUCA Eyeshadow Palette

Newbies to Japanese drugstore brands? Lavshuca is the brand to go! It is a affordable line of Kanebo. Though the packaging may not look as elegant Lunasol quads, the actual eye shadows are just as good – smooth, finely milled and great color payoff with a soft shimmery finish. If I only had 10 dollars as my budget for eyeshadow this will be the one.

K-Palette Liquid Eyebrow Pen

Big fan of liquid eyebrow pens because they last 24 hours on me. If you love the Suqqu liquid eyebrow pen, you would love this one. Actually they are pretty identical to me and K-palette is only a fraction of the cost.

Etude House Cream blush

They are housed in a sterdy glass jar with an adorable packaging. These are very pigmented, cool tone pink blushes. They have a perfect texture of cream blush that is not too creamy nor too dry, and give a dewy finish that lasts all day. What more can I ask for?!

From LTR:

Dolly Wink 02 Sweet Girly: super long and dramatic, wore them in this post.

Dolly Wink 04 Feminine Style: these are cute corner lashes, very natural and suitable for daytime wear. Wore them in this post.

Dolly Wink 01 Sweet Dolly: the perfect style for a sweet and dolly looking eyes. Wore them in this post.

Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Feline Extravaganza Waterproof Mascara (AUD$48)

Okay I am cheating… this is not a drugstore brand. I am just loving this one too much that I have to include it in this month’s favorite! HR Lash Queen Feline Extravaganza WP Mascara is my Holy Grail Mascara. I have tried tons and tons but nothing else beats this one! I always get a few backups whenever I get a chance to shop at DFS Galleria.

{ 21 comments }

Labels: BLUSH • DOLLYWINK • Etude House • FALSE LASHES • HAIRCARE • Helena Rubinstein • KANEBO • MASCARA • My Favorites • OPI

Chanel Les 4 Ombres in 18 Kaska Beige Swatch and FOTD

September 13, 2011

Apologies for the lack of posts lately because I have been busy planning my upcoming trip to the States in my spare time! I have always enjoyed my stay in the states from my previous trips – the service was just impeccable compared to Australia. Let’s not talk about the shopping there! Everything seems to be half the price of Australian retail.

Okay I shall contain my excitement a bit! Back to the main topic of this post today. My guy friend just returned from the States and I asked him to bring me back the US version of Chanel Les Ombres in PRELUDE. Knowing that he could make a mistake, I printed out a picture of Prelude and highlighted the name in BOLD and font 20 to him. In the end he still brought me back the Chanel Les 4 Ombres in 18 Kaska Beige..Haha oh well at least he tried…

Nevertheless Kaska Beige is a beautiful neutral palette, which is definitely a staple eyeshadow palette for the neutral lovers.

This is my first US version of Chanel Les 4 Ombres, and just as expected it has a softer and smoother texture and color pay off is much better than the baked version. I haven’t really made up my mind which version I prefer. To me the finish matters the most, and I noticed that the US version is more opaque whereas the baked version is more translucent which gives a really nice sheen when the light reflects on it.

Swatches of Kaska Beige – I like all shades except for the one at bottom right corner as it shows up quite muddy on my skintone. EOTD:

Upper lid: Applied a very light wash of the top right matte taupe shade all over the eye socket area, then smudged the bottom left plum brown shade along the lash line. I then dabbed the bottom right shade (which I did not like) in the middle.

Lower lid: Applied the top left beige shade at the tear duct area and lined the outer third of the lash line with the bottom left shade.

Overall Look:

I did my FOTD with the following products:

Ombres Tissées Iridescent Effects Eyes in Beiges

Chanel Joues Contraste Blushes in ROUGE

Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Imaginaire

Last but not least, my falsies are Dolly Wink in 01 Dolly Sweet – gift from the lovely Elaine 🙂 Absolutely love them!

{ 31 comments }

Labels: CHANEL • DOLLYWINK • FALSE LASHES • FOTD

Kanebo Lunasol 04 Smoky Ocean Scene Eyes Swatch and FOTD

July 5, 2011

If you are familiar with Asian cosmetics, you will know Kanebo Lunasol eyeshadow palettes are highly raved in Asia. Some of their signature neutral palettes as well as their seasonal limited edition palettes are always sold out. I too am a big fan of Lunasol in general and I have collected quite a few palettes from them. Today’s review is for the beautiful 04 Smoky Ocean eyeshadow palette from Lunasol’s Ocean Scene Eyes Line which is their newest range.

The Ocean Scene Eyes Line adopts a new Soft Powder Formula Technology which delivers a moist and smooth texture. It carries 5 permanent palettes – I chose 04 Smoky Ocean because it seems to be the most cool toned palette out of them all. All eyeshadows in the palette are shimmery as this line is designed to create a translucent and wet looking finish.

Each eyeshadow is very finely milled with lots of fine silver shimmers. They do stand up to their claims – the shadows are cushiony soft and silky smooth. When I ran my fingers over each shadow I couldn’t feel any trace of graininess from the shimmer.

Shades description from left to right for the below swatch:

white silvery shade with a hint of beige (lower left in the palette)

a light grey with a hint of taupe (upper left in the palette)

a pale blue with silver undertone (upper right in the palette)

this is such a unique color, a bluish charcoal with a hint of moss. (lower right in the palette)

These are swatched heavily using the sponge applicator. When applied on the eyes using a brush, these shades appear more sparkly and translucent for a wet look finish which is the way I prefer.

How I wore them on my eyes for a subtle smokey eye look:

I only used 3 shades – the light grey all over the eyelid with the bluish charcoal applied along my upper lash and the outer v. The pale blue is applied along my lower lash.

Bottom Line: The texture and the translucent finish of these eyeshadow are to die for. I am most impressed with its long wearability as they stay put for 8 hours. As for the palette, I won’t say it is a must have as it is more for summer only and is limited to smokey eye use.

Other products used:

Cheeks: Nars Multiple Tint in Turks and Caicos

Lips: Shu Uemura Lip duo tint and gloss in Love Apricot from the Takano Collection

Falsies by Kiss Me in style 02: I have to give special credit to these lashes. They are incredibly beautiful and they make such a huge difference to the eyes.

Overall Look:

Lunasol is not sold in Australia. They cost around $60 AUD if they are purchased over the Kanebo counters in Asia. Price varies online.

The Ocean Scene Eyes Range has recently released two LE palettes for their summer 2011 collection. Check out the gorgeous Elaine and PrettySeaEagle for their beautiful swatches!

{ 19 comments }

Labels: EYESHADOW • FALSE LASHES • FOTD • KANEBO • KissMe • LUNASOL • NARS • Shu Uemura

Puppy Eyes Makeup Look FOTD

June 13, 2011

Puppy Eyes Makeup look is the opposite of cat eyes look. It has been the most popular eye makeup in Japan since it was featured in some of the top beauty magazines. A lot of girls are ditching the cat eyes for the puppy eyes look to have a more innocent and cuter appearance. With this kind of makeup, no one will have the heart to say ‘NO’ to you haha

Basically rather than flicking the eyeliner up, I draw the eyeliner following the natural curve of my eyes till the outer corner of the lower lash line, to create a droopy eye look. Then I used a pair of corner lashes to complete the look. The rest of my makeup is kept at minimum – just a sheer wash of color on the cheeks and lips.

Final Look:

The star product of this makeup is the Dolly Wink Corner/ Partial False Eyelash in No 4 – Feminine style. Quite expensive for false eyelashes imo but worth every penny. So easy to wear and both the hair and band are super soft.

Other than the false lashes, everything else used was really simple:

Nars All About Eve Eyeshadow Duo: perfect shades just to add a touch of sheen to the eyelids.

Shu Uemura Partial Eyelash Curler: to curl the middle part of the lashes only. It is important to keep the outer part of the lashes down.

Fairy Drop Volumising Mascara on the lower lashes. The beautiful Jade from Jade Musing did a fantastic review of it, so check it out!

Mac Creme Sheen in Partial Pink on the lips.

Close-up of my eyes:

From the side:

FACE PRODUCTS:

Dior Radiant Base as a highlighting primer on the top of my cheek bones; temples and nose bridge.

Dior Nude Skin Natural Glow Foundation

Canmake Cream Blush in 03 on the cheeks, reviewed here.

More pictures of completed look:

{ 14 comments }

Labels: CANMAKE • DIOR • DOLLYWINK • Eyelash Curler • FALSE LASHES • FOTD • MAC • NARS • Shu Uemura

Chanel Fauve and Taupe Grise FOTD

May 23, 2011

Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Fauve is the eyeshadow I have been reaching for the most ever since I bought it. As I mentioned in my previous review post, I like to use it as a wash all over the eye socket area, it just really complements my skin tone. This is a complete FOTD using Fauve pairing with Taupe Grise.

Eye products used:

1. Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

2. Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Fauve all over the eye socket area as a base and along the lower lash line

3. Bobbi Brown in Taupe along the crease

4. Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Taupe Grise at the outer V and along the outer part of the lower lash line

5. Nars Larger than Life volumising Mascara on the lower lashes

Princess Lee cross 7 False Eyelashes is used on upper lashes, my holy grail lashes!!

A closer look at the lashes. Princess Lee looks so natural whilst making your lashes look fuller, people can never tell I wear falsies if it is by princess lee.

Overall Look:

Face and Lip Products Used:

Foundation: Maquillage Liquid Lasting UV by Shiseido

Blush: Nars DT

Concealer/Highlighter: Chanel Corrector in10 Beige Rose

Lipstick: YSL Rouge Pur Couture in 06 Rose Bergamasque (reviewed here)

Lipgloss: Stila lip glaze in blush

{ 19 comments }

Labels: BOBBI BROWN • CHANEL • FALSE LASHES • FOTD • Maquillage by Shiseido • NARS • Stila

FOTD – Nars Eyeshadow Palette and OOTD

May 16, 2011

The FOTD and OOTD were from yesterday. I had a wonderful time celebrating a special occasion with my family at an amazing Restaurant – the Quay. I basically wear the same makeup to work everyday, so special occasions like this allow me to have more fun with my makeups. I decided to use my new Nars eyeshadow palette (reviewed here), the rest were chosen to complement the eye look.

Finished Look

I was bored with my fringe, so I pinned my fringe back for the night.

Face Products Used:

Face: Guerlain Radiance concentrate with Pure Gold Makeup Base was applied before the Becca Luminous Skin Colour foundation.

Cheeks: Nars the Multiple Tint in Turks & Caicos layered with Nars Blush in Luster.

Highlight: Shiseido Natural Finish Cream Concealer to highlight my under eye areas, then set it with Benefit powerflage . Shu Uemura Glow as highlighter on my cheekbones and nose bridge.

Note* to my dear reader who has requested for a review of Guerlain Radiance makeup base, I promise it is coming up soon!

Eyes and Lips:

Eyes: Primed my eyes with Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. Nars Silk Road was applied all over my eyelids, then Nars Brumes was applied along my upper and lower lash lines. Koji Ultrafine was used to do the winged out eyeliner look, then finish it with falsies and Fairy Drop volumising mascara on my lower lashes.

Lips: Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Hopi

False Eyelashes Used: my favorite style now!

Closer look at the lashes:

The weather has been so cold lately, I just wanted to cocoon myself inside my soft quilt. I rely on my Jill Stuart coat that has brought warmth to me in the winters.

Coat by Jill Stuart

Dress by Alice + Olivia

Chanel 2.55

{ 12 comments }

Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW • FALSE LASHES • Fashion • FOTD • Jill Stuart • NARS • OOTD

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