Sunday Riley

Best Cleansers for morning use

July 28, 2015

Morning cleansers play a very important role in my daily skincare routine. Not only do they have to gently cleanse the skin and provide skincare benefits, I also like them to be soothing and uplifting to make me feel better as I am just not a morning person. This is a review for some of my all time favorite cleansers for morning use, and they are all lotion/cream type as they are gentle enough for all skin types without stripping the moisture off.

Elemis Rehydrating Rose Petal Cleanser – I am a big fan of this luxury spa brand, and this is my favorite product from this line (my 5th bottle!). If you love rose scent, you would absolutely fall in love with this cleanser. It smells like the most delicate fresh roses just cut from your garden, and makes you feel so relaxed and pampered when you use this cleanser in the morning. It has a very lightweight milky texture, and feels very gentle on the skin and makes your skin feel silky and supple after use. It is not a heavy duty cleanser (not for removing full makeup), but good enough for taking away the oil and dirt build-up from overnight.

THREE Balancing Cleansing Milk – Another heavenly scented cleanser that I am obsessed with. THREE is a luxury organic Japanese beauty brand, and this cleanser is made with a blend of premium skin nourishing essential oils and purified bamboo and rose flower water. It has a creamy milky texture, does a great cleaning job (can also be used as a makeup remover) that melts away all the dirt and makeup and replenishes the skin’s moisture at the same time. It is gentle but also has some purifying properties that help to balance the oil and moisture of the skin. My skin feels supple and hydrated after use. More information can be found on THREE website.

IPSA Premier Line Cleansing Creamy Paste – I love exploring premium Japanese skincare lines, and this is another luxurious cleanser that I splurged on. It is a lather free cleanser in an interesting creamy paste texture. Though this premier line targets at anti aging and face lifting, I find this cleanser to be very refreshing and hydrating. It feels creamy but light weight on the skin, and it has a slight minty sensation which helps to make me feel uplifted in the morning. It contains enzymes so it helps to dissolve dirt and provides a very mild exfoliation to the skin.

Antipodes Organic Hallelujah Lime & Patchouli Cleanser – Last but not least, I wanted an affordable and readily available cleanser that is just as good as the expensive ones as mentioned above. After testing a whole bunch of them, my favorite is the Antipodes. It has this expensive invigorating aromatic scent, and it cleans and cares for the skin at the same time which makes it a great morning cleanser. This product is best to be used within 3-4 months, as with most organic products that have a heavy base of oil, the scent changes slightly over a period of time after it opens. This is normal (just like cooking oil) and is probably a good indication that this product is all natural and contains no preservatives! Currently 40% off in Australia here.

My other recommendations that are not shown in the picture include the Decleor Aroma Cleanse Essential Cleansing Milk and the Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Cleanser. They all work very similar to the other ones – gentle, soothing, and rinse off without residue which is what I look out for in a good cleanser!

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Labels: ANTIPODES • CLEANSER • DECLEOR • ELEMIS • IPSA • SKINCARE • Sunday Riley • THREE

Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment and Derma Skin Roller Review

February 9, 2015

I have received many compliments on how good my skin looks lately which I cannot agree more (excuse me for not being humble lol..)! One of the reasons must be the Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment. As the name suggests, this serum will help transform your skin into good skin as if you are genetically gifted! This product was definitely not on my radar, until I accidentally ran into two people who told me they were all using this serum and they all had really beautiful skin. So I purchased this one straight away, along with a face roller which is also reviewed in this post.

The Sunday Riley Treatment has a milky gel texture that feels very lightweight and absorbs into your skin immediately. Unfortunately the smell of this product is horrible (it stinks!) and it tends to linger on your skin for a short while, but I don’t really mind the natural smell of a skincare product as opposed to overly fragrant products. Like many other serums on the market, the product claims to have multiple benefits on your skin such as “radically re-plumps fine lines; creates youthful radiance and texture, and brightens“. I never believe such “miracle products” that sound too good to be true, but this product definitely proved me wrong as it delivers what it claims. Since it’s not a hydrating serum (but might be enough for those of you who have oily skin), I pair it with a rich night cream. The result is a more visibly plumped, smooth and radiant complexion overnight. I have been using this serum for about 2 months now (every morning and night), and my skin is as smooth as a baby’s bottom now, with noticeably refined texture and pore sizes. And best of all, my skin is brightened and the freckles appear to be faded. Overall I highly recommend this serum. I would say this is by far the best serum within the $100 range I have ever used. I have dry and sensitive skin, so sometimes there is a very mild sting when applying which is normal.

The ingredient list

Another favorite product of mine is the Derma Skin Roller in 0.25 mm – it’s very affordable and effective. A derma roller has very fine needles so it feels slightly prickly when you roll it over the face (but trust me it’s not painful as I have quite a low pain tolerance). What it does is that it’s tricking your skin to believe that it’s been ‘injured’ so it helps to accelerate and stimulate your skin’s natural renewal and regeneration process, as well as boosts absorption of skincare products. If you are young, forget about this tool. At my sad old age where my skin takes months to heal an acne scar, this tool is a god-send. I use this tool about three times a week after I apply the serum. I roll it over my face multiple times, particularly paying more attention to the acne marks. Over time, my skin remains looking good consistently as the regeneration is improved, whereas it used to be good and bad. The acne marks are fading at a much quicker pace, and the overall texture is improved in conjunction with the help of the Sunday Riley Treatment. I am also using this tool combined with the Kate Somerville Scar Dimishing Serum on the scars on my leg, and I am also seeing quite a great result! This tool also claims to improve firmness of the skin but I did not see this result.

I purchased my Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment from NAP which ships worldwide, and it’s also available at Sephora in the US. My derma roller is from a Korean brand which I bought off Ebay. The most well-known brand is this one available at AdoreBeauty.

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Labels: Beauty Tools • SKINCARE • Sunday Riley

Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow HARMONIE DU SOIR Review and FOTD

October 30, 2012

As promised, this is a FOTD post wearing the Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow HARMONIE DU SOIR from the 2012 Holiday Collection. This quad is beyond my expectations, as I have to admit I thought the overall mulberry tone of this quad could be a little tricky to pull off for someone like me who is used to the earthy neutral shades. And to my pleasant surprise, Harmonie Du Soir is just simply stunning and easy to wear. The four shades look complementary when blended on the lid (for swatches please refer to this post). I especially love the effect when the taupe is blended with the reddish burgundy shade as it creates a beautiful sultry plummy color without looking too warm. The final look is very autumy and goes particularly well with vampy lip color.

Upper Lid:

Wearing the light gold shade all over the eye lid up to the brows, then applied the taupe shade over the eye socket area. The shimmery pale pink shade is used to blend out the harsh edge. Lastly the burgundy shade is applied along the lash line and blended into the taupe.

Lower Lid:

The pale pink is added on the inner corner and the burgundy is applied at the outer third.

Other Products Used:

Face: Sunday Riley Effortless Breathable Tinted Primer (reviewed here)

Blush: Les Tendres De Chanel in Les Roses (reviewed here)

Lips: Tom Ford Black Orchid as a very light stain (review coming soon!)

Bottom Line: A stunning, unique and classic eye shadow quad for the fall and festive season! I actually prefer this over the Topkapi Quad from the Byzance de Chanel collection. Harmonie Du Soir is now available online here!

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Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW • FOTD • Sunday Riley • Tom Ford

Sunday Riley Effortless Breathable Tinted Primer Review

February 21, 2012

I got asked about my thoughts on the Sunday Riley Effortless Breathable Tinted Primer after I mentioned it was one of my all time favorite base products. Sunday Riley is a relatively new cosmetic brand – they are known for their skincares and they recently released a remarkable collection of makeup which is only available at Barneys for now. I was initially interested in their skin care products while I was browsing, but the gorgeous SA insisted that I should not miss the tinted primer which is their signature product. I normally do not like SAs trying to sell me a particular product, but I was totally sold after I noticed there were many gorgeous girls dropping by the counter just to pick up this primer. So I managed to get myself the last bottle of this on that day! *phew*..

The Sunday Riley Tinted Primer is housed in a plastic bottle, the packaging is sturdy but I won’t say luxurious. On the contrary, the ingredients are the most luxurious you could ever get for a tinted moisturizer and that’s what makes it stand out from norm. It has

– Peptide: for regeneration and anti-glycation.

– Sodium Hyaluronate : a form of hyarulonic acid that contains higher molecular weight (totally out of topic – most fillers are made of that) that leaves skin fine-textured and appear more plumped.

– Paraben Free

I thought it was a perfect formulation for me as I am constantly on the look out for products that prevent the first signs of aging and the first two ingredients are known for that. The texture is mousse-like and ultra lightweight, and it feels silky smooth and melts into the skin upon application. The use of hyaluronate never enhances the dry patches on the skin and keeps my skin hydrated throughout the day without getting greasy. The coverage is about the same as any sheer foundation, and it leaves the skin appearing more even toned, smooth and finely textured with a touch of dewiness. I normally let it settle for a few minutes, then quite amazingly, my skin appears noticeably more plumped and radiant, and the signs of dullness is diminished. I have seen such results with a good moisturizer, but for a makeup product that can deliver this it truly blows me away.

The Sunday Riley Tinted Primer can be worn alone for a sheer wash of color, or followed with your foundation if you prefer more coverage. As for my complexion, I like to use it alone with a touch of under eyes concealer and I’m good to go. It also keeps my base makeup looking like it’s freshly applied all day.

Full ingredient list:

Bottom Line: An amazing combination of a sheer foundation packed into an ultra luxurious moisturizer! I purchased mine here.

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Labels: FOUNDATION • Makeup Base • Sunday Riley

My Picks for the Best Base Makeup 2011

January 5, 2012

This post is inspired by some of my favorite bloggers who have done an extensive summary of the beauty products they loved the most in year 2011. I thought it was such a good idea to show you some of the amazing products that I came across last year (or years before..). As a beauty junkie I have way too many products to showcase so I will be breaking them into several posts, and today’s post is all about the best base makeup products that I have absolutely been in love with, and I am pretty sure my appreciation for them will be carried over to year 2012.

Unfortunately I haven’t had the time to review many products in this post yet, but I am sure they will appear sometime in the near future!

Best Makeup Primer: the award goes to By Terry Teint De Rose. The most luxurious primer I have ever used – the hydrating texture, the scent and the pink rosy color just blows me away every time I use it.

Best Illuminating Makeup Base: the award goes to Dior Radiant Base. It gives a “your glow but better” effect.

Best Tinted Moisturizer: the award goes to Sunday Riley Effortless Breathable Tinted Primer. One of their signature products. I was at Barneys shopping for Sunday Riley skincare, and I noticed there were so many (gorgeous) girls dropping by just to purchase this primer over a short time! So I had to have it and it is my holy grail makeup base now on a good skin day.

Best BB Cream: the award goes to Dr Jart Blemish Base BB Cream, love the hydrating yet lightweight liquid texture.

Best Liquid Foundation: the award goes to Giorgio Armani Designer Lift Firming Foundation (reviewed here). I don’t know one single person who doesn’t love this foundation?!

Runner up: Chantecaille Future Skin Foundation. This was my first high end foundation that I got it when I was in High School, and I was hooked on to it ever since. There is always a backup in my vanity drawer.

Best Compact Foundation/Powder: the award goes to Tom Ford Translucent Finishing Powder. My new discovery and this is THE most finely milled powder I have ever used!

Runner Up: La Prairie Cellular Treatment Powder Foundation (old packaging). A little goes a long way and it gives a flawless coverage.

Best Contouring Powder: the award goes to Suqqu Balancing Cheek in OSHAGECHA (the shade on the right). Provides a perfect subtle contouring that just blends in with my natural skin color.

Best Concealer: the award goes to Cle De Peau Concealer (have discussed in this post)

Best Under Eye Brightening Concealer: the award goes to YSL Touche Eclat (have discussed in this post)

Best Loose Powder: the award goes to La Mer Loose Powder. The most finely milled loose powder inthe market and gives a soft focus finish. This is my second tub and my first one lasted me a few years!

Runner Up: Cle de Peau Loose Powder. It has a slight pink tinge to it rather than totally translucent. Provides a brightening effect and a flawless finish.