THREE

Tom Ford Flawless Powder Foundation Review and Swatch

October 19, 2015

Compact foundation is one makeup item to splurge on as the high end brands are far more superior than the drugstores. Whether you wear it as a full foundation or simply for makeup retouching, the new Tom Ford Flawless Powder Foundation ticks all the criteria for probably the best you can get in the market now.

It comes in Tom Ford’s signature ultra luxury case. The enclosed sponge has two different textures – the smooth side for a sheer application, and the velvety side for a fuller coverage application.

Texture and Finish

I was blown away the first moment I felt the product at the counter – it has the silkiest, most finely milled powder texture. The powder foundation blends in to the skin seamlessly, and applies evenly with no creasing nor patches. The coverage is equivalent to a sheer-medium foundation. If you apply the powder foundation with the enclosed sponge, or a fluffy powder brush, it sets even more natural than a normal liquid foundation. The finish is a clean and poreless version of ‘your-skin-but-better’ and semi matte that lets your own skin’s radiance through. For a fuller coverage, I prefer to apply it with a kabuki brush (or a flat top brush) that would cover most of the mild imperfections. The finish is flawless and porcelain-like in a natural way but not cakey and heavy.

Shade Cream

Lasting Power

As the weather is getting hotter in Australia now, I particularly love wearing this foundation as it is more mattifying than my other foundations. Lasting power is about 6-8 hours on me with very little oil coming through at the end of the day for my dry skin. It also doesn’t oxidize, crease nor settle into the pores throughout the day. For makeup retouching, the powder foundation also applies well on top of your existing makeup. If you have cream based products underneath, I would wait till it dries then apply the powder foundation on top. Otherwise they will not blend well.

Shade Reference

I am between NC15-NC20, and I bought the Tom Ford Powder foundation in shade Cream which matches me perfectly. I pulled out some other powder foundations including the YSL Touche Eclat Powder Foundation B10 (reviewed here), Cle de Peau Beaute Radiant Powder Foundation B10, Tom Ford finish powder in Ivory Fawn (reviewed here) for comparisons.

Comparison Swatches:

Brush recommendations include (clockwise): THREE Powder Brush (more info here), Tom Ford Bronzer Brush; Suqqu Face Brush (reviewed here); MAC Blending Brush (similar here); CHIKUHODO Powder Brush

The Tom Ford Flawless Powder Foundation is available online here in Australia.

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Labels: BRUSHES • CHIKUHODO • foundation • MAC • POWER FOUNDATION • THREE • Tom Ford

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

THREE Flash Performance Pencil Eyeliners Review and Swatches

November 4, 2012

There are a lot of Japanese exclusive makeup that tempt me, but I have been strictly following the golden rule of “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” as there are just too many other good things that are more accessible – until I read the review of THREE Flash Performance Pencil Eyeliners on Kate’s blog. She described these as the eyeliner equivalent of the Suqqu creamy glow lipsticks, and I was immediately sold by that as they are also my HG lipsticks!

The THREE Pencil Eyeliners totally lived up to my expectations. Texture wise – they are the silkiest, creamiest and most buttery pencil eye liners I have ever used. They feel the same as Suqqu lipstick that has a melt-into-your-skin texture when applying. The most wonderful thing about them is that they do not budge at all. Even when I tried to scrub them off forcefully, hardly any came off.

They offer a reasonably wide selection of colors and I picked the two safest colors.

Shade 01 is a muted rosy beige color with silver shimmer. It is highly pigmented and I mainly use it for my lower lash lines. The color adds a nice touch of rosy sheen to my eyes with a beautiful gleam.

Shade 05 is the most gorgeous and complex olive-green black with multi-colored shimmer that has a duochrome effect on the eyes. It makes a great alternative to the usual pure black and it looks unbelievable when the shimmer is reflected under the sun.

Swatches:

Bottom Line: The most amazing eyeliners that completely blow the other high to low end eyeliner pencils out of the water.

Out of topic: My friend posted them to me from Japan by EMS. I paid about $15 for a small package with about 6 beauty products and it reached Australia within 2 days. So I highly recommend EMS for an affordable and express courier!

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Labels: EYELINER • THREE