Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse

Hey all,

It is February!!! Chinese new year is just around the corner, my excuse to buy more make up and to play dress up

I am not exactly a foundation lover. Simply cause it takes too much effort to apply. I like my one step tinted moisturizer or bb creams/ cc creams.

However, there are those nights where you have to look flawless, and rumor has it, when it comes to flash photography, one should always avoid SPF (though there are also a ton of videos online proofing this to be false, but you know, just to be on the safe side).

I would just like to say, THIS IS AMAZING. I have always known that there are tons of gold hiding amongst all the drugstore range, but i was really pleasantly surprised. The texture felt really thick at first, it was very creamy and i was worried that it would feel heavy on the skin. But it blended out nicely. I did not even have to use any brush or make up sponge. I simply used my hands, and the product kind of melted into my skin.

The coverage i believe is medium, and even though you can build it up to a full coverage. I think it looks nicer if you use a high coverage concealer instead. Due to the creaminess of the product, building it up too thick makes it look unnatural.

I loved the fact that it was scentless too. And it had a pump where you can twist open and close. HOW PERFECT. Why cant all foundations have this pump. It will make  dispensing the product such a breeze. The only issue i had with the packaging was that it was made out of glass. I am an extremely clumsy person, i lost count how many times i dropped this foundation. Everytime i dropped it, it feels like i am getting a mini heart attack, but i am happy to announce that the glass seems strong enough to withstand a few drops. The glass also makes it that tad bit heavier, which is a nada for travelling.

i’ve been trying out a few maybelline products, and so far, i’ve been nothing but pleasantly surprised. Let me test them out alitte longer before sharing my thoughts on them with you

 

Till then,

D

 

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar

hey all,

January is almost coming to an end. Crazy how fast time flies does it?

 

i was cleaning up my make up stash the other day and i came across this baby. I remembered a few years ago, this was such a big deal. It was raved to be one of the first few versions of a liquid lipstick. And people went on about how the colors were crazy pigmented.

As you can see, this is not the easiest lipstick to apply. You will need a mirror in hand, and if you want precise application, you need a brush. This is highly annoying as Lip Tar isnt exactly the most long lasting lipstick out there in the market. In fact, quite the opposite, it transfer quite alot. Which means touching up would really be quite a pain in the butt.

It also claims to be vegan and cruelty free, which is wonderful….. but…. i do not know if it is linked, but Obsessive Compulsive cosmetics Lip Tar has this scent to their lip tar, and it is not a scent that i would want hanging on my lips for the entire day. In fact, i hate it so much that i often wipe it off. I wonder if the lack of chemicals/ perfume/ fragrance made it smell that way, or i simply got a faulty product.

The pigmentation though is pretty damn spot on. you get exactly what you see in the tube, i love it as a blush as much as i like it on my lips. And when you use it on both your lips and cheeks, oh the beautiful synergy.

As a lip product, i would say that it is not a hydrating one. It is not drying either though, i guess if your lips are in good condition that day, using this product will be fine. But if you are suffering from dry or chapped lips, maybe you might want to skip this that day. As a blush, this product can get quite oily. It will leave you with a sticky shiny sheen. Of course that can be set with a setting powder, but i like my make up to be as simple as possible.

In conclusion, Obsessive Compulsive cosmetics Lip Tar is not a bad product. But i think that it takes too much work to apply it either as a blush or a lip product. I am also extremely sensitive to smell, so this product did not cut it there either. Oh i realised i forgot to mention that this particular one that i bought is in the color memento. Such beautiful color and pigmentation though. What a shame

 

Till then!

D

 

Bareminerals Pop Of Passion

Happy 2016 All.

May all of you find your dreams and direction this year and take a few steps closer towards it.

Today i would like to talk about a product which i used to hate, but grew to love lately.

The Bareminerals Pop Of Passion in Posy Passion

 

The reason why i hated it in the past, is the exact same reason why i love it now. See how the blush is really barely there? no matter how much you apply, you wont get much more color than that. At first i found it really frustrating! I like my blush to be seen, i liked my blushes alittle stronger in color. But now, i love this. It has an amazing, glow from within kind of color and look to it. And for a stronger color payoff you can always layer this under another blush.

The texture of this blush is very soft, i would say it almost feels like a lipbalm. It does take a few more taps and pats for it to completely dry to your face, but that is not too much of a problem for me.

Most product from Baremineral would normally cause me a few pimples and breakouts or rashes of some sort. But i am pleasantly surprise to find that this does nothing of that sort.

i’ve been loving cream blushes as of late. They are so convenient on the go. When you are in a rush, you can slap on some concealer, some cream blush and you are set to go. And the only tools you need are your fingers. How great!

Till then!

D

Clinique Anti Blemish Solutions

Hey y’all,

i’ve been travelling a bunch this past month, (which explains the delayed post) and my crazy breakouts. All my life, i was lucky enough to never really have much breakout except for the occasional one or two pimples, all this traveling though, oh mann, it was bad. My sister in law even asked me what was wrong, cause in the 6 years she had known me, my skin had never been that bad. On top of that, i still had to use make up because i had like 5 weddings to attend that trip. And yes, the booze definitely did not help.

Thankfully, my shopaholic habits picked up Clinique Anti Blemish Solutions before i flew off. It was strange, i was not having any breakout then, but i just thought it would be a good idea to have a foundation (or in my case a few foundations) that would be friendly and maybe even help when i do suffer from the occasional outbreak.

Anyways, totally love it! I used it for ALL the weddings, and i looked flawless!

 

The bottle is tiny for the price, but for what it does, i do think it is well worth the price. The other downside is that it has no pump, you have to squeeze the product out, like a squeeze tube. Which is fine when you still have a ton of product, but i think i will get alittle pissed when i am almost done with the bottle, and I KNOW there is product left, but unable to take it out.

It dries rather quickly, and it dries rather matte. For those of you with dry skin, you might want to stay away. I have combi skin, so it takes awhile for my oils to come out and make the foundation look flawless. This is a very strange foundation to be honest. The first 20 minutes after application, it looks like a cakey patchy mess, (unless of course you have oily skin, then i think this will look great from the get go) but as the day goes by, it just gets better and better. The staying power is no joke too. I think the product just grabs unto your skin and stays through all the heat and sweat and humidity. The color looks awesome on me too, it is my exact color, but a tone brighter, so i look as though i am glowing. I would say it does not have the best oil control, but i think it is exactly what i need. I cant imagine putting powder on top of this product, it would be so very drying. At the end of the day, it is not as though i feel like a grease ball either, in fact, i think the natural oils on my face mixed with the product makes me look as though i am naturally glowing.

As for acne fighting properties go, i really do not think it helped at all. I think bare minerals blemish remedy would be a much better alternative if you want an acne combating foundation. However, the Clinique Anti blemish solutions did not make my acne worse either, it wasn’t further irritated or inflamed, which i think was what i was looking for in the beginning.

Ah, i cant believe all my traveling for the year is coming to an end soon. Australia was such an AMAZING place. The people were friendly and nice, the place was BEAUTIFUL. I am having such bad withdrawal symptoms now.

Anyways,

Till then!

D

 

Eye Brow Pencil Fight off

Hey all,

so i received quite a number of good responses over my ‘eyeliner fight off’ post, so i thought that this would be a good follow up to that post.

Welcome to the next round. The Eyebrow Pencil Fight off round.

First let us take a look at the contenders.

From top to bottom, YSL, Too Cool for School, Faceshop and lastly the oh so famous Anastasia Beverly Hills

 

Round 1: Ease of use and application

I would say that they were all pretty easy to use. But too cool for school had the least room for error. This is because the formulation they use is liquid, and it is very quick drying too. Once it is on there, you would need a make up remover to remove it. I personally like the YSL one the most, simply because it is the most user-friendly one, though pigmentation wise, it probably has the least pigment, i think that makes it alot more beginner friendly. I like the faceshop one the least, as a pencil, i think combing your brows is an essential step, yet the faceshop does not have a spoolie brush attached at the end of their pencils, which makes it very annoying when you are in a rush, cause you will have to rummage through everything to find a spoolie brush. The most convinient one though i believe is the Anastasia one. I am not sure if it was a coincidence, or if their research team really thought everything through, but when traveling, this is my go to brow pencil. Firstly there is a brush attached, and the best part is you wont need a sharpener. Oh yeah.

Round 2: Swipe and rub test.

I tried to rub it off once with my fingers, and once with a piece of tissue. As you can see, too cool for school held up the best. When you rub or dab it off with a piece of tissue, most of the product still manages to stay visible, but when you use your fingers to rub it, most of the product goes away completely. As you can see on the photo on the left, The right side, i used my fingers to rub the product off, you can see that with the exception of too cool for school, the rest of the brands had almost nothing left.

Last round: ( I did this just for fun, cause i didnt expect them to be waterproof anyways) Water Resistant test

I used abit of water to test how they would hold up, i placed the water on the right side of my had, and as you can see none, except too cool for school held up. This is expected though, as there is a difference in formulation. Gel type formulations would probably hold up best, followed by liquid formulation and then pencil and lastly powder.

Anyways, i hope this was as helpful if not at least entertaining for you.

Till then!

D

Hair Drying Cap

Hey all,

sorry this took a while, i’ve have been sick for a while, and i also took a trip to china for abit.

anyways, found something really interesting there that i thought i would share.

You know how in movies, the girls always come out of the shower with a towel in their hair? Well, research shows that those towels that we use to dry off our bodies are actually way too harsh for our hair and scalp. They suck away everything! including our natural hair oil.

Thus introducing…

This cap is made out of micro fibers, it claims to be alot more gentle on your hair and your scalp. To be honest, i;ve only used it for 1 week now, so i cant tell you if it really is more gentle to our hairs or not. However, i love this product for the ease of use. With traditional towels, i fell as though you cannot do what you want to do as freely. Depending on the size of the towel and the length of your hair, the towel often comes off or water still drips. However with this cap, i can do my facial mask, or treatments or just watch tv in peace ( without having to adjust the towel every 5 minutes or so).

I just love how smart the design is too. There is a button and this elastic at each ends. and all your have to do is twist and put the elastic in. Did i mention that it makes your hair dry quicker too? And i am not sure if i am imagining this, but i do feel that my hair is so nice and soft and smooth every morning now.

So very amazing, i bought 1 in every color. Now i slightly regret not having bought more.

Till then!

D

Dreams. Hope. Fight.

hey all,

What exactly is my passion? Where does my talent lie? Why does everyone else seem so put together? Am i doing something wrong? Is this laziness?

A hundred times a day, these questions cross my mind. As a 25 year old, you get into the work force, a job you really cannot give a crap about, and everyday, you are bombarded with messages like ‘follow your dreams’, or ‘follow your passion’. Stories after stories of people quitting their jobs, risking it all, giving their all to their passion, and then succeeding.

My question to them is, What if i do not know what my passion is? What if i have not found what my passion, my talent or my anything is? What should i do then?

Google apparently does not have the answer to everything.

But then i recalled something a friend of mine said a long long looong time ago,  She told me very frankly ‘You dont have any expectations of yourself. You just sit on the fence and hope and pray but dont try and do anything about it. How long do you plan to live your life like that?!’

WOW. Bitch.

(Kidding, i love her)

Harsh words indeed, but i found it true. I really did NOT have ANY expectations of myself whatsoever. I had no goal, no target, no vision.  After all, if i do not know where i want to end up, whats the point of continuously running? i will just be exhausted.

i remembered after hearing those words, my defense mode came on and i replied ‘ but it’s hard!’

i know, so lame. Very lame excuse indeed. But her answer blew me away. And i guess it’s because of her answer that made me reflect about what i’ve been doing, what i want in life. What do i desire? And just in case (hopefully not) anyone else felt as lost as me, i hope that you can find your way back to your dreams, goals and desires!

She replied me : ‘ Well, If you think that way, nothing is ever going to be easy. But the truth is that, it is very simple. You either do it. Or you do not. You are the one that is making it so hard. ‘

*BOOM*

Big slap in my face! But it is true. And deep inside, i think we all know that it is true. But is it hard isnt it. Or is it? Are we simply making excuses for ourselves? Are we simply afraid of something…. The feeling of being left behind, that feeling of not knowing what the meaning of what i am doing sucks. It really does. But time for introspection. Whats wrong? Is something wrong? Are we avoiding something?

I still have a hard time getting my head straight from time to time. After all, it is always easy to blame our circumstances and other people. But even that has a limit.

As Dr Seuss said

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”

Till then!

D

Benefit Dandelion Blush

Hey all,

Last year due to my brother’s graduation, i got a chance to fly to the states, and i decided to head over to Sephora to redeem ALL my beauty points.

At that point, i could redeem Benefit’s Dandelion blush, and so i redeemed like… 3 of the Dandelion blushes?

Had to say, i have only tried Benefit product a few times, but not once have they impressed me.

Here is what the inside of the blush look like. Typical of Benefit to make their packaging like this. I hate it though. Especially when i travel. I am always worried something might spill and ruin the packaging. Not to mention that it is not exactly easy to close the product. Sometimes it gets stuck and as you can see in the above photos, when you do not close it properly it can get stuck and cause some holes/ indents in your blush.   

The color on the pan in itself was really pretty! it looked so sweet, soft and natural. Not too glittery and simply perfect. However, when you swatch it, or when you try and apply it with a blush. Pigmentation is a total joke. Either that, or this blush simply wont show on colored girls/ girls that are not as fair as snow white. Such a disappointment, i had to layer it over and over to get even the tiniest bit of color to show.

 

Just for comparison, i took blushes from other brands of similar color to compare. From left to right, Zoeva, Benefit and Sleek.

I personally like the Zoeva one best. Not only because it is matte, but also because i think it gives the best color pay off and looks best on my skin. Benefits Dandelion is slightly softer and more pale in comparison to Sleek’s face form blush. However i believe that Dandelion has a more subtle glittery finish. Sleek Face Forms blush not only lacks in terms of the pink/peach pigmentation, it also has an overpowering gold glitter finish.

Ah Zoeva, I am so happy i found you. All your brushes and products have been more than impressive. Cant wait to try them all

Till then,

D

The Eyeliner Fight Off

Hey all!

As i was cleaning out all my dried out eyeliners the other day, i had a fantastic idea! i decided to collect all the gel pen type eyeliners and compare it to each other.

Here are some of the results i found.

First these are the eye liners that i used and tested.

From top to bottom it would be

Clio

Face Shop

Urban Decay

Sephora

Missha

Tonly Moly

Innisfree

Make Up Forever

Banila and Co.

Just for the sake of testing, i also went ahead and ‘set’ the right side of the liners, and left the left side untouched.

as you can see, the right side is slightly less shiny and little on the matte side.

The first test was the rub test. I simply rubbed my hands across to see what would happen. After all, sometimes we do forget about our perfected eyeliner and rub our eyes. From the rub test, i think it would make a big difference if we set out eyeliner and if we dont. As you can see, the left side of my hand ALL smudged abit. That means nasty panda eyes. However, on the right side, the side where i set the eyeliners with the Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian finishing powder, there was a significant difference. With the exception of Innisfree and Sephora eyeliner, the rest DID NOT smudge. ( though personally, i feel as though the only reason why innisfree smudged was because the liner was too thick. If i had applied a more even layer, i believe it should not have smudged. Or maybe i am just biased cause i love innisfree too much. )

Next test was the water test! I ran it under water for a minute long to see how it will last! Surprisingly if you just soak it in water, it last decently well. I do not see any difference between the before and after photos. That’s when i decided to add another ‘rub’ test after the water test. After all with all that water surrounding us, i am sure there will be some rubbing and wiping involved. And as expected, this test was that much harder. Most of the eyeliners either smudged or came off alittle. The only ones that withstood all that water and rubbing was Clio Faceshop Tony Moly Banila and co Of course i am referring to the already ‘set’ eyeliners. For most of the eyeliners that were not ‘set’ had failed during the first rub test. For the next  and final test, i decided to use an oil to see how these eyeliners will fare when in contact with oil. And what happens when you do the rub test after in contact with the oil. As you can see, the results are nasty. Almost none withstood the test. With the exception of Clio Professional! Although some fading did occur, it held up the best when it came to all the test, and i would say it held up pretty darn well under those circumstances. i know that Clio is famous for their long lasting make up products though. I heard not only do their eyeliner last all day, so do their eyebrow pens, their foundation, concealers and even lipsticks have crazy long lasting power. Sadly i have yet to try them all. It was a surprising find for me, as i was secretly rooting for either faceshop, tony moly or innisfree to win. But hey, you cant argue with the results. What do you guys think? What is your favourite eyeliner? and Why? Till next time! D

Glam Glow ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment

Hey all

Alright, This has got to be the best find i’ve gotten my hands on this year! YES, THIS YEAR. In fact…. maybe the best find in this past 2 years.

YES, It is that amazing!!!

First, i find the box that it came with, beau-tiful. It just looks so expensive and pretty! I got it from http://luxola.co.id/

and i would say they did a wonderful job in packing it. It arrived with the bubble wrap, and though it was a slight bitch to open, i thought it was great, as i can be assured that my purchases wont break.

The thing that got me to buy the product in the first place was not only their moisturising properties, but their CALMING properties. They claim to both hydrate and calm your skin, and though i cannot say much about their moisturising properties (I have combination skin, normal to oily, so i do not know how it will fair if i have dry skin) but they did calm all the redness and the little blemishes i had on my face. It was a miracle in a jar! i could not believe how all my outbreak of tiny tiny pimples all disappeared in a night! Not even my paulaschoice resist anti-aging clear skin hydrator had this effect when i used it the previous day. Just better then fantastic.

Did i mention how dream like it smells? It may look like a dirty brown in the jar, but when applied to the face, it goes on clear. It smells like coconuts and vanilla. Oh sooo good. It is not EXTREMELY thick, it has the texture of a creamy moisturiser, but i will not be able to use it as a day time moisturiser. Especially not in this heat, Although it does dry eventually, it still is alittle sticky. So girls with long hair, this may stick to your face alittle. The packaging is also abit of a turn off. After being a loyal fan and follower to Paulas Choice products, i’ve learnt the importance of packaging. And Jar packaging is the worse! Not only will it be contaminated, the effectiveness of the product will also more quickly deteriorate due to the exposure.

All in all, I LOVE IT! i am tempted to buy more of the glamglow series! Have you tried any of the GlamGlow Series? What do you think of them?

Till Then

D!