NOTD: New Year’s Gold-Green

A quick NOTD for the new year; I’ve been wearing red or sparkly nails for a while so I wanted to switch it up with something that’s still cheerful. So for the last week, I’ve settled for a duochrome gold-green polish, which is mostly gold but can have a green sheen/tone in some lights. I think it gives a very ‘Its the New Year’s’ vibes but without being too in your face!

Products Used:
1. OPI Just Spotted the Lizard
2. Seche Vite Top Coat

Do you have anything special on your nails to welcome the New Year?

Review: Catrice Cosmetics Camouflage Cream in Light Beige

My usual choice of concealer is the MAC Studio Finish Concealer; however, it’s also quite expensive. When I saw the Catrice Camouflage Cream, I wondered if it could be something similar so I picked it up. There are 3 different shades and I bought the middle shade, 020 Light Beige.

Claims on website:
A true must-have for a flawless complexion. The Camouflage Cream with a long-lasting texture blends perfectly with the skin for invisible correction. It reliably covers irregularities of the skin, pigmentation stains and red veins. The efficient Camouflage Cream offers a high coverage and can be kept in place with powder for a waterproof effect.

The concealer is housed in a little screw-top pot with a clear see-through top. I think the packaging is not very sturdy and is actually quite cheap because there are a few cracks on the top from being thrown around in my makeup bag and now I am worried about it drying out.

The concealer itself has a very creamy texture, but is slightly dry – it’s not as creamy as the MAC Studio Finish Concealer. I use this on my spots or any discolouration, and this does a great job at covering it all up, but I find it cakes up if too much is used. Because it is a bit on the dry side, it’s not as great or comfortable on the undereye area.

On the bright side, this lasts a long time on the face, usually more than 8 hours, and the coverage is really good. With 3g of product for less than S$10, I think this is quite good value if you’re looking for something more affordable with good coverage and don’t mind a bit of dryness.

Rating: 3.5/5

5 Friday Favourites #1

Top 5 Favourite Beauty Products for this week; I’ve been pulling some oldies out of my stash lately to play with since I have drastically reduced my beauty shopping and have fallen back in love with some of them.

// Burberry Sheer Eye Shadow in Pale Barley has been a long time favourite, whether as a crease or transition shade, it’s beautiful. // MAC Studio Finish Concealer in C25 gives great coverage, is so creamy and long lasting, and the perfect shade for me at the moment. // Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait has been my go-to lip product for the past month, it feels so comfortable on the lips but give a really nice soft plump but natural look. // MAC MSFN in Light Plus never feels heavy on, and never looks powdery. // Loreal Super Liner Instant Impact Felt Liner makes drawing a cat eye so easy, even for a novice like me. //

And there we are with my 5 Friday Favourites! What are yours?

Review: ELF Essentials Eyelid Primer in Sheer

Today’s quick review is on the ELF Essentials Eyelid Primer; I use eyelid primers on a daily basis, and it’s sort of like a habit now to use a primer regardless of how good the eyeshadow is. This is sold for US$1 each in the US for 0.11 fl oz, but I got mine for S$3.50 in Singapore – quite a bit of markup, but it’s still really cheap. There are 4 different shades available – Sheer, Golden, Champagne, Pearl; I chose the one in Sheer.

Claims on website:
Preps your eyelid for smoother, longer-lasting and crease-proof eyeshadow. The lightweight liquid formula quickly absorbs into the skin for comfortable wear and increases eye color longevity.

The primer comes in a hard plastic tube, with a doe-foot applicator. I like it, but it also means that there will be quite a bit of wasted product that cannot be reached at the sides of the tube, unless you cut it open. I don’t, but at this price, I don’t feel bad wasting those bits.

The sheer version goes on, like its name, sheer, with minimal color; it does neutralise some natural color on the eyelids. The texture is quite smooth, spreads easily, does not feel sticky; it’s very lightweight and not very thick.

In terms of efficacy, I think this does a great job for normal eyeshadows; this makes eyeshadows last all day and does not cause creasing. There are definitely better primers out there, especially if you have specific needs; if you’re looking for something to help your eyeshadows ‘pop’, this may not be the best. Or if you’re using glitters or loose pigments, then something like Too Faced Glitter Glue may be a better option.

However, for daily wear using eyeshadows of reasonable quality, and all you want is to make your eyeshadow stay throughout the day, then this is hard to beat for its price! Highly recommended!

Rating: 4/5

NOTD: Festive Red and White

A quick NOTD for the festive season; I’m really loving my nail color! It’s extremely simple to put on, just a simple white base and some shimmery bits to top it off, but I’ve gotten tons of comments on it from friends already. 🙂

Products used:
Essence Colour & Go in 102 Sparkling Water Lily
Essence Colour & Go in 103 Space Queen
Mavala Nail Color in 226 Sparkling Red

What’s are you spotting on your nails right now?

Random Thoughts #5: Clearing Some “Headspace”

I recently downloaded an app called “Headspace”. I just went through day 1, and thought that some things that they said made a lot of sense.

The app showed a few animated clips at Day 1, and one of them really caught me. It goes along the lines that we often think about how beautiful the blue sky is, but when the dark clouds come, we forget all about it and become all sad and depressed. However, above the dark clouds, the blue sky is still there. Just like how when you take off on a plane in the rain or storm, once you break above the clouds, the sky is still blue and beautiful.

I think that’s really something that people forget when they get bogged down by problems and worries. We get so absorbed in our pain that we forget that it’s not the end, that there is still hope, and above it all, the blue sky is still always there waiting for you to break through the dark clouds.

I’m looking forward to seeing what else there is in “Headspace”. I’ll be going on holiday in a few days, but I have a few scheduled posts that will be uploaded automatically while I’m gone. Meanwhile, I wish everyone Happy Holidays and hope that everyone will have a clear blue sky, or at least realise that the blue sky is waiting for you!

Facial Oils; The Beginning, The Testing and The Search

I’ve been trying out a few facial oils lately as I have been sleeping in an air-conditioned room for the past few months and my normally very dry skin was screaming in protest from dehydration.

The first oil that I tried was the Renew 100% Organic Rose Hip Oil; I picked this up as it was reasonably priced for a good size bottle – the 25ml is still going strong after a few months of usage. It comes in a tinted glass bottle with a dropper; the oil is yellow in colour, like cooking oil, and has a pretty strong scent which I cannot place. In terms of texture, it is quite heavy and viscous; I tend to rub it between my palms so that the heat makes it more fluid before tapping onto my face. For my very dry skin, I find that it works well in combating dry patches and has not broken me out yet.

The second oil that I’ve been testing is the Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate, which is made up from a blend of botanical and essential oils; I received a small sample of it from a beauty box subscription. I love this oil; the texture is very light and quite fluid so it spreads out easily on the face, and the scent is lighter and more pleasant. This sinks into my skin very easily, given its light texture, and I find myself waking up to really soft and supple skin in the morning and has not broken me out yet. However, this is a lot more expensive than the Renew Rose Hip Oil.

I don’t know why I didn’t start on facial oils earlier, which is kind of like a no-brainer given my naturally very dry skin, but now that I have, I am obsessed with trying out even more! What other oils have you tried and would recommend?

 

EOTD #1: Festive Soft Green Look for Day Time / Work

A quick EOTD today; I didn’t have time to curl my lashes so pardon my stick straight eyelashes, and my ginormous pores. I wanted to do a green and slightly festive look that would be okay for work, since we were having team Xmas lunch, so I used green through my lid, and then blended a brown in the crease to soften the look and make it less like I was going for a night out. I quite like the look; it’s slightly festive without being overdone.

Products used:
1. ELF Eyelid Primer, all over the lid, crease and browbone
2. MAC Extra Dimension Eyeshadow in Modern Pewter, all over the lid
3. L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Golden Emerald, in the outer corner
4. Burberry Sheer Eye Shadow in Pale Barley, in the crease
5. Wet & Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow in Brulee, on the browbone
6. Pupa Multiplay Triple Purpose Eye Pencil in Black, top eyeline
7. Bourjois Volumizer Mascara

I should have groomed my brows, but I ran out of time! So they’re their usual unruly self. I think the combination of green and soft brown works really well; I guess because the colours occur together in nature as well?

Hope you’ve enjoyed my first EOTD! 🙂

Haul: Small Tarte Kit

Not sure if one product counts as a “haul” but I wanted to put up a quick post of what I received as a prize from Sephora!

Recently Sephora Singapore had a facebook contest to celebrate the arrival of Tarte to the Singapore stores. I entered for fun, never expecting that I would somehow win. But I did! So yay!

It’s a tiny set but I’m happy! This Tarte kit is called Prime, Shine & Define, and has 3 small samples of Clean Slate Poreless – a primer, Amazonian Clay BB, and Gifted – a mascara. Can’t wait to try them all out!

Review: Burberry Sheer Eye Shadow in Pale Barley

I don’t usually splurge on single eyeshadows that costs way more than an entire eyeshadow palette, but I have my moments. And I had one of those moments when I saw the Burberry Sheer Eye Shadow in Pale Barley.

I love the packaging; the product comes in the usual velvet pouch that high end makeup tends to have. The casing itself has a good weight to it, and is a shiny metal with the Burberry check on it. The eyeshadow itself originally had the Burberry pattern embossed on it as well, but I’ve had mine for some time so it’s no longer obvious. I bought this at S$46, for 2.5g of product.

In terms of texture, this product is amazingly soft and buttery. I initially regretted paying so much for a single eyeshadow but once I used it, I thought it was money well spent! It’s very finely milled, glides on smoothly, blends easily, and lasted throughout the work day for me with a primer.

Pale Barley is a shimmery medium beige brown colour and has a golden sheen; it’s really hard to explain. I have to say that the name is misleading, as it is not sheer at all! I like that it is very easy to wear, and goes well with lots of looks. It doesn’t look much in the swatch photo, but its amazing as a transition shade or as a wash all over the eyelids for a fresh look.

At its price, it’s really hard to say that this is a must have. But for shades like this that I know I will use on a regular basis, I think it’s worth it. I don’t think that I will be grabbing many more of these eyeshadows but if I do find shades that are really unique or beautiful daily essential shades, then I definitely would because I love the quality!

Rating: 4/5