Review: Kevin Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer

I can’t believe that I have not talked about this before, especially since there was a time that this was so hyped up on youtube and the blogosphere. Every other youtube video mentioned this, and whenever there was a foundation post this was bound to pop up in a mention or two. I first heard about it from Wayne Goss on Gossmakeupartist, and then overnight it became the most highly sought after skin base product. That was almost 2 years ago, and it was so hard to find it in Singapore then! I searched high and low and finally found it on a vacation in the US, and cost about USD45 for the 18g pot.

Midweek Peek #17: Powders I’ve hit Pan!

I was looking through my makeup drawers for a pressed powder to carry along in my purse when I suddenly saw a common theme – major pan! I’m very bad with sticking to one powder (or any other makeup item for that matter); I tend to open new powders and rotate them around, and before I know it, I have 3 pressed powders with major pan showing. If I had stuck to one I would have finished at least one full powder, but no, I don’t do that so now I have 3 that is almost but not quite finished.

From Left to Right: Maybelline Dream Matte Powder – a very nice light powder that I use when I don’t need too much coverage, just to keep things in place. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – I’ve used up tons of these and I will always go back to this whenever I need to powder my face yet look incredibly natural and photographs beautifully. Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder – another really light powder that doesn’t add much coverage but is useful for setting makeup for really hot days.

My target in the next 2 months is to finish these 3 up before opening up any new pressed powders to use. A major problem though – I have a few new ones sitting in my drawers that I’m dying to start using! Can I do it? Can I at least finish up one of them before I crack the new ones open?

Review: Ettusais BB+ Plus Mineral Powder

I can’t remember if I have ever done a review on face powder – come to think of it, that’s weird since I use some sort of powder every single day and I have a huge arsenal of face powders, so finally here’s a review for one! I actually bought this Ettusais BB+ Plus Mineral Powder in Japan on vacation last year, so I got it for less than S$20. I believe it’s sold with a big markup here in Singapore, at about S$38 for 9g of products, which is actually still really affordable for such a large tub of powder.

Review: Sunday Riley Blush in Blushing

It’s probably too soon to put up a review for this blush as I’ve only just received this recently, but I am in love with it and just had to put up a little post on this. I bought this Sunday Riley blush some time ago from Cult Beauty when they had a 20% off sale, promptly forgot about it, and was pleasantly surprised to see the package on my door step about 1-2 weeks ago. I’ve been using it ever since!

Final Swatch #10: Tarte Amazonian Clay Mineral Bronzer in Park Ave Princess

I recently got rid of the Tarte Amazonian Clay Mineral Bronzer in Park Ave Princess – I had picked up a small travel version of it about a year ago but had barely used it. I have heard a lot of great things about this bronzer, so I had picked it up without even swatching it.

Sadly, I don’t think this did me any favours – it has a pretty strong sheen to it so did not look good at all as a contour. The colour was also a little too coppery for me to use all over, especially since I have a yellow undertone. It just does not look natural on me, and not the most flattering.

So this was a fail for me; I have sold this off and hopefully the new owner will be able to give it a little more love than I did.

Review: NYX Blush in Mocha

Say Hi to a blush that I have had in my collection for ages but have been neglected in preference of its higher priced blush peers – the NYX blush in Mocha! First of all, it does not in any way look like Mocha! Don’t be deceived by the name! It also does not smell like Mocha so I have no idea who and why they decided to name this product Mocha. It’s actually a really pretty dark pink/rose shade.

Final Swatch #9: the Balm Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter

After trashing the theBalm Time Balm Foundation recently, it reminded me that I had a couple of theBalm products that I needed to get rid of, one of which is the Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter. This is actually a love – the texture is really soft and finely milled, with really good lasting power. It looks so gorgeous on, reflects light beautifully and in all the right ways, without being shimmery or sparkly. This is my favourite highlighter of all time!

If it’s so fantastic, then why am I letting this go? Well, I actually received a small but deluxe sample of this in a subscription beauty box which I thought was more than enough for my personal use. I think my overflowing beauty cupboard needs the space for a different product, not replicas of the same thing so this full size one has got to go. I have found a buyer for this, so at least I know it will continue to be loved!

Review: Rimmel Match Perfection Light Perfecting Cream Compact Foundation

I’ve been looking for a good cream compact foundation as it seems like a great idea – no more fussing with a liquid product and risk spilling or breaking the bottle, especially when I’m travelling – so when I saw this Rimmel Match Perfection Light Perfecting Cream Compact Foundation on 20% sale from its RRP of GBP 7.49 on ASOS, with free shipping, I snatched it up in shade 201 Classic Beige. So how did this foundation fair?

Final Swatch #8: The Balm Time Balm Foundation

I was looking for a full coverage foundation and saw this – a cream compact foundation that claims to have medium to full coverage, this appealed to me for its convenience, and as a big fan of The Balm’s powder eyeshadows and blushes, I figured that I can’t go too wrong with a foundation of theirs.

Boy, was I wrong!

The foundation is a very thick and creamy product but it does not blend well and feels really heavy on my skin. I tried many ways to use this – with a wet sponge, brush, hands, but it still looked like I had a thick layer of paint on my face. I also suspect a few zits that appeared on my face was the result of using this. I could not powder my face, because the powder just sticks to the really thick texture which does not really “dry” down. Not a pretty sight.

Into the trash bin, this is going.

Review: Make Up Store Blush in Spice Muffin

A recent rummage in my stash brought out a little gem – one I have totally forgotten that I had, and it is the Make Up Store’s blush in Spice Muffin. Make Up Store is a leading Swedish makeup brand that I feel is really underrated – I don’t often hear about this brand, but they carry a huge variety of blush, lipsticks, nailpolishes and also make my favourite brush cleansing soap (reviewed here). So do they deserve more attention?