BECCA Glow on The Go

I was never big on highlighter. I used to find them too much for my combination skin, but I guess I just had not found a good one yet. After my encounter with The Balm Mary Lou Manizer, I started to appreciate highlighters more and recently I've been buying more and more highlighters xD. 

On my first visit ever to Space NK when I was in London, I spotted this glow on the go kit from Becca and instantly fell in love with the swatches I did there and £ 20 is not a bad price either.

BECCA Glow on The Go contains mini sizes of their famous shimmering skin perfector pressed Opal and shimmering skin perfector Opal spotlight wand. BECCA is a brand which is not easily accessible in Germany so I didn't waste the chance to get this set and give it a try. They're tiny but a little goes a long way, 

Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Opal has a very smooth, silky and almost creamy texture. It reminds me of The Balm Mary Lou only creamier and smoother and finer. It feels like Mary Lou on a higher level. The pigmentation is intense but once applied, it doesn't appear too much on the skin. It illuminates and highlights the desired area very well. I usually apply it on the highest point of the cheeks and on the cupid bow. It is shimmery but not glittery. The texture is sooooo fine! It has a dewy looking finish which is great as I don't really like too much shimmer on the cheeks. It doesn't enhance pores either. 

Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlight Wand Opal is the liquid version of the highlighter. It is more subtle and perfect if you want an even more natural look. The texture is lightweight, creamy and very easy to blend. I like to dab a few dots on the cheeks and blend it using my finger. The finish look is very subtle though. If you prefer a more saturated look, you will not be satisfied with the result and might need to layer it with the pressed Opal on the top. 

Overall, the set is a good purchase and a nice one to get if you want to give BECCA highlighter a try.  Or since the holiday season is here , this set will make a nice gift too! 

It is reasonably priced and the products are really good as well.

Have you tried any highlighter from BECCA?

Love,

Pam

Maybelline Color Show Cream Matte lipstick

On my recent trip to Jakarta, I spotted this new range of matte lipstick from Maybelline. They're very affordable at IDR 33.000 ( ca. US$3 ) so I didn't hesitate to grab few colors at once.

Maybelline Color Show Creamy Matte Lip Colours come in a sleek black bullet with a coloured ring in the middle that imitate the color of the lipstick inside. The bullet is made of matte plastic case which doesn't catch fingerprints which is great. 

The range is quite wide. There were more than 10 shades available if I'm not mistaken. Divided into group of hues ( purple, red, pink and nude ). I picked up 2 from the purple, 1 from the nude and 1 from the red.

Lively Violet - is a true mauve shade which could make my complexion looking a bit ashy. I can trick it by applying a pink gloss over it, but it is a matte lipstick, so why layering it with gloss? 

Madly Magenta - is a bright fuchsia shade.

Pop of Pink - is a Barbie pink shade. I don't know why I picked up this shade. It is so unflattering xD

Hot Chili - is a bright chilli red. 

For lipsticks that cost roughly US$3, they're great. The texture is creamy but not slippery. They're full coverage and well pigmented. One swipe is what's needed to reach full opacity. They're easy to apply and glide on smoothly. They also don't set into lip lines.

The lighter shades don't stay on very well though which is okay for me. They still can get around 3-4 hour mark, while the bolder shades can go up to 5-6 hour mark easily.

The other thing I noticed with bolder shades ( Hot Chilli and Madly Magenta ), they tend to bleed and feather so I always frame my lips with lip pencil to avoid feathering.

Overall, they're not the best matte lipsticks I've ever encountered. But, they're certainly good for the price point. The color selection is wide and the packaging is not that bad either. 

What is your favourite matte lipstick from the drugstore?

Love,

Pam

Rouge Noir

I usually don't really like Chanel makeup, but their Illusion D'ombre eye shadows are my favourites. They're so complex, simply beautiful. And when I saw they brought up new limited shade ( I read somewhere it's going to be permanent though! ) for the holiday collection and the shade happened to be my cup of tea, I just had to have it xD

Rouge Noir is a blackened reddish purple shade with multicolour glitter particles. I can spot gold, silver, green, yellow, and red glitters which all together make Rouge Noir a beautiful, iridescent and complex shade. I made a insta video which you can see here, to have a look at the shade better. Rouge Noir is darker and less red than Ebloui. It appears more purplish on the lids. 

If you are familiar with Illusion D'ombre, they all have bouncy - spongy and slightly dry texture. They're not as dry as L'oreal Infallible eye shadows though. Illusion D'ombre still have a wetness to it. I've been gravitating towards cream eye shadows lately, as they're easier to apply and usually stay on longer on my oily lids. 

Rouge Noir applies sheer on the first layer but you can build up the intensity. To achieve the opacity on the above swatch, I layered it 3 times. I personally like it that it's so versatile, you can have a simple eye look to heavy smokey eye look only with one single eye shadow. 

Rouge Noir applies smoothly, blends easily and doesn't crease nor smudge on the lids. It has a good staying power and I don't feel the need to apply eye shadow primer underneath. 

I expected it to be very similar to Ebloui as some swatches I found on the internet seem to show it that way. But, surprisingly they're relatively different on my lids. Ebloui appears very 'reddish' and coppery meanwhile Rouge Noir appears rather purplish and doesn't even look reddish at all.

Overall, I enjoy Rouge Noir a lot. There is no faulty in the quality department. Illusion D'Ombre is definitely one of the best cream eye shadow formulas I've tried. The complexity of the shades, the easy breezy application, good staying power and the luxurious well made Chanel packaging. Love.

Have you tried Chanel Illusion D'Ombre?

Love,

Pam

Cherry Pop and Nude Pop

During my recent trip to London, I met up with the lovely Jing Jing from shizurawr.com . She was really kind and bought me Glamour UK which had these Clinique lipsticks as their goodies. I managed to get another one with different a shade resulting in 2 mini Clinique Lip Pop in Cherry Pop and Nude Pop.

I had not tried the Clinique Pop Lipsticks before, but had been wanting to give them a try. So I was very excited to be able to get their minis for free xD

Cherry Pop is a blue toned red, the name is just perfect as it is a cherry red. I didn't expect to like it as much as I do now. It is such a brightening red. It has a whitening effect for the teeth too which is a plus point.

Nude Pop is a true nude shade. It has no pink or peach undertone, and really is a true beige nude. The color is actually almost identical with my natural bare lip color. It is not a dead nude, but it's not something I'd be comfortable wearing as it makes my whole complexion looking more pale and a bit 'sick'.

Texture wise, they're just amazing. They're creamy and balmy and feel very comfortable and hydrating on the lips. They're not as balmy as Clinique Chubby Sticks but balmy enough for a regular lipsticks. The pigmentation is great and they both don't feather or bleed ( esp for red shade like Cherry Pop, it's amazing! ). They glide on smoothly on the lips and don't enhance or set into lip lines. Both have a slight shine finish but I prefer to wear my red matte, so I blot it with tissue paper to eliminate the shine. It's not very shiny though, just a little bit.

Staying power is great. Nude Pop doesn't last as long as Cherry Pop. But it can go to 3-4 hour mark easily. Cherry Pop on the other hand is fairly long lasting. I remember wearing it when I was in London for the whole day. I applied it around 10am and when I came back to the hotel around 4pm, it was still on point. I didn't have big meal during that hour though, only one croissant and few drinks. It didn't leave my lips dry despite of the good staying power. It's just great, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Overall, I already plan to get other shades. Plum Pop is on the top of my list. I really love the formula of this Lip Pop range. I think I just found another favorite lipstick formula. They're reasonably priced too at €23 compare to other high end lipsticks.

Love,
Pam

Cup O'Coffee and Rosy Cheeks

I did a bit of LUSH haul recently and bought 2 of their masks, Cup O' Coffee and Rosy Cheeks. I've been trying them for awhile now and will let you know how I like them. 

Cup O Coffee

Cup O Coffee is described as a face and body mask. Coffee masks have been really popular lately and I had been wanting to give it a try since I saw them everywhere. When I found out LUSH just launched their coffee mask, I was excited to try.

Long story short, I bought a smaller pot for me to try at home. First of all, I love the smell! It smells like a fresh ground coffee beans. If you like the smell of coffee, you're going to like it. The texture however, is very rough. I don't have any issue with it though as I like rough scrub for body, I just can't imagine using it on my face. It is so rough and scrubby, I'm sure it will irritate my face immediately. On my body, it works very good as exfoliator. But, it is not that kind of scrub that will leave your skin silky smooth afterwards like Rub Rub Rub for example. This is a true exfoliating scrub, it will leave your skin feeling squeaky clean and you definitely need to moisturise your skin afterwards.

As far as the scent goes, I love it. But the whole product doesn't really wow me. I prefer to repurchase my beloved Rub Rub Rub as it does the job as exfoliator as well as leaving my skin feeling as smooth as baby's bum. xD

Rosy Cheeks 

Rosy Cheeks is a fresh face mask from LUSH. It only has 1-2 month life span and needs to be stored in a refrigerator, just like LUSH other fresh face masks. Rosy Cheeks supposed to reduce redness on your face and soothe and calm down your skin. The description sounded like something I'd like, so I decided to give it a try too.

The texture is thick and creamy. The pink mask dries up to a greyish shade on the face. It reminds me a lot of clay mask, the kind of mask that will set dry and stiff. It has a cooling sensation ( well maybe because I stored it in the fridge, duh! xD ) and feels soothing on the skin. But, once I rinsed it up, my skin felt squeaky clean and it felt like it stripped off all the dirts and oil. Well I don't mind the dirts gone, but a bit of oil is needed for my skin to stay away from being dry. My skin felt smooth but not soft or suppled. It definitely didn't feel moisturised though. I can understand, the mask might be marketed towards people with oily skin or to be a deep cleansing mask. But I can't see the definition anywhere. It is just written that it supposed to reduce redness, calm and soothe your skin, nothing says it will deep cleanse or strip off the oil. So I do feel a bit mislead by the description.

Overall, I have used this mask three times since I bought it and while I didn't hate it, I didn't love it either. I barely used 1/4 of the pot and the expiration date is 2 weeks away. I can't bring myself to use this mask more than once a week, so I will have to throw the rest away I guess. Or I will 'force' my boyfriend to use it haha xD.

Have you tried any masks from LUSH?

Love,

Pam

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer - Luminous Bronze Light

I am a huge fan of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes, but not so much of the powder. When they launched 2 bronzers to complete the range, I was really interested to try. So at the time they were available at net-a-porter, I decided to give them a try.

Looking at swatches online, it was difficult to choose which shade to get as both shades look very similar. So I randomly opted for Luminous Light. 

When I first received and swatched it, I was surprised to see how shimmery it is. As you can see on the pictures above, the fine glitters are definitely visible which I really didn't expect to see because most swatches I found on the internet don't really show the shimmers. And holy moly, the shade looked orange! So I was not really impressed on the first sight and first swatch. But, gladly it all changed once I applied it on the face. The shimmers become less visible and it blends really really well. The formula is just so smooth and excellent, similar to the Ambient Lighting Blushes which I am a huge fan of. It's surprisingly not orange at all once applied. It is definitely a warm toned bronzer and won't be best option if you're going to use it for contouring. But, it works really well to warm up the complexion, especially in colder months where my skin is even paler than it usually is and can easily look sick. This bronzer gives it life xD.

I think Hourglass really kills it with the formula. It managed to transfer the shimmers on to a luminous glow on the skin instead of being a glitter ball. I don't know how they did it, but it really is a nice bronzer! It doesn't accentuates pores at all and instead, blurs them out and provides a smooth surface. The texture is a bit powdery but it does not really bother me. It is sooo smooth and silky, Ooooh I am just in love. The pigmentation is great, you barely need to swipe your brush because a little goes a long way. This bronzer will last me a long time.

One downside I can pinpoint, is the staying power. It doesn't really stay that long on the cheeks, which is kinda annoying. 

Overall I am happy with the bronzer. It's not as amazing as the blushes and it is very expensive and definitely a splurge. But I am glad I splurged on it because it has become one of my favourite bronzer at the moment.

Love,

Pam

Diorblush Cheek Stick in Cosmopolite Rosewood

I've been eyeing this cream blush / cheek stick from Dior since the first time I saw the press release. When it's finally launched, I was hesitated because the reviews have been mixed. Some people love it some don't really recommend it. So I didn't get it right away, but when I was having 3 hour transfer at Charles de Gaule airport - Paris, I was browsing at the duty free ( sure thing! ) and spotted the cheekstick for only €24. I couldn't say no.

PS : I applied heavy handedly for pict purpose

Diorblush Cheek Stick comes in a chubby retractable bullet. I like the cute chubby short bullet and the design as well. Actually the packaging was the first thing that attracted me and made me want to get it. 

There are 3 shades available and based on swatches I saw online, and the one I did at DIOR Counter, I decided to go with Cosmopolite Rosewood. The color Cosmopolite Rosewood is not a rosewood shade at all if I may say so. I feel like the shade is more a peachy coral rather than a rosewood which is supposed to be warmer and less vibrant I guess.

On the negative reviews that I read about this blush stick, most people find it difficult to blend and too pigmented. Upon first application, I literally had to wipe up the blush from my cheeks because it was impossible to blend. I swiped a very light swipe on my cheeks and it was already very bold and blotchy. I tried beauty blender , my hands, make up sponge, blush brush, anything but nothing worked. I tried to swatch it on my hands and blend it using all techniques that I know, but also it didn't work. So I was very disappointed and this blush stick just stayed untouched on my dressing table for awhile. Until I finally realised I had not given Real Techniques Stippling brush a try, so I did and it worked!!! I didn't dot or swipe the blush on my cheeks ( lesson learned xD ), but instead I swipe the RT stippling brush on its surface and start applying it on my cheeks using circular motion. And voila it worked! And the colour is so pretty too! The RT stippling brush gives me a nice control and it's easier to not going overboard with this blush as it is very pigmented. It applies smoothly and the finish is dewy and so pretty! 

The cream blush stays on pretty well too. It really sticks on the cheeks for hours. LOL. I got 7-8 hour solid wear which is great considering I didn't set it with powder blush. 

One thing I like the most about this blush and this particular shade is that it makes me look more fresh and younger. My friend told me I looked less antagonist LOL when I wore this blush ( with the application shown on picture ) on the centre of the apple of my cheeks. I personally like it when blush is applied there, but not all blushes can look good when applied that way as some will make you end up looking with 2 round blotches on the centre of your face xD.

Overall, I am happy I finally found a way to make it work. 

Love,

Pam

Guerlain Meteorites Christmas Collection

Holiday season is my favourite time of the year, yet the least favourite time of year as long as the financial balance is concerned xD. All those beauty brands releasing holiday collection is just too irresistible and for someone like me, with barely there self control, it's financial catastrophe. 

You may have seen this particular limited edition  meteorites from Guerlain. It's everywhere, yet it was really difficult to get - at least in Germany. I had to go to 5 different stores with no success, it was sold out online within few hours, so I was really gutted and almost lost hope when I finally found it still available at www.flaconi.de , then I realised I had 10€ voucher from the website I hadn't yet used. It was a big win for me in the end woohoo!

First of all, I'm gonna admit that I got this meteorites only because of the packaging. I didn't really care whether the meteorites would work for my combination skin. I hadn't tried any meteorites prior to this one, but with that dreamy packaging how could I say no?

The first time I tried it, as a light finishing powder, I was positively surprised. I didn't expect it to have a 'blurring effect'. I thought it would be too shimmery for my combination skin. But it is not shimmery at all. The finish is definitely not mattifying but you don't have to worry about turning into disco ball either. Combined with demi matte or matte foundation, it will give the complexion a 'hint of life' xD. I haven't yet tried it with dewy or luminous foundation as I am worried it will be too luminous for my liking. But with demi matte or matte foundation , it works really well.

The meteorite balls are magic balls indeed. I swipe my fluffy powder blush for more light application then dust it all over the face. It gives instant brightening effect to my skin which is very much needed during colder months. If you're afraid of the glitters, don't worry because they don't really transfer onto the skin. Well, if I really zoom in my skin, I can see very very fine glitter particles but they don't bother me at all. In fact, they help enhancing my complexion.  I didn't expect to like it, but I've been reaching for it quite a lot. 

If you expect to use it as cheek highlighter, you might get disappointed though because it will not show up really well. It is once again very subtle.

Talking about the packaging, OMG how not to love? The balls ( including star shaped ones which Guerlain insists to call them as snow flakes xD ) are housed inside a ethereal snow globe like container. I appreciate the fact that the container - despite of its round shape , has flattened bottom , so it will sit nicely on a flat surface. Just looking at it sitting nicely on my dressing table brings the inner joy out of me xD

Have you bought anything from the holiday collection?

Love,

Pam

PS : Sorry for the lack of update, have been busy with my final thesis as the deadline is getting near :O

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation

Charlotte Tilbury is a brand that has achieved such a huge success within relatively short period of time. The reason being, is of course besides of the great products, the persona behind it ; the world class MUA , Charlotte Tilbury. 

To be honest, I am not really a fan of her. There is something about her attitude I just don't really like. But then again, it didn't stop me from loving her brand since the products I've tested so far, have been mostly exceptional. This newly launched Magic Foundation is another great example.

I ordered the Magic Foundation from net-a-porter when the site was offering free worldwide shipping. I didn't do much research beforehand, there is just something about the foundation that made me want to give it a try. And gladly it didn't disappoint. 

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation comes in a frosted glass bottle packaging with pump spender. I like this type of packaging for high end foundation though. It looks expensive, functions well and hygienic due to the pump.

I picked up shade number 3,5 which according to Charlotte Tilbury's website is a light shade with yellow / gold undertone. The model who is wearing this shade on the website is asian, so I thought this would be a good match for me. I'm glad the shade is a spot on though! It has distinct yellow / gold undertone but it works well to counter the redness on my face. It's difficult to find foundations with yellow undertone and not orange, fortunately this one is not an orange case. ( PS : The shade #3,5 is almost identical to Tom Ford Perfecting Traceless Foundation in Linen ). I didn't oxidise on me. Charlotte Tilbury offers a wide range of shade which is great. I am shade 4 in CT Light Glow Foundation and #3.5 in Magic Foundation is a better match for my skin.

Texture wise, this foundation has thick liquid-y consistency. It glides on very smoothly on the face despite of the thick consistency. The foundation dries down to a demi matte finish. It's not completely matte like Estee Lauder Double Wear and it still has a very subtle glow. I prefer to apply it using damp beauty blender for more natural finish. But it works well with foundation brush too. 

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation provides a solid medium to full coverage. It evens out the complexion and covers blemishes or redness very well. I also notice that it does blur fine lines or large pores which is a very good thing. It doesn't set into lines or dry patches so I think it will be friendly for people with dry skin too.  The demi matte finish is natural and flawless without looking too much. It tends to transfer though, so I always set it with light translucent powder and setting spray ( my favourite is Urban Decay deSlick ). The oil control is nice, but on its own, I need to blot after 4-5 hour mark. With the help of powder and setting spray, I can get to 7-8 hour mark with no problem.

I've read a lot of reviews stating this foundation to be heavy. Well, it is not a lightweight foundation due to the thick creamy texture and the full coverage, but it's not as heavy as Estee Lauder Double Wear or MAC Studio Fix Fluid IMO. Applying it using beauty blender also helps to tone down the coverage and make it more lightweight which I prefer.  I think the foundation is still very comfortable on the skin. It's lightly scented and the scent doesn't linger.

Overall, I think this is a good foundation. One thing that bothered me though, was the over the top claims that the brand did to promote the foundation. Sure, you need to boost the sale with great claims and promises, I just found them to be slightly over the top.

And no, it is not miraculous or magic like the brand said. 

Love,

Pam