By Terry Teint Delectation Plumping Fluid Foundation

This is a long overdue post. I bought this By Terry plumping fluid foundation ca. 7 months ago on sale for only €26 instead of its regular price over €60! 

I didn't have anything from the brand before, but I know it is famous for being cult and very expensive, so when I saw it on sale, I bought it without doing any research before.

Shade #1 - Milky Vanilla

I struggled to find the shade that matches my complexion, and after some swatches, I decided to go home with the lightest shade they had which is actually pretty dark consider it being the lightest. I was very hesitant but the beauty advisor told me that this foundation applies lighter on the face, so I let her applied it on my face and surprisingly it matched my complexion pretty good and I am MAC NC 20-25. 

The foundation is housed in a hefty glass bottle with a pump. The packaging looks old school to me, like typical 90's high end foundation packaging. It is in no mean cheap looking, only I think the packaging could receive some improvement in terms of design.

Texture wise, the foundation has liquid - runny consistency. It blends easily and applies beautifully. The coverage is sheer medium to solid medium and the formula feels very lightweight on the skin. It evens out my complexion well and covers enough imperfections and redness. I really like the initial finish of this foundation as it provides a natural radiant finish. By Terry claimed it to be moisturizing and offered the benefits of skincare to achieve youthful looking skin - which I do agree. I also love the fact that this foundation doesn't have SPF which makes it great for photography ( you can see how beautiful it looks on the pict above, right? ). One thing I wish it got is a good oil control. Okay I am aware that this foundation offers moisturizing benefit , not great oil control. And By Terry is a brand marketed towards more mature audience, so I can understand that they will appreciate the extra moisture. But for me personally, as much as I like the finish and how it looks on picture, this foundation turns my face into oily mess in 2-3 hours which is a big no no for me. I always need to blot it with powder like every hour. I think this foundation will work way better for dehydrated skin or dry skin, as normal to oily skin will definitely suffer from the excess oil.

The foundation has a shea butter - nutty scent which I personally like. Overall, I would give this foundation to my mom as she has dry skin, I hope it will work for her.

Have you tried anything from By Terry?

Love,

Pam

My Boy ; Richard

Tom Ford recently launched the 40+shades limited edition lipsticks named after boys / men in his life, the whole beauty community went banana over it. Of course, it is Tom Ford, so there's no wonder it became a hit, despite of the hefty price tags and "limited edition - sold out in minutes" fuss.

To be honest, at first sight, I was not really interested to buy any shades from the collection, but after I found out there was a particular shade named after my biggest love ever a.k.a my little brother ; Richard, I literally picked up my phone and called the only Tom Ford counter in my city to check whether they had the particular shade. I was lucky they had problem with delivery so the whole collection came like a month late. Long story short, I reserved the shade Richard even before I knew how it looked like :P. ( On the other note ; I would buy another color if there was a shade named after my other brother , Bernard. But sorry Bernard, there was no shade named after you, so no jealousy xD ). 

The lipstick comes as mini version of the regular Tom Ford lip color. I was worried the mini packaging would be wobbly and wouldn't function well , but TF didn't disappoint. The packaging is just as sturdy as the full size version and despite of the mini size, I didn't have any difficulties in terms of application. 

Later I found out that the shade Richard is actually identical to Negligee which was introduced as part of the fall winter 2014 collection ( if I'm not mistaken ). Richard is a warm brownish plum which appears darker on my lips. It leans more towards brown and I think if there was a matte version of it , it would be a Kylie Jenner shade everyone else is talking about. Richard is not a shade I would have picked when it is not because of the name because I do think it is a bit too brown for my liking. But the more I wear it, the more I like it. 

Texture wise, I didn't notice any difference compare to the full size TF lip cover I own ; Wild Ginger. The formula is creamy but not slippery. It glides on effortlessly on the lips and provides a nice satin creamy finish. It is pretty hydrating and long lasting. The formula reminds me of the Burberry lip cover, I couldn't pick which one I love more. 

Overall, Tom Ford did a great job.  The price tag is high, but the quality is superior too.

Did you get anything from the boys?

Love,

Pam

Cathy Doll SUN BB Cream SPF 45

Sharlynn from theblackmentosbeautybox included this BB Cream inside our beauty swap package  sometime ago and when the first time I saw it, I had no clue about the brand so I tried it without any expectation. The result was surprisingly very positive!

The BB Cream came in a typical BB Cream squeeze tube. I like this kind of packaging because it is just very functional, practical and perfect for traveling. After some google research, I found out that this BB Cream came from Thailand , hence most of the reviews available on the internet were in Thai language. 

Anyway, the first time I tried it on, I fell in love with the texture. It was so creamy, emollient and lightweight. It blended effortlessly into the skin and didn't look ashy like most BB Cream. It was very hydrating and my skin felt plumped and healthy. This BB Cream provided a good light to medium coverage and because of the lightweight texture, it didn't get cakey when layered. The finish was dewy but in no way greasy. The shade is a bit ashy though, but since I mostly use it as base for foundation, I don't really have problem with it. And once it's well set, the grey tone won't be too pronounce, so don't worry!

I usually apply it as a base for my foundation for more coverage and I noticed that it prolonged the wear of my foundation and also helped in terms of oil control. The SPF 45 was also one positive point and in hot summer days, I often wear this alone and it gave me the coverage I needed whenever I just couldn't bother with foundation.

This BB Cream is basically just all you need from the BB Cream. It is moisturizing, gives decent coverage, brightens up the complexion , provides high SPF and perfect for low key days. Love!

Love,

Pam

Cheeky Sweet Spot

This is my 3rd blush palette / set from the holiday collections that I purchased. This set was sold out pretty much everywhere in Germany but I was lucky to be able to get it from a small Benefit counter near where I live ( I guess not a lot of people are aware they have Benefit counter there! ). The set contains 4 deluxe size blushes ( 4gr instead of 5gr full-size ) + 1 full size blush + 1 deluxe size bronzer ( 4gr ) and 1 mini Watt's up highlighter and retails for €37 which is a very good price considering 1 full size blush from Benefit costs €34,99 here in Germany!

The packaging is so cute! It comes in a solid tin case with a very cute design. It will make a great gift especially for someone who hasn't got any blushes from Benefit before. But if we put aside the cuteness of the tin case, it is actually rather bulky and not very clever for traveling. A sleek, thin case would be better for traveling as well as storing. But , Benefit always goes over the top anyway with their packaging :D.

Dandelion - is a pale pink shade with matte finish. At first I was worried it wouldn't show up on my skin, but it is actually brighter once applied. 

Bella Bamba - is a medium pink with some fine peachy shimmer. Bella Bamba is the shade I reach out the least in this palette because I am just not a very fan of hot pink on my cheeks.

Sugarbomb - is a shimmering multi coloured blush which leans to peachy orange once applied. It has very fine golden shimmer and can work nicely as highlighter as well.

Hoola - is a very famous ashy brown bronzer from Benefit. I love it as contour shade as the ashy tone works very well to give some definition to my cheek bones. I wouldn't use to warm up my complexion though as it is a tad too ashy for it. But I love the fact that it is matte and doesn't have any orange tinge in it.

Coralista - is just like its name advised, a very pretty coral shade with gold shimmer. It is a bit similar to Sugarbomb, only a tad bolder.

Rockateur - is a warm dusty rose shade . It is my favorite shade in this palette. It has satin finish and the kind of color that will compliment any make up look.

Watt's up highlighter - a very very subtle champagne highlighter which I surprisingly like. I am usually not big on highlighter but this one is very subtle so I have been wearing it a lot lately and have been thinking to get the full size :D

PS : I am wearing Hoola as contour shade and Watt's up as highlighter in all the picts above. 

Overall, I am very happy with this set and the quality of the blushes. They are all buttery smooth and apply seamlessly. The pigmentation is great and the longevity is impressive. I love the fact that they smell very good as well. Now I finally get it why people love the Benefit blushes. They are really good!

Have you tried any Benefit blushes? Which one is your favorite?

Love,

Pam

Darling

I am currently in preparation phase for my upcoming exams so please bear with my short post for awhile :)

I have said many times before that I am a fan of Dior nail polishes. They have one of the best formula I have ever encountered. They apply seamlessly, not streaky at all and the pigmentation is just great. I also love the wide flat brush.
Darling is a bright medium pink, which is usually not my kind of color. But I was at the duty free and felt like I need a bright pink nail polish in my life. lol. Do you know this feeling at the duty free when you just feel like you NEED to buy something at the duty free?? Because I always have this feeling. lol

Out of topic, how have you been doing in new year? January is definitely not the most exciting month as holiday season is over, excitement for snow and white christmas has gone and only bad cold winter weather or rainy weather left ( lucky you, Australians! ) and upcoming exams for students ;''((.
I honestly can't believe how 2015 has been going so fast until now. It is already the second week of 2015. But at the same time I am excited as well. I am going home for a month in February for Chinese New Year and it will be my first Chinese New Year at home after 5 years living in Germany woohoo.

Anyway, let me know how your new year has been and if you celebrate Chinese New Year - are you  as excited as I am?

Love,
Pam

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lipstick

I was an hour early for a meeting so I wandered around one department store swatching and swatching until I found the new Kiss Kiss lipstick range from Guerlain.  The nice lady working at Guerlain counter helped me to apply some colors on the lips and I just really liked this particular shade that I ended up buying it. 

The shade I picked up is #325 Rouge Kiss. It is (surprise surprise!) a bright red shade which I am 100% aware that I already own so many similar shades in my collection. But, this red is slightly different because it has a glossy - balmy finish which makes it less 'bold and harsh'. Rouge Kiss is a red shade I feel safe to wear on formal meeting or just at day time when other red shades might look a bit overdone. 

Formula wise, the lipstick is one good product. It has balmy texture but not waxy which I like. The lipstick in general reminds me of the Revlon Lip butters minus the gritty glitters. The lipstick feels emollient and moisturizing. It glides on very smoothly on the lips and doesn't set into lip lines. The texture is a bit on the heavier side of balmy but I love it because it makes my lips feel suppled plumped. 

The staying power is good, I get ca 4-5 hour of wear.

Overall I do think this is a good product and the entire range is worth a try. But I don't think I would get other shades because for €34,99 each, it is honestly not anything groundbreaking. 

Love,

pam