Bali Bronze

Side Note : I am currently in Jakarta-Indonesia for holiday , so sorry for lack of posting xD

Michelle Phan was one of the first youtubers I have watched. Despite of the controversies surrounding her success now, as some people claim her to be 'fake', changed a lot, did some plastic surgeries etc etc. What I know is , she seems to be a lovely person. She achieved a lot through youtube and is such an inspiration because she started from the bottom, she was just a girl next door and now she is one of 30 under 30 named by Forbes!

Her make up line however, was never that appealing for me. The mixed reviews and the rather expensive price didn't help either. But, I spotted this palette in a mint condition from a local blog sale for €10 only. Well, for that price, I thought why don't just give it a try?

The palette is named 'Bali Bronze' which I think is a very appropriate name. The color selection indeed reminds me of Bali and they work well together and compliment each other.  And as I like to wear bronzy shades on the eyes, I was excited to play with this palette.

There are 6 shades of powder eye shadows in this palette. The palette is sturdy, has good weight to it and even though it looks a bit cheap from a far because of the white case ( my subjective view ), the case is actually really well made and weighty. The case also comes with a generous size of built in mirror and crappy applicators that I threw away directly.
Aside of the packaging, unfortunately the eye shadows are inconsistent in quality. The two matte and dark shades ( the black and coal ones ) are very hard pressed and barely give any color. On the other hand, the other 4 shimmering shades are smooth in texture and have good pigmentation only when applied over eye shadow primer. All of them don't really work well on their own. They are a bit powdery though but I don't really mind. The blend ability is okay but not the best. I think the dry texture makes them harder to blend.
After playing with it for a few times, I must say that the shades are a bit too warm and too goldie for my complexion. The shades tend to make me appear 'older' and not the most wearable for daily use. Upon receiving it ca 2 months ago, I have 'played' around with this palette for maybe 3 times and honestly I am not longing for more.

I overall think the palette is lacking in some aspects, and since the price is not that cheap, they should do more improvements in the future if they want to continue selling the product.

Have you tried anything from emcosmetics?
Love,
Pam

Malu Wilz Camouflage Cream

Redness on my cheeks has been my biggest problem. Since my encounter with ByeBye Redness from IT Cosmetics, it changed my make up routine. But IT cosmetics is not easily accessible at all in Germany so as mine hit the pan, I started to look for alternative, and stumbled upon this camouflage cream from Malu Wilz. 

The camouflage cream comes in a small pot. The consistency is very fest, dry, thick and rather hard. It is not creamy at all, feels more like a hardened paste. The application is a bit difficult as it doesn't blend easily. I usually warm it up first between my fingers and dab it on the area where coverage is needed. Fingers or beauty blender are the best as brushes will only make it cakey and flakey. I mostly apply it using my fingers as the cream can stain beauty blender really bad. 

The coverage , as you can see from the picture above is amazing. It really deserves to be called camouflage cream. I have read on the internet where some people even use it to cover tattoo ( of course you need hell a lot of product to cover tattoo but it works ). The rather fest consistency makes it stays in place. It doesn't move around and stays on the whole day especially if you set it again with powder. 

My routine is usually like this : moisturizer-sunscreen-primer-foundation-concealer+camouflage cream on some spots+powder+setting spray. On low key days where I don't need to wear full face foundation, I leave the camouflage cream and use concealer instead. 

In comparison to the ITcosmetics ByeBye Redness, I'd say this one provides more coverage and longer staying power. Only the thick and dry consistency is not the most friendly for dry skin and doesn't feel as comfortable as the Itcosmetics one. But, if you do have problems with blemishes or hyper pigmentation, this one is a product you should try. 

It retails for €12 which is very good price as a little goes a long way, and this small pot will definitely last me forever.

Love,

Pam

Giorgio Armani on the nails

My encounters with Giorgio Armani cosmetics have been good so far. I like their GA Luminous Silk Foundation + powder, and their Lip Maestro lip lacquer. I haven't read or heard a lot about their nail polishes so I decided to give them a go. 

ps : please mind the chipped nails , this picture was taken one week after application

GA nail polishes come in round - slight hourglass shaped bottle. The bottles are plain with GA logo printed on the top of the cap. For the price point, I think GA could have put more effort on the packaging, don't you think so?

The polishes have wide flat brush similar to Dior Vernis brush which is really nice and make the application easier for my preference. They have no name to the shade only number which is bad for me because I always forget numbers xD. The shades I picked up were #402 and #105. 

#402 is a classic red shade. It is the kind of red all girls should have in their collection imo. It is a medium red with no orange or vampy hint. Just plain classic medium red.

#105 is a purplish grey shade. Both shades have creamy finish with no shimmer or glitters.

The quality of the polishes is great. I would say on the same league like Dior , YSL and Lancome which all belong to my favorite high end nail polishes. You get 6ml for €24,99 which makes them almost 100% more expensive compare to Dior or YSL if you divide it per ml price. Is it worth the price? Well, I do enjoy them and think they are good products. But they are not better than Dior or YSL , so if you really pay attention to the price per ml, I'd say they are not must have. The shades available are pretty dupable. I'd rather spend the same amount for Dior or YSL and get double amount of product even though I have never used up a bottle of nail polish yet xD

So, overall I am happy to have them in my nail polish collection but I don't think I'd buy another shades very soon :D

Love,

Pam

Recent Rimmel Purchase

Asos was having 20% off all Rimmel stuffs so I decided to order some products from Rimmel I'd been wanting to try. I picked up the famous Stay Matte Powder, the Kate eye shadow stick in shade Rose Gold and Kate matte lipstick in shade 107.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transluscent - My first impression with this powder was good. The texture is silky smooth and it gives a FLAWLESS finish ( sorry for the exaggeration but the finish is just smoooooooth ). I consciously took a very close up picture so you'll be able to see what kind of finish the powder provides. In terms of oil control, this powder does what it claims. It does set foundation and makes my Tzone less oily. If you are not a fan of matte finish, don't worry because this powder does mattify unwanted shine but manages to keep the healthy glow. It is not superior to my current love Koh Gen Do face powder  but for 4,50€ it is one great alternative.

Rimmel Kate Eyeshadow Stick in Rose gold - Texture and quality wise, this eye shadow stick is identical to the famous Rimmel scandalous eye shadow stick. The color rose gold leans more towards peach but fortunately doesn't apply orange on the lids. The color is subtle and pretty and nice for daily use when I am bored of wearing neutral.

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 107 - I am a fan of this formula. I think they are one of my fave matte lipsticks. The shade #107 is a deep vampy red. It is actually darker in real life, I don't know why it appears lighter on the picture above. The lipstick has creamy - powdery texture and matte finish. The formula is not drying at least compare to MAC matte lipsticks. The staying power is not very good for matte lipstick though, but I don't mind because it is rare for me to find comfortable matte lipstick.

Overall, I am happy with this spontaneous purchase. Rimmel still belongs to one of my favorite drugstore brands.

What is your favorite drugstore brand? Do you have fave item from Rimmel?
Love,
Pam