Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3in1 Foundation

I've read a lot of positive reviews on Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3in1 Foundation, but since Covergirl is not easily accessible in Germany, I didn't bother to go the extra miles to order the foundation. But as I am currently in Indonesia, I was surprised to see how popular this particular foundation among Indonesian beauty enthusiasts, so it is widely available through local beauty shops. Of course I took advantage of the situation and ordered one :P.

I picked up the shade #801 classic ivory after doing some research on the internet. Fortunately it is the right shade to pick. Classic Ivory has neutral-slightly yellow undertone so it is a very good match for my complexion and helps to counter the redness on my cheeks.

Covergirl Outlast 3in1 Foundation has thick creamy and smooth consistency. It spreads and blends easily. I prefer to apply it using beauty blender as foundation brush might get streaky. The coverage is medium to full without being cakey or too much. The formula feels comfortable on the skin even though I wouldn't say it is lightweight. I don't mind thick foundation as long as it blends seamlessly into the skin and feels comfortable. 

Covergirl Outlast 3in1 Foundation claims to be 3in1 as the name advised, so it functions as primer-foundation and concealer. I must say it lives up to the claims because it is indeed sufficient as primer-foundation and concealer. It evens up my complexion and covers imperfections well. On most days when I don't have any special occasions to attend, I appreciate this kind of foundation so I'll save time getting ready in the morning. But when I do have a long day awaiting, I don't dare to skip primer and concealer as I perspire a lot so my foundation tends to migrate by the mid day.

The foundation provides a matte finish that is not dull or flat. Despite of the full coverage, I still feel very comfortable to wear this foundation on daily basis as the finish is still natural. It is also not drying on the skin and don't accentuate fine lines or dry patches. The oil control is great and the staying power is excellent.

After 6 hour wear-no blotting-no touch up

For a foundation that retails for ca.13€, this is a great buy. It does the job just as good ( and even better  ) as some high end foundations that are twice or three times more expensive. This is a strong candidate for the best drugstore foundation I've ever encountered.

What is your current favorite drugstore foundation?

Love,

Pam

Colourpop

Colourpop has been literally everywhere lately. And since 99% of the reviews I've read and heard are all positive and since the products are sold for very affordable price, of course as a make up junkie with barely there self control, I had to give them a try, right?? :P

Luckily there are a lot of online store in Indonesia which sell Colourpop and the price mark up is still reasonable, for example, I paid only approx USD 7,5 for each eye shadow and lippie stix instead of its regular price at USD 5.

I picked up 4 eyeshadows and 3 lippie stix. It was difficult to choose which shades to get , but then after a lot of thinking and thinking and thinking, here are the shades that I picked :

Bill ( matte finish ) , Bill is a matte mauve grey shade with a slightly pink hint with matte. 

Desert ( satin finish ) , Desert is a warm medium champagne bronze shade with satin sheen finish.

Bandit ( matte finish ), Bandit is a warm reddish brown with matte finish. But Bandit is not completely matte, I can still see the sheen.

Sequin ( glitter finish ), Sequin is a sparkling peachy pink shade. The glitters are fine but still sparkly and look so pretty on the lids. 

Yasmin ( matte ), Yasmin is a bright orangey red. It is so bright it looks almost neon under certain lights. The finish is true matte.

Lumiere ( matte ),  Lumiere is a mauve pink. On a lot of people it looks a bit grayish but it doesn't look grey on me, more purple.

Brink ( matte ), Brink or the Kylie Jenner's lip look is a peachy brown nude. It surprisingly doesn't look very nude on me which is a good thing. 

After playing with the eye shadows , I must say they live up to the expectations. All shades are buttery smooth. They're definitely not powder, they're more like a hybrid between powder and cream.. There are zero fallouts due to the texture and the pigmentation is excellent. They don't crease on my oily lids and apply smoothly. Not forget to mention they're easy to blend and long wearing too. They don't need eye shadow primer to stay put.

About the lippie stix, they are good but they're not as excellent as the shadows are. First of all, the texture is a bit dry and not very creamy. They remind me of MAC matte lipsticks. The color pay off is great though, but due to the texture, they don't apply very smoothly. I need to apply a thin layer of lip balm underneath so they don't tug. The staying power is okay. They are not bad at any means, but I don't feel the urge to order other shades from the matte range, maybe I'll give other finishes a try :P

Speaking of the packaging, I personally like it. The tin case is nicely made and for the $5 price point, I just can't complain. The lippie stix on the other hand is packaged a bit cheaply. The plastic pen case is not as nicely made , but they're functional.

Colourpop supershock eyeshadow has a net weight of 2,1gr ( MAC single eyeshadow has 1,85gr ) so it is a great value of money. While the lippie stix has only 1gr nett weight compare to most lipsticks at 3,5 - 4,5gr. That makes the lippie stix actually at almost the same price like the MAC lipsticks if you compare the price per gramm.

Overall, I'd recommend you to try the Colourpop eyeshadows as they are excellent and good value for money. But the lippie stix, maybe give it a try if you find a shade you love. But don't expect too much.

Love,

Pam

Etude House Rosy Tint Lips

I received this matte lip tint from Etude House as a GWP from Etude House Store in Jakarta. I had mostly not so impressive experiences with korean lip products, so I didn't have high expectations for this particular product. But it surprisingly exceeded my expectations.

Etude House Rosy Tint Lips is a matte lip cream product housed in a upside down tube. Speaking about the packaging first, I must say I am not a fan. The plastic tube is hard and it is difficult to squeeze the product. The sponge attached is also not the most hygiene and neat looking option as applicator. I much prefer a doe foot applicator and conventional lip gloss tube for lip cream product. 

Packaging aside, the product itself is very nice! I am actually surprised that it is so underrated, considering the huge matte lip cream trend at the moment, this one could actually pass into the category. First of all, I do like matte finish lip products especially for red or bold shades, but I don't get all the hype over super super dry matte lip creams that are everywhere at the moment. Matte finish is fine, but not ultra matte. I like it when matte lipsticks still feel creamy and are not completely drying. 

Shade #2 is a orangey tomato red. 

Etude House Rosy Tint Lips has creamy texture with cream to powder matte finish. It applies smoothly and evenly on the lips. Due to its creamy texture, it is best to apply lip liner first to avoid it from bleeding or transfering. The finish is matte with no sheen whatsoever. It doesn't crake after few hours and doesn't set into lip lines. The staying power is good, though on 4-5 hour mark I need to re apply. It does stain the lips and it fades after major eating or drinking. I personally don't mind to re apply lipstick as I always do anyway.

In a nutshell, Etude House Rosy Tint Lips is a good alternative for matte lip cream that is not drying or accentuate the lip lines and not to mention- at affordable price tag. 

What is your favorite matte lip cream / lip product, at the moment?
Love,
Pam

CLIO Nail Styler

The lovely Sharlynn from The Blackmentosbeautybox gave me these nail polishes from the brand Clio on our recent meet up. I have so far only tried the pencil gel eyeliner from the brand and I was happy with those pencils. Sharlynn raved about these nail polishes and she was right!

The nail polishes come in a solid packaging and the packaging doesn't look flimsy or cheap at all though they retail for relatively affordable price.

I was given 3 shades with all cream finish, with no shimmer as I am not really a fan of shimmery nail polishes and Sharlynn knows me well :D

The first time I applied them on my nails I was surprised how pigmented they are! It took literally one coat for them to be opaque. On the swatches above, I only swiped 1 layer for each shade. The consistency is such a pleasure to work. They're not too thin and not too thick, they are smooth and apply evenly. They also take less than a minute to dry, very impressive! But they are not really shiny once they dry and I don't like dull looking nail polishes so I recommend you to layer them with top coat. 

The staying power is average, but it is acceptable as I change my nail colors so often. 

After testing these nail polishes for awhile, I can totally understand why Sharlynn loves them xD

PS : A little life update. My 3 month internship time in Jakarta is slowly coming to its end but I extended my stay until mid September so I will have more time to spend with friends and family at home *yippie*.  Jakarta has been treating me well so far, despite of the heat , the polution, the workloads I have to do and the traffic, I feel very content and happy most of the time. But, I do miss my friends in Berlin too and of course I do miss my boyfriend, I miss the good lebanese food I can't get anywhere in Jakarta and I sometimes do miss the subway, and how easy it is to get from one place to another without having to drive. Here in Jakarta, the public transportation is not something I'd ride on daily basis. So mostly I move around the city with car and have to deal with the crazy traffic, LOL. 

How's life has been treating you so far?

Love

Pam

Illamasqua Hollow

You all know I have chubby cheeks, so I've decided that it was my lucky day the first time I got to know there is a thing in this world called contouring. Up until I purchased Illamasqua Hollow, I always used powder to contour which is great and I am still using my contour powders / bronzers till now. But cream contouring is just another different level.

Illamasqua Cream Pigment is actually an allrounder cream product that you can use as base-blush-contour-cream eyeshadow-etc etc. But the shade Hollow is famous for being a great contour shade due to its greyish-ashy shade that works very well to add dimension into the face. 

I bought Hollow on a whim but I am glad I did because I love it! Hollow is a taupe shade which luckily doesn't appear too ashy on my face. The grey hint is perfectly dosed so it doesn't look muddy. I am NC 15-20 and Hollow is a perfect shade to contour my face, but I don't think it will work for people with complexion deeper than NC 30 because it is relatively pale. 

What I like the most from Hollow is that how subtle it is. It won't make your make up looking too 'done'. The texture is rather stiff ( imagine a cake foundation ) but it is quite easy to blend. I use beauty blender to blend but contour brush will work just fine. Nikki from NikkisTutorial on youtube once said that she loves Hollow's rather stiff texture because it is what makes Hollow stands out. It doesn't smudge nor crease and it stays on like nobody's business which is maybe won't happen if Hollow is creamy dreamy emollient. 

Aside from contouring, I also occasionally use Hollow as eye shadow base / cream eye shadow. In my opinion , it def works better than MAC Paint Pots. It doesn't crease-smudge or migrate but it doesn't blend as easy as the Paint Pots due to its stiffer consistency. 

Don't worry if you don't really like the idea of contour, because Hollow does not only contour, it also gives dimension to the face. Combined with a good bronzer, it will give your face a healthy color especially if you're pale like me. 

Overall, I don't regret my Hollow purchase as it is such a versatile product. If you are a pro MUA, this would be a staple in your kit. And for regular beauty junkie like I am , this one could also be a staple especially if you contour your face on daily basis.

What is your HG contour product?

Love,

Pam

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater

I initially wanted to get the famous Avene facial mist due to its positive reviews, but then stumbled upon this Mario Badescu one. I was sold the first time I smelt the subtle rose scent, so there it went home with me.

I didn't do any research prior buying this facial spray, but was relieved to see more of positive reviews on the internet. I have to agree with the majority as this facial spray - as useless as it might be - is kind of addictive. 

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with aloe herbs and rosewater is a refreshing facial spray with skin care benefit. According to the description, it can be used to set make up, soothe the skin or give the skin a quick refreshment. It can be used to re-hydrate dry hair as well. To me personally, I don't think it does anything in terms of setting the make up. It is definitely not Skindinivia or Urban Decay deSlick. It doesn't prolong the wear of make up. But if sprayed over freshly applied make up, it does reduce the 'powderness' of it and provides a more dewy finish. 

I like to spray it before applying make up to freshen up and give my skin extra hydration esp in the morning. It rejuvenates the skin and it reduces the appearance of redness on my cheeks. I also depoted it into a small spray bottle and carry it inside my bag for on the go touch up. By the time my foundation starts to migrate or get a bit cakey ( unfortunately unavoidable in Jakarta's hot and humid weather ), after blotting with powder, I spray this facial spray and voila my foundation looks better! It is very good to perk me up on warm days.

Above all, I love the smell! It smells subtly like fresh rose not plasticky kind of rose.

It retails for IDR 195.000 or ca $13.

Do you use facial mist/spray? What is your favorite?

Love,

Pam

Color Repvblic Skinny Tint Balm

Color Repvblic is a local brand from Indonesia. They sell tinted lip balm both in tin form or as chapstick. As avid fan of tinted lip balm, I was tempted to give this a try since the price is very affordable and the packaging is so cute. After reading this post from the lovely Alodita, I decided I need to have them balms ^^

I opted for 'Merry go round' and 'Red Wine' skinny tint balm labelled as their best seller shades. As much as I like the design of their tint packaging, I don't like the idea of applying it using my fingers, so I chose the chapstick version. My order came within 3 days and was packed inside a cute paper envelope. The lip balms were housed in a simple chapstick  which I like since it makes it easy to carry them around due to its small and simple packaging.

On the first swipe, I was surprised to see how pigmented they are! 'Merry go Round' is a medium raspberry pink and 'Red Wine' is a pink toned red. 

Color Repvblic Skinny Tint Balm glides on smoothly due to its balmy and emollient texture. It has the perfect consistency of lip balm without being slippery. It is hydrating and very comfortable on the lips. Due to its rather impressive pigmentation, it also stains my lips especially the darker shade ; Red Wine. You can get up to 3-4 hour wear time if you don't eat or drink a lot. But it can't get through pass meal time, which is acceptable for a lip balm.
Ah, they both smell delicious too!

I am overall happy with this purchase and actually plan to order other shades xD

You can order this through its Instagram account : @colorepvblic

Love,

Pam