Lowndes Square and a little chat

I have a thing for mauve and grayish nail polish. I don't care how similar they all look, I still keep buying similar shades #1stworldproblem. 

Lowndes Square is my first nail polish from Nails inc.  I managed to get it for a very cheap price from a blog sale. 

Lowndes Square is a mauve-y grey shade that has different hues depends on the light. It looks more grey under direct sun light and looks more lavender-mauve under artificial light. 

It applies smoothly and pigmented. One coat is enough but I am used to always apply 2 coats of nail polish so I applied 2 coats to make it more opaque. 

The color is not the most unique one but I really like it. It is a color subtle enough that I can wear to work but also not 'boring' for summer. 

It dried pretty quick and didn't chip on me for 4 days ( topped with Essence better than gel nails top coat ). The formula was not too thick or too thin and applied smoothly. 

Anyway, how are you guys?? I am now well adjusted to my hectic life in Berlin after my last month holiday. It is stressful here but I told myself to enjoy as much as I could the ( most probably ) my last 18 months in Berlin as I am planning to go home for good by the end of next year. I am having exam week, 1 exam done, 2 more to come.  I should have been learning more for exams but world cup has been distracting me most of the time. lol

As a football fan, I barely miss any matches but I am so sad that England didn't make it through the group elimination.. :-// But Germany goes to final!! woohoo!

Aside of the world cup, the summer sale season has made my financial balance this month being very unbalanced lol. To make it worse, I had so many birthdays in June and 2 upcoming birthdays in July of my sister and mom! So I've been busy buying birthday gifts ( and few cheeky purchases for me me me :P ).

Have you planned anything for the upcoming summer holiday?? I will go on a euro trip with my family to Holland, Paris , Rome and Vatican which I am already very excited about!! 

Have any of you been to Rome before?? Any insider tips? this would be my first trip to Rome and I can hardly wait xD

Sorry for the chatty post! But I really enjoy talking to you! :-D

Love,

Pam

Maybelline Color Elixir

A lot of people rave about the new Maybelline color elixir. They even got compared a lot with the Dior Fluid Sticks so I was excited to spot them during my trip to Jakarta last month.

There were only 4 shades available at Maybelline counters in Jakarta. I wanted to get them all but there was a very pale peachy shade that didn't look good on me at all so I picked up the other 3 shades.

Maybelline Color Elixir supposed to be the new lip gloss from Maybelline. Maybelline claims it to be a lip gloss, lipstick and lip balm all in 1. It is another player in the hybrid lippie games together with Dior Fluid Sticks, Lancome Lip Lover, YSL glossy stain, etc etc. It was love at the first application between me and the Color Elixir.. It applies very smooth and has a little tingling sensation ( if you're familiar with lip plumper.. ), it feels very comfortable and balmy on the lips and applies evenly. The formula is rich yet lightweight, soft and watery but in no way slippery. 

The pigmentation varies depends on the color. The lighter colors have sheer but buildable pigmentation yet the deeper shade is way more pigmented. 

They don't feel sticky on the lips even though after 2-3 hours they can feel a bit tacky but nothing compare to the super sticky YSL glossy stain. They come in a beautiful sleek packaging, for the affordable price, Maybelline really did a good job. They also come with a leaf shaped doe foot applicator which applies products evenly to the lips. 

The finish is very shiny and watery, so gorgeous! I can't stop looking at my lips because they look so juicy, plump and shiny. The shine and glossy coat fade after 2-3 hours and the lighter colors do disappear after 3 hours but the deeper shade stains the lips afterward. They are quite hydrating as well and don't dry up my lips. 

The shades available in Jakarta have different names as the shades sold in the US, here are the shades I picked up :

#GLAM2 - Glam 2 is a peachy coral shade. It has a tiny tiny tiny golden particles but they are not visible on the lips. Glam 2 is a very lovely shade and I love it the most among the 3 colors I bought.

#POP5 - Pop 5 is a medium berry pink. It has no shimmer particles and works well to top over pink lipsticks.

#GLAM 6 - Glam 6 is a deep magenta with a hint of purple. It is very pigmented but it can be sheer out for less 'vamped up' look. 

Overall, I think the Color Elixir from Maybelline are nice new additions for the drugstore as alternatives to the higher end similar products. Formula wise, they are very very similar to the Dior Fluid Sticks, only the Fluid Sticks are a little wee bit lighter in texture because they are water based and the Fluid Sticks have prettier packaging. But in terms of the finish, consistency and performance, they are almost identical. So if you want to save some money, I don't see a point in spending €35 on Dior when you can get almost similar product for ca. €5.

Have you tried the Maybelline Color Elixir?

Love,

Pam

Surveygeneration!

Hi guys,
I am helping a friend with her new project, do give it a visit if you have time! :)

www.surveygeneration.com/freebies.html

"If you're interested in getting beauty freebies and coupons to save on your beauty products and prescriptions, check out this website"

ps : offers are available for US only

Love,
Pam

Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings

I love beauty sets, especially those with mini size products because they are so cute, travel friendly, and easier to be used up. They also usually retail under its 'true value' which is good if we want to try some products at the same time but do not want to spend so much money to get the full size. Since I have not tried anything from Too Faced, this set was perfect! I picked it up at Sephora Singapore for SGD 22 ( then got 20% off! ).

The set contains the chocolate soleil matte bronzer, the better than sex mascara, the shadow insurance  eye shadow primer and primed & poreless skin smoothing face primer. 

The prime&poreless face primer - I have already used it up and I really liked it , even better than Benefit Porefessional. Too faced is not widely available here in Germany but I can get it through asos or Sephora USA since they ship to Germany now xD! It has similar consistency to the Benefit Porefessional, only the Prime&Poreless is thicker and more rich in texture. It melted into the skin effortlessly and created a flawless base for the foundation. I noticed that it helped my foundation apply better and achieved a more polished finish. It helped to control the oil and elongate the wear of my foundation. Love it and I already ordered the full size ^^

The shadow insurance eye shadow primer - This eye shadow primer has similar texture to the Urban Decay Primer Potion. It helped the eye shadow pop up more and brighter also prevent it from creasing. But the same results could be achieved by my eye shadow base from Essence which is way cheaper. So this one is not a bad product but it didn't impress me enough to get the full size. 

Better than Sex Mascara - I had high expectation on this mascara and it didn't disappoint me. It has a nice hourglass shaped wand which performs very well to curl up the lashes. You can see on the picture above how this mascara elongates my lashes and also gives some volume. The effect might not be something amazing in your opinion, but trust me, for my barely there lashes, I am happy with the result. The only thing is that the wand is rather big and it often gets to my lids, but I am sure that people with longer lashes won't experience the same problems like I do. 

I've been enjoying this mascara a lot, and maybe will get the full size product once I am finished with all my rotating mascaras at the moment.

Chocolate Soleil Bronzer - Finally, a good matte bronzer! It is matte, a bit ashy and smells like chocolate :9. It gives good pigmentation but not too much so it is perfect to give a bit of contour or just a bit of color to your face. If you like Benefit Hoola Bronzer, this is worth the try because they are both similar in terms of color and texture.

Overall, this is a very nice set! I love almost all of the products except the eye shadow primer. The other 3 are candidates for me to get in full size. I am going to see more into the brand and try more products.

Do you have any favorite from Too Faced?
Love,
Pam

ZA Perfect Fit Concealer

I received this concealer from Sharlynn from theblackmentosbeautybox inside our SWAP package. She said that this concealer is her favourite. So it must be great and yes it didn't disappoint me! 

with- without

ZA is a brand I remember from my teenage age. I used to have few products from the brand as it was widely available in Indonesia.

The packaging is very simple and nothing fancy yet functional. It comes in a small squeeze tube which I think is optimal for a concealer.

Sharlynn picked up for me the lightest shade available I assume, based on the number #01 and it is the perfect concealer shade for me. It is very light with a distinct yellow-beige undertone similar like the Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer which I really enjoy. Maybelline FIT ME in #15 is pinker.

This concealer has AMAZING pigmentation, a little goes a long long way. It has creamy and buttery consistency, such a pleasant to blend. It melts into the skin effortlessly and gives a flawless finish. It doesn't accentuate the fine lines or dry patches and it feels very hydrating which is good for the sensitive under eye area. But I also love to apply it as highlighter on the highest point of my cheekbones. It gives such a luminous-glow highlight to the cheekbones without being shimmery at all . Love!! The staying power is excellent, it stays the whole day and I don't feel the need to touch up during the day. I can really imagine this concealer works wonderful in warmer temperature which is always a plus point. This concealer is so good I could cry! The formula is so dreamy creamy and emollient and dewy without being greasy. I am so grateful that Sharlynn introduced me to it because it is now my holy grail concealer. 

PS : I did buy another 5 of this concealer during my trip to Jakarta. They retail for Rp 82.000,- or ca. €5,5 each which is a steal for such amazing product!

What is your favourite concealer at the moment?

Love,

Pam