Recent Sephora Haul

Let’s just cut to the chase shall we, here was what I purchased from the recent 20% off Sephora sale for their black card holders.

Sephora Retractable Brow Pencils – 01 Honey Blonde & 04 Midnight Brown

I purchased these two shades as 03 was sold out so I figured I could just mix these two. So far so good (This might be a good dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz – can’t really make an actual comparison as I don’t own a brow wiz but judging from pictures, it looks pretty similar)

However, there is a con to this. Instead of having just a regular spoolie, Sephora took the fancy route by placing a weird comb/brush hybrid. This gamble did NOT pay off. The comb feels weird, hard and a little painful. A plain ole’ spoolie would have been a better choice.

Once on, the colour lasts for a good 4-5 hours without any brow gel, a pretty decent job.

Tarte Pin Up Girl Amazonian Clay 12-hr Blush Palette

The palette is housed in a pretty gold clutch-like design which feels nice and squishy J it even comes with 2 hair pins which are totally usable but I just like to keep them there as is.

Inside is a nice sized mirror with 5 ‘new’ Tarte blushes, I also appreciate the fact that the blushes are decently sized and it would take a while for it to hit pan.

The shades are (descriptions curtesy of Tarte):

Breatheless – pinky beige

Embraced – plummy rose

Whimsy – light pink

Bashful – rosy peach

Irreplaceable – mauve rose

Tarte Bon Voyage Collector’s Set & Travel Bag

This has got to the best deal ever! Here is the list of products from this collection –

20 full size Amazonian clay eyeshadows

Full size LipSurgence lip tint in

Full size LipSurgence lip gloss in

Deluxe size Light, Camera, Lashes 4-1 mascara

Deluxe size Cheek Stain in

Deluxe size Maracuja Oil

Deluxe size Smooth Operator Amazonian clay finishing powder

I have never tried Tarte shadows before and I have read mixed reviews but I am excited to test them out myself and see how they perform. Oh, one more thing, I simply can’t stand that the names of the shadows are printed on a separate plastic sheet *ggggggrrrrrr shakes fists* - just print the damn names on the palette!

*I totally forgot to take a separate picture of the Smooth Operator powder..Sorry! I did test some of it out at the back of my hand and it did make my skin feel really smooth and soft. Can't wait to test it out on my face! 

Japan Beauty Buys

Last month I was in Japan for a holiday and of course, money was exchanged, stuff was bought. To be honest, I did purchase a sh*t load of things, no fashion items as it autumn now and the clothes were not suitable for Malaysia’s tropical heat.

But I was introduced to a wonderful store called Matsumoto Kiyoshi, with its prominent yellow sign, it seemed like it was located at every corner around Tokyo. Each store was packed to the brim with anything and everything you would want, from eye drops to collagen drinks to hundreds of beauty supplies. I’m a little embarrassed to admit, but I did walk into every Matsu Kiyo store that I came across and I would carry a bunch of items out each time.

I don’t think it is feasible for me to feature everything in a single post, so, for this time around I will be showing only the eyeshadows, nail polishes and a lipstick. As for subsequent posts, I will probably only review products that I have tried.

So here goes:

1.       Canmake Lipstick in 03 Sweet Cherry

2.       Canmake Nail Polish in 57, 34 and 18

3.       (TOP) PA Nail Polish in AA114 and AA104

(BOTTOM L-R) Ducato Cuticle Oil in Grapefruit scent, Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Diamond Top

Coat & DNails Clear Pink Topcoat

4.      (TOP) Lavuscha Eyeshadow in PK2

(BOTTOM) Visee Eyeshadow Duo in PK 2

5.       Visee Eyeshadow Quads in PK2

6.       Visee Eyeshadow Quads in PK 3

Kylie Jenner Lipstick Dupes?

To be honest, I didn’t really understand all the fuss about the famous Kylie Jenner lips and all that craziness to find the shade or shades to recreate the look.

But as I was playing around with my makeup, I unwittingly found products in my stash that managed to create a similar 90’s lip colour and I got weirdly excited by it, so, here goes -   

Combo 1

MAC Jubilee Lipstick (1)  + MAC Subculture Lip Liner (2)

The Subculture lip liner is in a beautiful peachy nude shade which looks good on its own as well. But to amp up the look, I lined and filled in my lips with it and topped it off with Jubilee. This lipstick is in my favourite finish – lustre and is a nudey rose brown shade.

The lip liner helps create the illusion of a much fuller pout and also allows the colour to last longer on the lips.

Combo 2

NYX Soft Matte Lip Crème in Stockholm (1) + Stila Long Wear Liquid Lip Colour in Patina (2) + Both Combined (3)

               

Patina is described as a dusty rose and for me, if worn on its own, the colour is pretty intense. That’s where Stockholm by NYX comes in! It leans more towards a peach nude shade and by topping a light layer on Patina, it softens up the look tremendously.

Both of these are extremely comfortable to wear, but Stila has a slight edge over NYX as it dries down to a matte quicker while the NYX one feels a tad slippy.

However, I find that the NYX Soft Matte Lip Crèmes are a great dupe for Stila’s Liquid Lip Colours.  

So there you go, 2 combinations that depict a 90’s lip look that is taking the beauty world by storm. Personally, I still prefer my pinks and reds J

Bangkok Beauty 2014 Haul

Two main places that I headed for once in Bangkok were Boots and EveandBoy.

For those who aren’t familiar with EveandBoy, it is a beauty store that carries both drugstore and high-end products. So you can get brands like Maybelline, Wet N Wild to NARS and Estee Lauder. It is an amazing place as the prices are slightly lower than what you’ll find in other beauty stores or pharmacies.

Ok, now on to the list of stuff that made its way into my shopping basket! Let’s begin with EveandBoy –

(Clockwise from top left)

1.    Revlon Colorstay & Whipped Foundations – all in 150 Buff Chamois
2.    Catrice All Matte Plus press powder in Transparent
3.    Collection Lasting Perfection concealers in No 1, Light (Malaysia only carries shade 2 & 3)
4.    Collection Metallic Cream Eyeshadow - 2 in Rock N Rose and 1 Copper Pot

5.       Wet N Wild Eyeshadow in Naked Truth

6.       Wet N Wild Polishes in Candy-licious and Through the Grapevine

7.       Bifesta Cleansing Water

8.       Elf Studio Blush Brush (a great brush to have, the ELF studio line brushes are really impressive! I have both the powder and flawless concealer brush and they are equally as good)

9.       Maybelline Vivids in Fuchsia Flash (love the formulation and colour payoff)

10.   Softymo Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid foaming facial cleansers (I have purchased them before and did enjoy using both these cleaners, so wanted to just pick more up)

11.   L’oreal Colour Riche polishes in 209 – Ingenious Rose, 210 – Shocking Pink and 211 – Opulent Pink (I already have 211 in my collection but I have used it so much that it’s almost finished, plus these polishes come in tiny-ass bottles L, the brush on these are great for application and the staying power is also impressive)

12.   L’oreal Miss Manga mascara (I LOVE THIS MASCARA! But just be aware that it have a super flexible wand which might piss some people off, for me, I don’t have an issue with it. The mascara does give me the volume and length that I so desperately need)

Now on products from Boots –

(top row, left to right)

1.       Soap & Glory Breakfast Scrub (it has the most yummy maple syrup scent)

2.       Soap & Glory Fruity Body Scrub

3.       Soap & Glory Puffy Eye Attack

4.       Inecto Pure Coconut Hair Repair Treatment and Leave-in-Conditioner (even though it is coconut scented, it strangely reminds me of a vanilla scent too – either way, I am obsessed how the scent lingers in my hair after I spray on the leave-in-conditioner)

5.       Soap & Glory 3-in-1 Daily Detox and Foamy Moisture face wash

6.       Soap & Glory Kick Ass concealer in Light

7.       Soap & Glory Solar Powder

8.       Soap & Glory One Heck Of A Blot in Translucent

9.       Soap & Glory Love At First Blush

10.   17 Trio Eyeshadow in Gilded Rose

And finally, I picked up the Carmex Cherry Lip Balm and teeny tiny Vaseline Rosy Lips inside the beauty section of the grocery area at Central World Mall.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I ‘scaled down’ on the beauty buys, but…after listing all of them down…I don’t think it’s scaled down at all. OOPS! 

Sneak Preview - Bangkok 2014 Haul (yes, another one)

So..this kinda happened.

Traveled to Bangkok for a couple of days and of course I had to hit up Eve&Boy and Boots. But I did scale down on the beauty items and bought more clothes this time around instead :) 

But I will be listing down the makeup and skincare items i got in my next post, so look out for that!

Simple Leopard Print Nail Art

I switched up my nail designs again and thought a leopard print nail would be cool.

This particular print has got to be hands-down the easiest design to create.

Like the previous post, here is a simple step-by-step guide -

Step 1

Apply your favourite base coat. Once dry, apply any polish of your choice, I went with Rimmel’s polish in Peppermint and applied 2 coats. Let it be touch dry before the next step.

Step 2

With a dotting tool or the tip of the nail polish brush, just apply ‘blobs’ of polish on to the nail. There isn't a right or wrong way to do it, just use your discretion. The polish I used was the Gold Foil Nail Effects from Barry M.

Step 3

Take a toothpick dipped in black polish and go around the earlier shapes made in sort of a ‘C’ formation. Also, I dotted certain sparse areas with a tiny bit of the black polish.

Again, let it be fully dry before applying the top coat to seal in the design.

On both my thumb and pinky, I just placed a single dot at the base of the nail, just a little extra something. The colour I used here was Essie’s Glamour Purse.

And for my ring finger, I applied a finely packed gold glitter polish, OPI’s Goldeneye and to finish off, my pointer finger was done up with the same gold-foil effect nail polish.

Happy painting! 

Pretty Rose Nail Pattern

Just wanted to talk about a rose nail design I have been rocking a couple days ago.

I was on a girly kick so decided to do up my nails in pretty pink with 2 accent nails – one with roses and the other with pink glitter and lines (please note my impressive descriptive skills! *eyeroll* LOL)

The roses are pretty easy to master as I just looked though a couple of nail tutorials on youtube to learn the easiest technique.

There are a couple of items that you will need for this look – base & top coat, white, green, dark pink & light pink polish, a dotting tool and a toothpick.

From the picture above, I’ve just included a little step-by-step guide on how to recreate the rose design –

Step 1

After prepping your nail with a base coat, just apply 2 coats of any white nail polish. Let it be touch-dry before going on to the next step.

Step 2

Use a darker pink shade and create the flower shape with a dotting tool or by carefully using the tip of the nail polish brush.

Step 3

Take a light pink polish and using the same technique as above, place the colour beside the earlier dark pink shape.

Step 4

While both polishes are still wet, quickly take a toothpick with some white polish on the tip and carefully swirl it around the dark and light pink shapes. This will create a rose-like effect.

Step 5

Now for the leaves, again take the toothpick with  green polish on the tip and make tiny strokes at the side of the flowers. This will pull the design together and will make it more realistic.

Finally, leave it for at least 5 minutes before applying a top coat to seal everything. If you immediately put the top coat on before the polishes are dry, you’ll risk smearing the design!

As for the lines on the glitter nail, I used some nail striping tape to get the clean lines I wanted. If you don’t have a striping tape, I think the glitter nail looks good on its own too J