March 2013 "Favourites"

I've been incredibly busy this month, sticking my head into rehearsals here and there, so I didn't really have time to do much with my makeup. But through the haze that went by, I think i used the following 3 items the most.

Left to Right: Shiseido Maquillage Moisture Forming Powdery UV Foundation in OC10, Collection Illuminating Touch concealer in 02 Natural, MAC blot Powder in Medium

And of course I have my covergirl lash blast length mascara, but I've photographed it too much, it bores the hell out of you and me so i'll omit it in the picture.

These days I just run out the door with some concealer on my acne scars and dark circles, then top it up with the powder foundation (foundation and powder two in one! yay!) But since this foundation (although it is in powder formulation) looks very natural (imagine "dewy" in a powder form.... not really that dewy, but as dewy as you can get from a powder) and offer oil control for only about half an hour, I blot on the go with my Blot powder.

I have actually had this powder foundation for quite a few years, and have been contemplating about replacing it.... any powder foundation suggestions? Stuff that I can literally just slap on and leave the house without the tedious blending? Leave your suggestions in the comments below =]

INSETA makeup removing lotion-- Dupe for Bioderma Senibio H2O

I don't know what happened, but Hong Kong is almost literally out of stock for the Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Cleansing lotion. I've looked and asked everywhere and everywhere is out of stock (unless you are willing to pay double the price at the bigger pharmacies and their official counters, which I am not). Through the search I have come across a dupe (or perhaps shall I say it's just something very similar), at first I thought it was just some low quality stuff that is trying to imitate the Bioderma cleanser (since the packaging looks quite similar) that is probably loaded with weird ingredients and is made in countries with poor quality control.

But it turns out, it has quite few ingredients and is made in Italy. So I decided to give it a shot, since I did my research and it seems it has quite good feedback. 

Oh, I think this can replace bioderma.

It is incredibly similar to the bioderma cleanser, in both feel and scent (not fragranced, but smells slightly stronger of soap than bioderma). I also think it takes off makeup better than bioderma (bioderma claims it can remove waterproof makeup, but asian waterproof mascaras are a pain to remove with out using those double layer eye makeup removers) But this definitely require less effort than bioderma to remove stubborn waterproof eye makeup. 

Great thing is, it's only HKD$98 (for 500ml) and since not many people know about it yet, it's easily accessible at Colomix. 

This definitely can be ranked up there with bioderma as an all time favourite (albeit the short time of acquaintance.) It will definitely be a repurchase (if bioderma is still out of stock, but even if bioderma is back, it will be a tough battle between the two).

Chapped skin life saver -- Nuxe Reve De Miel Lip Balm

Hey guys, I've been meaning to write a review on the Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm for quite a while but never gotten around to it. Lately, I've caught a cold and is constantly reapplying the lip balm because my lips are desert dry from all the breathing through the mouth (nose so blocked I couldn't smell a thing). It also saved me from tearing the skin off of my nose from all the nose blowing. So what better time than now to tell you what this lip balm is truly capable of?

Background is Jane Austen's Emma, simply because I've been reading it lately. =P

   
The balm smells heavenly, like honey and lemon, it does not have a particular taste to it, which I like (I hate lip balms that tastes bad, it just ruins everything you try to eat with that on your lips). It is very 'buttery' but without the greasiness (some buttery lip balms make you feel like you are slathering liquid oil on your lips, eg the body shop lip butters), and does not give your lips a strange color after a generous application (again, body shop lip butters). It is not shiny nor slippery after application, which makes it the best lip balm for layering under other lip products. It lasts quite a long time on your lips and a little goes a long way. I have had mine for a month and a half to two months now, and have only skimmed the top of it off (even with all the excessive reapplying recently). It also make a very good salve for extremely dry and irritated skin (ie. the skin around my nose, now that I have blown it like a few dozen times a day). It really protects the area and just for the tiniest bit, soothes it. 

  
I bought this for $128 at Sasa, although it is kind of on the high end of lip balms, i think it is very reasonable considering the amount they give you (15g) , the quality and the length of the time it will last you (along the lines of forever).
  
This will definitely be a repurchase if I EVER use it up.

Make Up For Ever Academy Competition.

Hi beautiful! Thanks for supporting me and Ryosa. Last Saturday, I've entered a Make Up For Ever Competition. The competitors have to get as many likes on their picture as possible. Since The picture was taken at quite a far distance, I've decided to post some behind the scene photos here, so you guys can decide weather my make up design is good enough to be in the final. The more likes and share, the better it is!

This look is inspired by wonderful Scarlet Macaw Parrots originated in South America. This look represents freedom and happiness. Very simple message. I'm always captivated by their shockingly bright and vibrant colours. I've based this make up off the four main colours for Scarlet Macaw Parrots- Red, Yellow, Green and Blue. I've even spray painted the costume myself, so if you enjoy this look, press into the link below, click like and share it to your friends! This competition ends on the 11st of March. Voting is easy, Click into the link, login to facebook and Simply press "like"on my picture and that's it! :) Don't forget to press share if you like my work!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=154152864743164&set=a.103053569853094.6844.102954243196360&type=1&theater

A group photo of all 10 competitors.. Which one is your favorite look? :)

Huge Thank you to my beautiful and professional Model and one of my dearest friend - Chi Hang Wong.

A picture of the photographer who took all the wonderful pictures about- Sharon!
me in the center.
Model: Chi Hang Wong.

Vote for me by pressing like here in this picture on facebook!





https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=154152864743164&set=a.103053569853094.6844.102954243196360&type=1&theater

Vote for me by pressing like here in this picture on facebook!

February Favourites 2013

This month had been quite exciting with all the Chinese New Year celebrations. It was also quite exciting that I have discovered that they sold Collection (formerly collection 2000) in Hong Kong (slowpoke me)! I bought several of their products and the quality is quite astonishing! I don't think I have ever came across such good quality with products it's price.

Collection Illuminating Touch brightening concealer in 02 Natural HKD$39 (OMG, can you believe the price???)
When I first got to the Collection counter, I actually wanted to pick up the famous lasting perfection concealer(in a doe foot applicator packaging). But apparently they only carry the illuminating concealer, I was a little disappointed but I gave this a shot anyway. At first, on the back of my hand, the color look way too pink toned, but it worked quite well with the color of my face (My face has probably the worst coloring ever,I am always between shades, and everything is either too orange or too pale for me). It is very easy to blend without rubbing off in the process of blending (with fingers). The best thing about this is that it works on both my under-eye area AND the rest of my face. (usually whats good for my acne scarring is horrible for my dark circles and what is good for my dark circles are usually too orange for my face). Downside is their crap packaging, although I only had this for like a week, the words on the packaging are already rubbing off, and every time I hold it the printing transfer on to my hand. If I put it in my makeup bag, the printing is going onto the lining. So this is on house arrest until all the printing has been rubbed off from the packaging.

Collection Primed and Ready smoothing make up primer (HKD$79)
This is probably the most expensive thing at the collection considering you only get 18ml of products (I think the common practice for primers are to give you at least 30ml of product). Despite the small amount you are getting, a little goes a long way, since too much will make your face feel overly slippery. A little bit of this will mattify your skin and create an incredibly smooth surface for your make up to glide on. It also provides a good 2-3 hrs of oil control without using powder to set your makeup. I usually use this in conjunction with my Vitalumiere Aqua.

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Skin perfecting makeup in B20 Tendre (HKD$410)
This is still in this month's favorite, although I said that it kind of oxidizes. Now I think it's not really oxidizing that much, but rather the shade is not right. It's a bit too pink for my skin tone, and of course stupid me did not double check all the colors available at the counter. Turns out Hong Kong chanel has a BO21, a more yellow version of the B20 Tendre I have. If I ever finish this bottle and repurchases, I'll go get the BO21. 

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Espresso (HKD$205)
oooooooh, this is another pricey splurge (*guilty gulp*). I wouldn't say this eyeliner is overly amazing, but it's creamy enough to be applied between the lashes without it smudging all over the place like NARS larger than life eyeliner does. But it's still waterproof without being pokey as hell (like some of the japanese waterproof eyeliners). The dark brown color is also internse enough so it darkens my lashline and creates the perfect no makeup makeup look.

Bourjois Healthy Mix serum in 52 vanille(HKD$168, I have no idea why this is cheaper than other bourjois foundation)
52 is more neutral in shade than 53 (more yellow), but it serves to brighten up my skin tone, which is very handy when meeting the relatives during Chinese New Year. I definitely think that the serum foundation runs a bit lighter than the regular healthy mix foundation. This foundation has the same fragrant scent of the healthy mix foundations, but is more watery and lighter than the regular healthy mix in both coverage and consistency. This is a much more dewy foundation, perfect for colder weather. Although it's promoted as a gel foundation, I think its even lighter than a gel, it definitely has a very unique consistency, but i'd say more like a very light moisturizer (akin to the shiseido mattifying moisturizer) than a gel. But it's feels great on the skin, makes you feel like you drank an energy boost drink through your skin.

Covergirl Lashblast length mascara in black (USD$7, i think...)
Go read my comparison on the lashblast length and it's max factor equivalent here. I have raved enough about it.