Tracy's Beauty Blogsphere

Nostalgic sights from Paris

2013-03-04T14:22:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone.

Wow - where should I start? It's been almost 3 months since my last post and I deeply apologise for the sudden hiatus.

In short, life hasn't been too gentle on me. Stress took a major toll on me and I would often wake up to nightmares. Yeah, those crazy nightmares that deters me from staying in bed.

The whole transition back to Singapore became such a shock to my system, and I had to switch from being a reasonable work-life balance person to working 90-hour work weeks. I'm shaking my head in disbelief as well, trust me. I didn't think I could do it, but somehow I am.

Thanks for being ever so patient on me and I truly look forward to coming back to my blog when things are more settled - hopefully in April. For the time being, I have a few pictures of Paris hiding in my backlog of photos. Going through them now reminds me of the better things in life, and how precious those moments of freedom can be...

Shopping in Vienna ~ Inglot Eyeshadows

2012-12-20T10:24:00.000+01:00

Christmas shopping in Vienna is delightful - shops displaying their latest christmas merchandise, streets alit with glistening lights, stalls serving hot wine and chocolates and Austrians flocking to the stores ticking off their christmas shopping list. Temperatures have been hovering above the zero mark, making it a lot easier to venture around the off-beaten paths. Above is the main shopping street in the middle of Vienna called Stephansplatz, aptly named after the main catholic church.

Vienna reminds me of quintessential Copenhagen, but perhaps in a more grandeur style; there's always violins and cellos on the streets and the way that the buildings stack up next to each other ooze this cozy feeling that you're still living in the 19th century. And, there are two fragrance shops you must visit when you're ever here to visit. One, Duft & Kulture on a street behind Petersplatz, and two, Le Parfum right in front of the Petersplatz church. I purchased quite a few of my fragrances here, with the most patient sales person. I can't wait to show you the fragrances that I picked up, but I want to test each one first before I express my thoughts. Once my fragrances unite with the rest of my others, I will of course show you what I own. I love my perfume is all I can say.

I also discovered Inglots' newest store in Vienna, located quite a bit away from the city. I was dead set on getting those darn eyeshadows that everyone is raving about. Curse the blogosphere/Youtube space because I was on a mission like no other. Even it if meant that I had to jump on 3 trains to get there...

After reading reviews of the Inglot eyeshadow palettes, I was informed NOT to get it.

Instead, I used MAC's new pro 15' palette. Here's the caveat: inglot eyeshadow pans are NOT magnetised which means that you had to source for your own magnetised sheet. It was worth all the effort eventually. But, I'm just too lazy to care about building a stash of eyeshadow palettes.

I picked up a total of 11 eyeshadows. The eyeshadows are so beautifully pigmented and there's just too many to choose from.

I had also considered getting a Z Palette - it's cheaper and they give magnets too. I couldn't be bothered to purchase them separately online anyway, so I settled with the MAC. The fit is not perfect - there's about 1 cm gap left on the width and about 2cm on the length.

Here are all the swatches of the eyeshadows for reference. Each inglot single pan eyeshadow costs 7 euros.

What are your thoughts on inglot eyeshadows? Are they worth all the craze?

My first Celine

2012-12-11T10:48:00.001+01:00

In celebration for my career milestone, I decided to reward myself with something beautiful. And so I did. I paid for a ticket to Paris, stayed in one of the cute boutique hotels, ate macaroons and fresh baguettes, visited mega art exhibits (Dali and Hopper), and sniffed perfumes till my senses were completely overwhelmed! And, I picked up my first Celine.

This little gem was one of the main reasons for me wanting to go to Paris. The Celine luggage tote was heavily contested by Asian and Russian patrons who were visiting Paris for the festive season. It was a rather stressful purchase because I needed time to consider, and meanwhile having a few customers standing close by waiting for me to let go of the handles.

I was torn between a Celine luggage tote and a classic Chanel flap bag. Well, the latter was sold out in the medium size in the whole of Europe. I eventually thought that I'm just not ready to have a Chanel in my life. It's not quite my style, not yet anyway. Maybe when I'm older.

I bought my Celine in the micro size, a perfect size to fit all my essentials: wallet, phone, diary book, and more. I'm glad I didn't get the mini (the larger tote), because it is somewhat heavier. The shade here is in khaki green, in heavenly leather.

Thanks for reading!

Annick Goutal Vanilla Exquise

2012-12-09T11:03:00.000+01:00

Annick Goutal Vanilla Exquise (EDT) proclaims my love for soft gourmand and vanilla scents. I hunted down her only shop that was open during the Sunday - Champs des Elysee in one of the galleries close to Sephora. Her boutiques are scattered everywhere in Paris: from the winding pavements of Abesses to a quint corner in neighbourly Saint Sulpice. I never ventured so much into Annick Goutal in the past because I found her scents too safe, maybe a tad too 'demure' compared to the likes of Serge Lutens and Frederic Malle. However, I do find that my preferences for FM or SL to be far more adventurous when I'm on vacation, but lesser so when I'm need an unobtrusive scent for work. Annick Goutal seems to fit the bill for a wallflower-type scent, but pretty nonetheless.

Vanilla Exquise in one word is simply vanilla. The fragrance features angelica, almond, vanilla, musk, sandalwood and guaiac wood. Not the kind of sickly sweet vanilla, and neither sharp or spicy like Jo Malone Vanilla and Anise. It's smooth and well rounded on the edges; its tone like a mild toffee spongecake. Perhaps it lacks a bit of character to Parfums de Nicolai Vanilla Intense or even Diptyque Eau Duelle.

Delicate and sweet, and not at all obtrusive. There's an angelic-like quality on the dry down, bringing me back to when my little sister was brought into the world. Her room would be temperate and her scent would be mixed with scents of baby powder, milk and her fresh clean skin. It's a strange connection, but resonates Vanilla Exquise subtle qualities quite well.

Is it worth 100mL, you may ask? In my honest opinion, not quite. If they had a smaller 30mL bottle, I would have preferred that. I do think it's a matter of body chemistry. On paper, it was a 'meh' but it only drew me in when I smelled it on my skin after about 20 minutes or so. I only give vanilla-scents privilege to my skin. Otherwise, they are often left on test paper!

It's best worn in autumn and cooler climates. The absence of florals and spice is a step away from my usual foray of characteristic dimensional perfume candidates. I have mine in the EDT version, which I would much prefer to the EDP. Its lasting power stands for about 4-5 hours on end. I purchased mine for 96 euros I believe, and you can have them shipped in the EU from her website.

A brand new start for a brand new year

2012-12-04T13:02:00.002+01:00

I apologise to those who have noticed my lack of posts and blogger activities in the last few weeks. I have been delaying my announcement for some time now, only because I am not mentally prepared for this. I will be leaving Denmark, and moving back to Singapore. In many ways this move is for the better but intrinsically, I am mixed pot of feelings. Given the circumstances and the opportunities aplenty in Asia, I had to take my chances and hope that I am making the right move. The last two years in Copenhagen has been wonderful; I met my dearest SO, made amazing friends, learnt so much about history and culture and took my blogging to a level that I'm happy with.

I have spent the last few weeks organising myself for the move, travelled to Paris to see Dali's and Hopper's exhibitions, bidded farewell to friends and colleagues. So you can certainly imagine how much has been going on behind the scenes. The next time I write I would be in Singapore. I will of course try my very best to write when I'm touring about in Eastern Europe.

Till then, have a wonderful festive rest of the year!

Blog Sale!

2012-11-13T14:48:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone!

Winter cleaning calls for another blog sale. This one is rather big and I want to let go as much as things that I've completely forgotten or just don't have enough space.

Click here for the link or the image below!

Happy browsing and shopping. :o)

Daily Makeup Setup

2012-10-31T13:36:00.001+01:00

Over the weekend I rearranged my makeup stash. I'm proud of this little daily makeup setup I've put together. I'm hoping that it not only reduces the amount of time I spend every morning figuring out what makeup look to put together, but also help me complete a few products.

While I sorting out what products to put together, I was shocked at the number of lipsticks and blushes I owned. I mean, literally SHOCKED! I don't dare count and you know what's even more looney? I want to buy more!!! For every lipstick I finish, I buy 10+ more. With that, do tell my illogical brain that I do not need those cute Mon Shu lipsticks, pllllleeeaaassseee?! lol

These MUJI drawers are not a new thing to the beauty community. Their viral popularity is mostly makeup storage related, and maybe the occasional accessories storage. MUJI probably didn't realise the potential these acrylic drawers had when they first made them. Not only are they the cheaper alternative to the Clear Cube, they are made with consistent durable quality.

I find them perfect for displaying lipsticks, lipglossses and eyeshadows, but perhaps a bit too small for blushers and base makeup.

I bought two 2-drawers, one with a lid and the other with 2 drawers. They stack on top of each other nicely without sliding about.

The top compartment houses all of my face products; including sunscreens, primers, foundations, concealers and powders. I am almost close to finishing the Guerlain Lingerie de Peau foundation, and halfway through both the Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation and MUFE HD Foundation.

I keep some of my blushes and bronzers that I'm hoping to use more in the 2nd compartment. I completely forgot about Azalea Blush Ombre and Instant Chic blushes from MAC, and I hope that this organization forces me to use it more often than I do now.

My Burberry and my only 3 Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadows are assembled in my 3rd compartment. I love this drawer because it keeps things simple to the basics. One primer - a few mascaras - a few liners - lash curlers - and my swoonful stash of Burberry.

And finally, my last houses the lipsticks that I'm determined to create a dent. It might take me a year to finish all these lipsticks... But -8 from my stash-of-infinity is certainly an achievement, nonetheless!

Eye and face brushes are bundled into two separate MUJI cups, both made out of plastic.

How do you store your makeup? Has the way you store your makeup helped to curb your makeup spending? I'll love to know!

Also, Happy Halloween Everyone! How are you spending yours? I'm not one to celebrate Halloween, so instead I'll be preparing some yummy salmon and cozying up to some YouTube. But if I'm courageous, I might put on a black cape and do bikram yoga tonight with it. That sounds like a great way to spend halloween, ain't it? haha!

The Face Shop Essential Mask Sheet in Pearl

2012-10-30T20:16:00.000+01:00

I used to always make fun of my mum when she wore sheet masks when I was younger. I never knew I would also fall victim to Asian sheet masks. Now, this is not the first sheet mask I've used (my mum used to buy me ton of Beauty Diary Face Masks when she travels to Taipei). But it's certainly the first time me showing my sheet-masked-face on my blog.

I'm no expert to reviewing sheet masks. I only use them on an occasional basis, when I've got nothing better to do than mask my hair, face, and paint fingernails. Obviously, today is one of those days where I'm getting everything done!!

Like most Korean shops, there's a wide selection of sheet masks to choose from. The Face Shop is one of those where you'll get lost in variety, but each mask is priced at about $3-$5 (depending on where you get them), so it's more like candy-picking and trial-and-error.

I bought 5 of the Pearl Essential Sheet Masks from The Face Shop. These are supposed to give some radiance...

The quality of the cloth feels thick, unlike the Beauty Diary Masks. The size is also good, fitting quite well to the contours of my face. As you can tell, I have a less than average sized nose! LOL! And, this is why I would normally never review face masks. :o)

My biggest gripe with these face masks is the essence (or whatever you call it), which constantly dripped from my chin downwards. Comparing this to the SKII treatment essence sheet masks, I thought it was abnormal to be this drippy. Oh, must I say that it was the SKII sheet masks that converted the skeptic in me - they were instant magic on my skin and the luminosity of my skin lasted for a few days. From that day on, I have been hunting for cheaper alternatives that could give me the same effect. I might have to pick the occasional SKII face mask, because I have found none that is quite as good.

Sorry, I digressed. The Face Shop's Pearl Essence Face Masks makes my skin feel sticky, and I saw no difference to my skin after. I saw better results with The Beauty Diary Face Masks.

Skip this!

Thanks for reading :o)

Chanel Joues Contraste Rose Initiale Gorgeousness

2012-10-27T19:50:00.001+02:00

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a splendid weekend. Mine will start in about 2 hours... I'll be going to a housewarming party and in fact will be wearing this look, which I will show you in just a bit.

Basically, it features my new Chanel Joues Contraste in Rose Initiale that was released in the Chanel Autumn 2012 collection sometime in July. I'm a bit late on the Autumn collections especially that of Chanel, but only because I just can't see myself getting into autumn when I'm still enjoying the summer.

I have mine in the EU baked version. I noticed no slight shimmer like the US version.

I would describe the color to be a rose pink, leaning warmer than JC Pink Explosion (released in 2010). Rose Initiale is an extremely wearable color and looks perfect when worn with a pronounced lip. Given my propensity to have my cheeks on the more subtle side, I do think JC Rose Initiale is one of those products that simply can't be overdone no matter how hard you try. For the purpose of this FOTD, I went for double applications to make the cheeks show through on photographs.

The brush that comes along with the blush does not fall short of quality - it feels luxurious and soft. I wish I could touch up on blush during the day like some ladies do, however, I simply can't make myself do it. The thought of having the dirt or dust transfer to the product and then having to clean the brushes... it's simply a 'no' for me. That said, JC blushes are all lovely to travel with.

I used my ultra soft RMK blush brush to apply a couple sweeps and the result is divine. JC blushes are magical in that way - it seems to transfer the color into your skin, blending it so softly that you don't any signs of harshness.

Here, I am wearing Dior Rouge Nude in Guipure (swatched here)

And here's all the products used to create this look. Read on to see some quick thoughts on some of these products...

MAC Fascinating Ruby in Smokey Eyes has some of MAC's most essential neutral shades. I grab this far more than the Naked Palette. I don't know why... I used MAC Carbon and Dark Devotion to accentuate the outer corners.

The brown shade from Chanel Ombres Contraste Duo in Sable Emouvant blends so effortlessly with the rest of the shadows. Definitely a rockstar-quality rich brown.

I've had the Guerlain Lingerie de Peau foundation for some time now, and it's a b*@# to pump the product out of the pump-dispenser. It's a nice medium coverage foundation, but I find the shade too pink. I'm looking forward to completing this bottle.

MUFE Smoky Lash is really fabulous. There's no clumpiness, and it grabs even the smallest lashes.

MUFE HD Primer feels almost like skincare. I have mine in a small deluxe size, but it has lasted me a while. I have finished a similar one in the purple shade, and loved it.

Paul & Joe Eyebrow Pencil Duo comes in 2 parts; one darker and one lighter. I use the darker end from halfway point to the tips of my brows, and the lighter towards the center of my face. I learnt this trick to define yet soften the look from Bee Lian, a bubbly SA who used to work in Takashimaya P&J.

Dior Nude Rouge in Guipure (as well as Grege) are my two favorite lipsticks for the month.

Thanks for reading and hope you have a fun Halloween weekend. Head over to The Makeup Blogette to see her creepy Halloween looks - she is pure talent, and one of the best looks I've seen so far this year.

Having Fun with Shu Uemura's Reindeer Kiss xxxx Palette

2012-10-21T11:39:00.003+02:00

It has been some time since I've used fun colours in my looks - I wouldn't say that I'm in a makeup rut, but rather my looks are becoming more pragmatic. Often being pragmatic means that you immediately exclude out the brights, including girly pinky and turquoise shades. It's such a pity that I've completely forgotten about the existence of this palette; it's so whimsical and pretty!

Shu Uemura's Reindeer Palette is like assorted candy in a palette. There's a nice mix of light and medium turquoise shades perfect for creating a gradation, then a silver shade for the main lid shade. I bought this palette purposely to have the pink blush - K6. It may look quite scary bright on pan, but on the cheeks it transfers beautifully. Pigmentation is not quite in the league of Nars Desire, which is by far the most pigmented blush I own and can easily go wrong, but K6 manages to illuminate the face like it's own flush.

I paired the look with Shu Uemura's Gloss Unlimited in PK325N (I don't know which collection this came out with). Basically it's a bright pink gloss with fuschia microshimmer. It just blended right into this fun mix.

So whilst it's fall, don't let that stop you from using the fun girly colours. For all you know, these shades are great antidepressants.

And here's all the products I used to create this look

Rescue Beauty Lounge Catherine H

2012-10-20T19:16:00.002+02:00

I think Rescue Beauty Lounge's Catherine H has hit the sweet spot in terms of blue nailpolish. This is no ordinary blue nailpolish - it consists of complex multi-dimensional purple and blue shimmer interspersed in a deep water blue base; the kind of blue you would like to wear on your evening cocktail gown.

The shade transfers beautifully on the first coat, and brings out this elegance to my hands that I've never seen before. I am in love with this shade, if you can't already tell. To me, this is a must-have.

I shall let the photos do all the speaking...

Wouldn't you wear your cocktail/wedding ring with this shade? ;o)

Shimmering Mysterious Eyes with Kate BR-1

2012-10-20T19:01:00.002+02:00

Kate's new eyeshadow palettes features some shimmery punch all packed into 3 combination shades. I was curious to try Kate; I've only tried Majolica Majorca and Fasio from the Japanese drugstore lines. Most (if not all) Japanese drugstore eyeshadows are very shimmery and each collection can easily look similar. I'm very sure that these shadows have been released in Kate's previous collections. And between the different brands, these eyeshadows become repetitive.

For 1400 yen (14 euros), you can't go too wrong with these eyeshadows. I picked mine from Tomod's, a drugstore chain in Tokyo. The testers at Tomods tend to be cleaner, however, I noticed that the products there are a little more pricier than other drugstores in Tokyo.

The differentiating point of Kate eyeshadows are that they apply smoother than some others. From what you can see below, there is no chalkiness with any of the eyeshadows in this palette. The glitter can appear quite chunky, but no where near the size of those in the Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes (I think Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy is notorious for that).

Even though these shadows swatched so nicely on the back of my hand, the different shades were not so obvious on the lids. It seemed that the middle pink champagne shade applied almost like my skin tone with plenty of glitter/shimmer/sparkle. Indeed, the shadows seem to reflect the intensity of the sparkle very well. All photos were taken indoors with natural light.

I also have on Rouge Dior Nude in Grege. I'm falling in love very fast with these lipsticks. I'm even applying them at home as a lipbalm.

Lots of products were used to create this look.

I hope you're all having a wonderful Saturday. I'm about to sit through another 3 hours of exam revision - I did absolutely shocking on my mocks. Yes, it's not the best way to spend the weekend but dear SO is in Vienna this weekend. I'm home alone with my makeup friends. lol! Grege is enough to make me happy in the mean time.

Also, candles are alit and soup is brewing in the kitchen. Can you tell that I'm getting cozy for the colder months?

Peace!

Dior Nude Rouges Grege and Guipure

2012-10-19T17:52:00.002+02:00

Goodbye Summer.

Sob!

And while it's sunny today, unlike most days over the past few weeks, I have decided to whip out my new Dior darlings to show you. If you're one crazy makeup fiend, then you would have seen the collection from eons ago. They were released in Denmark in end September - that's how behind I am with my posts. Please pardon my lateness, but it's always better late than never, right?

These new lipsticks from Dior are downright gorgeous. They're packaged in the delicate Dior criss-cross pattern, and the range is just so wearable for anyone. I heard somewhere that design teams even obsess about the 'click' sound. To me, it's like music to the ears. Try it for yourself and hear the subtle differences between a Chanel click versus a drugstore lipstick click. This is what your extra $ is going to: lovely sounding clicks! :-D

I had a really hard time choosing one out of the range - and I came home with two. I had to put a ban on myself from the Dior makeup counter for the next subsequent days, because I had my mind on picking up more. Dangerous territory, indeed.

I picked up Grege and Guipure. I picked Guipure up partly because of the name; it reminded me of some kind of Indian rose. There is also a good reason for why Natalie Portman used the color Grege in the commercial below; it is simply a wearable gorgeous nude.

The Sahara Desert is probably the best way to describe the conditions of my lips lately. This is a combination of not drinking enough water throughout the day and nit-picking on my dry flaky lips (a very bad habit of mine!). However, these lipsticks feel sublime on the lips. It adds a beautiful soft glistening semi-sheer sheen, allowing a hint of my natural lip color to peek through. They feel very lightweight, yet moisturizing at the same time.

I would probably best describe Guipure as a muted rose with a slight brown-red undertone. This colour is so cushy autumn/fall-ish, that I've popped it right into my daily makeup bag. I'll wear it on days when I have a slick of bb cream and mascara; you know, those days where you can't be bothered to do anything else with your face.

Grege tops all my nude lipsticks. There's a hint of brown-rose, which gives life, unlike many nude lipsticks which make me look like the living dead. Compared to the Dior Addict Extreme in Incognito, Grege has more browns in it.

In summary, the new Dior Nude Lipsticks are definitely worth every cent you pay. Both Grege and Guipure are winners for me, from the time I had swatched them on my hand to first application. A lovely job, Dior.

Tokyo and a haul!

2012-10-08T19:08:00.002+02:00

Last week I was in Tokyo.

Even though I was only there for 5-days, I loved every moment of it! Albeit a very tight business schedule and very little time to shop and sightsee, I managed to take back a little bit of Japan to Copenhagen. I know that one day I'll be back again, and the next time it will definitely be for holidays! I wish I had taken more pictures - everything was taken with my iphone and we all know how bad the battery life can be...

I had probably only 5 hours out of the whole week to really soak myself into Tokyo - particularly in Ginza (the uptown of Tokyo) and Shinjuku (the shopping district). The rest of the trip was pretty much work-related. I couldn't cover Harajuku or Shibuya during this trip, which was a bummer! Next time.

I really love working with the Japanese - most appear very quiet (and very polite indeed!), and they are so overwhelmingly competent and professional. They are really a pleasure to work with!

My Japanese colleagues also took us out for some spectacular restaurants - Kobi beef, tepanyaki, tempura and udon, okinimiyaki, sushi and more. I was in food heaven everyday, especially after being in a food-coma for almost 2-years. The best food I had was the tepanyaki - the kobi beef was so mouthwatering and the best I've ever had. The sushi was surprisingly not as good as I had expected it to be; I've had better in Sydney.

I also managed to go to Mitsokoshi and Takashimaya department stores and their food basement hall. Wow, I don't know what to say... simply jawdropping and stunning. Rows and rows of food all nicely decorated. You can definitely spend hours and hours just staring at all of the food.

Likewise, Shinjuku was so beautiful at night. There are small alleyways that are infiltrated with small Japanese restaurants. The place is buzzing and alive. If I recall, one of the streets is called 'Electric Street' - so aptly named!

Japanese girls are also dressed and made up to the T. Beauty is such a big thing in Japan. Japanese drugstores are packed with cosmetics over 4 stories and range from the usual Canmake, Integrate, Majolica Majorca, and the higher end Maquillage, Esprique Precious, Aube, Sofina etc. Its definitely easy to overspend in these drugstores - I certainly spent way more than I should! Here's what I hauled back home. Very productive shopping in just 5 hours, wouldn't you say?!

Buying Japanese magazines purely for the sake of the freebies! I wish I knew Japanese! I guess it's never too late to pick up another language.

Ha! And some pens. I can't deny my love for stationary, especially the multi-coloured pens.

I managed to squeeze a bit more shopping at Narita Airport, where I purchased a few pieces from the 2012 Spring and Autumn Lunasol collection. The prices are about 15% cheaper than Singapore.

And finally, a gift for my SO. A beautiful handcrafted Japanese teapot.

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Rouge Bunny Rouge Periwinkle Cardinal EOTD

2012-09-29T15:13:00.001+02:00

It's been quite some time since I've worn a green eyeshadow. In fact, I used to wear greens far more often than neutrals. And, greens just look fabulous on tanned complexions. Right now I'm hovering between NC25 to NC30.

I'm so glad I picked up Rouge Bunny Rouge's Long-Lasting Eyeshadow in Periwinkle Cardinal. It's definitely refreshing to have some color with my purchases. I have been a boring old fart lately, including my life. Some color is definitely needed in my life!

Periwinkle cardinal is hardly a daring choice; I would describe it to be a silvery sage green with iridescence. It's complementary with many of the eyeshadows you may have in your stash, especially with neutral tones.

The RBR eyeshadows individually contain 2.4g. I'm a little disappointed that Zuneta had charged me the price for the larger pans to my smaller Solstice Halcyon. I'm not a person to check prices and quantities, but the discrepancy wasn't quite fair, in my opinion.

Nevertheless, like all RBR eyeshadows, they are cute as a button.

Depending on the light, it has a slight blue-ish tinge.

In my stash, Majolica Majorca GR791 and Lancome Color Design in Filigree were the closest dupes. RBR Periwinkle Cardinal leans slightly more cool, with almost a grey or blue tone depending on the light. Shu Uemura's green is far more yellow-toned. Stila's is the truest sage green I have. The lancome green has a similar finish and shade, but the texture is not on par with the silky texture of RBR eyeshadows.

I completed the look today by pairing RBR Delicate Hummingbird on the crease, and RBR Solstice Halcyon slightly above RBR Periwinkle Cardinal, blending it slightly.

I do believe that this pairing is a match made in heaven! If you're not quite sure which first RBR eyeshadow to begin with, I would recommend you to pick Delicate Hummingbird and Periwinkle Cardinal!

I hope you're all having a wonderful Saturday. It just keeps on raining non-stop here in Copenhagen! I guess that only means doing laundry, cleaning the apartment, packing and finally leaving to Tokyo!

Oh I can't wait!!!!

:o)

I have my shopping list full of Japanese magazines, snacks, stationary and makeup, of course!!!

Skinfood Peach Sake Toner, Serum and Emulsion

2012-09-27T23:16:00.000+02:00

I think it has been about a month since I've started using the Skinfood Peach Sake Skincare line. I wanted to venture into more affordable brands, especially Korean ones. Not only have I been using bb creams rather frequently, I have also learnt that there's some decent skincare products out there without the price tag. Maybe it's not the best quality, but it does it's job according to their claims.

Before I start this review, I have to put it out there that skincare reviews are always subjective to the person using it. My skin type is dry and marginally oily on my t-zone.

The best way to sum up about the Skinfood Peach Sake line is that its decent, but not the best. The line is targeted to those with oily skin, and especially for teens or anyone looking for good oil control during the summer. The caveat here is that this line is ~~horrendous~~ okay-at-best in hydration.

I picked up the toner, serum and emulsion all on enkoreadepart.com, a website that offers a myriad of Korean products. I love this site because I don't have to navigate through difficult Google chrome translate.

Shipping was fast and each product was packaged nicely with bubblewrap. I believe shipping to Singapore was free over $200.

All these bottles are HEAVY - it really does feel like you're using kitchen sauces when handling them. The concept of Skinfood is all about using food ingredients in skincare... no surprise there. Skin... Food.

I have this love-hate relationship with excessive marketing. Packaging products into bottles that literally feels like food is not really my cup of tea. What's even more frustrating is that I literally have to wait for the emulsion to pour out of the bottle, just like you would do for ever-so-tormenting ketchup to peek out of the Heinz bottle. Frustrating, indeed.

Here are some individual reviews on each product...

One... Skinfood Peach Sake Toner

The Skinfood Peach Sake Toner does nothing to remove remaining residue. You still need to rely on a 2-step cleansing process to get every dirt and grime off. Although, the toner does work quite well as an astringent and makes my skin feel refreshed. There's a heavy scent of peaches, which may be intoxicating to some. To me, the scent might resemble some kind of artificial detergent.

Two... Skinfood Peach Sake Pore Serum
Again, I have no impression about this serum. It sinks into my skin rather fast and there's no feeling of tackiness, like most drugstore serums. However, I'm not quite sold since I haven't seen much of an improvement in my skin since using this.

Three... Skinfood Peach Sake Emulsion

The emulsion is probably the best item out of the three. But again, it's not stellar. The bottle (as you've read above) annoys me each time I use it. At the beginning, I had to hit the tip of the bottle on my palm to agitate the product slightly for the teeniest amount. Now that I'm halfway through the bottle, a huge gallop of product comes out... definitely way too much to use for a single application.

The only reason why I think this is the best out of the line would be its' effective oil control. I can smother myself with this emulsion and within 2 minutes, it's completely soaked into my skin. And voila! my skin is matte. No oilies for hours. Again, this really is subjective.

There's always a flipside right? Yes, this is not hydrating AT ALL. And when your skin is dehydrated, the more your skin will produce oil. Not quite the cycle we want.

You wouldn't need to guess very far what my impressions are on the Skinfood Peach Sake Line. Anyone considering this can give this line a complete miss. You can find much better products for oil control and hydration from LaRochePosay and Caudalie.

I hope you're all having a lovely Thursday. I'm off to Tokyo this weekend for work and I really (fingers-crossed) hope that I have time to shop around. And when I get back from Tokyo, I will share with you some exciting news and a haul. If I don't have time to do anything else than work, I still have Narita airport! Woohoo! :o)

Rouge Bunny Rouge Sweet Excesses Glassy Gloss Rhubarb Custard

2012-09-26T11:38:00.000+02:00

I think I have since lost track of the products I need to blog about, because I am so so behind on even last year's collection that it has become negligible to review them. This exemplifies the rate in which I buy over actually finding the time to appreciate each product. It's a bad habit I'm dying to break.

Hopefully I'm not too late to review the Rouge Bunny Rouge Sweet Excesses Glassy Glosses from the Mistral 2012 Summer collection. There are 9 shades in total, some shimmery and some milky. Rhubarb Custard was the only one I picked up, which is described to be a 'semi sheer coverage milky nude rosewood - irreplaceable my-lips-but-better color.'

So far, I'm really loving RBR Rhubarb Custard - the formula is fantastic and the colors are so up my alley! It turns out that I'm using this quite a fair bit, even though it's one of those grandma looking boring shades.

What I do love about the sweet excesses are its bottle design and doe foot applicators. It makes application easy, and often times, without needing a mirror.

The standout, in my opinion, is the formula. It is so incredibly smooth and creamy on the lips, feels hydrating, and not the least sticky at all. It's not all that long-lasting, with maybe an hour after eating and drinking. This shouldn't stop you though - each time I take this to my lips, the scent of candies, makes this a pleasure to use! I also noticed that my lips looking less dry and perhaps even improved over time.

For more swatches on the RBR Sweet Excesses Glassy Glosses, head over to Best Things in Beauty, Makeupandbeautyblog, BFF Beauty Blog (which was the blogger who convinced me that I needed to have this!)

You can purchase yours for 22 pounds at Zuneta.com (this is not an affiliated link).

Holika Holika Peach Girl BB Cream #2 Review and Comparisons

2012-09-26T09:16:00.001+02:00

Holika Holika Peach Girl BB cream, along with the Aqua Petit Jelly BB cream, is the thing that I desperately wanted to try when I got onto the BB cream bandwagon. Consider me a late-starter, but bb creams just never was my thing when living in hot and temperate climates.

Holika Holika is a Korean brand, with a few selected stores scattered around Asia. They had opened one store in Singapore (I think 2 years back), but when I returned back a month ago, they were no longer there. That is quite unfortunate considering how much I prefer Holika Holika products over Etude House. Instead, I had purchased a bunch of Holika Holika products from Gmarket Korea, and shipped it to Singapore. My sweet friend had helped me carry it over to see me and I can't thank her enough! Thank you, Angeline!

I've been using the Holika Holika Peach Girl BB cream SPF 37 PA ++ (in no. 2) in rotation with my Missha Perfect Cover BB cream (in no. 23) when I just feel like using something even quicker than foundation. The BB cream process only takes me no more than 10 seconds; I squeeze a pea size around on my fingers, then quickly warm the product by pressing my fingers together, and then dab it on. Couldn't be much simpler.

This cute little nifty thing costed me no more than $20 (I think its best to refer to prices on Gmarket). It contains 50mLs of product and a small cap size amount of peach blush. Cute, isn't it?

And surprisingly, the cream blush feels creamy and blends in very well to the skin. I haven't used this blush yet, but it doesn't feel like a 'cheap' add on.

I believe I'm starting to get better in evaluating BB creams... So far, I've only been trying Korean BB creams. I simply do not believe in bb creams from the West, including the Garnier and L'oreal BB creams that have started to infiltrate the makeup stands in the Danish supermarkets and pharmacies. I suppose I'm quite biased that way. There are just some things where I would consider Asian brands more superior - BB creams and sheet masks, for example.

Color/Shade

Comparably, Holika Holika Peach Girl BB cream no.2 is lighter than Missha Perfect Cover (which is suited to those in the NC27 range), but darker than the Skin79 Hot Pink. The tone is slightly grey on first application, but the color settles in about a minute or so. For reference, the picture above is swatched against the back of my arm where I'm probably an NC20. I still have some residual tan from the summer, so I would consider myself an NC25-27 on my face. The most yellow tone (and thus, more flattering on most Asian skin) would be the Lioele Beyond the Solution BB Cream.

There are 2 color options for the Peach Girl BB cream.

Coverage

Holika Holika Peach Girl offers medium coverage, whilst Skin79 offers the lightest. The heaviest coverage bb cream is probably the Lioele Beyond the Solution BB Cream. Nevertheless, Holika Holika Peach Girl covers some of my acne scars, and to some extent, covers my pores too.

Texture, Scent & Finish

I really love the texture of the Holika Holika Peach Girl BB cream; it's creamy, blends in effortlessly, and leaves the skin feeling slightly fresh and dewy looking. Compared to the Skin79, the finish is more satiny matte, and compared to the Lioele Beyond the Solution, it is more dewy.There's quite a moderate scent to the cream, but I quite like it, and I hardly notice it after 5 minutes.

Oil control & Oxidation

By the 5-mark, there was hardly much oxidation and color change. "Marginal" meaning that you don't get the color demarcation from face and neck! :o) As for oil control, I didn't notice much. And I'm probably not the best judge for that, since I'm starting to have dry skin after living in this kind of crappy autumn weather. Because I suffer mostly from dry skin, I feel that the Peach Girl BB cream actually does nice job to hydrate the dry patches. What about the skincare benefits? Other than hydration, I'm not sure if I see any 'whitening' or 'anti-aging' benefits, like most Asian BB creams would claim.

In summary, I am loving the Holika Holika Peach Girl BB cream! It's quite hard to choose my preference between those BB creams I have tried so far. If I want to achieve luminosity, I would definitely go for this.

I hope this post is useful for anyone considering in some BB creams off Gmarket. There's just too many to choose from, but at least, the prices are attractive!

Rouge Bunny Rouge haul and swatches

2012-09-17T20:06:00.000+02:00

I think I'm on a Rouge Bunny Rouge spree lately. Ever since I swatched Solstice Halcyon, and then Delicate Hummingbird, I have become utterly smitten about the brand. The product description seems to remind me of Shakespeare works, especially Midsummer's Night Dream, which I think is probably his best (along with Hamlet). The last time a brand has completely possessed me like this is Paul & Joe about 5 years ago.

All the reviews that I have read so far about Rouge Bunny Rouge seems to be centered on their eyeshadows. I love how unique these shadows are, especially when you compare them to the higher end brands (Burberry, Chanel, etc). You can tell when a lot of thought has gone into a product - not just on the packaging, but the actual product. At first, I thought the brand was overhyped and it took me some convincing until I finally got to try their eyeshadows. The rest is history.

Uh oh, I am doomed...

I picked up 3 eyeshadows and 3 lip products. All were purchased from Zuneta.

Hues of enchantment - Color burst lipstick in 'The Plot Thickens'
Sweet Excesses - Glassy gloss in Rhubarb Custard
Gleaming Temptations - Lip gloss in Inflammable
When birds are singing - Long-lasting eyeshadow in Solstice Halcyon, Delicate Hummingbird and Periwinkle Cardinal.

I apologise for the lack of order in my posts... Like any haul post, this should come first before the reviews. This time round, I have now reviewed two of the eyeshadows here (Solstice Halcyon) and here (Delicate Hummingbird). Over the coming days (maybe weeks), I will post reviews of the other products.

Here are some quick swatches to begin the temptation... ;-)

I have since managed to wear Rhubard Custard and I really love it. It's sheer and does not feel tacky at all.

I hope you enjoyed the rather quick post about my haul. Stay tuned for more reviews...

Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicate Hummingbird Review and EOTD

2012-09-16T18:53:00.006+02:00

The more I try Rouge Bunny Rouge, the more I am drawn into the brand. Today, I tested Rouge Bunny Rouge When Birds are Singing - Delicate Hummingbird and OMG... words cannot describe how gorgeous this shade is! It's truly stunning! I think everyone needs to own this, if not already! This shade will truly blow your socks off, and this also applies to neutral-lovers.

RBR Delicate Hummingbird surprisingly comes in a larger quantity (2.4g) than my RBR Solstice Halcyon (2g), which I have reviewed yesterday. The case is slightly larger and slightly thicker. But otherwise, everything else is the same. This retails for 22 pounds on Zuneta.com.

As always, the RBR embossing is so boudoir.

The texture and pigmentation is silky smooth and not chalky whatsoever!

Zuneta describes Delicate Hummingbird as a cold, dusky, sugar-frosted plum, iridescent with pink shimmer. I think that's a pretty accurate depiction. To the eye, the subtle nuance of color shifts depending on the light; mauve - purple - brown. It's impossible to describe exactly.

I rummaged through my stash to find some equivalents and these were the closest shades that I could find. None of these shades are remotely close to RBR Hummingbird. From a birds eye glance, I thought that Nars Habanera was the closest dupe, but it turned out to be more of a deeper shade.

As you can see the glow and sheen with the RBR eyeshadows are stunning. Shu Uemura ME 700 (the older formulation) has a finish that is most similar to the RBR. Everything else was just a chalky mess - I'm look at you MAC Smudged Violet. I suspect that there's something wrong with my MAC Smudged violet because there's no pigmentation whatsoever and it's horrendous.

Dior Pearl Glow was alot more of a blue-toned purple, Shu Uemura is more of a purple and RBR Delicate hummingbird is somewhere in between the two aforementioned.

RBR Delicate Hummingbird is even more gorgeous on the lids. I have a feeling that this is going to be my daily look for the coming days. I love that it's duo-dimensional and gives a lovely sheen to the lids. It's not trying hard at all. I think it'll look fantastic on its own or with a goldish-light shade, especially in the middle of the lids to give a 3D effect.

That shade I have in mind is the Shu Uemura Pressed Eyeshadow N in IR White 900Y. MAC Ricepaper is just as good. Probably some brown eyeliner would match better with this look, just to bring the whole look softer.

I kept everything else to a minimum for this look, playing with more of the brown-neutral blushers, and light nudes. I have forgotten how much I love MAC's politely pink. It's frosty and gives a glossy look to the lips. I think I'll have to make a worthy mention of this lipstick in a future post.

And here's all the items I used for today's look:

MUFE HD Primer (transparent) - Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Foundation - Dolce & Gabanna Caramel Blush - Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicate Hummingbird e/s - Shu Uemura IR White 990Y e/s - MUFE Smoky Lash Mascara - Paul & Joe Eyebrow Pencil Duo - MAC Blitz & Glitz Fluidline - MAC Politely Pink lipstick

I hope you're all had a wonderful weekend. I'm sure you would have noticed that I'm only blogging on the weekends. Unfortunately, it's the only time that I have nowadays and I promise it will be much better after this crazy period is over.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Solstice Halcyon 027 vs. Burberry Rosewood

2012-09-16T00:37:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone! I think I need to finally accept that Autumn is here. The days are getting cooler and it's always cloudy outside - which means that finding the time to take photos is getter scarcer. If you google 'Copenhagen sunset time', you'll find the sunset times getting earlier and earlier by a difference of 3 minutes/day. Yikes. I hate the darkness.

Anyway, I wanted to show you my recent haul from Rouge Bunny Rouge. I took advantage of a promo code some time back, and picked up a few things from Zuneta. Unfortunately, it has taken me this long to post something about this because I had forgotten about it. Until one fine day, I decided it's time to take out one of the eyeshadows and then I accidentally dropped it on the floor! The eyeshadow is still in tact but the eyeshadow pan is now loose. Argh.

If you've been on the blogosphere long enough, you'd know that Rouge Bunny Rouge is a beloved brand by many. The gorgeous whimsical packaging and lovely wearable shades make this brand just so irresistible! I have actually seen the Rouge Bunny Rouge counter in person at one of the beauty shops in Moscow and St. Petersberg. Unfortunately, the counter was messy and customer service was severely lacking, so I only walked away with one of their liquid highlighters - Seas of Tranquility, which I have reviewed before.

I think the brand deserves a bit more credit than just a one-product purchase. So, I plunged right into Zuneta to try their lipgosses, lipsticks and eyeshadows. I'll have to leave the details of the other products to another day...

So lets get right to it! Today's post is Rouge Bunny Rouge's When the Birds are Singing - Solstice Halcyon.

The packaging of the eyeshadow is just so delightful!

There's about 2grams worth of product, slightly less than a Burberry eyeshadow and slightly more than a MAC eyeshadow.

Like all beautiful shades, Solstice Halcyon is a bit hard to describe. I wouldn't call it a taupe, but instead a mauve with a hint of pink. When applied to the lids, it gives a subtle sheen. It looks great when paired with a bit of MAC ricepaper or phloof!, some black eyeliner and mascara.

I must say that Solstice Halcyon reminds me of Burberry Rosewood immediately. And just as I had imagined it to be, both RBR Solstice Halcyon and Burberry Rosewood have finishes and shades that look and behave like twin sisters. Both eyeshadows give a lovely gleam and glow, almost blending right into my skin color. The only difference between the two would be their textures; RBR eyeshadows are less buttery than Burberry's, however they are still smooth to the touch and transfers on the lids as nicely as the swatches.

I think these shades would look fantastic on paler skin... it shows up more. I've noticed that rave reviews have mostly come from ladies who are generally fairer (i.e. NC15 - 30). Although, that's just my personal observation!

Nars Ondine is a close second; it leans more red rather than pink. I have mine in the Nars Modern Love Palette, which I've owned for a few years now. The texture of the Nars shadows (especially in their palettes) tend to feel slightly more 'gritty'. Although I'm not sure if this is a result of an older eyeshadow or it's nature to be so.

And finally, if you need to reference to the Urban Decay Naked One Palette, then I would say Toasted is the closest shade. However, the tone is still markedly different than Solstice Halcyon. I would describe it to be more of a copperish rust shade. As we all know, the pigmentation with Urban Decay eyeshadows can be so intense that it sometimes stops me from using them. I much prefer the understated, shy and glowy type of neutral eyeshadows.

Comparing the two twin sisters, Rouge Bunny Rouge Solstice Halcyon (on your left) and Burberry Rosewood (on your right), it is extremely difficult to tell the difference. It appears that RBR Solstice Halcyon is more glowy, whereas Rosewood appears more 'duo-chromed'. Although, up close they both look similar, and perhaps its my camera doing injustice to the realties of these two shadows.

So which is better? In my opinion, Burberry Rosewood is the winner. The competition boils down to its texture, and nothing else. Since the shades are similar, I wouldn't need to own both shadows. I'm just a sucker for shades like this and end up owning duplicates of the same. The evils of online shopping, it is! I wish I had gone into some of the blues and greens in the line. I guess I'll have to leave that till next time.

On my face, I have on Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Foundation - MAC warm soul mineralize blush - MAC lightscape mineralize skinfinish - YSL Glossy Stain in Corail Fauve 12 - MAC Blitz Glitz Fluidline - and MUFE Smokey Lash Mascara.

Thanks for looking and hope you're all having a wonderful Sunday!

Hada Labo AHA + BHA Face Wash

2012-09-15T16:01:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone! Today I have a lovely and affordable skincare item from Hada Labo, which I'm keen to share my thoughts on. By now you would know how much I love my IPSA Cleansing Smooth Foam (now called IPSA Cleansing Fresh Foam). To me IPSA's cleansing foam is my all time favorite and I would make sure to stock up every time I drop by Asia.

I was in Singapore about a few weeks back and I had run out of my beloved IPSA Cleansing Fresh Foam. I made it a point to visit Tangs Orchard to purchase a few backups, but alas, on that very day Tangs was closed. On a spur of the moment, I decided to purchase something more affordable in Watsons, and came home with the Hada Labo AHA + BHA Face Wash. I can't recall exactly how much I paid for this cleanser; I think it was less than $20.

Hada Labo is a Japanese drugstore skincare line that has become famous in Japan for its hyaluronic acid products, which claim to be hydrating and gentle.

The combination of AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) and BHA (salicylic acid) acids serves to gently exfoliate the dead skin cells and unclog pores, leaving a smoother skin surface. It is also free of fragrances, mineral oil, alcohol and colorants.

After a few weeks of use, I can honestly say that my impressions of the Hada Labo AHA + BHA cleanser is positive. It cleansed my skin pretty effectively without drying my skin out. I noticed the odd pimple on a blue moon, but its cause was mostly attributed to stress. The only thing I would say as a slight negative on this cleanser is that it does not 'rinse' as well as the IPSA cleansing foam. Instead of leaving a squeeky clean feel (like the IPSA Cleansing Fresh Foam does), this one leaves a slight residue after rinsing. And mind you, that's unusual for a place like Denmark, where the water is very hard!

The tube contains a generous amount at 130g, and only the tiniest amount of product is enough to lather my entire face.

Perhaps the only thing I am missing from the cleansing 'experience' would be the foam/lather. Compared to the IPSA Cleansing Fresh Foam, this cleanser does not lather as much. For me, lather is the most important factor in giving the best cleansing experience. And that is mostly due to the years of living in hot, humid and polluted cities. To me, the cleansing step is extremely important in my daily morning and night skincare routine. And for the record, I hated the Cetaphil Cleanser - it felt like it did nothing to clean my skin!

When I tested the product on some waterproof eyeliners, I didn't expect this cleanser to perform that well. Okay, it did not remove everything off, but you can see that only the slightest bit of eyeliner that was left behind. It's comforting to know that my 2-step process (oil cleanser + foam cleanser) should be able to remove even the most stubborn makeup.

So if you're looking for a more affordable alternative to a cleansing foam, I highly suggest you give the Hada Labo AHA + BHA Face Wash a try. And when you do, you might even feel the slightest bit guilty for spending $50+ for cleansers from high-end brands. However, want to know to caveat here? I still love my IPSA Cleansing Fresh Foam and not even this can replace it! :-D

Thanks for reading and I hope you're having a wonderful weekend! Mine has been pretty boring (catching up on emails, working on presentation decks, and doing last-minute homework!)

Hakuhodo Haul

2012-09-09T11:08:00.002+02:00

My Hakuhodo haul at last! I know some of you have been asking to see what's in this little box since I've posted a teaser post last week. I didn't want to taunt you that way - I had intended to post something the next day but life has been 'a bit' crazy last week and I just couldn't do it. Having a full back-to-back meeting programme Monday to Wednesday, followed by a project workshop on Thursday, then a Friday that was all about relocation and new job possibilities. It's amazing how much you can achieve in a week when you set your mind to it.

And I am desperately gasping for a holiday right now!!!

Nevertheless, lets dive straight into the actual subject - my Hakuhodo haul.

I purchased a total of 6 brushes from Hakuhodousa.com. Shipping costs $12, which takes 10 working days with no insurance or tracking. I was curious to try these brushes but didn't want to pay exorbitant customs and import taxes in the EU. So I shipped them to my hotel in Singapore. Alas, by the time I needed to leave, the brushes were not even there yet. It arrived the next day and I had to get my colleague to carry it from Singapore to Denmark 2 weeks later.

The parcel arrived in a bubble envelope, enclosed with a US white small parcel box, and then further encased with the lovely Hakuhodo cardbox that you see above.

When I managed to receive my little box, you wouldn't believe how deliriously happy I was. I thought I 'll never retrieve this after my little hit-miss incident.

Each brush is packaged in a thin slip of plastic. Some of the brush heads were packaged in a white semi-flexible plastic that held everything together.

It's easy to get carried away with the massive varieties of brushes. I had to contain myself to only 5 brushes - although, one more managed to sneak in at the last minute. My suggestion is to take your time to browse through the selections. Also, do head over to Delicate Hummingbird, Glossed in Translation, Lola's Secret Blog, and YouTuber Debbick1 for more extensive reviews on their various brush lines. I bought a mixture of the G brushes (mostly), Kokutan and one single basic brush. The B and G line contains some repeats of the more expensive S line, so I opted for something slighter cheaper.

On second thoughts, I wished I had bought more of the Kokutan line. The wooden handle is exquisite and so finely made.

During the last week or so, I have managed to try each of these brushes and my conclusion is that each one blew my expectations out of the water!

Unfortunately, the brushes are not labelled with their name - I have to reference to my original receipt to be absolutely sure that these are the correct product names.

From top to bottom:

B103BkSL Powder Blush Brush pointed ($72)

Made of goat hairs. 50mm. Dense. Very little shedding - only saw one or two hairs falling out but that's all. The shape is tapered to a point, which makes it very easy to apply cheek highlighters. Absolutely divine and I consider it a must-have!

Kokutan Finishing Brush L ($116)

Made of Blue Squirrel Hair and Synthetic fibres. 50mm. Medium density with a lot of give. Incredibly soft and a pleasure to use. No shedding at all. Applies a thin sheer layer of loose powder. Probably one of the most softest brushes I have ever used.

G5556-4mm Powder & Liquid Brush Round/Angled ($69)

Made of goat and synthetic fibres. 26mm. Dense and packed. Similar to the Sigma F81 flat top brush, except with better quality. This one here is slightly angled (at about 15 degrees or so), with different lengths of hairs. The synthetic hairs are slightly longer than the goat hair. Great to buff in liquid foundation or cream products.

235 Eye Shadow Brush Round and Flat ($30)

Made of weasel and synthetic fibre. 14mm. Similar to the MAC 272, but the brush head is slighly larger and stiffer. Useful for cream eye products - not a must have if you already own the MAC 272 brush.

G515 Eye Shadow Brush CM Angled ($41)

Made out of Canada Squirrel. 15mm. Angled at 45 degrees and nicely packed. The quality of the bristles are so exquisite (again) and blending/packing of eyeshadows on the outer corners of the eyes is just flawless and easy to use. It gives a soft wash of color, and to me that is perfect, since I hate to correct harsh lines. This is probably the best eyeshadow brush I have ever used. A must have.

G5520BkSL Eye Shadow Brush Pointed ($21)

Made out of blue squirrel and goat hairs. 8mm. Tiny brush head and half the size of the MAC 219 pencil brush. Used to blend and smudge dark eyeshadows on the lash line. Nifty little thing and useful to also bring out the intensity of brighter shades.

Although six brushes may seem quite a splurge, I definitely feel like I should have bought more. I see myself getting hooked onto this brand already and possibly even selling my MAC brushes.

Do you own anything from Hakuhodo? If so, what are your favorites and must haves?

FOTD: illamasqua deep navy blues

2012-09-03T20:31:00.000+02:00

Late last night I was rummaging through my drawers and I came across this little pot of deep blue goodness.

First of all, what took me so long to rediscover this? It's beautiful! And oh so pigmented!

I used illamasqua liquid metal in Superior as a base on my lids.

Then I started playing around with the first four strips of color from the Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color CS 069 - from the dark blue, purple, pink to create a gradation from lash line to crease. This nifty floral decorated eye palette is so sweet and probably one of my best purchases from Paul & Joe. The pigmentation can be subtle, so layering it over the illamasqua liquid metal brings out the intensity of each color.

Adding Shu Uemura IR 900Y eyeshadow to the inner corners of the eyes and bottom lashline just brought this whole look together. This eyeshadow, if you can still get your hands on it, gives the most ethereal gold glow.

For the rest of my look, I used Guerlain Lingerie De Peau foundation. I have forgotten how much I love this foundation. Last year I had tried to wear it but it only accentuated my dry skin patches during the winter. I learnt that the best way to wear this foundation is to have a moisturising primer underneath. I used Bobbi Brown Vitamin C Enriched Face Base. I am seriously in love with this stuff - it smells so heavenly and my skin drinks it up like juice.

I dusted some Perles D'or Meteorites lightly all over to give my face an additional shimmer and glow.

Depending on which cheek brush you use, Benefit Sugarbomb can either make your cheeks pop or give a subtle nuance of color. I went for the latter, using the softest blush brush by RMK. It's made of squirrel hair and it feels divine on the skin. I can only recommend this brush to anyone looking to diverge from MAC brushes.

On my lips I have Guerlain Kiss Kiss Rose Ingenue 573, a soft nude-peach. The formula is moisturising too.

I hope you are having a good Monday and thank you for reading!

Weekend Beauty Ramble

2012-09-02T16:17:00.000+02:00

Today's post is nothing specific; and a little bit of everything.

I have new skincare items to try. I'm not loyal to any skincare brand - rather, I tend to jump from one high-end skincare line to another. I got tired of spending hefty amounts of $$$ and here I am with a full line of Skinfood Peach & Sake skincare line and Hado Labo facial wash - all for less than $50! More reviews of these coming soon...

My gorgeous friend helped to receive my new Korean skincare and beauty box from Gmarket - amassing of new bb creams, face masks and Skinfood beauty supplies. I'm truly spoiled. Isn't it fun trying something completely new every week without breaking the bank? I have a big cupboard full of new Skinfood, Peripera, The Face Shop, Etude House and Holika Holika goodies waiting to be opened! I love it!

I'm trying very hard to rotate my older and newer pieces of makeup. We must all remember that there are beautiful things in our stash and the newer collections can just be repackaged versions of the same thing. My latest affordable obsession are bb creams. I love swatching them on the back of my hand. Most Asian BB creams glide on seamlessly to the skin. I'm also starting to experiment alot more into affordable range of Asian makeup - i.e. Majolica Majorca, Lavschuca, etc.

It has been a very long while since MAC had caught my attention. The latest MAC heavenly creatures collection is gorgeous. Not all of the products are stellar though. Somehow a mineralize eyeshadow managed to come home with me. I have never been too impressed with mineralised eyeshadows in the past - they have poor pigmentation and textures. Water, with its' swirls of yellow, blue and green, sirened itself into my basket.

As beautiful as 'Water' looks, I don't think the colors apply as intensely on my lids.

For a while now, I have been eyeing the gorgeous Mcqueen silk scarves which costs approximately 150 euros each. And while that is outside of my budget, I came across a $10 polyester scarf from en.koreadepart which mimics the McQueen's scarves. Although the skulls are not as 'elegant' as Mcqueen's, I love how edgy it looks on my weekend outfits!

Finally but not least, I hauled some beautiful Japanese brushes - Hakuhodo. This little package travelled a long way - from US to Singapore then finally to Denmark. When it arrived, I was so happy. Nothing could have destroyed my day. Each brush was so beautiful and immaculate, and blew my expectations out of the water! More on this in another post.

I hope you're having a lovely weekend! Here in Copenhagen, the weather is horribly humid. Humidity always leaves me feeling slightly irritable and tired. I have a full week next week of work. I really hope that I survive through this week of stress, politics and workload. Until then, I hope you're having a better one than me.