August 2013 Favourites

I can't believe it's already the end of August, it seems like it was just yesterday I took a year off from school. At any rate, TGIF people! Oh the good days. It was really hard to narrow down my August favourites because there was just so many things that I was using but wasn't absolutely loving. It's just one of those funks that I fall into... y'know, one of those I-have-nothing-to-wear-but-staring-at-wardrobe-full-of-clothes days. First world problems indeed.

What I have really been loving alongside with my clay masks are these Biore pore strips. I would use this everyday if I could. I love standing in front of my mirror and spending 5 mins just peeling the strip off ever so slowly and witnessing every single whitehead wiggle out of my nose. Just one of my disgusting obsessions. When I was younger, I would just peel the nose strip off so fast that all the plugs would just break off and remain in my nose and I would wonder why the strips didn't work. Slow and steady is the trick girls, slow and steady.

I also figured out the best combination for the Topshop BB cream in 3.0 which I mentioned here, and that is with the MUFE HD Foundation in 120. Together they give a high coverage, soft focused finish that feels like almost nothing on the skin. Also doesn't hurt that I have neither in the right shade (the SA matched the MUFE for me too...Sephora should really improve their lighting) so when mixed together it's a heavenly, creamy blend of the appropriate shade. The Topshop BB cream is slightly fragranced, almost like a grandma scent and the occasional whiff does have me wrinkling my nose. Still, price to pay for nicer looking skin.

My little sister purchased the Sleek Face Form in Light for me when she came back for the holidays and I finally realized the hype over Sleek's highlight/contour products. I'm not such a fan of the rose gold blush, since I already have similar colours and consider it a yesteryear colour, but the bronze shade really works in definition without being too orange on my nc30 skin. The highlighter really holds its own and I use it when I want a stronger highlight than the NYX mosaic highlighter. The kit is so nifty and versatile, i just wish it had a matte blush. Oh, I also used it on my other little sister who is darker than me, and the contour shade still worked! Like I said..nifty and versatile.

The Estee Lauder Double Wear ShadowCreme in Cafe Au Lait is something that I've recently opened after a good... half year? Patting myself on the back for patience. I had to open this to stop myself from purchasing the Maybelline Colour Tatto in Bad to the Bronze (addiction much?). This is a really nice bronze/taupe mixture with multicoloured micro glitter in it. It is not a dupe of Bad to the Bronze and comes off much lighter in colour. The glitter comes off more on the silver side, but for some reason, when on the lids it can look quite golden rather than bronze, especially when a darker brown is blended in. It's a nice subtle shade for all over the lid definition and catches light in all the right places. Best of all, no creasing or fading throughout the day.

Lastly, I've been wearing the Majolica Majorca Blush in OR211 quite a bit this month. In the pan it comes off a rather pale orange, but on the cheeks it transforms to a rather coral shade. The colour pay off is not super intense, which I like for daily wear. Also it's such a tiny cute pan I really can't resist it sometimes.

From L-R, MAC Studio Fix NC30, MUFE HD Foundation 120, Topshop BB Cream 3.0, Majolica Majorca Blush OR211, Sleek Face Form in Light bronzer and highligher shades, Estee Lauder Double Wear ShadowCreme 22 Cafe Au Lait

What are your August Favourites? Do recommend me some! Happy Friday everyone!

NYX Bronzer & Blush Combo and MAC Wonder Woman Mineralize Skin Finish

Bronzer/Blush combos! I only have 2 so I thought I would just put them in the same post to see how they stack up against each other. They're probably not really in the same category but they are nifty lil (okay not so lil) things so read on! I have the MAC Wonder Woman Mineralize Skinfinish in Golden Lariat and the NYX Bronzer & Blush Combo in 01 Sunrise in Bali. 

As you can see, the Wonder Woman MSF is HUGE. WONDER SIZED. 

The NYX Bronzer Blush Combo (BBC) is actually a very nice lil thing. It has quite a solid white casing that snaps shut, a decent sized mirror and 0.35oz/10g of product to boot. Considering I have yet to finish any blush, it is almost a relief to have 2 products for the price of one. I got this for SGD$20 at Smoochiezz.

It is also my very first bronzer, so I'm not very skilled in the bronzer area. 

Some people may like this semi-indian(?) princessy design on the cover though I kind of see it as a space filler and feel that it doesn't do much to make the packaging seem more expensive. It really is quite plasticky and I do wish I can see the colour of the product through the packaging. 

I will try my best to describe the brown. I think that bronzers should lean towards greyer tones if that makes any sense because shadows are typically grey. At least those are for true bronzers. We can also understand bronzers as a powder to warm up the complexion, hence the term sun-kissed bronze. This is definitely one of those sun-kissed bronze shades. It leans quite yellow in my opinion and that quite suits a skintone like mine (mac nc30) without being too overpowering, as long as I do not apply with a heavy hand. This however does have glitter even though I find that the brush does not pick up too much of it. Even so, glitter phobes stay away.

The pink in this BBC, is absolutely gorgeous! It is a dupe for Nars Orgasm, so I've heard. As I don't own it, I compared it to the Too Faced Papa Don't Peach (also a dupe) and they are almost identical in colour. Both are a nice pigmented peachy pink, with a gorgeous fine gold glitter in it. I think this pink might be an even closer dupe as it's got more gold glitter than Papa Don't Peach which imparts such a nice glow to the skin. (I will take a proper picture of both colours swatched together and update this post!)

The blush in the NYX BBC is a tad crumbly, so pat the brush in it, not swirl. This blush is also awfully pigmented so do be careful when applying. It shows very obviously even though I'm considered quite a tanned girl.

Wear time is decent for the BBC, lasts about 5-6 hours on my oily skin. It does disappear when I blot my face.

Onto this absolutely irresistible brilliant packaging wonder. I got this at the Estee Lauder sale for 20 bucks. What a steal! When I saw it, I knew I HAD TO HAVE IT even though I probably didn't need it. This Wonder Woman MSF in Golden Lariat is MASSIVE. M.A.S.S.I.V.E. It is bigger than my palm and I definitely have larger palms than most girls. It's got 0.70oz/20g of product which is just an insane amount of product. I can probably keep this for my entire lifetime and not even make a dent in it.

Hey there pretty useless gold rim and pretty useless lack of mirror. Hey there absolutely visually stunning shimmery overspray and marbling. This compact has everything you need to contour your face with. Blush, bronzer and highlighter. I would say that this is probably meant for the tanner girls out there as fairer girls might find this too dark. However, if you are a huge fan of sun-kissed then go for it!

I do like that because this compact is M.A.S.S.I.V.E it is so easy to use each colour individually. Also because it's baked there's literally no mess/fall out.

The blush in Golden Lariat runs almost a brownish peach with a nice subtle satin finish. I would say just use this colour to achieve the sun-kissed look with almost no effort at all. I really do love this colour. Compared to the NYX, NYX seems awfully pink and the MAC seems awfully brown. 

The bronzer in Golden Lariat is quite matte on the skin, unlike the NYX one which has some tiny glitter. The sheen seen in the compact is just a overspray. It's a brown that runs more red, and though I find suits me when I use it as subtle shading, looks absolutely off if I accidentally put too much. 

The highlighter is INSANE. Even without flash, the amount of light it's reflecting is crazy. It's chock full of multi coloured glitter, and it definitely applies gold if too much is used. I find that the powder for this feels very powdery. Seen from a distance, the glow that this powder gives is so so so nice since it's multi coloured glitter and not a single colour, but upclose, I feel like the individual glitter particles can be seen. Definitely need to know how to work with this highlighter, and definitely mostly for the glitter drama mama. 

I find the blush and highlighter last longer than the bronzer. Still, overall quite decent at 5 hours for bronzer. Blush seems to last all day for me while the highlighter seems to spread as the gold fades and glitter remains and moves (cos I blot). 

One very unfortunate point about this compact is that I THINK IT BREAKS ME OUT. It seems that every time I wear this, my temples where I apply bronzer start to break out. I also find that I get tiny bumps on my cheeks. I don't know if I'm sensitive just to the bronzer, or the entire compact, but I do try to refrain from using this compact too much unless I really feel like I want that colour on my face. It is a pity but honestly, vanity and clarity of skin before colour. 

Summary:

NYX BBC Pros:

• Highly pigmented
• Nars Orgasm dupe!
• 2 colours for the price of one
• Decent lasting power

NYX BBC Cons:

• not for people who don't like glitter, especially in bronzers
• blush is crumbly

MAC MSF Pros:

• MASSIVE in size
• very handy with 3 colours in one compact
• large enough to use each colour seperately
• highly pigmented
• decent lasting power
• awesome sun-kissed look combo of colours
• bronzer is matte

MAC MSF Cons:

• Can be too big/heavy to carry around
• Wasteful packaging + no mirror integrated
• BREAKS ME OUT
• highlighter is too glittery and powdery
• glitter in highlighter tends to migrate

- end of post -

update: I've just found the most awesome eyeliner in my history of using eyeliner. It does not budge under any circumstances. And it is PENCIL eyeliner. Will blog about it this weekend I'm so excited I bought 3. Stay tuned!!!