Does Your Face Have Expensive Taste?

Halo good sunday everyone! Buying makeup is slightly addictive isn't it? Until you check your bank balance at the end of the month and realize you're dead broke. I've seen the 'how much does your face cost' tag going around, and decided to find out how much my 'face' actually costs. I'm rather apprehensive because the items I like tend to veer to the more expensive range! Damn you face, why do you need so many products!

This is my everyday look, actually it's slightly more than what I wear to school but if I were to head to work or have a presentation this is what I would wear. There's no budget here for a more extravagant evening look!

Products used!

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer (SGD$62) to cover dark acne marks, can also double up as a tinted moisturizer when mixed in with moisturizer though I tend not to like doing that.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Peach (SGD$43) for my tedious dark circles.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (SGD$42) to add coverage for my tedious dark circles and for blemishes on brighter areas of my face. Also used to brighten up my cheeks and nose.

Everyday Minerals Concealer in Pearl Pick Me Up (~SGD$16) as a highlighting powder for under my eyes and cheeks. Seems to have been discontinued, but this seems like the replacement.

Collection2000 ShimmerShades in Blushalicious (~SGD$8) as... blush.

MAC Paintpot in Nubile (SGD$10) to brighten up my lids and undereyes. I pretty much slap it on all round my eyes. SGD$10 because I got it in a sale! If not... I probably would use something else or not use anything at all. I'm cheap like that.

Jealousness Waterproof Eyeliner (SGD$15) most days to line the ends of my eyes, interchangeable with mascara or liquid liner. I'm not particular with what type of eyeliner I use as long as it stays on. Imma pro with all! I kid. Also, when I line my eyes, I'm too lazy to use mascara because it can't be seen anyway.

The Faceshop Faceit Designing Cake Eyebrow (SGD$12) is the only powder I've ever used for my brows and is not running out any time soon. Though with bangs, I feel like I can get away without doing them.

Revlon Lip Butter (SGD13) is a brilliant formula and I heart-eyes it. The usual price is SGD$15.90 which is a rip off and the drugstores have 20% or more sales pretty much all the time so only get it on sale.

Total Cost: SGD$221

Well, that's cheaper than I thought my face would be. Granted, I did not include a foundation, or setting powder, or setting spray (cheating) which would make the total cost nearer $300. If my $300 worth of make up lasted a year, each face would cost me $0.85! I could get a damn good kopi (coffee) from my uni's canteen for that price. Really makes you think doesn't it?

I think that what's more important though is whether my 85c face looks like it's worth 85c (haha, it better look worth more than that!). How much does your face cost and does it have expensive taste? Let me know!

P.S. All links provided in this post are for your clicking convenience only. I am not linked or affiliated to any of the stores.

10 under 10

Good Monday girls! If you don't know, I'm now a student again and school has officially started. Not too sure if that's a good thing, but what I know for sure is that going from a sizeable pay cheque each month to an allowance again is not fun. I definitely had to cut back my spending, and that includes makeup too.

As fellow Singaporeans know, the price of makeup in Singapore is definitely not on the cheap side - a drugstore foundation like l'oreal or maybelline can easily set us back S$30 or more. I have compiled a list of products (that I've used and quite like/don't hate) which fall under the S$10 category which hopefully might help some people start out. All the products here can pretty much achieve a simple everyday makeup look.

Psst I did cheat - there're 11 products!

Elf Studio Line Powder Brush ($6, found at smoochiezz's warehouse/sales or at watson's tradeshows for slightly more expensive)
I use the this every single time I do my make up. It is the only item in my makeup collection I can truly refer to as a holy grail item and I have 3 of these brushes (1 I've thrown away). This brush can do everything! It buffs in liquid and creams like a dream, when stippled gives beautifully blended high coverage. Can be used with mineral foundations, even powder blushes and loose powder when used with a loose hand. If you could only buy one brush, buy this brush. My only complaint is that water tends to loosen the handle so be careful when washing.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector 10ml ($2, found at selected watsons)
Okay, I cheated again, this is a travel sized item. I suspect these were leftover stock from beauty boxes. Well, for $2, no harm trying. I don't love this nor hate this item, but it has SPF26 (better than nothing), and is a good yellow-tone for majority of the chinese in Singapore. Also does a decent job at evening out skin tone, though in my case it is just a tad too fair.

Essence Match 2 Cover Cream Concealer ($4.50, found at selected watsons)
I've raved about this insanely here. I don't think I need to rave more. If you're worried about undereye circles, use this and be happy.

NYX Concealer in a Jar ($7, smoochiezz's warehouse/sales or watsons's tradeshows for more expensive)
This concealer is supposed to be a dupe for MAC's Studio Fix Concealer. I don't think it's as high coverage, but I do like that it's has high enough coverage and enough tackiness to cover blemishes and not shift during the day. I used to use it quite a bit, if I wasn't the concealer whore I am I think I would still be using it today. If I'm not wrong the formula has been updated to be slightly creamier but I do have the updated formula in another colour and it works fine.

Elf HD Powder ($10, smoochiezz's warehouse/sales or watsons' tradeshows for more expensive)
I hope this doesn't constitute cheating because it is technically $10 if you know where to find it. Decent setting powder, really does seem to blur out imperfections and really mattifies the skin. Said to be a dupe for the MUFE HD Powder (which I don't have). Don't use it if indulging in flash photography though (google - silica powder flash photography). You have been warned.

Alobon Blush ($5-7, Mustafa)
I usually chicken out from buying facial products from places that sell makeup that's slightly dubious in origin and content, but I did fair amount of research and it seemed alright. I really like this blush, I do. It reminds me so much of the MAC MSFs and is just so pretty and marbled I would buy it just to look at it. And it's just so cheap. It is also incredibly pigmented, some are incredibly sparkly (can be avoided by using a stippling blush) and can double up as highlighter. It has also never broken me out.

Mizon Blooming Tint ($6, Venus at Clementi)
If you're not one to put dubious makeup on your face, then try this Mizon Blooming Tint. The concept is similar to Benefit's Benetint in that it can be used both on the cheeks and lips. I found this to be a thick liquidy texture that is not highly pigmented. For my skintone, it is barely visible on the cheeks, but for fairer people it will be a really nice natural flush of colour though it does take a while to build up. I like it more on the lips as the result is really a rosier, pinker version of my lip colour. It also fills up the fine lines and has a subtle glossiness. Very much love it for its subtlety.

L.A Girl Lipstick ($10, selected guardians)
Extremely pigmented and creamy lipstick in a very large array of colours. Packaging looks cheap, but all the lipsticks from the drugstore brands (aside from Essence) are at almost double the price or more. This works.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Liner ($8.75, found here)
I don't know if this can be found in Singapore yet, but regardless, it's cheaper online. I seem to have misplaced my black version, but this eyeliner is nicely pigmented, creamy and really does last a decent while. I picked a pencil liner over a liquid liner because they're just more versatile in the sense that I can use a pencil liner to tightline, do a cateye, or smudge it out for a smokey eye. Have your pick.

Silky Girl Big Eye Collagen Waterproof Mascara ($14.90, usually on sale at watsons/guardian)
Okay, I really am a big cheat, but this mascara is always on sale when I visit the drugstore. I think I got mine for $8. The only cheaper mascaras would be those in daiso (no way I'm letting a $2 product go near my eyes) and the Essence mascaras (the range is INSANE I don't dare to start testing). It may be astonishing, but this is the only mascara I have found that does not smudge on me. I have tried mascaras from l'oreal, maybelline, majolica majorca, estee lauder, dior, mac and they've all transferred to my under eye without fail. Lord knows why of all brands, Silky Girl would work out. Anyway, this is really quite good, slightly wet formula that coats lashes evenly without clumping. It lengthens the lashes considerable, and volumizes them strand by strand rather than as a clump. No thin spidery lashes for this mascara. I do quite love it.

Maybelline Eyebrow Pencil by Eyestudio ($6.90, selected watsons)
No face can do without brows, you need a brow pencil. This has one of the most neutral brown grays I've seen and would match black hair, brown hair, heck even blond if you like intense brows. Easy to use, doesn't go on too dark, I even use it to line my eyes sometimes. It does tug a little bit if I do my eyes, but it works for a lightly defined eye. Simple and good.

Hopefully that wasn't too long ore tedious a read. What are your top 10 under 10 - Singapore version? I would love to know!



Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated to any of the brands featured, nor were any of the products sponsored. All products featured were paid for by myself.

eyeliners and eyebrow pencils

Use lousy eyeliners as eyebrow pencils! Today, I'm going to be looking at 3 products that I frequently use as eyebrow pencils. The Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen, a Kanebo Kate Liquid Eyeliner, and the Maybelline Eyestudio Eyebrow Pencil. All pictures on screen are as close as possible to the original colour my eyes see.

Design:

Revlon Colorstay: Pen, cover does not pop onto the back end of pen, has a nice length.
Kanebo: Same as with the Revlon, both tend to attract fingerprints and get greasy
Maybelline Eyebrow Pencil: Pencil form, needs to be sharpened. Very short.

Nibs:

Revlon: Marker like tip. I can't really tell whether it's meant to be flexible. It does bend if pressed hard enough, but mostly it's stiff to draw like a marker. I've had this for about 2 years, but mostly because I could not figure out how to use it as an eyeliner. Tip gets frayed with use.

Kanebo: Brush like tip, feels nice and cool on the face. Brush offers very good and fine control, allows a very natural look because it's almost like drawing many hairs to fill in the brows.

Maybelline: Pencil tip, can be sharpened to desired sharpness. Draws nicely and doesn't tug on the skin, the pencil is very soft so take care when sharpening. Also because it is soft, the pencil seems to use up quite quickly.

Swatched from left to right:
Revlon drawn lightly, Revlon pressed hard, Kanebo, Maybelline.

Revlon: This is one of the most horrible eyeliners I have ever used. The colour doesn't come out dark in one drawing, and drawing another layer over causes the first layer to come off. It is TERRIBLE as an eyeliner.
One day I gave up and decided to try it on my brows. It was then I saw the magic of using a pen to draw my brows.

The colour blends in with my brows quite naturally, and it offers plenty of control in shaping the brows. It is great for filling the brows in because even if drawing over a 2nd time causes the ink to disappear, the brows look all the more natural! It's ingenious! My pen nib has actually dried out, so the colour that comes out is less intense unless pressed hard as in the swatch, but it still works very well for me in terms of eyebrows.

Colour lasts all day too, as it's a liquid and hard to rub off like a pencil would rub off.



Kanebo: Another eyeliner that I bought because I enjoyed the fine brush tip. Then I realised that the brown colour was so light it did nothing for my eyes. Since I don't throw products away because that just feels like throwing $$$ away, I used it for my brows. Brown eyebrows are less harsh on the face and tends to make a person look younger. It also works very well should you have brown hair.

The brown of this liner is lighter than the revlon eyeliner. So light that the swatch above required about 3 strokes to reach that desired intensity. One stroke barely shows. This is good for the inexperienced or if experimenting with different brow shapes.

This liner is very similar to the K-palette 1 Day Tattoo Real Lasting Eyebrow Liner 24h in terms of the colour and the brush. Gently paint multiple strokes on brows to get a very natural looking brow.

Colour lasts all day as well.



Maybelline: This eyebrow pencil leans more towards a greyish brown. The intensity of the colour depends on how heavily shaded the brow is, or how hard the pencil is pressed. Colour comes out alot easier than any of the pens above, with a much softer effect as compared to pens.

Pencils are much easier to work with than pens because they are correctable. They can be smudged or rubbed off. slowly colouring/shading in with a blunt pencil is also easier than trying to draw lines with a pen.

This brow pencil seems to last all day for me, but then again, I don't really touch my brows. I do get a feeling that the colour does fade slightly through the day, but not enough to be too noticeable. In worst cases, just bring the pencil out for a touch up! It's so tiny anyway.

This is how the pens/pencil look like when drawn. If I had to rank these 3, it would be
1. Revlon
2. Maybelline
3. Kanebo

Unfortunately this is as far as my eyebrow experience goes because my pens never ever seem to run out. Ah well, whatever stays on, right? Just don't throw away useless eyeliners before trying them out on eyebrows!