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.

Retrolicious Sticker Sheet Halloween Costume

Being ridiculously stressed out over school really pushes my creativity in other ways. After months of brainstorming with my girls over what to wear for halloween, nobody could really think of anything cool or fun, so we decided to abandon ship and have a dinner instead of party. Well, in our defense, we are kinda old. I was quite inspired watching videos on youtube, namely this video (sidetrack: I cannot help but think her boobs look incredible. I want boobs like that!) and decided to come up with my own ensemble. Since I'm not celebrating, I thought I'd just share it cos I really like the getup!

Anyway, remember these stickers? They were a great part of my childhood - for some reason I was given a huge box of stickers and these sheets of mixed neon coloured circles were in them and I stuck them everywhere. Fast forward 20 years of my life, these stickers were an integral part of my first year of education - we used them to stick underneath our rulers to minimize surface contact so our drawings would not smudge when we moved our rulers over the drawings. Of course, these stickers are way chic now, coming in colours such as silver and pastel colours. 

So here's my...photoshopped attempt at a sticker sheet costume complete with jelly everything! These would be ridiculously easy to make, just grab some adhesive neon sheets from Popular (bookstore) and cut them circles out. Even easier, get one of the circular postit pads that I'm pretty sure come in neon shades and use craft glue to glue them onto a white shirt/tank. Be sure to slide a cardboard inside the shirt if you're using craft glue! 

Pair with jelly wedges to be a more feminine sticker sheet or get some glitter jelly jujus for some retro lovin'! Pretty sure Rubi has something similar for cheap. I love me some silicon sling bags - the silicon is just heaven to touch! And of course, in ode to the spring coil straps (no idea what they were called but check them out here) we had as kids to clip our wallets to ourselves, some spring coil hair ties as accessories. 

For some over the top played-with-yo-momma's-makeup makeup look without breaking the bank, search your stash for anything remotely bright. This was quite tough for a neutral girl like me, so I ended up with mostly lipsticks to play with.

Eyes: I primed my eyes, then used NYX Matte Lipstick in Indie Flick to dab on and create a cat eye with the bright red colour. Slowly dab on to add to the intensity, powdering the eye with translucent powder in between layers. Try to go as bright as possible because this look is all about being bright. Then I used Essence Liquid Eyeliner Waterproof to draw on an obvious cat eye. If your lid space allows for it, the thicker, the more retro but be careful not to cover the red. Then line your lower waterline with a white eyeliner or nude eyeliner to make the eyes look larger.

Cheeks: I used the brightest pink shade in the Coastal Scents 10 Blush Palette. Build the neon pink shade up in a circle on your cheeks. I wasn't very precise so mine wasn't as circular as I wanted it, but a circle shaped blush ups the cute-sy factor.

Lips: I tried to find a matte neon orange for the lips, but Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti was the best I got. So I concealed my lips to lighten their natural colour and put Tutti Frutti on building the intensity up in the center of the lip. Try not to cover the entire lips for a rounder, cuter pout.

Here is my circular face complete with circular makeup. Hot mess indeed! This is rather over the top, even for me, but what better time to be over the top than Halloween? Yay or nay? Let me know!

Weekly Favourites #5

This is the last weekend before school "officially" starts! I am absolutely unexcited. It's not really fun, being 24 and still in school when all my peers are working adults. I much prefer the working life. Not having to apply makeup everyday does have its perks though... here are my smallies but goodies for the week.

I have a chunky neck, not gonna lie. That makes it rather difficult for me to involve myself in the entire chunky statement necklace trend and I much rather prefer long necklaces. This Accessorize crystal bullet necklace has been making its way into all my outfits. I actually saw it at least 3 months back in shops, but hesitated buying it as it was $33 (If you follow me, you should be able to tell I like to buy things cheap). I liked it so much I even went on to make my own version which consisted of a swarovski ripoff crystal. Anyway, long story short, I snagged it at 50% off  recently (walked into the store by accident - score!!!). I really like it as it adds a certain attitude into plain outfits, and makes girly ensembles that much less girly. Similar ones can be found on etsy, which I am quite lusting after.

I've also switched out my Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti for the Revlon Lip butter in Sweet Tart. Pinks feel much more feminine than coral somehow. This is a shocking pink that goes on almost fuchsia if layered on the lips. I only like to dab this on in the centre of the lip for a subtle girly pink lip. Really does perk up the entire face!

The Essie Luxeffects in Shine of the Times has been making its way back to my nails after a rather long hiatus and I can't imagine why I abandoned it in favour of cremes. It is just the most gorgeous polish to layer on top of already duo-chrome colours, it just adds so much depth to the polish!!! It has large glitter flakes in it which refract yellow, blue, orange and green in quite a complex manner - the picture really does it no justice. I rather like wearing it on its own, on the tips of my nails so that my nails can just grow out. If you're into hashtags, then this deserves a #ican'teven in a great way. If there was one large glitter flakie polish to have in a collection - this would be it.

What do you like lately? I'm really liking lazy days. :D

Weekly Favourites #1

Hello hello my happies! It's a great day as it's the first week that I have after officially concluding my working life and restarting my life as a full time student. I technically should have more than enough time to do at least weekly updates so get ready to see more of me on this blog.

My new project is to do at least a weekly favourites, though honestly, don't expect them to vary too much as I'm not that fickle a person. But I'll definitely try to change my items up.

Moving on ->

/edit. I think this post is rather long, I will cut down the number of items in my future weeklies. /edit.

I found this vintage (I use this word very loosely) clutch during one of my site visits for my dissertation. Honestly, you can find the best deals in HDB estates *wink. To cut a long story short, I saw it when I started my site look-a-round, lusted after it for about 2 hours, and then bought it for myself as a reward after I completed my visit. What sweetened the deal was the discount the auntie gave me. Been carrying this around ever since even though clutches are a ton more irritating than a sling bag. Fits all my shit too! It can fit my bigass long wallet, my iphone, an umbrella/waterbottle....love it!

This Kate Moss Velvet Hour perfume is another all time favourite of mine. I got it after I finished my La Perla and Chanel Chance and Paris Hilton (sense my desperation for a new perfume?) and I got it because I like my signature scent to be...uncommon. Velvet Hour takes some getting used to, and I find it a rather complex scent (I hope, my nose is rather unsophisticated). It starts of rather peppery spicy but that smell wears off into a rather awesome floral musk. This is definitely gonna be a repurchase of mine. I find the scent matches the clutch too. Bonus!

California Baby Aloe Vera Cream was a desperate purchase of mine when my forehead broke out insanely in comedones (I swear it was ALL OVER I must've had more than 50 on my forehead) and was crazy dry and flaking at the same time. I was going so mad over it because I felt so helpless. My forehead has been loving this - one application and it stopped all the crazy flaking! I was sold! Though there has been some controversy over the brand reformulating its ingredients, the formula doesn't seem to irritate my skin. It kinda also has been working wonders on the lines under my eyes...This whipped cream is like a cool soft, waxy balm that applies matte on the face. It's leaves a little of a waxy/oily thin protective layer which does not interfere with make up.

My one and only Revlon lip butter when I succumbed to the craze is in Tutti Frutti . I'm not a big fan of lip products as I just don't want that much make up on my face. I already smother enough make up on my face for my complexion. Recently though, I've been rather loving the ombre lip look and have been using this to stain the insides of my lips. The colour is a gorgeous coral and is not too extreme. It's gone by the first meal but honestly I don't really care.

Natural Collection Blush in Pink Cloud has been my go to blush for about half a year now and I've hardly made a dent. It's just the sweetest, subtle-lest, matte pink blush to put on the apples of the cheeks. It's not a unique colour, I'm sure, but the formulation has just the right amount of pigment and is not powdery or chalky and it's pretty darn cheap too at 3 pounds (if I recall correctly). It's the perfect hint of flushed are you not wearing blush colour for me.

My mom really likes the Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara and gifted me a sample to stop me from wearing too much eyeliner. She really likes it. This really coats my lashes and makes them fuller and longer without making them look fake like most drugstore mascaras do on my thin chinese lashes. The only downside is that I don't think this is a waterproof formula, rather a smudgeproof formula. For my oily eyes, it does transfer to my lower eyes sometimes so I cannot wear it on my lower lashes.

Lastly and finally, I've had this Estee Lauder CyberWhite Brilliant Cells BB Cream for quite a while but only recently dug it out. This pinky toned BB cream has pretty much no coverage but does a brilliant job at perking up skin tone. This BB cream really makes me aspire for perfect skin so that I can wear it on its own ): I like to apply this on the center of my face just as a nice brightening base. Then I don't apply foundation on my T zone. Sounds weird I know, but it does the job.

Have a great week ahead and let me know your favourites! <3

HAUL!!!!!

Hello!!!! I apologize for not updating ): I'm trying to figure out a way to take pictures in artificial lighting (for workdays) so that I can post more but I can't get it right. But don't worry I'm working on it so do look forward to more updates!

I wanted to share a haul with everyone! I actually went for a run with the boy yesterday, and for some reason, we ended up at Beauty World. We were in there for the aircon, and having watched the MOST DISGUSTING blackhead squeezing video on youtube (yes, the things that the boy shows me) which was so fascinating I had to watch all 4 parts, we went to look for the comedone remover. And hence, ended up at my favourite place - Watsons. He humoured me and gave me time to explore, and whaddaya know the Beauty World Watsons STOCKS ESSENCE!!!

Essence is a budget German make up brand. It's not stocked in all Watsons and I believe the shelves in the larger stores have been ransacked. I had to get it while I could. I am such a sucker for good and cheap things.

The most expensive product in the range is something like $9. I am not even kidding. Even items from Silkygirl (:S) would cost more than that. Lucky for me, we were out running so I had no wallet and we only had $6 left. I went home, did some googling, and then gave in to temptation today.

Not all the items in there are from today's Essence haul, but they are new(ish) items so I put them together.

Clockwise from left:

1. Estee Lauder CyberWhite  Brilliant Cells Extra Intensive BB Creme.
This was a gift and it's what I've been using to go to work. The shade seems really light at first, but it's essentially the first time I've seen the claim "adjusts to your skintone" work. Not unnatural at all, and everytime I use it the Boy says my face looks smoother! I think it's bloody expensive though but I love it anyway!

2. Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadow in Glammy Goes to... and Steel the Show. ($6 !!!)
I was so excited about these upon swatching that I accidentally bought the tester for Glammy Goes to. Yea. Story of my life. Anyway, I really had my eye on these because ever since the Maybelline 24hr Tattoos came out, I had really wanted them but didn't want to shell out so much $.  These are brilliant! Brilliant swatches that DO NOT COME OFF. I rubbed with all my might because people were looking at me weird with my arm entirely covered in swatches but they refused to budge. They do come off very easily with soap and water though. Colours are pretty damn nice too.

3. Essence Gel Eyeliner in Midnight in Paris ($6.50!!!)
I bought this because I just couldn't help myself. I had bought the Revlon gel eyeliner (after the brush in the picture) just a few days ago because I really wanted (or as I tell myself, needed) a gel eyeliner at 20% off retail. But this was less than half what I paid. Plus all the pencil eyeliners swatched SO BLACK and SO CREAMY I was convinced. And okay, I googled as well. Sold.

4. Essence Eyeliner Brush ($3.30)
I like purple.

5. Revlon Colourstay Gel Eyeliner in Black ($16.90 with 20% off)
I like the Colourstay range. And I also did not want to buy a gel eyeliner and then have to buy a seperate brush. I initially wanted to buy a KATE liner as I have had a good experience with it before, but I bought mine at a time both the liner and brush came as a set. They no longer do. This liner is pretty decent and does last all day. There is not that much product but as gel liners tend to dry up before I can even use half of it, it doesn't matter too much to me. The only problem is that I need to draw my eyes a couple of times before I can get a good black line. Also, the intended usage of the brush is to pop it into the cap so you get a longer brush. Does not work. Use the brush small. I also believe that Silkygirl has the EXACT same packaging, leading me to believe (upon reading Beauty and the Bullshit she's awesome) that both products are the same. Though to be fair, Silky girl is only $2 cheaper which isn't that much difference.

6. Essence Colour and Go Nailpolish ($2.80 each!!!!)
I bought the coral colour on running day. Painted one nail that night and was very happy so I bought 2 more. I admit I was apprehensive at first due to it being so cheap. I thought it might be like the shitty Cotton On nail polishes that chip in hours. I don't even need to read the bottle to know that those are Made In China. (And I did check - Made In China). But these! These are Made In Frankfurt. They are good nail polishes, with a brush that I would say is very close to the experience of using the OPI brush. They are big, fat and flat brushes that cover the nails fast. The polish is opaque in 2 coats and live up to the name Colour and Go. Even 2 coats dried in under 5 minutes. No Seche Vite. Though it might be better to give it a top coat for extra gloss as I found that they aren't very glossy on their own. I am VERY IMPRESSED though I did wish they had nicer colours given that they have quite a huge range of colours. The other downside is that these come in tiny bottles - 5ml compared to a 15ml of OPI, but then again, I've never ever finished 15ml of nail polish before and having the option of playing around with more colours for cheaper is more attractive.

7. Clinique Eye Shadow Duo in Buttered Bronze ($6)
Think this is one of those tiny gift with purchase things. I got it at one of those shops that sell fragrances and all. I feel better this way because I don't use eyeshadow much though I'm trying to use them more now. Besides, I don't see how anyone manages to ever finish eyeshadow, so buying in smaller quantity makes more sense to me. I really do like the marbled green container (looks a lot like jade) and the shadows are great colours on me and of decent pigmentation. Great for travel.

8. Essence Forget it 3 in 1 Concealer ($5!!!)
Read the reviews on this. Then tried the pink and beige. It really does work for dark circles! Product is creamy, but I do feel like it doesn't set. Not sure of it yet, will test it out then do a proper review.

9. The Face Shop Faceit Designing Eyebrow Cake ($12.90?)
Bought this because Eyebrow Pencil running low and Eyebrow Pen too light. This has 2 mixable colours. Colours are great, not too brown or black, both with grey undertones. Does take me longer to do my brows though because I have to be more careful. Brush is kinda scratchy though, but somehow I love it because it's almost like scratching an itch.

Okay! I am in no way a promoter of Essence, but I just feel that people deserve to know that cheap makeup (no, not Rhomlom or is it Rhomlon and all that made in China crap) does exist (right now) in Singapore that is of a certain good standard. My main gripe has always been that Singapore marks up so much for make-up products at the drugstore and even in departmental stores. I've always felt that there should be some kind of price control; for them to charge almost 200% more for items such as foundations (eg. SGD$35.90 for a l'oreal/maybelline liquid foundation vs US6.99 thereabouts) even taking into account freight is quite ridiculous. So to have Essence make it's way here and still remain price controlled all as it is all over the world is pretty fantastic! I am a very happy girl today!

Oh, and I cut my luscious locks! So here's a iphone front camera poor quality photo of me and my new hair! I kinda miss my long hair of 3 years but changes are good...  Have a good rest of the weekend people!

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!