Weekly Favourites #17

This was supposed to go up on the weekend but I've been so busy! So... what I've used most and have been loving last week were -

Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation in 143 - One of the sheerest foundations I own, but if you like your skin to look like skin or if you have perfect skin (jealous!), then you will love this on its own. This doesn't quite justify the price tag of $80 bucks for me, but when mixed with other thicker foundations (I favour the Shu Uemura Lightbulb Foundation to mix or MUFE HD Foundation), the results are darn natural yet still with an oomph of coverage.

Marc Jacobs Re(marc)able Concealer in 04 Glow - Refer to glowing review here. I've been getting so carried away in the morning just spot concealing but it's been worth it.

Hada Labo Air Aqua UV SPF50/PA+++ (fresh) - This sunscreen is HG material, babeh. Goes on like a serum, sinks in instantly, so lightweight that I can't feel it, leaves no white cast and keeps me matte all day long. This is a sunscreen like no other, beats the Biore ones hands down.

Selsun 2.5% suspension - This is a very strange item to be in favourites, but here's the backstory. I was stalking reddit/r/skincare as per my recent nighttime reading addiction, and came across some posts that talk about acne being caused by fungus rather than bacteria. The signs of the fungal acne include many small bumps around the hairline and jaw area that don't go away despite using all the traditional acne medications. The anecdotes refer to using anti-dandruff shampoo as a wash or a mask (diluted and spread as a thin layer), specifically Selsun or Head & Shoulders which have the active ingredient of Selenium Disulfide and Zinc Pyrithione respectively. I decided to hunt the Selsun down (no silicones) and give it a shot and whaddayaknow, my little bumps pretty much decreased by 50% after the first use. It also seemed to do wonders for cleaning out my sebaceous filaments (these are not blackheads as most people think!) on my nose and cheeks. I won't say the bumps have completely cleared, but they don't make me want to squeeze them out anymore! So if you are at your wits end like I was, maybe using an anti-dandruff shampoo will work for you. Also, this does tend to be drying so use with caution.

Have a good start of week everyone, and as always, let me know your favourites too!

May 2014 Favourites

May has been a really difficult month for me in terms of skin, and that has continued into June but with some luck, it's starting to look better. Since my skin was being unusually sensitive and reacting to anything and everything, I went back to a brand that I trusted and knew my skin liked and tolerated - Hada Labo. Only their face washes don't work for me and leaves my skin feeling overly cleansed and dry but that shall be a story for another time. 

The Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Lotion has been a staple of mine for years. It is a hyaluronic acid rich liquid that sinks right into the skin. My skin sslluurrppps it up the way a kid drinks coke (or at least the way I drank coke as a kid, massive addiction right there) and there's no sticky feeling after. I think no matter what your skin type is, the boost of hyaluronic acid hydration can't be beat. I also much prefer the Arbutin version over the normal version because it really does brighten up the complexion after extended use. This is probably like my 4th or 5th bottle, not inclusive of the bottles of normal formula Hada Labo Lotion I've used. 

I've used one of the older versions of the Hada Labo Moisturizers a long way back and it wasn't a favourite because it did leave a tacky feeling to my face. Fast forward to the very impressive sounding Hada Labo Ultra Hydrating 3-in-1 Perfect Gel which is supposed to be an essence, cream and mask all in one little tub. While I do still find the formula tacky, this performs really nicely globbed on as an overnight mask and I wake up with soothed and softer skin the next morning. It also works well in very thin layers for day time use.

The Air Aqua UV Day Emulsion SPF50 PA+++ (fresh) is such a gem of a sunscreen. It comes out as a white super liquidy formula that is almost like a serum and basically weightless once on the skin. It contains vitamin C to brighten, sebonotmine that keep the face matte and hyaluronic acid that still keeps the face hydrated (and also some anti-ageing ingredients). In my opinion it almost performs as a primer! This didn't aggravate my skin and the texture is just so beautiful. I currently have dry skin and at the end of the day I can see that my makeup has turned powdery (but still there!), so I do believe this would work well on oily skinned ladies!

I've finally pulled out my Sleek Blush by 3 Palette in Lace, a palette that looks so beautiful but was previously so hard to use because it was so incredibly pigmented. I've finally gotten my hands on a much looser blush brush and that has made an incredible difference in the way these blushes look on the cheek. A looser brush helps to diffuse the pigment and leaves such a sheer wash of colour on the cheeks which is incredibly beautiful. I use the matte colours all over the cheek and pop the centre shimmery nars orgasm-esque shade just on the apples.

Finally, my last favourite is the Tony Moly Gel Eyeliner in 02 Brown. I've been favouring an all or nothing look, so I either go with purely mascara, or a very thick cat eye. With the very intense cat eye look, a black eyeliner look is quite fierce so the brown eyeliner does a great job at softening the look. This gel eyeliner is very creamy and pigmented with all day lasting superpowers and can do no wrong. The bonus is that the built in brush is in the unretarded category and actually usable for touch ups so you can bring this little baby around!

What were your favourites this month? Here's to a better month with skin issues folks! 

Base Routine

FOTD? I was experimenting with a new way to achieve a lighter base routine but still achieve the maximum coverage. Today I stumbled upon this application which though quite time consuming, I like the way it looks and feels.

I will be posting up images from the web as I'm too lazy to take my own.

Prep:

Hada Labo Lotion

Works as a toner, also quite moisturizing and light. For me it's not moisturizing enough, that's why I top it off with another moisturizer.

Garnier Whiten & Even Moisturizing Cream spf 17/pa++

Gives an instant brightening effect, especially for paler girls. For me it makes my face quite white. However I think that this moisturizer does work quite well for scars and pigmentation, that's why I use it.

Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Mousse Water Base spf 50+/pa+++ (need so many + a not...)

Sunblock. My mom always told me to use sunblock. I never listened. Now I have pigmentation and am very sad. Love this sunblock. Absolutely love the texture. Super light!

Olivia by CCS eco Eye Cream with Organic Olive Oil (bought in Sweden)

Bought this in Sweden because I had no eye cream and I was developing wrinkles under my eyes. This was the cheapest at their drug store because they have 25% (yeah you read that right) tax on all skincare. Quite a light and nice eye cream, doesn't do much for the wrinkles but decent for day time use. Use a light eye cream and not a heavy one because eye creams are what causes your concealer to move and mascara/eyeliner to smudge.

Base:

Skin79 Super+ Beblesh Balm

1. Use Skin79 BB Cream as a base/primer. I use this to cover up my pores to give a smoother surface to work on. It also provides decent coverage for areas that are red.

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer

2. This is a product that can be used as a foundation, however, I haven't had it long enough to find out how to work with it as it is AMAZINGLY pigmented. It is also slightly darker than my skin tone (matches my neck but my natural face is alot lighter than my neck so I cannot stand it being so dark), and since it's so pigmented it looks unnatural. In any case, this has no silicones or fillers so when on the skin it looks like skin. I use this to conceal any blemishes or pigmentation. If you do not own this, use a concealer that is slightly darker than your skin tone to conceal, then blend the edges out very well.

Kate Covering Concealer for Under Eyes

3. Use a peach concealer for under eye rings. Kate Covering Concealer is not bad, doesn't really crease for me. Squeeze some onto hand and slowly use a finger to dab it under the eyes. Work in thin layers so that it won't crease rather than putting on a lot at once and blending out. Can also be used to brighten up the area under eye/eyebags for a Kim Kardashian look.

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream

4. Face should look slightly odd now, with patches of dark concealer and peach concealer. No fear, use Ginvera Green Tea BB Cream and dab over the dark spots, blending it into the rest of the face. Also put some on top of (if necessary) or around the peach areas and blend. 

Rest of face:

e.l.f All Over Colour Stick in Spotlight

I use this as a highlighter for my nose. Cream products generally work well with a cream base. Do not ever use this on powder base, will cause powder to ball up/shift.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Natural

Mentioned in review below.

L'oreal Super Liner 

Got this as a free gift and it works quite well. I use this to line my eyelid. Using another lighter pencil in black, lightly line the waterline. Not too intense. Then using an angled brush/flat brush, get a brown eyeshadow (or just use eyebrow pencil haha) to fill in the little corner space under the outer corner of the eye. This will really elongate the eye. Will do a proper tutorial soon.

Finish off with a lipbalm/lip colour if you like. I use the EOS lipbalm, very minty. I practically eat it. 

This base procedure does take quite long if you have many spots/scars like me because it's based on concealing mostly the spots and keeping the rest of the face relatively free of products. I really like it because I don't get the unnatural look that comes with using heavy coverage foundations. I also prefer this over powders because for some reason, I always picture powder particles army crawling their way into my big pores and refusing to get out. If you haven't already realized, the above routine is ALL cream/liquidy products. I hope this helps someone who needs as much coverage as I do and still wants to look normal, but if not, hope it helps anyway!

Oh, DO NOT take any pictures with this routine on. YOU WILL HAVE A WHITE FACE. There are 4 products in this routine that have spf. One of them being spf 50 with many + signs. Yes I am that paranoid. Okay no I'm not, it just so happens. 

If I am not clear enough, here are the tutorials that I have adapted my own routine from. I really like the 2nd girl!

Enjoy!