Brought VS Actually Used

I'm back from Bangkok and well shopped out. Nope, no beauty haulin' but I thought it would be interesting to let you know what I had on my face in crazy 35 degree celsius weather. I was sorely tempted to go barefaced (since no one knows me any way and it was incredibly hot and humid) but my pride stopped me. I also thought that I had managed to pack rather lightly but who knew, I managed to use even less than I had packed. So here you go - 35 degree proof makeup. 

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What I Actually Used:

Bourjois Happy Light Base Serum Matite - I don't own any other primers and I couldn't bring my Urban Decay Sprays because I went on a budget airline and did not purchase check in luggage. This really surprised me and did indeed keep my face matte for a good 7 hours. My mom (yes, this was a mother daughter trip, sweet right?) was blotting away and I there I was with not a hint of shine. Whoop! Don't fancy the scent though. 

Hada Labo BB Whitening Cream SPF 32 PA+++ - I had forgotten just how much I love this. I stole my mom's La Roche Posay SPF50 Sunscreen, but in any case, the built in SPF 32 PA+++ is still brilliant. This BB cream's liquidy consistency is so light on the skin it's almost like a serum in my opinion. I just don't feel it at all, which is brilliant for weather where you don't want anything on your skin. 

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - I brought this because it's on the ends of its life and I wanted to finish it up(sad face). I'm scarface galore and this amped up the BB Cream coverage very well indeed. Definitely a repurchase somewhere in the future.

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder - I've been using this powder for years now. In fact, this is my 2nd compact and I've hit pan already. And just in case you think I alternate this with other powders, I actually don't. That's just how long it lasts. Finely milled and virtually undetectable on the face, I also attribute my 7 hour shine free face to this powder.

Too Faced Papa Don't Peach Blush - One of the longest lasting blushes and pigmented blushes I own. This peachy blush with a gold sheen is something that would suit pretty much everybody and hangs around all day. It really lifts and slims my face (oddly) and it's my default blush when I don't know what to wear.

The Face Shop Eyebrow Designing Kit - Perfect ashy colour for dark hair. I see no need to switch out.

Star Lash Gel Eyeliner - Testing this eyeliner and I'm happy to say that it's passed the test. Just be sure to apply on dry eyelids (best if powdered) because oil does cause it to transfer. It applies marvellously on the waterline/tightline and lasts all day. When I remove my makeup with an oil cleanser in the night and massage my eyes, the area turns black - that's how I know it's still there in my tightline. Amazing stuff!


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Excess That Was Brought:

The Balm Time Balm Foundation - Brought this because I thought I might want something that keeps me matte and yet still have coverage. Turns out the concealer did the job and I had no reason to use this.

Natural Collection Blush in Pink Cloud - A peachy shade is just more attractive than pink in hot weather? Also did not want a completely matte face.

Sleek Face Form in Light (highlight & contour shade) - Highlight and contour slipping around my face? No. thank. you. not. taking. that. risk.

MAC Eyeshadow in Naked Lunch - Too. hot. to. want. more. makeup. on. my. face.

MUA Undressed Eyeshadow Palette (2 shades) - Ditto.


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A minimal routine is really the most attractive in such hot and humid weather. I would not want to be worried about having my makeup slipping and sliding when I could be doing "more important" things (like shopping hoho). I think the extras would've come in useful if I had to go to a fine dining restaurant (chances were low considering I only packed slippers) or if I had gone with friends and we wanted to head out to bars/clubs. No lip products because... it's Bangkok and I'm eating pretty much all the time! Also, one more tip - the more products you can apply with a sponge/fingers, the more hygienic (you can wash your sponges/hands faster than a brush) it is!

It is a relief to be back to raining and somewhat cool Singapore - that's how hot bangkok was! What do you guys usually pack on trips? Let me know - I have another trip planned for a few months down the road so that would be really helpful!

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.

The Faceshop Make Me Star Waterproof Gel Liner

Good Sunday folks! I'm back with the eyeliner I raved about... 2 weeks ago. I know, I'm extremely late. Sorry to keep you waiting! Seems to be a bad habit of mine ):

Anyway, I have bought more of the liners to test out their consistency so here we go. I first stumbled upon the Faceshop Make Me Star Waterproof Gel Liner when I wandered into their store during a sale. It was a 20% sale then so I got the turquoise liner for just under SGD$10? This liner stayed in storage for quite a while because I couldn't bring myself to wear coloured eyeliner to work (scared of shocking my boss haha) but one day I got bored and finally did and I was so impressed!!!

Since I pass by a Faceshop outlet on the way home, I popped back in to swatch more colours and ended up getting the bronze and a lovely peach pink. These are definitely more expensive(almost double the price) in the Singapore Faceshop outlets than say buying them online from qoo10.com.sg so I would recommend testing them out in the outlet then purchasing them online if you can afford to wait. There's this lovely lovely olive colour but I felt the pinch...

Here's how they look like uncapped. As you can see, my poor turquoise is still hardly getting any love as it's not even sharpened. Though that is no indication of how well it performs since it's just what colours I wear on a daily basis.



All the colours also come with this smudger on the back end of the liner. It's for smudging out the liner before it sets for that "smokey eye look". I guess it does work though I prefer not to use it as the line is soft enough when drawn.

The reason why this collection is called Make Me Star is because all the liners come with sparkles/glitter. I guess if you read past the terrible english, these liners are supposed to sparkle like stars. They have a black liner in the collection which I did not like at all because of the glitter particles. I think blacks should be nice and deep and matte.

The brown on the other hand is this lovely intense rich brown with more of a metallic sheen than glitter particles. I fell in love with it the moment I swatched it. It is so much more than a normal matte brown because of it's intensity. It's the kind of brown that upon first glance looks matte but then you realise that there's more to it. Goes on so creamy and does not tug at eyelids at all. For those who love gel eyeliners for their consistency, this is even creamier than gel liners, and draws on soft without harsh lines. Only people who like liquid liners for their clean lines will not like this.

The turquoise is also of a metallic variety. It also does have very minute turquoise glitter particles in it as well but it's not that obvious. This also goes on extremely creamy and intense. The colour just pops. I imagine this would be for the more adventurous or party looks. Or could be a great summer look for just a pop of colour to the eyes.

Finally the peach. This liner is meant for the inner corner of the eyes to brighten them up. When I swatched this colour in the store I really really did like it and as I didn't have any liners that were of this variety I bought it immediately.  But when I came home and started to use it, I realised that this peach had irridescent glitter particles in it that are visible. For young skin, I imagine it to be fine but I have fine lines around my eyes and the glitter just gets caught in them. Another problem is that the peach pigment does not draw as intensely as the other 2 colours and does come off in patches. So in order to get a nice even colour I have to go over it quite a few times which is not too ideal as too much glitter gets on the skin.

This is a picture after I let the liner set (takes about 10-15seconds or so) and rubbed a finger very hard across all the liners. The brown and turquoise are true to their name of waterproof gel liner. These liners are hardcore man. I have gone to the gym, rubbed my eyes and they don't budge. No smudging, no transferring to under my eyes, stays on my waterline, these are godlike. Even using my favourite Bifesta Cleansing Express remover, the liner is hard to remove. Only people with extremely extremely oily lids will find that these do not stay on. I have oily lids for reference. 

The peach colour though is a very different story. I did have to colour on quite a large amount in order to get the colour of the liner to show so maybe that's why the smudging is so intense in the picture. On my eyes, the peach pigments tend to fade through the day, but the glitter particles remain!!! That really pisses me off. Though I'm glad that the glitter particles adhere to my skin so well and do not transfer, it looks very weird when there's only glitter on my eyes and no colour at all!

Peach on inner corner of eyes. It does catch light extremely well, no doubt good for photography. 

My all time favourite liner for the past 2 months. I've even ditched the K-palette 24h  liquid liner.

For a perk me up. I find that the turquoise does bring out the brown in my eyes... Not that anyone can tell haha.

These are all the colours available and I highly recommend these liners even if you're a matte colour lover, especially in the deeper colours and ESPECIALLLY the bronze. Get the more metallic shades (bronze, turquoise, olive; maybe the navy). They are a cinch to use and last all day. The only colours I would not recommend getting are the silver and the peach because I suspect they probably have the same formulation.
Get them!!!!

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!