400,000 Follower Giveaway! (4 Sets of Prizes)

When the hubby was away in Tokyo for a business trip, I got him to trawl through Japanese drugstores (painstakingly I might add) and bring me back some yummy beauty goodies so I could do a 400,000 follower giveaway.

I know these products aren’t always easy to get hold of in many countries, and the price isn’t cheap when you factor in shipping. (One Humming Book palette is SGD25.90 or 1,500JPY from the MJ site before adding shipping fees) so here's a chance to get hold of some of these!

A: Majolica Majorca Little Humming Book 1

B: Majolica Majorca Little Humming Book II (2)

Next are the new Canmake Stay-on Balm Rouges. They’re kinda like Revlon Balmstains except they have UV filters to protect the lips. (And as with most Japanese drugstore products, the packaging is darling…)

C: Canmake Stay-on Balm Rouge in 02 (Sheer Peach), 03 (Sheer Red)

D: Canmake Stay-on Balm Rouge in 01 (Sheer Pink), 04 (Sheer Nude)

INSTRUCTIONS

Whether you are on Blogger, on Instagram, on Pinterest, on Tumblr or on Facebook:

1. Take a picture of yourself in your favorite makeup look,
2. Hashtag #makeupbox400k
3. List the 4 sets in order of preference (e.g. B, D, A, C) or say “no preference” if you don’t mind either way!
4. Share your picture post with me before 15 May 2013

Facebook: Share on https://www.facebook.com/makeupbox.sg

Instagram: @makeup_box and hashtag #makeupbox400k (otherwise I can’t be sure your image is for this contest!)

Tumblr: hashtag #makeupbox400k

Pinterest and other platforms (link your post in the comments section of this post below)

Things to Note:

• I will pick a 1st-place to 4th-place winner based on personality, artistry, and/or humor. You don’t need a super-complicated makeup look to win this. It just needs to catch my attention! If theft or usage of someone else’s image is discovered, your entry will be disquaified.
• I appreciate effort. Wherever possible try to do a new post (even if the picture was taken awhile ago), rather than going back to an old post and adding a hash-tag. Come on people, that’s too little effort!
• The 1st place winner will receive the most-preferred item of her/his choice, and this means if both the 1st and 2nd place winners picked item C as their top choice, the champ will get it, and the runner-up will get her 2nd choice item. If y’all happen to pick different items as first-choice, then good for you!
• You CAN submit multiple entries but only one one prize will be given per winner.
• I will message winners to inform and obtain shipping addresses, so if you are using Disqus, make sure you are contactable. (You need to sign in with a valid email address when posting or I can’t reach you.) Failure to respond within 3 days (18 May) means forfeiture of the prize, and I will pick another winner to send it to!

Majolica Majorca Chapter 37: Translucent Aquatic Colors, a "Swan Feather" Pen, and a Quick Trial-run of a Cult-Favorite Fiber Mascara (in Brown)!

From this month, Shiseido will release a (somewhat oddly-named) limited edition collection called "Moonlight Virgin" in 2 parts. The first includes a "quill pencil"and a brown version of the Lash Expander Edge Meister mascara with the dual-sided comb tip. Now since me and the original Lash Expander go WAY back (I used it exclusively for about 3-4 years) I naturally grabbed the chance to find out 2 things:

• whether the mascara was as good at building length as I remembered
• whether the brown shade would show up (and look alright) with my dark hair and eyes

Starry, Starry Night: Navy and Silver Glitter Ombre Nails

(For the fabulous Yina of The Velvet Dolls.)

Super simple, and pretty darned quick to do. This nail look requires no ready-made glitter polish and no mixing of pigments into clear polishes. All you need is:

• A dark blue nail polish (I used L.A. Girl Dance Club)
• Repositionable glue (below) or nail foil adhesive
• A silver glitter (fine-grained)
• A soft blue eyeshadow (I used MAC Shimmermint)

[Requested] Reinterpretation of a Sparkly Gold Smoky Lid

This is not an exact recreation because my eyes are shaped a little differently and I wanted to blend the edges out more, but I'll run through the type of products you need tocreate this look.

I can't be 100% sure with the yellow lighting and difference in skintones, but the item I find can create this type of sparkly effect is a loose golden-brown sparkle like MAC's Reflects pigment in Antique Gold, used wet.

Reflects pigments are not glitter, and not regular shadows either. They are shiny mica particles larger than regular loose shadows so they sort of combine pigmentation with sparkle. Like glitters, they don't "stick" to the skin well and will fall out all over your cheeks, so you might want to do your eye makeup first, then clean up and do your foundation and concealer after.

To get them to go on like dramatic foiled metal, you want to use either a good creamy base or apply them wet (do use eye drops or a liquid sealant instead of pure water as they will rub off easily once dry if there is no ingredient that provides some tackiness).

Lavender-Chocolate: Soft luminous purple andbrown eyeshadow look that goes with pretty much any Lip color

This is a color combination that is not a typical beige-toned neutral, but still goes with pretty much any lip color you want to wear. It's also soft enough that you can use a light hand (skip step 3) and just wear it in the day for work or school.

I used just 2 shadows:

• A pale lavender (Coastal Scents Hot Pot in Ice Ballet)
• A deep rich brown (Coastal Scents Hot Pot in Rich Walnut)

Other than this, I had a chocolate brown pencil and black mascara.

Holographia: Dramatic Foiled Ombre Lids (Yellow-red-pink) with Transfer Foil!

Transfer foils were created for arts and crafts. Then some genius decided to use it on nails. Not long after, some people thought it might be a good idea to attempt it on the lips.

(That didn't go too well, because while it looked cool when it was done perfectly - a la Katy Perry - very few people ever managed to do it perfectly. Tons of women ended up with disappointing patchy, cracked-looking lips.)

Since I've got tons of foil (I buy mine from dollarnailart.com), I naturally wondered about using it for other things. It is BRILLIANT as a dramatic transfer tattoo on the body, But what about the eyes?

The Adhesive:

While there isn't anything harmful about applying the water-based nail foil adhesive onto your hands and body in general, applying it to the eye was another thing altogether. Because companies are so hush-hush about the ingredients of their glues, I could only guess at what ingredients Shizzle Lips and Glitzy Lips used in their "lip approved" skin-safe glues and whether they were mostly similar to nail foil glues.

You only need to know that you can use lash adhesive (if you have a strong and thick formula like Duo, add a tiny drop of water to thin it out before applying with a brush or it will be too hard to spread nicely).

 

The Foils:

It's the same thing no matter where you buy it from. These are layers of reflective or holographic ink that isn't toxic or reactive in their dry state. Whether you pay $1 at Dollarnailart.com or $29.90 for Glitzy Lips, it is EXACTLY THE SAME THING and they work the same way.

The strip I chose was unfortunately part of a jumbo pack from eBay, which doesn't have a name or number. You can substitute any other color foil though I recommend a strip that has a similar ombre gradient if you want the same effect I got. At dollarnailart.com, a similar alternative would be Wrapping Paper or Wildberry Splash.

My 5-minute Colorful Half-Liner Eye Look

This is a super quick eye look that I always pop on when I don't have a lot of time to do my face, and want an eye that is subtle but still has a shot of fun color.

I tend to pair this look with a strong blush and bright lips (a coral-pink mostly). 

The best thing is it's super easy and you don't need to be an expert or to have a very steady hand. Plus you have tons of shade options. Any colored liner pencil will work as that accent color on your lid.

You will need:

• A shimmery champagne or beige shadow (I used Sephora Prisma Chrome in MoonBeam)
• A medium brown shadow for the contour (I used The Body Shop's Chocolate Linger)
• A black pencil (I just used a black kajal)
• A colorful pencil of your choice (I used Milani Liquif'Eye in Aqua)
• Mascara or falsies (L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black)