Wednesday, December 31, 2014

An Unexpected Gift, and Happy 2015!


Chanel decided to remind me I spent WAAAY too much money in their beauty boutique this past year. 

If YOU'RE a Chanel beauty addict (in Singapore; I'm not sure if this is available in all markets), and shop regularly at ION, you'll probably also have received a gorgeous card inviting you to go down to the boutique before mid-Jan to pick up a little gift. 


LOL.

I have to say this is probably the best customer appreciation gift I've seen in a long time, and I'm going to keep this beautiful little box around in my collection as a keepsake. 

(Unless my mom gets her hands on it.)

Miniature Chanel No 5 Eau de Parfum vial in a pop-up display box.

It's kinda too pretty to actually use, and I'm more a No 19, Bois des Iles, Gardenia, Coromandel, Coco, Coco Mademoiselle, Chance (... ok you get the gist) girl. I do on the rare occasion wear a spritz of No 5, but I personally prefer the more "traditional" EDT and parfum versions.

Either way, just wanted to end the year by wishing everyone a great holiday, and may the year ahead be filled with joy, beauty, and celebration!

Pastel Makeup: Givenchy Le Prisme Yeux Quatuor 73 Pastel Model

I asked you guys on Instagram which of the 6 Givenchy eye quads you wanted a tutorial for, and a majority of you guys - unsurprisingly - voted for the toughest one. 73 Pastel Model.


It's gorgeous. 
But as someone with dark eyes and dark hair, I tend to avoid all-pastel palettes because they tend to look better on the pale and fair-haired, with light eyes. 
But you guys chose, so I'm going to show you how I'd work with a palette like this!

First, some tips for working with pastel shadows:
  • Clean up your lower waterline with a light pencil. Pale shadows can make your eyes look less white. This helps to reverse it.
  • If your eye contours are not very defined, shimmery pastels can make your lids look puffy and swollen. Don't apply these pale colors any higher than the hollow of the socket line. The best thing is to add a matte dark definer shade (like dark grey in this case) to the socket line to add some definition back.
  • Apply LOTS of mascara or wear wispy false lashes that aren't too heavy and dense. Pale shadows work well when paired with long lashes, but if you apply too heavy a set of falsies, you just weigh the entire look down.

Givenchy Le Prisme Yeux Quatuor 73 Pastel Model swatches

Texture:
The shades in this palette are very pale and translucent, as you can see in the swatch image. So it's best to apply them over a base so the color holds and intensifies.


Givenchy Magic Khol 7

I used a nice beige-brown metallic pencil (Givenchy No 7) as a base and that worked beautifully. Use any matte or metallic neutral beige-toned base. 



Instead of just applying the shadows directly, it helps to start with a nice soft neutral beige-brown base. The brown will not show up under the shadows but it helps to anchor the pigments.





Green pencil used was a Catrice pencil 060 Don't Be Mean To Green


For the pale green shade, do the reverse and concentrate most of the pigments on the inner corners, fading out along the lash line. This creates a nice ombre-green effect from light to dark.


Make sure you curl your lashes well. the higher and more doll-like they are, the better!

You can keep things as is if you like the softer look, but I personally want more definition along the socket, so I added a dark charcoal grey shadow very lightly.


Instead of applying it heavily into the outer corners of the eyes, I started slightly inside along the socket. The grey doesn't touch the outer corners, which keeps the overall look light and the eye shape more rounded and doll-like. Make sure the color fades away as you move inwards.



On the rest of the face, I kept the colors very soft and marshmallowy as well. 
This is not the sort of look that goes too nicely with a bright red lip, etc. The colors are soft, but the contrasting multi-colored hues are still the main focus, so keep the rest of your makeup soft or they will overpower all the pretty pastels.

Givenchy Le Rouge 102 Beige Plume

Instead of going too matchy-matchy with pink cheeks, lids, AND lips, I used a warmer pink blush and kept the lips a warm nude, and the peach-pink undertone still ties in nicely with the eye colors.
Pastel makeup look

Givenchy Products Used:
  1. Teint Couture foundation
  2. Le Prisme Visage Mat powder in 83 Peach Plumetis
  3. Magic Kohl 7
  4. Le Prisme Yeux Quatuor 73 Pastel Model
  5. Le Rouge 102 Beige Plume
  6. Noir Couture Mascara in black

 

Other Products Used:
  1. Concealer where needed. I used Benefit Fake Up.
  2. I cleaned up my waterline with a matte beige pencil from Nars called Rue Bonaparte. This helps to brighten up the eyes and balance out the lower lids with the pale colors on the upper ones.
  3. The key things I used for this eye look included a medium green pencil 060 from Catrice.
  4. For more definition or to transform the look from Day to Night, you can add a darker matte grey shade to the socket line using a small pointed pencil brush. I used Coastal Scents Burnished Brunette. It looks a bit like MAC Print.
  5. Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Blush for a light warm-pink cheek glow.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Sunday FOTD: Softer Take on Taupe and Oxblood

Face of the Day: Tom Ford Eye Color Quad 01 Golden Mink, Cheek Color 02 Frantic Pink, and Burberry Lip Mist Oxblood No 214
Quick FOTD featuring a much softer take on a Burberry Beauty look done the other day. This is completely wearable for the day time. 

Base: 
  • Tom Ford Traceless Foundation in Fawn, with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light just down the T-zone and under the eyes
  • Benefit High Beam highlighter patted lightly along cheekbones
Cheeks:
  • Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Bronze-03 just buffed just under the cheekbones to sculpt the face.
  • Tom Ford Cheek Color in 02 Frantic Pink on peaks of cheeks for soft color
Eyes:
  • Shu Uemura Hard Formula 9 Pencil in Seal Brown to fill in sparse areas of brows
  • Tom Ford Eye Color Quad in 01 Golden Mink; soft taupe on lids, rich brown in outer corners  and socket line, blonde glitter overcoat over inner half of lids
  • Revlon Lash Potion Mascara in Black
Lips:
  • Inglot AMC Lip Pencil 16 traced lightly along the outer edges of the lips
  • Burberry Lip Mist in Oxblood No 214 applied over lips
Nails:
  • Burberry Nail Color in Oxblood No 303


Burberry Beauty Oxblood Lip Mist and Oxblood Nail Color




Sunday, December 28, 2014

Burberry Winter Glow Collection 2014

Burberry Beauty "Winter Glow" Collection 

There were a few beautiful pieces in Burberry Beauty's festive Winter Glow collection that really caught my eye, including the very pretty and odd taupe highlighting powder which I do not have here sadly.

I do have 4 other pieces that I love though. The entire collection features a lovely balance between antique golds, Burberry's soft signature taupe, and also sexy oxblood red.

Complete Eye Palette Gold No.25

Burberry Beauty Complete Eye Palette Gold No. 25 swatches




Here I applied a basic 4-shade eye look using Gold No.25 and a dark brown pencil.

I admit I hadn't been all that interested in the palette initially. (Looked like any other taupe-y bronze palette.) until I saw it demonstrated on a model. I'm telling you, if you have blue eyes... this would looks completely amazing. I don't, but I love it anyway!

Lip Mist Oxblood No.214
Lip Glow Gold No.25
Swatches: Lip Mist Oxblood No.214, Lip Glow Gold No.25
The collection features 2 Gold lip shades; a Lip Mist (sheer lipstick) and a Lip Glow (lipgloss). But my personal obsession is with the Oxblood shade obviously. The gold lipstick and gloss is pretty to look at in their tubes, but the gloss is just a translucent gloss with some subtle gold sparkles, and the taupe-gold lipstick won't necessarily flatter everyone.

Lip Mist in Oxblood No.214 on the other hand, looks brown in the tube, but goes on more berry-hued. It's semi-sheer but the color builds up beautifully to a jelly-like sheen. Almost like you applied gloss on top. One annoying problem I find with some of the Lip Mists though, is the softer consistency makes some of the lipsticks bend and smoosh against the insides of the tube when used. My particular tube of Oxblood did just that, which is an issue if you love the checks embossed on it.

Annoying barrel marks on the lipstick tube...

Nail Polish Oxblood No.303
 As for the two nail polishes in the collection, they are both opaque and one is a Burberry taupe shade with a slight gold sheen, and the other is the classic Oxblood shade No.303. Guess which one I like more?

Makeup look using Burberry Winter Glow collection
The lip shade really isn't as deep as it looks in the tube. On the lips, it looks like an opaque berry lipgloss. The sheen is absolutely gorgeous. I'd give it a 9/10 if not for the fact that the lipstick smooshed against the insides of the tube.

Have you checked out anything in the collection yet, and if so, which are your fave products?

Saturday, December 27, 2014

MAC Lightness of Being Collection

MAC Lightness of Being (2015)
MAC's 2015 Lightness of Being Collection will be the first collection to usher in the Spring season, and is inspired by the creator of the modern dance movement, Martha Graham. The line features soft, dreamy, spun-sugar Mineralize products embossed in woolen patterns. 



The powder textures - typical of mineral products - are highly shimmery and very translucent in texture. If you want to intensify these, you can dampen your brush slightly. Either way, get ready for a lot of sparkle. 

Lightness of Being Mineralize Eyeshadow Swatches: Force of Nature, Leap, and Uninhibited
I received 3 of the 6 shadows for review, a blush and a Mineralize Skin Finish powder. 

The re-releases include the 2 MSFs, Lightscapade and Perfect Topping. Lightscapade is available in the permanent collection, so of course I picked Perfect Topping for review. This slightly pink-hued champagne shade is beautiful as a cheek highlight, and not too ashy-pale for medium to tan golden based skins, as Lightscapade can be.

Mineralize Skin Finish in Perfect Topping, and Mineralize Blush in Please Yourself
The blushes including Please Yourself, swatched here, I'm not too fond off, simply because of the sparkle overload. If you pop this over your cheeks, it will emphasize enlarged pores and any skin irregularities. Sparkle is fine on the cheekbones, lids and lips, but not on the cheeks in my opinion.

MAC Perfect Topping and Please Yourself worn on the cheeks
I haven't had an opportunity to play with the Mineralize lipsticks but the Mineralize Glasses are as lightweight and comfortable to wear as usual. The colors are a little too soft to make much of a statement on their own, so they're better as "toppers" over other lip shades.

Lip swatch: MAC Mineralize Glass in Poetic

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Viva Glam Miley Cyrus Lipstick and Lipglass

One on Christmas Day for all of you!
One of the most anticipated releases of 2015 (at least for me) has got to be Viva Glam Miley Cyrus.

And whether you are a fan of Miley or not, you GOTTA admit this lipstick and gloss kicks @ss. And that's the main reason I'm so excited. I love a good hot pink. And who doesn't like sparkle?

Swatches: Viva Glam Miley Cyrus Lipstick and Lipglass
Similar to releases like Viva Glam Riri 2, the Miley Cyrus duo is not a matchy-matchy duo where the gloss and lipstick are identical in color. They are different but complementary, so you can choose to layer them for a 3rd look if you like.

Lip swatch: Viva Glam Miley Cyrus Amplified lipstick


Lip swatch: Viva Glam Miley Cyrus lipglass




I love the 2 layered, but if you have to get just 1, I'd say to get the Amplified Lipstick.

The gloss is gorgeous, but you can get a similar effect with any hot pink Dazzleglass. And any sparkly pink gloss will look similar layered over the lipstick.

It's my personal opinion Viva Glams - for which 100% of proceeds go to charity - should be shades with wide appeal and flattering to many skintones, so as to to encourage more sales. Pretty much all of them have been, except for Riri 2 which in my own humble opinion did not meet the criteria.

Viva Glam MC hits all the spots, so it doesn't matter at all who it's named after. I LOVE this shade.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Clarins Colorama All About Lips Collection and Blue Orchid Face Treatment Oil, Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs 15 Les Sables, Mt Sapola Golden Elegance ceramic diffusers, ChloƩ Bronte bag, Hourglass Ethereal Glow

Ah, it's that time of the year again. 

Today - for me - is a time of quiet and serenity. I'm past the age where I party 'til 4AM, stumble home at 5, and throw up in the bushes. (Yeah been there.)

Oddly enough, though I've been going for strong makeup and colors all the way up to Xmas, today - when the rest of the world is gearing up for parties and gatherings - I just want soft tones, smooth textures, and understated elegance. 

Look Ma, I've finally grown up!

LOL.

Not quite. 

In any case, here's an early Merry Xmas to all of you and may your 2015 be filled with joy and contentment.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Tom Ford Lips & Boys Collection Swatches



I'm going to try and keep my blogspot going because honestly - I'm tired of not being able to reply directly to comments on Tumblr.

So to mark my return to blogspot after a long hiatus, here are swatches of the Tom Ford Lips and Boys collection which launches Jan 2 in Singapore and will be on sale for just 8 weeks. Come March, these will no longer be available.

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Tom Ford Lips & Boys boxed trio

Firstly, there are 50 shades in total, and these come in smaller "clutch-sized" tubes, like petite version of the regular lipsticks. So if you can't commit to a full-size at a full-prize, you might be able to indulge in 2 or 3 different shades of the Lips & Boys lipsticks.

I've marked out all shades by name, and included their original names (for the 14 re-releases).

Tom Ford Lips & Boys swatches part 1: browns, nudes, violets, bronzes/coppers, and warm beiges. My favorites here include Beau (formerly Blush Nude), Peter, William, Addison (formerly Pink Dusk).

All the lipsticks are named after a man Tom Ford knows, loves, or admires. The tongue-in-cheek idea being that we always want more than one - be it lipsticks or men.

Tom Ford Lips & Boys swatches Part 2: Pinks! My fave here is Cooper (Pure Pink). 

Tom Ford Lips & Boys swatches Part 3: I love a lot of the warm pinks and corals, but my absolute fave of the bunch are the reds. Adriano (True Coral), Rafael, Alejandro (Slander), Luciano, and Leonardo (Smoked Red) are my faves.

Tom Ford Lips & Boys Swatches Part 4: mauves and plums. I particularly love Collin (Indian Rose).


For purposes of review, I swatched all 50 shades (I was there for almost 2 hours), and picked out 3 of my faves to bring home.

Lemme tell ya, picking 3 was harder than swatching all 50. After hemming and hawing for a bit, I eventually picked out the below 3 shades as my personal must-haves.

Tom Ford Addison (Pink Dusk)


Tom Ford Cooper (Pure Pink)


Tom Ford Leonardo (Smoked Red)

I figure for a little capsule trio, I had to pick 3 shades that reflected different styles so I could get maximum versatility. Kittenish (Addison), Fun (Cooper), and Sultry (Leonardo).

What shades are your faves?