This Week's Face! Makeup (and Fragrance) I've Been Wearing Recently

Here's a run-down of the things that I've used repeatedly in the past week or two! I'm on a drive to rotate through older makeup that I love but have neglected for awhile, and mix them in with newer things I'm testing for the purposes of review.

The It Cosmetics CC+ Oil-Free Matte SPF40 I've reviewed. I do enjoy it, but I don't consider it a long-wear or oil-control foundation technically. It's a more lasting, less dewy alternative to a BB/daily foundation with great coverage and skin benefits. And I like it very much for day wear, but if I need to look perfected or it's a special occasion, I would still reach for other foundations.

Ye Old Chocolate Bar

My Chocolate Bar is so old it doesn't have the shade names printed on. Ironically I LOVED this when it first launched. A lot more than the Naked palettes. But I featured it a couple of times and then never used it after that. That's the thing about neutral palettes; we love them but they are the easiest to set aside when newer things launch because they are so easily substituted.

So I decided to give it a workout for a week. 

A selection of lip shades I've been rotating between lately

Mattes are it for me. Liquid more than sticks, surprisingly. And it's taken me years to finally find out which formulas I like and how to wear them in a way that don't make me want to claw my lips off.

I have very dry lips and small lips besides, so thick, heavy liquid lips can be the worst thing to apply. Don't want shriveled, shrunken, "butt-hole" lips. So I stick with traditional matte lipsticks and creams that are not transfer-proof. But I learnt that very lightweight liquid formulas that can be sheered out look great and don't give me dried prune lips. Formulas that fit what I want include YSL Tatouage Couture (closest to perfect for my tastes), Huda Beauty, NARS Power Matte Pigments, Bourjois Rouge Edition liquids, Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Matte Potions and Etude House's new Matte Chic Lip Lacquers.

I have found these to not crack after drying, and if you're light-handed, don't look excessively wrinkly.

Clockwise from top-left: Etude House Wendy Brown BR401,  Cle de Peau Beaute Lip Cashmere 104 & 105, YSL Tatouage Couture #8, Huda Beauty Icon

It Cosmetics CC+ Oil-free Matte SPF40 Review

One of the products that I was most excited about at the recent Sephora Press Day in Singapore was the Oil-free Matte version of It Cosmetics' bestselling CC+. Living in sunny Singapore, who wouldn't want a matte, oil-free, pore minimizing version of the full-coverage high-SPF skincare cream? 

Even as someone with combination-dry skin, I was excited to try a more sweat-resistant and less creamy version of my favorite BB/CC-type product the past 1-2 years. 

Ingredients Run-down

It Cosmetics CC+ Oil-Free Matte ingredients

First off, the ingredients list is impressive as usual. They have all the signature skin-pampering and calming extracts, with the addition of tea tree extract, sulfur, willow bark extract (salicylic acid), charcoal powder and niacinamide, traditionally great for troubled, oily, spot-prone skin. I've not had any significant breakouts ever since I cut down on my sugar intake a couple of months back but I do work out about 5-6 days a week and I can get clogs and black heads, so I would never turn down pore-clearing ingredients.

There aren't really many ingredients in here that would be overly-drying for drier skins despite the inclusion of sulfur, willow bark extract, and charcoal powder. There are just too many conditioning agents. Even though I have dry areas, this did not dry me out and felt comfortable through the day. 

Shade Range