Sephora and other cosmetics haul part III

Ok ladies, Im back again , babbling on my recent haul ! ughh ... too lazy to write, but somehow have to finish up before I can move on with something else ! ;(


Let's start with ....

Chanel Rose Envolée Quadra Eye Shadow 31 (RM180), Limited Edition : This quad consist of 4 colours which are all shimmery, (ivory, pink gold, candy pink and plum-brown). See swatches below:

 

L-R: Pink with gold shimmer, Ivory for highlight, Candy Pink, and Plum-brown (Purple) 

This quad came out along with their other Spring 2011 collection which was released end of February this year. When I first saw the quad, I felt in love with all the colours. I thought the colour combinations were gorgeous and really worked together. Of course I did swatch all the colours before I decided to buy it! Sadly, when I tried on my eyes.. the eyeshadows didnt really blend really well .. and each of them has gritty textures (like some frost eyeshadows by MAC),  poor pigmentation , except for the plum brown (the darkest colour in the quad) and to be honest, it didnt photographs well, if you use digital camera with direct flash ! Im very dissapointed with this quad coz its not cheap !

Though I think, this quad is OK if you use it for daily wear (not for photography purpose). The colour is so soft and harmony. I would describe this as romantic colours,  you would look very sweet if you use this colour combination on eyes + pink/purplish pink blush + pink lipstick ;) Im letting go of this quad.. maybe will put on my swap list on makeup alley. Or maybe if someone interested to have this, please email me for inquiries. Ill sell this palette at cheaper price.

Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eye Liner Pencil #20 Espresso (RM78): I also picked this up along with the quadra rose envolee. Just a regular waterproof eyeliner in black-brown shade. The type of pencil is automatic, where its actually easier to use coz you dont have to re-sharpen when needed. It glides on smoothly, a smudgeproof eyeliner,  and stays put all day long. The colour is a nice substitute for black eyeliner if you find that black is too harsh for you. This one really add warmth to the eyes, a great nice shade for daily use. Totally recommended for asian eyes (with hooded/mono eyelid) coz this one doesnt smear/smudge on lid. Alternatively, you can get a similar shade of eyeliner which is by MAC ,Stubborn Brown  (RM63), though stubborn brown powerpoint eye liner is a wooden pencil and smudgeable (great for smokey eyes). 

 Comparison between the two eye liners. They are quite similar in shades, but of different types and usage.

#20 Espresso Chanel vs. MAC Stubborn Brown eyeliner pencil. Both are of the same colour, and waterproof

Im so impressed with the smudge proof and staying power of Chanel eyeliner, a great choice for beginners and those who doesnt want their eyeliner to look smudgy and smeared to the lids. Whereas, MAC Powerpoint eyeliner pencil is not smudgeproof, and great for smokey eyes. I would definitely not use these two on the waterline coz its waterproof.. only would apply for top or bottom eyes.

Next is:

 

Topshop Eyes in Potion (RM36):  This is a metallic eyeshadows by topshop in plum-brownish (deep purple) black) shade in a cute round case. Quite similar in shade with the e/s in chanel quadra rose envolee but this one is darker. Its very pigmented, easy to blend and great for the outer V / smokey eyes. Very cheap and in fact gives better pay off and intensity than some of high end brands shadows! Highly recommended! Check em out, available in many beautiful shades at any Topshop stores.

Topshop Kohl in Coal (Black) : I don't remember the price, but I think its below RM30 ? hmm someone who knows. please share k /ill update if I get the chance to visit Topshop, probably this weekend. I decided to give this a try because its very pigmented and glides on smoothly. The black is very deep dark black ! Good quality eyeliner, better than any drugstore brands taking into account the price, quality and staying power though this eyeliner is not recommended if you have oily eyelids/mono lid/asian eyes and watery eyes since it's easily smeared and not smudgeproof! Unless.. if you want to do a bad girl eye makeup where you have to actually ignore if your eyes gets dirty and look scary ;p This eyeliner is useful for smokey eye effect, where you draw it as eyeliner, take a pencil brush, dip into dark colour powder eyeshadows, and smudge it very close to the lashes and blend it a bit upward.

The swatches of Coal eyekohl and Potion e/s by TopShop

Right after I put on the eyeliner on top and on the waterline... the eyeliner transferred to my lid and smeared on the bottom eyes.

 without flash under natural light

  without flash ,taken really close up

This is the eye makeup after I line up just a thin line close to the lashes on my upper lid with the kohl pencil and on the waterline, smudge with Potion eyeshadows for smokey effect, using a blending brush, take a bit of Potion eyeshadows, and blend all the way up to the crease.  I just did it in hurry just for experiment, without applying the eye primer first and cleaning up the bottom eyes. Im sure you can achieve it better  provided that you apply many coats of mascara !! ;)) and hope you notice that ...  Purple eyeshadows really POP out brown eyes !!!

photo source: google image

Topshop make up line... from lips, eyes, face, and nail at affordable price.. and the packaging is to die for ! isn't it !!??!

Next product is:

NYX Nude on Nude Palette s119 (RM90 includes shipping); 

This is definitely a gorgeous palette with 20 eyeshadows and 10 lip colours ! The eyeshadows are said to be the dupe for Urban Decay Naked Palette, so I will review this later since I haven't received my Naked Palette yet. Stay tuned for swatches and more pics ;)

L-R: The Cool Elite, Count Your Assets

MAC Big Bounce Shadows (RM70 each): New formulated product for the eyes by MAC that came out in Flighty collections and they are all limited edition. The packaging is similar to MAC paint pots, and similar in weight/volume ( 5g/ 0.17 US OZ). MAC describe this as:

"Eyes are fresh and luminescent with beautiful sheen washes of vibrant color using new Flighty Eye Shadows. This spongy, mousse-like eye shadow lightweight, lasts for hours, and imparts a cooling sensation upon application"

To be honest, don't easily trust what they say regarding their product ! I have tested this, and its very awful on its own ! not long lasting.. and its not blendable! Luckily, I only picked up two out of 16 shades available. All of the colours are really gorgeous, hard to decide which one to buy, but end up buying 1 unique colour which is Count Your Assets and a safe colour that can be prettily mixed with lots of colours, The Cool Elite.  This Bounce shadows however can be used as an eyeshadow base and Im impressed with the staying power of this guy as a primer. See the swatches below:

 L-R: The Cool Elite (White with silver pearl), Count Your Assets (Rich Blue Purple with Multi Colour Pearl)

The Cool Elite alone. I've used #242 brush to pat on the lid (not in rubbing motion), just pat2 the thing to get the best intensity or otherwise it will slide and resulting in uneven coverage. It takes a few seconds to dry ... then with flat brush, I pat powder eyeshadows on top to set.

Just my quick experiment, without eyeliners and Ive applied awful mascara that make my lashes so clumpy ! damn ! The pic was taken under natural light, without flash

 With flash

On Lid: big bounce eyeshadows in the cool elite as eye base and on top is White Rabbit (F)

Crease: Blend using #224 with Magnetized (VP) and outer V: using #217, Hold My Gaze (S)

Second.. using Count Your Assets as eyeshadow base

 Count Your Assets alone

Under natural light/without using flash

with flash

On lid: Big Bounce shadows in Count your assets, and on top using MAC Shale (S), and the outer corner with a bit of Shadowy Lady (M)

Crease: MAC Lala (F)

Urban Decay De-Slick Oil Control Makeup Setting Spray (RM109):  
This is suppose to be the setting spray and oil-control product for oily skin. I was actually wanted to try the all-nighter setting spray so badly instead of trying out this freak, but when I asked the beauty assistant regarding the products, she said that this one is better than the all-nighters ! Moral: Don't fully trust the beauty assistant coz she's not really expert about all the products on sale since the stores newly open, and they not really study regarding each of the products over the net .. they give advice base on product description which anyone can read it themselves ! ) So after I tried this thing  a few times, I was really dissapointed with it coz I had forced myself to try out this one rather than the all-nighters which already received so many positive feedback! I dont find this controls the oil neither to be the setting spray itself coz my makeup doesn't last longer, in fact it tend to make my makeup oxidise faster ! Maybe I have to find the right way to apply this.. need to experiment a lot more to achieve the best result.

*All Urban Decay Products are exclusively available at Sephora

Make Up Forever Empty Magnetic Palette (RM70): This is an ultra thin metal magnetic palette that can hold various sizes of depotted pans, allowing you to customise your palette.

I have depotted a few of my eyeshadows and blushers and had organized 'em into the palette.. actually would prefer it to be in its original case but I had to do so,since I wanna keep all of the stuffs organise and easy for travelling. Furthermore, I can get all the empty pots back to mac and get any permanent lipstick colours in exchange ;) You get 1 brand new full size lipstick if you bring 6 empties back to MAC (i.e:  any combination of eye pencil, brush cleanser bottle, eyeshadow/blush pot, powder .. anything)

The depotting process. Click here to see how I depot my MAC eyeshadows/blush

After depotting and customized into the palette. 

This palette also comes with a thin plastic /transparent sheet to protect products during transport.The best thing about organising your stuffs in a palette is, you won't find it hard to play with colours because you can directly see what you have instead of opening the pot one by one. 

After returning all the empty containers back to MAC ...

taraa.. these are the lipsticks that I got for free ! I've chosen three colours which are all cremesheen lipsticks.. well,  I only love cremesheen and satin lipsticks by MAC ;)

From L-R: Speed Dial (cremesheen), Cream Cup (Cremesheen), and Creme in Your Coffee (cremesheen)

the swatches as below:

L-R: Speed Dial, Creme Cup, Creme In Your Coffee

Speed Dial : It is described as light blue pink but it has some gold sheen to it which makes it an interesting shade. The gold sheen makes it wearable to both cool/warm skin tone eventhough the pink has blue undertone to it. I think, fair skintone can pull off this alone without the rest of face/eyemakeup but for darker skin tone, this alone can make your skin appear darker..smokey eyes would be a perfect combination with this lippie if you have dark skin tone. 

Creme Cup: The same goes with this lippie. Its a light blue pink that reminds me of Angel  (Frost) by MAC. They are pretty much exactly the same colours but creme cup has more blue undertone to it, and they are of different finishes. I like Angel better, its a frost lipstick but doeasnt really give a frosty finish (doesnt really give shine like other frost lipsticks). Creme Cup suits fair-medium skin tone, It would look great with smokey eyes.

Creme In Your Coffee: It is described as a creamy mid tone brown. I love this lippie coz its not really brown on me. Kind of rosey, natural colour that I can wear daily. The colour looks pretty classic and sophisticated that suits from fair-dark skin tone.  


and last but not least ...

The Urban Decay Primer Potion (RM75): Definitely my first choice for eye makeup base coz my lid is so oily and this one I can say a Perfect choice for oily lid ! give it a try. you'll never regret ;)

Ok that's all for now. I think Im done. I feel so relieved to finish all the reviews and thoughts regarding my haul.. coz it took me a lot of work to capture the pics bla bla bla. I hope the information has been useful ! and thanx for visiting my blog ;)

Sephora and other cosmetics haul part II

Here comes my reviews and swatches of all the products that I recently bought.. 

some close up pictures first ...

My new fav. blush from MAC, from the Quite Cute collection, fast play lippie from the same col, MAC clear lipgloss, and super shiny natural lipgloss from Burt's Bees.

From Top-Bot: Ardell lashes #107, MUFE Intense Rouge Artist Lipstick, Top Shop eyeshadows in Potion

From Top-Bot: Sephora lipliners, Urban Decay 24/7 eyekohl, MUFE aqua lip liners, Chanel waterproof eyeliner, and TopShop black eyekohl

Soap and Glory Body Scrub (RM39) : Definitely worth trying, and all I can say, its one of the best body scrub that i've ever tried ! I love it because, it has lovely scent (combination of fresh bergamot and mandarin, rose, jasmine, peach, strawberry, oakmoss, amber, woody notes and warm vanilla ), one thing for sure is the scrubbing beads are of the right ratio, not rough on skins like a cheap body scrubs (i.e St Ives), very moisturizing, it really helps on my elbow and my rough feet. Its an alternative body scrub for me coz this one is way much cheaper than my previous body scrub from L'occitane. This one is absolutely THE SCRUB OF YOUR LIFE ! Will definitely purchase other beauty products from soap and glory to give a try ;)

ARDELL Lashes ( RM22 each): Ardell lashes are one of the most natural looking fake lashes that you can buy at affordable price ! You can get 2-3 of Ardell lashes for the price of 1 MAC / Shue Uemura lashes which I think is similar in quality. Ardell lashes come in diff. styles with clear / black strips, but the types of  lashes are a bit limited though compared to the MAC lashes. I opt for lashes with clear strips since it gives the most natural looking lashes, plus its easier to apply if you are putting it on yourself. I normally use tweezers for easy application. Its very nice and cheap coz it can be reused couple of times if you gently remove the old glue, wipe off any excess mascara/eyeliners with baby oil/make up remover using cotton bud, and place back into the box neatly.

 DUO adhesive (RM36) and Ardell LashGrip (RM22) :  Both glues are available at Sephora. DUO is a world's lagerst seller for false lashes glue and its waterproof. Comes in two types, that dries clear and dries black. Its much more expensive than the Ardell lash grip. If Im not mistaken, I previously bought the glue in larger size with the same price. I assume that the price of  the item has being marked up by 50% coz the new packaging is half of the old version ! The new packaging is smaller in size compared to the old one.

From L-R: DUO old packaging ( 14g), DUO new packaging (7g), Ardell LashGrip (7g)

Ardell LashGrip comparison in two diff. types. Both are effective and very fast drying, the difference between the two is just that it gives different colour appearance after it dries, one dries invisibly and the other one turns into black. Definitely worth buy since its cheaper than DUO.

MAC Quite Collections: Play Time lippie (Cremesheen), Sakura Mineralize Blush

Overall thoughts on Quite Cute collections: I only bought these two items from the col. so lucky that I dont have any interests to grab the other items from the cols. since its not really wearable unless you love playing around with all the funny colours ;p Among all the lippies, I think this is the most acceptable that I can wear. There's one barbie pink lipstick;Saint Germain which I already have, its a repromote from last years collection (MAC Sugarsweet collections), looks really tempting, but you will end up like a clown/ daisy duck if you wear it alone without putting the rest of eyes/face makeup, unless you are very2 fair enough to pull off that colour. It can be mixed with a darker lip colour though if you want to slightly lighten your darker pink lipstick ;) The lip liners are all of nice shades but I already have them, so I skipped them all ! ;)

MAC Play Time lippie (RM63):Play time is a nice sheer purply colour with a slightly sheen to it. The formula is cremesheen which makes it very moisturizing on the lips, apply very sheer and not opaque so it gives a very soft looks on the lips, just like the look of wearing lipglass  (except that its not too glossy) but actually you are wearing lipstick ,meaning...not sticky like wearing a lipglass! I picked up along with Sakura mineralize blush and they both compliment each other! So in love with the combination ;) I normally apply this along with a pink lipliner and blend together whenever I dont want it to be so purple. 

 Lip Product Swatches: MAC Play Time, #30 and #31 of Intense rouge artist by Makeup Forever (review will come later)

MAC Sakura Mineralize Blush (RM100): This cute blush is a lilac toned blush with a slightly pink tone to it coz the love at the center is a dark magenta tone and when mix together, You get a 3D kind of effect, lilac + pink shimmer to it. Love the blush, coz its quite a cool colour if you already bored with pink/peach tone blush...try this one ! This one can be worn as an eyeshadows as well, you get three colours: lilac, magenta and lilac+magenta = purplish pink  ;)

L-R: bareMinerals blush, laughter, giddy pink

bareMinerals Blush (RM89/each): bareMinerals got a lot selections of blusher to choose from, there are 14 colours available but I picked up only two of those, which are laughter and giddy pink. Whats interesting about the blusher is, its in powder form, turns into creamy kind of texture when applied onto skin., packaged in a mini jar container. Best applied with a blusher brush.

The blush is described as :

"Creamy, 100% pure bareMinerals blushes give you a beautiful, healthy tone that looks natural, because it is. Add a soft, radiant glow to your complexion with our silky cheek colors"

Benefits:

• Infused with 100% pure bareMinerals.
• Preservative-free.
• Naturally good-for-you cheek color.
• Gives a healthy, beautiful tone.
• Provides pure pop of color.
• Soft and creamy.
• Buffs on like silk.
• Can be layered over one another for unique looks.
• Versatility allows you to wear them on cheeks, lips and eyes.
• Ideal for all skin types, including sensitive and problem-prone skin.
• Works for all skin tones.

source from: http://www.skinstore.com

The swatches bareMinerals blush and MAC Mineralize Blush. 

L-R: Laughter, Giddy Pink and Sakura

Laughter: A Coral Rose colour which is more on the orange side. It looks very peachy when applied on the cheeks. It will make your cheeks very warm, a satin finish which doesnt have any shimmering particles. A nice blush for daily wear, though I have to apply many layers on the cheeks to add the intensity. The blush is usually gone after 1-2 hours - not long lasting. I love the fact that it looks very natural on skin, very easy to apply and blend.

Giddy Pink: This is described as a warm baby pink though when swatched, it looks more to blue tone blush for me and it's quite shimmery. It gives the similar effect with the mineralize blush from MAC, very shiny and it makes your cheeks glow! .. but this blush does not give the same intensity and pigmentation as MAC blush. This would definitely suits fair-medium skin tone and great choice for someone looking for a barbie doll pink blush. This blush also gone after a few hours but really love the colour pay off.. so I dont mind re-applying !

Make Up Forever Intense Rouge Lipsticks (RM85/each) & Make Up Forever Aqua Waterproof Lip Liner pencil ( RM 65/each) :

These are lip products that I am loving right now !! Their items are quite expensive but they are awesome ! I will definitely purchase more of the lipsticks and the lipliners in the future... a must have in your collections at least one ! ;) The pigmentation of MUFE lipsticks is super great, where you get high coverage in just one single stroke, and very long lasting. They are available in 50 shades and 3 different finishes, which are Matte, Satin and Pearly ( like a frost finish) . I have picked up two different shades in number #30 and #31 (both are Satin finish), where #31 is a satin Mauve Pink and #30 is Satin Light Rosewood.

L-R: MAC Play Time, MUFE in #30, #31

#30: Satin Light Rosewood- A pinkish coloured lipstick with a slight brown undertone, makes it appear peachy pink on the lips.  Reminds me of Sandwash Pink lipstick by Bobbi Brown but #30 has slighlty more brown tone to it.

#31: Satin Mauve Pink - Pink that has purple tone to it. A gorgeous colour, couldnt think of any dupes for this colour from a diff. brand, but I found MUFE lipsticks to be quite similar in formula and finishes with the one that Bobbi Brown carries.

MUFE Intense Rouge Lipsticks in #30, #31 and MUFE Aqua Lip Waterproof Lipliner pencil in 15C

Aqua Lip Waterproof Lip Liners: The lip liner is so damn great, very long lasting coz its waterproof ! Available in many gorgeous shades, highly recommended if you are looking for an extremely long wearing lip liners. I picked one, in shades 15C ( pink shade). Ive been searching for a lip liner in a nice pink shade and I found this to be so great to be paired with pink lipsticks ! Would definitely purchase the Aqua lip liners in so many diff. shades in the future (wish that I have moreee money !! ) *sigh*. See more swatches below

Make Up Forever can only be found at Sephora, Parkson One Utama and free standing store KLCC

Sephora Nano Lip Liners (RM21/each):

I also picked up two Nano Sephora Lip liners at sephora in Funky Fuschia and Cute Caramel. The Nano Lip liner is quite short in size ( probably about 3/4 from normal size lip liners of MAC / makeup forever) very cheap compared to the high end brand but its very pigmented and got many colour selections. Funky Fuschia can be worn with pink tone lipsticks whereas Cute Caramel is nice to be applied with peachy tone lip colours.  See the swatches below:

Burt's Bees super shiny Natural Lip Gloss in Sweet Pink (RM36):  The swatches is as above picture. Love this gloss coz it moisturizes the lips, not too shiny looking like you just ate "goreng pisang" ;p Not feeling sticky like most gloss, can be applied on top of lipsticks as well.It smells lovely !! very sweet and yummy .. feels like sucking it from the tube *gulp* ;p

Burt's Bees carries a whole lot more range of beauty products from Lips, Face, Body, Hair and they are very2 good! My next aim from this brand is : Im gonna grab Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme coz it smells like a baby ...*sniff* hmm yummy. Try it yourself if you dont believe me ;D

Burt's Bees products are available at Sephora and Sunway Pyramid

More reviews and swatches of my recent cosmetics haul to be continued .... Please come back again ;)


p/s: I feel so tired + sleepy.. need to rest *yawns*. Hopefully will regain the energy and in the mood again to update my blog ! 

-xoxo-