March 2011

Foundation Primer Reviews

March 30, 2011

Rather than talking about new makeups all the time, I would like to show you some of my old favorites – starting from Face products. Foundation primer aka Makeup base is not considered as an essential makeup item for some girls. As for me – I can’t live without foundation primer. I have one for every skin condition I can possibly have. Using a primer together with a foundation perfects my skin for a flawless and radiant complexion.   On a good skin day, I would only use a primer and skip the foundation.

So here is a group picture of all the primers I am currently using..actually I have to admit I had no idea I own that many primers!

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I don’t regret buying them all, each of them serves a different purpose.  My foundation primers can be broken down into 4 categories:

1. Oil Controlling

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Mac Prep and Prime Skin Base Visage: amazing product, hides my pores without feeling cakey and silicony – keeps the oil at bay for 8 hours! I only use it on my t-zone.

Shiseido (bought it in japan, no English name) : No swatches because this one is only exclusive to Asia,  it used to be my HG until I found Mac Prep and Prime.

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2. Radiance and Natural Glow

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Chanel Base Lumiere – my absolute favorite! It contains no shimmers, but it imparts a really beautiful glow to your skin, gives a “your own radiant skin but better” effect.

Dior Radiant Base – a light pink fluid with tiny shimmers.  My second favorite as the shimmers are not noticeable once it is sheered out – gives a beautiful pinkish glow.

Lancome Fluid Illuminator (LE) – a beige fluid with fine shimmers, can be used alone or mixed in with foundation. It is too shimmery for my liking – I only apply it along my cheekbones in summer time when my face is tanned for a bronzey look.

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3. Color Correction

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Shiseido Control Base: a light green fluid designed to correct the redness in your skin. This one is amazing..I only use it when my skin looks dull. A tiny amount would turn your complexion into “you have just slept 10 hours”!

Giorgio Armani fluid sheer no 5 – recommended by GA’s makeup artist at a makeover event. It is a peachy fluid, very pigmented so I can’t imagining applying it all over the face. I like to use it on my cheeks to create a natural flush.

Etude Pore Smoothing Peach Base (korean brand) – a purple fluid that brightens up your complexion by a few shades. I won’t recommend using it all over the face unless you want a geisha look. Again it’s a good product for a dull skin day.

These products were heavily swatched in the picture. The effect on your face would be a lot more subtle than shown in the picture. Even for my whole face I would use less than what I used for swatching.

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4. Primers with sunscreen

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Shu Uemura UV Under Base: it’s been a cult favorite in Asia for ages – can be used as sunscreen, makeup base or tinted moisturizer. On a good skin day, I would only use this product on my face – very sheer but evens out skin tone.

Kanebo Lunasol UV Essence: A makeup base with spf of 25 , has the same texture as a serum. It absorbs into your skin like a serum, makes your skin look hydrated and glowing, leaves no white cast on your skin like other suncreens do. The best sunscreen I have ever come across!

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LASTLY, my Nars  is one of the best all purpose makeup bases.

nars-makeup-primerIt hydrates your skin, creates a perfect canvas for foundation and makes the foundation look better and lasts all day long.

nars-makeup-primer-swatchOMG..what a super long post!! Now I need some TV therapy..

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March Favorites

March 29, 2011

This is one of my favorite posts to make as a beauty blogger! Every month I would use different makeups and try out different skin cares. This is a good way of displaying my monthly affection.

march-makeups-for-front-row-beautyEyeshadows: Loving Taupes

Chanel soft touch eyeshadow in Taupe Grise

Nars eyeshadow duo in  Kalahari

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Blushes: Pink and Peach

Nars Blush

Mac Blush in Mighty Aphrodite from wonder woman collection

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Lipsticks: switching between beige and pink

Chanel Coco Rouge Shine in Aventure

Clinique Color Surge Butter Shine Lipstick in Baby Baby, a cheaper version of CRS

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Mascara: Kiss Me Heroine Make Volume and Curl Mascara

This is my 10th tube..absolutely the best mascara for Asian Lashes!

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Skincare: Philosophy Microdelivery Peel

A near perfect product to keep my skin congestion free and radiant

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Drugstore Products

Say Yes to Carrot Conditioner – thhhe most moisturizing organic conditioner

James Brown Rich Moisture Conditioner – almost as good as my Frederic Fekkai shea butter conditioner

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Shower Gel: Lush – The Joy of Jelly

Feels like tofu smells like heaven

lush-shower-gelOne disappointment: La Prairie  Cellular Hydrating Serum

At $280 a pop, the price does not equate to its performance-  it didn’t hydrate my skin any better than any other cheaper product could

la-prairie-serum-hydratantFashion Accessory:  Tiffany Key necklace

Watching the girls wearing key necklaces in Gossip Girls reminded me of how much I loved my Tiffany Key

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My Vanity Table

March 28, 2011

I love looking at other beauty bloggers’ vanity tables. This is what mine looks like, very girly.

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Love the glass panel, perfect for displaying some of my perfumes.

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Anna Sui makeup organiser

Anna Sui brush holders

Anna Sui Vanity Mirror

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Royal Doulton Vase

Juicy Couture candle in jasmine

Mirrored frame

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This week I am wearing Chanel Intermezzo, one of the 3 nail polishes released by Chanel for spring 2011 collection.

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To view my swatches for Black Pearl, click here.

Chanel Intermezzo is a very elegant and classic white shade – it looked opalescent on my nails. The gold and pink shimmers are quite noticeable if I look closely.  I do like this shade, it is a nice break from the dark shades I usually wear. But I can only see myself wearing this shade in spring and summer time when my hands are more tanned.

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The formula of this one is not the best Chanel can do! It is quite sheer and streaky. In my photos I applied 4 coats of it because I didn’t like my nail lines to show through.

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NARS Nouveau Monde Swatch

March 24, 2011

NARS Nouveau Monde is another must have eyeshadow duo from Nars – it is part of the NARS Spring 2011 collection. When it comes to eye shadows, I know Nars will never let me down. The beauty of Nars duo eyeshadow is when you look at the color combination in the pan, sometimes they do seem odd to me. When you have them on your eyes, this is the moment you realise Francois Nars is a genius for makeup creation.

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The combination of Nouveau Monde was beyond my expectation the moment I applied them on my eyes. The lilac shade is just perfection. It is not frosty, neither too silvery nor too bluey, just a perfect lavender shade with a taupe undertone. I was a bit wary about the moss shade at first –  it can look too warm on me. Surprisingly it complements the cool toned lavender shade.

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NARS Nouveau Monde on my eyes. I applied the lavender shade all over my eye lids,then apply the moss shade in the outer corner.

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The thought of wearing lavender and moss shades to the office has never crossed my mind until I found this one. I would totally wear this color combination to work tomorrow – glad tomorrow is Friday!

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There will be lots of exciting new makeup collections for summer launching across the world soon. So far I have set my eyes on these absolutely beautiful makeup collections..can’t wait to check them out in person!

NARS Summer 2011 Makeup Collection

If I can place an order over the internet now.. I will be buying everything except for the blue trio.

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CHANEL Summer 2011 Makeup Collection – see how gorgeous the model looks in the promo pic!

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BECCA Halcyon Days Collection, again I can’t get over how beautiful the model looks in the promo pic.

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Have you started checking out any new makeup collections? Which collection do you look forward to the most?

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With all the trends going on, I am obsessed with classic silk blouses the most. I just purchased my first Equipment Shirt and wore it for the first time today (to work). Just a quick intro on these shirts, they were created by Christian Restoin – does the name ring a bell? He is the partner of former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, who always looks sooo effortless chic in Equipment shirts.

Equipment shirts are made of premium silk – it is so light and velvety soft,  and literally feels like a second skin on your body.

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I bought the shirt in xs, and it is still a lot bigger than I expected it to be. It almost feels like an xl on me haha..Since I wore it to work today, I just paired it with a pencil skirt.

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Shirt: Equipment in Dune

Skirt: T by Alexander Wang

Bag: Miu Miu

Shoes: Bally

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Giorgio Armani’s Spring 2011 Collection of Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadows are arriving in Australia soon. I can’t wait to get hold of them. In the meantime, I have rekindled my love for the Eyes to Kill eye shadows that I bought from Giorgio Armani’s 2010 Holiday Collection. I might as well do a quick review and swatches of them to share my appreciation of these beautiful eye shadows.

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The texture of these are beyond amazing. They glide on your skin like a soft cream shadow, and they are a dream to blend like a silky powder shadow. They are super pigmented when applied by fingers or they can be applied by  brushes to sheer them out. The color, the sheen, the sparkle last on me for the whole day without any creases.

I bought 2 Eyes to Kill silk eye shadows from the 2010 Holiday Collection.

No 15 NOIGA has an intense metallic sparkle finish.

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No 13 NOIFA has a velvety matte finish.

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giorgio-armani-eyes-to-kill-silk-eyeshadow-13-noifa-2Swatches on my hand. No 15 is a warm gold with a khaki undertone. No 13 appears navy from the pan, but is more of a charcoal black on the skin.

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giorgio-armani-eyes-to-kill-silk-eyeshadows-swatches-2Swatches of NO 15 on my eyes.

giorgio-armani-eyes-to-kill-silk-eyeshadow-15-noiga-swatchOverall look

Swatches of NO 13 Noifa on my eyes.

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Overall look

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