May 2011

Quite a few people have expressed interest in the Becca Luminous Skin Colour, so I have decided to review this one first.

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Becca Luminous Skin Colour is an award winning face base product that has been the best seller ever since Becca was launched – actually it was the first product Becca released. It has a wide range of colors to choose from for any complexion. My shade is Cashmere – it is a pale shade with a yellow undertone and it matches me perfectly. Becca’s website describes this product as a combination tinted moisturizer and sheer foundation. It initially failed to impress me because this is the sheerest foundation I have ever come across – it is even more sheer than any tinted moisturizers or BB creams I have used in the past. When blended out, it has very minimal coverage.

It started to grow on me as I used it more – I have come to appreciate this foundation more and understand why this is the best seller.

The Good:

– It contains a lot of moisturizing ingredients and has a very high water content. It is so easy to blend and adheres to my face like second skin even on the driest skin day.

– Different to most shimmery or highlighting products – it gives a “shine within” dewy glow. Same effect as if you just had a facial – people would just think your skin is naturally healthy and glowing.

– It contains SPF25, it feels weightless on my skin, feels lighter than any lightest sunscreen . On a normal day I would just skip suncreen if I wear this foundation.

– Due to its high water content, I like to mix this product in with an opaque concealer to sheer it down, that way it gives an illuminating effect for concealing the under eyes area.

The Bad:

– As mentioned earlier it is Ultra sheer, it only evens my complexion out but hides no imperfections.

– Requires more product (about 3 pumps for me) per application than regular foundation.

– Requires a touch-up after 5 to 6 hours of wear.

Swatched Becca Luminous Color in Cashmere on my hand:

When it is blended out, even at a closer look, you can’t even detect there is a layer of foundation on.

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Being brave once again- exposing my bare face to the world wide web!

The picture below would give you a better idea of how it looks. The side with the Becca Foundation didn’t have any other products on. On a normal day I would wear some under eyes concealer on top of the foundation then I’m good to go.

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I have also been trying different ways to apply this foundation. It is incredibly easy to blend.  I like to use a foundation brush or fingers. I won’t recommend to apply it with the Beauty Blender because it will make it even more sheer! The foundation retails for AUD$68.

Long post, I hope this review will help any of you who are interested in this product.

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Sunday Happiness

May 29, 2011

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Coffee: hand made by my personal barista 😉

Books and Magazines

Scented Candle by NEOM

My dog

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My Favorite Perfumes

May 28, 2011

One of my readers asked me what are my favorite perfumes. It is quite hard for me to pick because my preference for fragrances changes in different seasons – I wear totally different perfumes in winter time to summer time .

In this post I am just going to show my all time favorite classic perfumes. They  have been around for a long time – with a new perfume being released every week I have yet to find any that could replace them. I will always re-buy them if they run out.

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I don’t have a preference for a particular scent,  the ones I picked fall into different categories:

STEP OUT OF SHOWER – does it make sense? I am obsessed with this scent though!

Amazing Grace by Philosophy: My top pick. I love it so much I even bought a roller version of it so I can carry it with me everywhere.

Banana Republic: It is also beautiful, definitely good value for money.

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VANILLA – with a hint of sweet note

They are my “dating” perfumes, the kind of scent guys are attracted to. I use to wear them religiously when I was dating my bf (now hubby) haha. He loves them

Addict by Dior

Armani Code by Giorgio Armani

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CITRUS AND JASMINE

Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana – citrusy, perfect for summer.

Daisy by Marc Jacobs – Jasminey, although it is such a common scent there is something about this one that makes it so appealing to me. I am pretty sure my next perfume purchase will be the Eau So Fresh Daisy by Marc Jacobs

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NEROLI / ORANGE BLOSSOM – I am totally crazy about this scent right now.

Orange Blossom by Jo Malone – the best one in the market! To me  it smells the most pure out of all the orange blossoms in the market.

Neroli by Laura Mercier – this one is not in my all time favorite fragrances list. I don’t like it as much as Jo Malone’s – it is more warm than JM so I reach for this one more in Winter.

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On a side note,  I like to layer Orange Blossom with French Lime Blossom or Nectarine Blossom and Honey by Jo Malone – they combined into the most unique and captivating scent.

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Chanel Le Vernis in Morning Rose from the Summer 2011 Collection is definitely not an ordinary pink once you have it on your nails. It is a universally flattering pink shade with beautiful gold shimmers that would look nice on any skintone.

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Swatch of Chanel Morning Rose – Unlike any other Chanel nail polishes I own, what you see in the bottle is what you see on your nails, the gold shimmers in Morning Rose are noticeable under any lighting. The formulation  is a little bit on the sheer side but it is very smooth and streak free to apply and to layer.  It is swatched with 3 thin coats.

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The good news is..I have found a cheap dupe in my collection! It is the China Glaze in 77004 IV – one of my all time favorite pink nail polish.

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As you can see, the pink tone is very similar, the only difference is the China Glaze has a cream finish without any shimmers.

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Being a self proclaimed foundation addict, I am quite ashamed I have yet done any foundation reviews. So I have set myself a ‘tough’ challenge. I am going to get through the reveiws for all the foundations shown in the picture by the end of June! I am hoping I can do at least 1 foundation review a week.

These are a subset of my foundations collection, they are mainly relatively new or my recent favorites.

Becca Luminous Skin color

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua – ultra light skin perfecting makeup

Dior Extreme Fit – extreme wear flawless makeup

Cle de Peau teint naturel fluide cream foundation

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

Shu Uemura UV Under base Mouse BB Cream

best-foundations-1The rest of my foundations (not in the pic) will be covered in part 2 and 3.

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While many of the makeup lovers are enjoying the newly released Halcyon Days Summer Collection by Becca in the States and UK, Becca has “quietly” launched the Lost Weekend Fall Collection in Australia about a week ago. All products are available online as well as at Beccca stores. The collection is absolutely beautiful – I am once again smitten by how gorgeous the models look in the promo picture of Lost Weekend Collection on Becca’s website.

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The collection is focused on neutral, dusty and earthy shades – right up my alley. Unfortunately the blushes are way too dark for my pale complexion, so I only picked up the limited edition Lost Weekend eyeshadow palette ($65 AUD).

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Comparing my picture to the official promo picture, I think my picture is a more accurate swatch of the product. Except for the eyeshadow in the middle, the two eyeshadows on the sides are more of a mauvey brown  rather than chocolately brown as shown in the promo pic.

A closer look at the eye shadows

From left to right:

Moleskin (Matt): a light beige with a mauve undertone

Chino (Matt): a chocolatey tan

Moire (shimmery): a mauvey light brown with fine silver shimmers

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Swatched on my arm:

The powders are velvety soft and glides on effortlessly to the skin without the need of any eyeshadow primer. For some reason the swatch of  Moleskin (left) and Moire (right) appear quite pink on my arm, this is not the case on my eyes. They definitely show up more brown with just a hint of mauve.

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It is also worth noting that the palette comes with a little blending brush as opposed to the usual shading brush. The hairs feel just as soft as the regular sized becca brushes. Both the shape and the size of  the bristles reminds me of one of my all time favorite blending brush #12 from Nars.

Look how identical they are.

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Bottom Line: I really love this eyeshadow palette – a nice addition to have for the neutral makeup lovers. The swatches on my arm don’t do its justice, I will do a FOTD with this palette sometime in the near future.

FYI: The Halcyon Days Summer Collection is to be launched in Australia in July, and vice versa, the Lost Weekend Fall Collection will be launched in UK and USA around the same time.

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Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Fauve is the eyeshadow I have been reaching for the most ever since I bought it. As I mentioned in my previous review post,  I like to use it as a wash all over the eye socket area, it just really complements my skin tone.  This is a complete FOTD using Fauve pairing with Taupe Grise.

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Eye products used:

1. Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

2. Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Fauve all over the eye socket area as a base and along the lower lash line

3. Bobbi Brown in Taupe along the crease

4. Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Taupe Grise at the outer V and along the outer part of the lower lash line

5. Nars Larger than Life volumising Mascara on the lower lashes

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Princess Lee cross 7 False Eyelashes is used on upper lashes, my holy grail lashes!!

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A closer look at the lashes. Princess Lee looks so natural whilst making your lashes look fuller, people can never tell I wear falsies if it is by princess lee.

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Overall Look:

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Face and Lip Products Used:

Foundation: Maquillage Liquid Lasting UV by Shiseido

Blush: Nars DT

Concealer/Highlighter: Chanel Corrector in10 Beige Rose

Lipstick: YSL Rouge Pur Couture in 06 Rose Bergamasque (reviewed here)

Lipgloss: Stila lip glaze in blushmaquillage-liquid-lasting-uv

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My new boots, Loving it!

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I did a massive clothing haul during this weekend. I have been reading magazines and checking out all the fabulous bloggers for winter fashion which boosted my mood to go shopping! I am one of those girls who like to update my wardrobe every season – just to add a few key pieces of clothing of the season but still classy enough to be worn in the future.  There are still a few key pieces I want to buy such as leather skirt, cashmere sweater, a military jacket..the list goes on and on..

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So here is what I bought so far for this winter, these are the Australian high street brands I always go for ,  they are well made with quality materials.

From their latest arrivals:

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Some pictures of OOTD over the weekend. I wore the new boots for the whole day and they were soooo comfortable.

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French Connection Oversized wool cardigan

Juicy Couture Denim Shorts

Boots by Hype

Bag by Miu Miu

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YSL Arty Ring (reviewed here)

Chloe Sunnies

Witchery Maxi Dress

Marc Blazer

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