June 2012

The Guerlain by Emillio Pucci Meteorites Pearls d’Azur Illuminating Powder is one of the few makeups I bought from the many summer 2012 collections. I have been very selective with makeup this year (proud of that!) and promised myself that I would only buy items that I will use frequently rather than for the sake of “collecting them”. So the limited edition Meteorites Powder is one of them.

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The Meteorites Powder has been a cult product in the beauty industry for as long as I can remember. Guerlain clearly knows how to take advantage of its cult status so every year they release a limited edition version of it with a slightly different color in a different packaging. I initially wanted to pass on it as I already had a couple of them from previous collections. But I caved in for its Pucci packaging (I’m sure many of you did it for the same reason!)

I am not going to swatch each individual color of pearls – there are plenty of them online, and they all end up looking pretty transparent on the face anyway. The Meteorites Pearls d’Azur Illuminating Powder contains blue and pink pearls to counter the yellow tones, and beige and orange pearls to warm up the complexion, and ivory and light-gold reflectors for an illuminating effect. On my NC15-20 complexion, it applies completely translucent with a brightening and soft focus effect. It is my go-to product whenever I feel my complexion looks dull and flat, as it adds a beautiful natural radiance and makes it look like your-skin-but-better. I normally use it to replace loose powder to set my makeup, and it keeps my makeup shine free and look fresh for the whole day. Last but not least, the dreamy luxurious feel of the Meteorites Powder never fails to cheer me up in the morning!

Bottom Line: Totally worth buying if you are after a setting powder that makes your complexion naturally radiant.

The Guerlain by Emillio Pucci Meteorites Pearls d’Azur Illuminating Powder retails for $130 in Australia! As usual it is half the price to get it in the US.  If you are “unfortunate” enough to live in a country with an exorbitant markup on cosmetics like Australia, Harrods ship makeup internationally! (except fragrances and Tom Ford) And best of all, if you live outside the EURO zone, you don’t have pay to the 15%VAT at Harrods 🙂

 

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Hi everyone, I did a brief preview of the Chanel Bombay Express Makeup Collection about a week ago. And I felt my pictures did not  do much justice for the collection, as they were all placed inside a glass box at a dark corner so there wasn’t enough light. Anyhow as I was doing my random Friday night shopping today, the testers of Chanel Le Vernis DIWALI and Des Indes De Chanel Illuminating Powder were out. If I have ever stupidly said I did not like the look of Chanel Le Vernis DIWALI in my previews post, then I take my words back! It is absolutely gorgeous!!I thought the color still looks quite gold from the bottle, but when swatched on the nails, it shows up as a beautiful gold and silver duo chrome with a beige undertone. It is totally to die for, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it when it is on sale!

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My nails were painted with Chanel Morning Rose, so I had to swatch DIWALI on my friend 🙂

2 coats of Chanel Le Vernis DIWALI

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chanel-le-vernis-diwali-swatch-2My thoughts for Route Des Indes De Chanel Illuminating Powder remains the same. It is a little too gold as a highlighter for my complexion, but the texture felt extremely luxurious and buttery soft.

Swatch of Route Des Indes De Chanel Illuminating Powder

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What do you think girls? Will this change your mind?

 

 

 

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NEW IN: Rag & Bone

June 27, 2012

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I am a blazer junkie, I have them in every color of the rainbow. The Rag & Bone Sliver Blazer (bought here) is the latest addition to my family. This is also my first Rag and Bone piece – this brand has been on my radar for a long time as I love anything that is classic, effortless with a modern and sporty spin. The tailor of this blazer is perfection, it fits me so well and it looks timeless with an edge. LOVE IT!

 

 

 

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I withdrew from MAC a long time ago unless something spectacular came up. When Elaine sent me a picture of MAC Crew Highlight Powder from the HEY, SAILOR! COLOR Collection at 1 am, I was instantly mesmerized by the fact it comes with three of my all time favorite shades of pink, lavender and peach all in one, so there was no way I was going to miss out on it! I literally rushed to MAC in Myer the next day only to find that it was sold out within days after  being released, but luckily enough I got hold of it from DJ.

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MAC Crew is a beauty powder. MAC always describe them as a highlight powder, but I find most of the beauty powders can be used as blushes for my skin tone as I always prefer softly pigmented blushes more than opaque. The pearly white base color has micro shimmer in it, and each individual pastel color is very pigmented. When swirling together, it blends into a soft petal pink that also adds a soft glow to your complexion. I don’t have a huge collection of MAC makeup, but compared to what I have, I find that the texture is better as it feels more creamy and finely milled. On my NC15-20 skin tone, it applies and blends with a breeze. The lasting power is above average – 5 to 6 hours on me during winter.

mac-crew-highlight-powder-hey-sailor-color-swatchOn me:

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Bottom Line: You need this one in your life if you like pastel pink blush.

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I’ve been searching for a set of perfect bangles for the longest time – it may sound quite a simple task as they are sold almost everywhere, but I am picky. I don’t want anything that looks too cheap, while on the other hand I am a little reluctant to fork out on some bangles that would cost me an arm and a leg (of course if I had the endless cash to spare, I wouldn’t mind having an armful of Cartier love bangles). Right now the CC Skye Lyrics Bangles (bought here) are just perfect for me, you know you picked something uber cool when you receive tons of compliments on it 🙂

 

Hope you all have a good weekend!

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The Chanel Bombay Express Makeup 2012 Collection is on display in Sydney now, and they will be on sale from the start of July. I took some iphone pictures for you (please excuse the quality). For those of you who have seen the promo picture, the Chanel le Vernis DIWALI looks nothing like it in real life.

From left to right: Route Des Indes De Chanel Illuminating powder with shimmer, Le Vernis in DIWALI, Rouge Coco Shine in EMPREINTE 473

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Promo Pic

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This picture is taken with flash, so it looks more sparkly and glittery than in real life.Route-Des-Indes-De-Chanel-Illumating-powder-with-shimmer

 

The highlighter is gorgeous, but I think I will give it a pass as I am not a gold highlighter person. And it looks similar to the Chane JC in OR from the Byzance Collection.

I was looking forward to Le Vernis DIWALI the most, however after seeing it in person my gut feeling tells me that it will pull too muddy on me. So I might take this off my shopping list as well. (Yay for my wallet!).

So what do you think? Is there anything in particular you have set your eyes on?!

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Chanel always excels in base makeup, and I personally enjoyed every base product I have used from them. When the new Light Mastering Whitening Concealer was released from the Chanel Le Blanc 2012 Collection, I immediately knew I wanted to have it. Thanks to the lovely Jen who helped me purchase it from Hong Kong as the collection is not available in Australia.

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If you happened to have read this post, you will know I have quite an unnecessary amount of concealers, and I would say the Chanel Light Mastering Whitening Concealer definitely tops my favorites list.  The texture is the winner for me. It has an airy and creamy moussy texture that goes on smoothly and feels very lightweight and natural on the skin.  Two teeniest dabs of it is enough to conceal my mild dark circles completely and softly brightens my skin by about half a shade. I normally like to use the Becca extra small polishing brush (reviewed here) for application and it gives a natural yet flawless and luminous result. Once the concealer is settled, it dries down to a semi-matte finish with a hint of dewiness that is just needed for concealing and illuminating purposes. It doesn’t settle into any fine lines nor does it require any setting powder, and it doesn’t slip throughout the day.

It also has SPF30+ and  PA+++ which is an added bonus for those of you who are very cautious with sun protection. I bought the shade in 10 Beige Clair which has a neutral undertone, and it works excellent with my skin.

Bottom Line: If you are after a concealer and a highlighter all-in-one product, and you have mild to moderate discoloration/pigmentation, I highly recommend this product!

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Mascara is one makeup item that I am consistently impressed by with drugstore brands, and disappointed by high end makeup brands on many occasions. I have been using the Chanel Inimitable Mascara, YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils Mascara and the Maybelline the Falsies Volume Express Mascara Waterproof for the past two months. In summary, I am kicking myself that I spent a total of more than AUD$100 on Chanel and YSL mascaras, whereas the performance of Maybelline Falsies totally blows the former two out of water and only costs a faction.

Let’s begin with the one I am least impressed – Chanel Inimitable Mascara

For my medium length and volume, and deadly straight Asian lashes, this mascara did absolutely nothing to my lashes. It doesn’t add any volume and length to my lashes after several coats, and it instantly makes my lashes straight again after I curl them. On a good note, the formula is very thin so it defines the lashes beautifully without any clump. And it doesn’t budge on me for the whole day. Overall it is a very natural mascara, would be great for those of you who are blessed with thick and full lashes naturally. But it’s a waste for me.

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Moving on to the YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils Mascara which I really wanted to love..but it didn’t fully agree with my lashes either

I had tried this mascara a long time ago, so I couldn’t remember how I felt about it and got persuaded into buying it again when the YSL SA swore by it. It makes the lashes instantly thicker, fuller and more black with one coat. You can achieve a more dramatic result with 2 – 3 coats without any clumps. Unfortunately it weights my lashes down instantly as the formula is quite thick and heavy. The walk-around is to apply a coat of mascara base (my HG is the Kate mascara base) to hold the curl, then apply this mascara on top of it, but it can make the lashes look too thick and clumpy. It also dries up very fast – I opened the three mascaras around the same time and the YSL mascara is already 90% dried whilst the other two are still going strong. I would love this mascara if a waterproof version of it was released.

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Maybelline the Falsies Volume Express Mascara Waterproof is the cheapest and The BEST!!

It does everything I wanted from a mascara. It only takes one coat to volumize and lengthen the lashes, and holds the curl all day long.  I have previously raved about the Japanese drugstore mascaras, but this one is just as good or even better. Unlike some waterproof versions which tend to make my lashes stiff, the Maybelline Falsies feels light and soft and make the lashes look like feather. It can also be easily removed with most two-phase eye makeup remover. Best of all – it’s dirt cheap. I will keep buying it as long as it’s available!

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Do you like Maybelline mascaras? There are so many Maybelline mascaras in the market…are there others that you would recommend?

 

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