September 2014

This fall Tom Ford has released a breathtaking makeup collection that once again was sold out within days of the launch. I picked up the Lip Color in Twist of Fate which is a lovely warm coral color with its matching Contouring Cheek Color Duo Stroked. I bought the Tom Ford’s fall collection online so I went for the coral theme as I just knew this color would work for my complexion without the need to see them in real life.  I haven’t purchased the other set which leans more plum but I will definitely check them out in person once they become available in Australia.

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Twist of Fate is a highly saturated and opaque coral color in satin finish. It has a moisturizing and non slippery texture that will hide the age/lines of your lips with a great lasting power up to 5-6 hours. It’s a beautiful and universal flattering color that is suitable to be worn all year around, but it’s not the most unique color and I am sure you will find close dupes of this if you search for it. So why the hype? Because it is by Tom Ford – the ultimate luxury beauty line that we can’t say NO to! I received emails and comments about ordering Tom Ford from Harvey Nichols through a delivery service, and it was interesting to see how many makeup devotees are willing to go that extra mile for owning them.  So if you still haven’t actioned and thinking to add a coral lipstick to your collection, this one should not be missed!

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Swatch of Twist of Fate – application was done by dabbing the color on using fingers as my preferred method to get a less opaque but more fresh and luminous finish. tom-ford-lip-color-twist-of-fate-swatch-review-fall-2014-collection-2tom-ford-lip-color-twist-of-fate-swatch-review-fall-2014-collection-3Bottom Line – Beautiful and lust-worthy! You can still find it at Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom in the US, or Harrods in the UK.

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What’s on my Wishlist

September 24, 2014

It’s been a busy week for me but I still have time to ‘window shop’ and put together my wishlist for this month!

1. Gucci Makeup!! – I am so excited about the new Gucci makeup line which is the talk of the town at the moment. The packaging speaks for glamour and luxury, and I sense that these following products will be mine very soon after browsing through the entire range over and over again.

– Gucci Lipstick Exposure and Hibiscus Thrill

Gucci Color Shadow Mono

Gucci Nail Lacquer

– Gucci Eyeshadow Quad Crystal Copper and Tuscan Storm

2. La Mer LE Illuminating Powder – The La Mer  loose powder is the best I have ever used (reviewed here) and it’s sad to see that it’s being discontinued. So thrilled to find this  limited edition illuminating powder set that makes me swoon.

3. La Mer Intensive Revitalizing Mask – If you have read my previous skincare posts, you would know that I am a big fan of La Mer. It’s a brand that you either hate, or you love and you will stick to their products for years and years, and I am the latter. I have seen visible and great results from their products, and I always wished for a more ‘affordable’ wash off type mask from La Mer. So my wish has been granted and I am definitely going to get this one! Also available in Australia now – here.

4. Cle de Peau Radiant Fluid foundation – Cle de Peau’s foundation is the crème de la crème for over a decade in the market. Very intrigued by their latest radiant foundation which sounds even better than the previous ones (reviewed here)! FYI Cle de Peau is currently offering a gift with purchase at Nordstrom.

5. Bottega Veneta Knot – Another amazing fragrance from this designer house! Been wearing the sample everyday and I am completely head over heels with the scent. If you love the Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino you would love this one! Fresh, unique and sophisticated.

6. Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar On the Go – The latest Filmstar range is available on NAP now! I particularly love the color combination of this one.

7. Chloe Drew – Last but not least, a fashion item which is the IT bag at the moment that is spotted everywhere at fashion weeks.  I don’t normally crave for soft pink bags but somehow this bag just grows on me day by day. Such a delicate design with beautiful gold hardware that looks tres chic rather than overly cute. Sold out everywhere except here.

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I have been asked by several readers  if I had changed my eye brow routine since my last post. I would say the way I do my eyebrows are still the same but I have found my new holy grail set which is the Elegance Perfect Brow Powder Palette and the Chikuhodo GSN 12 Eyebrow brush.

The Elegance Perfect Brow Powder Palette has always been the best seller in Japan, and is constantly featured in their beauty magazines. What defines a good eyebrow powder is that the color complements your skin tone, good pigmentation and long lasting, and this product ticks all the boxes! I bought it in color GR40 which is a soft brown ashy color that goes really well with my cool skin-tone as well my as my colored hair (ashy blond balayage). It has a tinge of green undertone so it won’t look reddish brown on Asian (yellow) skin. The two shades on the left are for the eye brows, and I normally use the lighter shade for the start of the eye brow and the darker shade for the end of the eye brow, and that way it makes the brows look more natural and less flat. The shade on the right is for nose contouring which is perfection –  it is so subtle but easy to use to see the contouring effect.

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What I love about this product the most is that it is softly pigmented, which means it still applies and defines the eye brow with a tiny amount of the product needed but it will never make your brows look ‘drawn-on’. Lasting power is about 5-6 hours on me before it starts to fade, and that is very similar to my other eye brow products.

Swatch and you can see how they look on my brows in my recent FOTDs.

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The palette comes with 3 mini brushes which are all of high quality. I feel the shape and the quality of bristles are better than those brow brushes from the mainstream European brands.

Of course being a brush addict and snob, I always like to explore other better options, and the Chikuhodo GSN eye brow brush is my recent favorite. The bristles are firm but flexible, and it’s quite thick and dense so it makes the application a lot easier and quicker. Comparing this with my other HG eyebrow brush by Suqqu (reviewed here), they are very different. The Suqqu brush is much smaller, sharper and thinner, so it’s great for defining the brows precisely with brush strokes that mimics the real brow. Whereas the Chikuhodo is great for defining as well as smudging, so it gives a softer finish. In my opinion they are both really good brushes to own for different purposes as the Chikuhodo is more convenient for everyday use and the Suqqu is perfect for creating bold and strong eye brows.

Unfortunately I don’t know where to get the Elegance Eyebrow Palette online. With the Chikuhodo brushes, you can find them at Beautylish or Visage.

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LUXE BOHO

September 17, 2014

This fall I am really into fedora hats and basically any accessories that have fringe or tassel embellishments such as my shoes, so I put together this boho outfit mixing some of my favorite accessories this season with an Anna Sui crochet lace dress. I actually bought this dress as a formal wear last year for my son’s baptism, but that’s what makes me really enjoy fashion in that styling the same piece of clothing with different accessories such as bags and shoes can completely transform the look. Since it was such a sentimental dress for me, I got my boy (who is 13 months now!) to make a cameo in this post lol.

rag-and-bone-hat-toga-pulla-ankle-booties-karen-walker-superduper-ootd-1ag-and-bone-hat-toga-pulla-ankle-booties-karen-walker-superduper-ootd-2ag-and-bone-hat-toga-pulla-ankle-booties-karen-walker-superduper-ootd-3Hats – Rag and Bone (link here)

Shades – Karen Walker (link here)

Dress – Anna Sui (old, similar here by DVF, and here for under $130)

Bag – YSL (link here or here)

Shoes – Toga Pulla (link here)

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I am so excited to show you my recent purchase of the Tom Ford Fall 2014 Collection! After seeing the Tom Ford 2014 Fall makeup reviews and pictures trickling on the internet , I couldn’t wait until November to buy them in Australia. So as soon as I saw the collection available online including the highly coveted Eye Shadow Quad in Nude Dip, I placed my order through ShopandBox which is a parcel forwarding online service company that helps you to shop anything globally (not just from one country). My experience with them has been wonderful. The entire purchase process was simple and quick – I sent them the links where I wanted to purchase and they pretty much placed the order for me within hours after confirmation. The communication has been extremely prompt and friendly so I highly recommend this company if there is any thing you’d like to source that aren’t available in your country!

tom-ford-makeup-2014-fall-collectionI bought all of these at Harvey Nichols through ShopandBox which is the only shop that has Nude Dip online. The Contouring Color Cheek Duo in Stroke and the Lip Color in Twist of Fate can be found at Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus which is currently running a Beauty Event.

 

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Chanel has recently added a new foundation to their Vitalumiere line called Vitalumiere Loose Powder Foundation with Mini Kabuki Brush SPF15 recently. It is a new generation of foundation that looks light loose powder  but gives the result of a fluid foundation without a sign of cakeness and thickness with an excellent coverage. I have splurged on so many foundations in the past months, but I still decided to get this one as it just sounded amazing to me, and I loved every single product I have tried from their Vitalumiere line so I had a strong faith in this product.

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Below is the official product description which I think is pretty accurate:

Product description

“Inside its new “LIGHT BOX,” which holds the secrets of a naturally luminous and even complexion, CHANEL unveils an unprecedented duo. A loose powder foundation and a precious accessory: the MINI KABUKI BRUSH. The surprise: a texture with the evanescence of a loose powder and the smoothing result of a fluid foundation. For a natural second-skin result with no hint of thickness and an amazingly even and smooth skin texture.
-A new generation of high-definition light pigments that makes it possible to capture and diffuse softer light that is more flattering for the complexion.
-Mica powder, which optimises light reflection for a natural satiny effect.
-Canola oil derivative, which improves skin suppleness and provides a sensation of comfort on application and all day long.”
-A sunscreen for SPF 15 protection.”

My thoughts:

Packaging

The foundation is housed in a sturdy and frosted plastic jar, and the design is user-friendly as you can press the brush into the mesh to get the powder to avoid the mess. It comes with a cute mini KABUKI brush, which is made of synthetic bristles and feels very dense and soft. If you are not so fussed with makeup tools, then this brush is good enough for applying the foundation. As for me I prefer other larger brushes that I have in my collection for a quicker application. Having said that, this mini brush is particularly great for working around the small and hard to reach areas.

Color
I always seem to have problems with foundation color matching at the Chanel counters. I am normally BC15-BC20 for Chanel foundations, and I was told that this foundation runs a little lighter than the others so BC20 would look too greyish on me. I went by the SA’s advice who matched me with BC30 which turns out to be a tad darker and more yellow on me. It is still wearable, but if I get to choose again I would have picked my normal BC20 shade. If you are in between a shade, then I would suggest to go for the darker shade.

Surprising that the Vitalumiere Loose Powder appears to be the lightest in this comparison swatch. I think it’s because that the regular liquid foundations are more oqaque and thicker in texture so they look darker when unblended.

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Coverage and Finish

The texture of the powder is extremely finely milled, and once it is applied on to the skin it does transform into a soft and non-powdery airbrushed finish.  I never liked the mineral powder foundation as it just looks heavy and drying on my dry skin, and I can assure you that this one looks very natural and light on skin without enhancing any dry patches and settling into the pores. It gives a semi-satiny finish that is neither dewy nor matte which would be ideal for normal to combo skin, and it also serves as a good base for adding highlighters later on to achieve your desired finish. The coverage is medium to full – it evens out the complexion and covers up mild to moderate imperfections. Lasting power is similar to a liquid foundation and I get 6 to 7 hours wear out of it without oxidization. Last but not least this is the type of foundation that looks better in a more translucent and luminous way after several hours of wear.

Overall

I really like this foundation for a flawless and airbrushed look, but it’s not my holy grail because I have dry skin and I prefer foundation that gives a more dewy and radiant finish. If you have oily normal to combo skin, this foundation will most likely play really well in all seasons without making you look overly matte. As for me this will be reserved for the summer and traveling as it can pretty much be used as a foundation as well as setting powder.

The Chanel Vitalumiere Loose Powder Foundation is available here and here with international shipping available, and there will be a 15% VAT deduction at the final checkout at Harrods for orders outside of Europe.

 

 

 

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The Charlotte Tilbury  Filmstar Bronze and Glow Face Sculpt and Highlighter is the most highly raved product of her line and I am so glad that I bought it while it was still in stock as it completely lived up to my expectations. It is a very beautiful and harmonious highlighter and bronzer that would look great on various skin tones.

Both the bronzer and the highlighter feel very high quality – the powder is very finely milled, and it feels velvety soft and they apply silky smooth and easy to blend seamlessly.  The pigmentation is on the higher spectrum for me, so I have to use a very soft and fluffy brush to apply this product for a soft and subtle effect. The brush featured in the below picture is the CHIKUHODO GSN G2 that I highly recommend for a fool-proof contouring and highlighting application.

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The bronzer is a neutral warm medium brown with micro shimmer that doesn’t look visible on the skin. I apply this product very light-handed under my cheekbones for a subtle contouring effect. As an Asian with fair skin tone (NC15-20) I don’t normally wear shimmery bronzers as a lot of them just look odd on my complexion (trust me I have tried a few and the feedback I received from friends were just hilarious!), whereas this one blends in with my natural skin tone very well, as it gives me a healthy glow look rather than “your tan went wrong” look.

The highlighter is just exceptionally beautiful. The shade is a pearly gold neutral champagne color (neither too warm nor too pink) with quite visible but refined shimmer on the skin (not frosty and glittery).  A little bit of this goes a long way and this is by far the most long lasting highlighter I have ever come across. Applying this product light-handed gives me a “supermodel glow” that looks more intense than what I would normally achieve with my regular highlighters that were made for a subtle brightening effect. This is a perfect product for highlighting the cheekbones for a more lifted and modelesque effect.

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You can find the Filmstar Bronze and Glow online at Nordstrom or Net-A-Porter worldwide.

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The Two Good Scents Sugar Body Scrubs are as delicious as they sound. I was recently contacted by the founder of this product line who started these scrubs because they wanted to have all of their favorite scents in a sugar scrub. I am all about supporting small businesses so I decided to pick two scents to give them a try.

 

The scent that first caught my attention was the Amazing. It is a pink sugar scrub in a white musk and pink rose blend with citrus and spice. It has such a clean and fresh (not so sweet and overpowering) feminine scent that smells like you just stepped out of the shower. I love wearing the Philosophy Amazing fragrance, and this is a scrub that smells very close to it. The scrub is made of very refined sugar with loads of other moisturizing ingredients, and it does a good job as a body scrub without feeling overly abrasive, and they leave the skin smooth and soft.

My second pick is the Rice Flowers and Shea – it’s softly scented rice flower blended with shea butter. I love shea butter for its super moisturizing and soothing properties, and the rice flower just sounds so delicious and organic to me! It’s another really lovely and affordable body scrub that helps you to wind down the stress while you are in the shower.

More information on the Two Good Scents Sugar Scrubs can be found here.

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