December 2015

My ultimate holidays gift guide for all budgets that guarantees to make everyone smile – just gift me anything on my list and I will definitely be thrilled!

FOR MUMS

1. Slip Beauty Sleep Pure Silk Pillow Case – I want one too!

2. Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Gift Set – Highly recommend this ultimate luxurious anti-aging value pack for our mums

3. GHD Styler Limited Edition

4. Deborah Lippman Cuticle Set

5. Parlux Hair Dryer – Been using Parlux hairdryers for years, and it’s absolutely the best in the market. Will never go back to other brands!

6. Chanel Mini Brush Set LE – Classy, stylish and practical

FOR HER

1. MAC Finest Eyeshadow Palette – It’s only $86 for $160 worth of products

2. Tom Ford Lip Color Set – A great set that contains 4 best seller shades including Spanish Pink; Pink Dusk; Blush Nude and Casablanca

3. UD xGwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette LE

4. ChanLuu Cashmere and Silk Blend scarf – Love the color and feel of this scarf

5. L’Oreal Steampod – Thumbs up the best hair styling tool that straightens and conditions your hair at the same time! And love the white edition. (reviewed here)

6. PRADA Nylon Cosmetic Case – Reasonable priced for a Prada accessory, and it’s a fantastic practical cosmetic pouch that is roomy, light, ultra durable and washable.

7. Larsson & Jennings CM Rose Gold watch

8. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette – The best palette ever released from Hourglass

9. RabLabs Snowy Coasters – Marble is the new black for the stylish girls

10. Clarisonic Cleansing System LE – A life changer for cleansing (reviewed here)

11. Steven Klein for Nars Luxury lip set – Drooling over this set

12. Diptyque Candle Trio LE – I have an obsession with Diptyque candles, and especially the limited editions sets around the holidays season.

 

 

 

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It has been a busy week for me with lots of social gatherings and functions so the delay in posting a review for the Tom Ford Lips and Boys Lip Color collection. Tom Ford has released the collection again for this holiday, and this is delightful news for anyone who missed out on the first release last year. Unfortunately the same goes for the second round, as most of the popular shades were snatched up within hours in Australia.  I managed to get hold of some of the colors I had on my wishlist from Selfridges. This review I will be covering Patrick, Michael and Rafael as they are in the pink and red range. For the next review I will show the nude colors.

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-patrick-rafael-michael-swatch-review

Left to Right: Patrick; Rafael; Michaeltom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-patrick-rafael-michael-swatch-review-2

Tom Ford lipsticks are truly the cream de la cream of lipsticks, and the mini sized lip colors are just as good as the full size ones. I have done many detail reviews in the past, and in summary it is almost impossible for you not to like them!

Patrick is a bright milky peachy pink with no shimmer. It is a young and pretty shade, but slightly challenging for me to pull it off.

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-patrick-swatch-reviewLip Swatch for Patrick

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-patrick-swatch-review-1

FOTD

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-patrick-swatch-review-fotd

Michael is an extremely popular shade. It is a fool proof neutral pink shade in a semi-satin finish that would look lovely on most complexions. It has tiny shimmer in the tube, but they can’t be seen once applied. This is absolutely one of my favorite shades from the range which needs a backup!

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-michael-swatch-reviewLip Swatch of Michael

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-michael-swatch-review-1

FOTD – I was doing lots of lip swatches on the day, and the FOTD for Michael was taken last after other colors so the color is not as accurate as the above lip swatch as they were taken on different days!

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-michael-swatch-review-2

Rafael is a fiery orange red shade in cream finish, and it looks more stunning on the lips than what it looks in the tube. On me it shows up more of a warm red that just instantly brightens up my complexion. Another favorite shade for me!

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-rafael-swatch-reviewLip Swatch of Rafael

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-rafael-swatch-review-1FOTD

tom-ford-lips-and-boys-color-rafael-swatch-review-fotdOther products used in the FOTD include

Base: Chanel Illuminating Makeup Base; MUFE Ultra HD foundation (reviewed here), 3CE Waterful Concealer (best drugstore concealer ever used – reviewed here)

Eyes: Suqqu Eye Shadow EX03 from the 2015 Christmas Kit A (reviewed here), Chanel Le Volume waterproof mascara; Inglot brow gel

Cheeks: Bobbi Brown blush in pale pink (swatched in this post) using Hakuhodo blush brush

You can find all the shades in the TOM FORD Lips&Boys on Nordstrom Online, as well as on NAP in the US. I bought mine from Selfridges which ship internationally, and all the colors were available at the time I was shopping. There are still some colors left on David Jones Online in Australia as of now.

 

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I have a weakness for the limited edition holiday makeup sets, particularly from Suqqu. Thanks to Selfridges who made access to Suqqu much easier world wide, I got hold of the two LE Suqqu Christmas Makeup Kit A & B 2015 as soon as they became available online. Each set contains a trio eye shadow palette, a deep blue gel eyeliner (Ex02) that applies almost black on me,  an eye makeup remover and a well-made tweed makeup pouch. This review is for the two eye shadow palettes only.

suqqu-christmas-collection-makeup-kit-2015-review-swatch

Every time I tell myself I don’t need anymore eye shadows, here it comes another release of some irresistible new eye shadows that I may or may not have in my stash. This time around I totally fell in love with the unique design of these palettes – love the color combinations, and can’t get over how beautiful they look in the marbled tweed texture. The quality of these eye shadows are on the same premium level as the other Suqqu eye shadows. Buttery soft to the touch, smooth to apply with no fallout and the pigmentation is actually quite intense (more than Dior and Chanel quads) by Japanese standards.

suqqu-christmas-collection-makeup-kit-A-B-2015-review-swatch

Kit A contains the Suqqu Eye Color Palette in EX-03  Aosaori that is my favorite of the two. The shades lean more neutral, and the colors are versatile enough to use for either a daytime look or smokey eye makeup. Though this palette is designed for layering all 3 colors together, I personally find that they can look too warm and a little muddy on me when layering all 3 shades. My preferred way of application for a soft look is just to apply a wash of the bronze color over the lid, and gently tap the gold shade above the crease, or in the center, then line the eyes with the darkest shade.suqqu-christmas-collection-makeup-kit-A-2015-review-swatch

Shade description

Top: sparkly gold with an extremely finely milled texture and feels creamy and silky to the touch.

Middle: shimmery warm bronze color with a  gold undertone

Bottom: shimmery dark midnight blue with a hint of purple

Swatch

suqqu-christmas-collection-makeup-kit-A-2015-review-swatch-1

Kit B contains the Suqqu Eye Color Palette Ex-04 Shisouori which is a combination of shimmery pink and purples. The colors are obviously more feminine and girly and would look stand out on blue and green eyes. On me I need to make the color appear more smokey (almost like a dusty rosey plummy pink) to make it work.  These are not my everyday go-to colors, but they are unique to my stash, and are fun to use as I need to be more creative, and experiment with new ways of applying these colors for different looks that are different to the neutrals.suqqu-christmas-collection-makeup-kit-B-2015-review-swatchShade description

Top: Sparkly icy pink

Middle: shimmery lavender pink

Bottom: shimmery dark plummy color

Swatch:

suqqu-christmas-collection-makeup-kit-B-2015-review-swatch-1

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