June 2016

I have lots of weaknesses – one of the biggest has to be collecting all the beautifully designed highlight powders. I am a big fan of highlighting, and whenever I come across a product that suits my complexion color, I have to own it. Reviewing the latest MAC Gleamtones Powder in Dunes at Dusk (LE) from the Vibe Tribe collection which did take me some effort to acquire, as it is all sold out at major MAC counters in Sydney.

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Dunes at Dusk is a multi-color bronzing and highlighting powder in one pan. Love the motif design, and it contains four harmonious block of shades in soft shimmer finish. The texture is better than the permanent MAC powder – it feels more creamy and moist with a velvety touch to it, and it can be easily picked up by a soft bristle brush. All of the colors go on sheer as they are meant for a soft illuminating finish. You can apply the colors individually, and personally I prefer to swirl the colors together for application.

It gives a beautiful translucent and polished sheer veil of lit-within-glow to the complexion. When all colors are mixed, it has a very subtle tint to it, but it applies nearly colorless with in a hint of pink using a brush. It looks neither too warm nor too frosty on my face, which is hard to find for my NC15-20 cool toned complexion color.

mac-gleamtones-powder-dunes-at-dusk-vibe-tribe-review-swatchSwatch & Color Description (clockwise)

Shimmery golden peach

Shimmery lilac

Shimmery dusty mauve (also makes a great eyeshadow color)

Shimmery champagne  (great for the eyes as well)

mac-gleamtones-powder-dunes-at-dusk-vibe-tribe-review-swatch-3On me: Just a quick phone snap showing the MAC Gleamtones applied on the top of my cheekbones

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The Chantecaille Bio Lifting Serum is an oldie but goodie. It’s such a classic prestige skincare product from Chantecaille that has been around for many years, and has never been reformulated as it just works, and people always go back to it. This is my second bottle, and it will always be a staple in my skincare regime to fight against gravity!

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The Bio Lifting Serum is a powerful anti aging serum for skin regeneration, collagen rebuilding and promotes skin density and firmness visibly. It definitely sounds like a magic potion to those of you who are seeing the loss of volume and collagen in your face as you age. This is probably my biggest fear for aging – I can live with fine lines and pigmentation, whereas as soon as your cheeks drop and lose the plumpness, this is the first sign that gives away your ‘real age’.

On average, women start to lose collagen from the age of 28, and I always think this is a good age point where you need to start investing in some serious skincare products for prevention as well as correction purposes. Most prestige skincare products target at the age group of 40+, but why wait until then when you can resort to some powerful products now to slow down the breakdown of collagen, that help to maintain the skin firmness and contour at its optimum state?

I have personally used a lot of luxury skin lifting products, and the reason I like the Chantecaille the most is because it delivers an instant result for lifting. For  such an expensive product, it’s always good to see a visible immediate result.  With this serum, it gives a slight taut feeling to the skin upon application. Instantly my complexion appears more lifted and the contour appears more defined, and the skin also feel more firm.  Best of all, the serum is lightweight enough to be applied around the eye areas, which also gives a lifting effect that makes your eyes appear less tired.

As with all Chantecaille products, this serum is hand made in France, mainly based on botanical ingredients and is paraben free. It has a patented active complex of peptides, rose stem cells, hyaluronic acid for a powerful anti-aging product. Apart from the outstanding lifting effect, this serum also delivers long lasting hydration. In an air conditioned environment, for my dry skin this serum keeps my skin hydrated and supple for the whole day. The consistency is light, but concentrated and 2 drops are sufficient for the entire face and neck. It spreads smoothly, smells like fresh roses, and completely absorbs into the skin, and also helps the makeup to glide on beautifully.

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The Chantecaille Bio Lifting Serum is available at Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus in the US, and NAP worldwide.

 

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The All Year Round Dress

June 17, 2016

Mix/Match or Dress? I am definitely a dress girl for the rushed mornings! Every season I’d like to add a few timeless pieces into my closet. My favorite go-to dress lately is this military inspired SMYTHE Tunic Dress, I love the effortless vibe of this dress – anything that makes me look like I haven’t tried too hard is a winner for me. It is such a versatile dress that I have worn in warm days with a pair of tanned colored sandals (as styled here and here), as well as in the colder days with a pair of booties. In this OOTD, I had the Stuart Weitzman Mitten booties on (the most comfortable booties I have ever owned!), and it also looks great with thigh high suede booties. As with all SMYTHE clothing, the fabric is beautiful – it’s neither too thin or nor too stiff. The lace up collar adds an updated  fashion spin to this simple dress.

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hermes-constance-etain-bag-stuart-weitzman-mitten-booties-anthracite-ootd-2Dress – SMYTHE

Bag – Hermes Constance Etain

Shoes – Stuart Weitzman Mitten color Anthracite (bought here, there are other colors in black, tan and beige available here and here)

Shades – Karen Walker in black

Necklace – Jennifer Zeuner

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Believe it or not, Tom Ford Soleil Color is the only 2016 summer collection that I picked up this year! (yep I skipped the Chanel..and many others) Normally summer collection involves lots of bright colors and bronzers which are not of my best interest, so for me it’s the easiest season that I can save my money from lol! With the exception of the always breathtaking release from Tom Ford. I managed to pick up some highly popular items including two beautiful face palettes – the Contouring Compact (limited edition) and Bicoastal Sheer Cheek Duo, and one lip color in Les Mepris on the first day of release. The entire collection is available on David Jones Online in Australia.

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The Soleil Contouring Compact in The Afternooner is beyond gorgeous. If you own the Illuminating Powder Duo (reviewed here), you will love this palette too, as it includes a highlighter and a bronzer that are just as gorgeous as the duos, with an additional blush that makes this palette very versatile and practical to use. I won’t go into the details of the quality in this post, as they are always consistent with Tom Ford’s items from the past and permanent collections which I have reviewed many times. Overall Tom Ford is known for their cream-like powder based makeup with an ultra buttery and smooth texture for an effortless application.

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Color description:

Highlighter: A soft nude shimmer highlighter with a pale gold undertone. On the swatch it leans slightly warm. However on my cool toned NC15 complexion, I am glad that it doesn’t pull too warm on me as some other golden highlighters do. I normally apply a sheer layer on top of the cheekbone, and it goes on translucent and gives a beautiful natural looking glow.

Blush: A semi-matte coral pink blush that gives a pretty flush of color and looks flattering on any skin tones.

Bronzer: A semi-matte sable brown color that compliments my skin-tone. It particularly goes well with the blush and highlighter – when all three colors are applied, they give a harmonious and sophisticated finish. The bronzer looks great for contouring the cheekbone, or dust a little all over the face for a bit of sun-kissed look. The color is too warm for my complexion as a real contouring product for the jaws and nose.

Swatch

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The Tom Ford Bicoastal Sheer Cheek Duo is another palette not to be missed from the collection! It’s my kind of blush color that I can wear all year around. It has the two prettiest shades of pink in different finishes housed in the signature TF white and gold compact. On the top is a baby peachy pink shimmer highlighter. The blush at the bottom is a semi-matte rosy pink. I like to mix the two colors together for a natural and pretty glowy effect . Both colors go on sheer, so I prefer to use a dense powder blush for application, and they can be easily build up to a more vibrant finish.

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tom-ford-bicoastal-sheer-cheek-duo-review-swatch-1Group Swatch

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Tom Ford released two sets of lip color collections in this release. I passed on the entire Moisturecore Lip Colors as I just did not like the finish on me. With the white tube Ultra Rich Lip Color, I have an eternal affinity with them. They are beautifully packaged, feel luxurious with a creamy and silky formula. I only picked up the color Les Mepris so far, but in the back of my mind I kept on thinking about Purple Noon and Revolve Around Me which are more edgy colors. Les Mepris is a go-to pretty pink coral color that is universally flattering for all complexions. It goes well with any makeup look, and it instantly brightens up my complexion for a youthful appeal.

tom-ford-ultra-rich-lip-color-les-mepris-review-swatchSharing some of my FOTDs wearing the Soleil Compact with all three colors applied and Lip Color Les Mepris.

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Finally posting a review for the much raved Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) Le Cushion Foundation Encre De Peau Fusion Ink.  Cushion foundation has been around in Asia for years and it finally got picked up in the west, as we are seeing waves of western beauty brands such YSL, Bobbi Brown, Clinique etc  launching their versions. One thing to note is that the YSL Cushion is made in Korea, but both the packaging and formula is much better than what you can find from most local Korean brands. I have been using it everyday for weeks and I am very convinced that I will re-purchase this over and over!

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The YSL Fusion Ink Cushion Foundation is Asia Exclusive, and is also available in Australia which retails for $88  including the case, and you can also purchase the refill individually for $57. If you want to skimp you can purchase the refill only and fit it into other cushion compacts (not all compacts fit so you need to do a bit of research). But I highly recommend you not to miss this gorgeous black and gold case! Different to a normal bottled foundation, cushion foundation will start to dry out over 6 months as it is not completely vacuumed, so it’s best to use the product within several months after opening. I also find that a standard sized cushion foundation lasts about 2 month of daily use, as opposed to a bottle foundation which normally last me years. A tip for you is that you can flip the cushion to get more product out from the other side.

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Ever since I posted a picture of this foundation on my Instagram, I received a lot of questions about how is this different to the other cushion foundations on the market.

– Most cushion foundations I have used have a very diluted opacity with sheer coverage. The YSL has a more creamy and opaque consistency that offers sheer to medium coverage with a weightless feel. This is a true foundation with coverage that is on par with any sheer to medium liquid foundation – it covers up pores and mild imperfections, and evens out skin tone beautifully.

– A little product goes a long way, as I only need to gently dab the applicator onto the cushion, and it is enough to do half of the face. For application, the enclosed flat sponge is still the best tool for applying cushion foundation, as it is designed for patting it into the skin for the most natural and seamless finish (don’t blend!). I’ve tried applying it with different foundation brushes and rectangle sponges but the results were not the same.

– Most cushion foundation gives a very dewy finish and is more suitable for normal to dry skin. The YSL also feels hydrating and fresh, but gives a creamy semi-matte finish with a soft glow that doesn’t look artificial. It makes the complexion look very clean, and this formula also works better for people with normal to oily skin as it does not crease as easily as with other more dewy formulas. I have normal to dry skin, without the loose powder and this foundation will hold for 4-5 hours. I normally dust a little powder just over my t-zone and the foundation lasts a whole day with a little oil coming through in an indoor environment. No oxidation as well!

– Also loving the fact it has SPF 23 and PA+++

lots of product from a gentle dab

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The only flaw with the foundation is that the sponge applicator is not the softest.

I bought the foundation in shade 10 which is the brightest shade. It has mostly a neutral undertone with tiny a hint of pink. I am normally MAC NC15, YSL B20, and this shade runs true to its color as it is a tad brighter than the B20 range in YSL foundations. On me there is a slight brightening effect for my NC15 complexion, but it’s not making me look pale.

Here is a swatch comparison with YSL Touche Eclat Foundation in BR20 (the old formula – reviewed here), YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation in B20 (reviewed here), and Sulwhasoo Cushion Foundation in shade 21 (reviewed here).

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Sharing some of my favorite skincare products of late. I go through lots of products at the same time, and once in a while, I like to do a round-up post on some of the products that I enjoy using.

NARs Multi Action Hydrating Toner – A lovely hydrating and refreshing toner in watery gel consistency, with some brightening properties that help to combat the formation of pigmentation. I bought the toner because I really like its sleek and minimum packaging, and its’ reasonably priced for such a large bottle. I enjoy using it in hot weather when my skin is not so dry, and it feels refreshing, lightweight and it mildly hydrates the skin. It also helps to clarify and deep clean the pores – If I apply this toner with a cotton pad even after washing my face with cleansers, sometimes there is still dirt and makeup residues left on the pad. It reminds me of the famous Clinique Clarifying Toner, but this is an alcohol free, and a much gentler and hydrating version of it.

Jan Marini Age Intervention Retinol Plus: I was a little skeptical about introducing retinol into my regime. My dermatologist highly recommended me to incorporate this 0.5% retinol serum nightly to start with, after I complained that I noticed some pores on my face becoming raindrop shaped which is clearly a sign of aging. I finally started using it about a month ago, and all I can say is what have I been missing out on all these years!! It has made a huge difference to my skin texture, as it truly visibly refines the pores over a period of one week. My complexion is looking more even, refined and the pores are more cleared, which in a way has improved the appearance of the pores. Retinol is also great for anti-aging, so if you start to see fine lines this is also a great product to consider. Not much firming and lifting effect from using it. Next on my to-try list will be the Chantecaillie Retinol Intense +.

Sulwhasoo Activating Serum:  Reviewed here! Love this super hydrating and soothing serum which also helps to boost the benefits of other skincare products. The high concentration of ginseng also helps with blood circulation for a more youthful and radiant complexion.

Chanel Sublimage Regenerating Mask: As the mercury is dropping drastically in Australia, I am starting to appreciate this ultra nourishing mask more and more. You can see my full review here. In short, it’s a lovely luxury ultra moisturizing mask with anti-aging and regeneration benefits. It’s particularly great for those who are seeking the convenience of just using one product overnight (as a sleeping mask), and it gives you radiant, fully re-charged skin the next day.

Chantecaille Fruit and Acids Mask: This is an oldie but goodie which I really like to use once a week for exfoliating, clarifying the skin for a clearer complexion. It contains grapefruit and flower acids which help to take off the dead skin cells and re-texturises. It’s very gentle, and the result is instant to a brighter, more even-toned, radiant complexion after one use.

Fresh Youth Preserve Serum: Last but not least, I can’t believe this lovely serum from Fresh is discontinued. It’s hydrating, lightweight and is absorbed into the skin immediately. Just a really lovely serum to use in the morning, and helps the makeup go on nicely. And the best thing about it is that it smells exactly like the Fresh Soy Cleanser – like heaven! I’m addicted to the smell of all Fresh skincare products!

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