October 2016

Sweater Dress

October 29, 2016

The weather is so beautiful today so I decided to wear my new dress from SACAI which is perfect for the Spring and Fall. Love the sweater fabric for an effortless vibe, and the much up-to-date flared sleeves. It’s easy to pull on and looks great for dressing up or down. Pairing the dress with this perfect pair of chelsea boots from Acne Studios.

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Dress – SACAI

Shoes – Acne Studios (available here and here internationally)

Bag- Hermes Kelly

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Here is a quick rundown on some of my favorite products from my current skincare regime. Overall I am very pleased with the results, as my skin has been looking radiant and clear with a natural glow from within all the time – like I have had 8 hours of sleep every day! The texture is smooth and supple which also makes the makeup look and sit better on my skin.

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1. Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Refining Cleansing Oil – It’s very easy and quick to remove the most stubborn and waterproof makeup thoroughly with this oil, without feeling rich and greasy on the skin. Reviewed here.

2. SKII Facial Treatment Essence (bought here in Australia) – One of my holy grails as the first step after cleansing. Been using it on and off over the past ten years, and the formula is great for all skin types, as well as all year around.

3. Chanel Le Lift Serum and Cream – Effectively and noticeably firm, and lift the skin. It gives a more lifted contour and reduces morning puffiness. Loving the range and will post a full review soon.

4. La Mer The Concentrate – Miracle in a bottle. It significantly reduces the appearance scarring, and repairs and rejuvenates the skin rapidly!

5. Creme de La Mer Moisturizing Cream –  Holy grail moisturizer that I have been using over a decade! I go for the original cream formula in winter and prefer the new soft formula during the summer time.

6. La Mer Reparative Face Sun Lotion SPF30 – My favorite morning lightweight sunscreen that I use as my morning moisturizer. It has the same luxury smooth texture as a moisturizer that makes the skin super soft and supple without the sunscreen grease.

7. Le Weekend De Chanel – Really like the one-step skincare system from Chanel, particularly from a busy mommy perspective. I use this product in place of all other products every weekend. It is packed with glycolic acid complex so it is great for exfoliating, detoxifying the skin for a more clear and smooth complexion.

8. Philosophy Microdelivery Overnight Peel – Whenever I feel that my skin is starting to feel ‘rough’ and the makeup looks like it’s just sitting on top of the skin, I use the peel and it removes the dead skin cells and reveals new skin with finer texture. Reviewed here.

9.GLAMGLOW YouthMud – Another great deep cleanse mask for unclogging the pores, boosting radiance and smoothing out the skin. This gives you a ‘facial-like’ result that transforms the luminosity of your skin after only one use.

 

 

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Hoping everyone had a good weekend. I happened to have some spare time, so I took the opportunity and made a tutorial. I have always been asked by my readers to post more tutorials on the blog, so today I wanted to share my current favorite way of wearing the brown lips. I adore the brown lip color which is trending everywhere now, but if you find that the color is too retro and grown-up for you, then I think mixing it with a soft peach color makes it more pretty and youthful.

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Products Used:

  1. MAC Naked Liner / 2. Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Salmon / 3. Kat Von D Lolita (reviewed here) / 4. Hakuhodo Lip Brush (my HG!)

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Step by Step Guide

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What’s on my wishlist

October 20, 2016

As the holiday is approaching, my wishlist is becoming uncontrollably bigger. Here is a quick post sharing the makeup items that are currently on the top of my wishlist. I’ve already acquired some items on the list, but haven’t had a chance to post a review yet.

2016-makeup-wishlist-holiday1. Tom Ford Orchid Collection – I want everything especially the Night Bloom Powder. It is already released in the US,and will be launching in Australia on the 30th October. Pencil this important date in!

2. Tom Ford Holiday 2016 Collection – Absolutely divine. My picks are the Soleil Eye & Cheek Palette, and the limited edition brush sets!

3. Becca Blushed with Light Palette – I like this palette more than the Jaclyn Hill cheek palette as the colors are more neutral and wearable for me.

4. Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Muse Palette – Love the Dolce Vita palette from CT, and this is my second palette that caught my attention from the brand (review coming soon). Available here in Australia.

5. Giorgio Armani Lip Magnet – Just bought them from David Jones online, and love the colors and finish so much. Review coming soon

6. By Terry Impearlious Ombre Blackstar Gift Collection – Such a good value for 5 amazing eye shadow pencils in beautiful neutral colors. Available here worldwide.

7. Suqqu Holiday 2016 Kit A (Japan exclusive) – I always prefer the Japan releases than the UK releases for Suqqu.

8. Suqqu Extra Rich Cream Foundation – Can’t wait to get my hands on this new foundation.

9. Marc Jacobs Beauty Face and Eye Palette (LE) – Perfection for neutral lovers!

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Givenchy was one beauty brand that had been off my radar until I consistently saw people raving about their lip products, so I decided to test them out at Sephora recently. The unsurprising outcome was that I liked the Givenchy Le Rouge Semi-Matte Lipstick so much, it was a case of limiting myself to 2 colors only, so I picked up the shades 105 Brun Vintage and 106 Nude Guipure which are all neutral MLBB with a hint of brown undertone.

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The packaging of these lipsticks is beyond luxurious and gorgeous. Love the genuine leather tube, and the ultra-modern silver metal case, and it feels so sturdy and weighty in hand.  I didn’t think any brand could beat the lipstick packaging of Tom Ford, but Givenchy is on par.

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Le Rouge is a rich and creamy lipstick that applies silky smooth, streak-free with a medium slip feel, and it feels lightweight on the lips. It has a good coverage and applies true to its color with one to two strokes only, and it gives a semi-matte finish with a satiny sheen. If you think the full matte lipstick formula is too drying for your lips, then I highly recommend the semi-matte formula. The Le Rouge feels moisturizing, and it fills the dry lines and gives the lips a more plump look, but you still achieve this retro matte finish. For a precise application, I like to use a lip brush such as the Artis Circle 1 as shown in the fist picture

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105 Brun Vintage is an MLLB medium muted rose color with a hint of brown undertone. Definitely a very easy-to-wear and flattering color for most complexions.

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106 Nude Guipure is a medium brown nude lip color with a rosy beige undertone. It’s very easy to pull off for a brown nude color without looking too nude and pale.

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Group Swatch

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I always like to include a peel product in my skincare regime, and lately, I’ve been using the Philosophy The Microdelivery Overnight Peel. I like the results of peels from the salon, with at-home kits, as they are much gentler. I’ve been trialing with different brands, and so far I like the Philosophy the most (the result is nearly on par my favorite the La Prairie Cellular 3 Minute Peel), but based on result vs. value, this is a good option.

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Why Peel?

As mentioned in my previous skincare posts, once you’ve passed the age of 28, your skin metabolism rate goes down by a lot. A normal skin renewal cycle is probably 14 days, but my skin is acting sluggish and hardly does any self-renewal. Peel is for peeling the dead skin cells in a more intensive way than an exfoliator, so it reveals newer skin hence it makes your skin appear smoother and with finer pores. It is also great for fading superficial pigmentations at the top debris layer.

How to Use

The overnight kit includes a liquid peel solution as step 1, and a night gel as step 2, with a small bag of cotton pads. For the application, you saturate the pads with the solution and wipe it on your face in a circular motion then leave it for 2 minutes. Then you apply a thick layer of the night gel which is a hydrating leave-in sleeping mask. The peel solution contains alpha/beta hydroxy acid and feels quite gentle and doesn’t sting nor irritate my skin. The night gel has a jelly-like texture, and it is designed to hydrate, soothe and restore your skin from potential irritation that may occur from the peel overnight. You can also add your preferred moisturizer on top.

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The Result

As with most at-home peels I have used, the only noticeable result is having the skin look more smooth, glowing and luminous the next day. Peel is used for long-term results, as it helps to renew the skin at a quicker pace. I am more than half way through this kit, and overall the texture of my skin appeared more refined, even and clarified, with less congestion and more clean pores.

 

 

 

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I haven’t bought any new blushes for a while, as there wasn’t anything exciting until the launch of Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush Soft Glow Duo. I knew I would like them as soon as I saw pictures starting to trickle around on the internet, and they certainly did not disappoint when I finally got them on my hands. The colors I picked were Lush & Libido and Kink & Kisses, and they were bought on Sephora AU Online. The current stocks are quite limited as they are selling out really fast.

Marc Jacobs Beauty is certainly a relatively new beauty brand that is growing on me. As you can see my collection is growing, and I still have a big wish list for them – currently eyeing on this to-die-for palette which is not available in Australia yet! The Air Blush comes in its signature black and round compact case. What sold me to these blushes is because of this short clip –  it looked so promising and as I read the info, I found that this blush was made with a new ingredient called Japanese Airy Powder with a process called Soufflage (French for “air-whipped”). How intriguing!

marc-jacobs-beauty-air-blush-soft-glow-duo-review-swatchThe Air Blush definitely lived up to my high expectations after putting it to the test. It has a buttery and silky soft texture, and it imparts a soft natural luminous glow to the cheeks. The finely-milled airy pigments are almost undetectable on the skin, as it goes on ultra lightweight like a feather and gives a super natural flush of color. It blends effortlessly with no visible edge. The finish is beyond pretty – it doesn’t have any shimmer to it but it still adds a touch of satiny radiance which makes your cheeks pop and plump that look very youthful.

The multi-striped colors give a dimension to the color. I like the thoughtful design as there is enough separation between the light and the darker colors, so you can add one or the other color more for your preferred finish.

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I picked up two colors that I know would work for my complexion (NC15-20).

Lush & Libido is a soft cool-toned pink in satin glow

Kink & Kisses is a universally flattering peachy pink in satin glow

Swatch

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Closer look at how finely filled the texture is and the beautiful luminositymarc-jacobs-beauty-air-blush-soft-glow-duo-review-swatch-lush-libido-kink-kisses-4

Bottom Line: Must-have! One of the best new blush formulae released this year.

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A makeup chat with girlfriends leads to this topic today – which makeup item I cannot live without, and my answer is the brow pencil without any hesitation. It is one boring makeup product but critically essential. In this post, I am sharing some of the best and my favorite brow pencils I have used.

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Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer in Taupe – Comes with a grooming brush on the other end. A beautiful taupe brow pencil  that is neither too brown nor too gray. The slanted triangular tip is a new favorite, as it is very easy to define and sculpt the brow shape as well as the arches with this design, and you can also control the thickness/thinness of the strokes. It has nice pigmentation and it lasts about 6-7 hours on me.

Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil in 3 (bought here in Australia) – Very similar to the Anastasia that also has a slanted triangular shaped tip, except that the color leans more of a warm brown on me. It is slightly more pigmented and only takes about a few seconds to fill out the whole brow. Both the formula and design are very pleasant to use, and big thumbs up for its outstanding long wear performance (about 7-8 hours).

Chanel Crayon Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil in 30 Brun Naturel (comes with a sharpener, link here in Australia) – Love it. I bought this after hearing some celeb makeup artists rave about it. It is pigmented in a medium to hard formula so it still gives a soft finish for the brows without looking ‘drawn on’. It glides on easily, and the lasting power is about 6-7 hours on me.

IT Brow Power Super Skinny in Universal Taupe (bought here in Australia) – This pencil has an ultra fine micro-tip that is designed to create hair-like strokes. It is pigmented and hard enough for mimicking real brow hair and it gives a natural looking result. The downfall is that since it is so skinny it takes a while to fill out the entire brow compared to the normal sized tip. I normally like to use it for defining the brow head in an upward motion.

Kanebo COFFRET D’OR Brow Designer in Light Brown – Very similar to my holy grail Shu Uemura brow liner that has been discontinued. It has a medium round tip that gives a quick and precise application and a natural finish. I particularly like the sponge applicator at the other end as I can use it to smudge the color and the edge for a softer finish. It is really convenient and a must-have brow pencil for me in the makeup bag.

Shu Uemura Eyebrow Liner – One of my old holy grails that I have been using for years but unfortunately it’s been discounted, and has now been replaced by the Brow Sword. I got this in Seal Brown color as I think this is the most perfect taupe color for brows, so I’ve included it in this post for color reference.

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Generally speaking, if you prefer soft look brows, then go for the pointed tip such as the Chanel. The triangular shaped pencil makes the brows look more defined and sharp.

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Swatch

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