2011

Best Eyelash Curlers

March 9, 2011

When it comes to eyelash curlers, I tend to gravitate towards Asian brands as they are designed for asian eyes. The most well known is the legendary Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler , which I absolutely adore. I have had this one for 10 years and it still works as good as it was brand new.

My other favorite includes the Shiseido Eyelash Curler. Both Shu and Shiseido’s eyelash curlers are very identical – I can’t tell the differences in my lashes between the two of them. They have very identical curvature – I can get them really close to the roots of my lashes and they never pinch my eyelids. They also apply the perfect amount of pressure by gently pressing them, giving a nice smooth curled look without crimping your lashes.

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler vs Shiseido Eyelash Curler

Shu on left r vs Shiseido on the right

Recently I have discovered an amazing eyelash curler, which I hate to admit but it truly blows my other favorites out of the water.

It is the Koji Curving Eyelash Curler. According to Koji, they have tested this on thousands of Japanese women and came up with a unique curvature that is suitable for every shape of eyes.

The width of Koji eyelash curler is 38mm, so comparing Koji with Shu, the Koji eyelash curler is much wider and more curved. It gets all my lashes without pinching my eyelid.

koji-eyelash-curler-vs-shu-uemura-eyelash-curler-1

Left: Koji Eyelash Curler Right: Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

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Left: Koji Right: Shu

If you compare the curvature from this angle, the Koji one is flatter than Shu’s.

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Left: Koji Right: Shu

So what makes Koji more superior than the rest? The picture below is the best illustration, with its unique shape, it spreads your lashes out to 120 degrees which gives it a more fanned look.

Left: Ordinary eyelash curler Right: Koji Eyelash Curler

Have you tried Koji? Which brand is your favorite?

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Labels: Eyelash Curler • KOJI • SHISEIDO • Shu Uemura

Essie Knockout Pout Swatch

March 7, 2011

Neon color is making a huuuge come back this season. If you don’t dare to wear neon lips, why not to show it off on your nails! This week I am wearing Knockout Pout by Essie from its summer 2010 collection. This pink is literally breathtaking.

3 coats of Essie knockout pout.

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Labels: ESSIE • NAIL POLISH

Dior Serum de Rouge – Spring 2011 Collection

March 6, 2011

I went to Dior beauty counter today and picked up a few goodies. One of them is the Dior Serum De Rouge in Pink Coral from the Dior 2011 Spring Collection. Out of the entire collection, this lipstick caught my attention the most . When I applied it on my lips, it looks even better on my lips than it does in the tube. If you are as obsessed with makeup as I am, you would know it was one of those ‘she is the one’ moment.

It may look shockingly red in the tube, but it applies sheer on the lips.

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Dior Rouge de Serum in Pink Coral

Swatch on my hand:

I would describe this color on my pigmented lips as milky pink. It is very rare to find a milky pink lip shade that is flattering on my skin tone and doesn’t wash me out.

The texture of Rouge de Serum lip color is beyond amazing. It melts on to my lips and leaves my lips looking moisturized, soft and plumped. According to Dior, it can be doubled as a serum for lips, after a reasonable time your lips will be more moisturized, smoothed and firmer.

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Labels: DIOR

Ombres Perlees de Chanel Swatch and FOTD

March 2, 2011

It is the time of the year when the new spring makeup collections are arriving in Australia. This probably is the time of the year I anticipated with excitement the most (other than public holidays!), as I LOVE spring inspired hues seen in each collection, they are beautiful to be collected yet subtle and natural enough to wear throughout all seasons.

Today I like to talk about Ombres Perlees de Chanel Palette, which has been the talk of the town amongst beauty bloggers for a while. I had this palette for a week now and I can say it totally lived up to its hype. The beauty of this palette is its versatility. These eye shadows can be worn sheer as well as dramatic due to its creamy texture that can be built to your desire.

Swatch on my hand:

Ombres Perlees de Chanel swatch - daylight

I did a subtle eye makeup with this palette today. It takes no effort to apply these cream textured eye shadows – the easiest way is to apply them with your fingers. I have yet found a brush that picks up the eyeshadow well considering I have an extensive collection of makeup brushes. Please do let me know your preferred brush.

Here are some close-up shots of my eyes:

I used:

a: pink pearl

b: a very sheer wash of the green pearl

c: black pearl on the outer corner

d: white pearl on the tear duct

e: the purple pearl along the lower lash line

Now let’s move on to the products I used on my face. My FOTD is totally inspired by the makeup worn by the model in the Chanel spring 2011 makeup campaign, so most products I used are Chanels.

Face: Chanel Mat Lumiere Foundation and Chanel Illuminating Makeup Base

Cheeks and Lip: Mac Blush in Pinch O Peach and Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick in 42

Finished Look!

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Labels: BLUSH • CHANEL • EYESHADOW • FOTD • LIPSTICK • TUTORIAL

Chanel Nail Polish in Black Pearl

February 27, 2011

This week I am loving Chanel nail polish in black pearl. As most of you would know, this is the ‘IT’ nail polish of the moment, every girl who loves nail polish should own this one because it is just so unique.

Chanel Nail Polish in Black Pearl

The shade is truly a reminiscence of black pearl. From the bottle it may look like a boring metallic grayish black. On the nails it looks like a mix of green, black and grey, depending on which angle you look at it. It has lots of tiny shimmers in it, so it dries into a satin finish. Okay, this is my review for it as I am terribly bad at describing color or scent.

Here is a swatch shot of 2 coats of black pearl, I have to say the picture doesn’t do its justice.

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Labels: CHANEL • NAIL POLISH

Dior Diorshow Mascaras

February 27, 2011

My makeup is never complete without applying mascara on both the upper and lower lashes; it just instantly opens up my eyes in a way that no other make ups can do. It seems there is a newer, “better” and more innovative mascara that is released every month, as a gullible consumer like me, I always make sure I am kept up to date with the newest mascaras, in case I miss out on the perfect one which I have yet to find.

Today I am just going to talk about Dior mascaras. At the moment I am rotating between these four:

– Diorshow waterproof

– Diorshow Blackout waterproof

– Diorshow Iconic

– Diorshow Extase

Brushes comparisons:

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From top to bottom: Diorshow Blackout; Diorshow Regular; Diorshow Extase; Diorshow Iconic

Let’s start from the Diorshow regular, as this is their best selling mascara. Diorshow has always been one of my Holy Grails. No matter how many I own, I always like to keep a Diorshow with me. It has everything that I need from a mascara.

– thickens, buildable without clumps

– lengthens

– holds the curl, which is the most important factor for my stick straight lashes

– waterproof, doesn’t smudge

– brush is big enough to grab all the lashes

There is nothing I don’t like about Diorshow regular, on the other hand it doesn’t really wow me, there is room for improvement.

Diorshow Blackout, is the more intense black version of Diorshow. When it was released, I had high hope on this mascara as this is exactly what the regular diorshow is missing. To my disappointment, it is my least favorite. It doesn’t define but clumps my lashes, and worst of all, it dries into a very stiff and brittle spider leg finish…eww..

Diorshow Iconic, another mediocre mascara. According to dior, it’s supposed to give you a lash curling effect without curling your lashes. It might work on genetically blessed Barbie eyes, but definitely not on asian eyes. It has this similar plastic brush to some Chanel mascaras – I am not a fan of it, the finish is always too natural for my liking. It just doesn’t provide the thickness and length I am after. I quickly lost interest in this one after a few uses.

Diorshow Extase, this mascara would be perfect if it holds the curl! It does a better job in terms of thickening due to the unique design of the brush than any other Diorshow mascara, and it has an intense black finish on the lashes. On the bad side, it weighs my lashes down no matter what I do. I even used my holy grail Kanebo Kate eyelash primer underneath, then apply Extase over it. It still instantly straightens the lashes. I love using it on my low lashes though it totally makes my lower lashes look fake. I would love to try the waterproof version of this one!

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Labels: DIOR • MASCARA

Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani Lipstick Review

February 22, 2011

Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani Uptown Mauve Collection lipsticks were recently released in Australia. It was love at first sight when I first saw these lipsticks in the promo pictures. I was prepared to buy at least four of them. Unfortunately I only came back with 1 lipstick as the rest of the shades looked very different in real life to what they are in the picture.

The one I got is Rouge d’Armani in beige 105. The packaging of the GA lipstick is close to perfection, sleek but chic and elegant, with a magnetic closure. You hear the ‘click’ sound when you close it, quite similar to the Tom Ford’s lipsticks.

Beige 105 in my opinion is semi sheer, but pigmented enough to cover the natural color of your lips. It is a “your lips but better shade”, no shimmers, no glitters. It feels really soft, light and moisturizing on my lips, doesn’t settle into the lines and lasts a long time while still having some sheen to it.

swatch on my hand: