September 2016

Mark Your Calendar – Sephora 20% Off Everything Sale!

September 28, 2016

Sephora Australia’s Private Sale of 20% OFF EVERYTHING will be starting from midnight today for all black members. I am so excited so I’ve already put together my wishlist, as well as sharing my recommendations for the products that I love so much from Sephora.

1. Becca Jaclyn Hill Collection Shimmering Skin Perfector and Blush, and the Champagne Highlighting Brush are so pretty!

2. Marc by Marc Jacobs Beauty newest Air Blush just arrived and I will be picking up several colors as I heard nothing but great reviews of them. Also the Instarmac Contour Powder is my HG for a natural contour look (reviewed here) as it is so easy to use, and the matching Contour Brush is also a must have for me.

3. If you haven’t got your hands on the famous Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick (reviewed here), this is the time now.

4. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Cream Kit is her best seller, and good to see that the light color is finally back-in-stock! Also her brow products are just divine, and my favorite is the brow definer which is a dupe for the Tom Ford Brow Sculptor.

5. Never miss the opportunity to stock up some SKII sets when they are on special.

6. Cover FX Custom Drop is such an innovation product for you to customize your desired coverage and finish. It is a foundation itself and it also can be added to your existing base products.

7. Love Zoeva brushes as they are affordable and are of great quality with a big selection. This Rose Golden Luxury Brush Set is just to die for.

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Tom Ford Lip Contour Duo Review and Swatch- Public Display, Show it Off and Devil Inside

September 26, 2016

Lately I’ve been obsessed with wearing a lip liner and a matching lipstick together, and when I heard the news that Tom Ford would release a Lip Contour Duo collection with a lipstick and lip liner in one tube, I was very thrilled! The new collection has just been launched, and I picked up 3 gorgeous colors- Public Display, Show It Off and Devil Inside (bought here in Australia). As usual, both the packaging and the formula are supremely luxurious which equates to the high price tag of them. It retails for $53 each (AUD$78) – yes it is pricey but compared to their normal lipstick at $53 each, with this product you get both the liner and the lipstick, so it’s not too bad.

The formula is nourishing and creamy enough for my dry lips. The lip liner is ultra pigmented, and it glides on silky smooth and buttery but not slippery. It doesn’t feel drying nor chalky on the lips. The lipstick has a creamy balmy texture and feels ultra hydrating on the lips. It works perfectly with the lip liner, as it helps to conceal the dry lines and makes the lips appear more moisturized and plumped. When the lipstick is applied on its own, it gives a semi glossy finish in full coverage. If it is applied on top of the lip liner which is my preferred application, it gives a semi-satin creamy finish that looks modern and sophisticated. Lasting power is phenomenal, as the color will last you the whole day with drinking in between.

The liners contain fine glitters, but it doesn’t bother me as once you apply the creamy lipstick over, I can barely see the glitters on my lips (as you can see in the close up swatch) but it adds a lovely sheen and dimension to them. I have seen reviews that people feel the glitters make their lips feel crumbly, and I don’t have this problem at all with the 3 colors I picked.

Public Display is a neutral terracotta/brown color with a peachy pink undertone. Brown is the IT color of the moment, and this is a very wearable pink brown lip color that everyone can pull off.

Show It Off is a MLBB color (dusty rose color) with a hint of bronze undertone. It’s a no-brainer everyday color with an edge.

Devil Inside is a bright pink coral color that instantly brighten ups the complexion. This is the kind of color that tends to be overlooked, but once you have applied it on the lips, the impact and the finish literally blows me away.

Group Swatch

The Tom Ford Lip Contour Duo is available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Net-A-Porter US.

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Labels: Lip Liner • LIPSTICK • Tom Ford

MAC Star Trek Trip the Light Fantastic Powder Review and Swatch – Luna Luster

September 23, 2016

I added another new highlighter to my stash. The MAC Star Trek Trip the Light Fantastic Powder is just too good to be missed. There are 3 colors released, and the standout for me is Luna Luster as the color is the closet to my complexion and I know it will look flattering on me. The other two colors appear very bronzey on me.

I am not the biggest fan of Star Trek, but the design of this powder is just too pretty and fancy. It has a marbled multi-color design that looks like the universe, and the powder twinkles at some angles when it catches the light. It contains strips of ivory, peachy pink, and magenta – when all colors are swirled together, it shows up as a peachy pink champagne color but applies pretty much translucent with a brightening effect on my NC15/20.

The texture is not the creamiest, with a slightly gritty feel. However, it applies beautifully on the face without looking powdery nor chalky. It gives an amazing pearly sheen to the face (not frosty/metallic), that actually blends into my skin. The finish is glowy and dewy that gives a visible highlight effect, whilst still looks natural and doesn’t make your face look like a disco ball. I have to say that I am surprised by how good it performs, and the finish of this highlighter is amongst my top 3 given the color works so well for my complexion.

Swatch

Bottom line: Highly recommend!

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Labels: HIGHLIGHTER • MAC

Exciting Beauty Deals not to be missed!

September 21, 2016

September is one exciting month for shopping with all the major retailers rolling out new collections that will set the trend for the next year or so, and they are also doing lots of promotion with beauty shopping . I thought I’d do a round up all the good deals happening at the moment in the US and in Australia

SAKS is currently offering up to $700 giftcard for any fashion purchases use code SEPT2016. For beauty, you will receive a tote bag filled with lots of awesome samples for any beauty and fragrance purchase of $150 or more. In addition, they have dozens of online-only beauty exclusive deals from some popular brands.

Neiman Marcus is also having a major Beauty Event now, which offers a sample filled tote with your $125 purchase, and a deluxe sample bag including prestige brands with your $500 purchase. You can also earn double gift cards with any fashion purchases.

Nordstrom is offering gift with purchase for lots of their beauty brands. My favorites are the gift bags from Nars, Giorgio Armani, La Mer and Jo Malone. Detailed information is here.

David Jones in Australia is also offering their annual deluxe sampler tote for $19.95 with any beauty purchase. It is a good opportunity to try out lots of interesting beauty goodies for a little price.

Last but not least, one of my favorite fashion retailers FarFetch is offering free worldwide shipping for 3 days only (ends 23/09), and 10% of your first order use code y10aff.

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Labels: SHOP

ZOEVA Nude Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette Review, Swatch and FOTD

September 19, 2016

Zoeva is one emerging brand that has got me really interested. Despite their most popular and affordable brushes, their palettes are also phenomenal. The ZOEVA Nude Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette (available here in Australia) is literally all you need for makeup, being a neutral eye shadow lover, I gasped at how beautiful and flattering these neutral and hues are, and they will get me through day and night on a daily basis. For such a big palette, I am surprised that there is not a single shade that I don’t like.

The palette retails for AUD$75, which is equivalent to $5 per eye shadow! The palette is housed in a slim black paper notebook-like case with a frosted feel. It is very modern and sleek, and feels very well made. There is a range of matte, satin, and intense satin (almost bordering metallic) eye shadows in the palette. All of the shades are buttery and silky smooth to apply, and they are so easy to blend (even for the matte shades) without fallout. All shades have good color payoff, with some shades having exceptional intense pigment.

The top and bottom rows each have 2 mattes and 3 shimmers, and the middle row has 1 matte, and 4 shimmers.

The top row has more earthy and subtle sandy shades in different variations.

The middle row has mainly champagne, taupe and bronze.

The bottom row has colors leaning more gold and copper.

I won’t describe each shade in words as there are too many. As usual I make sure my swatch looks like what I see in real life, so hopefully they will give you a better idea. All pictures were taken under neutral day light (not directly in the sun).

Swatch for the top row

Swatch for the second row

Swatch for the third row

Here are some FOTDs I created with this Nude Spectrum Palette. I have been gushing about how much I love brown lips, so I’d thought I’d do a proper FOTD wearing one of my favorites lately – MAC Whirl.

Eye makeup: I used the matte taupe color (3rd color in the first row) in the crease, then layered with peachy champagne color (second color in the second row), and applied the golden shimmer (second color in the third row) along the lash line. The matte ivory (1st eye shadow in the first row) was used on the brow bone.

Other products used in the FOTD

Face: Bobbi Brown Face Base / YSL Serum Foundation (reviewed) / YSL Touch Eclat Compact (reviewed)

Cheeks: Marc Jacobs Beauty Contour Powder 20 (reviewed) / Giorgio Armani Blush 306 (reviewed)

Brows: Tom Ford Brow Kit (also used for nose contouring, reviewed) / BBROWBAR Brow Pen

Lips: MAC Whirl

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • Giorgio Armani • MAC • YSL • ZOEVA

Net-A-Porter Beauty Haul and Favorite Picks

September 16, 2016

Ever since Net A Porter launched beauty, I became a loyal shopper (I meant – always tag a few beauty products along with my fashion purchases in every shopping cart!) . They don’t have the biggest selection of beauty products as with the department stores, but I like their picks and some of their exclusive beauty brands which are not found in Australia. At the moment they are offering free shipping for orders over AUD$150/USD$300 (normally free shipping for order value of AUD$300 or greater) which I thought was a good opportunity to stock up.

Sharing my hauls and the picks from NAP.

1. Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips Lipstick – I love CT matte revolution lipsticks (see my review here), and recently she has launched the Hot Lips collection in some beautiful new shades. I posted a few pictures of my picks for the Hot Lips on my insta, but haven’t had the time to do a full review for the blog yet.

2. Charlotte Tilbury Life Changing Eyelash Curler – Reviewed here. It’s so pretty and works as good as my HG Shu curler.

3. Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look in a Palette – A natural everyday palette for the entire face. Love all the colors in the palette and it is such great value for having lots of multi-purpose shades in one palette. Unfortunately, it is currently sold out, but you can add it to the wishlist and you will be notified.

4. Beauty Blenders – Can’t live without them! I use a new one every 3 months, and I have got them in every size and color!

5. OUAI Haircare – Possibly the hottest haircare brand at the moment. This brand is launched by Kim Kardashian’s hairdresser, and they are an instant hit. I’ve been trialing out some products lately and absolutely love all of them, especially the treatment mask.

6. Artis Elite Mirror Brush – Totally a new concept for makeup brushes. The foundation brush is my first brush from the brand, and so far I like it very much.

7. BBROWBAR – A great brand that specializes in brow products for every single brow issue. I love their brow pen (have them in several colors) as it is really great for drawing short and hair-like strokes for the most natural real-brow look, and I find them more pigmented and longer lasting than the Japanese brands.

8. Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub – I just bought it and it’s on the way so it’s not in the picture. Heard so many raves about this hair scrub for an intensive cleanse and scalp detoxification.

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Labels: ARTIS • BeautyBlender • Charlotte Tilbury • HAUL • LIPSTICK • My Favorites • OUAI • SHOP

Phuket Holiday Diary Part 2 – Holiday Looks and Best Restaurants

September 14, 2016

The second part of my holiday diary (part 1 here) is all about fashion and food – basically two of my biggest hobbies after beauty. I have included my recommendations for some really good restaurants that I had dined in Phuket, and of course some snaps of the new resort wear I added recently.

Holiday Looks

Shopping for resort wear is always my favorite activity to do as part of holiday planning. The anticipation of going on holiday soon as well as having a valid excuse for buying more beautiful dresses always excites me. This holiday, I added another dress from my go-to brand Zimmermann. She does the most romantic and floral dresses with a boho spin, such as this off-the shoulder dress I picked. Also loving this top in the same print.

Hat – Eugenia Kim

my favorite candid shot

Camilla is the iconic high end Australian beachwear label that is stocked in most premium online retailers. Their signature bold prints in silk dresses and kaftans are over the top and dramatic, and goes well with your vacation on an exotic island! The pictures online do not do it justice, as they are so delicate, flowy and looks very expensive in real life. Most of her designs can be worn in multiple ways, and this beautiful Frill Dress I picked (also available here and here in a different print) can be worn off shoulder, one shoulder, or over the shoulders. Again I love anything with a dramatic take on the sleeves this season.

Shoes – here for less than $100 / Sunglasses – Tom Ford Aviator

Restaurants

Trisara

There were two restaurants inside Trisara, The Thai seafood restaurant served authentic Phuket styled Thai food. I dined there twice, and overall the food was great (but did not blow me away as I have very high standards for Thai food) with a lovely posh ambiance, and the service was always top notch. Trisara had another restaurant with a selection of world food over the deck area. The vibe was more relaxing, beachy, and casual with a beautiful ocean view during the day. I really enjoyed dining there as they had lots of choices for western food such as my favorite lobster sandwiches.

Every Sunday, Trisara would host their Sunday brunch which was very famous in Phuket. It was more like a premium seafood buffet that looked amazing. The brunch was extremely popular and normally booked out days in advance, and was open to public.

Some restaurants in Phuket that I highly recommend:

Bann Rim Pa – It serves high-end royal Thai food. I found the food style was quite different to the traditional Thai food. Overall the food was lovely, and it was interesting to experience what the Thai royals ate! The place is located oceanfront with a beautiful 180 ocean view, and is tastefully decorated.

Bampot – One of my favorite places in Phuket. European and Asian Fusion food with a modern open kitchen design.

Siam Supper Club – Another chic place to dine in Phuket. Love the old style New York deco, with soothing Jazz music in the background. If you are bored of Thai food, this is the place to go for some authentic grill and pizzas, and they also had some popular Thai dishes.

Raya – I had the best dinner ever! It’s the place where Thai prime ministers and celebrities go to for the most authentic thai food. The place looked very run-down but was purposely decorated to look vintage. It is located in the old town which was an interesting place to visit in Phuket other than the beaches. Apparently the food was so good that lots of wealthy people in Bangkok would fly their PAs down to Phuket just to buy the takeaways! Highly recommend.

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Labels: CAMILLA • Fashion • HOLIDAY • LIFESTYLE • OOTD • ZIMMERMANN

My 6 Best Eye Shadow Blending Brushes

September 11, 2016

I love doing top 5 (or more) picks posts, and today I am sharing some of my ultimate favorite eye shadow blending brushes. If you ask me to pick only a few favorite lip colors, it will be nearly mission impossible, but with brushes it’s a relative easy job as I tend to reach out for these brushes all the time, and I just know that my makeup routine will not be the same without them! They are suitable for all budgets, ranging from the most premium high end such as Suqqu, to the very affordable brand from the rising star Zoeva.

From left to right:

Suqqu M, Chanel Large Tapered Brush #19, Tom Ford Blend Brush, MAC 217, ZOEVA 227, Edward Bess Luxury Eye Brush

All of these brushes are of very high quality, even though they are priced differently because of the type and source of bristles, where they were made and the packaging along with the brand name. However in terms of usability, they all stand the test of time and will last you at least 10 years of use. I have had each of them for a very long time, and none of them shed hair, change shape or fall apart.

MAC 217 – Using the MAC 217 as the standard blending brush. Needless for me to say how useful this brush is for eye shadow application, and you can find my detailed review for MAC brushes in this post.

ZOEVA 227 Soft Definer – If you love the MAC 217, you will love this ZOEVA brush made with goat hair which pretty much feels and works the same. The hair softness is similar, with an oval shape, but a tad more flat than 217 which is great for working the color into the crease. I love ZOEVA brushes in general which I have hauled a lot lately – they are affordable with a big selection, and I find that the quality is on par with MAC. Each brush comes in an individual zip bag.

Edwass Bess Luxury Eye Brush (available here in Australia) – This is the star product from his line. I have had this brush for more than 5 years. It boasts the same dome shape as the MAC 217, but slightly larger and feels softer and more dense against the skin. It is a powerful blending brush that gives lots of resilience so it blends eye shadow effortlessly. I normally like to use this brush for applying a neutral color over the entire eye crease area, and it only takes 1 to 2 strokes for the color to distribute evenly and seamlessly.

Tom Ford Eyeshadow Blend Brush (bought here in Australia) – The ultimate luxury eye shadow blending brush you could ever find, as the packaging and the handle feels so luxurious and precious that makes you not want to ever use it! Once you overcome the ‘obstacle’, you will find this is such a practical blending brush. The bristle is made of premium super soft goat hair, and it is all hand made in Japan. It is about the same size as MAC217, but the head is more tapered for a more precise application. It’s particularly great for blending the color just along the crease, and blending multiple colors.

Chanel Large Tapered Blending Brush (exclusive to Chanel.com only) This is best-seller out of the entire Chanel brushes collection. I was actually on the wait list for a while until it became available again. All Chanel brushes have black bristles, except for this exclusive edition with white bristles which makes me adore it even more! It’s made of goat hair, and is made in France. It’s a cute and ‘chubby’ blending brush compared to the MAC 217. The brush head is more rounder and dense with shorter hair, and it picks up lots of pigments which works perfectly with eye shadows that do not have intense color payoff. If you always want a brush that is tad smaller than MAC217, then this is the one to look out for.

SUQQU Brush M – Last but not least, leaving the best at the end. The Suqqu is the crème de la crème, as it has the softest squirrel hair that feels non scratchy even on the most sensitive skin. It is a smaller blending brush (same size as the Chanel) with a tapered end. The ultra fine and silky soft bristles deposit the pigments softly on the skin, so it is the best for applying dark colored eye shadows to create perfect shade gradation, as well as allowing for precise application around the eye corners. I have a post for the entire Suqqu brushes.

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Labels: Beauty Tools • BRUSHES • EDWARD BESS • MAC • My Favorites • SUQQU • Tom Ford • ZOEVA

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