HOURGLASS

Current Favorite Makeup

December 19, 2017

Rounding up some of my favorite makeups this month! A lot of the items in this post are not easy to get due to their popularity and they are often sold-out worldwide, and the thrill of being able to get hold of them is just surreal. I always tell my friends that buying beautiful luxury makeup is the entry point of indulging in retail therapy. They are relatively much cheaper than any luxury fashion goods, but the thrill and happiness are no less.

Clockwise:

Tom Ford Soleil Eye and Cheek Palette Violet Argent (available here in Australia) – To me, the Tom Ford Soleil is the most beautiful collection he releases every year. Every piece is exquisite and is like a collectible-item. The Violet Argent has all the wearable shades in the most stunning packaging. I bought mine here with worldwide shipping. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am shifting my shopping sites to mainly UK-based, as I find the currency exchange rate is much more favorable than the US sites, and Selfridges is my top favorite site for all the best beauty products. I have also subscribed to their annual $65 unlimited international shipping!

Pat McGrath MatteTrance OMI Lipstick – Must must-have lippie of the year! (swatched here)

Hourglass Confession Ultra Slim High-Intensity Lipstick (refillable)- The newest lip color range from Hourglass. If you could get your hands on the shades I Can’t Live Without, or At Night, you should snatch one straight away because they are both stunning and extremely hard to get. Review to come soon. I bought mine here.

Chanel Longwear Color Corrector/Concealer– Chanel has recently reformulated their concealer. It now comes in two color ranges – color correcting and concealers. I love the lightweight, super hydrating creamy gel consistency that melds into the delicate skin around the eyes, and it covers my mild dark circles perfectly without creasing over time, nor enhancing any dry lines. I bought mine here in Australia.

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Gel Foundation – This is the first cushion-like foundation from Chanel! Apparently, one is sold every 2 seconds, and the lighter shades are out-of-stock at most department stores in Australia. It is also called the Jelly Cushion foundation because it is slightly different to the conventional cushion foundation. The consistency is very watery and it gives an instant cooling sensation when applied. It feels so fresh on the skin and perfect for the summer and gives a satiny dewy finish with a sheer coverage. The color is about 1 shade lighter than usual. Will give a detailed review soon. Available on Chanel.com in the US, Selfridges, Cosme-de, and David Jones in Australia.

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Labels: CHANEL • HOURGLASS • PAT MCGRATH • Tom Ford

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Surreal Light Palette Review and Swatch

December 4, 2016

I have been showcasing this beautiful Hourglass Ambient Lighting Surreal Light Palette (bought here with free international shipping) a lot on my insta lately. The marble packaging totally captured my heart. I have lots of individual Hourglass ambient lighting powder, as well as the Ambient Lighting palette. Since this palette comes in 6 new never-before-released shades, that makes a wonderful excuse for me to add it to my stash.

Basically, the ambient powder adds a soft lit-within glow to the face. All powders are not fully matte, but they are also less shimmery than a traditional shimmer product. It imparts a luminous glow to the face that looks good with all age groups (unlike the ultra glamorous finish that you see on Insta which may not look good in real life!), and all powders go on semi-translucent with a tinge of color so it would look flattering on all skin tones. The application is fool-proof as the pigment is soft and easy to blend, and the powder does not enhance the pores.

The palette contains 1 finishing powder, 2 blushes, and 1 bronzer and 1 highlighter. All of them contain very fine micro shimmer that does not look visible on the face.

Surreal Light: A sheer nude finish powder that goes on translucent on my NC15/20 skin tone. I like to use it to set my makeup over the center of the face. It instantly brightens, and makes the face look more dimensional and lifted as the powder reflects light softly, as well as controlling the oil all day long.

2. Surreal Bronze Light: A neutral tan shade. Great for creating a subtle contour, and adding warmth to the face.

3. Surreal Glow: A pale peachy pink blush that looks very delicate on the skin. Can also be used as a highlighter depending on your skin tone.

4. Surreal Effect: A cool, pink rose fused with a soft, warm peach for a pop of flattering color. Goes on quite bright and adds a flush of color to the cheeks.

5. Surreal Strobe Light: A glimmering golden peach powder, and can also be used wet for an intense highlight.

Under the sun

Swatch

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Labels: BLUSH • BRONZER • CONTOUR • HIGHLIGHTER • HOURGLASS

Suqqu Eye Colour Palette Bordeaux EX01 Review, Swatch and FOTD

October 26, 2015

I have been frequently reaching for my Suqqu Eye Colour Palette Bordeaux EX01 lately so I thought I’d write up a review and FOTD post for it. I love the color combination of this palette. They are different to the usual neutral earthy palettes that I normally gravitate towards. The colors are relatively more vibrant outside of my comfort zone, but somehow I find them to be very wearable yet fresh looking, with the signature Suqqu’s subdued elegance to it.

The Suqqu eye shadow is among the most superior eye shadows you can find. The quality of the newer 3 eye shadow palette feels quite similar to their regular quad. I have done many reviews for them in other posts, and overall the texture of Suqqu is slightly different to the western brands. The powder feels more creamy and moist to the touch, and they glide on weightless, silky smooth and evenly without looking powdery that would really work well on dry skin. The color payoff is also great for this palette – one to two swipes will show the true color as you see in the pan.

Shade Description

Top : Icy white color, slightly sparkly

Middle: Shimmery coppery golden peach.

Bottom: Wine color with a purple undertone in semi satin finish. It contains multi colored glitters but they don’t show up once applied unless you look at it very closely at a certain angle.

Swatch with one swipe

FOTD:

Other products used in the FOTD

Face:

Shiseido Pore Smoothing Corrector

Shu Uemura UV Underbase Mousse – totally obsessed!

Tom Ford Powder Compact Foundation (reviewed here)

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

Eyes & Brows

Tom Ford Brow Sculpting Kit (new, review coming soon)

MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set in Toasted Blonde

Dior Addict It Liner (reviewed here)

Lancome Mascara

Lips (my current favorite combo!)

– MAC Lip Pencil Rosy Rim (reviewed here)

– MAC LipStick Please Me

The Suqqu Eye Shadow Palette can be purchased here with international shipping available (TAX will be automatically deducted at the checkout), and more colors are also available at Selfridges.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • HOURGLASS • MAC • SHISEIDO • Shu Uemura • SUQQU • Tom Ford

Loving Right Now – HOURGLASS Cosmetics

February 24, 2015

I fell in love with HOURGLASS Cosmetics after acquiring the highly raved Ambient Lighting powder and the blushes palettes – particularly the lighting powders as they just give the perfect balance of glow that really illuminates your face softly without enhancing the pores. Since then I have been slowly adding more to my collection, and here are the other Hourglass products that I am loving at the moment, and many of them are available at NAP which is currently offering free shipping on any order.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette – A must have from this beauty line!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light – I like the lighting powders from the palette so much so I added this color to my stash. It’s lighter than the colors in the palette, and works really well for my complexion as a highlighter. Next one to add will be the Mood Light!

Hourglass Ambient Powder Brush – I love buying the matching brush designed for a particular product, and this brush is fantastic for applying the ambient lighting powder.

Hourglass Double Ended Complexion Brush – Been looking for a good quality portable and retractable brush for a while, and finally found one! This brush feels so lush and adore the double ended brushes for both the powder and cream products application.

Hourglass Large Concealer Brush – Taklon bristles are the best for blending concealers, and this brush is soft but firm and the large size is perfect for applying concealer to the under eye areas.

Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer – Reminds me of the Cle De Peau Beaute Concealer but at a fraction of the price. It’s creamy and very pigmented so it offers great coverage that still looks natural. My shade is fair.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette (reviewed here) – Unfortunately this palette is not available anywhere as it was limited edition, but more color options are available in the single ones.

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Labels: BRUSHES • CONCEALER • HIGHLIGHTER • HOURGLASS

SHISEIDO MAQUILLAGE Dramatic Melting Rouge Lipstick Review, Swatches and FOTD – PK227 and RD425

February 11, 2015

Sheseido Maquillage has released a new line of lipsticks this year called Dramatic Melting Rouge. Since I am a devotee of their highly popular lip gloss (Essence Glamorous Rouge that has won many beauty awards in Japan), I was excited about this new launch. Similar to the lip gloss that was enriched with hyaluronic acid, this new lipstick claims to have a high concentration of their unique blend of ‘beauty oil’ that hydrates your lips like moisturizing essence, and provides a full coverage with a mirror shine gloss.

I picked the colors PK227 and RD425 – a pink and a bright red as they are my go-to colors these days. The texture completely lives up to my expectations as they are ultra smooth and glides on like silk that just melts into your lips. It nourishes even the driest lips without enhancing any dry skin and lines, and make them appear fuller and youthful. It feels very lightweight and extremely hydrating on the lips. The coverage is excellent and it’s opaque with a degree of translucency. It also has a jelly like shine without any shimmer which I absolutely adore. Best of all, they are very long lasting for a glossy lipstick. The colors remain at full intensity even after 4 hours of wear and I even had snacks in between!

Shiseido Maquillage Dramatic Melting Rouge in PK227 is a beautiful girly and soft neutral pink that is neither too cool or nor too warm. You probably would have seen a gazillion of them on my blog, but this shade just guarantees to make me feel happy and pretty which is the most important purpose of wearing makeup!

Lip Swatch with a single swipe – natural day light

FOTD wearing PK227

Shiseido Maquillage Dramatic Melting Rouge in RD425 is a bright cherry red in high gloss. You can either apply this color to the center of your lips for a gradient look, or you can apply it to your entire lips for a more glamorous look but still stay young and fresh.

FOTD wearing RD425

Group Swatch

Left PK227 Right RD425

Other makeups used in the FOTDs include

DIOR Diorskin STAR Studio Foundation

CHANEL Natural Finish Loose Powder

YSL Touche Eclat

NARS Illuminator Limited Edition

HOURGLASS Ambient Blush Palette Limited Edition (reviewed here)

JILL STUART Ribbon Couture Eye 03 Vintage Satin (reviewed here)

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Labels: CHANEL • DIOR • FOTD • HOURGLASS • Jill Stuart • LIPSTICK • Maquillage by Shiseido • NARS • SHISEIDO

HOURGLASS Ambient Lighting Blush Palette Review and Swatch

November 8, 2014

There has been countless coverage on the Hourglass makeups in the blogsphere world since the brand launched several years ago, and I just wasn’t that interested until the release of the Ambient Light Powder and Blush series this year, which have quickly become their top sellers. They are beautiful and unique enough for me to decide to branch out into this new brand for me, and having spotted the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette (which is always in the status of out-of-stock) on Net-A-Porter accidentally one day, I knew that this one ought to be mine! I have also picked up their Ambient Lighting Palette which will be covered in another review.

The limited edition palette comes with two permanent blush colors that are from their individual blushes, and one color that is exclusive to this palette which also happens to be my favorite color out of the three. The texture of all three blushes are exquisite – they are extremely silky and buttery smooth to apply and blend. What attracts me in these blushes is that each blush color is blended with a different color of their signature ambient lighting powder, which warrants a multidimensional soft flush of color with an illuminating effect. This is pretty much a blush and highlighter two-in-one product, which makes this palette extremely practical and versatile to use.

Left: Luminous Flush (permanent) Middle: Incandescent Electra (exclusive to this palette only) Right: Mood Exposure (permanent)

One interesting thing to note is that these blushes tend to show up differently depending on your skin tone, and even on my NC15 I find it very interesting that the swatch varies greatly from sheer to opaque finish (as you can see from the swatch below)

Color Description from left to right

– Luminous Flush (blended with Luminous Light) has a rosey pink undertone with a candlelit glimmer. When it is applied sheer it tones down to a soft coral pink, and it builds up to almost a plummy rosey pink on my skin as a heavy swatch. I prefer to wear it sheer as a blush.

– Incandescent Electra (blended with Incandescent Light) is described as a cool peach on the website, but on my skin the pink tone is definitely more prominent. In the sheer swatch it shows up as nude peachy pink with a subtle gleam that is more suitable as a highlighter blush, and builds up to a warm pink with a hint of frosty sheen if applied heavily. Definitely my favorite as either way it is a very pretty color to use!

– Mood Exposure (blended with Mood Light) is described as soft plum on the website, but again on my skin the beige undertone is much more prominent than plum. Apply it sheer it is a beautiful illuminating soft peachy beige color, and it builds up to a bronzy beige color with a hint of plum undertone that almost looks like a bronzer to me.

Sheer Swatch

Left: Luminous Flush Middle: Incandescent Electra Right: Mood Exposure

Heavy Swatch – in the sun

Heavy Swatch – in the shade

Bottom Line: Love it! Striking, practical and travel friendly. It’s one of those palettes that will make you reach out for it on a very frequent basis! The Hourglass makeup line is available at Barneys in the US and Net-A-Porter worldwide.

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Labels: BLUSH • HIGHLIGHTER • HOURGLASS

October Favorites

October 28, 2014

Whilst I am still in the process of putting together some more reviews for the other products I picked up from the Chanel Holiday 2014 collection, I thought I’ll quickly share some of my favorite products for the month of October before it ends. The monthly favorite posts are my all time favorite posts/videos to watch from other bloggers, and I don’t know why have I never done one?! So I am definitely going to incorporate this new series into my blogging schedule going forward.

1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette – So glad I was able to get hold of this one from Net-A-Porter. I’ve been holding out on buying the individual blushes in the hope that they would release a palette one day, and my wish has been granted! It’s also available here in the US. Detailed review for this one as well as the highlighting palette is coming soon.

2. Chanel Camelia De Plumes Highlighting Powder – Every year Chanel releases an art piece of highlighter which is worthy of collection. This piece is stunning on its own, and also works great as a highlighter without looking frosty on me. Detailed review coming soon.

3. Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick Lost Cherry – Definitely one of my favorite purchases from Charlotte Tilbury (reviewed here). It’s longing lasting and can be worn for a polished look or sheer it out as a lip stain (the latter is my preferred method of wear).

4. Tiffany Key Necklace – Starting to wear and mix and match my jeweleries more now that my boy is bit older so he doesn’t pull them off me anymore 🙂

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Labels: ACCESSORY • CHANEL • Charlotte Tilbury • HIGHLIGHTER • HOURGLASS • LIPSTICK • MONTHLY FAVORITES • My Favorites • NECKLACE