[] New Lip Combination~ Mac Fanfare []

 Hey all ~~
Hope you all have a great weekend. but unfortunately I have to work. So just doing a quick update before heading off to do some extra work.

So the lip combination that I have been loving is the Mac Fanfare lipstick. It is a cremesheen formula so it's creamy not drying and the colour pay off is quite good too.

Mac describes this colour as mid toned yellow pink. I think it can be a bit blue toned sometimes, depend on the lighting. But It is a wearable pink not too much for day wear.

 Top: Mac Fanfare, Bottom: MAC Prr Lipglass.

 Here's a swatch. Left: Mac Fanfare, Middle: Mac Prrr, Right: lipstick and lip glass combined.
If you don't want such a heavy application you can dab it on your lips and still looks really pretty.

Here's a full face picture for the lipstick and glass...............

have a great weekend.

[] Blackberry LensBooster.~~~[]

 Hey all~~~
Just found a program on Blackberry phone called Lensbooster. I know I might be a bit late to all of these. but It makes the photos look old school and I'm obsessed.!!!!

hahaha Any ways.. a couple examples of pictures I took with my phone and then used the lensbooster to put some different filters on it. and also I changed the blog banner. So Hope you like it.

Just testing out the camera effect.......



Take Cares have a great weekend... ~~~~~~~

[] Current Skincare Items []~~~~

 Hey all

Just wanted to do an update skincare items that I am using now. I had a really bad allergic reaction recently and it took me AGEs to calm my skin down. and get rid of all the little little bumps . It was terrible. Until now there's still some pigmentation on my face. 

Any ways. So these items are the ONLY things that I use day and night, every day. no fancy multiple step of putting so many things on my face. seems to over supplement the skin and causing it not to know what to do any more. 

Skin Condition:
combination all year round - except for summer I become combination oily. So I don't need lot of moisturiser to keep my face hydrated.

Cleansers:

The only two cleansers that are HG in my skincare routine is Origins Check and Balances, and the Sana Nameraka foaming cleanser. Both are foaming cleansers, they give you that squeaky clean feel. and I feel like it can remove more left over make up that I didn't get off from the make up remover. The make up remover that I'm using now is Bioderma's Micelle water for sensitive skin. Brilliant stuff.

Moisturiser:

Conventional method of skincare is to clean, tone, serum then moisturiser or some spot treatment, special treatment. But some times all these things can be too heavy for the skin to handle and also too rich for some type of skin like mine.

After some research,  Shiseido came out with a product I couldn't find the English name to these products but you can buy it from AdamBeauty. Click HERE

So this product is like a toner, but it replaces ALL of the other steps. So no need to tone your skin, no need to apply serum, no need extra moisturiser. This ONE product equals to many. The reason is because it contains moisturiser ingredients in a lotion texture so it is easily absorbed, and at the same time moisturises the face. It isn't expensive either about $15 USD.

It contains large amount of hyaluronic acid in two forms. one big size and a small size so both the surface of the skin and deep in the skin can be moisturised. It also contains Royal Jelly, which lets the skin heal and become supple over time. 

It contains NO fragrance, No colouring, not sticky and easily absorbed. But it does contain alcohol. I'm not sure what form of alcohol, I can smell a bit of it when I'm using it but It NEVER irritated my skin like Clinique's Clarafying lotions did. It never dried out my skin, never made it red, stingy, burning.

There's two types, the pink series is just normal for moisture purposes. the blue series is for whitening. SO It contains stable form of Vitamin C. So there's two types of Formulation too. So White Caps for both series are light/refreshing formula for combination/normal skin. The Pink cap in pink series/ Blue cap in blue (whitening) series  are the rich formula for dry to SUPER dry skin. 

Since I have combination skin I just use the white cap ones. So Far I've used two bottles of the blue whitening series. I don't really see any whitening effect, but the pigmentation from the allergic reaction is going away. so I think it is helping me in that section. 

After two bottles , couple months of using this product, it really helped my skin to calm down, feel supple when I wake up in the morning, never feel dry any where on my face. help to lighten up the pigmentation on my face. Doesn't cause pimples, no allergic reaction. HEAVEN SENT!!! It is so convenient too, when you travel you just need to bring one bottle. The bottle is made from plastic so it's not heavy either and It won't break if you drop it.

I Highly highly recommend this product, I've tried many many products out there that claims to be calming, purely organic and BLAH BLAH BLAH.. but this is the one. I'm not going to change it from my skincare routine unless I find something better, which I highly double.

This is SELLING like crazy in JAPAN.... I can see why it is so popular.


If you have questions about this product feel free to leave comment or email me.

Have a great week.

[] Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation Review []~~~

Hey all ~~

Another Foundation Review. ~~~ been testing it out for a while now. thought I do the review since I am not that busy these days.

So I purchased the foundation from feelunique.com It was cheaper when I bought it about $34.00 AUD but now the price has increased for some reason.  any ways.

So at the back of the box it says:
Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation SPF10

A light-reflecting hydrating foundation that perfectly combines mineral and plant ingredients to create a naturally radiant complexion. The unique blend of ingredients continuously hydrates and protects the skin resulting in an incredibly comfortable, beautifully radiant and perfectly even complexion. Satin Finish - Medium Coverage. All skin types. 

Non-Comedogenic. Dermatologist Tests. Oil Free. 

This is what the packaging looks like. Classic Glass Bottle, with a Golden lid. comes with a pump for the ease of use. ( bonus points for having a pump). The colour I got is in 108 SAND.

This is what it looks like straight out from the bottle.

A bit spread out.

Blended in with the skin.


Ok Lets see how it shows up on face.
Here's my bare skin again (picture below), after moisturizer. lots of problems are you can see T__T
Picture taken under natural day light (in doors, not under direct sunlight)

This is what it looks like after 1 layer of foundation with no powder.

Thoughts:

The Foundation leave a satin finish on the skin. If I go under direct sunlight, when you look very very closely, you can see really really fine shimmer particles. but you can't detect it unless you look really hard for it. it certainly gives a natural radiant finish. You can set it with a powder and It still gives that radiant finish but without the oily look. 

I would say this foundation can be light to medium coverage depending on how you apply it. It may be cover all the imperfections ( acne scar, sun spots, freckles) but it does cover large pores perfectly. I have large pores near my nose and cheek area close to the nose, it disappeared when I use this. So I would say it covers certain things but still allows your natural skin to shine through.

I have combination skin, in winter I'm combination dry. So I think this foundation is more suited towards Autumn or Winter for me. If you have dry skin think you will love it. I still need to set it with a powder or else I will get oily quicker. And I need to blot every 4-5 hours. 

It is not really a long staying foundation. I would say may be 6 hours? but when I get home and take my make up off. There's still some foundation left on my face but most of it would've disappeared. That being said. I think this foundation is actually good for my skin. at the end of the day, my face looks more plumped and healthy, rather than dull and wrinkled as if all the water has been sucked out of it.

I don't think this foundation does well with flash photography...... it has SPF + fine shimmer particles. I think under natural light, it photographs really nice. but may be not more evening photography. 

Also It has a fragrance smell. can't put my finger on what it is.   you can smell it when you are applying it but it kind of disappears once it is applied. It doesn't bother me, but it might bother some people to have fragrance in their foundation.

Likes:
- has a pump
- great colour selection
- really nice natural finish (never cakey looking)
- makes you look so radiant and fresh
- covers large pores
- actually good for your skin ( with beneficial ingredients)
- oil free
- easy to remove at end of the day.
- your skin feels smooth after applying 

Dislikes:
- not long wearing
- unnecessary fragrance
- glass bottle, hard to travel with
- not enough coverage for those days you need coverage


Over all I like this foundation, go to a counter and ask for a sample, may be you will like it too.

Have a great weekend ~~~~

[] Bare Mineral Foundation/ Before & After + thoughts[]~~

 Hey all~~
 Just wanted to do a further review of the Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Medium Beige, showing before and after pictures. So you can see how much coverage it does and what's the finish like.

 So the only two things you need is a kabuki brush of your choice. I use Everyday Minerals kabuki brush from may be 2-3 years ago and it is still good after many many washes. never sheds. and it's soft as baby's skin. I honestly don't like the Bare Minerals brushes. they are scratchy and doesn't apply foundation evenly. 

You could also use a flat top kabuki brush for a heavier coverage, but I find flat top a bit hard for an even distribution as it tend to pack alot product on the area when you first start to buff on your skin. So I personally like to use a dense kabuki brush.

 Okay... lets have look at my skin bare under natural sunlight with no photo shop. no flash no nothing. As you can see, lots of sun spots, freckles, uneven skin tone. large pores. acne scar. and even scars from the recent allergic reaction to God knows what~~~~

T___T cry............................................. but never the less......

So here is is completely with bare minerals foundation in Medium Beige.
It covers most of the unevenness of the skin tone. Covers may be about 50-60% of the acne scars. It does a great job with the pores too.  So for one layer of this product you can achieve about light to medium coverage depending on how much product you use and the pressure you use when you buff it in.

The finish is semi matte I would say, the mica in this does gives you a more dewy glow look. which is a good thing if you want to cover some of the imperfections. So for a natural finish, I quite like it. It is also VERY to apply, may be like less than 3 minutes I'm done with my foundation. the only thing is it is not a long lasting foundation. If I have a busy day running around with no time to touch up. then I might rethink which foundation I'm going to use. 

If I'm just going to some where for a short time, like Brunch with friends, Dinner with family or something I would prefer this. Plus it doesn't feel heavy, doesn't even feel like I'm wearing foundation. 

One other thing I didn't like about this is that I wear glasses, so some of the foundation slip and slide near the bridge of my nose. but beside that I like this. 

Try it out you might find you will like it too.

Take Cares ~~~

Bare Minerals Review/ Tasi Trip~~

 Hey all ~~

sorry that I have been Missing for 2 months. Been away at Tasmania for a trip and also busy organising a trip to Europe in June/July. 

Any ways. My last post was a haul on Bare Minerals's Original  Foundation in Medium Beige. My skin had an allergic reaction to something I'm not quite sure what. but most probably the chopping and changing of skincare products too often. So I decided to stick to two product only. my good old Nameraka foaming cleanser, and Shiseido's toner/moisturiser in one. Will do review for that soon. Saved my skin. 

So I was very hesitant to use foundation too, because I wasn't sure if it was foundation or what causing all these little bumps on my skin. So I looked into Mineral foundation. So I went and got myself the Bare Mineral Foundation. I also picked up the Bare Mineral's All-over face colour in Rose Radiance.

 Left: Rose Radiance/ Right: Original Foundation in Medium Beige

At the shop I tried on the Bare Mineral's Matte foundation, but it felt so dry, and I was scared for it to go cakey, and also the colour is bit different from the original both in medium beige, the matte one shows up darker and yellower for some reason.


 Foundation Review
 Likes:
 - Great coverage, you can build your coverage, I like mine to cover my acne scars and what not. So I prefer a medium to full coverage. I buff in two layers and good to go. never look cakey.
- Gives a dewy look, so my face doesn't look dead matte. though might be a bit sparkly under direct sunlight. need to blot or else will look oily and shiny.
- The packaging is great. you can carry it with you and touch up with a little kabuki brush.
- Easily washes off. just use my foaming cleanser, comes right off.
- Doesn't cause allergic reaction. no response to bismyth oxichloride. so all good. you might need to watch out for this ingredient if you are allergic.
- Also can be used as a setting powder over liquid.

Dislikes:
- Messy application, powder can fly everywhere. very fine particle. Scared to breath it in. so I always hold my breath when applying this.
- Need to blot like every 3-4 hours, or else I get oily.
- I think it's a bit tad expensive. but compared to a liquid foundation. it's still ok.


Now lets look at the Rose Radiance.
I realized I have something very similar, Maybelline mineral powder blush in Soft Mauve.
but the maybelline one is a blush, where as this is a all over face colour. to give you that extra boost of radiance if your skin looks dull and as if you didn't get any sleep.

 I think these two looks quite similar. except that Bare Mineral's Rose Radiance is obviously more shimmery, I tried applying it all over the face with a light hand.. it looks ok. nothing wowed. but as a blush it is really pretty. gives your cheeks a very nice rosy glow. I like it as a blush. quite a natural fresh look. not overly pigmented so fool proof.

 Here's a swatch.
Left to Right: Bare Minerals Original in Medium Beige, Rose Radiance, Soft Mauve




While I'm away from blogging, I was in Tasmania. Here's a couple pictures from the trip.

 hahaha feeding a pig with beer...~~~

Hope every one have a great week...........

take cares.