Haul and Review: Face Shop Nail colour dupe for MAC Disney Venomous Villains Formidable?

For those out there who are not fast enough to snag Formidable from the MAC Disney Venomous Villains Collection, you might be able to find a close dupe in Face Shop's BK901.

I happen to come across this possible dupe on my way to Lido with my deers for X-men first class and stopped by Face Shop at Wisma since we have some time before the movie starts.

You can imagine my excitement when i saw it and immediately Formidable came to my mind plus my BFF agreed with me that it is indeed a close dupe to Formidable.

Face it from Face Shop BK901.
Look at the shimmer in the bottle.

2 coats of it.

MAC's Formidable.

See the shimmer reflected against the light.

3 coats of Formidable.

In the bottle, both looks very similar, but Face SHop's BK901 seems to have a tinge of Bluish tone to it whereas MAC's Formidable seems to lean more towards purple, both seems to sport the same kind of shimmer or glitter.

Application wise, BK901 requires 2 coats to attain the opaque effect while Formidable requires 3 coats, the consistency of the nail polish is thicker for BK901. Both dries up rather quickly, so there isn't much of a down time here.

When the nail polish coats dried iup completely, Formidable has a slightly rougher texture compared to BK901 and the difference in the sheen is a little more obvious. BK 901 has a slightly blue sheen whereas Formidable has a purpish sheen.

Nevertheless, both are very similar in my books

Size wise, there are no label stating the amount of ml BK901 contains but it shouldn't be much of a difference from Formidable.

In terms of pricing, BK901 is very much affordable at S$7.90 per bottle (much so since Face shop is having 20% off purchases more than S$10.00), Formidable retails at S$19.00 (but it is a limited edition, so expect to pay way much more if you were to get it from ebay).

In my personal opinion, BK901 is not a 100% dupe for Formidable but a close 80% cousin.

BK901: Priced at S$7.90, available at Face Shop (Wisma Atria).

Haul: Shiseido Sale June 2011

I got to know about the sale at the very last minute on the 2nd day, in fact i wasn't even planning to go but the "go see see no harm" mentality resulted in the damage done below......

The haul that fateful morning.

GR634 Green Black with gold liquid eyeliner and mascara.

Alexander Wang Limited Edition Maquillage Compact case.

Maquillage Lasting Powder with UV protection.

Shiseido Hydro Liquid Compact Foundation.

Maquillage nail colour.

A closer look.

I got myself some necessities and a couple of pressies for friends.

During the 2nd day of the sale, there isn't much things left (all the goodies are already gone on the 1st day,especially in the morning).

All in all, i am quite glad that i didn't splurge too much during this sale.

Haul and Review: NARS Oasis and Taj Mahal

Finally!

I get the chance to lay my greedy paws on my very first NARS......

It all started with my generous BFF initiating a online spree and thus i ended up with these 2 lovelies.

Introducing the very first of my NARS, Oasis and Taj Mahal blushers......

The 2 NARS blushers in their signature cardboard packaging.

The niffty rubbery compact in my hand.

4020 Taj Mahal.

4028 Oasis.

Taj Mahal with the thin flim of plastic.

The golden orange beauty in the pan.

Oasis with the thin plastic film protecting it.

Oasis, the pretty berry beauty in the pan.

Swatches of Taj Mahal.

Swatches of Oasis.

To speak the truth, i have been contemplating on getting anything from NARS for quite a while and i was rather put off by the "cult status"kind of thing, which is what the Orgasm Blusher has attained in the beauty world. I try my best not to be caught in the frenzy of "oh, that is a must have because it is much raved about" and be sucked into the vicious trap of buying for the sake of buying.

Thus, i have decided and is dead against buying Orgasm as i have quite a few coral like blushers in my stash, though they might not be perfect dupes for Orgasm but i am really unable to justify buying another blusher in that colour range, instead Oasis and Taj Mahal caught my eyes.

Honestly, i have nothing quite like it in my stash for Taj Mahal, i was doing my usual "researching"online and came upon Temptalia's blog, the swatches captivated my heart instantly (even though i have Givenchy's Maharani Orange, it swatches totally different from Taj Mahal). Maharani is more of a highlighter as it swatches very sheer and personally i think Taj Mahal is perhaps what Maharani wanted to be in the first place.

In terms of texture and pigmentation, i would say NARS Taj Mahal applies smoothly with ease and is very pigmented, the colour payoff is true to the pan and a little goes a long way especially for Taj Mahal.

It is a bold colour for a blusher but I do not see it difficult to wear as i am quite tan and i absolutely love the subtle golden sheen in the orange which adds another dimension upon application.

It is LOVE at First Sight. Trust me.

As for Oasis, i was a little skeptical initially as my skintone does not carry off blushers with berry tone well, but i was attracted to the golden specks in the pan and since i do not have such a colour in my stash, i thought it was reason enough to try it.

I am relieve that i go with my gut instinct and went on to ask my BFF to put through the order for me. As it turns out, Oasis is a nice berry pink with golden shimmer that is not over the top at all, in the pan it looks pretty at certain angles when the golden shimmer caught on the light. Now, the really beautiful part is when it is being applied onto the skin which i think is universally flattering on most skin tones. Its a pity my camera is unable to capture the beauty of it properly, it is really beautiful as i am looking at it now.

Just like Taj Mahal, Oasis is very pigmented and a wee bit is sufficient for application.

All in all, i love these 2 lovelies to the core.

I am just a wee worried that this might spell the beginning of a NARS collection and the doom of my blusher ban...

Love it? That's a silly question to ask.

I say, try it if you can lay your hands on them.

Promotion: Shu Uemura Opening Special at Isetan

Just got this in my email inbox....

Review: Guerlain Terre Indigo Eyeshadow Palette

The very first time i lay my eyes on this on cyberspace ...... i knew i just had to have it, but of course not without any struggle within me especially since this is from Guerlain, it is not going to be cheap.

I have seen it being reviewed and was quite skeptical by the mixed review, and was thinking of going down to the Guerlain counter to get the swatches with hopes that my lemming for this beauty would subside (if the swatches disappoint me big time)......

As fate would have it, i was captivated by the real time when it caught my eyes and the swatches on my wrist tells me... Go.. get... it...

And so, Tah dah!

The Guerlain Terre Indigo Eyeshadow Palette......

Guerlain Terre Indigo 4 Shade Eyeshadow- 9g.
The Brown pouch that house the beauty.

The Sleek luxurious copper brown casing.

The Eyeshadow Palette.

A closer look at the beauty.

Swatches L to R: Orange, Dark Brown, Brown and Blue.

A closer look at the swatches.

I know it sounds silly but this particular palette almost made me lost sleep over it, i was so hesistant to get it partly because of the mixed reviews not to mention the luxurious price tag that comes with it and will i bear to use it (so that it doesn't end up as just another pretty collectible item in my stash which i am very often guilty of buying, though i will end up using it ultimately some time later).

In terms of packaging, there is no deny that Guerlain's style has always capture my heart, its sleek, luxurious, gorgeous...... this beauty is no exception though it did cross my mind that the colours are not separated into cubes, it might be quite troublesome to use it and ultimately end up messy when all the 4 colours are swirled together in the end.

Despite that, i do not find any trouble sweeping my MAC brushes over the individual colours and there is no mix up of colours for application and personally, i think the palette would not have been more appealing aesthetically if the colours were presented separately as one normally see in the typical Guerlain Eyeshadow palette packaging.

I could not resist using the palette as soon as i can and so, the pictures were taken after i have broke into it, which is why some parts with the golden sprayover are not that obvious. Regarding the golden sprayover, i do find that it is a shame that they are sprayover as the golden colour adds another dimension to the eyeshadow application.

This aspect can be easily rectify with brushing a layer of gold pigment over the eyelid, however one just can't help but felt that if the gold colour is not merely a sprayover, the palette would have been perfect to me.

In terms of colour payoff, it is not as pigmented as some palettes i have owned, i do find it to be decently pigmented and intensity of the colours can be easily build up. Guerlain is not well known for intensely pigmented eyeshadows, so if this is not right up your alley, i think one can find dupable substitutes.

Nevertheless, i do find joy using it as this is a first that i managed to find a blue that suits me (my skintone is quite tan, so light pastel blues are definitely out of the question for me). Most people i know might shy away from the palette due to the bright orange and blue in the palette, to me those 2 colours are the ones that seals the deal for me as i do not have any similar colours in my current stash.

For those who are skeptical on how one should wear the colours, Guerlain has included a makeup manual of sort for 3 different looks as shown below. That's quite nice actually, sort of a little perk considering the price point for this palette.

Did i also mention that this palette contains almost 50% more product than the typical Guerlain Palette and the price stays the same for this limited edition?

The Terre Indigo palette contains 9 g of the product whereas the typical Guerlain palette contains 6g....not that i will ever get to the bottom of the pan anyway. Its just a little more comforting to know that you get to get more for the same price.

Now for the final question, like it?

Yes, you bet! It comes to me as a pleasant surprise that i can carry off the bright orange and blue too.

Worth it?

Of course, in terms of aesthestic and functionality- which just means i will use it more often as i find it more versatile and much more interesting than the usual browns and pinks that i use.

Priced at S$87.00 for 9g (limited edition), available at all Guerlain Counters (stocks are running low).