Haul from the Land of a Thousand Smiles......

Unreported haul done late last year......hope to talk about them soon.

Boots Body Scrubs, Oriental Princess Eyeshadows and Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub.

Oriental Princess (Thailand's very own makeup line) - I was pleasantly surprised.

Soap & Glory's Sugar Crush Body Scrub - Interesting find due to desperation.

Coming soon.

Haul and Review: Le Metier De Beaute Kaleidoscope Eye Kit Bauhaus

Something sinful this way comes......

 All that to protect it.....

                                                       The fuss-free minimalist packaging

                                                                THE KALEIDOSCOPE!

List of Ingredients

 Somewhat cylinder-like. I would have wished that it comes in metal, it would be a perfect 10 in my opinion but that would probably be very heavy (like a lump of lead).

 

 The top tier house the mirror of the Eye Kit which pretty much makes sense if you are touching up on the go but if one is travelling with this kit, this baby is going to stay on the vanity table (that's for sure).

 I think it's beautiful no matter how I look at it. Love the way it looked architectual, sleek and structural.

 Do you agree?

Axiom- a warm coppery brown that has very fine shimmer in it, I can see myself getting quite a fair bit of use out of this. Intensely pigmented with the slightest touch.

 Graphic- a cool soft stone-steel grey that can be used in 1 intense swipe or blended sheer. the least pigmented of all (but having said that, it is still pigmented)

 Crucible- this is a unique colour in my stash as I don't think there is anything quite similar. It is a deep reddish brown or brownish red which is incredibly pigmented (proceed with caution). Praying hard that it will work for me.

 Genre- my favourite after Axiom, this is a dark metal black grey that is great for smoky eyes. Without exception, pigmentation is intense.

 Swatches L-R: Genre, Crucible, Graphic and Axiom

In terms of packaging, I like the concept of it but at this price point one would expect LMDB go one level up. I guess that's the only flaw if I really have to name one but it is also because LMDB is a luxury brand every detail should be taken into consideration in the design and production of it.

Colour pigmentation is intense, I just need to touch the side of my brush (MAC 217) on Axiom and there..... my brush picked up enough pigment for application. I like the way Axiom wore- natural (in fact it looked better than just natural). Looking forward to be able to achieve more when I use the colours together especially the Couches de Couleurs (layering) Method that LMDB is known for.

Value-wise, it's almost like paying a King's ransom to many (including me). This Eye Kit amounts to S$126 after all that conversion and shipping etc, easily the most expensive Eye palette I have ever purchased surpassing them all. However, we are getting 16g of product here which is about 10 MAC single eyeshadows if one were to measure it (which will come up to more than S$200).

In short, one is getting quality and value at the same time though I can't imagine anybody possibly finishing this up considering how pigmented they are. My 2 cents- this is worth getting because I can see it working for me. Considering the quality and price of LMDB's Eye Kit, I urge tempted souls to think how much use they can get out of it, otherwise maybe it's not meant to be. I think Bauhaus is a limited edition, and so are quite a number of the Eye Kits.

Priced at USD95.00 for 16g, available at Nordstrom, Zuneta.com and other major retailers.

Review and FOTD: Burberry Light Glow Natural Blush in Blossom

Hauling... there are just some days that you feel like nothing but to haul.

Okie, here's my most recent cosmetic hauling, a very small but quality haul. : )

I present Burberry Light Glow Natural Blush in No. 5 Blossom.

                                Burberry Light Glow Natural Blush in Blossom, 7g or 0.24oz.

                                                         Light Glow in No. 5 Blossom.

                                                  The iconic design, velvet-like pouch.

                                The details that the people at Burberry pays attention to.... : )

                                                                       Just Gorgeous.

                                                                 A Close look at the blush.

      The brush that comes with the blusher is not too bad, good if you are touching up outside.

                                                 One gentle swipe with my MAC129.

               After a whole day's work (8 to 9 hours later), i used 1 swipe on each side of the cheek.

Note:I usually go for the neutral and "try to have good complexion" kind of look as my company would not take certain look too well.

                                           The troop of makeup that i use in the morning.

The bases (L-R): RMK Pressed Powder in 04, RMK Smoothing Polished Base, RMK Liquid Foundation in 104 and Creamy Makeup base in 02.

Stila Eyeshadow Palette (forgot the name, it's a neutral palette), Clinique Lash Power Mascara in Black Onyx, The Bodyshop Brow & Liner Kit in 02 and Maquillage.

                        Highlighter: Chanel Empreinte de Chanel (used on top of the cheeks sparingly).

L-R: MAC 219, MAC 217, The Bodyshop Liner Brush, Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush and MAC 129.

Well... well... well, i have heard so much rave about the quality of Burberry's makeup line and so now here's my humble take on the Blusher (the one item that interest me most, and the liquid foundation would come a close second).

Packaging is something that Burberry did very well in this aspect, the cloth cover and the metallic casing with the house's signature design simply ooze high-end, especially the lid is held closed with magnetic strip.

In terms of texture, the blusher is extremely soft and well...... buttery. It makes the picking up of powder a breeze, a very gentle swipe of my brush and what i get is well enough for 1 application. Impressive.What's more, the plaid design does not disappear that easily, i have been using it almost everyday (except my off-work days), it is still very much intact.

Colour payoff is something i would be quite concern about, considering that i am rather tan and most blushers would not show up that nicely on me. I realised my worries were actually unfound. The pigmentation of this blush is WOW. The very first swipe impart a healthy pinkish coral on my cheeks, it has a certain transparency that looks as if it is in my cheeks, not sitting on top of it. Intensity can be built up very easily, yet one does not have to be overly cautious as i do need to be with NARS blushers (yes, i am talking about my beloved Taj Mahal). Again, impressed.

Now, lasting power..... i have oily combination skin. In our tropical hot and humid weather, i would not expect the blush to wear as well on me as our foreign counterparts. I get about 5 to 6 hours of decent wear and by the time i reached home to take a snapshot of my face which is about 9 hours later (apologies of the half face photoshot, i swiped a cotton pad full of makeup cleanser before realising i have not taken a photohot yet). A hint of the colour remains, not too bad. I guess it will stay on better and longer on other skin types.

Overall, i really like how easy it is to wear the blush and the quality of it wow me. At this stage i am very much eager to try another blusher of theirs and probably their liquid foundation too.

So, yah i like it.

Priced at S$61.00 for 7g or 0.24oz, made in Italy. Available at Tangs Orchard.

Note: The Singapore pricing is quite comparable with the US pricing, so it is not necessary to ask friends to haul this for you overseas. Though i do find overseas GWP more generously than Singapore.

Review: RMK Mix Colors for Eyes EX03 Purple

 This is my first RMK eyeshadow palette and honestly speaking after hearing so much about RMK's eyeshadow, how pigmented they are, how expensive they are and how easy they are to use, etc.

Naturally, I am excited to lay my hands on one of them and try them out. Imagine my delight when i saw them in a sale, the EX-03 purple from the 2011 Summer makeup collection. It's one of the palette that aroused my BFF's and my interest back then.

I hauled not 1 but 2, one for my BFF and one for me.

While RMK's makeup base and blusher impress me, sad to say i can't say the same for its eyeshadow palette, especially after my encounter with this particular palette.

2 words- very disappointed, read on and you will know why.

 The nifty signature silver cardboard packaging.

EX-03 Mix Colors for Eyes (Shiny, think its shimmery) Purple palette.

List of ingredients, contains 5.7g or 0.19oz in total which evens out to a 1.4g per color.

 Finger prints prone shiny surface, its not metal but metallic coated plastic.

In terms of packaging, the eyeshadow palette is housed in its signature sleek silver coated plastic holder, as usual the highly reflective shiny cover is a fingerprint magnet. Other than that, its actually very convenient to bring around, especially if you are travelling overseas, the niffty palette doesn't take up much space. I like the packaging just not the shiny fingerprint magnet casing. 

The beautiful colors.

The colors, oh they are beautiful and the combination is very different from what i have currently in my stash (browns, beiges and blacks dominate most of the time). I have to confess that i am a purple and gold lover in secret, though i do not think i can carry them well, but when i first lay my eyes on this palette i knew i have to have it.

On the palette, the the lavender or lilac purple looks like it can work on my skintone, the light gold and whitish silver look sophisticated and elegant enough to layer on, my only problem lies with the baby blue. It has the potential to look awkward on me and i risk looking like something went totally wrong in the morning.

Still, i hauled it without being able to swatch them on the spot as i really like the other 3 colors. 

That's when things turn out unexpectedly, when i first swipe my MAC 217 on the purple, nothing came off and so i tried with my 239, likewise nothing came off. Now, after trying with 2 brushes, the surface of the eyeshadow became a little waxy and this doesn't seems right to me.

Then i wipe the surface with tissue paper, so the colors managed to came off which i try using my fingers (clean of course), the texture is rather waxy too and i have only hints of color on my fingers. Bad feeling just gets stronger.

Finally, i resort to using cotton buds to apply the eyeshadows, and yes finally we have some decent color payoffs here. The cotton buds literally took off chunks of the eyeshadows (they are actually soft but why waxy? That i do not understand), while i managed to spread them out on my arms, which they finally look pigmented enough, however there are some fallouts as well in the process of swatching as you can see in the pictures below.

Another way for the eyeshadows to show up nicely would be to use those plastic spongue applicators that comes with eyeshadow palettes.

Maybe i got a dud, but i am skeptical about that. QC for japanese products are usually very strict and my previous pleasant experiences with RMK, Lunasol and Shiseido simply does not warrant my doubt that i got a dud.

I understand that the colors are supposed to be sheer and subtle, however that should not translate to bad color payoffs and, especially at the retail price point of S$65.00 for this palette. 

At that price point, personally i would expect at least good color payoff (be it sheer or pigmented), good lasting power (number of hours of wear) and good packaging. Otherwise, i might as well spend my pretty penny elsewhere.

Hope my 2 cents worth helps, as a matter of fact despite this experience, i am not so quick to write off RMK's eyeshadows totally yet. Maybe next time.

 After using my MAC brush to swipe across several times.

 After using cotton buds to swipe it a few more times.

Taken under normal sunlight near the window.

L-R:light gold, whitish silver, purple and light baby blue.

Taken further in the room, under normal sunlight.

L-R: light gold, whitish silver, purple and light baby blue.

 Taken under the lights in the room.

L-R: light baby blue, purple, whitish silve and light gold.

The cotton buds used to swatched the palette.



Haul and Review: Spoilts from Guerlain and Paul and Joe

This can be considered my first makeup haul of the year and i am proud of myself for being able to resist the temptations for that long, plus i am very happy with my purchases as well.

My most recent haul- Mainly Paul and Joe items and 1 Guerlain.

Paul and Joe makeup items- 3 eyeshadows and 1 blusher. 

 Paul and Joe- Toner and Cleansing Milk.

As we all know, Paul and Joe has pulled out of Singapore since end March, it's a shame that beauty brands are moving out due to the lack of critical mass (demand) to support their presence (we saw IPSA moving out previously and now Paul and Joe, one can't help but ponder who's next?)

So, i took this chance to try out more of their skincare products that i am new to (reviews coming but not so soon), i will be quite sad if i were to like them enough to want to repurchase them afterwards.

 Paul and Joe Nail care oil.

 List of Ingredients.

 The bottle of Nail care oil- in signature Paul and Joe nail polish bottle.

The Nail care oil is packaged in the signature P&J nail polish bottle with the orange flower motiff, it has a pleasant scent and the texture of the oil is actually thicker than what i am used to using (OPI's Avoplex nail and cuticle replenishing oil), furthermore it felt a little sticky to me.

I will go back to it and see if it will grow on me as time passes by, though i doubt so.

 Paul and Joe Face Color- Blusher.

 List of ingredients.

 The pretty packaging that caught my eyes.

 2 tone blusher in 18.

 Left to right: More berry rose pink and light pink.

 Paul and Joe Face Color #18.

This would be my 2nd P&J face color, i would say the coloring of this blusher is actually a little out of my safe zone, it leans more in the favour of fair and cool toned beauties (see the swatches below) but i am giving it a shot as it seems to be quite usable if i use it with care (i am thinking of using it with MAC's 187 Duo fibre brush which seems to work when i am using more pigmented blushers). The texure of the blusher is soft and pigmentation is not a problem, it does not contain any shimmer. I like a variety and this is a nice addition to my collection if i may say so.

 Paul and Joe Eyeshadow singles.

I have walked pass P&J's counter countless times, yet i never felt drawn to their eye colors (i wonder why myself too.... perhaps its too sweet and cute, i felt out of place?). This could very well be one of the those last chances that i can lay my hands on them and i am so glad i did this time round. I was pleasantly surprised by their buttery soft formula and that it glides on the skin beautifully.

Pigmentation is very decent, not the most intense i have encountered but nice overall, though #03 gold is a little less pigmented compared to the other 2. I think this is the revamped range of eyeshadows, if i recall correctly the previous eyeshadows are larger in the pan.

I have picked "safe" colors (those that are tried and tested to work on me) and i am glad i did as i can am already reaching out for them everyday for almost a week).

Each eye color contains 1.1g/ 0.03 oz of product which is slightly lesser than MAC's (1.3g). In terms of pricing, P&J's is S$25.00 while MAC's is S$28.00 ( ? ). P&J's is a wee more expensive that MAC's probably by only a few cents.

In this instance, i am really sad to see P&J pulling out of Singapore.

 Light pink beige with subtle pearlescent shine.

 Paul and Joe Eyeshadow single in #11.

 Pearlescent gold without the glitter chunks.

 Paul and Joe Eyeshadow single in #03.

 Warm toned medium brown with a hint of shimmer.

 Paul and Joe Eyeshadow single in #17.

 Swatches L-R: Paul and Joe face color in #18, self select eye color in #03, #11 and #17.

 A closer look at the Eyeshadow singles or eye colors.

 Guerlain Ecrin 4 couleurs Eyeshadow palette.

Guerlain..... Guerlain...... I can't help but to be drawn to you everytime.

This time, i behaved myself and only gotten myself 1 eyeshadow palette from Guerlain, yes! Its from the Holiday Collection last year.

Sleek and luxurious packaging, gorgeous colors.... nothing less is to be expected from this high-end makeup brand.

It is no surprise that i am very much captivated by this palette, first of all the packaging...... it is a improved packaging if you asked me. The large pan surface meant that one can sweep her brush over each color more easily.

While the colors are not terribly unique (except perhaps the aqua turquoise above the navy blue), there are dupes available for the other colors elsewhere. But what sealed the deal for me is the PIGMENTATION!

They are INTENSE!!! Totally love the color payoff.

 #10, Les Ombres De Nuit (Limited Edition from Guerlain's 2011 Holiday Collection).

 The sleek packaging.

 Contains a total of 7.2g/0.25 oz of product.

 A closer look at the palette.

 Swatches L-R: A Shimmery Grayish Silver, a Light Aqua Turquoise, a Rich Blue (reminds me of OPI's You yoga-ta get this blue but less intense), a matte black (the only matte color in the palette).

All in all, a great haul for this year!