EOTD #12 - Silver Smokey Eyes for a night out

Last weekend I went to a friend's 30th birthday party. It was a fancy dinner so I had to wear a fancy dress. So, I thought this occasion calls for a more dramatic makeup.

To recreate this look follow these steps:

1. I started by applying a primer all over my lid and under my eyes. I used Mirenesse sexy secret eye primer.
2. Apply L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Hourglass Beige on the inner corner of the eyes and the inner third of the eye lid. I also applied what was left on the brush on brow bone to highlight this area.
3. Apply L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Flashback Silver on the middle and outer third of the eyelid. 
4. Then I used a mix of 3 MAC eyeshadows (Espresso, Cork and Cross-Cultural) and applied this on the crease and blended it in.
5. To add more definition and darken the look a bit, I used MAC Beauty marked eyeshadow on the outer V. 
6. I also applied MAC beauty marked eyeshadow and smudged it along the lower lash line.
7. I applied MAC Fluidline Blacktrack on the upper lash line.
8. I finished off my applying Australis Killer Curves mascara on the lashes and I also applied Red Cherry false lashes in #747S to give me that extra oomph on my lashes :)
9. For my brows I used Maybelline master shape brow pencil in dark brown.

 For the face I used:

• Lancome Teint Visionnaire foundation
• Inglot translucent powder
• MAC blush in Pink Swoon
• MUA Bronzed Perfection bronzer

And for the lips I used Revlon Just Bitten Kissable balm stain in Honey.

Hope you liked this look :)

Makeup Geek Haul - Red Cherry Lashes, MUG Gel eyeliner review & swatches

So I have been eyeing the Makeup Geek (MUG) Gel Eyeliner for a while now... to be honest.. from last year. And finally a few weeks ago I went for it and purchased 3 of them. In addition of these gel eyeliners, I also purchased 4 x Red Cherry lashes.

You may have heard of Makeup Geek. If you haven't, here's a little bit of info. Makeup Geek is a beauty website run by Marlena. I found out about her through her Youtube Channel. Previously she just had the channel and the website but then she started producing her own products such as these gel eyeliners. She also has eyeshadows as well and they come in a range of beautiful colours.

So the three MUG gel eyeliners that I purchased were: Fame (beautiful dark teal), Amethyst (gorgeous purple) and Rave (dark shimmery/metallic brown). They were very affordable at US$7.99 compared to MAC Fluidline which is around $32 (I think).

I also purchased some Red Cherry false lashes since I have read some good reviews about it and they were only U$2.50 each. I purchased the Demi Wispies, #217, #747S, and #110. So far I have used the #747S and they look really nice on and it looks quite natural. I will post the EOTD using these lashes in the next few days.

So onto the gel eyeliners. First of all, I love them!! These gel eyeliners are amazing! The colours are gorgeous, they are very pigmented and they are long lasting. Once I applied them, they do not budge. I think they also work great as a base. I have only tried using Rave as a base and it glides on smoothly. I do find that Fame (teal) was a bit more tacky but it still applies beautifully.

Out of these 3 colours, I still can't decide which one of them is my favourite because I love them all. I love Fame and Amethyst because the colours are so gorgeous. And I love Rave too because it's not just a plain brown but a beautiful metallic/shimmery brown. As you can see above, before I actually used Fame it looks quite dark and matte but after I applied a swatch the colour is a beautiful gorgeous teal!

Here is a look I did the other day using Rave. I don't think this picture does it justice but it's definitely a great alternative to the usual black eyeliner.

Overall I am very happy with my Makeup Geek haul. I am tempted to purchase more of the gel eyeliners and also the MUG eyeshadows which I've heard are really nice and pigmented. The shipping to Australia wasn't too expensive. Overall I paid around $45 for the above haul so it was a good value!

I can't wait to try more MUG products but I think I have to put myself on a spending ban for now... so until next time.

My current skincare wish list

So today I wanted to share my current skin care wish list. As you can see there is definitely a single common factor in the above wish list. All the products are from the brand Antipodes. You may have seen that I found out about this brand on my visit to Wellington NZ back in Feb where I purchased Antipodes Rosehip & Avocado Oil and Antipodes Grapeseed butter cleanser. Well, after I started using these two products I fell in love with this organic brand and I really want to get more of their skincare range.

At the moment I am using a mixed brand of skin care products. However I am trying to use more organic products or at least products that are paraben free and natural. So, I am now on the mission of trying to finish my current skincare products so I can buy more from Antipodes and start getting the products on my wish list.

So here are the products that I would really love to get from Antipodes:

1. Apostle Skin-Brightening and Tone Correcting Serum

This is a water-based serum to help target pigmentation, brighten your skin and restore even tone. It contains natural ingredients like Waiwera mineral-blessed water, Vinanza Oxifend, and Kiwi Fruit enzyme.


2. Joyous Protein Rich Night Replenish Serum

An intensive oil-based night serum that helps restore elastin to damaged and ultra-dry skin. It contains Himalayan goji, a blend of superfruit oils, subtropical hibiscus flower and kiwi seed oil.


3. Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream

An incredibly nutritious cream featuring native New Zealand manuka honey, a powerful antibacterial agent to assist in keeping skin completely clean and free of blemishes.


4. Saviour Skin Balm

Offer sure salvation to skin troubles with this potent conditioning balm. Nature's richest oils blend with the power-packed antibacterial and antifungal healing properties of totara and Australian tea tree, while antioxidant-rich echinacea and Vinanza Grape optimise cell and skin repair.


5. Aura Manuka Honey Mask

This facial mask delivers an intensely moisturising, cleansing and antioxidising treatment. It is the ultimate solution for spots and blemishes.


6. Hallelujah Lime & Patchouli Cleanser

A pure base of avocado oil gently removes impurities while carrot seed oil promotes skin that glows with good health. Highest quality essential oils of lime and patchouli work wonderfully to deeply cleanse, freshen and uplift.


7. Avocado Pear Nourishing Night Cream

This night cream contains 100% pure avocado oil, calendula oil from marigold petals, active manuka honey and Vinanza Grape.


8. Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream

A luscious yet light eye cream for a cooling and soothing sensory experience. Ultra-rich Vitamin C from the seed of New Zealand kiwifruit works superbly to help rescue damaged tissue.

Note: Descriptions of products taken from Antipodes official website


So there it is. There are quite a lot of products here so I definitely won't be able to afford it all but I am hoping I can get some of these on my next trip to Wellington coming up soon in June.

Have you tried products from Antipodes Nature?

Adore Beauty Haul plus a prize!

So earlier this week Adore Beauty had their 13th Birthday and they had a discount on their full price products. Anyway I decided to buy something and I went and bought a Tweezerman slant tweezers. I have heard good things about these tweezers....and the current tweezers I use aren't that great.
After purchasing I entered the competition that Adore Beauty was holding as part of their birthday. It was called Pass-the-parcel competition.

I found out a couple of days later that I had won something (through the beautiful Coconal on Beauty Heaven forum) and that my name was on Adore Beauty's facebook page.

I was so excited and the prize that I got was the NP Set Day to Night Palette. Adore Beauty said this prize was going to be included in my order.

Yesterday I received a package from Adore Beauty and I got my Day to Night Palette with a couple of samples and a Tim Tam! But my actual order was not there... However I called them today and they said it was getting shipped separately and I was glad when I came home to find another package from Adore Beauty. Of course it was my order and included was 2 samples and a secret Deluxe sample that was included in my order.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my purchase from Adore Beauty. They ship really quickly and their shipping fee was only $5.95. I was a bit disappointed with the "Deluxe" sample since I thought it would be slightly bigger but I guess that's just me.

I'm really excited to try out the palette that I won. The palette has 8 eyeshadows, 4 for day time look and 4 for night time look. It also comes with 2 blushes nude and pink, although I think the nude blush looks more like a bronzer. The eyeshadows in the palette looks gorgeous and great for everyday look.

Then below is the tweezers that I purchased. It's a limited edition zebra print Tweezerman slant tweezers. This is the full size tweezers. And yes, I know at $30 it is a very high price to pay for tweezers but I have been thinking about getting these for a while since I have heard people raving about them. I guess I will just have to try them out and I will see if they live up to the raves.

 So that's my haul from Adore Beauty! I will use the palette next weekend when I am going out for a party and will give a review then.

EOTD #11 Neutral eye makeup look with purple eyeliner

Last week I got a Clinique eyeshadow duo and blush which was a Gift with purchase (GWP) that a friend gave me. The 2 eyeshadows in the GWP was Clinique Colour Surge in Lucky Penny (a shimmery champagne with pink tones) and a shade from the Black Honey quad (a dark brown with red /burgundy tones). I love these eyeshadows. The colours are neutral but gorgeous and is perfect for everyday makeup look.

For this look I used the 2 eyeshadows I mentioned above but I wanted to add a pop of colour so instead of lining my eyes with a black eyeliner I used a purple liner. I think adding the purple using the liner gives a more subtle pop of colour.

To recreate this look:

1. I started by applying a base all over the lid and up slightly towards the brow bone. The base I used was Chanel Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadow in Emerveille. 
2. Then I applied the lighter shade in the Duo palette which was Lucky Penny all over the lid.
3. On the outer third of the eyes I pat the the darker shadow from the Duo (which was the dark reddish brown colour) and then with a fluffy brush start blending it towards the crease.
4. Pick up more of the dark reddish brown eyeshadow with the fluffy brush and blend it on the crease. 
5. I tightlined my upper lash line using MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack. This gives the illusion that the lashes are thicker.
6. I then lined the upper lash line with SEPHORA Flashy Liner Waterproof eyeliner in the colour Flashy Violet. 
7. I also lined the lower lash line with the same purple liner.
8. I finished off by curling my lash and applying mascara. The mascara I used was Australis Killer Curves mascara.

Products used for the eye makeup

I really like this look. I think the purple liner just add that subtle pop of colour without going over the top. You can easily take this look to a night time look by intensifying the darker eyeshadow and also intensifying the purple liner by setting it with a bright violet eyeshadow.

For the face I used Lancome Teint Visionnaire foundation, MAC Peachtwist blush and MUA Bronzed Perfection Bronzer.  And for the lips I used Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip balm stain in Adore.

And that's it! This was a pretty quick makeup look great for an everyday look. 

Review: Lancôme Teint Visionnaire Foundation

So I was lucky enough to be chosen to be a part of Beauty Heaven's trial team for the new Lanc ôme Teint Visionnaire Skin Perfecting Makeup Duo Foundation.

The Teint Visionnaire combines 2 products into one: a foundation and a matching concealer.
The foundation contains [LR 2412] which is the star molecule of Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector serum.  Lanc ôme claims the [LR 2412] works day after day to smooth wrinkles and refine pores and reduce the appearance of imperfections. The Teint Visionnaire contains 2% of the [LR 2412] molecule while the Visionnaire skin perfecting serum contains 4%.
The concealer/corrector is a high coverage corrector which claims to immediately reduce the appearance of dark spots, dark circles and imperfections.

I was very excited when I got chosen to try out this foundation because this is the first expensive/high-end foundation I've tried.

First of all the packaging of the foundation is quite unique and different to others I've seen. It does look a bit bulky but I don't tend to carry foundation in my handbag so I don't mind the look of the bottle at all.
I really do love that this is a 2-in-1 product. I love how the concealer is built into the bottle. It is located on the top of the lid off the bottle. You just flip the cap lid open and there's a small mirror inside which is quite handy.

The instructions says that you first apply the high coverage corrector then follow by applying the foundation. I did not follow this as I like to apply concealer after I apply foundation since I find that the concealer moves around if you apply it under the foundation.

The consistency of the foundation is thin but not too runny and it applies smoothly on the skin. The coverage of the foundation is light to medium. I like to apply it with a light coverage but you definitely can build it up to a medium coverage. The foundation nicely evens out my skin tone and gives me a natural finish. In addition I found that this foundation works really well with my dry skin. It's not drying at all, it doesn't make my skin look cakey and it feels very lightweight on my skin.

The foundation has an SPF factor of 20 which is higher than any other foundations I have used before.

Now the corrector formula feels very thick and heavy. I found that I need to warm it up with my fingers before I can apply it onto my skin. The corrector is definitely high coverage as I only needed to use a tiny bit to cover any imperfections. I don't have much imperfections on my skin but I have a few redness and scars from pimples and the corrector covers it perfectly. I also applied a tiny bit of the corrector under my eyes and even though it is a high coverage corrector I didn't find it looking cakey. The colour of the corrector is a perfect match with the foundation colour.

The shade that I received was 04 Beige Nature. Just to let you know the skin tone on my face and neck is lighter than my décolletage area and arms so I tend to use a foundation that is slightly darker so it blends in nicely all over. When I had to choose the shade for the foundation I went to David Jones and swatched the other range of Lanc ôme Foundation and the sales assistant matched me to 04 Beige Nature in Teint Idole. When I got the foundation I thought that it looked quite dark. However it does not look as dark after blending it with my fingers into the skin. When I apply the foundation onto my face I found that it worked better applying it with my fingers as it warms the product up and blended it nicely. If I apply it with a brush I found that it is a little bit too dark.

So does this product live up to its claims of skin benefits? Well, I have been using this foundation everyday for nearly a month now and in terms of skin benefits I can see that my pores look a bit more refined and my skin looks even and feels smooth. However other than that I haven't seen any other skin improvements as yet. I will definitely keep using this and hopefully in another month I can see the benefits that it claims to have.

Overall I really do like this foundation. It is lightweight and looks natural on the skin. The only downside was the colour was a bit hard to match. I did go to the store and tried on the lighter shades and I found they were too light so I think I was in between shades. I do find that I can get away with it if I blend it in really well into the skin and use a lighter colour face powder to set it.