0 Clinique Derma White Bright C Stick Make up Spf 15

Received this as a super early xmas gift from one of my dear close friends. (THnx very much babe XD ). I have never used a stick foundation before (I prefer liquid foundations) as I have always thought that most of the stick foundations on the market would be too thick for my liking. But this stick foundation from Clinique proved me wrong. It applied quite lightweight on my skin without feeling heavy @ all. And having a combination-dry skin, I find this foundation quite moisturisng on my skin and does not cake up like some cream foundatios do. 

Advantages of this product:

- Cream stick foundation that has whitening properties

- Contains a high concentration of Vit C and Vit E @ the centre of the stick (the white portion) to help brighten and soothe skin

- Helps to reduce shine immediate ly resistant to hot and humid water

- Gives sheer to medium coverage (depending on how much u layer)

What I like about this product:

- Gives some coverage without looking too thick or cakey on the face

- Moisturising on my combination-dry skin

- Lasts quite well in the humid weather over in my country with some loose powder dusted over it. In air condition room, I can even skip the powder on the drier parts of my face

- Glides on smoothly onto the face, Easy to blend

- Does help to brighten the skin after applying and after 2 weeks of using this foundation I can see my face look slightly brighter than before (perhaps due to the Vit C and Vit E in this product)

- Packaging is very compact. Easy for on the go, if I travel

What I dislike:

Basically I can't fault much about this product coz I do honestly quite like this foundation.

Rating: 9/10

0 Laurer Mercier Illuminating tinted moisturiser

Got my friend to order this online from their website (LM is about 20% more expensive in my country) as I wanted to try out their tinted moisturizer. 

All I can say is that eh erm.. I should have ordered the non-illuminating tinted moisturizer. I have pretty dry skin on my face (except the T-zone which is oily) and I still find that IF i over apply on my cheek areas, it makes me look WAY TOO GLOWY lol... Not very flattering. A little goes a long way for this product for me. It's nice when I use it in small amt though.

Definitely won't recommend this to people with oily skin, coz it will even make u more GLOWY... which is the last thing u want if u have oily skin. And it does not have any oil control. I will use this only for my cheek areas which are more dry, as for my T-zone, I would use other product as I find that it's jus too glowy for my T-zone lol! But I like the glow it gives on my cheeks. So I may use this to mix with my regular foundie for a subtle glow.

Lasting power is so-so, require touch up of powder after about 4hrs plus. 

It comes in a pretty big tube of 50ml, and with the small amt needed, I can see this lasting me for ages...

Recommend this to people who like the glowy finish and with normal to dry skin. Ladies with oily skin and large pores, stay away from this as the sheen in this may emphasize the imperfections in the skin :X  

My rating: 6/10

0 MAC Divine Desire full face kit - Paramour Pink

As promised, here's pics and a short review of the other face kit which I bought from MAC 2012 holiday sets in Paramour Pink. Packaging exactly the same with the Quite coral full face kit so shan't say anything more about the packaging.

This kit consist of 5 items

129SH brush

Warm embrace lipglass (a light pinksh lipgloss - I personally quite like this color alone as a soft wash of colors on the lips on light make up days)

Heart to Heart lipstick ( it looks more red to me rather than pink. Kinda reminds me of a more toned down version of MAC's speak louder lipstick. It's a cremesheen finish and does not emphasize the dryness and the fine lines on my lips like the Satins and Mattes do and has more color pay off than the Lustre finish)

Divine Desire blush (a reddish pink blush with a frost finish - warning, do not overload on this blush...it may be too frosty if over applied. Best used with a strippling brush)

Purple Daze technakohl - Regular item in the permanent line.

@ Our local counters, this was the first set to sell out and I can see why as this set can be worn by women of all skintone colors as compared to the other 2 sets which can quite pale on certian skintones. Would recommend this to people of all skintones as compared to the Quite coral set.

I am still thinking whether to buy the sinfully chic face kit to complete my full face kit sets... sighs...

Warm embrace lipglass

0 MAC Divine Desire full face kit - Quite Coral review

Phew, I am really quite broke from MAC's holiday season, what with the 6 items I bought from Glamourdaze and another 4 items from the holiday sets, I am done shopping for the rest of the month.  

So one of the items I hauled was the Divine Desire full face kit in Quite Coral. Price is quite a killer for me over in my country :X :X as compared to the US, But I was drawn to the pretty satiny clutch packaging. UNFORTUNATELY, while taking swatch pics for this blog entry, one of my lipstick toppled over and stained my clutch. :( I am still trying to find a way to remove the lipstick stain from this clutch. So word of caution, if u do purchase the satin packaging sets from this collection, do be very very careful not to get any stains on them esp lipstick or liquid stuff, otherwise u might end up like me, having a hard time trying to remove the stain :(

So basically each of the full face kit contains of: 129SH brush, a Lipstick, a Lipglass, a small blush (the size about a Pro longwear e/s) and a regular shade of technakohl liner. The lipstick, lipglass and blusher are all LE colors, only sold in the sets.

Well enough of talkin here are pics of packaging of the face kit.

There is a small pouch/ compartment for the 129SH Brush that this set comes along with. And U can lift up the Divider, which has a mirror on the other side of it.

To convert this clutch into a jewellery case or case for storing other bits and pieces, u can actually remove the plastic pc that is holding all the products and it will look like this

Now for close up pics and swatches of the products....

I find that the blushers from the face kits have a slight frost finish to them, so it's not advisable to layer on too much of the color on the face if not it might get slightly too frosty, Otherwise I m loving this peachy corally blush from this set. As for the Lipglass, It looks pigmented in the tube, but it goes on quite sheer on my lips and I love this lipglass color as well

Am loving In a Heart Beat lipstick. It's a cremesheen formula so it's really moisturising for my lips which can be dry and chappy @ times. And I always like coral and peachy lipsticks so I love this shade as well.  And below are comparison swatchs of some other coral lippies from MAC which I own. Wanted to add in Ravishing, but I CANT seem to find it :( :( 

Stay tuned for my next update on the other face kit which I bought in Paramour Pink =) HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all

0 MAC Glamourdaze Color collection Haul

I keep telling myself that I have to go on a make up ban, but whenever MAC releases a new collection, I can't help buying especially if there are NEW blusher colors being released. Arggh. Same goes for this collection. I bought the following

All 3 blushers (Being a blush whore, I had to buy ALL)

1. I'm the One

2. Easy Manner

3. Small Vanity

2 lipstcks and a lipgloss in

1. Outrageously Fun

2. Innocent

3. Talk softly to Me

I tested out Beauty lipstick @ the counter as well, But it was too pale and ashy on me by itself, So I skipped that even though I could use that as a mixing color, but I foresee myself not to wear that often so.. I skipped. I already own both the extra dimension skinfinishes from another collection so I skipped that and the e/s as well (felt that the colors were quite common, nothing that really WOWed me). Coz I gotta save some $$$ for the holiday sets. 

Here are some pics and comparison swatches of products which I feel are quite similar but not quite the same to the stuff I bought

I'm the One (Satin) - Quite similar to MAC Peony Petal with a slight pink purple undertone to it. At first judging from the Pan, I though I m the One would be lighter than Peony Petal. I was wrong. I'm the one has slightly more color payoff than Peony Petal. Both are satin finishes.

Easy Manner (Satin) - A pale neutral pink with the tiniest hint of peach.I would  say it is an in between color between Pink Tea and The Perfect Cheek, All being Satin finishes.

Small Vanity (Satin) - Brownish tone blush. Very similar to Blushbaby but with a different finish. Blushbaby being a Sheertone blush is slightly more sheer than Small Vanity

Outrageously fun kinda reminds me of a brighter and more pink version of Up the Amp which is definitely slightly darker n not as pink as Outrageously fun. I would say it would be a cross between Pink popcorn (LE lipstick from Reel sexy) & Up The Amp

Forgive me for my dry and chapped lips. Tried exfoliating it already but it's still so dry from the medication I am taking that No matter how much water I take or balm I put, it's still dry and flakey. Innocent is a frost finish lipstick with coral undertones, and if u have dry chappy lips, either u put lots of balm before it or stay away from this. Coz if ya not goin to put balm below it's gonna end up lookin a bit chappy like mine >.< Mine lips are usually not this dry though...

Not a big fan of the lipglass finish, I love this color, but dun quite like the finish for this. I've tried on other MAC lipglass before and they don't go on as uneven as this color when I first applied. But after a while it kinda settles into my lips and doesn't look as uneven as when I first applied... bUt stilll..... Nice color...but I think I would prefer this in a cremesheen formula. It's a nudish pink, best worn with stronger eye make up.

0 Urban Decay Vice Palette

When I first saw picture of this palette online, I knew I had to have this palette. I don't have too many of UD's palettes, but whatever palettes that I have (Alice in Wonderland, NYDC BOS, Black palette, Naked Palette) I loved them. Of course in every palette that UD makes, there are bound to have one or two which are too glittery for my liking, but the other colors more than make up for my dislike for the glittery ones.

Compared to the previous BOS, this palette is much slimmer and much friendlier for traveling. And what I like about this palette is that it has a balance of neutral, bright and smokey colors, so there is something for everyone in this palette. I can see this palette being a very versatile one. All swatches pic are swatched without eye base. Pls click pictures for enlarged pic esp for the swatches.

 Packaging of the palette

It is much slimmer than the previous BOS that UD released

Click for enlarged pic

Desperation: No Dupe for it from MAC

Muse: Looks like a darker version of MAC's Mulch e/s, nice for a smokey brown look

Jagged: No Dupe from MAC, Not a fan of this shadow, coz it's too glittery and chalky as u can see from the swatch...I suppose using a base would help with the application.. But still..

Blitz: A nice dirty gold to match the other browns in the palette, 

Penny Lane: Kinda reminds me of MAC's goldmine, but lighter and less orange. Has smooth texture

Junkie: Quite close to MAC shimmermoss, but this is a tad darker than shimmermoss. Texture is smooth and blendable

Chaos: This is the blue that attracted me to the palette, When swatched I find it pretty smooth, but it's best to use this with a base to bring out the pigmentation of this color even more.

Occupy: Smooth texture and easy to blend. A good color for smoky eyes.

Unhinged: Reminds me of the defunct MAC's parrot e/s but less blue and intense than Parrot. Good texture as well

Black market: Smooth and good texture with intense pigmentation. Great for lining or for smokey eyes. 

Provocateur: I don't care too much for this as just like Jagged it's too glittery for my liking. An eye base is a must for this color, otherwise I foresee glitters all over my face XD

Rapture: Smooth and blendable texture. More purple than MAC's satin taupe, It's a good everyday color for work. Would wear this again and again

Vice: Similar to MAC's satelight dreams but with more blue undertones to it. Easy to blend as well.

Noise: A very interesting shade of pink, would go well with the purples and golds in this palette. Also very blendable

Amor: Another glittery e/s but not as glittery as jagged and provocateur, It's still a workable color

Nevermind: A great neutral everyday color. Smooth and blendable texture

Echo Beach: Reminds me of MAC's blonde gold pigment. Buttery smooth and blendable. Good for lazy days where I just wan a wash of color on my eyes

Anoymous: Dupe from MAC - Vanilla or Brule

Freebird: Reminds me of MAC's jest e/s. Slightly more shimmer than jest, but still smooth and blendable, A very good neutral shade to work with

Laced: A good socket color for contour, More pink than MAC's wedge e/s

0 MAC For Marilyn Haul

I didn't get what the hype was all about for this collection.... The eyeshadows were blah, and neither am I a fan of red lipsticks. I only ended up hauling three items from this collection, the 2 blushers and Scarlet Ibis lipstick (Which is a repromote from Iris Apfel --sorry if i get the spelling wrong). 

Both blushers are light in color, but buildable. Legendary definitely has more color than Immortal flower which I didn't get because it was too light even on my NC20 skin. I would compare The perfect cheek to MAC Mocha blush, but less pigmented than Mocha blush.

As for Scarlet Ibis lipstick, I find that although it really looks almost identical to Lady Danger when swatched on the hand, but when worn, Scarlet Ibis has more red tones to it while Lady Danger has more orange tones to it. I don't exactly like red lipsticks, but I do kinda like red lipsticks with orange undertones. I find that Red-Reds tend to make me look more mature than my actual age >.<

Enough of talking here are the pics and swatches.

And here's a pic of Scarlet Ibis on my lips, sorry for the poor resolution as it was taken using a HP camera