MAC Wonder Woman Mighty Aphrodite Powder Blush

Hi everyone! Hope you are all having a great week. There have been numerous posts on the internet of MAC's new Wonder Woman collection. I've managed to resist many MAC collections in the past 6 months, but couldn't not resist purchasing their Powder Blush in Mighty Aphrodite.

I'm a huge fan of Superheroes. My favourite being Superman having watched The Adventures of Lois and Clark when I was younger, as well as the more recent Smallville. Wonder Woman is an empowered Amazon. She's super gorgeous, fights for sexual equality, and with her bullet-proof bracelets, and Lasso of Truth, has amazing accessories to boot!

I bought my powder blush from the MAC stall in London Selfridge's whilst accompanying my husband to his last ever exams as a Doctor. Until available nationwide, the Wonder Woman collection is sold exclusively at Selfridges.

The packaging of the box is super fun, bright and colourful. The packaging of the blush itself is a bit chunky looking, and the primary colours makes it look a little like a toy. It comes with a great sized mirror. The blush itself is a lot bigger than normal MAC blushes.

This blush contains 2 absolutely gorgeous shades; a warm peach coral with gold pearl, and a bright coral pink with gold pearl.

Swatches on my skin; without flash (above), with flash (below)

It's hard to use the bottom shade alone, unless you use a small blush brush. I like to swirl the two shades together (using more of the lighter top shade) to create a fresh looking, bright peachy-pink shade with a satin sheen. A really light-handed application is needed, anything more and I start looking like a clown.

In the pics below, I used a too much of the bottom shade and too heavy-handed application, resulting in overly bright colour on my cheeks.

Here is a pic using a slighter lighter application, and using more of the lighter coloured shade:

New Jill Stuart Spring 2011 Haul and Swatches

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a great start to the week! Today's post is on some items I bought from the Jill Stuart Spring 2011 collection. When I saw these promotional pics of model Lindsey Wixon as well as swatches from various blogs, I couldn't not resist purchasing a few items.

The lovely Jennifer from Life and Lens of Beauty does custom purchases, and she helped me buy the following items from Hong Kong:

Blush Blossom in Little Anemone 06

Mix Blush in Milky Strawberry 13

Lip Jewel in Catseye Wink

Her prices are very reasonable, and she's also super nice and friendly!

My favourite item of the 3 has to be the Blush Blossom in Little Anemone 06.



The colours in this blush are so pretty! I'm so glad that this isn't a limited edition, as I really love this blush. The scent is to die for...it's a beautiful sweet, floral scent that makes this blush a joy to use.


The lighter shade of this blush contains fine shimmer, which thankfully is not over the top with sparkles. It looks bright and natural one applied onto the cheeks.



I found these loose powder blushes really tricky to apply. I used to end up with powder everywhere, making a huge mess. My new trick is to use a good brush like Illamasqua's Blusher Brush to pick up powder from the netting, and using the padded part attached to the inner lid to wipe of excess powder. For some reason, I find using the Illamasqua brush causes a lot less mess than using the brush provided.

Next up is the Mix Blush in Milky Strawberry 13. The compact includes four sweet pastel shades. They can be used individually, but mixed together they give a pretty soft pink.

Lastly, I bought their newly released Lip Jewel in Catseye Wink 01. I love the beautiful packaging of this gloss!

The colour itself was not as pigmented as I had hoped, and look came out quite a light pink on my lips. The gloss is very shiney, packed with beautiful shimmer, and feels quite moisturising on the lips. I do which the coverage was not so sheer.

Here is a quick FOTD I did using the Blush Blossom in Little Anemone and Lip Jewel in Catseye Wink, to show you what the colours look on my skin.

Thanks again to Jen for helping me get these products!

Western BB Creams: Vichy Aera Mineral BB

Vichy Aera Mineral BB Skin Breathing Blemish Balm Cream (SPF20)

Whilst shopping in a Watson's in KL, I came across a BB cream from the French brand, Vichy. As Vichy products contain thermal spa water, and has a great reputation, I decided to give this BB cream a try.

This is the outer packaging. I'm so sorry it got squashed in my luggage!

I really like the packaging of the cream itself. It's in a sleek pearly beige tube, looks nice and minimalist.

The cream only comes in one shade, a light beige colour.

According to Vichy:


"Specially developed for Asian women.

High purity mineral pigments associated with Vichy Thermal Spa Water:
1. Instant natural skin tone self-unification
-Blemishes and wrinkles visibly fade out immediately. Complexion is naturally unified all day long.2. Healthier looking skin:
-Thanks to powerful antioxidants and UV filters, skin is protected day after day. Its original pre radiance is like recovered.
3. Ultra-safe formula
-Tested under dermalogical control. Hypoallergenic, non-pore cloggin, and free of fragrance and paraben. allos skin to breathe as if bare skin."

*OK, just to let you know, I've copied them word for word. As you can see, the English in some places is not quite right*

Ingredients:
Aqua, cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, glycerin, ethylhexl methoxycinnimate, HDI, hexyllactone, PEG-10 dimethicone, pentylene glycol, dimethicone, magnesium sulphate, propylene glycol, Bis-digyceryl polyacyladipate-2, sodium stearoyl glutamate, ascorbyl glucoside tocopheryl acetate, caprylyl gylcol, lactobacillus ferment, titanium dioxide, Iron oxides

My thoughts:

Texture and Scent

This products has a creamy consistency. It dries fairly quickly, so a tip would be to apply it onto your face quickly! If too much product is applied, it could give the skin a slightly 'caked' look, so I would recommend applying this cream sparingly. It's not very moisturising on my skin, so I would use this on top of a moisturiser.

It has a light, subtle scent, which is hard to describe. I've read it described somewhere as 'plasticky', but since the scent is subtle you don't really notice it.

Colour and Coverage

It only comes in one shade, that is of a light beige. Unlike tradiational BB creams, this shade doesn't have the slightest grey-cast to it. The colour matches my skin perfectly, and I've not really noticed any oxidation of colour. The coverage is very sheer, alot sheerer than most BB creams. It would not conceal any acne or any skin imperfections. It does, however, give the skin a nice looking finish. The finish is slightly matt, compared to the dewy finish of other BB creams. I found the BB cream to be pretty long lasting and I didn't need to reapply it during the day.

In the pic below, I'm wearing this BB cream on top of moisturiser. As you can see, it does not give me a flawless skin effect. I also found that it did not do much for my skin. It didn't cover my skin imperfections. However, it does look nice and natural with a matt looking finish.

Would I recommend it?

I would recommend it to those who have no skin concerns and are looking to even out their skintone and having a flawless finish. I like it because it did not irritate my skin, even when my skin's at its most sensitive. There are other BB creams out there that I prefer. It doesn't act as a concealer, primer and a foundation all in one. I would say it's more similar to a tinted moisturiser.

Pros:

- contains SPF20

- made from a skincare brand that I really like

- does not irritate my skin

- feels light and my skin looks really natural

- long lasting finish

Cons:

- only available in Asia

- pricey at ~£20

- coverage may be much too sheer

- some may describe the scent as 'plasticky'

NEW Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils: New Lover and Baroque

Hi everyone! Hope you are all having a good week!

I was really excited about the lauch of Nars new Velvet Glosss Lip Pencils as I'm a big fan of their Velvet Matte range. These gloss pencils are fairly pricey and cost ~£17.50 each, but since Nars is one of my fave makeup brands, I definitely planned to purchase them when they became available.

They were launched on Feb 1st, and I bought myself 2 shades; New Lover and Baroque.


Baroque on top, New Lover below:



New Lover on the left, Baroque right:



New Lover (left) is described as Strawberry Pink laced with Gold. Baroque is a Bold Raspberry Sorbet.

Here are some lip swatches. First up is New Lover. This is a gorgeous, easy to wear shade. On me, this colour looks a peachy, pinky-red (hard to describe!)

The gold flecks are fairly evident, especially in the pic below. This pic was taken in bright natural sunlight. The bright light washes out the colour of the gloss slightly, but you can see the gold shimmer.

Next up is Baroque. This shade is alot more pigmented then New Lover, and on the lips it's really quite dark. For the pic below, I've applied the pencil really sheerly on my lips more a more suitable day-time look. For some reason, it looks lighter in this pic than it does in real life - must be thst the lighting is too bright.

Below is the gloss 'un-sheered out':

I LOVE these pencils are they give the lips the shine of a gloss, without being over-the-top. They also lack the annoying stickiness of glosses. They feel pretty moisturising on the lips, leaving me with healthy looking, shiney lips.

One thing to note is that these bloss pencils have a soft consistency, much softer than the Velvet Matte Pencils. A light hand is needed when applying them, to prevent them breaking too easilty or wearing down too quickly.

Valentine's Inspired FOTD and OOTD using Jill Stuart Blush Blossom 03

Hi everyone! Valentine's day is coming up soon, so I've done a Valentine's Inspired FOTD for the occasion! I aimed for a soft, romantic look using lots of peaches and pinks.

Products Used:

Face

Vichy Aera Mineral BB Cream

Jill Stuart Blush Blossom 03 Lady Amaryllis

Eyes

Maybelline Eye Quad in Autumn Spirit

Collection 2000 Extreme Eye Liner

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Lips

Dior Lipstick in Rose Chic

I wanted soft, fluttery lashes, so I chose to use my favourite Max Factor's False Lash Effect Mascara.

I used my new Vichy BB Cream to even out my skintone. The BB cream is super sheer and light. I wanted soft, pretty peachy-pink cheeks for the romantic look. I applied my Jill Stuart Blush Blossom in 03, using the two colours blended together. I used my new Dior lipcolour in Pink Chic for pink lips.

Below is my very first Outfit of the day (OOTD). It's what I would wear to a Valentine's dinner if only the weather was nice and warm! I must apologise for the bad quality. I had my camera at the complete wrong setting! I see a lot of girl with really nice OOTD poses. In my pics, I'm just standing there, so I'm sorry for the lack of poses:

a) my full-length mirror is between my show collection and my wardrobe, so there's not much room to move

b) I really can't pose

My dress is from a small boutique in Bangsar Baru, KL which I bought last year. It has a silver-bronze detailing around the neckline, which you can see in my FOTD pics. My nude shoes are from Dune. Before I go, I want to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day for Monday!

Happy Chinese New Year & Quick CNY Inspired FOTD

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!! Hope you all have a very wonderful and auspicous year ahead!

This year, it's the year of the Rabbit. In Asia (or Chinatown), you can see lots of cute little rabbit decorations for sale. Not to mention adorable Chinese New Year cards with little bunnies, like this one my husband's grandma sent us.




In the spirit of Chinese New Year, I have decorated Ollivander, our little Olive tree with little chinese lanterns.

My family (but not me!) will be in Sarawak, Malaysia for Chinese New Year this year as there will be a huge reunion on my father's side. I'm not attending as I just came back from there. Somehow, I didn't find out about the reunion until a few weeks ago... I feel a bit left out of the loop!

Anyway, my family will be in my hometown of Miri to celebrate CNY with my Dad's side of the family, then Kuching to celebrate with my mum's family. I haven't been back to Miri in about 5 years, so it'll be nice to see what it's like nowadays. It was a quiet little beach town ~20 years ago when I used to live there, but it was a bustling city the last time I went!

I've done a quick FOTD to go with this post. I used my YSL Pur Couture red lipstick stained on my lips using my fingers, to create a more subtle cherry colour.

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to completely forego foundation this year (not sure how long this will last). Foundation tends to irritate my skin a lot and I feel I'm more suited to tinted moisturisers or light BB creams. Better yet is to not wear any base as then my skin will be irritant free. My previous FOTD was made before the New Year, so I've not quite violated my resolution yet!

For this FOTD, I'm using Shu Uemura's Instant Glow Skin Perfecting Cream instead of foundation. It gives skin a nice radiant look, however, I found it did irritate my skin a little bit.

Products Used:

Face
Shu Uemura Stage Performer Instant Glow Immediate Radiance Skin Perfecting Cream
MAC Blush in Peaches

Eyes
Dior Earth Reflection
Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black
Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Lips
YSL rouge Pur Couture in 01

Please excuse my very messy hair. Sadly it was kind of deliberate. I was trying a messy, just got out of bed look, but realised it did not go well with my type of fringe. So I ended up looking like a deranged witch.

One of my favourite blushers is Mac Peaches. It gives skin a nice peachy colour, while imparting a subtle glow. It makes me a little healthier looking. I'll be reaching for this blush more in the Summer.

It's tradition to wear red on CNY. I'm just wearing a simple red T-shirt in this FOTD as I realised I don't own many red clothes. I could have worn a cheongsam for the pics, but they are in very un-CNY colours of either white, blue or black.