Chinese New Year 2010…. The year of the tiger

Gong Hei Fat Choy! Wishing everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous year!

This year is the year of the tiger (that’s me!) rawr!

It’s that time of the year where we celebrate and eat until we have food baby (the name we call our stomach after we’re so stuffed full of food).

So for a quick update the makeup I did just for the very special first day of the year. Since it’s the tiger year I was inspired by the colours of the tiger. The beautiful colour of the orange of it fur. I’ve never actually ever worn orange eyeshadow ever in my life. It was always too bright to my liking to have on my face. I thought I would make my face look rather yellow, but today it proved me wrong. It’s a beautiful colour, providing you know how to use it. It turned out a lot better than I had thought.

The colours white, orange and dark grey (instead of black) were all taken from the “Manly 120 eyeshadow palette” that I had bought on Ebay sometime last year and hardly ever used. It was cheap, less that $20 (Aus) and when I bought it, it also came with a set of free travel brush set. Quite cute and even though it not the best of quality it better than some brushes you buy from shops.



I’ll stop rambling and show you the result.
The white is for the inner corner/lid of your eyes, I think it makes your eyes look brighter and gives it that “pop” kind of feel to it. The second colour I used was the bright orange (matte) to blend in with white until the end of the eyelids. Instead of black shadow, I thought a dark grey would suit better. It wouldn’t look as harsh and would be easier to blend with the bright orange.


Thus I ended up with this result. I've never worn orange eyeshadow in my life so that's probably why I hardly ever uses the manly palette. The colours in there are a bit too bright to what i would normally use.

FOTD

First off, I should really invest some money in a better camera. Obviously my mum’s simple Fuji Finepix Z is not a very good camera at all. Barely any function to use, it really is just a point and click camera that gives you bad quality. It doesn’t really show the right shades of the eye shadows or products that I use. Boo hoo!

I try to stick to normal “Drugstore” products but occasionally I’ll use the nicer brands, but at the end of the day I rather buy something that does it job and is at an affordable price. Anyway today I woke up late for work (hah! Typical five more minute of sleep), well that five minutes turned to twenty and I ended up stumbling out of bed. Rushed to the bathroom showered and washed my face as I normally do. Managed to do my usual face routine, but then realized I only have about ten minutes to my make up. Luckily within my short time I managed to snap a few photos of my face and then rushed off to work. My hair was a complete mess and I just had to fix it later, well after I got into the office that is.

Normally my make up is a lot nicer and my hair is very neat, but today just wasn’t that day. To make it worse my skin seems to having a break out. Red spots and patches here and there. It was a task trying to conceal them so I took longer than I expected. After my face routine (refer to previous post), I got down to business and I knew it would just have to be simple yet not so messy if possible.

1st: Estee Lauder Face Primer Plus – Colour Correcting Base
I’ve been using this one for a long time now and I like how it’s light and it’s not sticky like some other ones I’ve used. This one in particular is a gold colour one so it supposed to help reduce the redness on your face.




2nd: Estee Lauder Concealer Stick – Resilience Lift Extreme 02 Light Medium
Not the best concealer I’ve used. There are definitely better ones out there. It feels rather sticky and heavy for me. I know in general concealers are supposed to be thicker than foundation but this one just too heavy in my opinion. It easy to blend but it does take a bit of work.




3rd: Revlon New Complexion Foundation – 04 Natural Beige
My new favourite foundation! I was looking for a foundation that blends well with my natural skin tone and at the same time not heavy and thick. My previous foundation was a MAC one and I find their ones really thick and heavy on the face. It gives me the feeling that it clogs up my pores and my skin can’t really breathe. This one was actually introduced to me by my friend Astrid. She said this would probably be one that would suit my needs. It definitely was! It was light so not heavy and it covers just enough without having to feel heavy. If you wanted a thicker coverage you can always put on another layer. It is so smooth when it goes on and it blends so well. The only thing I don’t like about it is that you have to pour it out… so if you’re not careful you’ll pour out too much and it’s a waste. I normally use a brush to apply foundation but then a sponge to smooth out the strokes that are left behind. I find that the sponge can give you a smoother finish when you apply foundation to your face.



4th: Estee Lauder A78 Double Wear, Stay-in-place eyeshadow base
Very sticky and thick, I found it hard to blend out on the lid and if you don’t blend it out smoothly it’ll create creases, when I’m trying to reduce creases. I won’t be buying this one again when I’m finished using it. I’ll have to replace this one. It alright, it not completely bad but I just think it too thick to be going on the eyelids. It was quite pricey so for something so small that not doing a good job is not worth the value in my book. However I have friends who absolutely love it, so I guess it really depends on your own feel to it.



5th: Estee Lauder Signature Silky eyeshadow duo – 05 Pink Dust
I LOVE the two colours, completely love them and use them quite often. It was a gift in one of those promotion gifts when you spend a certain amount. I’m not sure whether they actually sell these colours individually or not, but I’ll be checking the next time round when I go shopping. Beautiful soft fairy pink and the brown isn’t too deep or dark. I applied the brown to my lid, but not too much just enough to give it a little depth. The pink was applied to the inner corner on my eyes (near the tear duct) to give my eyes a bit of a ‘pop’ or brighter look. I also used the brown right under the lower lash line to set the eyeliner.





6th: Prestige Cosmetics Liquid Eyeliner – LE 01 Black
Normally I would use a L’Oreal liquid eyeliner, but been the slacker lately I haven’t been bother to step out to get anymore since I’ve ran out like a month ago. Therefore I will have to live with this one for now. Something I bought a few weeks ago, but never got around to using after I put it into the drawer. I actually don’t remember why I even bought this eyeliner, but when I opened it and pulled out the brush I realised why. I loved the brush… it was like an art marker pen. The tip was the sort of tip I loved to use for eyeliner. It felt like I was drawing on my eyes with a pen and I found it so much easier than the L’Oreal one that I used. Prestige is also a drugstore product so it not overly pricey.






7th: Rimmel London Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer – 26 Noir
I used this on the bottom waterline since I used Liquid eyeliner for my upper lids. I also used this on my eyebrows, to shade in a little and then run it over with a brow brush to even it out. The pen is really creamy and rolls on real smooth, and it also came with a smudge tip on the other end so I guess it’s pretty handy at time.



8th: Covergirl Professional Loose Powder – 115 translucent medium
The powder I used to set my foundation, its light and it goes on smooth, a lot cheaper than the MAC ones and it does what it’s supposed to do. I mean I love the MAC powders but because I use them on a daily basis it runs out fast and to have to spend so much each time, is too expensive for me. This one comes with a little white puff pad, but I don’t use it and instead just uses a large powder brush to apply.




9th: Chi Chi Super Colour Stack – Blush (plum?)
I did a review on this product previously so check it out if you haven’t done so. It only had two blushes and I chose the darker coloured one. It’s pigmented and very smooth so when you swipe it on gently it glides on.




10th: Suki Shimmer Dust
Something I bought from Sasa in Hong Kong long while ago. It was so cheap and I saw how nice the shimmer was and how fine and smooth it was when I tried it on my hand. I used this one to highlight on my cheek bones and on the nose and chin. I will be buying heaps of cosmetics when I go on my holiday there again in mid March. So hopefully I’ll have lots of product reviews later on.



11th: Maybelline The Colossal Volum’ Express – WF110 Glam black
My favourite mascara at the moment. It really doesn’t lengthen my lashed it quite smooth. It doesn’t leave too much clumps behind if you apply it properly and don’t over do it. It makes my lashes so lush and long that I’m already running out and I haven’t had it for that long!


12th Covergirl Lipstick – 465 Peach Shine
Gorgeous pink, not too light, not too dark and not bright as. I’ve fallen in love with the beautiful colour. It quite creamy and it doesn’t dry out my lips like some lipsticks do.

13th: L’Oreal Paris 6H Clam Shine Lip gloss – 102 always pink
Nothing special but I’m pretty sure my mum bought this one for me so instead of wasting it I just use it. It one of those leaf shape sponge applicators so I’m not so fond of it. My lips aren’t that big so it kind of difficult to apply on without smudging it out of line. Normally I just dab a bit on and use a lip brush to smooth it out. It is really shiny, but not as smooth as I would like it.



So by the end of it the FOTD picture turned out like this. Not great but it would do since I only have ten minutes to do it. My eyeliner was actually a little uneven (thank god no one noticed). My lipstick was a bit uneven too but I fixed that while I was driving to work. It will teach me to get up earlier and to avoid the “five more minutes” situation.


Natural Light from window of my bedroom


with flash


sitting under the light on my desk

Disclaimer: I purchase every product mentioned in the post with my own money and I’m not being paid to review any items nor am I affiliated with the companies. These are just my honest opinions.

Why do we clean our makeup brushes?
Is it important to keep them clean?
How do we clean them?

We clean our makeup brushes to get rid of the cosmetic build up and bacteria that could form over the time. Everyone would have their preferred way of cleaning their brushes and to be honest I don’t think there is a right way to do it. I clean my brushes two ways, the first and easy way would be with the makeup brush cleanser. It’s quick and it’s simple. I use the Artiste, Brush cleaner by Manicare. It’s the convenient way of cleaner brushes on a daily basis after you’ve used them. It keeps it hygienically clean and reduces the chance of any build up of bacteria.



I normally just clean them straight after I’ve done my makeup and the lay them flat to let them dry while I’m out. I use a dry hang towel and a paper towel to clean the brushes. Firstly by spraying some of the brush cleaner onto the paper towel and wiping my brushes until all colours from cosmetics products are gone before wiping with the hand towel and letting it dry.

On a Fortnightly basis I actually clean all my brushes by washing them with a bit of warm water and shampoo. But gently without putting the brush out of shape too much. After a good shampoo I rinse it out thoroughly and wipe it with a dry towel before laying them all flat to dry over night.

I think that by cleaning the brushes you also get rid of any colour from previous application and it won’t mix in with the new colours that you use. By leaving build up on brushes you can tend to affect the colours you use after it. So in order to get the desired colour it is better to have a clean brush before application.

There are many brush cleaner solution available. I used to use the MAC solution but I found this one by Manicare for half the price and it did the exact same thing. It leaves my brushes cleaner and smelling fresh every time I use it.



Disclaimer: I purchase every product mentioned in the post with my own money and I’m not being paid to review any items nor am I affiliated with the companies. These are just my honest opinions.

My Daily Face Routine

Everyone has a different face routine they follow and I’m just here to share mine. I find that my face routine is rather lengthy compared to some of the other ones I’ve seen people follow. Perhaps I’m just fussy or I’m very particular about my face. I was never that teenage kid who had a massive skin break during a period. My skin had been relatively quite smooth and clean through my teen years. I only gotten the occasional pimples and they never lasted. The only problem I ever had was that the skin around my nose would tend to get rather dry and peel off. I’ve noticed my dad had the same problem so I’m not sure if it because that part of my face is particularly sensitive.

[STEP 1] I like to wake up in the morning and shower, so while I’m at it I wash my face with Nivea Visage, wash off cleansing gel. Working up a good lather on the face and then rinsing it off with warm water. After that I was my face again but this time with Nivea Visage, Clean Deeper daily deep cleansing wash scrub.

What’s the difference between the two? The cleansing gel is to get rid of dirt and oil while the wash scrub is to help prevent spots and blackheads (cleaning deeper into the pores). I like to pat my face dry rather than actually rub the towel all over my face. I think patting it dry prevent you from stretching your skin, and would likely reduce the chances of creating winkles. I don’t know if this is true, but that what I always thought.

[STEP 2] With cleansed and refreshed face, I do the next step. I use Nivea Visage, Refreshing Toner (for normal and combination skin). I apply a decent amount of this liquid with a cotton wool and avoids the eye area. I find that using a toner can really keep the skin moist, so it had always been a “must use” for me.

[STEP 3] Next of course is the moisturiser. Currently I’m using L’Oreal, Derma Genesis (cellular-youth creating skincare) SPF 15 Day Cream. This one is relatively new so I’m testing it out at the moment so far it is keeping my skin moist and my skin around the nose doesn’t peel anymore, so it is doing a great job for me.

[STEP 4] This is a new addition to my face routine, something I’m trying out to see how well it goes so this step is not definite for me yet. Something yet again from the Nivea Visage range. It’s called Aqua sensation, anti-shadow eye cream. It is supposed to be a cream that helps reduces dark circles and puffiness around the eyes, but since I’ve only started to use this I can not report any results as of yet. I will need to use this for a bit longer and hopefully then I’ll have an honest opinion of it.

I do the exact same routine at night, except in stead I use L’Oreal, Derma Genesis (cellular-youth creating skincare) intensive night cream.

Disclaimer: I purchase every product mentioned in the post with my own money and I’m not being paid to review any items nor am I affiliated with the companies. These are just my honest opinions.

Product Review: Chi Chi Super Stack of Colours (pic heavy)

Just dropping in to do a quick product review. Chi Chi was a product I always saw at Myer and Target whenever I go shopping, but I never actually bought anything from them. They're an Australian owned makeup brand (http://www.chichicosmetics.com/). From what I've seen on their website they seem to currently only sell in Australia. In my opinion they're very similar to drugstore makeup, like Rimmel, Covergirl, Maybelline, Revlon and so the list goes on. They're not expensive yet they're not the cheap stuff. Reasonably priced for some of their products which you can view on their website (No prices are shown). They've only got a small collection of makeup, so I'm guessing they haven't expanded all that much yet.

Anyway early this year after the New Year, I was wondering around Target on a day off. The sales were on and the place was packed! I always browse through the makeup section of the store and I came across something that looked interesting. It was something Chi Chi had released as a gift set before Christmas.

The original price for this package was only $29.95 (Aus $), and that itself was already cheap! Since it was the crazy Sale season I only ended up paying $17 for it. Bargain!





The package comes with 16 eye shadows.

8 Lip glosses.


2 blushes


1 Bronzer.


And 4 applicator brushes and a sponge.


Considering how much you get with it for that kind of price, I thought it was worth it. It's also very cute cos each individual compartment can be stacked, but the brushes must be on the bottom. It's convenient when you want to travel or carry it with you somewhere. Something ideal for you to take along with on holiday. You can even choose how many layers you want to take with you since each layer is interlocking.

I had a little fun with it, testing out the product itself. Below are some swatches I did of the eye shadows, blushes and bronzer. I haven't testing the lip glosses yet but the colour look so pretty. It's very pigmented and it glides on smoothly and i love the ranges of colour it came in.

Bronzer, Blushes and some of the eye shadows...

I fell in love with the blue... it's not too dark yet it's not the bright/light kind of blue either. Here is a couple of pictures with the blue eyeshadow on my lids ^_^

Well that's all for now, I'll try updating on a regular basis and hopefully I'll have more reviews or even FOTD to put up here on my blog. Don't forget to follow if you're interested.

Disclaimer: I purchase every product mentioned in the post with my own money and I’m not being paid to review any items nor am I affiliated with the companies. These are just my honest opinions.

A Quick Peek

Just a quick peek into my bedroom, well just the important corner that is. The corner with all my makeup, hair tools and magazines. I get ready here every morning for work and when i go out for some fun at night :)

It's a bit messy since I didn't have the time to pack some of the things out, so you can see magazines and draws opened :p It isn't anything fancy because I ended up using my old study table instead of buying a new table. I moved all my computers out of the room so it wouldn't be so crowded. The big mirror on the table was something cheap I recently bought from IKEA, if i remember correctly it was only $19.95. The also have some great lights you should check out, I bought one for $29.95 that could move around to suit my lighting preference when doing my makeup or hair.

I bought these small drawers for like $5 each a long time ago from Red Dot. I never ended up using them until now, and I just keep all the most used makeup in them. Like the foundations, concealer, some eyeshadow (mostly neutral), primer, powders, eyeliners and mascara. All my other makeup that I don't use on a regular basis are kept in a bigger Drawer compartment under the table. The brush holder was something I bought not too long ago, just last December before Christmas when everything went on sale. I got it for like $8 or something at Priceline. It's not that great but it will do for now while I shop around for something better :) The lipstick holder, was something free I got at a nearby pharmacy when i purchased a foundation from them. They gave me two of them but my mum took the other one.

Time for me to get some sleep, before another long day at work :)