September's farewelled products

Here are my first spring empties for the season...

Skin care

103) Simple Kind To Skin Micellar Cleansing Water (6.7 fl.oz/200ml) - Finally I've proven to myself that not all micellar waters are the same.  I could feel and smell the alcohol in this version every time I used it and yep it contains Hexylene Glycol and Panthenol.  Will not repurchase.

104) Maybelline Makeup Remover Eye & Lip (70ml/2.4 fl. oz.) - I just finished another bottle of this reliable little remover but the wanderer in me has moved onto to trying other things so stay tuned for some changes in this usually boringly same area.

105) Indeed Labs Hydraluron Moisture Jelly (1.0 fl.oz/30ml)* - I became quite hooked on this non-greasy moisture jelly, ended up using it day and night so got through it quickly. It's on my repurchase list for a refreshing summer moisturiser. Read my full review here.

Hand and body care

106) L'Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream (30ml) - Another tube of my absolute favourite heavy duty hand cream is done and dusted.

107) Natio Wellness Hand Cream SPF15 (100ml/3.3 fl.oz) - Now this hand cream is another favourite.  It's not quite as heavy duty but I love the pomegranate scent and the SPF offers added protection for daytime wear.

108) Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Hand Therapy (25g./0.9 oz) - I can't say this hand cream isn't a favourite either as I'm a longtime fan of C & E hand creams.  Let's face it I'd repurchase - and have repurchased - all of these hand creams!

109) Manicare Noir Collection Black Vanilla Nail Polish Remover Pads (32 pads) - I packed this for my Singapore vacation and finished it off after I returned. I wouldn't bother trying it on glitter polish but it worked really well to remove cream polishes as it removed and moisturized in one go.  I actually liked the black vanilla scent too.

Hair care

110) L'Oreal Professional Volumetry Anti-Gravity Effect Volume Spray (125ml/4.2 fl.oz) - A few spritzes on pre-blowdried hair gave me soft and touchable volume without stripping the shine from my hair.

111) L'Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray Normal Strength (75ml purse size) - I only buy small sized cans of hairspray because I don't use it that often.  This hairspray did the trick for adding a little more staying power to my hairstyle when I needed it without it looking stiff.

Cosmetics

112) Kevyn Aucoin The Volume Mascara (Black) - Unfortunately this tubing mascara was a huge disappointment for me.  It added no volume (The Volume?) and the tube dried out in record time - just over a month!

113) Revlon Colorburst Lipstick (001 Lilac) - Such a pretty and wearable lilac for everyday but unfortunately the entire line of these lipsticks were discontinued some time ago.

114) Fresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment SPF 15 - I have to thank the wonderful Larie for gifting this to me - I loved it! So richly moisturising with just the right amount of shine and a very flattering tint.

There weren't any samples finished this month as I fell into a bit of a happy routine with my skincare and makeup so that's all until the end of October rolls around!

(Products marked * were provided for my consideration.  All comments and opinions are my own.)

My travel makeup bag: What I packed and what I actually used...

I've been back from Singapore three weeks already(!) but my travel makeup choices are still fresh in my mind so for once I'm sharing my travel makeup bag contents with you.  I was aiming for the barest minimum I could get away with packing this time, because you know how it goes, you - well, me - might pack for every possibility then only end up using a small core number of items anyway...

I thought I did a pretty good job of pared down packing this time around yet I still didn't use everything and I also had some disappointments in my smallish selection.  So as you've figured, this post is about what I packed, what I did/didn't like and what I didn't even use!

Face

I was never going to go overboard with my base products and I know the Singapore climate can get pretty steamy at times so I stuck to the basics so as not to have to worry about my face melting off.

I didn't want to bother with glass bottles so opted for a stick foundation this time and had a winning combination in Revlon Photoready Insta-Fix Makeup (140 Nude)* set with a little Rimmel Lasting Finish Powder Foundation (002 Soft Beige)*. After initial struggles with it, I've finally found the best way to use the Rimmel powder is as a topper, and the foundation stick and powder combination stood up to the humidity while still looking natural.

Benefit's The Porefessional was my primer because of the small tube - well yes I was all about cramming in as little as possible this time - and because it works to blur the dreaded pores on and around my nose.  I used the teeny Benefit Stay Don't Stray for the first time (ever!) as my eye shadow base and found it pretty darn good as an eyelid brightener as much as a effective base for holding my eye makeup in place so that was a daily staple.  On the other hand - and I'm not sure why - Benefit's Ooh La Lift didn't really get much use and I only used it once to brighten the under eye area after I realized my rather expensive Tom Ford concealer wasn't cutting it. See below for my thoughts on that product - I forgot to include it with the base products so it's with eye makeup stuff.

For colour I used Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Medium/Deep Matte Bronzer for the occasional bit of after-dark contouring and a little sweep of the very soft Bourjois Rose Pompon blush for the daily dose of cheek colour.  I've had that blush in my drawer forever so it had its inaugural outing on this trip.  It's very soft and needs to be built up so it was good choice for avoiding the obviously made up look - I don't want to look like I've tried too hard on holiday!

Eyes

Again it was all about low-fuss low key items so I chose the very compact neutral Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics for my every day eye makeup - I personally prefer this slightly cooler, more muted palette over the original Naked Basics - and packed my favourite L'Oreal Infallible Hourglass Beige shadow which came in handy to add a touch of shimmer for evening eyes.  I like a little bit of pencil liner for daily definition and Face of Australia's Brown Eye Definer was a no-brainer choice because I use it just about every day anyway.

Now for the disappointments. Tom Ford Concealing Pen (Light/Medium) was something I'd stashed away for a worthy special occasion and it just completely underwhelmed me.  I didn't like the sponge applicator and the shade was too dark to do anything to brighten my under eye area - I don't know how the hell I got sold into making that mistake! The other disappointment was Kevyn Aucoin's The Volume mascara. I packed this because it's a tubing mascara, perfect for humidity, swimming and so on...but the brush...I think it's the brush...maybe it's the rather dry formula too?...did nothing to deposit enough mascara to volumize my lashes. They were tinted more than voluminous. Ugh.

Lips

I tried to cover all the possibilities, within reason, for a week's worth of lip choices (I only chose 6 items and most of them were minis, hah!) and you know what? This is where I actually over packed!

I was so sure I would need a red lip option that I packed two - Tom Ford Cherry Lush Lip Colour and the very vampy Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick (Icon) - and yet I wore neither! Nude or mauve pinks were the winners - rather than reaching for the obvious red I ended up wearing bareMinerals Marvellous Moxie Lipstick (Speak Your Mind) topped with another bareMinerals Marvellous Moxie Lip Gloss (Show Off) for my evening lips, while Chanel Glossimer (119) or The Body Shop Flavoured Gloss (Coconut) were easy daily choices.

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So that was my vacay makeup bag:  mostly good choices, some bad, a few unnecessary things, but I'm satisfied to have used most of what I'd packed!

Do you travel light when it comes to makeup or do you like to plan for all the possibilities?


(Products marked * were provided for my consideration.  All comments and opinions are my own.)

My 2014 luxe beauty wishlist!

Hi again!

 

As you'll very likely know by now I'm on a self-imposed beauty diet this year, and the reward for every two makeup items I finish will be the purchase of one luxury or high end makeup item from my wishlist.  The purpose is to stop my makeup collection from increasing further, largely by preventing impulse buying by sticking to my wishlist. 

 

Now for the fun part:  the wishlist! I took my time poring over 'best of beauty' posts, watching high end makeup YouTube videos, and going back over my own mental wishlist of things I've been curious to try or favourites I simply want more of, trying to cover every possible type of makeup item I could possibly (and impossibly?) want to buy over the next 9 months or so (until I head overseas again).  As you can see from my collage above, the list is long, but that's because it covers everything and even offers multiple choices in products such as lipsticks and blush - I'm trying to anticipate here!  I've listed them below by category:

 

Base products

• By Terry - Touche Veloutee Enlightening Concealer Brush
• Dior - Diorskin Nude BB cream 
• Guerlain - Meteorites 
• Hourglass - Veil Mineral Primer SPF 15 
• Kevyn Aucoin - The Sensual Skin Enhancer 
• Kevyn Aucoin - The Celestial Powder 
• Laura Mercier - Loose Setting Powder

Cheeks

• By Terry - Blush Terrybly
• Dior - Rosy Glow Healthy Glow Awakening Blush
• Guerlain - Terracotta Bronzing Powder
• Hourglass - Ambient Lighting Blush
• Kevyn Aucoin - The Sculpting Powder
• NARS - Powder blush
• YSL - Rosy Blush Collector Face Palette (Spring 2014 collection)

Eyes

• Chanel - Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow
• Chanel - Le Volume De Chanel Mascara
• Lancôme - Artliner Sapphire or Amethyst
• YSL - Pivoine Crush Ombrés 5 Lumières Eye Palette (Spring 2014 collection)  

Lips

• Chanel - Glossimer
• Ellis Faas - Hot Lips Lipstick
• NARS - Schiap Semi Matte Lipstick
• Tom Ford - Pink Dusk Lip Color

Now it's time to get my act together and focus on using up my first two products! Just in case you're interested in those, the products on my must finish hit list are (in no specific order):

 

MAC Lipglass - Viva Glam VI

MAC Lipglass - Sizzlepeach

MAC Lipglass - Zazoom

Models Prefer Ultra Lip Gloss Pencil - Perfectly Polished

MAC mono eyeshadows - Vex and Shale

Maybelline - Age Rewind Concealer

L'Oreal Bare Naturale Blush

MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil - Bordeauxline

Bloom - Eyeshadow Base

Estee Lauder - Crystal Cherry Lipstick

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick - Temptation

Tom Ford Lip Color - True Coral

Wet n Wild Eyeshadow trio - Walking on Eggshells

Bourjois - Volume Glamour Ultra Curl Mascara

Lancôme - Hypnose Doll Eyes Waterproof Mascara

 

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What's on your beauty wishlist this year?

 

VIDEO POST: Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow Blush & Celestial Bronzing Veil - first impressions

Happy new week everyone!

This week's video turns the spotlight onto Kevyn Aucoin courtesy of Ling's recent Net-A-Porter-Beauty shopping.  Ling shares her initial opinions and wields her gigantic fluffy powder brush on camera, bronzing her cheeks for the very first time while I provide very useful advice telling her to "...suck in those cheeks..."!

 

Products featured:
Celestial Bronzing Veil - Tropical Days
Creamy Glow Blush - Tansoleil
Makeup Master Kabuki Brush

Until next time!