Daily Makeup Setup

Over the weekend I rearranged my makeup stash. I'm proud of this little daily makeup setup I've put together. I'm hoping that it not only reduces the amount of time I spend every morning figuring out what makeup look to put together, but also help me complete a few products.

While I sorting out what products to put together, I was shocked at the number of lipsticks and blushes I owned. I mean, literally SHOCKED! I don't dare count and you know what's even more looney? I want to buy more!!! For every lipstick I finish, I buy 10+ more. With that, do tell my illogical brain that I do not need those cute Mon Shu lipsticks, pllllleeeaaassseee?! lol 

These MUJI drawers are not a new thing to the beauty community. Their viral popularity is mostly makeup storage related, and maybe the occasional accessories storage. MUJI probably didn't realise the potential these acrylic drawers had when they first made them. Not only are they the cheaper alternative to the Clear Cube, they are made with consistent durable quality. 

I find them perfect for displaying lipsticks, lipglossses and eyeshadows, but perhaps a bit too small for blushers and base makeup. 

I bought two 2-drawers, one with a lid and the other with 2 drawers. They stack on top of each other nicely without sliding about.

The top compartment houses all of my face products; including sunscreens, primers, foundations, concealers and powders. I am almost close to finishing the Guerlain Lingerie de Peau foundation, and halfway through both the Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation and MUFE HD Foundation. 

I keep some of my blushes and bronzers that I'm hoping to use more in the 2nd compartment. I completely forgot about Azalea Blush Ombre and Instant Chic blushes from MAC, and I hope that this organization forces me to use it more often than I do now. 

My Burberry and my only 3 Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadows are assembled in my 3rd compartment. I love this drawer because it keeps things simple to the basics. One primer - a few mascaras - a few liners - lash curlers - and my swoonful stash of Burberry. 

And finally, my last houses the lipsticks that I'm determined to create a dent. It might take me a year to finish all these lipsticks... But -8 from my stash-of-infinity is certainly an achievement, nonetheless! 

Eye and face brushes are bundled into two separate MUJI cups, both made out of plastic. 

How do you store your makeup? Has the way you store your makeup helped to curb your makeup spending? I'll love to know!

Also, Happy Halloween Everyone! How are you spending yours? I'm not one to celebrate Halloween, so instead I'll be preparing some yummy salmon and cozying up to some YouTube. But if I'm courageous, I might put on a black cape and do bikram yoga tonight with it. That sounds like a great way to spend halloween, ain't it? haha!

The Face Shop Essential Mask Sheet in Pearl

I used to always make fun of my mum when she wore sheet masks when I was younger. I never knew I would also fall victim to Asian sheet masks. Now, this is not the first sheet mask I've used (my mum used to buy me ton of Beauty Diary Face Masks when she travels to Taipei). But it's certainly the first time me showing my sheet-masked-face on my blog. 

I'm no expert to reviewing sheet masks. I only use them on an occasional basis, when I've got nothing better to do than mask my hair, face, and paint fingernails. Obviously, today is one of those days where I'm getting everything done!!

Like most Korean shops, there's a wide selection of sheet masks to choose from. The Face Shop is one of those where you'll get lost in variety, but each mask is priced at about $3-$5 (depending on where you get them), so it's more like candy-picking and trial-and-error. 

I bought 5 of the Pearl Essential Sheet Masks from The Face Shop. These are supposed to give some radiance...  

The quality of the cloth feels thick, unlike the Beauty Diary Masks. The size is also good, fitting quite well to the contours of my face. As you can tell, I have a less than average sized nose! LOL! And, this is why I would normally never review face masks. :o)

My biggest gripe with these face masks is the essence (or whatever you call it), which constantly dripped from my chin downwards. Comparing this to the SKII treatment essence sheet masks, I thought it was abnormal to be this drippy. Oh, must I say that it was the SKII sheet masks that converted the skeptic in me - they were instant magic on my skin and the luminosity of my skin lasted for a few days. From that day on, I have been hunting for cheaper alternatives that could give me the same effect. I might have to pick the occasional SKII face mask, because I have found none that is quite as good. 

Sorry, I digressed. The Face Shop's Pearl Essence Face Masks makes my skin feel sticky, and I saw no difference to my skin after. I saw better results with The Beauty Diary Face Masks. 

Skip this!

Thanks for reading :o)

Chanel Joues Contraste Rose Initiale Gorgeousness

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a splendid weekend. Mine will start in about 2 hours... I'll be going to a housewarming party and in fact will be wearing this look, which I will show you in just a bit.

Basically, it features my new Chanel Joues Contraste in Rose Initiale that was released in the Chanel Autumn 2012 collection sometime in July. I'm a bit late on the Autumn collections especially that of Chanel, but only because I just can't see myself getting into autumn when I'm still enjoying the summer. 

I have mine in the EU baked version. I noticed no slight shimmer like the US version.

I would describe the color to be a rose pink, leaning warmer than JC Pink Explosion (released in 2010). Rose Initiale is an extremely wearable color and looks perfect when worn with a pronounced lip. Given my propensity to have my cheeks on the more subtle side, I do think JC Rose Initiale is one of those products that simply can't be overdone no matter how hard you try. For the purpose of this FOTD, I went for double applications to make the cheeks show through on photographs.

The brush that comes along with the blush does not fall short of quality - it feels luxurious and soft. I wish I could touch up on blush during the day like some ladies do, however, I simply can't make myself do it. The thought of having the dirt or dust transfer to the product and then having to clean the brushes... it's simply a 'no' for me. That said, JC blushes are all lovely to travel with.

I used my ultra soft RMK blush brush to apply a couple sweeps and the result is divine. JC blushes are magical in that way - it seems to transfer the color into your skin, blending it so softly that you don't any signs of harshness.

Here, I am wearing Dior Rouge Nude in Guipure (swatched here)

And here's all the products used to create this look. Read on to see some quick thoughts on some of these products...

MAC Fascinating Ruby in Smokey Eyes has some of MAC's most essential neutral shades. I grab this far more than the Naked Palette. I don't know why... I used MAC Carbon and Dark Devotion to accentuate the outer corners.

The brown shade from Chanel Ombres Contraste Duo in Sable Emouvant blends so effortlessly with the rest of the shadows. Definitely a rockstar-quality rich brown.

I've had the Guerlain Lingerie de Peau foundation for some time now, and it's a b*@# to pump the product out of the pump-dispenser. It's a nice medium coverage foundation, but I find the shade too pink. I'm looking forward to completing this bottle.

MUFE Smoky Lash is really fabulous. There's no clumpiness, and it grabs even the smallest lashes.

MUFE HD Primer feels almost like skincare. I have mine in a small deluxe size, but it has lasted me a while. I have finished a similar one in the purple shade, and loved it.

Paul & Joe Eyebrow Pencil Duo comes in 2 parts; one darker and one lighter. I use the darker end from halfway point to the tips of my brows, and the lighter towards the center of my face. I learnt this trick to define yet soften the look from Bee Lian, a bubbly SA who used to work in Takashimaya P&J.

Dior Nude Rouge in Guipure (as well as Grege) are my two favorite lipsticks for the month.

Thanks for reading and hope you have a fun Halloween weekend. Head over to The Makeup Blogette to see her creepy Halloween looks - she is pure talent, and one of the best looks I've seen so far this year. 

Having Fun with Shu Uemura's Reindeer Kiss xxxx Palette

It has been some time since I've used fun colours in my looks - I wouldn't say that I'm in a makeup rut, but rather my looks are becoming more pragmatic. Often being pragmatic means that you immediately exclude out the brights, including girly pinky and turquoise shades. It's such a pity that I've completely forgotten about the existence of this palette; it's so whimsical and pretty!

Shu Uemura's Reindeer Palette is like assorted candy in a palette. There's a nice mix of light and medium turquoise shades perfect for creating a gradation, then a silver shade for the main lid shade. I bought this palette purposely to have the pink blush - K6. It may look quite scary bright on pan, but on the cheeks it transfers beautifully. Pigmentation is not quite in the league of Nars Desire, which is by far the most pigmented blush I own and can easily go wrong, but K6 manages to illuminate the face like it's own flush. 

I paired the look with Shu Uemura's Gloss Unlimited in PK325N (I don't know which collection this came out with). Basically it's a bright pink gloss with fuschia microshimmer. It just blended right into this fun mix. 

So whilst it's fall, don't let that stop you from using the fun girly colours. For all you know, these shades are great antidepressants. 

And here's all the products I used to create this look

Rescue Beauty Lounge Catherine H

I think Rescue Beauty Lounge's Catherine H has hit the sweet spot in terms of blue nailpolish. This is no ordinary blue nailpolish - it consists of complex multi-dimensional purple and blue shimmer interspersed in a deep water blue base; the kind of blue you would like to wear on your evening cocktail gown.

The shade transfers beautifully on the first coat, and brings out this elegance to my hands that I've never seen before. I am in love with this shade, if you can't already tell. To me, this is a must-have. 

I shall let the photos do all the speaking... 

Wouldn't you wear your cocktail/wedding ring with this shade? ;o)

Shimmering Mysterious Eyes with Kate BR-1

Kate's new eyeshadow palettes features some shimmery punch all packed into 3 combination shades. I was curious to try Kate; I've only tried Majolica Majorca and Fasio from the Japanese drugstore lines. Most (if not all) Japanese drugstore eyeshadows are very shimmery and each collection can easily look similar. I'm very sure that these shadows have been released in Kate's previous collections. And between the different brands, these eyeshadows become repetitive. 

For 1400 yen (14 euros), you can't go too wrong with these eyeshadows. I picked mine from Tomod's, a drugstore chain in Tokyo. The testers at Tomods tend to be cleaner, however, I noticed that the products there are a little more pricier than other drugstores in Tokyo. 

The differentiating point of Kate eyeshadows are that they apply smoother than some others. From what you can see below, there is no chalkiness with any of the eyeshadows in this palette. The glitter can appear quite chunky, but no where near the size of those in the Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes (I think Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy is notorious for that). 

Even though these shadows swatched so nicely on the back of my hand, the different shades were not so obvious on the lids. It seemed that the middle pink champagne shade applied almost like my skin tone with plenty of glitter/shimmer/sparkle. Indeed, the shadows seem to reflect the intensity of the sparkle very well. All photos were taken indoors with natural light. 

I also have on Rouge Dior Nude in Grege. I'm falling in love very fast with these lipsticks. I'm even applying them at home as a lipbalm. 

Lots of products were used to create this look. 

I hope you're all having a wonderful Saturday. I'm about to sit through another 3 hours of exam revision - I did absolutely shocking on my mocks. Yes, it's not the best way to spend the weekend but dear SO is in Vienna this weekend. I'm home alone with my makeup friends. lol! Grege is enough to make me happy in the mean time. 

Also, candles are alit and soup is brewing in the kitchen. Can you tell that I'm getting cozy for the colder months?

Peace!

Dior Nude Rouges Grege and Guipure

Goodbye Summer. 

Sob!

And while it's sunny today, unlike most days over the past few weeks, I have decided to whip out my new Dior darlings to show you. If you're one crazy makeup fiend, then you would have seen the collection from eons ago. They were released in Denmark in end September - that's how behind I am with my posts. Please pardon my lateness, but it's always better late than never, right? 

These new lipsticks from Dior are downright gorgeous. They're packaged in the delicate Dior criss-cross pattern, and the range is just so wearable for anyone. I heard somewhere that design teams even obsess about the 'click' sound. To me, it's like music to the ears. Try it for yourself and hear the subtle differences between a Chanel click versus a drugstore lipstick click. This is what your extra $ is going to: lovely sounding clicks! :-D

I had a really hard time choosing one out of the range - and I came home with two. I had to put a ban on myself from the Dior makeup counter for the next subsequent days, because I had my mind on picking up more. Dangerous territory, indeed. 

I picked up Grege and Guipure. I picked Guipure up partly because of the name; it reminded me of some kind of Indian rose. There is also a good reason for why Natalie Portman used the color Grege in the commercial below; it is simply a wearable gorgeous nude. 

The Sahara Desert is probably the best way to describe the conditions of my lips lately. This is a combination of not drinking enough water throughout the day and nit-picking on my dry flaky lips (a very bad habit of mine!). However, these lipsticks feel sublime on the lips. It adds a beautiful soft glistening semi-sheer sheen, allowing a hint of my natural lip color to peek through. They feel very lightweight, yet moisturizing at the same time. 

I would probably best describe Guipure as a muted rose with a slight brown-red undertone. This colour is so cushy autumn/fall-ish, that I've popped it right into my daily makeup bag. I'll wear it on days when I have a slick of bb cream and mascara; you know, those days where you can't be bothered to do anything else with your face. 

Grege tops all my nude lipsticks. There's a hint of brown-rose, which gives life, unlike many nude lipsticks which make me look like the living dead. Compared to the Dior Addict Extreme in Incognito, Grege has more browns in it. 

In summary, the new Dior Nude Lipsticks are definitely worth every cent you pay. Both Grege and Guipure are winners for me, from the time I had swatched them on my hand to first application. A lovely job, Dior.