makeup Archives - Page 2 of 11

Vichy Ideal Body Aqua Sorbet

March 26, 2016

One great thing about beauty blogging is that I get the opportunity to try products that I otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to try! One of my favourite skincare brands I discovered through beauty blogging is Vichy. I’ve done a couple of reviews on Vichy products already, which I have really enjoyed and found worked with my skin.

Time and time again, Vichy has proved to be a quality skincare brand and I would not hesitate to recommend it to someone who is looking for a new line to try out. I am back with another Vichy review, this time with the new Vichy Ideal Body Aqua Sorbet.
Unlike the other Vichy products I have tried so far, the Ideal Body Aqua Sorbet is a body moisturizer. It is meant to apply liberally after a shower for an instant cool and refreshing moisturizing session.

One thing I REALLY love about this body lotion is the smell. I would describe the scent as somewhat peachy and happy.

I can’t wait to use this as summer approaches. Upon application, my skin feels very cool and light due to its ultra-cooling effect. This will be a perfect temporary relief during heat waves because I don’t have AC in my house!

This lotion is pretty light weight and is more on the gel side, as far as texture goes. It is not thick at all but it does a great job in moisturizing and making you smell really nice.

The key ingredients of the Ideal Body Aqua Sorbet are Gingko Biloba (sourced from the Gingko tree found only in China), hyaluronic acid, and Vichy mineralizing water (which is also found in the review I did of the Vichy Aqualia Thermal Moisturizer).

Overall, the Vichy Idealia Body Aqua Sorbet (Phew, what a long name haha) has easily become one of my favourite body moisturizers and I will only use it more once the warmer weather approaches. It does a great job at moisturizing your skin without feeling heavy, and it smells amazing.

Yay!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick

March 16, 2016

I have been trying to use up more of my lipstick collection lately, instead of sticking with the couple I normally turn to. I actually forgot I had this Kat Von D everlasting liquid lipstick, until I found it in one of my makeup bags today. I thiiiiink I bought this on Black Friday, but haven’t really worn it.

The Kat Von D tattoo liner is my holy grail liner and probably the single product I use the most! This lipstick is also from Kat Von D, so naturally I had very high expectations. It is part of the everlasting liquid lipstick line.
I love the packaging of all of the Kat Von D products, and this one is no different. The tube features a pretty floral design, and is pretty sturdy.

I am pretty sure that I purchased the sample size. I vaguely remember purchasing a lipstick sample kit from KVD, and this size looks a bit small to be the full size. Nonetheless, I find sample sizes are better for me because it always takes me so long to finish up products, which is something I am working on!

This way, I can finish the product faster and it won’t keep long in my makeup storage (which is both sanitary and better for storage!).
The Kat Von D everlasting liquid lipstick is very pigmented. Pictured above is just one stroke of the product! When I initially tried this product, I was very shocked at how richly pigmented it was. I definitely don’t need more than one coat of this, as it looks very bright on my lips.
As you can tell, it is a pretty bright shade. It took some time for me to get used to, as I normally don’t wear shades this bright!

When you first apply this lipstick, it will look a bit shiny like gloss, but will dries with a smooth and matte finish within a matter of seconds.

Again, this is only with one coat, so I was quite impressed at how rich the pigmentation was!
Here is another picture in direct sunlight in the car. Don’t worry, I was the passenger so I was not engaging in some unsafe driving practices! Also, the sun and my hair cast a shadow on the right side of my face (left on the screen). I just wanted to point that out in case anyone thought I had bad photo shopping skills LOL.

Overall, I really like the matte finish and rich pigmentation of this lipstick. It is definitely long lasting as well. Even after drinking from my water bottle and having some snacks, the lipstick did not really smudge or come off. Very impressive!

The only thing I would note is that, as in a lot of cases with matte lipsticks, is that it can be a bit drying. So, make sure your lips are properly moisturized and hydrated before wearing this lipstick, or any matte lipsticks in general! I ended up dabbing a tiny bit of Vaseline after a hour as I felt my lips beginning to dry out a bit.

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

NARS Lipstick – Sephora Birthday Gift

October 14, 2015

My birthday falls on one of the last few days of the year — how unfortunate, right?! I was always the last of my friends to get a driver’s license, be of legal age, and of course, receive my Sephora beauty insider gift.

Over the past few years, the disappointment has weaned off and it doesn’t really bug me anymore. I’ve come to really appreciate my birthday time. After all, I never have to worry about having to study for an exam because it’s winter break, worry about work because it’s a holiday, people are in a great mood because of the holiday season, and I get beautiful holiday decorations!

I was in Sephora in January, and after completing my purchase, the lady at the counter handed me a small NARS box. ‘Here’s your birthday gift!’ She was nice enough to give it then, so I didn’t have to wait an entire year before finally receiving mine! Thank you, Sephora lady!
Admittedly, I forgot about the sample as I usually stick with my one lipstick, and had also bought a couple around that time. It wasn’t until last month during a family dinner, when I noticed my cousin’s strikingly bold red lip. I asked her what she was wearing, and she told me it was the NARS birthday lipstick from Sephora.

After that, I finally decided to open mine to see how it would look on me!
The lighter, rose pink shade is the satin lip pencil in rikugien, and has a hint of shimmer to it. I found that this shade was pretty light and neutral, and would be good for those who want a natural look. Or, it would be suitable if you already have a lot of dramatic eye makeup on, as you typically want to avoid your eyes and lips competing for attention.

I find that light pinkish shades don’t go well with my skin tone. It makes me look sickly pale, LOL! Which is why I liked the hint of shimmer, it didn’t make me look like I was sick. It does have a satin-y look to it so the name is very well suited for the colour.

Meanwhile, the darker shade is the velvet matte lip pencil in cruella. I am a big fan of darker shades, so personally, I liked this one more. However, it is definitely really bold and attention grabbing so you have to wear it with confidence!

Overall, I’ve heard nothing but positive opinions on these two Sephora birthday gifts and I can definitely vouch for them too. The quality is great, they are long lasting, and do not dry out your lips. For a free product, this is really great and would be a product that I wouldn’t mind spending money on either.

Have you received your Sephora birthday gift yet this year? What did you think of it?

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

My Melody Face Mask

October 4, 2015

When Maki went to Taiwan and Hong Kong last month, she came back with an assortments of gifts and souvenirs for me! Thank you, Maki, if you’re reading this! I don’t buy many Asian beauty brands, but to my knowledge, I believe that they are a lot cheaper in Asia so it is a good time to stock up on them while you are there.

I received a bunch of facial masks from her, which I am slowly trying out.. as well as an liquid eyeliner that I really love! One of the facial masks that she got me was the My Melody face mask.

For those of you that don’t know, My Melody is one of the Sanrio characters. You can think of Sanrio as the Disney of Japan… their characters are very popular and everywhere in Asia! The most popular Sanrio character is probably Hello Kitty.

I grew up with a lot of Sanrio characters in my life, my favourite characters would have to be Hello Kitty, Keroppi, Little Twin Stars, My Melody… and the list goes on. I’m feeling so nostalic as I type this, I had Keroppi stickers all over my room and door when I was a kid!
This is what the packaging looks like – simple and minimalist, yet still very cute!
Although I took a Japanese beginners class three years ago, sadly I did not continue with it although I hope to be able to read fluent Japanese one day. That, or be able to travel to Japan and understand or get around!

With that said, clearly I can’t tell you what the ingredients are or what this mask claims to do. I’ll just leave it up here for you all to see and if you can translate the back, please leave a comment down below =D
I was very surprised when I took out the mask, and saw that it was an actual My Melody face! How cute is that?! Seriously, Japanese products are amazing and are so detailed. It also smelled like strawberries, which was an excellent delight.

At first, my skin reacted a bit with the mask as it stung a little, which went away in less than 30 seconds. I left it on my face for 15 minutes, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scent of strawberries the whole time. I am a big fan of strawberries, if you didn’t know 😛

I was a bit confused as to if this mask would fit my entire face, since it is more horizontal than vertical. It actually covered my whole face area, except for the tip of my nose because the nose flap was a bit too short for me.

Overall, I thought that this mask was very cute and I enjoyed using it. I really loved the packaging and design of this. The mask felt very moisturizing, although I wish I could read Japanese so I can tell what this mask targets.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Stila Foundation Haul & Review

August 29, 2015

Following the fall/holiday event I attended for Stila, I was generously given a few samples of their new products to try out! I’ve mentioned the ‘perfectly poreless’ line briefly on my event recap post but today, I will be doing a more detailed review after using the three products for almost a month now.

I was first introduced to this line by Sarah Lucero, the Global Executive Director of Creative Artistry at Stila who led us through all the new products that day. The products I will be reviewing today are seen on the far left of this photo.

Starting off with the new Wonder Brush, I really liked this brush at the event and was quite happy to see it in my sample bag once I got home! As the name suggests, the Wonder Brush is a versatile brush, which you can use for a multitude of different foundation steps. It was also designed by Sarah herself – how cool is that?!

I liked how dense and soft the brush was. I wish that it came with a cap so that I could bring this around in my purse for touch-ups though.

Secondly, is the perfectly poreless putty perfector. This product is a combination of a cream foundation and loose powder. The best way to describe this product would be ‘bouncy’ but also slightly more dense due to the cream ingredients in it.

Although it feels very bouncy and slightly dense, the product does go on lightly and is very smooth to the touch. I was quite surprised at how lightweight the product felt, considering that it felt and looked pretty dense in the case!

Thirdly is the Stay All Day face and body bronzer’. You might be familiar with the Stay All Day liquid liner from Stila, which I really love! This bronzer is an addition that line.

I really love the detailing of the product and how both foundations can be easily brought on the go. Both feature a mirror inside, and feel very sturdy so you don’t have to worry about the product accidentally opening in your purse or cracking!

I used the Wonder Brush to apply my foundation. The foundation applied very easily and was pretty lightweight on my skin. The foundation is a light to medium finish, depending on how much you put on as it is very, very buildable! On some days, I used this for a light finish but on days where I wanted more coverage, I simply applied a bit more.

Afterwards, I used the bronzer to contour my face. The bronzer goes on pretty light, which I prefer because I’ve owned some bronzers that look too harsh. Also, you can easily pick how much product you’d like, making this bronzer super buildable as well. For each cheek area, I swiped the brush three times in the bronzer.

If you are new to contouring, I would recommend using this brush as you can easily put it on an angle and swipe bronzer on your face, then blend the product out. Since the brush is so dense, it delivers a nice and even colour on the first swipe.

I always use primer before my foundation, but I decided to test these products out by eliminating it. After a whole day of shopping, I noticed that my foundation was still on but it was not as smooth looking as it initially was. As with most foundations and my slightly oily skin, I touched this up in the evening and it was as good as new!

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In conclusion, I really enjoyed incorporating these foundations into my routine and will be continuing to use them. I like how lightweight the two products felt, and how easy it was to apply and contour with the Wonder Brush. You could use these products daily, as they look very natural but you can easily build the coverage up if you would like.

You can find these products at Shopper’s Drug Mart and Murale.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen