No-frills Makeup

Reading Sophia's (the make-up blogette) post about her recent Chanel buys, particularly the Glossimer lipgloss, reminded me I haven't mentioned anything about mine! I don't keep up with seasons, so I am not too sure which collection this belongs to. But I got hold of the Glossimer about one month plus ago. It is still available in stores so it might be a permanent item (correct me if I'm wrong).

Levres Scintillantes Glossimer in Meteore

This falls under the 'browns' category. It swatches a nice, dark pink on me - with loads of glitters.

I didn't use camera flash for this, but just my daylight lamp. You can see how reflective and glittery it is!

Next two pictures are with NYX's Paris as well.

I actually prefer wearing a lipstick underneath cos firstly, the sheer rusty-pink gloss is quite subtle. I prefer more colour on my lips. Don't get me wrong, the gloss is very pigmented, but the colour is similar to my lips so it looks barely-there from afar. Secondly, the gloss on its on looks oily on my lips, rather than flattering (maybe I'm not comfortable with the amount of glitters). Lastly, the glitter sticks to my lips even after the gloss wears off!

This is after rigorous scrubbing with a tissue (can't imagine having to rub my lips so hard. But of course it works fine with an lip makeup remover).

The quality is great though despite me sounding like I'm shooting down this item! I just have a love-hate relationship with this gloss. But I think I'll love it more if I picked a sweeter, lighter pink.

Pros: Long-lasting (at least 3 hours of wear with no eating/drinking), moisturizing, glides nicely on the lips.

You'll love the Glossimers though if you're a fan of highly glittery lipglosses! I have no doubts that they are pretty, but I prefer to watch them on people than on me :p

sorry for the bad lighting cos I was using my digicam to record this. I'm working on getting a better recording equipment (since I hate my laptop's built-in webcam so much!) so bear with me :) I had to cut down a lot of the parts in the video as well to keep it under 10 mins, so excuse all the abrupt cuts. I hope my two cents' worth of review help in one way or another ;)

Reviewing...

1) E.l.f Studio Powder Brush

2) E.l.f Studio Blush Brush

3) E.l.f Studio High Definition Powder

4) E.l.f Tinted Moisturizer

Tone 2 in Honey with SPF 15. on the right side of the blob, I blended the moisturizer onto my skin just to show how the colour appears when blended.

details on where I got this products from and their prices are in the video towards the end :)

So what are some of your fave E.l.f products? Do share!

as mentioned in the the earlier entry, I bought more lipsticks. I'm not exactly a Maybelline junkie. I dunno why, but it just so happens that I get so mighty attracted to the colours that they have, drugstore-wise. Especially the new Moisture Extreme range. I find other drugstore brands like Revlon's or Loreal's lipstick range doesn't quite have much that appeal to me. yes, I am aware that Revlon has pretty pinks, but nothing jumps out at me. or can u recommend any? :)

left: Maybelline Moisture Extreme in Empire Rouge
right: Maybelline Watershine Pure in B24

excuse my chipped nails :p

Empire Rouge is a sultry, deep red colour. it's not like a wham-in-ur-face kinda youthful red. the Moisture Extreme range has a lot of reds and one of the reasons I picked this was its ultra hip name! haha. Empire Rouge~ and for most part, I love the deep red colour that makes the lips more defined. one thing I learnt is that, red lipsticks help to make u have shapelier lips -- especially when used with a lip brush! give it a try!

I just used the lipstick on its own though without brush, just to do a quick lip swatch.

B42 is a sweet, pale pink which is highly glossy. would look perfect with dramatic, sultry eye makeup.

to compare, I prefer the Moisture Extreme range than this Watershine range in terms of moisturizing prowess. although the Watershine looks extremely glossy, it wears out faster and leaves ur lips feeling dry. both, however, bleeds a lot. so it gets pretty messy if u drink from a cup/bottle and might stain ur teeth too!

revlon has more lasting quality, but too badddd they don't have colours that I like! :(

moving on, I got the Artistry 8pc Brush Set last week from Magical Tannsu.

the pen is there just for size comparison's sake :) the bristles are said to be from real animal hair, didn't mention what though -- I think it's either goat's or horse.

from left to right: spoolie, sponge applicator, angled brush, concealer brush, 2 eyeshadow brushes, angled blush/contour brush and total face brush. the blings on the right side of the faux leather case is my doing :p

these are my fave brushes from the set:

from left to right:

spoolie -- my first spoolie ever so I can't help but favourite it! and it does it's job to separate my lashes after mascara application.

angled brush -- picks up colour real well.

face brush -- the bristles are super soft and springy. doesn't scratch at all. but the downside is that the bristles shed! not to the point of balding, but yeah, they shed. but it doesn't bother me.

angled blush/contour brush -- bristles are soft too! though I wish it's denser so that I have more control when applying blush. this sheds too.

the two big brushes comes with a plastic protector too so u can safely put them in ur makeup pouch. I don't really like the other four brushes. retails at $21.90 per set.

and last but not least, I finally (after much procrastination) got my 88 original eyeshadow palette. from Magical Tannsu as well, retailing at $29.90. even cheaper than from ebay!

I suppose I don't have to review on this one. there's a lot of raves about this product -- how vibrant, how blendable and how pigmented the colours are. just youtube on this "88 palette" and wham, u can see a lot of raves :) and I'm sure most of u, if not all, have seen/heard of this palette before. coastal scents are the original makers of these. I believe most 88 palettes are dupes and the one I got is also a dupe, but reviews say they are equally good and there's no tell-tale signs of any differences. except that there's customer satisfaction gurantee if u buy from Coastal Scents. I think.

not gonna review on this. but one thing I realised it that the matte colours are a bit chalky when u first pat on.

notice how the blue is chalky as compared to the two shimmery brown-toned colours? but it is okay after blending. so u might wanna pat first, then blend to avoid massive fallout. I'm really loving the sheen and glittery colours! even though the 88 palette original is labelled as "matte", not all are matte... some has sheens and shimmers.

I was at mustafa with the bf today and I bought Vaseline. haha totally no idea what this is for. I just know it's good, but I dunno for what reason. always good to keep something that u might need :p I will google on 'What is Vaseline for?' soon or perhaps someone wants to help enlighten me? :)

and to end off, I'll give a random fact.

my E.L.F blusher has hit pan! and in under a month too! wait, I think it's just three weeks ago -- I wrote a haul entry on it here. I've been using it everyday. and it doesn't help that the pigments crumble under my brush. so I wasted a lot of blusher, which can't be helped. becos I think as pretty as E.L.F blushers are, the compact is loose and a lot of the powder will crumble more than u need.

phew, what a long entry. thanks for reading!

Lucidol Edgy Move (orange pot)
Lucidol Smash Fixer (pink pot)

I've been using the Smash Fixer since forever (haha liar, the product only came out last year I think) and I think this is my 3rd pot. and I totally swear by this hair wax! I've tried Loreal, Gatsby and a lot more waxes that are catered more to men, but this is my utmost fave. maybe cos it's a women's wax and the softness of ur hair is retained. and I love the airy texture it gives to the hair without drying it, becos I know some waxes just weigh down the hair real bad. boo.

I bought the Edgy Move just to experiment with. it claims to create defined layers, but the holding power is not as strong as Smash Fixer's. and it has more moisture to it. I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say anything much.

the texture of the wax looks about the same to me. and like most waxes, the chemical smell is strong, but I kinda love the fragrance. the smell is only strong when u first apply, but as the wax dries up, so will the smell. but u can still restyle ur hair on the go without the need to pile on more wax.

this doesn't totally style ur hair if u want funky short hairstyles becos it being a women's wax, it doesn't have much holding power. but if u want volume, go for it! $4.60 (around there) per small pot. there's a larger pot, but I'm not sure of the price. maybe around $9ish. the small pot is really small, but it can last me for about 4 months even though I use it everyday.

I bought the Liese cocktail in Light (green one) a few weeks back too. this is a waste of money to me! the only thing I like about it is the smell and the fact that I  can shake the liquid up and see how the different liquids mix. there's an orange one for more damaged hair.

before shaking

after shaking

$15 something each

this is actually a leave-in serum to tame fly-away hairs. I guess if u want nice, sleek hair, this will be good because it really keeps the hair sleeeeek. it helps to weigh down ur ends so that u won't have strange frizzy fly-aways. but I don't like that it weighs down my hair so much. not in an oily way -- but it just becomes too sleek for my liking. whatever it is, don't apply on ur crown. unless u're into flat hair?

but I have to credit this product for not being slimy, oily or icky like some brand of serums are. it really absorbs into the hair and when u run ur fingers through ur hair, it doesn't feel oily at all.

but nah, I won't be buying this again. it smells really good though.

both products are available at local drugstores. okay, back to my assignments. thanks for reading me :)