Pea's July Favourites 2014

We have officially pass the half mark of 2014!
So this month brings a very light routine because my face have been acting out like craaaaazy because of the travelling and the back-to-work stress and plus, I was on the pill for the time I was travelling cause ain't no one got time for PMS when holidaying!

I am getting quite obsessed with skincare lately and I am planning a detailed one on a range of products that have been fully hooked. So look out for that!

As I mentioned, this month is light, light, light. The humid weather and the air-conditioning in the office is just a NO so I am trying to keep things light so my skin behaves.

Kiehl's Micro-Blur Skin Perfector 

I bought this baby at least three months ago...I think. and honestly, I was NOT impressed when I used it. idk why. I was very satisfied with my Smashbox primer but recently, that has not been working for me so I decided to give this another shot since gossmakeupartist [YT] raved about it so much. and I fell in love with it. Skin changes, so a product that does not seemed to work the first time doesn't mean it is bad.

I'm going all out here to scare you all with my pores. So yes, my pores are pretty much in-your-face. and after applying the primer, don't they all look so much less visible. I hardly use foundation when I go to work, just concealer so I really wanted smth that will cover my pores and not dry my skin out and this works beautifully. Its not exactly a matte finish, more skin-like and it works awesome for my skin right now.

p/s: yes, I am this red all the time.

M.A.C blush (Pink O' Peach)

Next up is this pretty blush from M.A.C that I found in my stash recently. I had it forever but I guess it just got buried under all my newer blushes. Anyway, this blush's name is so apt! It does give off a 'pinched cheeks' /flushed look that is really pretty. 

Mascaras

1. Maybelline Pumped Up Colossal 

2. Too Faced Better than Sex 

3. Catrice Ultimate Lash Multimizer 

Ok, I numbered the mascara in order of application. I am not crazy, I just find that layering different mascaras give me the effect I desire! And I don't do like three coats of each, just one from each mascara to give me the fluttery, hair-like lashes. The Maybelline PumpedUp Colossal is waterproof and holds up my curls. The special brush from Too-Faced separates my lashes and the Catrice one gives me so much volume yet no clumps. HOW MUCH LOVE??? After applications, I like how it gives me the messy effect - something like the Ardell Demi Wispies. 

I should have curled and brush out my lashes properly, instead of leaving it kinked in a weird angle. I am sorry haha]

This is a comparison to show you the difference with the mascaras on!Can you see how black and fluttery my lashes look? 

theBalm Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner

I got this from my brother's girlfriend and when I tried it initially, it flaked and rubbed off easily. Plus I cannot seemed to control the brush very well. But I was super impressed with the matte finish. It is SO matte and pigmented. Now, I put my Dollywink liner underneath as a guide and then I just put this on top to give me the matte look that I love.

Collection CreamPuff Moisturizing Lip Cream (matte) 

I literally ran out to Watsons to get this lip product after I saw Shaaanxo on YT using it. The color amazes me every time I put it on. It dries to a matte finish that does not dry out my lips. However, I do layer my lip balm underneath and put this over so it does not emphasize too much lines. And this product lasts forever. I drink with it and it does not budge. I love it. Love the color and love the finish. 

Ok,  I have come to an ennnnnnd. Let August be awesome for everyone too!

Love,

Pea

Flo's July Favourites 2014

Hello!! Here are some of my favourite products for the month of July :)

1. Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation

This is seriously, hands down, one of the best foundations I've tried! I love how it has a thin formula yet it covers super well. It doesn't get cakey and you can layer at specific areas for extra coverage without it looking too thick. I also love to pair it with my damp beauty blender as I feel that it gives the best coverage BUT you need to exfoliate properly before using this as it tends to settle in dry patches! This is definitely my top pick foundation for any event cause it also photographs beautifully :) 

You can read my full review here.

2. Beauty Blender

I'm not even exaggerating when I say that my life will never be the same without the beauty blender!!! I don't know what else can blend ANY of my foundations out like a dream and in such a short amount of time. I don't need to go back and forth blending and swirling my brush in circular motions. All I need is to literally dab dab dab and it blends anything out super evenly. I haven't touched or used any of my face brushes ever since I have this. I do have my days where I wanna use my brushes but I immediately regret and hope that I've used my beauty blender instead. 

You can read my full review here.

3. Stila Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD BB

The other day I went for a Stila liner workshop with Lex at Sephora and the make-up artist was telling us about the Stila BB that Beckham likes to use. So obviously we checked it out and the texture was super smooth! We both got it cause it was on sale haha. Truthfully, I felt like this was just an impulse buy and I didn't expect it to work so well on me. I use this like a primer, and I've used a lot of primers before but never felt that any of them did anything to my foundation. This, though, helps it stay matte and it fills up my pores nicely. The only downside is really that the colour is a tad dark for me :(

4. NUXE Lip Moisutrising Stick

A new lip balm that I've been enjoying to death. I got this at an event that we were kindly invited by our friend Eileen! I love how it's moisturising yet not tacky or sticky. I am a huge fan of using vaseline on my lips before I sleep but I hate how sticky it is and it will smear all over my pillows -_- BUT this one does not leave any of that sort of nonsense and yet still moisturising enough. I love the honey smell to it! 

5. Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner

This was gifted to us after our liner workshop with Stila. I have the oiliest skin ever and of course my lids are also oily. That is why I always stay away from using anything on my lower lids cause I don't want to end up looking like a panda at the end of the day! But this has been working well for me under my lids and I'm very impressed by it. It is super smooth and easy to use as well! A little tip from the make-up artist was that this should be used on bare lids without any primer as it is meant to work the best on bare skin :)

6. Too Faced A Few Of My Favourite Things Palette

YESS!! I found it!!! I'm no stranger to Too Faced products and I've always loved them for their super nice packaging but yet very pigmented shadows and overall good quality products. This set comes with a Lip Injection Balm and a sample size of the Better Than Sex mascara which I love and I've reviewed here. The shadows in this palette are extremely pretty and super easy to work with. The bronzer and blushes are also big big love for me :) I initially wanted to do a full review, but since this is a limited edition set, it's pretty difficult to get it anywhere! So I'll just share the swatches here with you:

AREN'T THEY GORGEOUS!!! 

My favourites are: Moon On Their Wings, Buche De Noel, Tinsel, Bluff and Party Time.

That's all of my favourites in July. I've been trying out a few bunch of new products lately and I hope I can have more goodies to share with ya'll next month! Till then.

xx,

Flo ♡

Review: Too Faced A La Mode Palette

Hello! :)

Finally got my hands on this palette recently ^^ I've been looking for a palette to get and most of the shadows I saw and are attracted to are neutrals and more neutrals (e.g. the Chocolate Bar Palette), and I have A LOT of neutrals, so I decided to get this when I saw it in store :)

It's the Too Faced A La Mode Palette!

Packaging

I love the packaging! It comes in a super colourful metal casing. Looks very heavy duty and that it will protect my shadows. But I'm quite anal about it because I'm scared I will scratch it, or dent it if I throw it around. Not that I will, but if I did, I'm quite scared it will be dented HAHA.

Product

I'm pretty familiar with Too Faced shadows because I have a few palettes from them and I'm always very satisfied with the colour payoff of the shadows, so this is not an exception! I love how they have summery coral and orange based colours (Cannes, Jardin) which I'm really into right now, I also love how they have the extra colours (Monaco, De La Mer) for a pop of colour if you're bored of the normal neutrals. However, De La Mer comes off a little patchy and difficult to blend on me!

Swatches

DAY:

St. Tropez - Beige based with gold flecks/glitter

Cannes - Orange with silver micro glitter

Soleil - Burgundy brown

CLASSIC:

Riviera - Champagne metallic 

Jardin - A mixture of coral and pink 

Cote D Azur - Deep chocolate brown

FASHION:

La Croisette - Metallic Silver

Monaco - Hot pink with micro blue glitter

De La Mer - Navy blue with micro blue glitter

My favourites are: Riviera, St. Tropez, Jardin, Soleil.

Application

All looks are primed with Urban Decay Primer Potion and finished with Dollywink Liquid Liner in Black and Heroine Make Volume & Curl Mascara :)

  

My favourite combination!

Using Riviera all over the eyelids, Soleil on the outer lids and Jardin on the center of the lids. Lined the outer half of my lower lids and smudged it our with Cote D Azur.

  

Using La Croisette all over the eyelids, smudging De La Mer from the outer lids towards the end of the first 1/3 of the lids, added Cote D Azur to deepen the outer lids further. Mixed Monaco and De La Mer to create a bright purple colour and smudged it on my lower lids.

  

Using St. Tropez all over the eyelids, and then lightly smudging Cote D Azur on the outer corners of the upper lids, ending with Soleil on the outer half of the lower eyelids.

Verdict

I've really been enjoying this palette! It's easy and convenient to bring around. It has enough neutral colours for everyday look, yet the orange and coral based shadows really bring out something different as compared to my usual neutrals :) The shadows are of superb quality for the exception of one (De La Mer), it is buttery to me. However, it is pretty difficult to blend out because of the nature of it's navy blue colour :(

Quick Summary

The great:

• Superb quality
• A mixture of finishes
• Wide colour selection

The not-so-great:

• De La Mer might be a tad difficult to work with

The Too Faced A La Mode Palette is available in Sephora at $49 each.

Anyone of you have tried this as well? What do you think about it? Let us know!

♡♡,
Flo.

Review: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Haroooooo~~

I've been wanting to try out this mascara since maybe... December last year but I didn't really dare to buy cuz I haven't heard any good reviews about it! Recently I've stumbled upon at least 3 youtube beauty vloggers (here, here and here) talking about it and how much they love it, so I decided to buy it.

First up, the packaging of this mascara has some heavy duty thing going on. It looks super luxe with the whole metallic pink and embossed letterings, which I really enjoy, but it is really heavy! Like I think it weighs maybe 0.2kg? Hahaha. It contains 8.0 ml/0.27 Fl. Oz worth of products and is priced at $32 in Sephora Singapore.

They've been emphasising the hourglass-shaped brush, and honestly, I haven't tried any mascara with an hourglass-shaped brush yet! The brush is quite big but amazingly, it fits nicely on my asian eyes and it's able pull out any of my smaller lashes and coat them with the product. So, I really really enjoy the brush :)

It claims to create 1,944% more volume than our actual lashes. I have to say it really looks pretty damn amazing on the youtube gurus' eyes but since they're caucasian, of course they have longer and fuller lashes. So, I tried it on my eyes and upon the first application, I fell in love!!! My lashes were immediately lengthened and super volumized, I love the deep carbon black colour of the mascara too.

This was my first day applying it and I loved it! I only had 2 coats on. However, as the day goes by, I noticed some smudges on my lower eyelids but I wasn't sure if it was caused by the mascara or my shadows/eyeliner. Also, by the end of the day, my lashes weren't curled anymore!!!!!! Sobbb. But I gave it the benefit of the doubt that my bangs were weighing my lashes down..

So I gave it another try today! This is just a breakdown of how many coats of mascara I can put for it to look nice and not overly clumpy/spider legs-y. The most I'd go is three coats cause with three coats it was getting pretty thick and yet still separated. I didn't want to ruin it by adding a fourth coat since I was very happy with it already :)

I put my mascara on at 10.30a.m. and by 9.30p.m. they are still curled nicely and no smudges on my lower eyelids at all!!! I put my fringe up today so I guess it was most probably my bangs weighing my lashes down previously. Another test I did was with my glasses on, my lashes weren't hitting the glass - it is a good sign that my lashes are still curled. If they're droopy, they will definitely be hitting on my lenses every time I blink! One last thing is that, this mascara is so easy to remove!!!!!! I'm using the L'oreal gentle eye & lip make up remover.

I'm so glad to say that this mascara is worth the splurge, and it didn't disappoint me at all. I love it so much I think it's a definite repurchase for me. I'm a mascara junkie, if I could only pick one make up item to use, I'd pick the mascara! So trust me when I say I have high expectations on my mascaras and all that I love are definitely some pretty good stuff that are worth a try ^.^

Anyone of you tried it yet? What are your thoughts? Do you love it or hate it? Share it with us :)

xx,

Flo♡