Review of Benefit Brows a-go-go

You may have seen this cute little palette in the shops and I always think that things like this are perfect as presents for your mates. It's the Benefit Brows a-go-go palette complete with the usual cute Benefit retro packaging... The palette contains a light brow powder for blondes/redheads (looks alot like MAC Omega), a darker brow powder for brunettes, pigmented brow wax, a small double ended applicator for these, a smokin black pencil eyeliner, pale pink browbone highlighter cream formulation eyebright and mini tweezers. I think this would be a great palette to travel with as it has alot of what you need for your eye makeup in a really compact practical palette. I actually used this palette in my previous post about the Nars foundation. I love that they provide a step-by-step guide on what each product can be used for as not everyone is a makeup expert, including me. I have never used brow wax before and wasn't sure whether you apply it before or after the brow powder. (I accidentally positioned the guide in the pic on the wrong side with foreign writing...don't worry, the other side is in English!).

I followed the guide and used the brow wax first to tidy up and shape my brows, then I filled in any patchy areas with the light brow powder, I followed that by highlighting under my brows with the pale pink slightly shimmery powder and then dabbed the eyebright in the inner corners of my eye. The thing I was confused about at first was the eyebright cream. I have used Benefit Eyebright before in pencil form and that product is applied to the waterline so I was really confused by the cream formulation in this palette. It seems that in this case, it is meant to be applied to the inner and outer corners of the eye to open them up and brighten them. And I must say that it does work.

I found the tweezers worked well too and they would be so handy to travel with. The eyeliner is just a generic black eyeliner pencil really and I would probably prefer to use a MAC pearlglide liner since they are alot softer and smoother to apply. I found this Benefit one a little dry and it dragged my eyelids slightly.

Overall, this is a great little palette with a handy mirror for when you're on the go. It contains 60% of the products you would need for your eye makeup and I will definitely be taking this to ireland with me in 3 weeks time. I have really come around to the whole brow wax/powder idea as I usually just use a pencil and eyebrow gel. However, I found by using wax and powder, it gives you a tidier finish and it also looks more natural. I also found that my brows looked tidy all day and I didn't have to tidy them up later on.

Review of Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

Hey guys, as you know I bought myself Nars Sheer Glow foundation in Barcelona last week and I promised a review on it asap. This is my first ever Nars foundation. So here goes...

The Nars website describes it as "A glowing, satin-finish foundation with sheer and buildable coverage. Replete with skincare benefits and the NARS Complexion Brightening Formula, skin is hydrated, more luminous, softer and smoother. Used daily, Sheer Glow Foundation improves skin brightness, radiance and texture. For normal to dry skin types".

I think you know what I'm going to say...Lollipop26 does it again! Every product I have tried after seeing her raving about it on her YT channel or blog, I have loved. I can always rely on her reviews. Usually I am a bit dubious about trying new foundations as I find it difficult to find ones that I like, either they're too sheer or too heavy/opaque. However, I am SO happy I bought this foundation! I would never normally buy a foundation with 'sheer' in the name as I really need a good amount of coverage and sheer ones normally don't cut it for me. But this foundation gives the perfect amount of coverage and the finish is really brightening/luminous, without being shiny or greasy looking. Perfect! It lasted all day and didn't look at all cakey on the skin, it just melts in and blends so easily. One of the things I loved the most about this foundation was the fact that it feels so light on the skin, it is alot more runny in consistency than I'm used to but you really don't need alot to get the coverage you need.

I usually go for medium coverage foundation but this product satisfies all my needs even though it's marketed as a sheer product. My skin looked so natural when I was wearing it and I loved the radiance my skin had. I am also excited to use a foundation which claims to improve the texture/smoothness of your skin as you use it....we do love multi-taskers, don't we! I don't even have a highlighting product on in the pics and my skin still looks glowy. I will definitely be using this product as my new daytime foundation! The only VERY SMALL bugbear is that the open top bottle can get really messy after a while, but I can live with that.

Have you tried this foundation yet,...what did you think of it?

FOTD & review of MUFE concealer/Nars Albatross

I went to a BBQ/Party on Saturday and this is what look I went for...

Face: Loreal Studio Resurfacing Primer, Revlon Colourstay Foundation in True Beige, MUFE Full Cover Extreme Camouflage Concealer in no.8 (Beige), MAC MSF Natural in Medium, Korres Monoi Oil Bronzer in Sunglow all over, Bare Escentuals Faux Tan to contour, Nars Albatross Highlighting Powder on cheekbones.Eyes: MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, 17 eyeshadow in Ivory Coast on browbone, Korres Eyeshadow in White all over lid and in tearduct (it is really a pale silver), MAC Print on outer edges of lid and in crease, MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack along top lashline, MAC Carbon to soften eyeliner and tidy up, Loreal Lash Serum/Cils booster, Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara.Lips: YSL Rouge Volupte in Lingerie Pink, Illamasqua Sheer Gloss in Electrify.

I have found my HG undereye concealer...and it's all thanks to the MUFE Full Cover concealer. They're not joking when they say it's extreme camouflage! This stuff is amazing and you'll see from the pics above that it has completely hidden the darkness I normally get under my eyes. I am SO impressed by this product and it totally lives up to all the hype I've heard. I'm so glad I bought this and I can tell it will last for ages as you only need a tiny bit. At first, I thought the colour might be a bit dark as usually I would go a shade lighter than my skintone for an undereye concealer. However, it matched my skintone perfectly and completely camouflaged the area. I think the key with this concealer is getting the right shade for you and I've been lucky enough to strike it lucky from checking swatches on sites like Temptalia and the sephora website. The consistency of this concealer is very thick and as I said before, a little goes a long way. It's also waterproof and although it's thick, it didn't look at all cakey when applied and blended. It lasted all day and didn't budge at all. I absolutely love this stuff and I'm so so happy I finally found something which met my expectations and then some!

I also tried Nars Albatross highlighting powder which has been on my lust list since...well, forever. I have been meaning to try this infamous highlighter for years and the fact that it's taken me this long to get it is just ridiculous. I've heard so much about it and seen countless dupes but this stuff is just amazing for creating a candlelit glow. I adore this product and love the subtle effect it gives, it leaves your skin looking glowy and luminous and I don't know how I got by without it now. It's one of those products that will never fail to look gorgeous. It's obviously finely milled and it's a gorgeous pale yellow colour to give that unique effect it's famous for. I can't rave about this enough, it's subtle and oh so pretty. It's the queen of all highlighters in my opinion!

A Break From Blazer + Leggings.

As usual, I planned my outfit nicely but instead of layering and layering which is just my way of wearing most of my clothes, I had only one simple dress on.

To be honest, I did layer one dress over this green vintage fabric dress before I stepped out the house, but decided not to as I remember my acting teacher, Greg, suggested, to keep the outfit simple w/o busy patterns. :)

So, as usual again, I went to my acting class in SF city this morning. The class is fun except my teacher, Greg, messes up my video tape w/ my classmate when doing recording so I can't watch my part of act until I switch it over. :O

Ok, back to my ODJ!

1. TOP:

• Rick Owens Lilies wool turtle neck
• Vince extra big collar leather jacket

underneath: Rick Owens Lilies dress pic. credited to Outnet.com

2. Shoes: Custom National oxford heels
3. Accessory:

• Chanel Rodeo Drive large tote 08
• H & M grayish taupe big knitting scarf
• Brown tight w/ mini orange dots
  
• Two textured (leather w/ croc. embossed) belt

I personally love the belt spices up this plain bubble hem dress a little more w/ character and edgy details.


I think tights always compliment w/ oxford heels. :)


W/o leather jacket, the look is less intimidating!! :P

The color of my today's outfit reminds me this pic. taken in Paris last year.

You see, I can suffer myself from getting cold but couldn't allow my look of that day got ruined. hahaha...
The look of cardigan + tights + scarf at 18˚C in Nov. of Paris!!

I have couple blazer + leggings(tights, skinny jeans,pants) planned for next week and will continue that until I run out of ideas or you girls get sick of them. haha......

Then I am thinking of doing cardigan or knit wear combination for the next challenge if the weather cooperates. :)

Ok, I am back to catch up Gossip Girl. :P Oh, in my age, I think I am getting a little shy to admit that I love the show .... I think there is an huge age gap in between those teenagers and their fancy moms and rich dads in the show. I don't think my status would fit in that show at all but guess I am learning my kids' language, thinking, difficulties, fantasies,..etc. for the future reference. hee......

Good nite, girls!!

MUFE, Nars and New Clothes

As I had mentioned in a previous post, I ordered some MUFE and Nars products and they arrived on Friday so here's what I got... MUFE Mat Velvet + Foundation, MUFE Full Cover Extreme Camouflage Concealer, Nars Albatross Highlighting Powder and Nars Sheer Glow Foundation. The only products I have used so far are the MUFE concealer and Nars Albatross powder which are both amazing and I will go into more detail in my next post with a FOTD. I am really excited to try the Nars foundation since so many people have been raving about it recently. I've never tried any Nars foundations before so this will be interesting.

I also wanted to share with you some of the clothes I picked up on Monday...A matte sequin blazer from Warehouse...I hadn't been too keen on the really sparkly sequin blazers around as I knew I wouldn't get that much wear out of it. However the fact that the sequins on this blazer are matte, it makes it alot more wearable and a bit more muted. I love the three quarter length turn up sleeves too!

I spotted these peep-toe court shoes in Next and knew I had to have them...from the encrusted embellishment on the front, to the ribbed detail to the platform, they'll be perfect teamed with the blazer above.

Next up, I spotted this floaty chiffon dress in Dorothy Perkins and when I tried it on it sits perfectly just above the knee. It's a light beige/cream colour but doesn't show up well on camera. It could be dressed down with some black tights and a cute cardigan or dressed up with my sequin blazer and platform heels. I love the print on this dress too...so pretty!

I also spotted these purple shoe boots in Dorothy Perkins which would look good with skinny jeans or dresses.

Did you pick up any gorgeous pieces of clothing lately? If not, what's on your wish list?