Desafio 30 Dias de Beleza - Dia 4 A tua Base preferida

Nesta altura estou mesmo a adorar a MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation, porque tem uma cobertura extraordinaria, e como é em pó é perfeita para o meu tipo de pele, que é oleosa. Adoro esta base, na minha pele dura bastante tempo, é a cor perfeita para o meu tom de pele, a minha cor é a NC35.

Murad Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer and Eye Lift: Swatches and Launch

Murad, the brand most famed for its wide, all-encompassing range of skincare products, including everything from acne to anti-aging, has now branched out into makeup! The brand's maiden offerings are still small, consisting of tinted face primers, the Skin Perfecting Primers, and eye concealers and brighteners, the Eye Lift products. Murad's selling point is that these are a hybrid of makeup and skincare, and have have accordingly named the entire range Hybrids. The Hybrids range is supposed to not only cover your imperfections in the short run, but also contain ingredients that improve the skin with long-run usage.



The Murad Hybrids website lists three Skin Perfecting Primers (Dewy, Matte, Acne), but in Singapore we only seem to have the Dewy and Matte. The main difference between the two is that the Dewy Finish primer is meant for dry skin, and gives a more glowy finish, while the Matte Finish primer is more for oily skin, and is meant to mattify the skin.



Both the Skin Perfecting Primers come packaged in sleek, black, packaging. The one thing I liked about this range from the outset is the very practical, no-mess, no-fuss, hygenic packaging - it's something a doctor would have come up with, as opposed to a sales and marketing person. The primers all come in pump bottles, which are much more hygenic than jars. The pumps have a fine opening, so you can be sure that you only pump out as much or as little as you need, without wastage.



Murad claims that all of the Skin Perfecting Primers are the same colour, and that the primers will adjust to any skin tone. When I heard this, I was really skeptical about the claim - I mean, since when did colour pigments magically change properties upon contact with skin? So I decided to put the products to the test, by swatching them on the spot. The photo below shows both the Dewy Finish and the Matte Finish primers swatched.



When I first swatched them, it appeared that both shades were too dark for my skin (around NC20 in MAC). Also, although both shades were supposed to be the same colour, it appeared to my eye that the Dewy Finish Primer was a hair darker than the Matte Finish Primer. But of course, I had to blend them in to be sure.

Upon blending, I had to admit I was mistaken. Both primers blended into my skin, and they didn't seem too dark at all. It seems like the primers are quite sheer in terms of coverage, thus the natural skin colour beneath shows through, which is pretty cool if you ask me! I'll definitely be trying out the primers a bit more to see how they actually fare on my face!



As you can see from the swatches, both primers - even the Matte Finish one - actually have tiny specks of shimmer in them, but the shimmer fortunately is quite muted in appearance. I don't foresee any problems looking like a discoball with these on. Also, the Dewy Finish primer is slightly thinner and more watery in texture than the Matte Finish primer, but both of them blend and apply in a similar manner, and provide similar coverage. These, as primers, are meant to be used under the skin, but since they provide a small amount of coverage, I can imagine that these could be used alone if you have reasonably good skin.

The other stars of Murad's Hybrids line are the Eye Lift products, consisting of the Eye Lift Illuminator, and the Eye Lift Perfector. These also come packaged in slim, black tubes.



As with the packaging of the Skin Perfecting Primers, Murad chose a very hygenic, practical packaging for the Eye Lift products. These are dispensed in click-pen form, but instead of the more commonly-used brush at the end of the pen, the product actually is dispensed by a slanted plastic tube. I know a plastic tube looks odd, but I much prefer it to the brush - in my experience, brushes tend to get all gunky and gooey and clumped up with product after a while, which makes them very gross. Plastic applicators are so much cleaner.



The Eye Lift Illuminator is meant as a under eye brightener, and contains a purple-violet sheen to brighten undereye discolouration. The Eye Lift Perfector functions more like a concealer, with a yellow-beige shade.

As you can see in the swatches below, although both have some form of shimmer, the Eye Lift Illuminator has larger, denser shimmer, as well as the violet sheen, while the Eye Lift Perfector has shimmer that is smaller, and more similar to the shimmer found in the Skin Perfecting Primers. Both have a light, watery texture that blends in easily and is quite pleasant to apply.



I'm pretty excited everytime a skincare brand launches makeup products, as my experience tends to be that the brand pays more attention to the formulation and ingredients used in the products. I'm hoping that these products fare well on my uber-sensitive skin. I'll be trying out the Skin Perfecting Primer, and will be reporting back on how it fares on my skin!



And to end off, that's a photo of myself and some of the other bloggers at the event, including my friend Lynn (whose brother used to be my classmate in University, way back when), and fellow beauty blogger LunaLunaFace. I don't know why I put that photo up when we're all squished in a corner, you barely see half my body, and the lighting was so bad that noone in the photo looks good (including myself). But hey, we all love photos, don't we?

Lancome Maqui Miracle Foundation FOTD/Review: The Perfect Everyday Foundation!

Lancome has just released the Maqui Miracle Foundation today, and boy, do I expect it to be a fast seller! This is the perfect almagation of great colour shades, texture, and lasting power - so I'm pretty sure these are going to be popular. (Psst, in case you missed it, I've previously swatched the Maqui Miracle shades.)

You'll need to buy the compact case (S$27) and the foundation compact ($65) separately, and assemble the little set-up yourself. Kinda like IKEA furniture, no? :P



Fortunately, assembly is pretty nifty. The case and compact have a catch mechanism that allows the foundation compmact to be snapped in very easily into the case itself. I actually like this - it's definitely an improvement over those clunky pans we had to fit into the case.

Here's a closer look at the foundation pan. You can see the little latch mechanism sticking out at its sides. The colour I picked out was O-01, and I'm about NC20. From what I can tell, though, this is a little less yellow than NC20, although it has the same depth of colour. The undertone is a lot more neutral than MAC's NC20, which tends to be yellower and warmer.

I know I've said this in my previous Maqui Miracle swatch post, but I'm so convinced of this point I'll say it again - the shade range of Maqui Miracle is excellent. I love how nuanced the shades are, and how warm, cool, and neutral undertones are all covered within the context of Asian skin shades. You know how hard it is to find a cool-toned yellow-beige shade of foundation? Now you have three options! If you're like me, and most yellow-beige shades are way too orange for you, it's hard not to get excited about that!



Anyway, enough with that little diversion on Asian shades. Back to assembling the compact! You take that foundation pan...and snap! In it goes into the compact, from the back. I actually quite like the mechanism, it makes it very easy to refill your compact foundation. The compact itself is also very nifty - it closes shut magnetically, instead of with a latch. I quite like it, although I do worry that if I were to bring my Maqui Miracle compact with me while I was travelling, it would open up in my bag.



So the compact is nifty. The foundation case is nifty. Did you know the sponge is also nifty? I never knew foundation sponges were so important, but I guess it makes sense - after all, just like how brushes are important for a good application, sponges can also lend a big hand when it comes to application skill. The Maqui Miracle foundation sponges are double-sided, and one side is rougher (basically your typical foundation sponge surface), while the other side has a much smoother surface. I actually really like touching the smooth side - it feels very velvety.



The idea behind having a dual-sided sponge is that you first use the porous, rougher side to apply the foundation, and then finish off with the velvety smooth side to give a better finish. I honestly can't tell much difference unless I look closely at my face, but it does seem to give a slightly better finish.

So, we have the case, the compact, and the sponge! Here's the entire set, in it's very chic-looking case:



The texture of the foundation was smooth, very smooth, and coverage of the foundation was pretty decent by powder foundation standards - it will cover only minor flaws, and if you have any scars, eyebags, or major discolourations, you're best off using it together with a concealer. But if you only have minor imperfections, this would be good worn on its own.

I have to admit, while I was impressed by the design, shade range, and unsparing attention to detail (hello, a double sided sponge?), what won me over was really the quality of the foundation itself.

In order to test the claims of being able to absorb oil and prevent shine for 12 hours, I actually wore this one out for all 12 hours, without touching up. And I was very impressed by what I found. At the end of 12 hours, I found that it was getting oily, but not by very much. And the foundation hadn't oxidized, either. To be fair though, I was spending most of the 12 hours indoors, so it wasn't like I was running a marathon. But still, I'm impressed.

Here's a shot of myself wearing the foundation:



So, who should check out this foundation? The first thing that comes to mind would be Asian girls like myself who have trouble finding shades in most brands, especially neutral and cool-toned girls (like myself). But anyone looking for a good quality powder foundation with light-to-medium coverage and the ability to resist shine should really consider this one.

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company for this review.)

Lancome Maqui Miracle Foundation Swatches and Spring Sneak Peek!

Here's a sneak peak at Lancome Spring 2011! Aren't you excited? I sure am! They do have some pretty darn awesome stuff coming up, and I have some exciting swatches and pictures! Prepare for bombardment!

First up of course is the much anticpated Maqui Miracle Natural Brightening Creator Compact Foundation, which imparts a smooth finish and a lit-from-within aura glow. It launches in Singapore on March 1st (book your calendars, ladies!) and will be retailing for S$65 (the case is another S$27).

When they say that the foundation glows from within, they weren't kidding! Although the foundation promises to impart radiance to tired complexions, there's not a trace of glitter in this foundation, so you don't have to worry about looking like a glitterbomb exploded in your face.



Maqui Miracle foundation comes in 8 shades, and like Teint Miracle before it, the shades are very nuanced and actually look like the skin colours of people I know. So many brands make the grevious mistake of thinking that warm-toned foundations have to be hidiously orange, and cool-toned foundations need to have barbie pink thrown in. Lancome, however, has managed to come out with nuanced shades that still reflect cool, neutral, and warm undertones, without ever veering to a pink or orange extreme. That is a pretty big plus in my book!

For those wondering about how the Lancome numbering system of shades works in Asian countries, this was clarified at the event. PO colours are geared towards pinker undertones (cooler undertones), while O colours are neutral. BO are yellower colours for warmer undertones. Simple!

Here are some product pictures of the pans, along with swatches taken by yours truly. I hope they help some of you ladies out there in matching yourselves!

Here are the 3 lightest shades: PO-01, O-01, and BO-01:





As you can see, the shades gradiate from being more pink to less pink as we move from PO-O1 to BO-01.

It's more apparent with the medium set of shades, PO-02, O-02, and BO-02:





Strangely enough, although I'm NC20, I matched myself to O-01, which wasn't what I thought when I took a look at the shades at a first glance. I had expected that I would be BO-01, but O-01 was a much better fit. I think most Asian girls would probably be wearing shades in the O and BO range.

In additon to the colour selection, I also really liked the texture of the Maqui Miracle Foundation. It was very finely milled, and went on very smoothly. And it didn't settle into creases and lines, which is a bonus. I'll definitely be reviewing the foundation soon, so you'll hear more about it!

Next, we have the colour makeup items, which excite me greatly. First up are the lipglosses, the L’Absolu Rouge Crème de Brillance. We're getting in three shades, 180, 285 and 320. Here's a sneak peek at the lipglosses:



The glosses have a very nice non-sticky texture, and aren't full-coverage, but they definitely aren't sheer either, and even the red shade is very wearable. So for anyone looking for a wearable red lipgloss, 180 is totally worth checking out.

Here's a swatch of both 320 and 180:



320 is a creamy mauve pink, while 180 is a semi-sheer red with tiny bits of sparkle. You can't really see it in the swatches, but the sparkle is there.

After the glosses, of course we have the L’Absolu Rouge lipsticks. I personaly love Lancome lipsticks, so you know I'm going to love these:



The lipsticks are also semi-sheer. So although the red lipstick looks scary in the tube, it is also very wearable once applied. The texture of the lipstick was also great - they glided on, and weren't drying at all. And as you can see from the swatches below, they have a very nice sheen when applied. I love how the lipsticks look on, they kind of just glow a little.



285 is a muted midtone neutral pink, and 180 is a sheerish red that is very wearable. Both of these shades are the kind of universally flattering shade every girl needs in her makeup collection. These colours would go with just about any outfit or any makeup look since they're pretty neutral.

I don't know about you, but all these releases are making me pretty excited. For my Singaporean ladies who wish to find out more about the foundation before it launches March 1st, here's how you can do so:

1. A visit down to any Lancome Beauty Counter islandwide for a 2-min Aura Bright flash foundation touch-up and shade matching of Maqui Miracle as of 17 Feb.

2. Check out the Lancome booklet in the March issue of Cleo, Singapore Women’s Weekly, Harper’s Bazaar for more details which will be available at the newsstands as of 17 Feb.

3. The Lancome website, www.lancomesg.com will feature Maqui Miracle as of 17 Feb. Participants can get their complimentary Maqui Miracle trial size compact foundation by registering on our website and participating in our “My Miracle Foundation” online poll. Limited while stocks last.

4. Shoutouts on Facebook as of 21st Feb - there are weekly contests!

Whew, wasn't that a boatload of information? But it's all good, because this is so exciting. I'll be reviewing the foundation and lip products in the near future. Yes, you haven't heard the last of this yet! :P

And to end off for fun - a photo of myself and some of the lovely ladies at the event.


(Picture taken from the lovely Rouge Deluxe)

(Information provided at PR event, Opinions on products are all my own. I am not affliated with/compensated by the company.)

Shopping Haul :)

Hi there, I know its been a few days since my last post, but I have been a little bit busy.

 Today I am going to write about something else other than Nail Polishes, I am a nail polish addicted, but I also love makeup, even though I do not have as much as I have nail polishes. On Friday, I went to do a bit of shopping, and as I never had tried anything form No 7, I decided to give it a go, because lots of people say it is a good brand, and their products are extremely good. So I bough a foundation, which cost me £15.50, bronzing pearls, £11 and a eyeshadow palette £10, on a deal 3 for 2, so I basically bought 2 products, and the cheaper I got for free. I am on a student budget, so for me it was a great deal! :) The foundation matches my skin tone perfectly, the tone that matched my skin was 05 Cream, I got the No 7 Protect & Perfect Foundation, which basically says that you will get a "flawless luminous finish" this is also SPF 15, so it is great, because I do not apply Sun Screen every day. I got the Sun Kissed bronzing pearls, which I think its gonna last me long, I still have not tried them. And I also got the trio eyeshadow in Pretty Posey, which is kind of Pink, and Rosy tones, I do not have anything like that, so I decided to give it a try. I also got, some makeup brushes, from EcoTools which cost me £29.99, I bough them at Amazon, so I still have not received them. I got the 18 Brush set, and I will talk about it more when I see it, and when I try it. 

That was all, as I mentioned before I am on a student budget, so unfortunetly I cannot afford to splurge like I would like on my make up.

Hear are some pics of what I got

Olá, já há uns dias que não vinha ao blog, mas tenho andado um bocadinho ocupada.

Hoje nao vou escrever sobre vernizes, eu sei que sou viciada em vernizes, mas tambem amo maquilhagem, embora nao tenha assim tanta como vernizes. Na Sexta Feira, fui fazer umas comprinhas, e como nunca tinha experimentado nada da No7, decidi experimentar, porque já muita gente me tinha dito que é uma boa marca, e os produtos deles são muito bons. Então comprei uma base que custou £15.50, umas bolinhas de bronzer, £11 e um palette de sombras, £10, numa promoção de 3 por 2, basicamente paguei os 2 produtos mais caros, e o terceiro foi de graça. Como sou estudante, esta promoção é ideal. A base complementa o ton da minha pele perfeitamente, a cor da base é o 05 Cream. A base que comprei é a No 7 Protect & Perfect Foundation, que basicamente diz que a pele vai parecer luminosa e perfeita, esta base tambem protege do sol, já que tem SPF15, o que é muito bom, porque não ponho protector solar todos os dias como é aconcelhado. Tambem comprei as bolinhas bronzer a cor que escolhi é a Sun Kissed, acho que me vão durar muito, ainda não as experimentei.

Tambem comprei a palette de sombras com o nome de Pretty Posey, que tem tons rosa, e como não tinha nada assim decidi comprar. Tambem comprei uns pinceis de maquilhagem, como os comprei na internet, no site da Amazon, ainda nao chegaram, são 18 pinceis da EcoTools e custaram £29.99. Mas falarei deles noutro post, quando os receber e quando os experimentar.

Foram estas as comprinhas, nao foram muitas, porque como já disse sou estudante e infelizmente não posso gastar tanto quanto queria em maquilhagem.

Lancome Teint Miracle Foundation Swatches

Lancome has released a new foundation that claims to reproduce the look of real skin. I'm skeptical, since my personal belief is that nothing ever looks quite like real skin, but Lancome ascribes these skin-lookalike properties to what it calls Aura-inside technology. While I personally view the whole thing as marketing hype, the line of foundations is actually quite good.

The foundations come in a pump bottle, which make them quite hygenic and easy to use, and have a very fluid, light texture, not unlike water. Coverage is decent, but still relatively light - if you want serious coverage, this isn't going to provide it.

In Singapore, as with the rest of Asia, Lancome seems to think that we have a limited gene pool, so we only have a few colours. So swatched here are the "Asian colours" as determined by Lancome. There are 6 shades in total, so hopefully there is enough choice within the limited range. I'm not too sure what shades these match up to, since it appears that Lancome has named the shades slightly differently in Asia (using BO, O, PO) as compared to the US (where they use Bisque, Buff, etc).



L-R: BO-01, BO-02, O-04, PO-03, PO-045, O-03

I know the swatch photograph isn't that great - I actually took it in very dim indoors lighting at an event, and even after image editing for colour accuracy, this was the best I could do. Hopefully the descriptions below will help a little more.

BO-01 is a very pale beige that leans a little yellow. I'm NC20, and I think this would be too pale for me.

BO-02 might possibly be my shade. It's darker than BO-01, and a little more yellow. Maybe with some careful blending this might be around NC20.

O-04 is quite dark and orange. It's possibly NC35 or so (I'm not that familiar with MAC's darker shades). I kind of wonder who would need a foundation shade that orange though, but there are a gazillion skintones out there, so this one will be someone's shade.

PO-03 is quite close to BO-02. I think BO-02 is a little bit less yellow than PO-03, but to the casual eye they look quite close. Also another shade that's around the NC20 range - the difference here is not how dark or light the shade is, but how much yellow there is.

PO-045 is possibly NC25 or NC30. It's not as orange as O-04 and not as dark.

O-03 is also very close to BO-02 and PO-03. O-03 has more yellow than either BO-02 and PO-03, however. Once again, although this is potentially an NC20 shade in terms of depth, the shades are subtly different from each other in terms of how much yellow is in each shade.

Out of all the shades, it seems to my eye that the O series is the most yellow, followed by PO, and then BO. So for girls deciding between O-03, PO-03 and BO-02, the determining factor could possibly be the amount of yellow in their skin. Girls with more yellow would prefer O-03, and PO-03. I personally think BO-02, being beigey-yellow but not too yellow, could be a shade for Asian girls who find most foundations to be too yellow for them, especially cooler-toned Asian girls who have trouble finding a match.