Hello Everyone,

Getting back to blogging and video making. It's almost impossible to do what I enjoy doing with young kids. That's motherhood I suppose. Anyway here is a swatch video on the L.A Girls Glazed Lip Paint  that I recorded months ago and finally got to edit and post on my Youtube channel (Link HERE). Below are photos with the lip paint on my pigmented lips.


Babydoll
Blushing
Bombshell
Coy
Daring
Elude
Feisty
Gleam
Hot Mess
Peony
Pin-Up
Seduce
Tango
Tease
Tempt
Whimsical
Whisper *
Flirt*

These above mentioned are the 18 Glazed Lip Paints that L.A Girl carry. I liked all of them except for the two which I have indicated with an asterisk *. They wore comfortably on my lips without feeling sticky. They did last for about 4 hours without a need for touchup however I did not eat nor drink during this time. They are pigmented but do not compare with OCC lip tars as other bloggers claim. They did bleed over my lips when I wore them without a lip liner. For the price point, I feel it was worth getting all of them as I love changing my lip colour on a daily basis. My two favourites are Coy and Pin up. Hope you find this review useful. Thank you for coming by.

I love Beauty UK products. They are not only inexpensive, quality is not compromised. Here is an item I received a while back, Jumbo Eyeliner & Eyeshadow. One end has a creamy smooth eyeshadow and the other a black eye pencil. It is a very convenient makeup item to have in any daily makeup bag. Not only can you line your eyes, you can also add colour by just using the other side of the pencil.


Beauty UK Jumbo Eyeliner & Eyeshadow pencil in black & turquoise.


Swatch applied on bare skin.



Likes
- Convenient product to have.
- The end with the turquoise eyeshadow is superb. Beautifully glides on when applied.
- Both eyeliner and eyeshadow are very smooth to apply. Thus no tugging on delicate eye area.
- Budget friendly makeup item. It only costs £2.99.

Dislikes
- Smudges after 1 hour of application if I do not use any eye primer.
- The black eyeliner does not stay on my waterline (I do have watery eyes!).

Overall
I don't think one can compare this product with the NYX jumbo pencil as they are both very different. I personally like Beauty UK Jumbo Pencil as it is pigmented and creamy without being messy. However, the staying power is not as good when applied without a good eye primer (I have oily eyelids and most of the time, I need to use an eye primer!). Overall, this is a pretty good item to have if you like to have  multi use from your makeup.

(Product was sent for review purposes)

Recently I received the Starlooks March Starbox. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the quantity and quality of the products. All products included were full sized. Click here for website!


Here is a close up of the four products that came with this box.

Disarray eyeshadow is a matte navy blue eyeshadow. With one application of the colour you may not get the best pigmentation, however, after layering you can get a pretty strong navy blue smokey eye. I use it as an eyeliner as well. Perfect for those days where black is just plain boring.


The lipstick 'Flutter' is very pigmented and vibrant. It leans more towards the frosty side. I think this is a lipstick version of NARS Taj Mahal blush. Beautiful burnt orange shade.


The lengthening mascara does what is should. The wand is just the right size for my eyes. The formula of this mascara is very nice as it does not clump nor does it make my lashes look like spider legs. It also comes off easily when removing makeup.


The Vanilla lip sugar is great for exfoliating dry chapped lips. It smells great and leaves the lips smooth and smooch-able. Lovely product to prepare lips for lipstick application.


This is the look I came up with using the above items (less the vanilla lip sugar) from the Starbox ''smokey navy blue eyes with orange lips''. I even used the lipstick on my cheeks as a blush.






Likes
- You can try the entire makeup line by subscribing to Starbox at USD$15.00.
- With the Starbox you get 3-4 full sized products.
- All the items included were very usable and wearable, even for a brown lady like me.
- When the Starbox came in the mail, none of the items were broken or defected. All items were nicely packed.

Dislikes
- None so far

Overall
I think it is worth subscribing to Starbox from Starlooks because you get full sized products to try. From what I understand all the items are hand picked to ensure that they suit a wide range of skin tones. So in other words, if you are a woman of colour, you might find the makeup items very usable. If you are a beginner in makeup and do not know how to use the items that come with the Starbox, you can visit their Youtube Channel (Click Here) to learn from their tutorials. Starlooks cosmetics are cruelty free (which I think is great!). The items that come in the Starbox vary from month to month so you will get to try something new every time.

Hope you found this review useful. What is your favourite product from Starlooks.com?

Finally got my hands on the Maybelline Fit Me foundation in the shade 320. However I think I am in between shades 315 and 320. This foundation is supposed to give natural coverage that leaves the skin breathable and fresh. For info-commercial about this product click HERE!

In the picture below, you can clearly see that I have worn foundation. Also if you have noticed, this foundation is slightly orange on my skin (see After picture).


Likes
- Blends effortlessly into the skin.
- Gives a very natural finish to the skin.
- The consistency of the foundation is just right. Not too watery nor is it thick.
- I don't feel like I am wearing foundation as it's very light on the skin.

Dislikes
- Makes my skin oily after application.
- This shade is a little orange on my skin tone.
- No pump provided thus there is likely for foundation to be wasted.
- It gave me two zits on my chin. (an indication that my skin is not agreeing with the product)
- Oxidises a little after a few hours of wear.

Overall
I like the feel of this foundation. It does give light to medium coverage. You will have to set it with a powder if not it's going to let your oiliness come through pretty much instantly. As I have mentioned earlier, 320 is not a good match for me. I did try 315 before and that was too light. Perhaps a shade in between would have worked. Since this is an inexpensive foundation, I did not have high hopes to begin with. So the final verdict is, I will give this foundation a go again in summer, however will not repurchase it again.

Thanks for coming by.

I am very blessed to get lovely comments about my skin from you viewers and people around me.To be honest, I do not do anything out of the blue to achieve good skin. I use products from a reputable brand, eat right, drink plenty of water and (force myself to) feel happy. Comparing to how my skin was 1 year ago, I am pretty impressed with how it is now. I still remember, the pimples and zits that popped up overnight due to the raging pregnancy hormones. (Click here & here for a pics where you can see my 'bad' skin!)

Here is a video showing you guys my foundation collection. This has been highly requested by many viewers who are similar to my skin tone.  I used to have so much more as I was a freelance makeup artist. Since I have moved and am starting my fashion studies soon, I don't think I will have the time to do makeup on others other then to share my tips and tricks via Youtube. At least someone (subscribers) will learn from the knowledge I gained through the years. Sharing is caring! 

1. Make Up For Ever HD foundation # 173 (Click HERE for review & swatches)
2. NARS Sheer Glow foundation Cadiz 
3. Mac Pro Long wear foundation NC45 (Click HERE for review & swatches)
4. Kryolan TV stick foundation FS 41 & FS 27 (Click HERE for review & swatches)
5. Graftobian Glamour creme Winter Wheat & Desert Sand  
6. Graftobian Glamour creme Super palette Warm (Great palette for makeup artists)
7. Bare Minerals foundation Warm Tan
8. SheerCover Mineral makeup Almond & Mocha
9. Mac Studio fix powder foundation NC 45

After a very busy week, I have finally found time to get this review up on Youtube. It's the famous HD foundation by MUFE. I am in the Shade #173 (For reference, am NC44/45 and a little NC50 from Mac & Cadiz from NARS)

This shade does lean towards the yellow tones. Blends beautifully.

Likes
- Very good match to my skin tone.
- Did not turn orange on my skin.
- Blends very smoothly.
- Does give good coverage depending on how many layers applied.
- The consistency of the foundation is just right. Not too watery nor is it thick.

Dislikes
- Gives a very dewy finish, I have dewy skin and this just exaggerates and makes it look oily instead.
- Settles on smile lines and other facial lines.

Overall
I have a love hate thing going on with this foundation. Foundation looks great on my face when taking pictures but I just cannot go out with it as it will become very oily after just 1 hour of application. I have to use the HD primer before applying this foundation. I am not sure if I would repurchase this given that it is a good color match for me.

Cost : HKD 420 (Retail price) however, I did get a makeup artist discount.

Here is my review & application videos on Youtube.



Thank for your time everyone!

I have been wanting to get a face cleansing brush for a long while. For years I was using FaceShop's face brush for when I need deep cleansing of my face. I just cannot bring myself to purchase something that is above $100 without asking myself  "Is it really worth it? Can I get something similar for a better price? Do I really need it?" etc... When I saw that Sigma makeup came up with a similar product to the infamous Clarisonic cleansing brush, I was pretty excited to try it out, even though I had my doubts!

Finally, made the purchase when they had the free international shipping. Got the Cleansing tool in december last year but started using it only in january.

The Sigma Cleansing & Polishing tool retails for USD$39.00 (LINK).

Here is my video review of this tool.


This is the brush head that I am using for daily facial cleansing.


Never tried this brush head as I think it is too abrasive to the skin.


Same with this brush. Too abrasive.


Hope you are having a lovely weekend!

When you ask someone the question "which part of the face is the most important point?" usually they say, it's the eyes/nose/lips. Personally, I think it's the eyebrows. Well groomed eyebrows frame the face and one can always get away with no makeup if one's eyebrows are well groomed. There are many ways to shape eyebrows. I am not talking about threading, waxing or using a tweezer to pluck. What I am talking about is using products to fill them in. I have shown in many of my makeup videos how I fill my eyebrows. Products I use, to mention a few, include Mac dipdown fluidline, H&M brown eyebrow pencil and Senna eyebrow duo.

Here are links to some of the videos and blog posts I have made that are related to eyebrows.
Senna eyebrow duo application - LINK
Mac dipdown fluidline application - LINK
Eyebrow shaping and filling in - LINK

Recently, Senna Sketch-A-Brow pencil (LINK) has become my new favorite. I am using the shade Mink. This is the darkest shade in their range.


As you can see from the above swatch pic, you can build the intensity to suit your natural eyebrow. One stroke for light definition, two strokes for those areas that need more filling in. Multiple strokes for someone who has dark hair and need heavy filling in. I usually use one stroke for my inner half and multiple strokes for the outer half as I don't have much hair there. Since my hair is dark, this method seems to work well.


Do you agree that eyebrows frames the eyes and face or is it just me?

Likes
- Highly pigmented pencil. Don't need much effort to dispense the product.
- Long wearing (I tested it on a rainy day, slept with it on and also cooked - no fading whatsoever)
- The little comb helps to tame the stray hairs.

Dislikes
- None (so far)... :)

Overall
I absolutely adore this eyebrow pencil. It doesn't require sharpening like a conventional eyebrow pencil as it is a retractable. Another benefit is that the tip does not break off easily when applied with a heavy hand (I am heavy handed!).

You can find Senna Cosmetics here (US site) & here (UK site).

What is your favorite eyebrow product?


(Product sent for review purposes.)

Likes
- Gorgeous color (must have for brown skin tone divas)
- The polish does not have the cheap strong chemical smell. (Usually that smell gives me a headache)
- It is creme finish nail polish.
- 9ml of product for £1.99 inc. VAT. 


Dislikes
- Applies streaky with one coat. Needs at least two coast for the color to show through.
- Chipped after two days of wear.


Overall

This is in the shade Black. As described in the packaging, it's a false lash effect volume mascara.


The wand is long, rubberized and the mascara brush has two sides with short and long bristles, respectively. I suppose the side with the short bristle is like a comb where it will distribute the product to the lashes without clumps. The longer bristle side will give you volume. I personally found that the shorter bristles worked well for my lower lashes and the longer bristles for my upper lashes.  


In the 'After' pic, see how the mascara has changed the appearance of my lashes. This is after applying two coats. For being an inexpensive mascara, I like how my lashes look. In fact, it reminds me of Mac False lashes mascara (less the clumps of course).


Likes
- Inexpensive mascara that delivers.
- The bristles are lovely. Short side for lower lashes and longer side for upper lashes.
- The wand is long thus I have better control and don't have to worry about smudging the mascara all over my eyes. (However, this is personal preference!)
- It's build-able in terms of how thick and voluminous you want your lashes to appear.
- Not clumpy at all.

Dislikes
- Not waterproof, so be prepared for the mascara to travel around the eye region after a couple of hours of wear or if you have watery eyes.
- Not pigmented enough. (I like my mascara super duper black, another personal preference!)

Overall
For being a drugstore product (at least in the UK), it delivers good results. I really like the shape of the wand. Makes mascara application less complicated.

Has anyone of you tried this mascara? If so, what are your thoughts?

While shuffling through my makeup collection, I re-discovered my lakme eye quartets. They really need more love from me. I usually buy them when I am in Singapore.

Lakme is an Indian cosmetics/beauty brand. You can read more about them here (<= Click link).

See below for swatches for the 8 eye quartets I own. I am sure this will be useful for those who are interested in purchasing them. Here is an online store (<= Click link) that sells lakme cosmetics and ships worldwide. I have never bought anything from them yet however, I might do so soon.











Likes
- I like the color combinations of the individual quartets/palettes.
- Most of the eyeshadows are shimmery or satin finish.
- Affordable quartets/palettes. (I bought these at SGD$8.90 in Singapore Jothi store in Little India)
- The eyeshadows tend to last for up to 8 hours if the used with a eye primer.
- Many Mac e/s dupes found in the quartets/palettes.

Dislikes
- Not many matte shadows. (Moon dust quart has white and black e/s with matt finishes.)
- Some of the shadows are crumbly and flakey.

Overall
I like these palettes very much if not I would not have collected 8 of them so far. They are great for traveling as you can use just one palette for different looks. Even though some of the eyeshadows are crumbly, I usually use a sponge tip applicator to make them work.

I have used Silk Route eye quartet in a Video tutorial where I used sponge tip applicator to apply the eyeshadows.


I have also used Desert Rose in an older video.



Do you own any of the above quartets/palettes?