Awhile back Cathy sent me this palette because haha I had never tried anything from Sleek Makeup before. I have heard many good things about their eyeshadow palettes but I thought I had enough eyeshadow as not much of a daily eyeshadow user - despite my recent obsession on the Canmake Perfect Brown Eye Palette (Review HERE). I was given this new primer palette to try :)
First off I wanted to say the color payoff is amazing. As you can see the swipes are very vibrant and show up really "smoothly" on the skin. If I were to compare, the darker colors still show a little better than the lighter ones. They are great as bases and provide a good range of options to layer underneath many shades of shadows.
Secondly unfortunately I have to state a con of this palette. The staying power isn't as great and they do crease on my lids. Keep in mind that my lids aren't even oily to begin with, it is a rather bad formulated primer palette.
I have owned it for a few months and would only use it for piling shadows on top for smokey looks, ala knowing that I will only be out for a few hours. It's too bad because the colors would be of great use if they lasted longer.
P.S. the little plastic card with names of the actual primer is wrong.... it took me at least 10 minutes to figure out what name belongs to what color wtf.
You can check out the palette or other cosmetis from the Sleek Makeup website HERE.
A quick post on 5 affordable drugstore / high street lipsticks I love using for summer to match my tan. You know I love orange / coral lips :)
Besides jumping right into the picture, I dont think I could write better than "This is my favourite coral lipstick with a tad of pink coral undertone" wtf okay just kidding I will try my best la. 3 of out 5 lipsticks are from Revlon, as I mention in the video, makes my favorite formula of drugstore lipsticks. first off -
Revlon 674 Coral Berry | A creme (cream?) coral with a heavy pink undertone. It transfer more coral than pink on the lips. Nice formula and instantly brightens the complexion without overdoing it.
Revlon 750 Kiss Me Coral | One of the brightest colors I ever owned. The picture doesn't even adjust. A true orange that would make a statement. A great option to replace the classic red when I dont want that formalness for a night out. Worn in this look (HERE)
Revlon 628 Peach Me | As I consider, a very opaque but mild coral. Its my to-go lip color for the summer. On the lips the pink tone has almost completely gone, left alone the orange. I find it really nice to go with all the whites, pastels and minty colors I wear in the summer.
Revlon Colorburst lipstick in Peach | The texture is very pastel-y a la very opaque. Again, the picture doesn't adjust. Its bright coral without being over the top. A true peach. Personally not a huge fan but I know a lot of people love the formula of this lipstick as well.
NYX Round Lipstick in Indian Pink | Swatch with close to a baby pink, Indian Pink is actually a pink coral when transferred to the lips. I personally hate the formula of the NYX round lipsticks (too waxy and slippery) but I know they are given a lot of love in the beauty community. It looks beautiful in pictures.
The pictures don't really tell. If interested, please check out the video for the true colors :)
Now, what are your favorite orange / peach / coral lipsticks? Please share!
Quick Haul and reviews for some Canmake products that I purchased awhile back.
Perfect Brown Eye Paletter 03 - I love this palette okay, and I expect anyone would too if you liek bronzy warm browns. The palette contains a clear eyeshadow stick base with tiny shimmers (not that shimmery), highlight shimmery color, warm bronze slightly metallic medium brown and dark brown colors. The light color and base don't really show up on camera but the base is really good actually. A tad of it makes the colors appear that much better and last. The darker colors are just so gorgeous, easy to blend (think wetter Urban Decay eyeshadow). This is my everyday to-go palette. Retails: $12
Cream Cheek 02 - I don't own a lot of cream cheek colors but decided to pick up a pink one earlier for spring. The pigmentation is quite nice however personally don't think its a right pink for me (the most far I can go is probably coral pink). Maybe that would change when I get more tanned in summer? *fingers crossed*. Retails: $9
Nail Polish in Marshmallow Pink - Thought it would be quite cute from the bottle. The color payoff is horrible. I couldnt even get an opaque coat after 5 coats... extremely sheer alert (look at the picture). Retails: $7
Fragrance Nail & Hand Cream in Grapefruit - Smells AWESOME, does not do a thing to my hands. Skip it for sure. $8
So overall I would probably recommend the eyeshadow palettes they have. They are great bang for the buck, and I will definitely get another one if not more. Hmmm perhaps one of those powder blushes that everyone pretty much raves about too. Have you tried anything from Canmake?
It has been awhile since last I did a monthly favourites post. I have so many products that I need to write about that I don't even know where to begin! To not overwhelm you all as a nice human being after all wtf, I am still keeping them to the minimum. These are really products that I use in the month of April on a day to day basis and they seriously have my love.
Giorgio Armani Designer Lift Foundation in 05
Hands down the best foundation I have come across for my skintype. I will have a separate review dedicated to this so I am not going to go into too much details now. Long story short it has a dewy finish (which I love!), lasts for >6 hours on my normal skin, does not have a white cast for photographs even with SPF20, and most importantly, glides on so smoothly and thin. It feel very comfortable to wear. It is just the foundation made in heaven for me.
Maybelline Color Tatto Cream Eyeshadow in Tough As Taupe
Tough as Taupe is a cool tone taupe with a little metallic sheen. Initially a color that is too "cool" for my skintone, I however really enjoy the formula of the product. It does not move or smudge (like tattoos, really!) This is perfect for work/school, something that you can just use alone once and be set for the rest of the (long) day. I will most likely go pick up Bad to Bronze for everyday use.
Maybelline Baby Lips Moisturizing Lip Balm in Energizing Orange & Anti-Oxidant Berry
Stupid me thought these were the colored ones (HERE). I have yet to try the colored ones despite hearing amazing things about them from the beauty community. I then realized these sans color ones aren't available in the US. Please correct me if I was wrong. They however are very moisturizing, not waxy (not my type) and would correct your lip's hyperpigmentation over time. I really like the overall scents and super moisturizing formula they offer. Oh, plus the affordable price since I go through my chapsticks as quick as shooting ETs with an laser gun wtf.
Rimmel Lasting Finish Powder Blush in 018 Pink Sorbet
From restraining myself from drugstore blushes for quite some time now, I had no regret in picking this blush for less than $2 when it went on sale at CVS. The packaging and brush that came with are undoubtedly just crap but the product itself is amazing. Its a coral pink with a sheen, tiny bit more pink than Nars Orgasm (another blush I cannot live without!) Its surprisingly lasts a good amount of time on me too. If I were to pick up only one drugstore blush for my life, this would be it.
Nars Laguna Bronzing Powder
When I am getting paler in life, my used-to-be favourite bronzer Benefit Hoola can sometimes be too dark for my everyday liking. Nars Laguna is one of those most raved about products in the cosmetics history with millions of reviews and swatches on Internet, I was actually quite hesitant to yet buy another Nars products that receives such high rankings. However you have once again done well Nars, Laguna is a smooth, non-shimmery, beige undertone bronzer that barely shows up on my NC25-30 skin. It does its job almost without noticing its existence. Its perfect for light to medium tone skin for contouring everyday. A full review with swatches will follow.
Koji No.100 Accent Eyelash Curler
To sum it up with just one sentence, it is a half eyelash curler with open ended on both sides. It comes in super handy to combine real and fake lashes, since sometimes they don't fit in the regular eyelash curler, and thus minimize the risk of tearing the fake lashes from eyelids. Highly recommend it for people who often wear falsies.
Lancome Color Design Mix & Matte Lipstick in Stylista (Not shown in picture)
As Lancome describes, the Color Design line is for full, fade-free color in tempting textures with smooth ingredients that make the lips feel soft and comforted all day, I cannot agree more. Since when matte lipsticks can be so moisturizing, not dry out the lips and essentuate fine lines? Stylista is a matte dusty pink with the texture made in heaven. I rarely love a formula of a lipstick so much and am already planning to get more summer colors from the range.
OR, if you're lazy to read, here goes the video too haha
So that's it! I will be reviewing some of the products from this list later on. Hope you've found something you are interested in. What have you been loving lately?
Just had an amazing time in Shanghai this past weekend. This city always, always has a piece of my heart and you have no idea how much I had missed it. Oh Shanghai, y u no keep me?
People say third time is a charm, I'd say Shanghai for the third time is THE charm. Unlike the first time around with tons of sightseeing and gazillions of places to hit, I simply shoot for a relaxing weekend just chilling with good friends and going to a few of my favourite spots of the city.
Tianzifang - An arts and crafts enclave developed from a renovated residential area in the French Concession to meet up with a friend for coffee and visiting his artsy Shanghai apartment. Xuanmin Jin's studio is also there if you are into Shanghai street photography. I personally adore his work.
M1NT - One of the best restaurants for sure. I could swallow 2 of those tuna steaks if I weren't so jet legged. The view of the roof top is amazing too (above, right)
Brown Sugar - Pub in Xintiandi that has the best live band with great drinks. Always perfect to start the night at. Numerous of fun nights acquired.
Bar Rouge- Favourite Bar in the entire world okay with the most gorgeous view overlooking the Bund. Pretty much where we spent most nights back in 2009. Great music and crowd, and super syrupy strawberry mojitos that I love.
I am done typing for the day, just gonna post pictures so you can see - Enjoy :)
Haha sleep tight at Bar Rough. Super jet lag actually me too. Just the perfect amount of festivities I could barely handle lol.
Update: I have relocated to Hong Kong now. Yes I am back to my root! Now that I am 645383466845720 miles closer to Shanghai, I will be sure to go much more often.
