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A place for me to share all my make-up ramblings...enjoy!

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My name is Sophia!

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FAQ & DISCLAIMER

About Me

My name is Sophia, and I am in my early 30s. I am from Singapore and I am the sole writer of this blog.

About this Blog

I started this blog in 2006, I like to use a wide range of brands though I seem to have a growing preference for higher-end brands in recent years. I also like to share interesting things I have come across about makeup and beauty.

Currently The Makeup Blogette receives 39,000 unique views monthly or 2,238,932 views and counting.

My Makeup Style

I like classic looks (neutral tones on eyes, anything goes for lips & cheeks), though occasionally I try out dramatic/ statement looks.  I believe that a flawless base is the key to achieving great makeup looks.  I also believe that if you don't have great skin to start with, fake it with a good foundation routine, and even greater skincare.  I am currently loving Clarins & Lancome skincare products, and Vichy NormaDerm for tackling with breakouts.

What Cameras do I use?

Most of the pictures you see in post 2010 entries are taken with my Canon G-11.  Previously I was using Canon Ixus 80.  I do post some pictures which are taken with my iphone4 which I will state in that particular entry.  I have stopped watermarking my pictures as of 2011, because I think watermarks are ugly in general, and does not prevent people from stealing my pictures if they wish to.  I just take it as a compliment that my pictures are even worth stealing in the first place. I might look into getting a Canon EOS next year, not just for blogging purposes, but I also like photography in general.

My Favourite Makeup Brand(s)

It is hard to name just one, but I like NARS, Chanel, Illamasqua and the ocasional Guerlain, Dior & Urban Decay item.  I own quite a stash of MAC items, but recently I have stopped catching up with their collections, and I much prefer to splurge on a few really outstanding items.

Where to find me

Twitter (link button above!)  Email (stated above!)  Instagram (makeup_blogette)

I have no official Facebook fan page, and currently have no intention to start one at all.  The Makeup Blogette remains my personal hobby and property, so as such, I don't believe in having a Facebook fanpage for it.

Final Disclaimer

I bought/ paid for all of the products mentioned in this blog. I am not affliated to any company. If certain products are sent to me for review purposes, I will say so and express my honest opinions about them. In any case, I will only review and showcase the products which I have personally tried and tested, and enjoy using. I do not get paid to review anything.

No ads, no paid links etc please.  I am in charge of all content and pictures here.

I am not a makeup artist, nor do I have any professional training in makeup.

 

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    March 03, 2012

    Nails Story: A-England Bridal Veil [Photos & Swatches]

    A-England's latest collection, The Legend, see a line-up of 7 shades, all very shimmery metallic (slightly holographic, though I won't say they are straight out holographic).  It is hard to put the A-England finish into any category.  Under daylight, they shimmery, and glimmer so brilliantly, and really eye-catching.  I have one other A-England nail polish - Tristan - and it was one of the more popular shades among most people during my little express manicure stint at Scape a few months back.

    So, anyway, yes, back to Bridal Veil - it is a black nail polish - with that same interesting mix of metallic and holographic shimmer.  I will show it with a comparison, you can see it is neither holographic, nor gummetal.  And the shimmer is so densely packed, but yet it doesn't take away the blackness of Bridal Veil.

    Very chic.    And especially so, on my short nails.

     

    You can buy A-England nail polish at

    mei mei's signatures here and also check out their Facebook page

    a-england website (free intl shipping!)

     

    Photos & swatches

    I am comparing it with Color Club's Revvvvolution - a black holographic - I used to have OPI My Private Jet - which I actually USED UP - but I have given my second bottle to my sister since then.   They look quite similar in the bottle, but entirely different once applied.  Revvvolution is more grey-silver in its base color, while Bridal Veil still shows up solid black.

     

    Hope this has been helpful.

     

    Currently contemplating a proper order for some a-england polishes.

    Eugenia from ommorphia has some very mouth-watering swatches of these nails polishes on her site,  her description is priceless too!

    link here!

     

     

     

    That's all and thanks for looking!

     

     

     

     

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    January 06, 2011

    Nails Story: Fun with Shattered Nails (Katy Perry's OPI collection)

    So I got in these two bottles of Katy Perry's OPI collection this evening, and thought I would try out the colours.  I am sure many of you already know about this collection, and probably already bought them too.  I got 2 items from this collection, of course, the Black Shatter which is "a deep asphalt black with a shattered texture", and Teenage Dream -- well, that's like the title of that Katy Perry song, and I kind of like that song.

    And while trying out the Black Shatter nail polish, I have come to the following conclusions/ tips to keep in mind:

    • The shatter top coat dries matte.   I personally think it looks better with a top coat for a glossy finish.
    • You need to be very fast in your application.  The most ideal would be one even coat, and don't double apply, if you know what  I mean. Because then everything shatters blackish. Haha.
    • The shattering effect is almost instantaneous.  Kind of fun to watch.
    • The shattering effect looks best over a glittery holographic base colour.  The contrast of the black patches over the glitter/ holographic effect is quite something.  Over cream finish colors, well, unless it is a pop of neon, maybe?
    • Follow the instructions that say to let your base color dry first.

     

    Some close up pictures:

    Black Shatter with Color Club Fashion Addict

    With and without top coat


    Tried Black Shatter with the following colors from R to L:

    OPI Bring on the Bling

    OPI Teenage Dream

    OPI Catch me in the Net

    Color Club Age of Aquarius

    Without topcoat

    With topcoat as shown in the first pic of this entry.

    I think using the topcoat makes everything pop!

    That's all, and thanks for looking!

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    September 25, 2010

    Nails Story: Mini Haul & Comparisons! (Orly's Space Cadet, Essie's Sew Psyched, Color Club's Soft as Cashmere)

    This is usually the aftermath of a mini photo-shoot... I like to take pictures by the window, when there is natural daylight coming in.. wanted to take pics of Space Cadet outside the house, but there was a random guy sitting out there, so I decided against it...darn!  Hahaha... I just find that I don't have to worry so much about colors showing up true if I just take them in bright sunlight...oh well, we just make do for now!  :)

    Most these (except for Space Cadet) are from Gwen's latest TD spree.. and this time, I didn't make any epic lists (kinda over that for now) because I guess I have really realised that I tend to go for certain types of colors, and after a certain point (oh well, who am I kidding, like sprees and sprees later) I can always find similar shades or almost exact dupes in my current stash.  There are colors which I bought, but I know I would never use, there are colors which I never go for (usually those blah blah halfway between reds/ pinks/ mauves, worse if they are frosty ones).

    The most repeated type of colors in my stash are the minty/ pale teal/ tiffany & co shades, the taupe/ grey/ greige shades, nude shades, greys, greens, and all sorts of blacks, and another bunch of milky pinks and lilacs.  And with my drawers all bursting, enough is enough... for now, for now, ok!  I am not about to go on a 100% ban, cos that would be silly, you will just want to buy MORE ... kinda like going on diet, you can't go all starving.... just got to cut down and be more choosy, that's all.

    I bought nail supplies, the essentials necessary for quick changing of colors, and I always run out of my topcoats and base coats, and it is really a lot cheaper to get these during the spree.  So here we have the re-fill sizes of the Seche Vite topcoats and thinners.  A tip, if you find your Seche Vite too sticky and gunky, and you are more than halfway through the bottle, and using the thinner doesn't help much, it might be better to pour the re-fill into an empty nail polish bottle...  that way you are starting out brand new, instead of mixing the new topcoat with the gunky funky mess in the old bottle. I got the thinner more for thinning out old colors than for the topcoat.

    Next, we have Orly's Space Cadet, it was OOS on TD, and I was like, oh well, whatever, never mind.. til Kas was telling me how Nail Vibe has stock of it, and ok, yup, so I got it.  It is a much hyped about color, or colors, because as you can see in the bottle, there is a myriad of crazy colors and chunky metallic sheen glittery bits going on inside.

    It is sooooo sheer, I have to layer and layer the color in order for the colors to show up true to the bottle.  One tip, wait for each layer to dry, then apply the next, this way you achieve the opaqcity faster, and also avoid all the streakiness and the glitters moving about.

    You can also apply a color underneath before apply 2 or 3 coats of Space Cadet for the  maximum pow wow complexity to show through.

    Next, we have a Color Club color... soft as cashmere. There are good Color Clubs and bad ones.  This falls into the bad Color Club... so sheer, you need 3 or 4 coats for true color payoff.  Others in my stash includes Edie, Age of Aquarius, Oh Naturale etc... Good Color Clubs are the holographic sheen ones, like Revolution.  It is also a very warm grey shade (almost olive/ khaki), as you can see in the comparison swatches below.

    Ok, I have enough greys!!

    Next, is Essie's Sew Psyched... While soft as cashmere is a bad color club, Sew Psyched is a good essie!  There are bad essies too, like the colors from the 2010 Resort collection, you know those that are thin, and streaky and required 4 or 5 coats to get it right.  But Sew Psyched is creamy, opaque, and true to color in 2 even coats or even 1 thick coat.  I first saw it in Lorraine's daily video, and decided I must have this color!!!

    I put Sew Psyched next to Chanel's Khaki Vert, ok, maybe they are a little similar, but not dupes.  Sew Psyched had more grey, while Khaki Vert has more green and olive tinge.  Are they soooo different that you need both, of course not, but I like colors like these, so I don't mind.

    That's all, and if you have any questions or more suggestions for comparisons, do leave comments below!

    Thanks for looking!

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    August 14, 2010

    Nails Story: Haul from Transdesign Spree (CND, China Glaze, Color Club)

    Obviously, I don't need any more nail polish.  But I want more, which explains this rather huge haul... at last count, I have slightly over 200 bottles in my 4 drawers, and after I store these away, I really doubt I have space for any more.  But it's a transdesign spree (which we ordered with Gwen), and in a spree, you don't just order 2 or 3 bottles, ok?  Hehe.. but that just me, I guess.  Also, I want to try out other  brands, which explains for the CND colors you see in this entry. There is also a lone bottle of MAC, but that's another story for another time.

    And I swear some of us here have way  more nail polish and a greater variety of colors which I have seen at nail salons (usually they just have the safe colors like the OPI reds and nudes)!  Yay!  That prolly explains why I have not had a proper mani and pedi in ages... and I prolly should book appointments real soon.

    And shock horror news: these 17 bottles of nail polish, are cheaper than the 4 bottles of Illamasqua ones which I got hold of a couple of weeks back.

    And perhaps not so shocking, when Amy, Kas and I were playing around with these colors yesterday, we were able to just eyeball the colors and call out names of other colors which we already own as comparisons and dupes.  I quickly threw together a bunch of similar colors, but I am not going to 'dupe' them in detail in this massive picture heavy entry.  There are several more colors which I left out even as I am typing these words.

    Halfway through the spree, the China Glaze vintage vixen collection was released and available on the site.  I wasn't intending to get any, but after seeing the colors (and MORE SO the names) I caved and got a  bunch.  These are colors which  my sister would go ga-ga over... so she would find these very useful for her indeed.

    Let's start with the CND colours.  In the  midst of swatching these colors, I am really impressed by the brush, it is super smooth, and of a good size (which to me, is a rather big one, not skinny ones like the Sephora by OPI types).  The colors are also super glosssssssy!

    Desert Suede reminds me of OPI's Tickle my France-y which I also have.

    And Electric Purple doesn't quite look so electric, huh?

    Edit:  Eclectic Purple!!!!  Geesh,what's wrong with my eyes!   This color reminds me of OPI's Funkey Donkey.

    Scarlet Letter - Love the name!  And a very nice flattering true red on me.

    Tropic Coral reminds me of Chanel's Orange Fizz. The picture doesn't quite capture the salmony pink-orange shade.  It is also a very flattering color for me. And I think this color stuck in my mind eversince I saw it in Pixiwoo (Sam)'s tutorial from sometime back.

    Guava immediately reminds me of a few other colors, which I think you can guess too!  Argh.  But this is a lot prettier on my hands... and easier to apply too.

    Cases in point:

    Essie's Haute as Hello, and Van D'Go Not exactly dupes, but you don't need all if you have any one of these.

    Next, we have the China Glaze colors.  Something about black and gold will always have a place in my MU subconsciousness.  I am always drawn to black liners with gold bits, eyeshadows, etc etc you name it.  And when it comes to nail polish, I think Wagon Trail is the perfect example!  I am pretty sure Scrangie raved about this color.  This is from the fall 2008 collection (called Rodeo Diva collection).

    And the rest of the China Glaze colors are from the fall 2010 Vintage Vixen collection.  It is a  very 1920s inspired collection, with rich frosty metallic shades, and I like how they name the colors. Very Jazz Age --- think F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby - love that novel!

    Emerald Fitzgerald

    And the inevitable comparison to OPI's Cuckoo for this Color.  I must say, they are almost perfect dupes.  But China Glaze wins hands down, because the texture and pigmentation is a lot better.

    Ingrid. Taupe with gold shimmer.  Sold!!

    And finally, we have the Color Club colors.  I got mainly the colors from the Andy Warhol collection (again, the names sucked me in).   In my last transdesign haul, I got mainly the holographic colors, and here, they are mainly some pop candy cream shades. Lotsa dupes and similar shades which I already own.  Also some of the shades apply very sheer! Something which I did not expect.

    image credit

    I have different colors on my nails here!  The first and second are four leaf clover, and the other two I have on Edie.

    Very very similar, but Edie is softer and brighter, and just a tiny bit lighter.

    Neon Light Pink!

    This color is showing a lot pinker on camera.  In real life it is neon magenta.  Loves!

    And last but not least, Velvet Rope, and just like velvet, it has very subtle shimmer/ sheen.

    That's all, for this epic entry.

    It was cool meeting up the other girls yesterday too!!

    If you have any requests for comparisons and dupes, do leave them in the comments below.

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    June 25, 2010

    Nails Story: Color Club Front Row Diva & High Society Swatches & Comparisons

    Front Row Diva is a nude-mauvey color with subtle shimmer. The formula is very nice and creamy, you only need 2 coats for opaque non streaky color.

    I am comparing it to other similar shades in my stash, but they are not dupes after I tried out the colors.  Front Row Diva is a lot lighter and more pigmented, creamier, almost.

    I thought that High Society would be one of the many greige colors which I already have (YDKJ, Metro Chic, etc etc) but it is lighter, and more along the lines of Essie's Chinchilly, except that High Society has more brown, Chinchilly is more grey.

    That's all, nothing much here, but hopefully it is useful for those who like these paley light colors that fall in between greys, browns, nudes and taupes.

    Thanks for looking!

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    June 24, 2010

    Nails Story: Holographic Disco Ball!

     

     

    Since glitter nail polish is tough to remove (regardless of one coat or five coats), I may as well go all out and 'overdose' on the glitter for this nails episode.  The gel top look gives a wet glossy look, but it takes a long time to dry.

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    June 19, 2010

    Nails Story: Feast Your Eyes on Color Club, China Glaze and OPI Haul!

    Hi hi,

    I got the latest batch of nail polish from Gwen's spree.  This time, I got mostly Color Club nail polish, all thanks to the beautiful swatches I saw on Scrangie's mega swatch site.  And since she provides such amazing swatches, I shan't even try to take any swatch pictures in this entry.  Unless I want to do some comparisons and possible dupes of my own later on.

    I had originally not plan to post pictures of these nail polish, because the lighting and all just don't do the colors any justice... til I saw a bright sunny spot at my doorstep this morning, and decided that I shall attempt to do a quick photoshoot.  Since it was so hot and sunny out, I had to act quick and just went snap snap snap before I melt.  I also took a piece of metal ware (that perforated metal background) and used it as the background.  So, yup.. ahem.. I am pretty proud of how professional looking the following pictures look.  :)

    All the colors I got are in the group picture above... while I also threw in a couple from my own existing stash here and there for comparison's sake.  Not in these pictures are also 3 bottles of Nail Tek Foundation II, which are my all time fave base coats.  They were going at 75% off, so I took the chance to stock up.  They are great for ridge filling, and creating a strong base.... I started using them after I had my gel nails removed years ago, and I found that they are just great bases whether you need to have ridges filled out or not.

    Front Row Diva reminds me of a couple of OPI colors which I have, I think they are Will You  Mari-cha Me? and Color of the Zen-tury.

    Poptastic Neon is a blindingly neon hot pink.  Reminds me of NYLON magazine for some reason.  The font, the color scheme, and all that pop culture references and expression.  This is from the Andy Warhol collection, and I would love to get more of these collection.

    Aragon Suede looks nothing like the original color.  This is very typical of all OPI's Suedes to their original counterparts.

     

    Yup, I think that's about it, and thanks for looking!