And perhaps the answer is ZERO.

It is obvious, I am 'inspired' after seeing Kas and Chantana, and also Diana's top ten lipsticks, blue eyeshadows and purple lipsticks entries.  :)

I prolly should do an updated blush overview entry (last one was done in Dec 2008) , but anyway, here you might get to meet most of my blush collection except for the colors that don't fall into any particular color group (like neutrals, plums etc).

Here are some of my blushers, MSFs and some other misc brands aren't pictured.

These are swatches of PINKS.  I was getting so frustrated trying to get a good shot, and I guess this is prolly the best I can do.  Argh, the G-11 is calling out to me again!  And in the midst of my frustrations, I forgot the order of the blushers as I swatched them.  And I totally forgot to swatch Mata Hari here.  How can I leave that out, it is like the pinkest of the pink.  ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* #1 is MAC Azalea, and #2 is Barry M No 4 blusher, which I finally swatched for the first time.

It looks identical to Azalea in the pan, but when swatched, the barry M blusher is chalkier than Azalea and the color is flatter and rubs off faster.

I am such a klutz, I should prolly do this all over again, and this time round, actually write down the names of the blushers as I swatched them.  ARGH.

If there are any colors which you find striking, just leave a comment with the corresponding number, and I will try my best to find out the name of the blusher.

Maybe I should swatch them on white paper (like my nude lipsticks entry), and write the names immediately next to the swatch.  LOL.

I think I will do another entry.  How I apply my Estee Lauder foundation and an Anti-Valentine Day LOTD, take part in everbluec and fiend's contests.  Those sound more promising and managable  for now.

Hi!

This entry will be about my fave products/ most used from MAC.  I have them in a few categories, namely, brushes, blushes, lipsticks and eyeshadows.  Hope this is helpful if you are buying presents this season, or if you are starting out in buying makeup, or you just want to lem after MAC products.  Also, I try to include only permanent products, and if you happen to go to the Pro stores, you must check out the range of blushes (the infamous ones include Frankly Scarlet, Azalea, Dirty Plum), eyeshadows and cream color sticks.

Let's start with brushes, starting from left to right.

1. 187 brush - This brush needs no explanation, you can use it for cream and powder products.  Though I have not used this brush recently,  the 187 remains one of my staples.

2. 109 brush - This is another versatile brush, you can use it for cream and powder products.  I like to use this more for powder, especially when I want a precise application over a specific area on my face.

3. 168 brush - My fave brush for blushes.  I also have the SE version, and also several other similar ones from Essence of Beauty, Shu Uemura etc... the angle brush means you can turn it around, etc for various parts of your face.

4. 225 brush - This is a large fluffy eyeshadow brush.  I use this for all over the lids color, such as Vanilla eyeshadow, for highlighting the cheeks, general cleaning up etc.

5. 217 brush - All in one blending and application of color for eyeshadows.  I own 3 of this brush so I can rotate and use clean ones.

Lipsticks from L to R first row (Russian Red, Viva Glam 5, Blanketty)  L to R second row (Hue, Relaxed, Fleshpot-pro only)

Russian Red, Viva Glam 5, Blanketty, Hue, Relaxed, Fleshpot

Blushers from L clockwise- Azalea (pro only), Dollymix, Pink Swoon, Peachykeen, Plum Foolery

From L to R: Azalea, Dollymix, Pink Swoon, Peachykeen, Plum Foolery

Top Row L to R: All that Glitters, Mylar (this is my 2nd to hit pan!), Tempting

Second Row L to R: Club, Vanilla, Woodwinked

I am not featuring concealers, foundations, and liners because I am sure you have your own faves, and those are pretty basic in terms of color range anyway.

And if you are interested in older MAC-centric entries:

Updated MAC Collection (with links to all collection entries)

MAC Starter Kit

Blush Overview

MAC eyeshadow palettes

Hi!!    (Credits to my youngest sister for helping me to crop and edit all the pictures in this entry.)

This entry shall be about NARS products which I own.  Well, I must say the products I own are pretty limited to mainly the powder products, such as eyeshadows and blushers.  I don't have any NARS lip products, nor pencil products.  I store all my NARS stuff in this little container together with my YSL lipsticks and MAC quads (which I have obviously taken out when the picture was taken).

I think the most 'attractive' part about NARS is their range of blushers.  If possible.. I want to collect all the NARS blushers. And I think some of their eyeshadow palettes are also super pretty and wearable.  I also like their packaging.. Every of these little power pan contains a mirror, even the tiny eyeshadow container.  Although they are expensive, I feel like NARS is a guilty pleasure that I like to indulge in.  So whenever I go to places that sell NARS I spend a long time swatching and planning what to buy.. and when my friends or family travel, I always have a 1 or 2 item NARS wishlist for them to get.

First we have the "orgasm" products, namely the powder blusher, and the multi-purpose cream stick.   This is like the IT color from NARS.  Many people have said it is a universal color which suits everyone.  It is a pretty pinkish peach color, with gold shimmer.  Of late, I find that the gold shimmer is a little too much for my liking.  The Orgasm blusher is my very first NARS product.  I bought the cream stick last year in HK.  If you see the swatches, the cream stick is pinker than the powder counterpart.  I like the texture of the cream stick, it is not too creamy, and feels powdery after application.

Honestly, I prefer Deep Throat blusher (which my sister has, but not pictured here cos she brought it out with her today), Deep Throat is pinker and brighter.

Next, we have a couple of other blushers and THE bronzer:

I like how Laguna bronzer is not too crazy pigmented like the blushers which means I can dust it all over my NC15 complexion without looking muddy or orangey.  Mounia is crazy pigmented and I use it on days when I have the time to blend out my blusher... but Sin is my fave, and Diana has reviewed this blusher too, she is another fan of Sin.  :)

Next, we have the eyeshadows.  I find that NARS eyeshadows are a hit or miss.  Some of them are creamy and pigmented, while some colors can be chunky glittery.  I am trying to build up a NARS neutrals palette/ stash..more on that later. Haha.

As you can see, Night Star is very glittery and chunky.  The 'base' color doesn't have good pay off.  If you see NARS colors on the website and their color description, you can pretty much tell which are the glittery chunky ones, and you might want to stay away from them.  The rest of the brown colors, however, are impressive in terms of color payoff.  And you get a lot of product in one pan, twice that of MAC, I think.  (You get 3.5 g of eyeshadow)

I also have a eyeshadow duo call Aprils' Fools (don't ask me why).  It contains a pale gold color and jade green color.

And lastly, NARS 2-way foundation.  I hit pan on this....I use this sometimes to set my liquid foundation using a fluffy brush. The powder is very finely milled, and reminds me of Dior powder foundation.  If I ever get to a NARS counter in person I would like to try out their liquid foundations!!

My gf is going HK next week, and this is my NARS wishlist for her:

1. (THREE) Eyeshadows in Ondine, Ashes to Ashes, (and one surprise which might be part of the giveaway), Cyprus, Fez *** All are neutral shades***
2. (ONE) Blushers in Mata Hari, Angelika or Desire. 
   

So....I will update this NARS rave entry if I get the above items when she comes back.  :)  If you have any questions about the products mentioned, leave your comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Hi!

So I went out for a bit this afternoon, to check out the i nuovi anniversary sale.  What I didn't know is that you need to purchase 3 identical items to enjoy the $9.90 price.  So you can't choose a combination of 2 e/s, and 1 blusher etc... thankfully my sisters were with me, and among us, we choose the colors which we would all enjoy using, (3 eyeshadows, and 3 blushers) which is a fab deal, considering the total cost can only get you 2 MAC eyeshadows or lipsticks.

Speaking of MAC, I went to check out the holiday sets, but I think not all the stuff are on display, and I think the only thing which I want would be the mineralised blushers (esp Conjure Up -- check out swatches and images at Temptalia).  But when I asked the MA there, she didn't even know what I am talking about----- WHICH ISN'T EVEN SURPRISING TO ME ANYMORE. Well, regardless, I don't forsee myself stalking the MAC counters for the holiday stuff.

Because I was at Vivocity TANGS, I thought I could check out YSL and use my vouchers to buy a couple of lipsticks, but I realised there isn't a YSL counter there.  Which means I have to make another trip downtown another day before its demise/ disappearance from the stores.

Ok, back to the title of this entry: My i nuovi haul.  When I was swatching the eyeshadows at the counter, I noticed some eyeshadows are  more chunky glittery than others.  Dynamite would certainly fall into that category.  But most of them are very velvety in texture.  So creamy and super pigmented.  One color which jumped out at me (I think it's called ROCK?) was sadly OOS.  But I did get 3 wearable/ neutral/ metallic shades.  Their names are Techno Spotlight, and Dewdrops.

And for my blushers, I choose the colors which are , I bought Spice (plum color), Dusk (bright orange red), Astro (deep pink).  I also stayed away from the shimmery/ glittery ones.

Blushers from L to R: Dusk, Astro and Spice

Eyeshadows from L to R: Dewdrop, Spotlight, Techno

Blush Swatches

Eyeshadow Swatches

The colors are more pigmented in real life than pictures show.

And to be honest, I am not crazy about the packaging, while I like the see through casing, but the dome shaped cover is kind of bulky, and I can't stack them up or anything.  So DEPOTTING is the way to go.  I have no more space in my MAC palettes, but I have seen people using DVD cases as palettes, and this my attempt to organise my new stuff.

Things you need: DVD case, mounting tape

At the bottom of each container, there is a little hole, you just use a needle to 'poke' and the pan will come out.

Before the mounting tape, I positioned the colors and see if they fit, and match.  :)

Then I stuck the tape underneath each pan.

And ta DA DA, look ma, they are stuck firmly.

Update: I pimped the palette, put a 'cover' page to it.

Hope this gives you some idea of how to store your i nuovi stuff, Diana -- I am talking to you! :)

If you have any questions about the products I mentioned, please leave a comment.  Thanks for reading!

Hi!

Read adorebeauty and facesbysarah "breaking" news on the new MAC customised palettes...which I felt is a marketing gimmick to get people to spend a lot of money at one time. If you go to the local MAC store at Taka, there is no stopping you from picking a palette (S$25?) and picking out 15 eyeshadow in pan forms (S$21 each), and that way you are also customising your own palette, right?  So... it is just a 'fresh' way of telling people to spend a bomb.  :p

Regardless, and just for fun, I am doing this, and I invite/ tag everyone to partake in this lemming exercise!! Haha.

The rules? Pick any palette you wish to customise, or do all three like I have done. But you can't choose colors which you already own in your collection (*But I cheated and picked Carbon e/s) Personally, I would rather take my time to choose the colors rather than get them all at one time. But IF I am a professional MUA, then it makes sense to get everything...

First, we have:

and if I could only choose FOUR:

And why not get SIX new blushers?

Yup!  So, share what your customised palettes would look like!!

You know those old school tape-type letter thingy---don't ask me the name, I don't know!! And if you do, please enlighten me!!!

I was looking at my sister making some cards/craft thingy, and she was using this tape-type letter thingy... and I had this idea to be OCD about my blushers... recently, it's been bugging me, how I need to shuffle around my blushers to find the color which I want to use for the day -- I don't depot my blushers, cos I don't want to bring the whole palette out with me when I travel - too risky if I drop or watever you know?

Anyway.......... I wanted to label my blushers so I can see them from the 'top', and I used this thingy to help.

I thought of using stickers and writing the names of my blushers on top... but I think the 'paper' material will wear off over time.  I like this plastic tape.. it lasts longer, and blends in with the black packaging of the MAC blushers.

And so I started 'typing' away.  This is what I end up with.

Woot to nicely labelled blushers and powders!!

Now, if only I can be as neat when it comes to the rest of my room.

Thanks for reading!!

MAC MSFs : Like it or hate it?  They are versatile as face powders, blushers, and if you push your luck, even eyeshadows.  Today i used the lightest shade in my Smoth Merge MSF as a eyeshadow highlighter.  My very first MAC MSF is Porcelain Pink, a pale champage pink color.

I am an unintentional collector of MSFs.  In general, I stay away from shine/ glitter heavy products and most of MAC MSFs are rather glittery.  But in recent collections, they have change their texture, they have become smoother, and come in such a myriad of colors and 'patterns'.  Case in point - Perfect Topping from the Sugarsweet Collection.  Then there are the stripey ones, like Blonde (from Blonde Brunette Redhead), or Smooth Merge or Warm Blend (from CC) just to name a few.  I tend to stay away from the bronzey types, cos I just ain't very into bronzers in general. I tend to sway towards the pink/ peach tones.

Before I ramble on further, here is my little family of MSFs.

Clockwise from top: MSF Natural with Shimmer (I hit pan on this!!) from the Sonic Chic collection, Petticoat which I hunted for on my travels and I bought it in Paris, Blonde, Perfect Topping, Smooth Merge, Pink Porcelain, and in the center MSF natural in Light Medium.

This is a BAD swatch, but I can't take a good pic for nuts!  The most pigmented ones which actually show up in the pics are: Petticoat and Smooth Merge.

Next, we have the Mineralised Blushers.  There are a couple of permanent ones in the MAC line, but last year there was a Mineralised Biushers collection (can't remember the name though), and more recently we have Grand Duos and Color Craft.

Too bad you can't depot these babies, because of their dome shape they don't fit into the flat palettes, and also they don't actually come in the usual metal pans.

I realised that I have pairs of my mineralised blushers.  I have 6 in total, but they are essentially 3 different colours.

First Pair Pleasantry & Daft Pink both blue tone pink blushers.

Second Pair Improvise and Naunce - peachy colors.

And the final pair, the darker cranberry colors: Intenso and Style Demon

I love all my MSFs and these mineralised blushers.  If I were to pick my faves, I would choose Daft Pink and Petticoat.

Now I am thinking if I should get the MAC131 brush, it seems perfect to pick up the super pigmented and dark colors which I accquired lately. Or else the 188 brush.

Do you have a fave MAC mineralised powder?

Hi hi!

This is going to be a major MAC haul post.  I didn't buy these things all at once, I would say they are accumulated in the past 2 weeks.  If you follow me on twitter, you would have known I have been stalking the MAC counters for the CC blushers.  And also thanks to Diana's heads up on the Naked Honey found at DFS, I got something there too.

And I didn't pay full prices for most of the items...so there was great savings involved.  Let me give a breakdown and pictures.  I havent used any of the Color Craft products, nor swatched them.

Everything:

• Smooth Merge MSF $46 (This I got at 25% thanks to sis's staff discount at Robinsons)
• Improvise, Style Demon, Daft Pink ($44) each, I got them at Isetan MAC, and I had a $50 voucher to offset the total damage.  When I first heard of this collection, Daft Pink HAD me.  The name and the color. And you know I am such a sucker for deep blushers (ref Intenso, Azalea, and more recently Illamasqua's Panic), hence Style Demon--a deep cranberry color.  And the MA I met yesterday a Tangs totally sold me on Improvise.
  
• Natural Flare eyeshadow 'quad' ($33) which is good value, really.  You get 4 colors. This I got during the latest Tangs 12% rebate thingy.
  
• Fling brow pencil. ($27) bought on the same day with the eyeshadow. I want to draw my brows really LIGHT color these days.
  
• 116 brush, which I got prolly last week, and I used a $50 Tangs voucher to offset the $57 (abt that price, can't remember).
• 225 brush, which I got 2 weeks back, and I used $60 voucher and some rebates $ to offset the $72 price totally.
  

*all prices are in SGD.

The 116 brush is a superb blusher brush, it picks up product perfectly, and applies smoothly and it is so soft and fluffy, yet precise.

Naked Honey ---- 1 Item Haul

The Honey Salve.

Super rich, I rubbed it on my thumb -- with dried skin.. and it works so well.  I guess this cream/salve thingy is prolly similar to  many other products out there, but you do get a lot of product for the price ($40). I definitely see this as something I can throw in my bag and rub it all over wherever I need to.

I prolly will do another collective haul in 2 weeks' time?  I have a bunch of misc skincare items, and some stuff which friends of friends and cousin are bringing back from overseas.  So... stay tuned, if you like hauls!