I thought of naming this entry FOUND!! (insert whatever is found), but that wouldn't be very original, would it?  Haha....

But I was at SASA (Wisma Atria) just now, and I came across this US brand The Balm, and it is abit like Urban Decay/ Two Faced -- you know, cute products, names, packagin etc... And if I am not wrong, Linn has their Shadow Lady eyeshadow palette?  MakeupbytiffanyD also made a couple of tutorials using that palette. I didn't check out prices though---too focused on taking sneaky pics with my phone.  The whole set up looks very new, and well stocked so I think it is a recent addition.  Have you checked it out yet??

The little 'palettes' are mainly blushers, or eyeshadow/blusher combo.

Yup.  So that's a quick update! Hope you this helpful.

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!!

Hi hi!!

Saw this fun tag on Hell Candy blog, and though I would start this tag here at onsugar.  So, if you are reading this, and you use MAC products, you are tagged! :)

1. Mineralised Skinfinish Light Medium

This is my to go powder.  I like how you can build up the coverage, and you can use ANYTHING to apply this versatile powder. 

2. Studio Sculpt Foundation NC15

This is in place of my Studio Fix Fluid.  I still like SFF, but I am rotating so many foundations now, I did not re-purchase it yet.  But I will eventually.

3. Studio Sculpt Concealer NC20

This is in place of my Studio Finish Concealer because it decides to go MIA while I take this picture.  I have not reviewed this concealer yet, but each time I use it, I want to go out and buy MORE because I don't want this to be discontinued or it turns out to be some LE product.  It is sooooo creamy and I find the coverage comparable to Studio Finish. 

4. Tempting eyeshadow

Great all over lids color.

5. Mylar eyeshadow

You can see I hit pan on this, and this is my 2nd one.

6. Dazzlelights eyeshadow

Great highlight color no matter what color you are using.

7. 217 Brush

Blending must have.  And also useful to pack color with cos it is dense enough.

8. 275 Brush

Great to blend out harsh lines.  And for highlighting.  And even contouring around the nose.

9. 224 Brush.

I hijacked this from my sister's stash, she used it for concealer, but she doesn't use it anymore, so now this baby is my perfect blending (when I want to blend smaller areas).  I don't usually put any product on this brush for blending.

10. 168 Brush

You can tell how dirty this brush is -- that I use it so often, especially recently.  Great for bronzing/ contouring, blushing.  Super soft, and dense.

NOTE: Why no cheeks and lips products is because I have simply too much of those, and I rotate them so often, I can't pick ONE or TWO which is most used.  But I love them ALL.

Good Sunday to everyone!!  This morning, I am very excited, but I will tell/show you why later.

CONTEST UPDATES: I am going to pick winners this afternoon, but I MIGHT NOT annouce winners til I have ALL my prizes packed and ready to ship out.  That way, if you win, you don't have to wait another period of time for me to get the prizes to you.  What should I do???   Please advise!!

Warning: The rest of this entry, as the title states, is going to be a HUGE picture haulage entry.  Stuff from all over the place.  I have already mentioned the OPI MATTE nail polishes last night.  And these stuff literally came in the middle of the night when my sis came back from her night flight from HK.  And since I am such a RAMBLER.. I am just going to give little stories behind the products which I got.... so please bear with me!

Lesson learnt (or not): Reading beauty blogs and watching youtube videos, as you already know, is a very addictive and harmful activity.  When people rave, you crave.  And making self promises to ban, or hit pan, is also kind of futile while you are also exposing yourself to temptations everywhere.  I am guilty as charged.  But happy most of all.

So I mentioned on Diana's SPEAK entry on stuff coming my way, and what I am going to get MU-wise....and the goodies are coming in bit by bit.  90% of these things, I got my sis (with help from her bf) to get for me.  So does that mean makeup ban fail? I mean... when your friends and family go overseas (esp to US etc where you find stuff not available in SG, you are not gg to go like, oh no, BAN.. I can't buy... cos such chances don't come by too often and you got to grab it, right?)

With my TANGS voucher, I finally jumped on the Dollymix bandwagon.  I wanted to get more stuff, but I resisted, and there wasn't anything permanent which I wanted to get, and I do want to give out some of these Tangs vouchers to the contest winners if they are in Singapore. So.... I only got Dollymix.   Then I came home and took pictures of all my pink MAC blushers.. and glad to know that Dollymix is different from my existing pink blushers.

Dollymix: Pure candy pink (Sheertone Shimmer)

Pink Swoon: Clearly pink (Sheertone)

Azalea: very bright irisdecent blue pink (frost)

And the palest color is Angel which I can't find the information on MAC site... but it is a chalky matte pale pink color.

*************

Next, sis's bf was travelling to SF for work, and we all know SF is a fab place for MU. hahaha Remember when my bf bought me a LOAD of stuff at the Sephora right at the SF airport???  So.... I got these 2 items.

Sephora by OPI -- Dark Room  (guilty - I wanted to buy this after seeing TiffanyD's blog post)
Description: deep almost black with a hint of midnight green

If MAC Plummage is a nail polish, this would be it.

Thanks to hele's blog, featuring/reviewing these Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows, I decided to take the plunge and give it a try, and of all things, the color which intrigued me the most has to be the color which sold out everywhere at the counters, thanks to cocomotion who is so sweet to let me know! Thanks!!!  And that only made me more eager to get my hands on it.

Color description: "pretty pewter" - Well, If MAC smoke & diamond eyeshadow is a cream shadow, Skinny Jeans would be it.

My First thoughts/ Swatch test --- this product dries to a powdery kind of texture, and seems pretty smudge proof and I have a feeling, long lasting.

******************

Then my sister joined her bf on his way back to SG, and they spent about 3 days in HK.. and she went all over the place shopping.  So I gave her a list of NARS and LUSH stuff to buy for me.

I got the DREAM CREAM thanks to linnera who posted a LUSH haul entry sometime back, and this product stuck in my mind.   I got the face cream just out of curiosity and review all these in due time.  I literally just WOKE UP and took pictures and swatched and blogged.  HAHA.

Anyway, little story about the Celstial Cream, or the Dream Cream  -- the staff gave my sister the TESTER by mistake and my sis didnt notice til she got back to the hotel, and then the next day she went back to change, and they were so apologetic, they gave her FREE SAMPLES.  So that explains the YUMMY3 and the HAPPY HIPPY shower thing.  Such a good size too!

Then.... if you ever go to HK, or have been to HK you must know Faccessss which is kind of like Sephora, you can find most MU brands under one roof here.  They have a huge MAC counter and a HUGE NARS counter.... so....  this is the damage.

WHAT'S INSIDE???

Whoooo hooooo!!!

I got 3 single eyeshadows, 1 bronzer and 1 blusher.

The eyeshadows are pretty neutral browns.

lola lola: neutral brown with shimmer

mekong: espresso infused with gold

And when I saw this on the NARS site, I had to get it.  Haha.  Check out the name!!

This is a cool brown matte color.

Swatches here:  MEKONG is prolly my fave.

From top: Sophia, Lola Lola, Mekong

From L to R: Mekong, Lola Lola, Sophia

The blusher... Mounia, which is a cinnamon coral color... it's like a raspberry, the red streaks in Petticoat MSF.  If I remember rightly, Lollipop26 mentioned this as one of her faves.  *ok, I am a sucker, I know*.  Regardless, very very pretty, and ultra pigmented.

R to L: Dollymix, and Mounia

Last but not least, Laguna bronzer.  I am surprised at how slim the packaging is.  Comparing it to my NARS powder foundation.  That's because the foundation has a 'layer' for storing your sponge underneath.

What's inside:

And a little swatch.  Not too dark, which I am glad, and means I can slather this over my cheeks??

And just for fun, since I am so trigger happy with my camera this morning, my little NARS collection:

Powder Foundation in Deauville, Multiple Stick Orgasm, Blushers (Sin, Orgasm, Deep Throat, Mounia), Eyeshadows (Night Star, Sophia, Lola Lola, Mekong), Laguna Bronzer.  I accumulated all these from my travels and from being very thick skinned and getting my besties to help me purchase.

I promise this is the last picture!  When in HK, you can't miss the numerous SASA and Bourjois makeup stores everywhere you go.  So we stock up on facial blotters (50% cheaper than in SG), and also lashes, tissues, and other misc toiletries and MU supplies.

If you are still reading....I hope you enjoyed this LONG entry, and let me know which product you are also lemming, and want a review etc!  :)

P/S:  She got a load of clothes too... but I might or might not blog about.

HI!! Just a super quick post before I run out of the house (and I am already kind of late).

Everything MAC unless specified:

EYES: Tempting e/s, Mylar e/s, Magnetic Fields e/s (LE), Carbon e/s   BROWS: FLING brow pencil   LINERS: Russian Black (LE), MUFE No 19 Aqua Liner

CHEEKS: Azalea (Pro), Daft Pink (LE)

LIPS: Ever So Rich Cremesheen (LE)

False Lashes from SASA

MASCARA: YSL Faux Cils

FACE: MUFE Mat Velvet+, set with MUFE Super Matte Loose Powder, and finish off with MUFE HD Powder

Oversized shirt from French Connection worn with leggings.

*Updated pictures I randomly took in the ladies.   HA HA.  Studded flats from TOPSHOP.

Updated:  I swatched like crazy at MAC just now, and a fewthings that caught my eye, in no particular order (I was good though - didn'tbuy anything).

Love That Look eyeliners (the purple one Rave, and the brown one -- SUPER PRETTY), Dazzleglass in Via Venetto?, Creme de Nude, Colour Crafted lipsticks, and all the moisture lip tint thingy  --- weird texture, if you ask me.

Woot to the long weekend because it is National Day!  Here is a BIG cake!

I am outta here!!!

Hi hi!!  Since most of us are on some kind of makeup ban for this month, I thought it might (or might not) be a good idea to look at what is in store for us, besides the Style Black, Makeup Art etc collections of course.  I saw this at Temptalia today, and just could not resist --- in general, I am not the biggest fan of MAC palettes, usually the packaging for such palettes are a little gimmicky (remember the Hello Kitty, Fafi ones)  but those I have caved in to included the Naughty Nauticals, Heatherette, and more recently, the Garden collection.  I have never purchased the holiday sets which they bring out every year, but something about this upcoming collection may change my mind, simply because of the packaging alone.

Presenting the MAC Magic, Mirth and Mischief collection!!

All pictures courtesy of Temptalia.com

There are llp palettes, eyeshadow palettes, and blush palettes.  I thought the packaging is super cool. It reminds me ALMOST of the STYLISTICS collection which I missed out (wasn't such a makeup fiend then) which looked like this:

Anyway.... IF IF IF I were to get something from this MMM collection, I want to have one of the eyeshadow palettes, which consists of (again, all product info courtesy of temptalia.com)

6 Smoke and Mirrors Eye Shadows

• Fire in Her Eyes Frost neutral beige (Limited Edition)
• Black Magique Black with gold pearl (Limited Edition)
• Deception Frosty golden brown (Limited Edition)
• Spell No. 9 Soft muted pink beige (Limited Edition)
• Wide-eyed Wonder Mid-tone frosty grey taupe (Limited Edition)
• (Unknown color/name)

I don't think I will get anything from the MAKEUP ART COSMETICS collection, except I MAY get ALL the eyeliners, and that's all, I think.  Maybe Haunting eyeshadow too, to match my paintpot.  Somehow I *think* the pigments may not make it to SG counters....cos they just seem kind of way too out, especially the glittery ones.  But I could be wrong.

Hi hi...

Just showing a look I did before I leave the house. Apologies for the poor pic quality, but trust me, the colors are way more gorgeous in person. It is the fastest to load pics here using my in bulit i-sight.

I used everything from the Color Craft collection, in terms of Eyes and Cheeks.

Eyes: Natural Flare eyeshadow 'quad'  This is a very unique neutral palette.  I also used this earlier in the day for work and used the lighter colors but for this evening, I packed on the colors and used more of the darker shade.  Love this quad.

Brows: Fling Brow Pencil

Cheeks: Improvise on cheeks, and Porcelain Pink MSF (which I already own from years ago) as highlight.  I love Improvise and am so glad the MA psyched me into buying it.  I used Daft Pink earlier today, and my sister was asking me what color I used, cos it looked really pretty.

Face: Studio Sculpt foundation, and MSF Natural Light Medium.

Lips: Ever So Rich Cremesheen Glass

Thanks, and hope you like this entry!  Woot for the weekend!

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!