the make-up blogette

I died and went to makeup heaven (almost)

retail_therapy — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:11:35 -0700

Location: Sephora, ION

Was innocently on my way to ZARA via the Wheelock Place underpass, and saw this strange unfamilar opening, that leads to ION. And so, we have to go there, right?

After a few steps, this is what I saw:

This is a Spanish Label, and if you like Pull & Bear, this is funkier, and I think nicer, better, It is just COOL ok... it's all over the place when I went to Barcelona and in Paris, but so excited Bershka is finally coming to SG.

I was soooooo excited, I didn't even bother going in to TOPSHOP.....

Then I saw this cute signage:

I think this is COTTON ON, except they just sell the shoes. Next, we have.....

A frikking stand alone shu uemura store! The last time I saw a free standing one was back in the days at Scotts.... when I was in secondary school. Everything was so brand new in the store, none of the testers had been swatched.

Then another new exciting makeup brand KORRES!!! Those on YT would have heard LisaSz09 and Lollipop26 talking about their liquid foundation. I almost bought one ($65) but the staff wasn't very insipiring so I changed my mind.

Then..... what else.... I went one floor up.... to the ground floor.. and smack in my face, I saw the tell tale STRIPES. Are you ready????

WOOOO HOOOOO!

Please ignore the random ugly men standing around the front. What the heck are they doing there anyway???

OK, Seriously.. The size of this store, is like... maybe Topshop and Forever 21 combined at Vivocity. I am not kidding. YES, i think facebysarah mentioned there is a MAC counter there?? TRUE. And it is located near the entrance.

They have SMASHBOX, TWO FACED, GIVENCHY, BURTS BEE etc etc etc etc.... This is one Sephora which makes me feel like I am back in EU... for a moment. It is so spacious...and of course, I had to haul to commemorate this special occasion. But more store pictures, which I took covertly of course.

MUFE!! Please ignore random stranger in the picture. This is what you get for taking sneaky pictures.

BE counters... which is near the SMASHBOX corner.

And for the uninitiated (ie those not in SG) this is what ION looks like. Think it's the CARTIER grand opening, lotsa crowd.. but I steered far away to avoid being spotted by paparazzi

(as if right?? LOL)

Yea...... so.... I just had to share this exciting event. Ha ha. And I didn't even expect to be here.

Now.. back to my original story... of how I died and went to makeup heaven -- SEPHORA.

Spent such a long time swatching, and walking and just basking in the general presence of so much beauty products. My friend says I am sooo high, I think I even got her infected. Yes, my excitement is THAT contagious, cos she bought some stuff too. LOL.

But the staff are so NEH....... they are so new, and they don't know what the heck is going on, like don't know how to match foundation colors for my friend, I HAD TO DO THEIR JOB!!! Grrrr... anyway.. I don't care. Here is my (not so little) haul.

BURT'S BEES Banana Hand Creme ($18) HUGE TUB. They have lotsa hand salve thingy, but the smell of this BLEW ME AWAY. Imagine those banana milk, banana chewing gum you tried as a kid? Imagine this as a rich hand cream. DELISH!!!

We also have SEPHORA concealer palette ($25), which looks like a cheap cousin of the MUFE corrector palette (think it's $59). I doubt this has the industrial strength of my BEN NYE palette, but I think my sister would like this product.

Then the GOOD STUFF --- MUFE. I bought their foundation again, this time the MAT VELVET+ in the lightest shade 20 ($68). This is like concealer... thick foundation. But I like the coverage. And then we have the SUPER MATTE LOOSE POWDER I got this in the PINK SHADE 2($45), it comes with a powder puff, which I think is way cool cos I can pressed it into my face for a flawless finish. Will review these babies asap. And it is a HUGE tube.. cos the tester is kind of small (like BE mineral veil size) but the actual product which I got is bigger (10g). HAPPINESS. I was kind of tempted by the illamasqua one.. but for now... this is a way more accessible product for me to purchase. :)

*UPDATE: I forgot to give my two cents worth on SMASHBOX. I have their blusher and eyeshadow trio...and this photofinish primer which is rubbish IMO, and also a mattifying primer which is also RUBBISH.

But if you have to get something from SMASHBOX... get their eyeshadow trio in TWILIGHT - I have this, it's white frost, carbon matte black, and a frost silver trio. SUPER PRETTY and great for sexy smokey eyes.

Pass on the foundations - you are better off with the MUFE ones, or the regular MAC ones.

Good to try the PRIMERS - cos they do get rave reviews. I am just sore I don't like them. The silica gel thingy is just wrong on my skin, I don't know.

And also their famous O-Glow thingy...

They have this LE eyeshadow trio thingy in a palette... and each retails for $65... the packaging is kind of like NARS. The rubber black box. Pretty.

PASS PASS don't get their liner cake stuff - they are too dry and don't work as cream liners at all.

All in all, now that I am home... I am recovering from my 'high'.... haha.. I will definitely go there again this SAT.

Oh and I got FAKE HAIR at Far East Plaza for $25, obivously it is synthetic hair.. it is like a hairclip with long wavy hair/ponytail which I can attach onto my own hair.... and Hey presto! Instant luscious locks... so glam. Ha ha. Will show this in a future look of the day perhaps over the weekend.

Hope you are getting as excited as I am! Thanks for reading!!!

Blush Overview

retail_therapy — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:45:31 -0800

I will talk about some of my blushers and which are my faves.

First, the PINK ones..

Clockwise from Top Left: Pink Swoon (Sheertone Blush), Pleasantry (Mineralised Blush), Angel (Matte Powder Blush), Azalea (Pro colour, Powder Blush)

The peachy colours:

Clockwise from left: Peachy Keen (sheertone shimmer blush), Plum Foolery (Sheertone Shimmer Blush), Nuance (Mineralised Blush)

The BIG ones.. eg the MSFs and limited ed ones:

Clockwise from top: Petticoat MSF, Pink Porcelain MSF, Alpha Girl Beauty Powder

The Non MAC blushes:

Top from L to R: Sephora's Rose Rebelle, Stila's convertible colour (lip & blush) Lillium, Two Faced's Pink Leopard Bronzing Powder

Bottom from L to R: Benefit's Throbbb, Smashbox's Dolce Vita, NARS Deep Throat

(Not pictured: NARS Orgasm -- it decided to go all MIA on me now)

I swatched the MAC blushers:

L to R--- Pleasantry, Azalea, Angel

L to R: Pink Swoon, Peachy Keen, Plum Foolery

From L to R: Pink Porcelain, Petticoat (the dark colour gave me a shock!! I think I touched mostly the raspberry swirls), Alpha Girl, Nuance

I will choose 5 of my favourite blushes (in no order of preference):

Stila's Convertible Colour. This pretty pink suits my skin tone, and when I have the time, I use it as a base under my actual blusher for longer lasting colour. How I use this: After my liquid foundation and before setting with face powder, I use my 187 brush and stipple this cream blusher onto my cheeks for a thin and even layer, creating a cream base for cheek colours later on.
Azalea: This may look like a bold fuschia, but I use my 168 brush, and with a very light hand, tap the powder off, and lightly dust onto cheeks for instant rosy cheeks. So the bright pink becomes a very faint flush of colour.
NARS Orgasm: This may be a cliche, but the colour payoff is awesome and it suits whichever eye looks I am doing. Sometimes I also use the Orgasm Multiple Stick as a base.
Pleasantry: Pretty shimmery pink and the texture is so smooth and easy to blend.
Plum Foolery: For a darker and almost mauve tone on my cheeks.

I have been using Azalea and Pink Swoon the most often now.

Monochrome Eyes with Pink Lips (Pic heavy)

retail_therapy — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:21:52 -0800

Again, a look I recreated from SarahVictor's video (URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkQlcvZHlD8&feature=related) I have my reservations about doing this look, as I don't have any defined crease, but I decided to be brave and went ahead. Also, I was motivated to do a black/white look because I am attending a black/white theme dinner tomorrow.

This is a dramtic look, but you just need a few products to make it work. Here are some stuff I used:

Main items I used: Smashbox' trio Twilight (I used only the black & white for this eyelook), Stila's convertible colour in Lillium, and Benefit's Thrrrob.

I used Fascination (white eyeliner) as a base before the white eyeshadow goes on.

With the white eyeshadow.

See what I mean by having reservations on doing this look?? Not exactly the most flattering look.

With eyeliner. Everything seems to be coming together slowly. I have not put on my foundation yet.

With lashes. But something is still missing. I then decided to wing out the eyeliner.

Not that horrid now, eh?

Definitely takes some getting used to.

And some pictures without flash. Kind of dramatic, I am not sure if I will actually go to the dinner with this look...or I might try a pin-up doll look tomorrow afternoon. For now.. enjoy the rest of the pictures!