Year: 2013

Make That Face Monday: One-Shadow Smoky Eye Using LMdB Alexandrite

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Alexandrite is the first and only eyeshadow single from Le Métier de Beauté that I ever bought, and for the longest time, I wished that I had gotten a more sensible color, like the often celebrated Corinthian. I bought it during my “purple shadow phase,” which I am not completely out of but am moving slowly away from. Recently, however, I realized that I can actually use Alexandrite, a pretty red-toned violet with a bit of a golden sheen (as far as I can tell), for a one-shadow smoky eye. But more on that later. As for Alexandrite, it has a wonderful, smooth texture that is also apparent upon application. It’s not incredibly pigmented on the first layer, but it’s very easy to work with and it’s a dream to layer and blend. The Le Métier de Beauté single eyeshadows come housed in a rubberized circular compact, with a texture that’s more similar to the NARS compacts than the LMdB Kaleidoscopes that I’m more used to. Each shadow has a mirror on the lid, and …

Sample Stash Sunday: Le Métier de Beauté GWP

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When I asked Sarie to get me some items from LMdB while she was on her trip to the States (2 Lip Cremes, 1 Lipstick), she was able to get a GWP for me! Woohoo! The Gift With Purchase includes an eyeshadow duo called Brown as a Berry and an itty bitty sample size of the Anamorphic Lash Mascara. Both came in a cute little drawstring pouch. This is a late review, but I was waiting to finish up a couple of mascaras before I opened this one up. Brown as a Berry is comprised of two light shades: a rosy pink with a golden sheen to it, and a mushroom brown with a similar sheen. Texturally, the shadows are a bit drier than the Le Métier de Beauté shadows I’ve owned and used previously, the main offender being the brown shade. Still, with a bit of coaxing, both are rather pretty mid-tone shades, great to use all over the lid. These are a little light on my skintone, but they are gorgeous in person, …

Nosy Beauty Vol. 6: Eula

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And it’s time for another installment of Nosy Beauty! Today, let’s get to know Eula of Eula Sleeps, a general practitioner soon to enter residency. She’s been on an awesome trip to the US, while preparing to be a doctor. I first learned about Eula when Liz of Project Vanity featured us both in one of her blog posts, Five local beauty bloggers who I wish won’t quit. Eula had this to say about the feature: “It was super fun to think about why these are my current staples while imagining this is exactly what your previous Nosy Beauty girls have done before.” “My beauty philosophy is nothing revolutionary: makeup should enhance, not alter, your natural beauty. (Unless of course the occasion calls for it!) I go for a clean base and accentuate one part of the face, usually my eyes.” BAG “My makeup bag is part of an American Airlines amenities kit designed by Eames. The loud red makes it easy to find, and the dot pattern is too cute. The lining is pretty …

Drugstore Finds: Pack on the Pigment with L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows

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I’m very late to this party, but we don’t get these here and I got these months ago but never really reviewed them. I got whatever I could from a really old Multiply shop. Luckily, they had Amber Rush in stock, which is one of the colors I was dying to try. These came out around the time that the Maybelline Color Tattoos came out, so a lot of people mistook them to be similar products. The Color Tattoos are cream eyeshadows, whereas the “Infallible Eyeshadow contains ultra concentrated colour pigments, for an intense colour finish and up to 24 hour long-lasting hold.” Essentially, these are pigments that seem to be pressed (?) or just packed really tightly. I got, L-R: Amber Rush, Golden Sage, and Sultry Smoke. SS is the only matte color among the three. All aligned together like that, I’m reminded of the NARS Trio, Delphes, although this is much, much more pigmented. On the whole, I really like the quality of these eyeshadows. You have to apply the least possible amount …

Playlist: Jennifer Lawrence

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Today, I’m going to attempt this look worn by Jennifer Lawrence, which is Sarie’s special request, via Whatsapp. It’s a warm, golden brown smokey eye with neutral everything else. In short, gorgeous! This is what I came up with, and as you can see, it is vastly different, but this was the best I have done after several attempts for the past couple of months. Anyway, I now know why I don’t really wear a smokey eye that much. This emphasizes my very mismatched eyes and my low-hanging eye bags. I also can’t do a thick black rim on my upper lash line because my right eye eats up any line I draw on it. If I want a thick line to show up, I might as well color in my entire eye. For my face, I just wore a soft rosy blush by Shiseido, warmed up the edges of my face + did a light contour with Tarte’s Park Avenue Princess (matte). For the lips, I have on NARS’ Pure Matte Lipstick in Montego …

Quickie: AHAVA Light Foundation

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The Ahava Light Foundation was actually my first foray into the liquid foundation world, if I’m not mistaken, so I’m not sure why I haven’t reviewed it yet. It’s rather good and pretty lightweight. I got shade Sand and it’s a pretty accurate match for my skintone. The consistency is more firm/cream than liquid-y, which makes it a bit hard to blend. It’s so unpleasant to deal with when you are trying to put it on. When it hasn’t set yet, it kind of makes you feel like it highlights dry patches and applies patchily. When it sets, though… it’s not so bad: Ahava is cruelty-free.

Favorite Things: NARS Eyeshadow Duos

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Here’s the thing about NARS Duos—you think you know better, but the colors really do go together. I found that to be true especially with Paramaribo and Grand Palais. I have four NARS duos, but I have my eye on a few more. Here’s a collective post of mine so you can see how awesome they are and maybe try one or two out for yourself. All of them swatched together! Oooooh~ Habanera is one of the first duos I bought, highly influenced by Kim of Gunk Fury, who sadly does not seem to update anymore. She used it for a smokey eye, tutorial here. Habanera is very pretty and soft with a “mint frost” and a “sparkling charcoal plum,” but it does not get that much love from me, because I bought it at a time when I was scared of über shimmer and just bought stuff because I was impressionable. I am not scared of glitter anymore, so let’s remedy this lack of Habanera love. Paramaribo is another duo I got when I …