Author: Carina

Nosy Beauty Vol. 18: Alene

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On this week’s edition of Nosy Beauty, I have none other than Alene of Paper Kitties. I found Alene’s blog through the bntgirls network, set up by bnt news. We were part of the same batch. 🙂 Paper Kitties is full of posts about beauty, lifestyle, and travel. Hi everyone, my name is Alene! Whilst I work as a full time Accountant in Singapore, I take great joy in being a part-time lifestyle and beauty blogger 🙂 I suppose you can say that this is where I get to destress from work and do something I absolutely love. I am also an instagram addict (follow me at Paperkitties) who loves posting snapshots of my daily life. Travelling and experimenting skincare products are my favourite so I reckon these two topics tend to be written much more passionately than the others. In June 2013, I was announced as the Laneige Ambassador for Singapore and it had since opened doors of opportunity for me that I can’t be more grateful of! “Less is more” has always been …

Revisited: The Lip Slip by Sara Happ

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I’ve dismissed The Lip Slip by Sara Happ as overhyped once upon a time. I couldn’t bring myself to fully enjoy a $24 lip balm, though to be fair I got it at half the price. Fast forward to today and I am eating my words. This saved my lips. I had an extremely dry spell on my top lip, that felt almost like a film. Nothing helped it—not even Vaseline’s Advanced Lip Therapy, which has often been touted to be the saving grace for lips as dry as the Sahara Desert. The Lip Slip is quite heavy and emollient. I put it on in a last-ditch attempt to bring my lips back to life after obsessive treatment with aforementioned Vaseline in another heavy lip balm. I left it on overnight, just like I used to do when I first got it and when I woke up, it had worked! 🙂 I’m pretty sure it’s cruelty-free, though I’d have to double check. I know that the price tag is a bit hard to swallow but …

Nude Lip Liner: Does it Work?

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I’ve never been one to call lip liners ‘indispensable.’ In fact, I hardly ever use them. It feels a little tedious to me to have to color match your lipstick to a separate liner, doubling your efforts and your makeup inventory. I’m personally not too bothered with super-clean, razor-sharp lip lines, I decided. I stopped buying them after dabbling a little, deeming them quite unnecessary for myself. Lipstick doesn’t really bleed or feather on me, so I failed to see the point. In any case, there has been a theory on lip liners. Just a single nude liner is believed to work on every lip color imaginable. The Smashbox The Nude Lip Pencil comes in several shades of nude (mine is Light) and is marketed as the only lip pencil you will ever need. That’s a fine idea! But does it work? Here is what it looks like, swatched. It’s a pretty close match to my lips’ natural pigmentation, though it’s maybe one or two shades darker and warmer. Here, I’ve lined my lips with …

Swatchfest: Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscope Eye Kit in Gravité

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I guess it’s safe to say that I broke my ban a few weeks. In the worst way. I’m paying for it—figuratively and literally—but for now, I shall enjoy my third eye kaleidoscope to date. I think that’s a pretty good exercise of self-control, given my intense love for these. Anyway, I got Gravité, which was offered exclusively as a GWP (!) on their official website when you spend a certain amount of money. This was the first kaleidoscope I’ve owned that I fully appreciate the concept behind the couches de couleur technique—layering each tier over the other for a beautiful, complex effect. The shades of Gravité are as follows: — Nova: effervescent tan for warmth — Solar: gilded saffron for femininity — Levity: patina brass for contrast — Dark Matter: jewel-toned aubergine for depth Usually, the layers are warm-cool-hot-cold, so I’m not sure what’s going on here, since it seems largely warm-toned, but like I said, I love the overall effect. Swatched, L-R: Nova, Solar, Levity, Dark Matter, 1-4 layered I mean, check out …

Stashed & Forgotten: Hourglass Femme Rouge in Fresco

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Another edition of Stashed & Forgotten, in which I take a look back at some of the products I’ve glossed over after getting them, since I get so distracted by new and shiny things. The Hourglass Femme Rouge is “a lustrous, long-lasting and refillable cream lipstick that hydrates and softens lips. The silky, richly pigmented formula defines and shapes the lips as it moisturizes for a plush cushiony effect.” Product Description — Light as air formula immediately hydrates and softens lips for a luxurious feel and subtle shine — Unique blend provides excellent skin-smoothing, moisture-enhancing and restorative properties — Super antioxidant Vitamin E conditions and treats lips — Long-lasting and refillable with lipstick cartridges sold separately — Free of parabens, phthalates and sulfates I got this impulsively, when I was putting together my order from Zuneta, way back when it was still alive. This is actually my introduction to Hourglass as a brand! The lipstick cartridge is very pretty, with a substantial weight to it. I love the cover, too, which sort of just slides …

Hakuhodo Brush Update: An Overview

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It was love at first touch at the sole Hakuhodo counter in all of Osaka. It was crowded when we got there, and all of the brushes I listed down to purchase weren’t available, except for one: the H601, which is a portable retractable powder brush. It wasn’t high up on my list of priorities, but it was so bleeping soft. It’s been six months since then, and I’ve finally decided to jump the gun and just buy the damn brushes, since I know I’m going to buy them eventually anyway. I was initially looking at Sigma brushes, but then I knew that I’d just be purchasing those to fill a gap that I would actually like to be filled ASAP. The gap is Hakuhodo-shape, predictably. While looking at the brushes, I considered getting one of the sets, since they cost less than individual brushes. But, like I said in a previous post, I ended up just choosing some of the brushes that seemed would fit my makeup “style” and routine the best, since you …

Made-Up History: Chuck Close’s “Lucas,” 1986–1987

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Chuck Close is my freaking hero. If you haven’t heard of him, here is an example of his work: Mark (1978 – 1979) (source) His work is often recognized by his hyper-realist style, by the delicate manner in which he handles the supremely focused photographs of faces. To add to the effect of grandiosity, these paintings are often rendered on an extremely large canvas with all the details zoomed in and exposed to be observed by the viewer. Frank (1969) (source) A funny thing I learned today is that Chuck Close is “face blind.” He is afflicted with a condition called Prosopagnosia, which literally means that he has trouble remembering faces. He could have dinner with you tonight and forget your face the next day. Most of the portraits he has done (and he has done many, in many different ways) are of his friends and family, though this was not a deliberate decision brought about by his Prosopagnosia. Big Self-Portrait (1967 – 1968) (source) This is one of Close’s most recognizable and celebrated works. …