FOTD: Party Time Look

The silly season is coming up. This means plenty of parties, school formals, weddings, BBQs and social gatherings. To help get into the festive spirit, I’ve created a look to inspire you this week.

This is a soft look that is both chic and glam and actually quite easy to achieve. The curls are a sure fire way to add to the soft feminine look

Key Products Used 

Eyes & Brows

• Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Palette* RRP A$130
• Shu Uemura Glittery Mascara (LE holiday collection by Wong Kar Wai)* RRP A$55
• Kiss Me liquid eye liner US$12 from Sasa & reviewed here
• Three Trees Faux lashes  #112 （set of 10) US$5 from Ebay
• Dollywink eyelash glue US$10.20 from Sasa
• Illamasqua brow powder in Motto RRP A$27

Face

• Illamasqua Skinbase #9* RRP A$55
• Illamasqua concealer in UC200* RRP A$33
• Bobbi Brown powder blush in Apricot RRP A$58

Lips

• Cover Girl Smoother lip liner in pink velvet RRP A$13.75
• Tinsel (pink shade) from Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Palette* RRP A$130

Tools Used

• Bobbi Brown foundation brush RRP A$68
• Shu Uemura Wong Kar Wai  Flashing Gold 4 piece mini brush set with pouch* RRP A$98 (featuring goat hair blush brush, sable hair eye shader, synthetic eye shader, sable eye/lip liner brush)
• Shu Uemura eye lash curler RRP A$39
• Mac #263 angled eyeliner brush RRP A$39

Top-bottom: Illamasqua Under Eye Concealer, Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Palette, Shu Uemura eye lash curler, Bobbi Brown foundation brush, Shu Uemura WKW mini brush set, Illamasqua Skin base, Bobbi Brown Apricot blush, Cover Girl Pink Velvet lip liner, Illamasqua Motto brow powder, 3 Tree false lashes #112, Dollywink eye lash glue, Shu Uemura WKW glitter mascara

Look Breakdown:
This look is focused on having playful and precious looking smokey eyes and the feature product to achieve this is the new LE Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Collection Palette. Its double decker compact palette features a collection of cool metallic and shimmer shades to ensure your eyes sparkles in the light. It also comes with 4 glitter lip glosses underneath which are all very pale in colour pay off and work best when layered over a richer lip colour.

1. Start by framing the face by filling in any area of sparse brows with a brow powder for a soft natural look. Motto is a greyish taupe shade that is natural looking on dark coloured brows and doesn’t look drawn on like some brown or red-brown based powders

As the eye colours were quite sophisticated, I only had to use 3 shades from the palette to achieve the look. 

Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Palette

2. Apply Navajo (metallic champagne -A) as a highlighter on the brow bones,  Pewter (a silvery olive -B) on lids and along the lower lash line, the crease was darkened with Plum Steel (black purple plum -C).

3. Dolly eyes are created by lining the top lid with liquid eye liner and are glammed up even more with false lashes and this season’s hottest gold glitter mascara by Shu Uemura. This clear gel mascara won’t volumise or lengthen but its fine iridescent glitter particles means that your lashes will sparkle and glisten through all hours of partying.

Tip: curl natural lashes first before applying false lashes so they have a curl and blend in with the false lashes.

Shu Uemura KWK Glittery mascara

Face1. After applying skincare (a must before any makeup application to protect and hydrate the face), dot some Skin Base and blend with a foundation brush into skin with short quick patting strokes. 


2. Apply undereye concealer to hide dark circles and other marks on skin (applying concealer after foundation ensures that you don’t blend away the concealer while blending in the foundation).  
 
3. The cheeks are swept with Bobbi Brown’s Apricot (although it looks like a bright warm pink in the pan, it’s a pinky peach on my skin and the perfect spring shade) before a light dusting of NYX loose powder to set everything in place. 
 
4. Finally for a long lasting lip colour, use a light pink lip pencil to lightly shade in lips and blot away the excess and then apply a light shimmer gloss (Tinsel - D, a soft glitter pink from Bobbi Brown’s Ultimate Party palette) for soft fresh lips.

Hair

KMS Freeshape Hot Flex Spray*  RRP A$31.95
KMS Silk Sheen Styling Crème * RRP A$31.95
KMS Curl Up Wave Foam* RRP A$36.95
Remington Tribal Compact Tong* RRP A$33.95

1. Prep hair with a heat protectant (KMS Freeshape Hot Flex Spray) and some curling mousse (KMS Curl up wave foam) to help enhance curls when using with curling tongs.

2. I used the Remington Tribal Compact Tong, which is a mini version of its bigger sister that gives smaller ringlet curls and is exceptionally handy for travelling. The only downside to its size is that it takes longer to complete the look, particularly if you have lots of hair like me – the plus side is pretty tight curls! To prevent too much volume, I only curled the hair from below the ears.

3. Finish with KMS Silk Sheen Crème to lightly smooth away any flyaways on top of head and added some gloss into hair and provides a softer more natural shine than silicone based serum products.

You can also pop on a floral headband for a cute youthful look. I picked mine up from Forever New.

Shu Uemura, Bobbi Brown, Illamasqua are all available on counters now.
KMS products are available at Hairhouse warehouse, Petra Hair and selected salons.

Products marked * were provided for consideration or received at events. All other products were purchased.

My Morning Skincare Routine

Having used so many beauty products over the past few years, I'm known be very fickle and don't really have a very set skincare routine. Add to that, my routine invariably have to change whenever I have to test a new product as I have to stop what I'm using and try the new product for a period of time for complete a review for it.

Despite all the chopping and changing in products, the basic elements of my daytime skincare routine is always the same: cleanse, serum, treatment, moisturise and sun protection. I don't use a toner as my hydration comes from the serums and treatments and don't believe toners should be used to remove cleansing residue if the cleanser was a good enough product in the first place.

Today I thought I'd share with you what I'm currently using in my day routine, some of which are products I've used on a long term basis and others are products I'm currently putting on trial.

For reference, I have oily/combination skin in my T-zones and cheeks but am also prone to very dry skin despite producing alot of oil. My skin consultant once said I have a masked dry skin condition as most people think I'm straight up oily skin but if I wash my face, most people would immediately say I have dehydrated skin (and I totally blame the office air conditioner for making the situation worse).

Click to enlarge to see details

1. Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel 500ml RRP A$87 - gentle yet effective enough to wash off dirt,  grime an and even makeup. I use this exclusively when I had a peel performed as it's non irritating and soothing on the most sensitive skin with the calming lavendar essential oils. one of my HG cleansers.  I use this with and without the clarisonic facial cleansing brush.

2. Kiehl's darkness diminishing activated eye treatment 15ml RRP A$62* - I'm currently putting this eye cream to the test to see how much it helps with my dark circles from poor circulation and lack of sleep. So far I've noticed reduced puffiness and brighter eyes from the light reflecting particles in the formula. I've yet to see much in terms of darkness reduction after 3 weeks use.

3. Shu Uemura Whitefficient Whitening Essence 150ml RRP A$115* &  4. Lancome Blanc Expert Whitening Activating Spot Eraser 30ml RRP A$118* - I alternate between these two whitening treatments on most days or use one in the morning and the other at night. The main reason for using whitening products is to brighten up my complexion and prevent the sallowness from creeping in. I'm also trying my hardest to fade some pigmentation I have around the eye area.

I find Shu Uemura's Whitefficent essence spreads better on the skin but can leave a sheen so is better suited for dryer skin or the winter months and It works well as a primer. It contains algae extract, prune extract and Ellagic acid which help to block melanin production and brighten the skin.

Lancome's Blanc Expert is water-based and is instantly absorbed into skin without any tacky or greasy feeling. It contains a proprietary Melanolyser technology to break down the melanin in skin and fade the dark spot.

Both products give a luminous radiance to skin . There is very some lightening on my pigmentation spots with 4 weeks use of it but it is more efficient with fading blemish marks and those disappear in 1-2 weeks on my skin.

5. Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum 50ml RRP A$49.99^- is my go-to daily serum that effectively plumps and hydrates my skin, while working to softens and fills in fine lines. Best of all it is affordable enough that I don't need to take out a second mortgage to keep using this on a daily basis.

6. Priori Cellular Recovery Serum 50ml RRP A$220 ^- When I feel my skin's particularly dry or irritated and needs a boost of radiance I would use this instead of the Olay Mirco-sculpting serum. Being water based, it is lightweight and instantly absorbed into skin, leaving it nourished, super hydrated and never ever greasy. It contains enzymes and liposomes prevent and repair cellular damage to help with the anti-aging process and firms the skin. This was one of the products used when I recently had my fraxel laser and it was soothing and calming to use. I have to say for the price, I expect to see more results but sadly I don't. I still really enjoy the product though I'd love it more if the price tag wasn't so hefty (thank goodness I received this from a competition prize!).

7. Neutrogena healthy defence daily moisturiser with Helioplex SPF 30+  for combination/oily skin 40ml RRP A$16.49 ^- a good moisturiser sunscreen that is affordable and suitable for oily and combination skin and doesn't have the white cast issues that other sunscreen products have. It's not too rich and rubs easily into skin although it's not as oil controlling as it could be. It works well during the cooler months on my skin and given I already treat my face with other serums and treatment products, this basic moisturiser sunscreen meets all my needs and gives me basic hydration and stable high sun protection. It's the last skincare product I put onto my face before I slap on my makeup.

8. Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid  RRP A$15.95 - my favourite lip balm/treatment product - I've tried the other lanolips and although nice, they didn't make much of an impression as this 70% pure lanolin balm. It helps to sooth and smooth my dry chapped lips, keeping them moist and soft and makes lipstick application more even and smooth. I love the tangy taste and scent of the lemon essential oil and it acts as a natural exfoliant to keep flaky lips at bay too. This is a limited edition product and it's still available in the Myer and DJ stores I visit in Melbourne but I'm going to be stocking this right up - just in case you know.

My star products that I would never swap out (or would quickly come back to) is my Dermalogica cleanser, Lancome Blanc Expert Spot Eraser,  Lanolips Lemonaid lip aid and Olay Regenerist Micro-sculpting Serum. They are my HG skincare products.

Next up, my night time skincare routine...

Products marked * were sent for consideration. 
Products marked ^ were competition prizes or gifts from generous friends. All other products were purchased by yours truly.

Review: Shu Uemura Fresh Cleansing Oil

There are facial cleansers and there facial cleansers. Some work better for different skin types but basic skincare starts with cleansing. We've all tried the foaming ones, the gel and the cream ones ones but most of us would rarely think of using oil to clean our skin would we?

It seems bizarre to use oil based products to cleanse your skin but in chemistry, oil dissolves oil so makeup, sebum on our skin litterally will slides off with the use of oil cleansers.
Not only does it give the most thorough cleanse but oil cleansers is it doesn't strip your skin of its natural lipids so doesn't give you that tight and squeaky clean feel after washing.

The most famous oil cleansers are from Shu Uemura as they are the pioneers of bringing this formulation to the market in 1967 and is so popular, a bottle is sold every 20 seconds around the globe.

Most recently Shu Uemura has released another cleansing oil to the range to give you the pore less look.

Shu Uemura Fresh Pore Clarifying Gentle Cleansing Oil

• Infused with sakura leaf extract -sakura is Japanese for cherry blossom which soothes with its anti-inflammatory properties to reduce irritations and skin redness.
• Other worthy-mention ingredients include LHA (a salicylic acid derivative) and cherry extract (a natural AHA) to remove dead skin cells and help gently refine and improve skin texture.
• suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin and has a fresh fruit scent. 

Directions for oil cleanser use:
Start with dry hands and face, and pump 3-4 pump of product onto hand
spread product all over face, gently massaging it into skin
Add a few drops of water to face to emulisfy the oil (watch it turn a milky white colour)
Rinse off completely with luke warm water.

Results:

• No makeup is match for this, not even waterproof mascara disappears after one wash with this so you can actually skip the makeup removal step (although you will have to use more oil cleanser to get a proper clean)
• leaves skin feeling balanced, and purified - none of that tight dry feeling at all. 
• Over a few weeks use, pores do appear to look less visible after daily washing. 
• Also perfect for cleansing those stubborn foundation/concealer stains from makeup brushes - the bristles come up white and clean after 1 wash 90% of the time - it's my new HG makeup brush cleanser. 

Have you tried oil cleansing before? If not Shu Uemura is currently giving samples of this product out in David Jones city stores. Print out this voucher and redeem away and try this out for yourself. Warning - you will be hooked.
sample offer valid till 31st May whilst stocks last.  

150ml/450ml RRP A$55/A$110 in Shu Uemura counters at city David Jones stores.
This product was sent for consideration.

Swatch & Review: Shu Uemura Morphorium Blue Palette

This year, Shu Uemura's northern Spring/Summer release turned to nature for inspiration and features bold colours that are reminiscent of a tropical jungle and a sunset field. The collection is named Morphorium to highlight the transformation of the animals and the land during this fertile time of renewal and change.

Morphorium Blue palette packaging

Morphorium Blue Palette
I managed to land myself the Morphorium Blue Palette - one of two palettes from this collection (the other is the Sunset Gold Palette) and let me tell you it is a gorgeous palette of luscious bright sky blue, shimmery gold/green (more gold shimmer than green when applied onto skin), deep purple pressed shadow along with a bronze cream shadow/liner completed with a fresh pink blush that is too pretty to use with its silver floral butterfly over-spray. Check it out below.

Looking ultra bright in the pan, I was worried I can't carry off a look with the colours in the palette without it being OTT but thankfully, the colours are of medium pigmentation so it was easy to tone them down or play them up by way layering of the colours.  These shadows are not powdery and I did not get any fall out during use. They are amazingly easy to blend, gliding onto skin with the silkiest smooth finish. The cream shadow is amazing and can be used as a base shadow or to line the rims of the eye to warm up the look.

The blush is a pretty pale cool pink shade, which works more as a highlighter than a blush on my skin tone.

swatched on NC30 skin under indoor white light

I'm most impressed by the shadow's longevity and non-creasing powers. without a primer on a humid day, these shadows still look fresh 3 hours after application without a single crease. You know with my oily lids, that has never happened with any other product (although Urban Decay comes close). I'm so sold on Shu Uemura shadows and can't wait to discover more shades in the range. 

The Morphorium Look

1. Use bronze cream shadow as base on whole lid.
2. Apply blue shadow onto centre of lid. 
3. Next use the purple shaded on inner lid area with a small flat brush and outer corners of eye with a crease brush.
4. Blend gold/green shadow on above lid area to give a shimmery finish and up to brow bone as a highlighter. 
5. line lower rim of eye with purple shadow for depth.
6. Finish off by curling lashes and generous coatings of mascara.

Morphorium Blue Palette RRP A$115 exclusively at David Jones. It is available in the US at Shu Uemura Online for US$69.

What do you think of this look?
Would this be office friendly at your work place or only for Friday nights?


This product was sent for review.

Review: Shu Uemura 18G Foundation Brush

For the past 3 years I've been a mineral foundation girl and have been a MAC kabuki brush fan. But in the last 8 or so months, I've stop using powdered mineral foundation and have reverted back to liquids.

Why, I hear you ask?
The reason was simple, I was getting really flakey skin with use of prescriptive Retin-A to fade scars and mineral foundations was just making my flakes more obvious and pretty much giving me downright grief so I gave up using it all together one day.

These days you'll find on me slapping on Revlon Colorstay, Bobbi Brown Luminous Moisturising foundation or the cream based Cover Creme from Dermablend depending on my mood and the coverage I'm looking for. The thing that doesn't change though when I'm using liquids is my foundation brush.

Now most makeup artists rave on and on about flat synthetic foundation brushes like the MAC 190 brush for foundation application. I honestly don't know what they are on about because I find unless you are using with a light and fluid foundation, these foundation brushes leave streaks all over the face and don't make it the easiest job to do blending work.

Then there was the MAC 187 stippling brush craze which was all the rage 2 years ago for achieving the flawless airbrush look. Sure it does give you that result, but the stippling motion is very time consuming and when you're not in luck, you may find yourself having to pick up all the hair fibres that fall onto your face afterwards.

These days,  flatop brushes like the previously reviewed Sigma F80 or MAC 130 are the bees knees and are getting all the air time on Youtube and beauty blogs everywhere.

Today I want to rave on about another brush that does an even better and faster job of liquid foundation blending work; honestly - I don't know how I survived all those years without it.


Shu Uemura 18 Goat Foundation Brush

Hair close up

• The first thing that surprises me is the size and shape of the brush. Seriously it is no more than 3cm wide and 2.5cm high, looks more like flattened mini blush brush, is quite thick from the side view and looks like no foundation brush I've ever used before. 
• Handmade from superfine uncut white goat hair which is quite densely packed, it feels ah-mazingly soft on skin - like seriously, it was as if I was being caressed by angel kisses when I'm using this brush. 
• Don't underestimate this little baby just because of its size, it takes me less time to blend my whole face with it than using the Sigma F80 brush. This brush gave me poreless airbrushed perfection skin in about 1 minute flat - for real! I would dot foundation all over my face with my finger and then use quick side to side wiping motion to blend the product into my face. I attribute the amazing results to its wonderful natural fibres being able to spread the liquid products around in a better manner than synthetic fibres.
• Being made of white goat hair, I was thinking this thing would stain like hell after use, but the amazing thing was washing it was so easy, it was like washing off powdered products rather than liquids and each time after washing, my brush would appear brand new. Even my MAC white brushes don't come anywhere close to looking this new after a wash (they tend to have this light yellow stain after being washed) 
• The other great thing is that it's quick drying and holds its shape well; I would wash it late in the evening and it would be ready for me to use again the early next morning. 
• I have experienced very minimal shedding during use and in washes. On rare occasions, (like every 10th time I'm using the brush), I will get a single stray hair on my face and very rarely do I see any fallout during washes.

Foundation brushes side by side - 18G and F80 are dirty as I haven't washed them

Top view to show brush fibres and head sizes

close up of brush head - added in MAC 187 for size comparison purposes

I don't really use any other brushes for foundation any more after trying out the Shu Uemura brush. I still use the F80 for cream based foundation as the hairs are much denser, so spreads the thicker cream products better than Shu Uemura. Other than that, this powerful little thing has pretty much made all my other foundation brushes redundant.

For those of you who haven't invested in a foundation brush, I say skip everything and jump straight to this. It is an investment no doubt, but a very worthy one.

Rating: 10/10. RRP US$39. Available in Australia at selected David Jones stores at higher prices. I purchased mine online from the US.