NARS Sheer Glow Foundation Review

It's finally here! I'm going to talk about my holy grail, all-time-favorite, comfort foundation. This foundation is called sheer glow, but it is not sheer at all! The coverage is pretty decent, medium, buildable to full coverage. Now, when you see reviews online, most of them wouldn't recommend this foundation for oily skin. I have oily skin and I am loving this foundation. I swear by it!

The foundation doesn't come with a pump, you can buy it separately for 10$ (I never did, because I think it's a waste of money and I don't have problem pouring this foundation as it is not so watery). The reason why I have two different colors is because I first bought this foundation when Sephora had a 20% discount, and Ceylan was the lightest color they had at that time. I knew the color wouldn't match my skin but I bought it anyway because it was like now or never. I would never be able to purchase this foundation with full price (72$) so I bought it anyway. I did some reasearch before I bought this, and overall I saw good reviews, and I was so into NARS cosmetics at that time, so I forced myself to buy it. Guilty. 

The next thing I knew, I loved it. The color Ceylan is only slightly darker than my skin (my real NARS foundation shade is Gobi) so I used it anyway. Then I found a good deal online for this foundation in the color Mont Blanc. Mont Blanc is lighter than my skin but I knew it would be a perfect color if I mix it with my Ceylan. So I got Mont Blanc and now I've been mixing those two color together to achieve my perfect color. I mix them together with 1:2, Mont Blanc: Ceylan. 

You can also notice that the square cap can be taken out, leaving only the small cap. It is a perfect option when you are travelling, to save some space. 

Back to the performance, this foundation gives you a dewy finish but not so over-the-top glowing. I do find myself oily through out the day, especially in my T zone. What I do is just blot my face with oil absorbing film and then boom. My makeup will look good as new. The oil film did not take any of my makeup and this foundation could stay on my face for like 12+ hours. Long lasting, nice coverage, nice finish, nice consistency. The price is a bit overwhelming, but let me tell you something. It. is. worth. it. If you want to invest something in makeup, invest in a foundation, and if you ask me, invest in this foundation. End of conversation. This will change your life. I am an extremist for this foundation, so don't say anything bad about this foundation or imma slay you. 

JK.

Have a great week everyone :)

Ax

MAC Julia Petit Collection in Singapore

Like, what? MAC is coming back with another collaboration? I feel like it was just last week they came up with MAC Bao Bao Wan (which I totally missed). Julia Petit is a Brazilian beauty blogger and beauty icon, now she's collaborating with MAC. Talking about dream come true. As you can see from the picture above the theme is very tropical as she was inspired by her city Sao Paulo.

makeupandbeautyblog.com

MAC Julia Petit Lipsticks in Boca (Satin), Petite Red (Satin), and Acai (Matte) [33$ each]

MAC Julia Petit Lip Glass in Purpurine (33$)

MAC Julia Petit Morganite Eyeshadows 2x (Sunstoned, lustre and Choco Cake, matte)

MAC Julia Petit Sagu Eyeshadows 2x (Druzy, lustre and Black Plum, matte) 

MAC Julia Petit Moving Sand Eyeshadows 2x (Mumu, matte and Noite, Lustre) 

(49$)

MAC Julia Petit Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Pressed Powder (44$)

MAC Julia Petit Powder Blush in Linda (42$)

MAC Julia Petit Liquidlast Liner in Wet Road (34$)

MAC Julia Petit Lustre Drops (36$)

All information about prices are taken from Makeup Stash.

Anything caught your eyes? I definitely will have that nude lipsticks. And I'm thinking about getting the purple one because last time I bought a red lipstick from the Toledo collection, it's time to be more experimental. I'm also thinking about the pressed finishing powder, not because of the packaging but I have never tried any powder from MAC and I think this will be a great time to finally try one. 

Keep building your wishlist because this collection will be available in Singapore at March 20th 2015, at MAC Tangs Orchard, MAC ION Orchard, and MAC Ngee Ann City. All three stores in Orchard! Looks like I will have to go squeeze through Orchard in the morning. 

Ax

Australis AC ON TOUR Contour Kit Review

Hell, yes! Finally I can talk about this contour kit! If you guys are a big youtube watcher like me, I'm sure you all have seen this contour kit before. This is the contour kit from Australis cosmetics called AC ON TOUR. This contour kit was not available in Singapore but now it is. I found a new online shop called Awesome Colours, they are amazing, they offer products that are hard to find in Singapore like BH Cosmetics and Australis. The best thing is, they are all affordable! /shriek. I am so glad I found them and now I can talk about this contour kit. I posted my review of the Anastasia Beverly Hills contour kit, and this one is so similar to it. 

Just like the ABH contour kit, this one has 6 different shades, 3 for highlight and 3 for contour. I would say this is a great dupe for the ABH contour kit where the ABH one is 40 US$ and this one is 20S$. It also came with a short tutorial on how to contour and highlight at the back of the kit. 

I couldn't believe myself, but ever since I received this kit, I never found myself grabbing for the ABH kit. Insane. The first thing I noticed from this palette is that, this stuff is damn pigmented. Too pigmented for a contouring. It's so easy to grab too much product with your brush and your contour can look muddy so easily. Believe me when I say with this product, a little really DOES go a long way. With my ABH kit, I could dip my brush 3-4 times and it would still look fine. With this one I can only dip my brush once without putting any pressure, then I can have my contour done. I would say this kit is not for beginners but once you got your hand on contouring, this kit is perfect. I found this one is so blendable (if you get a proper amount on your brush) and when it sets on your face, it looks gorgeous. And the colors are so similar to the ABH kit. And about the highlight shade, can I say, I am obsessed with the banana shade (the yellow one). A lot of people use the banana shade on ABH kit to set their under eyes, but I did not like the ABH one. Maybe it's just me because 99% of the world loves it. The australis one, me likey. Not so sure about the shimmery one, because it is so creamy, so not powder-like. Anyway, please do yourself a favor and get this kit.


Ax

Etude House Play 101 Pencil

Last week Etude House was having a 20% discount for all products and 30% for members. I was so happy and I did a massive haul, if you followed me on Instagram, you've seen all the products I got. That 30% discount was a good chance for me to (finally) tried out their Play 101 pencils. I purchased five different colors and this product claims to be a gel-type pencil that comes with vivid colors and various textures for easy and fun makeup play. This pencil is suppose to be used a lip liner, eyeliner, eyeshadow, or even blush. Etude House is collaborating with internet famous Korean makeup artist, Pony Pony. So you can check out her tutorial using Play 101 pencils on Youtube. 

Now at first, I thought these pencils were quite expensive (12$ each) considering they are from Etude House. After discount I got each of them for 8.4$, quite reasonable and they have amazing range of colors (50 shades)! I shopped at the last day of the discount promotion and I shopped at Wisma Atria, on a Sunday. Imagine the crowds! Most the products were sold out. Their lipsticks rack was almost emptied, their new foundation, which I also love, was sold out. At least my color was out so I couldn't stock :( Anyway, it was very overwhelming, I couldn't stand the crowds, and I literally just dump every color that I want in my basket without even swatching the samples. I did not touch any of the samples. I know, I know, but I was like whatever, they were less than 10$ each, just dump everything in the basket.

Long story short, I opened these bad guys at home and I was like... WTF. They are fucking amazing. 12$ for each, was not expensive AT ALL. I thought this was the kind of pencil that we have to sharpen, but they are mechanical pencil. So you just twist the bottom of the pencil where it has the number on and you're done. More, they even provide a sharpener in the very bottom of the pencil which I find really neat. The sharpener is only for the tip of the lead, if you want to do a really fine line.

I have the color 11, 16, 28, 29, and 32. As you can see above the colors are so pigmented. Like, I'm not even joking, first stroke, BAM, you got the color. Now they did mention that they have different texture. After some research they have creamy, glitter, matte, glossy, shimmering finishes. Number 11 and 16 have creamy finish, 28 has glitter finish, 29 has shimmering finish, and 32 has matt finish. Then I did a stroke test, to see how they blend. 11, 16, 29, creamy and shimmering finish, they don't move a bit, they stay on. 28 blends so well as you can see, most blendable compared to the other. Lastly 32, matte finish, don't blend so well but it will blend with an effort. I think the creamy finish is perfect for lip liner or eye liner, but they are all nice and you can get really creative with these pencils.


Ax

MAC Toledo Lipstick and Blush Review

MAC Toledo finally arrived in Singapore!

This time MAC collaborated with Isabel and Ruben Toledo, they're a couple, Isabel is a fashion designer and Ruben is an illustration designer. Very talented couple. I mentioned this collection about three days ago, so you can see the whole collection there. 

First thing first, I got a blush and two lipsticks. It was easy to decide which color to get. I definitely need Oxblood (33$) . I've seen people going crazy over Oxblood everywhere. The hype was real. The rest of the color was similar shades of red, and Sin, which is a dark purple color. Sin was on the main, permanent collection so I wouldn't bother buying it. So I got Victoriana, a nice vibrant red. It took me a good amount of time in the store debating which blush should I get. The blush is 52$ each so I couldn't get more than one. All three of them are so pretty, I'm not even joking. It was a torture for me to pick only one.  

All the lipsticks have matte finishes. The formulation I would say is no different than the permanent line. The pigmentation is amazing and super matte. The colors are beautiful. No complain at all. The packaging is beautiful! It also has a matte finish. One problem though, because of the matte finish, it would get stained very easily. Especially when we have excess makeup on our fingers. Do I make any sense? This packaging is similar to NARS matte packaging, you can see a well-loved NARS packaging from the makeup stain.

Can we talk about the blush now?

I seriously couldn't stop taking picture of the blush. I've never had a MAC blush before so I can't really compare in term of formulation. I wore this blush today and I have to say I am pretty impressed. It is very long-lasting. The color looked beautiful on my skin. The swatch I have above is a heavy swatch, so you can really see the color. I bought this blush 90% because of the packaging. It's such a bad thing to say, but really, I'm a packaging sucker. Judge me. Actually, Estee Lauder also came up with this ombre blush thing, I saw one on Sephora with the same price. But the fact that this is a limited edition, I'm sold. But thank God, the formulation was not a disappointment. So what are you guys having from this collection?

Ax

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit Review

Welcome, welcome, to my favorite, holy grail product for contouring. I have to say Anastasia Beverly Hills never failed to impress me with their products. I have tried a lot of bronzers, high end and drugstore and nothing compared to this. This product is not available in Singapore, however this product is easier to find, because apparently their original contour kit (this one) is a basic product like their brow wiz and pomades. For example, you can find this contour kit on Net-a-porter but it is always sold out, better keep your eyes on them. You can find it at Nordstorm, but bear in mind, the shipping fee is mind blowing. Locally, you can find them at shopping-district.net or find some at Carousell. Anyway, I got mine from a friend who went to US last year. So I got it with a decent price without any shipping fee. So lucky. I know.

This kit is the original kit, but now ABH is adding more color for the kit, so now the original is called light to medium kit. As you can see this kit has 6 different colors, three for highlighting and three for contouring. This kit comes with a magnetic palette and removable pans, so you can always refill it. You can also build your own kit with their contour refill, but that privilege is only available at ABH website.

The first thing I noticed when I got this palette was, this kit is way smaller than what I had in mind. I thought each pan was going to be as big as a regular blush pan. But it is almost like a shadow pan, only bigger.

Vanilla and Banana are matte highlight color while Sand has a shimmer. The Banana shade, if you watch a lot of Youtube, is damn popular and is like the holy grail product for beauty gurus to set their under eye concealer. Me however, don't like it very much. I don't know, it is brightening but I have a lot of fine lines under my eyes and this powder tend to cling on them. I don'y use compact powder to set my under eye, I love my Ben Nye loose powder, works best for me and doesn't settle on my fine lines.

I don't use the highlight shades much but the contour shades, everyday! My favorite is the middle shade, Fawn. For contouring it is best to use a shade with grey / cool undertone like Fawn. Fawn is also the lightest shade and it works for me best because I am very fair. Java also has a cool tone and Havana has a warm undertone, works for people with darker skin tone. The contour powder blended very easily and beautifully. It never looked muddy on me. I also love to use the contour shades to put on my crease to add more definition.

I'm trying to compare this contour kit with other, I have ordered another famous contour kit from Australis cosmetics, AC on Tour kit. We'll see how it goes. And NYX released a new contour kit with 8 shades. But it is pretty pricey and I heard a lot of not-so-good things about it. And Too Faced with their Cocoa Contour kit. It's like everyone is following ABH's footsteps and ABH took it to another level with their contour book. Their contour book is very limited edition, I want it so badly, but let's be honest, I'll never find a way to ship it.


Ax

MAC Toledo Finally Comes to Singapore

I couldn't believe my eyes when I went to Sephora ION today. From afar my eyes caught the beautiful display of MAC Toledo collection! You fucking hear me right! The TOLEDO collection is in Singapore! I tried my best to keep calm and not screaming around. I still can't believe it until now. MAC Toledo is available in Singapore. I never had high hopes for this collection to hit Singapore. This is one of the most gorgeous collaboration of MAC, I've seen the products everywhere in blogs, youtube videos, Instagram. How come I didn't know about this before? Damn.

When I was there, all the blushes were gone. What? The Toledo blushes are the main reason I love this collection so much! And four shades of lipsticks were left (no Oxblood!). Palettes were complete, also the brush, and the mascaras. I asked the shop assistant and they said the collection will be available again island wide on March 3rd. Mark your calendar bitches. Bloody battle, whatever, I must have this. Now let's learn more about the collection.

Mac Toledo lipsticks in Oxblood, Barbecue, Tenor Voice, Victoriana, Opera, Sin. (All Matte finish)

Very beautiful and the packaging also has matte finish.

Mac Toledo tinted lipglass in Oxblood, Barbecue, Tenor Voice, Victoriana, Opera, Sin.

Mac Toledo nail lacquer in Faint of Heart, Venus Red, Vixen.

Mac Toledo intense eye liner in Chlorafill, Designer Purple, Petrol Blue. Modern Twist Lash in Chlorafill, Tarot, Caligrafy, Vynil.

Mac Toledo makeup bag, blush / powder brush 129SE.

Mac Toledo blush ombre in Kindergarten Red, Azalea Blossom, Ripe Peach.

Mac Toledo eyeshadow x6 in Bellgreens, Violetwink, Moodyblu.

MAC x Isabel and Ruben Toledo Collection for Spring 2015

All pictures above from temptalia

Well, what do you say about that? The collection is definitely bigger than the Cinderella collection. Now that I see it, I fell like buying each one of them... In my wishlist, definitely the blushes! I want to get all three of them but each is 52$.... I'll get Azalea Blossom and Ripe Peach. Lipsticks (33$) I'll get Oxblood (!!!) and Victoriana or Opera. What about you guys? Better start your wishlist now!

The blushes. I can't stop talking about the blushes I'm sorry. The collection will be available in two days! Let the game begin!

Ax