Marc Jacobs #InstaMarc Light Filtering Contour Powder Review

I've been wanting this contour kit ever since I first saw it on Instagram. Let's talk about it okay. I'm the kind of person who cannot resist any contour kit, ever! And Marc Jacobs released one! It was like dream come true. The packaging is just irresistible, sleek, thin, black Marc Jacobs packaging with a giant ass mirror. I didn't care how much it was, I saw it, I grabbed it. I am a person with simple mind.

It is called #InstaMarc Light Filtering Contour Powder. It suppose to make your face Instagram ready without any filter(?). I don't see how that works and I don't think it is necessary to link everything to Instagram to sell products. Anyway, I'm not against the Instagram thing, I just don't care. I think it's unnecessary because this product itself is great! Retails for 60$. This kit contains a lot of products (18gr, 9gr for each powder) so it is worth the money.

The contour shade is perfect because it has the right amount of grey. It'll give a natural shadow for your cheekbones, and it blends so well. The highlight shade is also great! It feels so smooth on the skin and it gives light coverage. I used to set my undereyes with Ben Nye banana powder and Makeup For Ever HD setting powder, but I've never touched them again ever since I have this Marc Jacobs. It is very easy to use compared to those loose setting powder. It is compact but the result is as good as those loose powders. This contour kit sold out fast, so you better be quick.

Ax

Bronzer Battle: Benefit Hoola Bronzer VS Too Faced Chocolate Soleil

This post will be my first comparing post. So exciteeed! I'm gonna be talking about the two most talked about bronzers in the industry, the Benefit Hoola bronzer and Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer. If you're a hard-core youtube watcher like me, you would have heard about these two bronzers. I will review each bronzer and compare the two, and then you can decide which one worth the money.

Now, the first thing you noticed about this bronzer must be the packaging. Too Faced is always killing it. The packaging is beautiful I cannot stop touching it. And yes guys, the smell! It does smell like chocolate. You may not be able to smell it in store but when you first open it, damn the smell was so strong and it was so good. Now I'm afraid I will lose the smell if I open it too often (unreasonable worry). The Chocolate Soleil is made for medium to deep skin tone, so if you have a light skin or you don't like strong bronzer or contour, I strongly suggest you go with Milk Chocolate Soleil, which come from the same line. I have light skin but I can handle strong bronzing and contouring. This bronzer blends so well on the skin, like I'm not even joking. It is a matte bronzer but I feel like my skin is glowing with this bronzer. Blends out beautifully. Have I said that? 

I wouldn't use this bronzer as a contour powder because it is quite warm, but if you don't feel like contouring but you still want to define those cheekbones naturally, this bronzer is beyond perfect.  

Packaging wise, it's a hit and miss. Some people like it some people don't. I know some people expect more considering the price, but hey, it comes with a brush. A lot of people like the brush because it is like a dupe for NARS oh-so-famous Ita brush. The shape is similar but I'm sorry, I don't like the brush :(. I think the bristles are rough, it doesn't blend the bronzer well, and I'm just not feeling it. Anyway, let's talk about the products. A lot of people use this bronzer for contouring because it has a grey undertone and this bronzer fits all skin colors. It is a matte bronzer and it also blends out beautifully. It is very powdery, so you can get a lot with just a swipe of brush (always tap your brush!). And I just recently hit pan on this one (yaaaaaz!). Beauty addicts are so proud when they hit pan, because it means they actually use the product. When actually it's a bad thing because then we have to buy another one.   

Packaging wise, Too Faced wins. It has a decent mirror and a compact, sturdy packaging with embossing compared to Benefit paper box. It has a mirror, but can barely see your face, and it's unnecessarily very bulky. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil is warmer (more orange) than Benefit Hoola, but I feel like Too Faced is more long lasting than Benefit. Too Faced comes with a box while the Benefit doesn't. The Too Faced one contains 10 gr of product while the Benefit one contains 8 gr of product. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil retails at $42, can be found only in Sephora. Benefit Hoola Bronzer retails for $46 can be found in Sephora, Benefit boutique, and Changi Airport (cheaper in Changi duty free store, $40.70). I love both of them, and I think you will not be disappointed buying either one of them.

Ax

Too Faced Soul Mates Blushing Bronzer Review

AAAAAA! I promised myself I would not scream. But, I cannot control myself. I find myself blushing every time I think that I actually, finally have this bronzer. Yes guys, this couple finally hit Singapore. This Too Faced Soul Mates bronzing duo finally available in Sephora. I've always wanted this bronzer ever since I saw it on Intagram like months ago. I thought this is a limited edition piece and the fact that our Sephora is so god damn slow on updated stuffs, I gave up my hope. I saw it on Beautylish and I almost bought it but I need to spend US $75 to get free shipping, and I was like, bye. 

But yesterday, like literally yesterday, I went to Sephora with mah gurl and we were like, SHOCKED. We went to Sephora ION and we saw the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette. Yes, they are finally here. After all beauty gurus raved about it and the madness has stopped. It came. Thank you, Sephora Singapore. But the most shocking thing was this one. The Soul Mates bronzer duo. They were sold out at Sephora ION and we were so heartbroken. I felt like the world has come to an end. We asked one of the staff and she said it is only available in Sephora ION and they will not restock it very soon. Well, you know what, she was f-ing wrong! We almost went home but we went to Sephora Taka just to browse around, and heeeeey, I literally ran when I saw they have this bronzer on display and gagged when I saw a stock. There were three Ross and Rachel and five Carrie and Big. I snatched one without even thinking without even looking at the price. It's $48 by the way.

But honestly, have you ever seen anything so beautiful? This is like the best packaging I've ever seen like EVER. I have no words how to describe it but I do have more amount of pictures than usual for this review. Please be patient and scroll down, you may see the same pictures because I couldn't decide which shots to put because they are all beutiful! I need help! 

Now, this bronzer came in two shades, Ross and Rachel and Carrie and Big. If you ask me, it's obvious which one I'll pick. First of all, I don't watch Friends. And Ross and Rachel is for medium to deep skin-tone while Carrie and Big is for light to medium skin-tone. So it is a perfect match for me. Every cents you spent from 48$ is worth it. Apart from the most beautiful packaging, it contains a lot of product, 18g!! (comparison: Benefit box blush 8g, Too Faced chocolate soleil bronzer 10g).

This bronzer is not too powdery, so you can never add too much on your brush. You can go heavy handedly on this one. I think that's a good thing. Another thing is the color, this bronzer is so warm, it is on the orange side. You cannot use this bronzer for contouring, this is for warming up your face, to give you a bronzed, sun-kissed look. It is on the orange side but it is not too orange for me. It is for light skin, so it just gives you that healthy glowing look. Love it. It is said on the packaging, you can use the colors separately, or you can mix the two colors together to give you a blushed bronzy look. I tried using only the bronzer shade and it is beautiful. Please guys, run to your nearest Sephora and grab this couple before they sold out completely!


Ax

Ebay Finds: Jessup Makeup Brushes

Don't you love starring at a bunch of matching brushes? And when they are from Ebay for $15.5? They are from the brand Jessup. You might have heard about it, a lot of gurus got their brushes from Ebay as well and they all loving them. Well, me too. 

I chose the 10 brushes set, 5 face brushes and 5 eye brushes. I bought it from this seller, they have tons of different sets and colors, and they offer free international shipping. Yay! I thought they would take one month to arrive but to my surprise they arrived in less than 3 weeks. Pretty fast for an Ebay free shipped stuff. The face brushes are so dense and the bristles are super soft. It's just amazing considering their price. They have flat top kabuki, angled kabuki, and the pointed kabuki, perfect for contouring or your under eyes (it is my favorite of them all!). The eye brushes, they are dense but fluffy, perfect for blending. Blending made easy with these brushes. If you are looking for a set of brush, please please do yourself a favor and get this brush set! You will not regret it, you will love it, and stare it all day long.

Ax 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Review

I swear, it's only April, but I can say liquid lipstick is the makeup item of 2015. This NYX matte lip cream has been my favorite for a while now. I started buying them when I saw on Instagram that 'Istanbul' is a good dupe, like totaly similar to Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick in 'Lovely'. I was like, bam, I'm sold. And now I have 9 of them. 8 here, because I forgot the other one was in my purse and I only realized it after I finish taking picture. The other one I have is 'Abu Dhabi' by the way, brown nude color. Because I couldn't get my hands on the ABH ones, why not have the cheaper alternatives. They're 12$ each at Sephora and they are incredibly awesome!

These lipsticks are amazing, but they are not so pigmented on the lips you kinda have to build them up and they can look a bit patchy, because sometimes you will find like a lump of products. Like the 'Istanbul' swatch above, it's not so smooth. But doesn't mater, small problem. The lipstick smells good actually, kinda like a vanilla scent, and they last so long. The problem I have with matte lipsticks, it's that they make your lips so dry and they cling to the dry patches, and when you re-apply the product, it's like the worst thing ever. Hot mess. But this one is not. I notice it goes on smoothly even after a re-apply. Another thing to note it takes a while for them to set on your lips, like 2 minutes. They have been favorites of mine, they should be yours too.


Ax