Look: Soft stain lips

When the fall comes, I just simply can't resist deeper lip colors. My two favorite vampy lipsticks for fall are Bite Beauty Mulberry (review is here) and Tom Ford Black Orchid which by the way looks almost identical to its replacement Bruised Plum (yay!). I love the dark deep decadent shade of plum yet sporting it daily can be over the top. Lately, I've been wearing Tom Ford Black Orchid non-stop as a stain and pair it with his cream eyeshadows to create a softer and youthful look. Tons of compliments have been received. Hope you enjoy! The full list of products used is at the bottom as usual. 

Color products used. In my very own fashion, I forgot Dior Beige Massai :D but I link to it below. 

Look breakdown

Face

Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Stick No 5

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer Custard

Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate #2

Dior Healthy Glow Powder Aurora

Tom Ford Cheek Color Ravish

Eyes

Nars Pro-prime Eye primer

Tom Ford Cream eyeshadow in Pink Haze (main lid color) and Escapade (1/3 inner lid)

Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quad Golden Mink (the brown shade for outer V)

Dior 5-color Eyeshadow Quint Beige Massai (deepest brown to define lower lash line)

Sephora Eyeliner Retractable Waterproof #10 Matte Brown/Black (this baby puts Chanel version at shame) 

YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils Babydoll Mascara
Tom Ford Brow Scupltor Espresso

Lips

Tom Ford Lip Color Black Orchid (2 sheer layers) 

Review: Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Cordura

Certain beauty goodies sit on your vanity counter nearly untouched yet you can't let them go. They're stunning and high-quality, and most importantly right up your alley. You open the case from time to time staring at them then close it. They just don't look good on you. That sucks! That's the story of Nars Cordura in my beauty world.

Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Cordura ($34 for 0.14 oz) consists of a gorgeous warm rich brown and a deep brown. Both have golden shimmer that blends seamlessly with the pigment. It definitely gears more toward dramatic looks but you can use either or both shades to define the sockets, outer V or lash lines. It works well with other palette thanks to the brown theme. I can only see myself using it for the lash lines. I rarely rock dramatic brown eyeshadows because it falls into the abyss of my brown eyes, dark hair, warm medium complexion. It's just too much.

Cordura is highly pigmented and the texture feels rich and soft. They last for good 8 hours with a standard primer. Like the rest of Nars line, Cordura is housed in sleek rubber case. It's sturdy and tiny, a great traveling companion but it attracts dust easily.

Bottom line. Nothing about this duo can I complain, only it turns my eyes into panda's not even as cute. My eyes look heavy and tired. Still, I highly recommend you give it a try.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this palette or if you have an item like this in your stash. You love but you can't wear. 

Look: Meet Doan - Part 2 Modern glamour

I'd like to share the second look I did for my friend Doan. Again, I want to keep the makeup simple like the first look, focus on her lips this time to bring out the modern glamour inside. 

The center of this look is her full red lips. To keep the look modern, I skipped lipliner and lip gloss. I applied three thin layer of Laura Mercier Cherrywood with a lip brush (blotted between layers) on top of EOS lip balm. I used Guerlain Place Vendome's golden taupe on the entire lids, then define her eyes with the highlighter shade and the dark shade in the palette. To finish the look, I applied a thin line of Urban Decay 24/7 Zero following her lash line, no wing out. 

Close-up


In action...

Face

Chanel Mat Lumiere 4.0 Beige

Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

YSL Touche Eclat 08

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal

NARS Orgasm blush

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original

Guerlain Ecrin 6-color eyeshadow in Place Vendome 

Dior Show Extase mascara

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero

Lip
Laura Mercier Satin Lipstick in Cherrywood

I hope you enjoy Doan's lovely spirit as much as I do.

Joanne

Look: Meet Doan - Part 1 Young and Fresh

I'm so excited to introduce my friend Doan. She loves sport, food, traveling and photography, which is why she's helping me out with my make-over series. She's naturally gorgeous, fresh and dynamic, and very photogenic. So I opted to focus on her skin and brows and keep the makeup simple and understated. 

For the everyday look, I wanted glowy cheeks and soft pink lips. I also used plum eyeshadows to enhance her brown eyes and a silvery mauve (of the same quint) to brighten up the lower lashlines. 

Here is her gorgeous smile....

A close up

Photo by Doan (she was posing "innocent" for this particular look :))

Face
Chanel Mat Lumiere 4.0 Beige
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder
YSL Touche Eclat 08
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal
NARS Orgasm blush

Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original
Dior 5-color eyeshadow in Stylish Move (all shades but the pearl white)
Dior Show Extase mascara
Guerlain Ecrin 6-color eyeshadow in Place Vendome (the dark grey to define the brows)

Lip
Edward Bess Berry Chic pink gloss in the palette

Next time, we'll see her in a different style. I hope you enjoy this mini make-over. Thanks so much for reading!

Review: New Revlon 16-hour Color Stay Eyeshadow in Adventurous

Today I took a little departure from my Edward Bess series to feature a recent favorite purchase from my local drugestore - a new Revlon 16-hour Color Stay Eyeshadow quad. Revlon Adventurous ($5.97 for 0.16 oz at my local Walmart) is a beautifully coordinated quad. It contains a pearly ivory infused with golden shimmer that reminds me of NARS Albatros, a frosty khaki green, a frosty bronze and a matte deep brown. I love how it offers various finish and a range of color depth. The quad stays balanced for its cool green, warm bronze and a neutral brown. Despite looking rather dramatic in color, Adventurous is surprisingly wearable.

All four shades are highly pigmented. The ivory and the brown (shades 1 and 4) are more opaque than the other two. The shimmer of this quad is another prominent advantage to my taste. It's not at all overly done, just enough to be visible and add some glam to the shade.

Does it last 16  hours? I didn't have time to wear Adventurous more than 12 hours but it did stay fresh over hour 10. That's good enough for my need.

The texture of this quad is really good, soft and smooth. Shade 1 and 4 are exceptionally buttery smooth while the other two feel a bit hard. All are blendable and layerable.

The case of the new Color Stay quad seems more stable than the old ones. I think it's a progressive change from the rectangle to a square case that works more neatly and feels sleeker. I don't really use the sponge-tipped applicator that comes with the quad as it's too short for a good handling and application but some of you might like it.

Swatches and swatches

Note the shimmer show up when I tilted my hand. See how shade 1 (the golden ivory) is a reminiscence of NARS Albatros. You can totally double it up as a cheek highlighter.

Overall thoughts. Impressive. Opaque. Long-wearing. Soft. Wearable. Many former Revlon Color Stay went extremely sheer on my lids. They didn't last over the morning either. So I'm more than happy that Revlon keeps their promise as advertised with Adventurous. Highly recommended! I myself feel the urge to check out the rest of this line.

Well done Revlon. 

TAG I love eyeshadow palettes

My love for user-friendly eyeshadow palettes is one of the main motivations behind this blog. So when Delicate Hummingbird has a tag post on eyeshadow palettes I naturally tag along :D.

1. How must a palette be like to convince you?
My favorite palettes are those that are versatile. The color coordination of the palette always catches my eyes first. I love monochromic color scheme but unexpected color combination would do too. It also needs to possess different color depths for highlighting, contouring, and eyelining. The texture must be soft and smooth. It's important for me that the palette offers great pigmentation. I love palettes that have various finishes - matte, satin, frosty, or shimmery. But a palette of solely satin finish will be just fine for me. If cream eyeshadows are included, they need to be separated from the rest to avoid cross-pollination. I don't like eye-face-lip kind of palettes like those travel compacts sold at international airports.

2. Is the packaging important?
Not really. As long as the palette is sturdy, I can deal with lack of artistic design or a mirror.

3. Do you use applicators or brushes that come with it?
I used to and still do occasionally. I keep them in the palettes and only use them if I don't have a brush in hands, which is quite rare.

4. What's your favorite brand of eyeshadow palettes?
Dior. Hands down. Especially their 5-color quints. Beautiful color combination. Colors are true to the pan, soft and smooth texture without being overly soft. Some quints are much better than others but they are generally great. Chanel comes close.

5. High end or high street?
High end.

6. Now show me your palettes!
Sure. Tah dah!

Dior 5-color quints
1. Dior Jazz Club (Fall 2009); 2. Dior Stylish Move; 3. Dior Smokey Design; 4. Dior Pearl Glow (Spring 2010); 5. Dior Sunset Cafe ; 6. Dior Rosy Tan; 7. Dior Rosy Nude

Chanel 4-color quints (Vanites, Prelude and Murano)

Inglot customized palette (reviewed here)

Paul and Joe limited edition (Left to Right) Silver Moon; Lady's Slipper; Purple Clover; Empire State

Urban Decay Naked Palette

 Miscellaneous 1. Bobbi Brown Peony and Python Palette (LE 2011); 2. Stila Talking Palette Saphire; 3. NARS Cordura; 4. Guerlain Place Vendome

And my favorite shot ....

Thank you to Trang of Delicate Humming Bird for this wonderful tag idea! Hope you enjoy this post. 

Foundation swatches - Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Dior, Bobbi Brown, Nars, Stila, Misha BB cream

Finally I managed to swatch all the foundations that I (once) own(ed). Some of them went straight back to the store while the others will stay on my vanity counter for years to come.

The names

1. Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk 6.5 (great for 30 minutes then extremely muddy)
2. Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk 5.75 (my perfect match)
3. Chanel Mat Lumierre SPF 15 Beige 4.0 (my perfect match)
4. Dior Skin Nude SPF 10 Sand 031 (my almost perfect match)
5. Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich SPF 15 Warm Beige 3.5 (my kind-of match)
6. Nars Sheer Glow Stromboli medium 3 (my kind-of match)
7. Stila Illuminating 40 Watt (my so-so foundation)
8. Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk 6.0 (totally off-color, chalky)
9. Misha BB cream SPF 42 Beige 023 (just a no-no)

Foundation matching can be very tricky. Some look really good on my skin when first applied then turn ugly after half an hour. In contrast, some don't exactly match my skin at first then become a great match after few minutes. So I decided to do 2 sets of swatches, one fresh and the other after 15 minutes.

Fresh swatches

In mild shading

Under direct sunlight

After 15 minute, the foundations got oxidized

In mild shading

Under direct sunlight

Here is what I conclude.

• The most light weight (hence most comfy): Giorgio Armani and Chanel
• The smoothest: Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Dior, Misha BB cream
• My best match (shade, texture, formula): Luminous Silk 5.75, Mat Lumierre 4.0 
• The heaviest: Misha BB cream, Nars Sheer Glow
• The driest: Dior Skin Nude
• The most full coverage:  Dior Skin Nude, Nars Sheer Glow, Misha BB cream
• All foundations with SPF looked great with frash even the Lasting Silk SPF 20
• The only fragraned foundation I ever owned: Misha BB cream (definitely a deal breaker)

I hope this helps a bit on foundation hunting. Have a great weekend beauties!

Highlighter - Round-up and Application

Highlighting is my favorite technique to add a touch of healthy glow and define my face features. I especially love using matte natural foundation and highlighting only areas I want to bring forward - cheekbones, center of forehead, bridge of the nose, chin, and cupid’s bow. Naturally, smaller brushes will do the jobs. I love two types of highlighting brushes -a dense and nearly flat top and a stippling duo fiber brush. 

The dense nearly flat top brush (e.g. MAC 109) will pick up quite a bit of products hence intensifying the pigmentation. It's ideal to color-block highlighters like Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks or Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc. 

The stippling duo fiber brush (e.g. MAC 188) either small or large depending how large you’d like to apply the highlighter is perfect for mosaic or pigmented highlighters that requires lighter hands. 

Bobbi Brown blender brush recommended for shimmer bricks herself but I find it more suitable for blush than highlighters due to its fan-out shape. 

Now that I shared my thoughts, let's take another look at all of the highlighters I love.

What is your favorite highlighter? What brush do you use? 

Review: Highlighter - Dior Shimmer Star Amber Diamond

I should admit when it comes to my holy grail products, my reviews are sort of biased. My fingers trembled a little while typing this particular post on Dior Amber Diamond. I was afraid my words wouldn't do the justice of THE truly must-have product. Please bare with me when I run away with my emotions...

Dior Amber Diamond ($44 for 0.35 oz) is a gorgeous copper-tinted slash golden sheen. It's extremely flattering on warm skintone although it looks beautiful on cooler skintone as well. I tried Amber Diamond grudgingly. I was mainly curious about the natural from-within glow that it's been well-received for. And I understand why many people swear by this wonderful highlighter. Amber Diamond has the outstanding combination of color (coppery instead of purely ivory that might wash you out in daylight) and micro-finely milled shimmer (the shimmer is so fine that it blends instantly into your skin). If used at just the right amount depending the depth of your skintone, it truly delivers a healthy natural glow as if you owned it. Amber Diamond looks most natural when blent well.

You can also create different shades and intensity using different color combinations, which makes Amber Diamond even more versatile. I also find it compliment both cool and warm blush colors.

Here is a quick comparison with other highlighters....

Amber Diamond has the deeper tone and the most natural compared to the others. It doesn't look metallic when swatched heavily, meaning it's foolproof. Hardly can you go wrong with it.

Well, you can see I'm biased but for a very good reason. It's certainly pricey but when would you finish 0.35 oz of the shimmer powder that only requires two swipes on each cheek? If you've never had good luck with Dior (really? have you tried their 5-color eyeshadows and Dior Skin Nude foundation and their mascaras?) you might be converted with Amber Diamond. A MUST-HAVE. Period.

Review: Highlighter - TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

Mary -Lou Manizer ($24 for 0.3 oz) is a beautiful beige ivory sheen. As true as its packaging, Manizer is a fund product. You can use it as a face highlighter or an eyeshadow. It gives a wearable glamorous glow on my cheeks especially if you have neutral undertone and light to medium skintone. The neutral undertone of this highlighter can match any skin tone beautifully. I think it's the most versatile highlighter - color-wise- that I own or know of.

The texture is buttery smooth and easy to go opaque. A light hand would do the wonder. It's less shimmery than Nars Albatros but still rather prominently frosty for daytime looks. Manizer is housed in a sturdy case that's also attached with a large mirror. It's the kind of mirror that I can actually look at while doing makeup rather than a decoration piece. This highlighter slash eyeshadow in a durable sleek case is a perfect travel companion.

 If you want a nice easy-to-use highlighter that lasts a long time without breaking your wallet, Mary-Lou Manizer is for you.

For reviews on my other favorite highlighters, please click on the highlighter label of this post.

Review: Highlighter - NARS Albatros

Nars Albatros ($27 for 0.16) is described as sheer light golden sheen, which I half-agree with. The golden sheen is very visible and opaque. When applied, the light cream base lies under the golden shimmer layer regardless how I blend it. I'm OK with separate color finish but the golden shimmer is too obvious for my taste even with evening looks. The texture is buttery smooth. It glides on easily and stays put. I love to apply Albatros lightly on top of my blushes rather than my bare checkbones. For the sake of pictures, I swatched all highlighters heavily. When blended out, Albatros looks much softer and wearable.

Albtros is the second most shimmery (Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity wins the title) among the hightlighters I own. Here is a quick comparison with other highlighters of the same family color. TheBalm Manizer has beige undertone. Dior Amber Diamond is a golden copper. Bobbi Brown Pink Oyster has pinky beige base.

If you're medium to dark skin, you might want to test Albatros in person before purchasing. Lighter-skin ladies would love this daring highlighter, particularly if you love shimmer. I like NARS packaging the best for traveling - slim, sleek, effective and durable.