Review: Tom Ford Ultra Shine Lipgloss 02 Rose Crush

Tom Ford Ultra Shine Lipgloss 02 Rose Crush ($45 for 0.24 oz) is a rosy brown that goes on opaque in one layer. I particularly love Rose Crush to create nude lips that don't look dead. It gracefully tones down bright lip colors while retaining the characteristics of the colors. Rose Crush adds a healthy shine to my lips. All in all it's a flattering shade for my skin tone (light warm yellow undertone). While I adore the color, I don't think it's insanely unique to deserve the price. So let's explore the texture and the packaging of Rose Crush.

Like other Tom Ford lip glosses (and almost all other lip glosses from any brands), Rose Crush feels a bit sticky on my bare lips. Layering it on top of lip balm or other lipsticks reduces the stickiness and facilitates even application. I don't particularly bother with prepping my lips but it'd be nicer if the texture were more comfortable. However, I think the stickier texture allows Rose Crush to stay put longer on the lips. 

Close-up of the applicator

Tom Ford Rose Crush comes in a chic and elegant square tube with golden trip and the brand's signature brown cap. The applicator is surprisingly user-friendly. It's small and narrow yet possesses the right stiffness that helps the glosses glide on smoothly and evenly. I love the case and the applicator! I'm  glad it's not the typical doe-footed shape as I have more control of the gloss amount with the brush.

Swatched under direct sunlight. Rose Crush appeared warmer than actual shade.

Tom Ford Rose Crush last good 5 hours on my lips on top of lip balm or lip sticks. When worn alone, the wearing extend to hour 6 but feels sticky and thick on the lips. For all this, I don't think Rose Crush lives up to the price. I'd prefer it in the 30s range. 

Bottom line. Love! Rose Crush is a high-quality nude-but-not-dead lipgloss that would flatter many skin tones. The shade isn't that original and the price could be more wallet-friendly, though. 

My Beauty Revolution: Peace with Pinks

Asian girls are defaulted to be obsessed with pinks and Hello Kitty. I used to be not able to stand both, big time and in a serious way. No joke. In the past, I hated pinks, especially what so called Hello Kitty pink, ugh. No offense or objection to any Asian/non-Asian girls who love Hello Kitty. Call me a weirdo if you wish. Until now I still dislike the cat and the pink that has become associated with her. At my last university, we even have a hybrid Hello Kitty version of our MALE mascot, in pink with that hair bow. Gosh, that's the ultimatum. Ok ok back to the post.

For some odd reason though, I ended up with buying quite a few pinks, lipsticks, lipglosses, blushes particularly, and even pink eyeshadows. While I was disrespecting them for a long time, I grew to appreciate how brightened my skin looked with them.

Handling pink eyeshadows is way too tricky on my shallow-socketed eyes. I stick with pearly pink or golden pink with a touch of peach and brown here and there. Soft pink eye looks haven't established a permanent place in my look book.  The only exception is Edward Bess Berry Chic (a look here) that features general soft pink and berry color theme.

Edward Bess Berry Chic Palette

Dior Rose Diamond and Edward Bess Berry Chic Palette

Dior Rosy Nude and its sister Rosy Tan also have the warm soft pink that don't show up as opaque pinks on my skin tone. See, I must play safe on the eyes! 

Pink blushes, bright vibrant blue-based pinks in particular, on the other hand are now must-haves in my routine. All started with the discover of Lancome Pink Preview Lipsticks. It's cool and pale and washes out my lips yet it's an excellent blush color. Edward Bess Soft Orchid is a more neutral version of Lancome Pink Preview, subtly mimicking my natural blushing. There are also Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Love Affair, Bourjois le Cendre de Rose Brune, Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Dollface and one of the more recent procurement Chanel Joues Contrast Rose Innitiale.

     First column: Bourjois le Cendre de Rose Brune, Edward Bess Love Affair, Smashbox Radiant, Tom Ford Narcissist

      Second column: Tarte Dollface, Chanel Rose Initiale, Edward Bess Soft Orchid, 

Lancome Pink Preview

Middle: Make Up For Ever HD blush #6

But not until I swept Smashbox Radiant on my cheeks, the whole new horizon of brightening makeup laid out in front of me. At that moment, I realized my face had some blue, red, pink beside my main skin tone of yellow.  And I look good in those bright pinks. I feel lively, energized, confident. I'm myself when I wear bright pinks. I love to wear them played down. They ARE my natural blushing color. My all time favorite blush is the Tom Ford Narcissist.

Top to bottom: YSL Rouge Couture Fuchsia, Chanel Glossimier Pink Teaser, Nars Easy Lover 

Now pink lipsticks are of more my natural choices and I embrace bright pink lip colors much earlier than blushes. My lips are red-tinted and pinks complement them well. However, cool pinks like Lancome Pink Preview ain't for me. I look dead. To play safe I need brown-based or at least warm-based pinks for everyday. When I need instant boost of color, however, nothing beats a pair of sexy bright pink lips!! YSL Fuschia lipstick for the ultimate drama. Then Chanel Glossimier Pink Teaser and Nars Easy Lover for flirty and glamorous lips.

YSL Rouge Couture Fuchsia 

Do you love pinks? What is the color you've learned to love with your beauty journey?

The last Tom Ford Haul of 2012

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I'm still breathing, rapidly actually. Holiday parties freak me out. We'll host only one (phew!) and attend a few. Like many of you, I work and cook and clean and decorate and so on so forth. You know how it goes.

And yet, I managed to grab some Tom Ford goodies that lied on the top of my Christmas wish list :D. I made about 4 trips to Neiman Marcus in the past 2 months (here and here). This time I decided to fulfill my wish with Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in 02 Rose Crush and Lipcolors in 18 Black Orchid and 04 Indian Rose.

At this point, I think I have everything I love from the brand. I'm testing out his primer and foundation stick too. They don't wow me as much as the other items I've tried. I must admit, though, that the foundation stick (No 5 Natural, yes I changed the shade) has become a rival of my all time favorite foundations, Clarins Ever Matte and Burberry Sheer Luminous. It still doesn't deserve the 78-dollar price tab in my opinion. I do plan to test it again once I finish adjusting my skincare routine and finding a good face primer. I will keep you guys posted.

Until then, hope you're not bored to death by my recent (and chronic) Tom Ford craze :D.

Joanne xx

Review: Burberry Lip Glow Natural Lipgloss in Cameo

Lipglosses tend to grab the last spot in my beauty wish list. I can't find many lipglosses that feel lightweight, non-sticky and stay-put. When I tried out Burberry, I was uber skeptical on a lipgloss splurge. This glowing review by temptalia really gave me the kick to order Cameo.

Burberry Lipgloss 08 Cameo ($27 for 0.2 oz) is a beautiful pink peach with the most subtle hint of shimmer. It feels incredibly comfortable on my lips, almost weight less. It's not goopy or sticky at the slightest. You know how your flying hair can stick to your lip gloss (like Edward Bess lipgloss, Bobbi Brown high shimmer lipgloss, Nars lipgloss, MAC lip glass, Laura Mercier lip glaze, Chanel Glossimer and many others)? I don't have that problem with Burberry Cameo.

At first, I thought I already had a frostier version of Cameo - Laura Mercier lip glaze in Bellini, one of my fav for years. They look rather similar in the tube. However, Burberry Cameo has higher consistency, more opaque and also pinker. Laura Mercier Bellini is a softer peach and highly shimmery.

Burberry Cameo stays fresh for 3 solid hours, then it starts to fade but still retains the stain at hour 5. I think that's decent. This lipgloss isn't meant to last long or to be super pigmented anyway. It looks great by itself, a soft pink peach with a natural sheen. It also works well to tone down any bright lip color and give it a boost with some sheen. I give Cameo two thumbs up for being great quality and truly versatile.

Bottom line. Love! Phenomenal lipgloss, and I don't even like lipglosses. Highly recommended!

Have you tried Burberry lipglosses? Any recommendations or should I just go with their lip mist? 

Review: Edward Bess Deep Shine Lipgloss in Nude Satin

Edward Bess Nude Satin ($30), a pretty mauvy nude, is the first of his line that forces me to slip "meh". Slowly my critique raised to "ah nice" but "may be not again still".

First thing I noticed: sticky and fig scent. The latter doesn't bother me at all, the first does though.

Another drawback? It's sheer and almost disappear in my medium red-tinted lips.

Hold on... Before you embed "pass" in your mind, I'm happy to tell you that despite its stickiness, Nude Satin is really longwearing. It defeats a lunch with clam chowder and sandwiches.

And that's not the end. Nude Satin is also surprisingly moisturizing. I though sticky lipglosses would guarantee chappy lips. But I was completely wrong.

Nude Satin feels weightless, which brings me another pleasant surprise.

And hold on, I'm not finished yet. Nude Satin looks incredibly beautiful on top of Edward Bess Tender Love, Pure Impulse (reviews coming soon), Boots No 7. lip pencil, and many other rosy lipsticks I own. It adds just the right mauve tint with some glossy natural finish. This way, the tackiness is remarkably reduced and Nude Satin feels more comfortable on my lips.

Bottom line. Like but not love. If only it were less sticky and had more pigmentation, it'd be my holy grail  gloss. I think it looks far more flattering and unique on top of lipsticks than on its own. But check it out, some still enjoy this lippie.

Have you tried other Deep Shine lipgloss? Are they sticky? What would you recommend for higher pigmentation than Nude Satin? 

Review: Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Gloss Naked Plum

Naked Plum, I must say, is a very pleasant surprise. Even though I immediately fell in love with the delicate pink pearl while playing with it at the counter, the intense shimmer concerned me a bit. So once again, If it were not because of Sephora Friends and Family,  I wouldn't splurge on a sparking lipgloss. I'm glad I did.

Naked Plum, together with the rest of Bobbi Brown high shimmer glosses is a great (and clever) addition to the brand. They sure remains loyal to Bobbi's spirit - simple, wearable, and flattering. Yet, they break through that subtle sometimes flat color spectrum and delivers a more fun and glamorous Bobbi's beauty.

Naked Plum ($23 for 0.24 oz) is a mauve brown with pink pearl shimmer; thanks to this color combination it's such a subtle wearable shade yet still offers a glamorous pop of glitter and color.  It looks great on my warm tone skin and flatters that cool-toned sale associate at Bobbi Brown counter.

Texture-wise, Naked Plum is non sticky, which is very comparable to Chanel Glossimer ($28.5 for 0.19 oz) in this regard. It stays on for at least 4 hours. For this quality-quantity-price combo, I would go back to Bobbi Brown more often than to Chanel.

This blur picture captured the subtle pink shimmer of Naked Plum

Recommendation. A holiday party, definitely yes. A fun night out, hell yes. A special occasion that aims to capture the attention of a specific person of interest, possibly yes if kisses aren't involved. A working day, nope, IMO. 

Beauty First Aid - Chanel Rouge Coco Chintz and Paul & Joe Sailor's Delight

Nude lips and I seem to have rough relationship. It's hard for me to find good nude that doesn't make me look dead. Chanel Rouge Coco Chintz ($32 for 0.12 oz) held my hope high for it swatched so beautifully on my arm. It's a peachy nude that compliments warm tone well.

Ah, the color turns out not that lovely on my lips. My lips look chalky and my teeth lean yellow. Chintz dries my lips  more than any "regular" lipstick like Maybeline Color Sensation. Totally disappointed for a hydrating formula it claims!

Oh and I can't return it to the duty free shop of an Asian international airport. So when I discovered that Paul and Joe Sailor's Delight (reviewed here) would cancel the chalkiness and moisturizing my lips, my feet didn't touch the ground (well not literally). Sailor's Delight also adds a touch of subtle golden shimmer to Chintz, which I think would pair perfectly with smokey eyes.

Chanel Rouge Coco Chintz swatched alone and layered underneath P&J Sailor's Delight.

Review: Paul and Joe Beaute Lip Lacquer in Riviera 05

Paul and Joe 05 Riviera ($20 for 0.42 oz) is a very sheer peachy pink lip lacquer. I swatched it heavily for the pictures but when blended out, it stains a very light pink. It has fine golden shimmer giving my lips a strong shine. The color looks lovely in the tube but too sheer to make an effect on my red pink-tinted natural lips. The texture is rather sticky, similar to MAC lip glass. I don't think I'll glance at P&J lip lacquer again.

Review: Wearable bright pink lips - Nars Easy Lover & Chanel Pink Teaser

I've always found hot pink picky to wear. Since I want the a more natural take on the intentive pink, I opt for lipglosses instead of lipstick. Nars Easy Lover (2010 summer collection) and Chanel Pink Teaser (2010 fall collection) can do the trick for me. While they still maintain the bright spirit of the pink, they are much wearable and soft. You can create many versions of neutral eye and bright pink lips.

Nars Easy Lover ($24 for 0.28 oz) works perfectly for the daytime. It's my lipcolor when I bite my lips several time. Easy Lover is a sheer hot pink that coats my lips with a natural but more lively color. Nars lipglosses smell little odd when first applied though it fades quickly. It's comfortable to wear and non-sticky. However, it took me several attempts to keep the gloss within my liplines, probably due to it's jelly-like texture.

Chanel Pink Teaser ($28.5 for 0.19) is gorgeous for both day and night looks. It’s an opaque hot pink with exquisite golden shimmer. It glides on so smoothly, creating neat liplines. I wear it for good 4 hours with slight drinking. Chanel Glossimers are phenomenal and ultimately luxurious. I've tried other high-end shimmer lipglosses and Chanel wins me over.

I imagine myself to wear these two lippies for a years to come. They're absolutely stunning.