Hits and Misses - Nov/Dec 2013

I decided to do my reviews in a Hits and Misses post. All the items here are from my two previous Sephora Hauls (post here and here).

HITS

1. Priming with the Stars Kit by Benefit Cosmetics

The products that Benefit chose to put in the kit is just so nice! The latch on my foundation broke though (after my sis dropped it) and it's now being held closed by a rubber band. My reviews:

1. Stay Don't Stray in light/medium - primer for concealers and eyeshadows

Good as a highlighter as well since the colour is a bit lighter than my skin tone. Works very well!

2. Porefessional - PRO balm to minimize the appearance of pores

My sis love this too! It really does minimize the appearance of pores, and I know see why so many youtube beauty gurus are raving over this.

3. Some Kind-a Gorgeous in medium - foundation (creamy)

It's more suited to be used as a concealer I feel, but as long as you don't over apply it's not very cakey.

4. bene-tint - rose-tinted lip and cheek stain

I LOVE this item. The colour is so so so so so very nice. :) And easy to use!

5. Girl Meets Pearl - Liquid pearl for face

I don't really use this item, but it highlights your cheekbones and makes your appear prettier (if you know how to apply it correctly!

6. They're Real - Mascara

This mascara is really lasting! It lasts the whole day (like 12 plus hours) and doesn't come off until you wipe it off with a makeup remover.

2. Burt's Bees Lip Balm - Ultra Conditioning (with Kokum Butter)

This is really hydrating! I brought it and use it in South Australia, and it prevented my lips from drying out or cracking. Even my dad asked me for it.


3. FABPORE by Soap&Glory

It removes makeup really well! But I have yet to seen how it minimizes pores.


4. Free sample - bareMinerals Matte SPF15 Foundation

Good coverage, and lasts for a long time. I am however not sure if I would buy the full size one since I ordered a liquid foundation from Benefit that has yet to arrive. Plus point for me, it has SPF.


Undecided

1. Sephora Retractable Foundation Brush

I didn't really like the fact that the retractable part can't stay halfway down, but otherwise it works fine. Since it is for liquid foundation I used it use the Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm, but since then it hasn't dried i.e. the brush looks always wet. Maybe I should try cleaning it and using it again.


2.Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm (travel size) 

The coverage on this was really bad, and I didn't expect it from Urban Decay. Even my sister complained about the coverage. But I like the smell of it, and the feeling of it on my face (it's like you dun feel it there but you know there's something on your face). Very tempted to buy this again, but unsure if I would or try out other products first. I will definitely not buy the full size one though, since this tube alone is taking me more than 3 weeks to go through, and I'm in the stage where I want to try other products at the same time.


Misses

1. Super Skinny Eye Marker by NYX

I... dislike this. After a while the tip size is ok, but the whole tip is still very very very stiff. Like a graphite pencil. Haven't been using it since the second use.


Alright that's all for now. :)

Hits and Misses: Reviews of stuff bought over the first half of Sem 1 AY13/14

So here are some products I bought (acutally only 3) over these 6 weeks and my review on them. I'll start with those I like first, followed by those I dun really like

Hits:

1. Soap & Glory Hand Food

Why I love this product: it totally hydrated my hands. It did! It got visibly better and doesn't feel as dry! This tube is also very very very big. I wonder how long it would take to finish this product.

2. K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Eyeliner

I would say this is better that Maybelline's hyper sharp liner (review here, and I loved it). The tip is sharp (as sharp as Maybelline's one if I am not wrong). And it's really really smudge proof (like a tattoo). I didn't have any problems with my Maybelline one, but my sister said it smudges on her. Ok I cheated a bit here, I actually bought this 8 weeks ago, not during the sem. It was for my concert (where my Maybelline liner was coming out thin and fading, and a fellow lover told me to try this). I pity the guys, cause they were trying to get it off their faces until we introduced them to the makeup remover.

 Misses:

  1. NYX Butter gloss

I bought this is shade BLG02.Eclair. The shade is nice, but it feels quite heavy on your lips. It also doesn't apply smoothly on the lips, something like the picture below that I got from google (by googling the same product):

Considering that I love other NYX products, I will still buy NYX products, but not this one... It's just not for me.

App Recommendation: duolingo

I've been introduced to this app called duolingo for mobile phones.

After playing with it for a day, I can say that it is a really fun app if you want to learn a new language and it's really convenient since you can do the 'tutorials' anywhere.

The language they offer are Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian for English speakers, and English for Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and/or Italian speakers .

Currently I'm learning German, though if I am not wrong you can learn more than one language at any time. I'm learning German because I started trying to learn this language like one year ago but kinda stopped.

It's really fun, do try it. It is available free from Google Play Store and iTunes store.

Makeup - Hits

It's back to makeup! I put really light makeup sometimes when I go to work, though most of the time is only basic UV protection/sunscreen, and so here are some of my favorites from the past (Academic) Year:

1) Maybelline Hyper Sharp Liner

photo credits: http://www.indianvanitycase.com/

Unique Feature: ~0.05mm thin tip

This is ideal for drawing really sharp and define lines, and great for beginners in my opinion, because your line would not end up everywhere. It's liquid based and is waterproof, thus does not come off easily even after a long, hot day. The only thing I wish it were? Cheaper. But really, it's still worth the price.

I have tried pencil liners but they don't last and smudges very easily. The pencil one I have is from NYX, though I can't remember which one of NYX's many liners it was. I don't really like gel liners, and I like liquid the best. I have tried one liquid liner before that didn't really last, and so compared to it, this is amazing!



2) odbo The Sunblock Pact

Photo credit: http://xspreence.blogspot.sg/

Feature: SPF 50 coverage

This is a korean skin care brand, and I got this when my mum decided to bring me to korea before university started in 2010, meaning I had it for a while. I bought 2, used one right away and loved it, and hence couldn't bear to use the other one. That is until my sis told me I would waste it. So I decided to take it out and use. And I still love it. I detest any liquid sunblock/sunscreen because application is not as easy.

I have tried another sunblock pact from Lioele and I hated it. Not sure if it was because I bought some very very old stock or it was an imitation (it was 2 for $9.90 clearance sale) and BOTH the pact broke after I used it a few times and became very powdery, with the powder spilling all over my 'makeup' box.

So until I find another better one, this is my fav, and I'm wondering where in Singapore I can buy this. Or if there is a similar one.



Past favourites

I haven't found a foundation that I liked, although I do like one BB cream that isn't sold in Singapore and I emptied the tube a while ago. I haven't found a substitute for it yet though. Leave a comment if you have a better BB cream in mind.

The Face Shop Marine Stem Cell BB Cream

Photo credit: http://www.chapterq.com

I have been to The Face Shop in Singapore and they told me only the Korean stores carry this. They recommended me another alternative which I didn't really like, although that probably would be the second best for now:

The Face Shop Quick & Clean Oil-Free Blemish Balm

Photo credit: http://www.chiarashine.com/

However what I don't like about this is the heavy feeling when you apply it at first. You kinda get use to it over the day, but it still is heavy.



I don't wear eyeshadows and lipstick/lipgloss or use eyebrow pencil regularly to tell you my favourites. Though so, I have one lip stain that I am absolutely in love with and use it everytime I need some colour on my lips:

NYX Tinted Lip Spa in Juicy

It's a nice bright red, and I usually layer it with NYX Black Label Lipstick in Silver Stone to tone down the red a bit.

If you are wondering, I get my NYX makeup from http://www.cherryculture.com/.



For now, that is about it. If you are wondering why I didn't mention brushes, I rarely use brushes, I prefer sponges.



I have blemishes on my face that my mum says is acne. I have been trying unsuccessfully to get rid of it. If you know a great product for me to use, do let me know in the comments.



Hopefully I'll take my sister's advice to apply more makeup.