Face Good

The sun has been merciless these days, hasn't it? I was on my way to work this morning, it was only 9 plus, and already, the morning sun was leashing its vengeance on me. By the time I got to the mrt station five minutes away, my eyes were seeing a little red, and my hair felt hot against my fingers. This is summer period in Singapore, where the heat gets really intense. Time to get more vigilant with the sunblock!

Recently, I've been using Clarins' UV PLUS Protective Day Screen, so I decided to do a review on it. It's not a new product, but it's still going strong in the market, for good reason.

I have combination skin and I'm really wary about sunblocks because I break out easily. Nevertheless, sunblocks are a necessity. After all, skin cancer is much worst than acne. However, I have no worries about this. It feels extremely lightweight. Like all sunblock, it feels greasy and icky when first spread on skin. But it absorbs almost immediately and leaves no residue.

A friend of mine went to Hawaii recently for a holiday. Needless to say, she spent most of her holiday frolicking at the sunny beaches. She's one of those people who gets sunburnt easily. This time, she was armed with this sun screen, which she applied every few hours each day. She came home sunburnt free! This makes me conclude that this sunscreen is gentle on skin, but a strong shield against the sun rays!

It’s been awhile since I last reviewed a product! Recently, I got some new make-up with red colour schemes. Most people talk about heralding Chinese New Year with new, red clothes and underwear, even hairstyles, to usher in the luck. Funny that people don’t place as much emphasis on make-up, since it’s pretty much something that we wear too!

In this post, I introduce to you my lips’ latest best friend, the new L’Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick in Classic Wine! Now true red lipsticks are difficult to pull off for people with fair skin. It could border on tacky, or simply look unbalanced on fair skin. This lipstick is in a very pretty and bright colour. It is a classic red colour, but not over the top red.

The lipstick goes on my lips smoothly and feels rich and smooth. It would be a good moisturizing lipstick for people with dry and peeling lips. It has decent staying power. It has been 4 hours since I’ve applied this lipstick. I drink water periodically (well I use a drinking straw, I don’t drink straight from the cup!) and I still don’t need to reapply yet!

Pretty lips for a low price - I’d definitely recommend this lipstick! If you fancy other colours or shades of red, this series has quite a generous selection.

For the life of me, I can't post it into our Facebook discussion group at the moment. There must be some glitch. You're more than welcome to repost it here. Thanks!

Recently, I picked up a new eyeliner from Maybelline. I was attracted to the sticker on it’s packaging which screamed “No. 1 eyeliner in Japan!” Yes I get taken in easily by catchy taglines, especially anything to do with Japan’s famed beauty industry. Well, I don’t know how true the statement is, but this gel eyeliner is good enough to want to make me buy it again!

Application is really easy. A brush is provided with the eyeliner, so all you have to do is use it to apply the gel. It’s not called a ‘creamy’ gel for nothing. Because of this creaminess, it is very smooth to apply on. No furious repeated brushing across your poor lids. Blending is a cinch, so if you accidentally draw a little out of line, you can fix it easily.

It is very lasting. I didn’t have to touch up after 8 hours outside, this despite my having oily eyelids . It comes off easily with the right make-up remover, but won’t budge if you try other means to get it off. That’s why it’s important that you blend it quickly because it also dries and rather quickly upon application.

The colours are limited. I’ve only seen a black and brown one in the local stores. I bought the brown one. It’s a very pretty colour and even has a little shimmer.

The bottle is typically tiny, like most brands of gel eyeliner. But it should last long enough if you aren’t doing a goth make-up everyday. Priced at 19.90 SGD, I personally find it a very worthy purchase!

Last Saturday, I finally got a chance to try out my new Revlon False Lashes when I met up with an old friend for an entire day of shopping and dinner. This is actually my first time reviewing false eyelashes. I hardly ever wear them because I always had issues with the ones I've tried on, so I always stick to mascara. But too much mascara on a regular basis is bad for eyelashes so it's good to be able to switch to false lashes every so often, and I'm really glad that these new lashes from Revlon have given me one more viable option for make-up.


While the Revlon 99501 Defining Lashes aren’t dramatic in the ‘hey-look-at-me-I’m-wearing-falsies’ way, they are perfect for people with short, sparse lashes (like myself) who don’t want to draw the wrong sort of attention to oneself. ‘Beautiful lashes!’ is after all, different from ‘hey you’re wearing fake lashes!’. They do define your eyes without making you look overly made up, which means you can actually use them on a daily basis and for work.

The lashes have just the right amount of curvature. I didn’t even have to press them with a curler to make them curl upwards. And they don’t cast an annoying curtain over my eyes like some of my other fake lashes would.

The lashes are self-adhesive, which means no need to deal with sticky glue that goes all over the wrong places. They last really long too; I used them for 8 hours and they’re still in perfect condition. Although you can’t reuse the adhesive strip, you can reuse the eyelashes for a few more times by using the good ol’ eyelash glue if you have been careful with handling them.

While the lashes look very natural because they are so fine, they are also rather fragile. The first time I tried to put one of them on, I accidentally folded some of the lashes with my clumsy fingers and failed to get them back into shape. So do be careful when putting them on. Use tweezers if possible, and avoid holding the adhesive with your fingers. It really sticks.

No complaints other than that. I’m in love with these lashes. They’re easy to stick on, and just the right length for me. I didn’t even have to cut them. I’ll be trying the Intensifying one for Halloween, so I’ll be back with more reviews!

My only grouse would be its price. For a small and shallow little pot, it is rather pricey (24USD on Shu Uemura's website). But you probably won't be using it on a daily basis. Besides, just a little of that white gel works well as a highlighter that accentuates your eyes. I would recommend it to anyone who wants eye makeup that stays on and gives them a fresh look.

On the subject of eye make-up, I've received samples of false eyelashes from Revlon. I'll be trying them out for a party in a couple of weeks, so if you have any specific questions about any of the 3 products in this series, feel free to email them to me!

I promised a review on DuWop's Twilight Lip Venom, so here it is!

The pros and cons can be summarized in one sentence: Difficult to apply for newbies, but very pretty indeed!

If you're a new user of DuWop's lip products, chances are, you're probably going to experience some difficulties getting it on your lips properly. Initially, I found it very difficult to spread evenly on my lips, with the result being a very patchy red. But practice makes perfect, and after a few tries and steadier hands (you need to keep brushing it on and blending simulteneously until you get evenly spread out.

The colour is a rich, deep red (think fresh blood and vampirish lips, so the product is pretty successful in mimicking this vampirish effect) and has a glossy effect. After a short while, however, the gloss wears off, but the colour stays. You can add clear gloss over your lips. The effect is very nice and makes your lips look wet and succulent.

Like all DuWop lip venom products, it stings your lips upon application so that's nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, the lip plumping effect, if any, is subtle. A recommended product if you want some sexy lips but not so if you're really looking into the lip plumping effect.

I love multi-purpose products because they save me time, space and money! Recently I bought this moisturizer since I was out of both sun block and my day moisturizer!

However, I’m not very disappointed in it. I didn’t experience any ‘mattifying’ effect. I still have to do touch ups to my shiny face for the usual number of times I usually do. I also suspected that it may be a little too moisturizing – my friend who has oily skin complained that it made her skin look oilier and even gave her more blackheads and pimples! However, for me, I work under airconditioning for long hours and this moisturizer feels like a breath of fresh air on my skin. Pity it doesn't seem to last very long.

If you have combination skin like me, it’s decent enough as a sunblock and moisturizer. I suppose whether it's worth a 2nd purchase depends on your opinion on its pricing. A 50ml tube costs $29.90, not exactly cheap or worth it in my opinion as I've seen cheaper moisturizers with higher spf.

It smells really lovely and refreshing though.

I hope everyone had a great long weekend! I didn’t go to the parade because I didn’t manage to get tickets, but it was nice having a patriotic excuse to lounge in front of the tv and watch the parade. I spent the rest of the evening being a couch potato :D a luxury I've yet to enjoy in a long while.

For today’s post, I present my new acquisition from Sephora at ION. That place is seriously draining my wallet.


This mascara gives a pretty natural look, in other words, not dramatically longer and bolder lashes I was expecting because of its name and that gigantic wand. Sometimes, Benefit just gives the weirdest and most misleading names.

I still like it because it has a pretty good curling effect. It volumizes reasonably well too, and stays on for many hours.

However, it is wet and thick upon application and if you don’t handle the applicator properly or you sneeze right after applying your mascara (yes isn’t it annoying when that happens?), you could end up with some really serious smudging around your eyes. I’ve tried applying additional layers to my outer tips of my lashes see if it makes any difference to the length, and was disappointed to see that they simply looked clumpy.

I compared my experiences with other reviews on the web and realized that many people have different experiences. Some thought it gave them length but no volume, and vice versa. Some felt it was smooth to apply, while others thought it was the most inconvenient mascara to use. Some claim that it clumped the lashes, while some say that it gave them very immaculately coated separate lashes, akin to wearing perfect false lashes.

Although the effects produced by mascara differ based on the length and volume of your own lashes and the shape of your eyes, these discrepancies are just too huge. So I guess it’s a hit and miss, buy at your own risk? Besides, the effects are not quite worthy of its high price.

Bare Escentuals, number one selling foundation in America, used to be rather elusive in Singapore. Now fans of Bare Escentuals will be able to purchase quite a wide variety of products from this cosmetics line at the new Sephora at ION, which is even bigger than the branch at Ngee Ann City!

It’s summer now but I haven’t been going out much because of H1N1 and the haze, so I decided to try out their Faux Tan All-Over Face powder foundation bronzer on my pale skin to look at least a bit tanner and healthier.

It gives my skin a natural glow and doesn’t look too orangey unlike other bronzers I’ve used. The quantity is quite generous so it should last quite a long while, definitely worth the price! However, it has to be applied with a very light hand or you’ll look like you got a very poor artificial tanning job. All the more better anyway since it means you won’t have to keep spending money to repurchase.

Reviewers for American stores and cosmetic websites claim that this product gives their skin a matte finish, but I suppose this could only be applicable for their weather conditions. In tropical, humid Singapore, our skin gets oily after awhile and together with the light shimmer that the product itself already has, it’s truly not a pleasant sight. I’ve had to keep it around me whenever I use it to do touch-ups but that’s not a big deal since you’d always have to carry your foundation around to do touch ups anyway.

This is one of the best bronzers I’ve used and I’m likely to repurchase it again. Then again, it’s a decision that I’m unlikely to have to make any time soon since it will take quite awhile before I finish it!

Sensual Rose doesn’t quite strike me as being rose-coloured as it has slight purplish undertones in them. Nevertheless, it is a very nice lipstick. It's texture is moist and creamy and easy to apply evenly to my lips. Under air-conditioning, my lips feel less dry. This moisturizing effect makes your skin look healthily glossy but at the same time, it doesn’t make your lips look shiny, so it is great for nude or light make-up.

It is also fairly long lasting and needs very little touch up apart from after meals. On fair skin, it actually looks flattering, unlike other lipsticks with violet or purple undertones that make fair-skinned users look ghostly. I’d certainly use this again!

There's a huge, sparkling new Sephore outlet at the ION so you can check out this lipstick in different shades there!

Estee Lauder Daywear Plus Lotion

This is a multi-purpose beauty cream that has moisturizing purposes, a decent SPF of 30 and though not explicitly mentioned in the product description, has mild concealing purposes too. Its creamy base allows it to make shallow blemishes less conspicuous. It does not as refreshing on the skin as its fresh mint green appearance implies, but it doesn’t feel oily either. Its oil controlling properties makes it ideal for office ladies who face the computer all day long.





Guerlain Perfect White C Protective Brightening Fluid SPF 40 PA+++

I adore this product! It feels refreshing to the touch and is easily absorbed by the skin. Apart from being a sunscreen with a relatively high SPF, it is also a whitening product and make-up base. I’ve used this like a foundation for light make up. It covers up faint scars effectively and makes my face look brighter.




Clinique : Derma White Super City Block SPF 40

It feels a bit too oily and creamy for my liking, but some Taiwanese celebrities claim that they swear by it in their beauty guides. Apparently, its sunscreen feature is pretty good. My friend uses it whenever she goes to the beach and she’s never gotten sunburnt (of course, self-control and time management are also very important aspects at sunburn prevention).





Lancome UV Expert Protective Make-Up Base Anti-Redness SPF 20

The SPF is rather low for this, so it would be preferable to use this indoors. However, I like its corrective feature; it does conceal redness well and serves as a make-up base. However, I find it insufficiently moisturizing, so it’s best applied over a layer of moisturizer.

My dear readers, do excuse me for my lack of updates. I was in the land of the rising sun last week. Japan is truly a beauty haven! Every girl in sight was well-dressed, their trendy outfits complete with immaculate make-up and perfect hairdos with not a strand out of place. I’ve read that Japanese girls rarely go out without make-up. From my observations, this statement is definitely true. Even the cashiers at convenient stores have spotless skin!

Given the high consumer demand for cosmetic products, there’s such a huge assortment of domestic cosmetics and brands in Japan, many which I have not heard of, that I had no idea what to get! Besides, I don’t like the idea of using cosmetics whose instructions I can’t read!

However, I did purchase a tube of Blemish Balm Moist Cream by the brand Nanoce. Blemish Balm is a kind of comprehensive skin care and beauty cream that supposedly gives your skin coverage while protecting your skin with sunblock and moisturizing properties. I saw it in a shop called RanKing RanQueen inside Shibuya Station. It sells a variety of items ranging from food to beauty products, but its unique selling point is that it sells the top 10 most popular brands and items among Tokyoites for each product type. Nanoce BB Moist Cream was ranked first among the other ten brands of BB Creams sold in the store. Since my hands were itching from not having bought any Japanese cosmetic products, I decided to buy it, and I’m glad I did!

Shade-wise, I’d say it’s similar to shade 2 of your typical liquid foundation. If you have typically fair Asian skin, it should blend well enough with your skin tone. One issue I have with BB Creams is that it always comes in one skin tone, so it’s really difficult to find a brand with a shade that’s perfectly complimentary. So don’t forget to apply BB cream to your neck too, or you’ll end up with different skin tones for your neck and face, no matter how close the shade is to your skin!

The texture is watery and cool to the touch, so it feels comfortable and not at all suffocating on the pores. For people with oily skin, clogged pores and acne problems, this is certainly kinder on your skin in comparison to liquid foundation or thicker creams. You may however have to wait a few minutes before you apply your loose powder or finishing powder because it takes awhile to dry. If you have oily skin, applying loose powder over the BB cream helps to control shine.

The cream gives relatively good coverage for mild redness, freckles and faint scars but everything else shows up faintly. Covering moles and birth marks is certainly out of question. If you’re looking for complete cover-ups and flawless complexions, you’d still need a good powder foundation over your BB cream.

This BB Cream cost 1890 Yen, which is about 30 SGD. That’s a decent price for BB creams.
My only misgiving of this product is its strong medicinal scent. It can be remedied by a little perfume, but it a little worrying to not be able to identify the source of the smell. For anyone who’s interested to get this product, it seems that the only place you can get it from outside Japan is on www.makeupcelebrity.com

I’ve been looking for a good nude lipstick for a long while and I think I’ve finally found it! This is a rich and creamy lipstick that looks like velvet on my lips. It gives great coverage for a reasonably long time and stays on reasonably well even after a long day’s out complete with drinks, conversation and lunch (nevertheless, don’t take this for granted. Few lipsticks stay on long after meals so remember to touch up anyway).

Although this is a nude lipstick, it has hints of pink to balance out the plainness of a nude lip. This lipstick is certainly perfect on its own for a professional or natural look. If you’d like something more glamorous, you can use it as a base and add some shimmery lip gloss over it. This lipstick also goes great with dramatic eye makeup as it is ideal not to use rich colours for lips if you’re already putting great emphasis on your eye makeup.

However, while this lipstick produces a great nude colour for fair-skinned people, it may be too light for people with darker skin tones.

I love liquid eyeliner because it adheres easily to the contours of my eyelids, allowing me to draw really fine and sleek lines. Some eye liner users find liquid eyeliner a hassle to use, but it’s really the application tool that affects its user-friendliness.

Applying liquid eyeliner is no rocket science with the right brush applicator, and Chanel’s automatic liquid eyeliner proves it. It’s foolproof even for newbies and anyone who needs to apply eyeliner in a colossal rush.

The brush applicator is designed in such a way that you can convenient draw fine lines quickly and perfectly. Especially for the more seasoned eyeliner users, you’ll certainly be able to get the polished, tattooed eyeliner look effortlessly. Furthermore, if you’re out for a long day and tend to get oily lids, this liquid eyeliner stays on and doesn’t smear and give panda eyes unlike other liquid eyeliners.

Recently, when the weather’s sunny, it gets scorching hot, so I thought it would be a perfect time to review my current favourite sunscreen.

I have been using this sun screen for about two months. I love it for the fact that it mattifies my face. Also, it doesn’t look or feel greasy on my face. No breakouts on my pimple-prone days either. I apply it in regular intervals of an hour when I hit the beach or have to be out in the open for a long time. It does effectively keep me from getting sunburnt.

The downside of this sunscreen is that it does leave a white cast after application, which is rather noticeable if you have dark skin tone, and also interferes with the application of powder products. On the other hand, if you have fair but dull complexion, it could even brighten up your skin like foundation.

A sunscreen that works and is accompanied by beautifying effects is a rare find. I’ll certainly recommend it to anyone with fair, combination skin like myself.

There’s a Chinese saying that goes ‘工欲善其事，必先利其器' (gong yu shan qi shi, bi xian li qi qi). It means if you want to do the job well, you need quality tools (equipment and methods). The same goes for make-up! Even with the best eye shadow, blush etc, you need to best tools to execute them for optimum effect!

Today, I was clearing out my old beauty products and tools (if you recall, I mentioned in a previous article (link) that these things can’t keep for too long for hygiene purposes) and I thought I should give a little spotlight to my trusty make-up brush which I’ve been using for about 3 years!

I am changing it now because the brush has become a little splayed recently. I feel rather sad because it was great when it lasted, and it was cheap! I'll probably get the same one if I can find it!

I used it as a face brush to apply my powder foundation. It produced a very natural effect. It is also very soft despite being synthetic (probably feels like fine animal hairs, but body shop doesn’t use animal products, so it’s all good), springy and never sheds.

I also like how portable and hygienic it is. It has its own retractable casing, so no worries about exposure to dust or water.

However, I would not recommend it for blushing, especially if you’re using pigmented blush. This brush has the tendency to streak, so if you’re using non-natural colours on your skin, the unevenness will show up. Also, the retracted mechanism has a tendency to get stuck, so you have to be gentle and patient when dealing with it!

This mask works like a dream! I used it once for the very first time about 2 nights ago. I applied it to me whole face, left it on for about 20 minutes and rinsed it off with luke warm water. The effects were instantaneous. My skin felt smooth and I could no longer feel those pesky white heads that were previously on my T-zone. It is really effective in removing surface impurities and degreasing the skin!

A friend of mine recommends this for spot treatment. If you only have selected problem areas, your T-zone for example, just apply the mask to it instead of you entire face. Usually, if you’re using the mask for your entire face, you are recommended to use it about just once a week or so (otherwise, the harshness and cost of the product will be too much to bear). For spot treatment, you can use it more often, perhaps 3 or 4 times a week. It will help with oil control and set your problems right more efficiently.

Beauty effects aside, this product has a fragrant smell, which I find very soothing. It’s wonderful to lounge in my favourite arm chair, taking in the refreshing scent as I pamper my skin. It’s a real treat after a long day’s work! Some people may however, feel a tingly sensation when they use the mask, especially if they have sensitive skin, because the mask is really pretty strong. For these people, I’d advise you not to use the mask so frequently. Perhaps once a fortnight would suffice.