Face Good

I promised to write that post about nude make-up for women in their 30s, but I came across this product and I couldn’t resist blogging about it, so that post will have to wait till next week.



First of all, you may be wondering what a lip venom is. Well it’s actually something that you apply on your lips to get a temporary fuller effect, like a lip plumping procedure without the surgery. It usually produces a tingly effect upon application. Something to do with improving blood circulation so that your lips look healthier and fuller.

So there we have, another instance of companies cashing in on the Twilight fandom. Here's what it says on the description: "Twilight Venom should be shaken before use to represent the blending of the human and vampire worlds (I refuse to comment) and can be applied repeatedly until desired intensity of color has been reached and lips are plumped and revitalized. Its containing formula contains argan, avocado, and olive oils as well as vitamin E.".

Although I’m not a fan of Twilight and frankly quite sick of all the hype about it, I thought the colour was lovely.
So I bought it. For my niece who’s a great Twilight fan. I’ll let you gals know if it’s any good.

Appearances always make the first impression, regardless of your circumstances! You want to look fresh, radiant and healthy at all times, especially when you’re working and meeting new people! But in this polluted city with hot humid weather and stifling haze, having naturally flawless skin is something that many can only dream about. But don’t let that get you down! With a little aptly applied natural make-up, you can still make your skin look presentable! That’s better than nothing eh? And it’s not just the young and nubile who get it! Regardless of whether you’re 20, 30 or 40, make-up still goes a long way!

Make-up for 20s

Flaws on youthful skin are not rather manageable. Hence loose powdered foundation is suitable. Preferably get one that has oil control properties and is able to conceal enlarged pores, pimples and acne scarring.


Photo courtesy of: 醫美人

1. Apply oil-control skin care product on your T-zone.

2. Apply light foundation all over your face.

3. Apply concealer with pore concealing properties over your T-zone and nose tip.

4. Dot some yellow-toned concealer over your pimples and pimple scars.

5. Apply concealer over your eyebags.


Photo courtesy of: 醫美人

6. Gently pull back skin at the edge of your eyes with your index finger. Especially useful if you just woke up and your eyes are still half-closed from sleepiness.

7. Spray a little moisture to your foundation pouffe.

8. Dab on some loose powder, and spread it on your nose in a downward movement.

9. Spread foundation over your cheeks and chin in horizontal movements.

10. Finally, bring up your pouffe to your forehead and spread the foundation in a horizontal movement, pulling it downward to cover the area beside the eyes.

Add some lipstick, blush and eyeliner and you’re good to go!

Tips:

Always wait for at least one minute in between putting different make-up on the same part of your face. You need to allow time for the make-up to settle down and dry.

When using concealer, do not apply it directly from the tip to your face but apply it to the back of your hand first. This is more hygienic, and prevents you from overestimating and applying too much.

If your face is dry or too oily, your foundation may have difficulty staying on. You can spray a little water over your face and use a tissue to dab gently. Do not swipe or dab too hard or your make-up will come off!

To conceal pimples, first, apply a little skin-colour pimple cream (Bodyshop has some, or try Oxy if you haven’t got dry skin) and wait a few minutes for the cream to be absorbed. After that, gently dab some loose powder over the pimple. Since pimples are raised, piling on loads of concealer will not make it look flat. Furthermore, lack of oxygen will stifle the pimple and cause it to worsen. On the other hand, scars can be covered using a mixture of concealer and foundation.

Don’t forget to bring your loose powder with you to do touch ups!

Not all concealers are suitable for any part of your face. Usually, concealers for eyebags and concealers for facial blemishes are different. If you don’t want to own many concealers, look for a multipurpose one that is used for eyebags and facial blemishes.

The next post will be about make-up for ladies in their 30s!

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.

And I’m back with more cheap and quick fruit DIY masks for healthy skin!

Orange Mask

Effects: Removes layer of dead cells on skin and stimulates cell growth. Has great anti-oxidant effects, especially great for people who face the computer all day long.

What you need: Yogurt (100mg), honey (100mg), freshly squeezed orange juice (100mg)

How to make it: Stir everything together until it becomes an even mixture.

Apply mask to face and wash off after 15 minutes.

Grape mask

Effects: The skin and seeds of grapes have antioxidant effects and can help to slow down skin damage and ageing.

What you need: 10 fresh grapes

How to make it: Mash the grapes, including the seeds.

Apply the mask to your skin, gently pressing your face with your finger tips to stimulate absorption. Rinse off with warm water after 20 minutes.

Watermelon Moisturizing Mask

Effects: Replenishes moisture in both dry skin and oily skin and calms sensitive skin.

What you need: A quarter of a watermelon, mask sheet

How to make it: Remove the watermelon skin and seeds. Place the flesh into a bowl and use a spoon to flatten it into pulp.

Apply mask evenly to face and cover with a mask sheet. Rinse off with cold water after 10 to 15 minutes. This mask is so gentle it can be used everyday.

The weather’s been horribly hot and humid recently! A cold glass of fruit juice or a crunchy fruit straight from the fridge brings great relief! How about giving your face a treat too?

Mixed Fruit Mask

Effects: Moisturizing, Whitening, Anti-inflammation

What you need: Egg white from 2 eggs, skinned/peeled fruits cucumber (yes, cucumber is a fruit), lemon, banana and lychee

How to make it: Add all the skinned/peeled fruits into the juicer and juice them. Add egg white and stir until the mixture becomes evenly pulpy.

Apply the mask evenly on face and wash off with warm water after 15 minutes. This mask can be used once a week.

This is a very natural and economical method to nourish your skin as fruits have moisturizing properties and are rich in a variety of vitamins. Egg white helps to tighten pores.

Apple Mask

Effects: Cleansing, Moisturizing, Whitening, Anti-Oxidizing

What you need: An apple, a plain mask sheet. People with sensitive and dry skin can include some fresh milk or olive oil, while people with oily skin can include egg white.

How to make it: Peel the apple and mash it up into pulp. If you have the above-mentioned skin condition, add the extra ingredients into the apple pulp and stir until even.

Apply mask to your face and cover with a mask sheet. Rinse off with clean water after 15 to 20 minutes. This mask can be used every alternate days. After 20 days, you should see some results.

Apples are great nourishment for all skin types. It has skin smoothening, moisturizing and whitening properties, and is known to reduce the appearance of dark pigmentation, freckles and acne scarring.

I will share more fruit masks with you in my next post, so stay tuned!

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!