Beauty Binge:Paw-stamped and approved! June faves

Since I have such a *huge* makeup collection, I thought it would be great, at every end of the month, to list down 5 things I enjoyed using in that month. I get new products at least once a month, so some are new, some are old stuff tucked away which I have re-discovered. Enjoy!

This month, I've re-discovered many "old" goodies that I've always loved but have been pushed aside in order for me to try out and review the newer stuff. Only one item is a new favourite this month. The other 4 have alawys been firm favourites.

Here are my gems for this month:

1. SK-II Facial Treatment Cleanser
A clean face is essential for healthy skin, and although I *love* makeup, I love a clean face more. I've always been very particular about my skin; I've never slept with makeup on, even during those crazy days of stumbling home at 7am from some wild party. I've used this awesome stuff for over 5 years now, and have never been so attached to my facial cleanser like I am to this one. It comes in a squeeze tube, comes out creamy, turns foamy when emulsified with water. It doesn't dry out my skin, even during days when my skin is parched dry and flaking, this cleanser didn't make my face feel tight like other foamy cleansers do. There's a slight fragrance, very pleasant and clean, and doesn't bother me one bit. In fact, I really love the soft scent! This is my HG cleanser, and after years of trying and searching, I may have found my perfect cleanser. It cleans thoroughly and this makes me sleep at night without the worry of dirt and clogged pores on my face. This retails for RM150, for 120g, and comes only in one size.

2. Loew-Cornell Maxine's Mop Art Brushes
Art brushes on your face?? Why not! They work like a charm! Lowe-Cornell art brushes are all the rave with beauty gurus and bloggers from around the globe who are constantly finding the perfect dupe for MAC brushes. Whilst MAC is the undisputed King, these LC Maxine's Mop Art Brushes come a very close second, in my eyes. I have a few variety, but these two have been getting the most use from me. The LC Maxine's Mop 3/8 is almost identical to the legendary MAC 239 shader brush. Both have the same cut, same density and both are made from goat hair. They could almost be twins except that the LC brush is slightly longer. It's a flat shader brush that packs on the colours on your lids effortlessly. It's a little stiff though so I wouldn't recommend this for blending. The smaller one is the Maxine's Mop 1/4, great for use in the inner corners of the eye. I also love using this to draw a thin line of shadow on my lower lashlines. Both are less than RM15 each (sorry, can't remember exact price) and can be found at Craft Haven, 1U new wing, Bandar Utama.

3. Synthetic Angled Blush Brush
This claimed to be from the same manufacturers of those awesome Everyday Minerals (EDM) brushes. It sure looks the same, and the brush is oh-so-soft, just like EDM brushes. I really enjoy using this brush especially for contouring, but I also use this to apply blush on my apples. The handle is made from bamboo, and this is an all-round environmentally-friendly product which always wins in my book. I got this for RM30 (excluding postage) and you can find this from Malaysia's Lowyat.net.

4. Revlon Colorstay Foundation with Softlex
What more can I say about this drugstore gem that hasn't already been said?? I've been using this foundation for so long. I have strayed and tried other brands but keep coming back to this one. I love the texture, the finish look, the coverage ... I have yet to come across any foundation that has won my heart like this baby. And it does stay on from morning to evening without fading, oxidation (not much!), with pretty good oil-control. My only gripe is the colour choices in Malaysia are rather poor. I wear in Warm Golden as this was my closest shade, but I know they have better matches for me. So in my next online spree, this is in my list. It retails for RM55 (I think!) and widely available at Watson's and Guardian pharmacies, and anywhere you can find Revlon products.

5. CoverGirl Cheekers Blush in Pretty Peach
I simply love CoverGirl Cheekers Blushers. They are all so pigmented and so smooth. This blush wasn't love at first sight. I thought it was too pale and not peachy enough. Then I wore it. Whoa mama! This baby gives me a nice flush of peach with pink undertones, making me look so darn radiant! It's not shimmery, which I like, and a little goes a long way. CG Cheekers hardly ever disappoint me, and I've been reaching for this blush more lately.

June faves!

Thanks for reading my blog! Have a good one!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:Make Up of the Week

*MJ, RIP 1958-2009. Thank you for the music.*

I don't do FOTDs or EOTDs, but I thought I'd pick one look from the week that I liked and list down the products I used in Make-Up of the Week.

This week, I pulled out my long-abandoned loose pigments. I was learning how to apply them and was getting the hang of it, when my love for colourful palettes got me side-tracked, and the pigments were left pretty much untouched.

Yes, they are a tad bit messy to deal with, but regular eyeshadow can't rival the colour pay-off of loose pigments, especially when applied wet (foiling). I played with MAC loose pigments and enjoyed them but I find them (even for me!) too "loud" for day-to-day make-up. The NYX Pearl Mania pigments are just as colourful, but I found out that they are quite work-appropriate when applied dry.

NYX Pearl Mania (L-R): Pearl. Lime. Turquoise.

I loved the combination of green and blue, they just instantly open up my eyes! NYX's Lime and Turquoise pigments are so beautiful together! They look bright in the jar but applied dry, they are quite sheer. But not too sheer to irritate me though! The pigmentation is just right, and having these colours on in broad daylight, didn't scare anyone when I was out doing my thing.

Whilst some folks swear by loose pigments, I personally still prefer the fuss-free of an eyeshadow palette. Especially in the morning, when your in a rush, trying to pat pigments on the lids is a massive pain in the bum bum! Plus, imagine accidentally knocking them over .... Owwhh!!

But if you are curious about loose pigments, I still encourage you to try them. They are quite fun to play with!!

Face

Face primer: Monistat Chafing Relief Powder gel.
Foundation: Revlon Colorstay Active Light Makeup in Natural Beige.
Powder: Everyday Minerals in Medium Beige Neutral Original Glo, to set.

Cheeks

Bronzer: Wet n' Wild Bronzzer in Bali Bronze to highlight.
Blush: CoverGirl Cheekers Blush in Golden Pink to contour; Pretty Peach on apples; Wet n' Wild Mega Glo Illuminating Powder in Spotlight Peach as light dusting all over to finish.

Eyes

Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion (Yuck! I should really toss this out!).
Eyes: NYX Concealer in a Jar in Beige for undereyes; NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Lemon as base; NYX Pearl Mania in Lime on lids, Turquoise in crease, Pearl as highlight; Prestige Liquid Liner in Black Brown on upper lashlines; Silkygirl long-lasting eyeliner pencil in Brown on lower lashlines; MAC Eye Kohl in Ebony to tightline.
Mascara: Rimmel Glam Eyes in Black.
Brows: Loreal Brow Stylist in Light Brown.

Lips

Lips: Wet n' Wild #666 Brandy Wine; Lancome Juicy Tubes in Violette.

Did I mention how much I dislike UDPP? The bottle is just sitting there in my drawer taking up space which was why I used it for this make-up. I'm a bit bummed that I paid quite a bit for this. It clumped on me, and dried my lids out! Not cool! I still have some left in that impractical fancy bottle, but it is getting more and more difficult to dig the gunk out. I'm not sure if I should decant it, or just toss it out.

I really liked this look, but I'm afraid it'll be a while before I touch my loose pigments again!!


Anyhoo, hope you had a good week, and enjoy your weekend!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: Move over 88, here comes the 80-color palette!

After being less-than-impressed with the 88-color palette, I told myself that I should stick to what I've always believed - any palette with more than 5 shadow colours will just confuse the heck outta me, and the multi-coloured palette will end in cold storage. I played with the 88-colour palette for a bit, but later found that I couldn't be arsed to figure out what colour coordinates with which shade. I normally like using colours from one palette instead of grabbing colours from different sources, but having 88 colours is just too mind boggling for poor lil' ol' me. Plus, some of the colours are too sheer, which p!ssed me off royally! So in reality, you get less than 88 good colours. Grrrr...

But my love for colours got the better of me. I was offered the Manly 80-colour palette at such a bargain, I could not say 'no'! So here we are. Another colourful palette with a ton of colours added to my already growing, bulging stash.


I just couldn't wrap my head around the brand name: "Manly". Manly. Manly? LOL. Apparently I learned that "Manly" is pronounced as "Mun-lee". If you read Chinese, you'll notice that the characters will spell out "mun lee" instead of the hilarious "Manly". Well, at least that was what I was told. I don't read Chinese, so if you told me it reads as "God", I'll still believe you!!

"Mun-Lee" Professional 80-color shadow palette

The palette was already bubble-wrapped in its white packaging and I thought that was a nice precautionary touch. I imagine this palette is quite fragile as well, but none of the shadows in my palette broke, cracked or shattered!

There are 8 matte colours in this palette, the rest are satin/pearl, shimmer and down-right metallic. The shimmers are quite chunky and frosty, but the colour pay-off is made of pure awesomeness!! The frosty ones tend to have a little fall-out every now and then so your best bet is to pat the shadow instead of swiping it on. As you can see, the shadows are in square pans and are bigger than the 88-color palette. It opens up to 2 stacked trays which you can pull one out to slot it in on the cover.


I wished I knew about this palette earlier, so that I can just be happy with this without purchasing the not-so-legendary 88-color palette. Too bad I didn't discover this during my ground events and stage show days. This would've been perfect, with the intensity and all, when I had to do my own make-up for shows.

Yeah, this palette (and the 88-colour palette for that matter) is great for stage work. Maybe a wee bit too bright for day to day wear, even the browns "shout" at you. They're great for night time, if you wear a lot of makeup for clubbing and such.


Nevertheless, I really like this palette, even if it is 8 colours short from the "mighty" 88-color palette, this one's more fun to play with! None of the colours are sheer, chalky or hard to blend, so I don't feel cheated. Now I need to go cook-up some looks with this baby...

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: Silkygirl Blockbuster Color Palette & Bonne Bell LipGear

I haven't been buying anything from the local drugstores lately, cosmetic-wise. But I have been curious about the Silkygirl Blockbuster Color Palettes. They are so colourful and they stand out from the same ol' same ol' brown poop colours the other drugstore brands seemed so fond of dishing out.

So I've decided, once and for all, to get me grubby paws on the Silkygirl palette. I have their shadow duo in Smokey Sparks and was quite impressed, so I thought this palette wouldn't be a let down either.

Silkygirl Blockbuster Color Palette in Smokey Charms

Well, it's not. Whilst I'm not standing on the 'rave podium' with this one, I think this is a pretty nice palette to have. I bought mine in Smokey Charm, a quad of dark-ish colours tailor-made for smokey eyes. But really, if your creative enough, you can also use the colours for daytime and make it look subtle and work-appropriate. The rose-pink colour in the palette was what sold me. Colours like that can instantly soften and warm up your entire look, if you feel the colours came together too dark or too intense.


Pigment-wise, they are not bad. I mean, they're not MAC-quality nor are they like NYX, but they are not chalky at all, easy to blend, and very silky when apply! I didn't notice any fall-out so they are well-milled and well pressed. The texture is satin-ish, with no obvious shimmer, while it's not entirely matte, it comes off pearly-smooth. Over an eye-primer, I say the colors can last for 3 - 4 hours. So, no, not exactly long-wearing.

I like this palette, but it's not a must-have. If your not desperate for a shadow palette, you can give this a miss, don't need to run out and buy it today. Really. It retails for RM18.90 for now, and there are 5 other shades available. The other palettes have pastel-like colours, and wee bit too teeny-bopper for me!! I like colours other than the regular shades, wearing pastels may make me look like I'm desperately clinging on to my teenage years!! So no, I think this Smokey Charm palette is fine for me, thank you very much!

Bonne Bell Lip Gear in Manic Mellon (Matte)

Just as I was about to pay for the palette, I saw a row of Bonne Bell lipsticks by the cash register, selling for RM5! I couldn't resist!!

I have not seen Bonne Bell in Malaysia before this, so this find was quite a lark! Naturally, Yours Truly grabbed one! The colour I bought is called Manic Melon, which is supposedly a matte red-coral lipstick but the texture is quite creamy, so I'm not sure why it's called a 'matte lipstick'!

Anyway, it's a RM5 lipstick, so don't expect miracles. The texture slides a little on my lips and if you have super dry lips, you might find it settles in the cracks of your lips, and make it look even drier. The formula isn't drying but it certainly isn't moisturising as well. And no, it doesn't last at all. This lippie kinda reminds me of those awful "moisture-something" from Maybelline some years back.

I bought this for sh!ts and giggles; I liked the colour, but that's about it. I'd go back and buy more for the colours, but the blah texture keeps me from doing so. Maybe you can buy this for your tween daughter/niece/sister.

I found both the Silkygirl palette and Bonne Bell lipstick at the small Guardian in Kelana Jaya.

Cheers!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: Rock-star blushers

I swear, these blushers should be inducted into the Hall Of Fame! Any Hall of Fame!

Actually they already are, as many beauty editors and experts have hailed CoverGirl Cheekers Blush worthy of winning many Best of Beauty Awards for numerous beauty magazines, so it's no wonder - these blushers rock!!

CoverGirl Cheekers Blush. Pure love!

Cover Girl was once sold in Malaysia and when they pulled out over a decade ago, I wanted to scream bloody murder!! Their liquid foundation was my holy grail (HG) foundation at the time (can't remember which one - triangle-ish bottle) but I moved on eventually to bigger and better (and more expensive!!) things.

I got re-acquainted with CoverGirl (CG) last year on my trip back to visit the in-laws in Sydney, and came home with a few CG products, one being their rock-star mascara Volume Exact (why are cosmetic stuff -or anything for that matter - so ridiculously expensive in Oz?? Sheeesh!).

CG has some gems in their collection if you care to give it a chance. They are very affordable and very pigmented. I started out with one blush and now I have 3!! Ugly, cheapo packaging though, but I've never been attracted to a product from its packaging. It's what inside that counts. Also, CG products have this unattractive scent to their stuff. Almost factory-chemical like, very CoverGirl! Some people are sensitive to scents, but this doesn't bother me at all. Once I have it on my cheeks, the smell goes away. The blushers have a kind of sheen to them; not quite matte, but not shimmery either. I prefer this kind of texture as shimmery products make me look greasy!

This was my first CG Cheekers Blush in Golden Pink. It's really a toned-down bronzer. This shade blends in really well with my tanned NC40-42 skin. I use this to contour my face and it works really, really well! No streaks, no blotches. By far my favourite contouring shade! A real winner!!

I got this one because I wanted a plum-ish blusher. I was on a plum kick and this blush is called Plumberry Glow, so I thought I've found the purrr-fect plum shade! Well, this shade turned out to be more of a dark pink shade than plum. It's very pigmented, very beautiful, this gives me a healthy look almost instantly.

My newest CG Cheekers Blush - Pretty Peach. I am still on a look-out for a peach blush with no shimmer (not entirely matte though). When I first got this, it looked a bit paler than what I expected. This is more of a peachy pink shade, and honestly I was a little disappointed. But then I took it on a test-drive and was amazed at how the colour came off against my skin! Granted it's still not true peach, but nevertheless it came off beautiful. It has a subtle pink undertone and I now find myself reaching for this blush more!!

In my eyes, these blushers can do no wrong! I'm not big on blushers, but these babies rock my world!

Rock-star status!! Plumberry Glow. Pretty Peach. Golden Pink.

Have a rockin' day everyone!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

38!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:Make Up of the Week

I don't do FOTDs or EOTDs, but I thought I'd pick one look from the week that I liked and list down the products I used in Make-Up of the Week.

There's nothing I like more than multi-tasking products. I've thoroughly enjoyed using Wet n' Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Powder as a face highlighter, blusher, bronzer and as an eyeshadow palette. It's a staple in my makeup routine!

Looking suspiciously similar to Bobby Brown's shimmer bricks (minus the oh-so-boring shades) are among others, Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips and Milani Glimmer Stripes. The difference? Nothing much, except that Milani is a little hard to find!! And don't we all love hard-to-find-products!! It's like winning the lottery when you finally have it in your hands!! Besides that, the Milani Glimmer Stripes I own is in a bright pink/berry colour, which sets it apart from its high end cousins, and other shimmer brick wannabes.

Milani Glimmer Stripes in Berry Glimmer

I've managed to find this beautiful product from Nonpareilboutique.com. It comes in other colours too, bronze, gold, peach, brown - the regular shades, Berry Glimmer stood out and (naturally!) caught my eye. I used this versatile piece of make-up as a blusher/highlighter, and as eyeshadow. This is a little more shimmery than Wet n' Wild MegaGlo, so I had to be lighthanded. The shades are easy to blend, smooth and quite pigmented. I liked the outcome! The shimmers aren't chunky, but using too much can make me look like I'm trying too hard, y'know?

Face

Face Primer: Revlon Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer.
Foundation: Revlon ColorStay with SoftFlex in 310 Warm Golden. *love*
Powder: NYC Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder in Translucent to set.

Cheeks

Bronzer: Milani Sunset Duo in Sunset Beach (bronzer side) to contour.
Blush: Milani Glimmer Stripes in Berry Glimmer to highlight.

Eyes

Undereye concealer: Loreal True Match Super-blendable concealer in W6-7-8.
Eye Primer: ELF Studio Eye Primer and Line Sealer.
Eyes: ELF Shimmering Whip Facial in Pink Lemonade as base; Milani Glimmer Stripes in Berry Glimmer - white shade (top) inner corner of eyes, brow peak, light pink (2nd from top) as highlight, bright pink (middle) all over eyelids, brick red (2nd from bottom) to define crease, outer-v and to line lower lash line, fuchsia pink (bottom) as wash on top on crease. *You get a nice gradient of pinks and reds from lids to brow bone*; Loreal HiP Color Truth Creme Liner in Black; jane Be Pure Mineral Gliding Eyeliner in Black to tightline, CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Very Black.
Brows: Loreal Brow Stylist in Light Brown.

Lips

Lips: Revlon ColorStay Mineral Lipglaze in Eternal Blossom.

I quite like Revlon's Mineral Lipgalzes. They're not too sticky, but yet very pigmented and long lasting. I just don't like the "sweet" scent attached to it. Too sickly sweet. And don't get me started on the colour choices available in Malaysia... *sigh*

I wish Revlon would bring in ALL colours, instead of just a select few.

*whinge* whinge* whinge*

OK, I stop whinging now. ;)


Enjoy your weekend!!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: Milani singles

I *love* products, be it drugstore or high end, that are catered towards women of colour. They are usually very vibrant with amazing pigmentation and normally carry bright, unconventional colours.

One such brand (drugstore!) is Milani. I have a small collection from this brand, as they are quite hard to find. If your lucky enough to find Milani in your neighbourhood drugstore, I suggest you get some!


My favourite Milani product is their single eyeshadows. They have time and again been said to be close dupes of MAC single eyeshadows. So if you can't afford MAC, take a look at Milani. The quality of Milani shadows are also ah-mazing! They are incredibly pigmented, very easy to blend and just simply beautiful. I actually love these more than MAC, if only Milani singles are available in Malaysia (they're not!). They are also easier to depot, and fit in any palettes that fit MAC shadows. However, they do crumble easily, as I have discovered with a couple of the shadows when trying to depot them. One actually cracked on its way here in the mail, but I've managed to salvage what's left. I get quite nervous when I order online as they are very soft and need to be bubble-wrapped heavily. Unfortunately, I read somewhere that these singles are discontinued, which explains them being hard to find. They are replaced with the Runway Eyes Wet Dry single shadows which, I was told, are nowhere near the original in terms of pigmentation and overall quality.


The latest baby in my collection: Milani Spice. Very pretty bronzy brown colour, close dupe to Stilla's Twig. I an *not* a fan of Stilla products, especially their eyeshadows, but loved Twig, so I got this instead. Good call!

Milani Spice

I bought this because of the colour - the purple is so vibrant and beautiful! I haven't used this yet, not sure how since it's so bright!! This was the hardest to depot - the glue was too strong and I dug my knife into the shadow a few times to pull the pan out! Ouch! This is Milani Shock.

Milani Shock

Milani Peachy Peach is a dupe of MAC Jest. I was looking for a peach shadow, so I got this. Big mistake! This is my highlight colour as it is too sheer to use for anything else.

Milani Peachy Peach

Milani Java Bean, which is a dupe of MAC Mulch. Very very pigmented! A little goes a looooong way!

Milani Java Bean

Milani Flare. A beautiful copper colour, close dupe of MAC Coppering. The colour payoff is A++!I love using this as a wash in my crease when I'm going for the bronzy look!

Milani Flare

The first Milani single that convinced me they are worth getting: Milani Sun Goddess is a dupe of MAC Amber Lights. This is sucha pretty gold bronze shade. I love using this as a lid colour, and as highlight! This shade instantly warms up your whole look! It chipped off a little in the mail, and I managed to press some of the pieces back in.


I depot them into the ELF Custom Palette, and they fit perfectly. This way I save space, and my make-up drawers don't look too cluttered. This is also an easier way to find them, as the singles are small.

If your a fan of bright shadows, I strongly recommend getting at least one Milani single. Heck, I think everyone should have at least one! But there are some which are quite sheer so do your homework before purchasing. These can be found on Nonpareilboutique.com for under 5 bucks (can't remember the exact price!) They've updated their Milani stock and you can now get hard-to-find and discontinued colours.

Have a great day!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com