Beauty Binge: High end faves.

Dear Puss, Do you really hate all high end brands? I hardly ever see any on your blog. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you feature drugstore brands as I can't afford to splurge on expensive cosmetics, but I'm wondering if you've used high end brands other than Mac? Do you have favourites? Layla B.

Hey Layla!

Thanks for writing in. First and foremost, I dislike using the word "hate". It's too strong of a word. Plus, regardless of the brand, "hate" is such a dirty word to use for makeup, methinks!

No, I don't dislike all high end brands! I just can't stomach paying the extra 60% (?) on packaging and marketing!! I also think high end brands are of better quality is a myth! If you're a smart consumer, you'd know you don't have to pay so much for "quality". I've used high end makeup for most of my radio career. That was how I learned what I liked and didn't as I did tons of shoots. I'm not one to just make a sweeping statement on how I don't like this brand and that without even trying. When I say I don't like a product, more often than not, I've already used/tried it, not once, not twice, but usually more than that.

I still have favourites from the higher price range although I have to admit I've been more or less distracted by the funner side of drugstore makeup. That's another reason why I am not keen on high end brands - I find most of them boring.

Some of the high end products I still adore:

Lips

Lancome Juicy Tubes.

Lancome Juicy Tubes: Raisin. Mangue. Myrtille.

At one point, I practically had every colour possible. Some people despise the ultra stickiness of these babies, but I love them! They are long lasting, especially when I use them for shows under bright lights and long hours. The colours are adorable, not too pigmented but not too sheer either, they make your lips look ... well... juicy! I used most of the tubes til the last drop, and now I'm left with these and a couple more in sample sizes. However, I am not too crazy over the packaging as I much prefer the traditional bottle with sponge-tip applicator anyday.

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Long Lasting Lipsticks.

EsteeLauder Lipsticks: Almond. Caramel Toffee. Vanilla Truffle. Gloss in White Chocolate.

"Long lasting" my foot! But these are so creamy they glide on my lips, don't dry them out and do not slide off. They are NOT long lasting!! I will be the first to admit, I don't like most Estee Lauder products, and I used to own tones for a job I did for them. They paid me half in cash, and half in products. Out of all, I just like their lip products. The three lippies were a staple in any shows I did. They're all super nude, concealer-like nude, but I normally layer these over a bright coloured lipstick and top it off with Estee Lauder Pure Color Crystal Gloss in White Chocolate. This gloss is less than stellar but the shade fits the bill. I'd wear this lips with super intense dark eyes, and I constantly had to remind myself not to eat or drink until the event is over, or else I'd have to re-apply. And re-applying backstage when it was normally chaotic, is not much fun.

Eyes
Shu Uemura single eye shadows.

Shu depotted single shadows.

Yes, we all love Mac. I don't need to tell you they make darn good shadows with excellent colour choices. But a photo shoot I did using Shu Uemura products made me take notice of their shadows. These babies rock my world!! I dare say I love them more than Mac shadows! They are so vibrant, smooth, silky, crazy pigmented, come in an array of colours, I just could resist getting some for my collection.
They are also easier to depot, and so I bought an empty quad and stuck all 4 Shu shadows I own into a quad. I had to stop at 4, because I couldn't justify paying RM80 a pop (back then). In my eyes, I think Shu makes some of the best shadows in the market.

Lancome quads.

Lancome GWP quads.

These were Gift-with-Purchase (GWP) and were given to me. One look I was like, "How freakin' boring!" The colours are nothing to shout about, but I love using these quads on days when I just need to look a little polished. The texture is silky, they last a good while, but no burst of colours. They are small enough to throw into my makeup bag, I love these for being so convenient.

YSL Touche Eclat in #2.

YSL Touche Eclat highliter pen.

My favourite pen-highlighter of all time! I use this on my laugh lines (which are getting deeper by the year darn it!) and on the bridge of my nose. Comes out great in pictures making me look line/wrinkle-free!! Woot!

Face
Mac Studio Tech.
This was my go-to foundation when I had events to attend and shows to host. It's such a great product! This water-base medium to heavy coverage foundation is cooling to the touch and glides over skin. This is the perfect foundation when you have flashbulbs going off in your face. There's no white mask effect, the foundation makes me look flawless in pictures without looking over made up. Even in real life, your skin will look smooth and beautiful with this. It comes with a sponge but I use this with a flat foundation brush for a clean, streak-free finish.

There you have it!

Have an awesome day, y'all!

xoxo,
PUSS
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:Paw-stamped and approved! August 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!

August has been one ver-ry weird month.

For starters, I had forgotten that it's the end of the month as I always list down 5 makeup things that I liked. End of the month? Is it just me or the month just flew by??Man!

I've been doing quite a bit of run around, thank Gawd the heatwave is over, and although I don't quite like driving in the rain, it sure hell beats baking in the car! There just seemed to be so many things to do, and I'm barely catching up! Not looking forward to September either. Eid is in the 3rd week of this month, have not gotten much ready, plus I loathe the whole visit-family routine. Maybe I'll skip that this year. I've never been much of a family-person. Family get-togethers are so boring!

Anyhoo.

Here are my 5 favourite makeup stuff in August, in no particular order:

1. Revlon Cream Blush in First Blush.

I'm not big on cream blushes as I find them a lil' too messy to use. I have a couple of NYX Cream Blushes - they're OK, wee bit too pigmented for my liking that I find it hard to control. I seriously don't know why I got this, but I'm glad I did! Revlon Cream Blush is nothing like the NYX's cream blushes. This is not as gooey, a tad bit drier in texture compared to NYX's and not so crazy pigmented. It's so easy to blend and you can top up as you please without looking like a clown. The shade First Blush looks fierce in the pan but goes on very natural on the cheeks. This makes me look like I just came back from the gym (minus the sweat and disheveled hair!). The pop-out mirror is a little useless to me, but if you need to have some blush on the go, I guess it'll come in handy!

2. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in DARK (old packaging).
I took a deep breath when I bought this simply because it's Maybelline. But this proved to be a real winner! I bought this in DARK, and when I received it, I thought this looks too dark. The shade is more of a peach shade which works incredibly well in counter-acting my dark-blue under eye circles. The texture's not too thick, so it's so easy to blend and doesn't settle in my fine lines. Hellalujah!

3. jane Oil-free Bronzing Powder in Sunkissed Bronzed.
Well, whaddya know? I am so in love with this bronzer!! It is a matte bronzer, which I love because they're easier to work with and more versatile in my opinion. It's a lovely natural colour that can do just about everything - contour, naturally altering your natural shade to give you that subtle warm look, giving you that healthy dose of colour to the face, and this doesn't make you look orange! It's not dark at all, and you build it up as you like. I love using this as a contour (as I am blessed with big cheeks on a round face!), and as an all over bronzer. Great stuff!

4. Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo brushes.
These came in a pack of three, but I only like these 2. The top is a Foundation and Concealer duo. I don't normally use flat conventional foundation brushes for my liquid foundation, but I love using this with my MAC Studio Fix Powder or with my MAC Studio Tech, and blending in concealers. The bristles are dense and so so soft! It feels so nice against my skin. The bottom is Blush & Powder duo. The angled blush brush is densely packed and does an awesome job at contouring. It picks up enough contour shade and it fits nicely in the hollows my cheeks. The powder side is a little small for powder so I use it to dust mineral powder concealer under the eye area. You can get Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo Set (comes with 3 duos) from cvs.com.

5. ELF Mineral Eye shadow Primer.
One the newbies from eyeslipsface.com, this is a fantastic shadow primer for only $3. This primer is gentle, doesn't dry out my poor lids, and keeps shadows in place and fresh all day long. I have no trouble with creasing or fading, as this holds up pretty well. The only complain I have is the stink that comes with the product. This stuff makes me gag, but it does such a fabulous job at keeping my shadows vibrant and crease-free, I hold my breath whenever I decide to use this! Great (cheaper) alternative for the pricier UDPP and TFSI.

August faves.

Thanks for dropping in!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: Makeup 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 Makeup of the Week.

This week has been one long, boring week, as far as makeup goes. I wasn't as adventurous as I normally am, and stuck to the bare basics (or minimum).

I really like the ELF Studio Eyeliner & Shadow Stick. The first one I bought was in green/moss. I was quite impressed by it, I put in for 2 more orders: brown/basic and black/smoke.

ELF Studio Eyeliner & Shadow Stick in Brown/Basic.

I found another way to use the ELF Studio Eyeliner & Shadow Stick. So this time, I whipped up the brown/basic eyeliner & shadow stick, colour my lids all over with the shadow stick and used the liner in the crease (since the liner is darker), and blend it out just using my fingers.

I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance prior to the shadow as I know it'll crease almost immediately. Then I set the shadow with translucent loose powder. The shadow and liner lasted a good 4 hours on my lids that way, before I found minor creasing in my inner eyelids. This is such a simple and fuss-free way to dress up the eyes without having to deal with so many eyeshadow colours!

Face

Foundation: Wet n' Wild Ultimate Sheer Tinted Moisturiser in Sun Kissed.
Powder: Everyday Minerals Kaolin Finishing Powder in Soft Bronze to set foundation.
Concealer: Maybelliner Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Concealer in Beige Medium 2-4 for undereye circles.

Cheeks

Bronzer: ELF Studio Cool Bronzer to contour.
Blush: Milani Mineral Blush in Mai Tai.

Eyes

Primer: Too Faced Shadow Insurance (not in picture).
Eyes: ELF Studio Eyeliner & Shadow Stick in Brown/Basic - Shadow stick all over lids, Eyeliner in crease, blend, Eyeliner to line; NYC Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder in Translucent to set eyeshadow.
Mascara: Maybelline Define A Lash in Very Black.
Brows: Wet n' Wild Brow Kohl Liner in Taupe.

Lips

Lips: NYX Tinted Lip Spa in Hush.

This seemed boring but it worked! Great for days when you do want to look a little more than just mascara and lipstick/gloss/lip balm!


Have a great weekend!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: ELF Studio Cool & Warm bronzers.

How sleek are these babies?!

These are 2 out of 3 new bronzers newly introduced in the ELF Studio lineup, and I quickly snatched these 2 before they went out of stock! The 3 new bronzers come in Golden, Warm and Cool, and with my warm, tan skin tone, it would have been a natural pick to get Golden and Warm. But I got Cool and Warm instead.

I initially wanted just the Cool bronzer as it was the only one which is matte. Golden is very shimmery and Warm does have a little shimmer in it. Since I don't carry shimmer well, naturally, the Cool bronzer was my choice.

Cool bronzer.

The new ELF Studio Bronzers come in a large square pan with 4 blocks of different bronzing shades. You can either use one or two, or you can swirl a big brush to get all 4 shades. The cool bronzer has darker colours, and when I dust it all over my face, I looked like a lobster!! I was RED!! Like I was burnt!! Not a great look, I tell you, even on my naturally tan skin! The red undertones in this bronzer are too strong to use as an all over face bronzer, so I am going to restrict using this as just a contouring shade (as if I need another one!). The colour payoff is pigmented enough to define my cheek area.

The warm bronzer has a different story. I think this is the biggest hit among the 3. The warm bronzer has more gold undertones but surprisingly has less shimmer than I thought. It definitely is not matte, but does carry a little shimmer, though not enough to make me look like a grease ball.

Warm bronzer.

The colour is very natural on me, alters my shade so subtly and gives me a nice hint of glow, which is great. Glow in this humidity can easily turn into shine in a matter of minutes, so I am always very weary of products which claim to have "shimmer" in them. This one, safe to say, is lovely! I can't really use this to contour as the colours don't show up enough to define on my skin tone, so I am happy to have this as an all over face bronzer!

The bronzers, as with the other products, come in sleek black plastic packaging with a huge mirror on the cover. There's a lot of product in the pan, and I was also delighted to find out that the powder is firmly pressed, unlike ELF's regular 1-dollar Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder, where you'd get powder everywhere the moment you dip your brush in! The Studio ones are better made.

For the price you pay, this is a pretty good quality product! The ELF Studio bronzers retail for $3 each at eyeslipsface.com.

Thanks for dropping in!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: Makeup 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 Makeup of the Week.

I received Cover Girl Eye shadow quad in Drama Eyes a few weeks ago, with a quarter of the white shadow chipped off. There was white powder everywhere and although I could clean up the damage, there was still traces of the broken shadow bits all over the palette. Yet again, a testament of how crappy the packing skills of drugstore.com (where I bought the quad from).

Bad packing aside, I have grown to really love Cover Girl. I haven't tried many stuff from them, but I enjoy using their shadows (singles and palettes) and absolutely adore their Cheekers Blush.

I bought Drama Eyes for that Burgundy colour.

I wanted a typical smokey eye palette but use it for daytime wear - not so smokey, not intense, and not boring. That burgundy shade made it possible! This palette has great colour pay-off! Cover Girl, over the years, has up their game and improved the formulation of their products. Their eye shadows at least, are a joy to use!

I also found great use for the too-dark ELF Hydro-tint foundation (Tone 3). I mixed it with my lighter foundations and it changed the colour, but not the coverage, which is perfect!

Face

Foundation: ELF Hydro-Tint SPF 15 in Tone 3 (too dark) + Mary Kay Medium Coverage Foundation in Beige 304 (too light!) = PERFECT SHADE!
Concealer: Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer (old packaging) in Dark.
Powder: NYC Loose Face Powder in Translucent to set; Milani Glimmer Stripes in Berry Glimmer lightly all over face to finish.

Cheeks

Blush: Milani Powder Bronzer in Light to contour; Revlon Cream Blush in First Blush on apples (love!!).

Eyes

Eye primer: Too Faced Shadow Insurance.
Eyes: Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow in Coastal Blues as base; CG quad in Drama Eyes - light silver (2nd from right) all over lids, black outer-v, Burgundy wash in crease, white as added highlight; CG Single in Golden Sunrise as highlight; Femme Couture liquid liner in Black to line.
Mascara: CG Lash Blast in Very Black.
Brows: Wet n' Wild Brow pencil in Taupe.

Lips

Lips: Wet n Wild Lip liner in 666 Brandy Wine; ELF Plumping Lip Glaze in Oasis.



Thanks for dropping by, and Ramadhan Mubarrak to those who observe!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: Makeup 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 Makeup of the Week.

I received quite a number of new ELF stuff this week, so for the most part, I was testing and playing with my new toys. My favourite look this week was using just one colour. Out of the blue, I remembered my love for MAC Cocomotion pigment. It's such a beautiful brown-bronze colour that is unique on it's own. I don't quite enjoy using loose pigments, as I am a klutz and a half (though I love their intensity), but I just couldn't resist taking out my Cocomotion to give it the attention it deserved.

Looks like dirt but super gorgeous even on it's own: MAC Pigment in Cocomotion.

The look came out far from complicated - it was stunning yet simple, no-fuss and down-right gorgeous. You can go night or day with this. MAC Cocomotion ... Wow! This is one look I shall be wearing over and over.

Face

Foundation: ELF Hydro-Tint SPF15 in Tone 3 (Arrk! Too dark!!).
Concealer: ELF Studio Under eye Concealer & Highlighter in Medium, ELF Studio Complexion Perfection mixing yellow and pink to set under eye concealer.
Powder: ELF Studio Complexion Perfection to set.

Cheeks

Bronzer: ELF Studio Warm Bronzer lightly all over face.
Blush: ELF Natural Radiance Blusher in Bronzed to contour, Flushed on apples (pretty!).

Eyes

Eye primer: ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer.
Eyes: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in French Fries as base; MAC Pigment in Cocomotion on lids; Milani single shadow in Classic Beige as highlight; Loreal SuperLiner in Black for upper lashlines; Avon Ultra Luxury Eyeliner in Black to line 1/3rd outer lower lashlines and to tightline.
Mascara: Avon Daring Curves mascara in Black.

Lips

Lips: NYX Round Lipstick in B52.

I got a couple of NYX lipsticks as well in this package. I'm not a fan of lipsticks so I wasn't in a rush to test them, I think they were the last ones I tried on! I can see why NYX's B52 is always out of stock - it's a pretty creamy mauve-rose colour. But since I am not a huge fan of lippies, I wasn't totally taken in. Oh! Well!

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: Perfection hype in a pan.

I am all for loose powder to set my makeup. But carrying a tub of powder when you're traveling is one messy affair, and I end up carrying a powder foundation compact, which I feel doesn't quite give me that flawless coverage I like.

When a chance to spree from the ELF website opened up, I naturally jumped on. I like ELF, be it the $1, the $3 or the $5 product. Sure, they're cheap, but so what? I'd like to think I don't discriminate, you can find surprisingly good products if you give it a chance (and do your homework).

The Complexion Perfection is a new product in ELF's Studio line and has been getting very positive reviews, but I was dismayed to always find it out of stock on the ELF website. Patience is a virtue, and I finally managed to get one! Yay!

ELF's Studio Complexion Perfection is an all-over face powder to set makeup, for touch-ups and such, as a colour corrector, and a face brightener. It comes in a large square pan with 4 pastel colour blocks which you can use individually or together. It can help neutralise the redness around your nose and cheek areas and give the face an instant, but subtle glow.

When swatched, the colours come off as white. If you over-load, it can leave a powdery white-ish cast on your face, much like MAC Blot Powder. So you need to be reasonable with the amount you use. I have used a mixture of the pink and yellow together to set my under eye concealer. Honestly, I think Everyday Minerals' Abbot's Perk Me Up concealer does a better job.

Maybe the colours are too pale to use on my skin tone, who knows. The green does tone down the redness of my blemishes when I dust it on, and as an overall powder, it does give me a nice glow and finish to my face. I use the ELF Studio Complexion Brush to swirl the colours together, and they are a perfect combination. It doesn't come with a sponge like most powders do, but using this with one will make you look chalky! So best use a big fluffy brush!

The oil-control is also OK - not great, but I did notice my face oxidized a little more at the end of the day. It mattifies OK, but it certainly doesn't last.

I like the packaging, very sleek, very classy; much like Nars. I love the big mirror, except when I opened this the first time, the mirror fell off, as it was held together by one strip of double-sided tape! Cheapo! Now you know huh!! I had to glue the mirror back in!

I think as a colour-corrector product, it's quite mediocre. I like the idea of having this in my arsenal as an all-over face powder, but I wouldn't re-purchase this.

I really wanted to love this. It was not meant to be :(

Thank Gawd it's only for $3!

You can purchase ELF from eyeslipsface.com.

Have a good one!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge: Makeup 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 Makeup of the Week.

My favourite look this week was from one of my all-time favourite palettes - MAC Novel Twist Warm Eyes. I used to have this in my makeup bag at all times. This palette has 5 wearable colours, and I had such a fun time coming up with different looks with this! Plus, it's a MAC, so I don't need to tell you how wonderful these shadows are. This week, I used all 5 colours, and I have worn this look countless of times to shows and events. On lazy days, I'd probably just use 2 or 3 colours, and I'd still look polished. This is one versatile palette, and it's still one of my go-to palettes.

MAC NovelTwist Warm Eyes:
Vanilla. Unwind. Folie. Adlib. Club.

I heart MAC. It's such a dependable brand!

This week I also played with some new items from my drugstore.com haul, and my new Everyday Minerals haul. L.O.V.E !!

Face

Primer/Powder: Bare Minerals Mineral Veil before and after.
Concealer: ELF Tone Correcting Concealer in Light; EDM Abbot's Perk Me Up concealer to set.
Foundation: MAC Fix+(not in picture) sprayed on brush; EDM Pressed Foundation in Buttered Tan.

Cheeks

Bronzer: jane Oil-free Bronzer in Sunkissed lightly on temples, cheeks, nose, chin.
Blush: EDM Pressed Blush in Waffle Cone to contour; EDM Blush in Snuggle (ver-ry pretty!).

Eyes

Primer: POP Eye Magnet Primer (sample).
Eyes: MAC NovelTwist Warm Eyes - Vanilla (1st from left) highlight; Unwind (2nd from left) inner half lid, Adlib (2nd from right) outer half lid, Folie (middle) middle of crease, Club ( 1st from right) outer-v. Blend! Blend! Blend! MAC Kohl in Phone Number to line outer 3rd of lower lash line and tightline; Revlon ColorStay liquid eyeliner in Blackest Black to line upper lash line.
Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash in Blackest Black (sucks-dot-com!).
Brows: Wet n' Wild Kohl Brow-Eyeliner in Taupe (awesome stuff!).

Lips

Lips: Rimmel Rich Moisture Lipstick in 279 Smooch; Palladio Plump n' Shine lipgloss in Creamy Pink.

My skin's still acting up as I am in the midst of changing moisturisers. *sigh* I look like a freakin' teenager! I hope my skin will calm down soon. Having pimples at this age is soooooooo not on!!

Thanks for dropping by, and have a great weekend!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com