Wednesday, December 31, 2014

BEAUTY REGRETS OF 2014

Of all purchases I have made this year, I definitely regret buying these particular products:

I found myself quiet disappointed, however this is just my honest review about them. I am in no position to tell you not to purchase these products, and of course all our opinions are different. 
Most of these products aren't too pricey, but I seriously could've bought 4-5 MAC lipsticks instead!!
For some of the products that I feel others may like... I do suggest my readers to still try/purchase it because it could just be me.

MAC PREP + PRIME  BB (BEAUTY BALM) / MEDIUM - $42.00




The photographs don't justify how pretty the glittered box/tube really is. 10/10 for the packaging. However, I honestly think MAC should've just named the product "Prep + Prime", because it didn't work as a beauty balm. It didn't cover anything, especially when BB creams/Cream tints should do something, but this product did absolutely nothing (sheer coverage - little to none). I suppose you could simply use it as a primer, but I'm not sure how your make up would work with it. I stopped using this product because I got a really bad reaction from it. My face got really red, itchy and hot, which lasted for about a week. I gave it a second chance, but I got another reaction.  There was mix reviews for this product, and those that enjoyed the product described it to be superior and impressive. Of course the SPF 35 is impressive, but I'm sure you would be able to find a better Beauty Balm. This was another western beauty balm that failed to please me. I don't think I'll ever be purchasing a western BB cream again, unless you guys can recommend a better one.

MAYBELLINE SUPER STAY 24 CONCEALER / CREAM - $14.95


The worse concealer to be produced... a really horrible product in general. It feels heavy, and looks quite cakey. This concealer dries out instantly, and it becomes flakey. It doesn't blend well. It also creases like crazy under the eyes. If someone paid me $1million to use this concealer for a year, I would reject the offer because that's how bad this concealer is.

MODELS PREFER EYE PRIMER - $13.99 


As you can see, when blended, it doesn't look great. The texture feels dry, hence it can make your eyelids feel drier than they are (especially if you have dry eyelids already). I can't explain the smell of this eye primer, but I guarantee you it's unpleasant. Less is more, as it can make your eyes appear white/ghost looking from afar if eyeshadow isn't dark enough. Sparkly/glittery eyeshadows look dull on top of this primer. I felt as if it made eyeshadows lose colours too. If you wear a lot of matte shadows, then this eye primer is for you since it is a matte primer. On the brighter note, it kept my eyeshadow in place well.

PHYSICIANS FORMULA CASHMERE WEAR BRONZER - iherb: $13.39 priceline: $29.95


I immediately threw out the brush that came with this bronzer, as the quality was very low. The texture of the bronzer is soft like "cashmere" wool, hence the name.  At first I thought it was really good, but I came to realise that the pigmentation of this bronzer sucks. Perhaps I like it as a highlight or how it gives my face a slight glow, rather than contour my face. It's not really noticeable... so what's the point of getting a bronzer that you can't see? Let's keep this short, don't purchase this bronzer because it's useless.

LUSH ULTRABALM - $8.95

My lips are always dry/chap, so I'm always looking for a lip balm that will rescue my lips! Your lips may be different and this ULTRABALM could be your "Ultimate Balm", but this wasn't the case for me. Unfortunately, this definitely didn't help my lips (got worse/flakier). When applied to the lips, it felt quiet greasy. The smell isn't too overwhelming but it's not the best scent. For the price I paid, there's definitely lots of product in the tin. A couple of my friends have tried this and many of them felt the same way as I do. I recommend trying "BODY SHOP - Hemp Lip Protector", "AESOP - Roseship seed lip cream", "NIVEA - Repair & protection" or "ORALIFE - Peppermint ointment".

REVLON LIP BUTTER / 075 LOLLIPOP - priceline: $21.95


For the longest time ever there was so much rave and hype over this lipstick, therefore I had to buy it. First things first, I think I'm 1 out of 1000 people who doesn't like this product. Revlon claims that "94% of women felt lips were softer, smoother, and instantly hydrated" but I guess I'm the 6%. Although I don't like it, I would still recommend you to purchase this if you've been meaning to do so. There are evidently more positive reviews on this lip butter, so it's best to try it for yourself. There are 20 different colours in this collection. I bought 075 Lollipop which is a bright hot pink - perfect for the bright summer days! The pigmentation from this lip butter is great. However, I didn't like this product because it felt thick on my lips (Yes, I know, lip "butter"). Frequent reapplication is also required. My lips are different from others because they are always so so chap, therefore it's hard to find lip products that I actually like. 

REAL TECHNIQUES DUO-FIBER COLLECTION - iherb: $19.99 | luxola: $41.87



Apparently this set is limited edition, but they're still available online since last year. I have concluded this set is the worse on the market. I did enjoy the "face brush" as it's nice to use when applying powder to my face, as I didn't feel as if it would dig into my pores. However, it didn't pick up a lot of product so I found myself swiping back and forth more than I should. The "contour brush" was somewhat streaky if used to apply foundation. I lost the contour brush but I'm not complaining because my make up collection doesn't need it. The "eye brush" was the worse of them all. The bristles are too weak to blend eyeshadow well, and the bristles feel prickly which hurt my eyelids. Give any of the other brushes a try, and you won't be disappointed.

USE MY IHERB CODE (JJZ209) FOR $10 OFF YOUR FIRST PURCHASE.
I recommend the orange/purple/pink 'Real Technique' brush set.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

WHAT'S ON MY FACE?

For the days I do wear make up, these are my holy grails:
STEP 1 - Primer (Benefit the PORE fessional)

STEP 2 - Foundation (NARS Sheer Glow / Punjab)STEP 3 - Concealer (NARS Creamy Concealer / Custard)






STEP 4 - Powder (MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural / Medium)

STEP 5 - Bronzer (Too Faced Chocolate Soleil / Medium)STEP 6 - Blush (Hourglass Ambient / Luminous Flush)

STEP 7 - Highlight (Two Faced Chocolate Bar / Champagne Truffle)
STEP 8 - Eyebrows (Bourjois Precision Pencil / Black)

STEP 9 - Eyeshadow (Two Faced Chocolate Bar)I've numbered and swatched my favourite "go-to" shades from the palette.




STEP 10 - Eyeliner (Loreal Super Liner / Black)

STEP 11 - Mascara (Benefit They're real!/ Black)I also use Lancomes mascara in conjuction with this, because I have short asian lashes.
STEP 12 - Lipstick (MAC / Modesty)Okay, I'll be honest... I recently purchased this lipstick, hence it's so clean. Nevertheless, it's definitely the lipstick I'll be wearing a lot. 


P.S. I want to apologise for my hairy arms and the lighting in some pictures xxo