Laura Mercier Mineral Powder & RedEarth Pallette in Celebrate: Day and Night Look and some more

Hey all beauty addicts,

Last weekend, me and my girlies had a wonderful makeup party at Erin's house. Thanks Erin for letting us raid your spanking newly-painted room in ash gray. Tres chic! As soon as we arrived, it was havoc as we shopped at her boutique. She has stylish and feminine clothing collection on her online blog, GLITTERIN (<- click here to see her awesome blog). The clothes are very girly, wearable and affordable too! Check it out.

At the makeup party, we traded beauty tips and tricks and checked out each other makeup boxes. It was so much fun! Here are some pics:

Me showing them my makeup case. 

My sister has the most packed case. 

<3

Yes we love the camera

We giggled and ate so much! Anyway after checking out each other's makeup and brushes (my friend got these heavenly brushes from Bobbi Brown. A full set at RM 1200++ and they are so fine and SOFT and labeled too!), we went for shopping to get the items we raved about.

I bought these: 

1) Laura Mercier Mineral Powder in Real Sand 

RM 149

Laura Mercier is known for their "healthy glow" effect. These fine powder has crushed pearl in them to give you that iridescent glow.

My sister, Shazreeyana is an advocate for this powder and I figured I need to try it too to see if it's worth it. To be honest, I don't prefer loose powder because I am afraid I'd spill them and the whole process of application seems a bit of a fuss to me.

After trying this, I have to say I LOVE the finely-milled powder. It is so light, and because it is made of pearl powder, it gives off a healthy dewy and light-reflecting complexion. Even with little foundation, this powder gave me such a healthy glow. I also notice that it controls the oil on my T-zone. I think the Mica in it absorbs the oil and really, it is long-lasting and doesn't look too matte (which I like). It has SPF 15 which may appear fair in flash photography so always apply it on my neck as well.

I just tap a little bit of the powder in the cap and clean the cap off with a fat brush during application and sometimes it may get a little messy but anything for the glow on my face!

2) Red Earth Palette in Celebrate from SaSa

I bought this all in one colour kit because it is cheap (RM 48) for its high-quality pigments. Redearth has great quality eyeshadow and I think this palette can be used daily for day and night look. If I travel and want to save space, I'd prolly just bring this kit along. Also, I adore the coral bag that comes with it. Besides, it does make for a good gift for a girlfriend.

                   

The Wish in Colour Kit in Celebrate. I Love the coral bag! The palette consists of 1 blusher, 4 eyeshadows and 4 lip colours.

                    

Purplish Glittery Gray and Dark Silver Eyeshadows. I use the Blusher (Middle) for contouring my nose as I find the color too dark for blusher.

                        

Brown and Matte Peach Eyeshadows. Which one will hit the pan first? I will say the Brown one. I am a sucker for natural warm colors.

                          

The four lip colors (Fushia, Orange, Tan, Deep Red). I have to say the pigment is quite disappointing as the colors act more like gloss than lipstick. The pigment isn't so rich and it can be used to add shine on top of your regular lipstick. 

By the way I used this palette today for this Day Look:

I used the Purplish Gray eyeshadow and Brown today. Also I mixed the two lipcolors (Fucshia and Orange)  on my lips.

Do you see my glow? I used Laura Mercier Powder to have this luminescent effect. 

Just an au naturale Day Look with the Red Earth Palette which can be a daily look.

For the Night look, I used alot more pigments and also included the Dark Silver on my crease.

Sorry my camera is low quality. I hope you can see the pigments. It looks more intense in person

Just add the Dark Silver on my crease and add more Brown on my socket. Notice the semi lash? It is much more comfortable to wear half a lash than a full one.

Overall, I say it is worth the bucks. 

Other things I got are

Redearth eyeshadow in Havana Nights (RM 19 with any Redearth Purchase at Sasa. Usually RM34)

I have existing Redearth Eyeshadows and this makes a family of four. Clockwise (Havana Nights, Cleopatra, Winter Rose, Deep Forest)

The Swatches. Clockwise (Havana Nights, Cleopatra, Winter Rose, Deep Forest)

Why do I like the Illusion Lights from RedEarth? 

I <3 shimmery eyeshadows as it makes my eyes pop and the selling point of these eyeshadow is its FINE texture and SUPERB pigments. Cheap eyeshadows have grittier texture but this one is soft and the colors are deep and rich. When I tested it, I went WOW and these are the reactions of my friends when they swatched it. Aint the colors so pretty?

Nude nailcolor by Elianto

Left : Sepia and Right: Eggshell.

I now have Eggshell on my nails for 2 days and suprisingly this cheap (RM 5 each) nailcolor hasn't chipped. For lasting effect I need to apply base and topcoat which I didn't. My current fav is the Eggshell! Sporting the nail as long as I can when I am not lazy to paint me nails.

A charm necklace from Bonita. My sister got a matching one too. Just RM27 and it reminded me of Legally Blonde for some reason. I love the Cute candy colored charms in butterfly, clover and hearts (which is so me) and I wore it just yesterday and I already got compliments on them  : D

Phew.... It is a long post but it was fun writing this! So many pending items to share and I have been procrastinating like no other. What have you shopped for this week? Please share with me your favorite new purchase. Till then, take care. <3 <3

Take Care of Your Eyes Today: Never Sleep with Contact Lense and Check Out Hydrogen Peroxide Solution

CCHi all!

I am so compelled to write this one because I just had a wonderful day out with my girls and two of my friends told me that they have red eyes because they slept with their contacts on. First of all, NEVER EVER sleep with your contacts on!! Your eyes need the oxygen to breath and depriving them of O2 can cause the veins to turn so red (I don't feel pretty with bloodshot eyes) and overtime, you will not have healthy-looking pearly white eyes anymore because the veins will start growing into your cornea to supply the oxygen to it. This condition is permanent and irreversible so please, don't wear your contacts to sleep if you want to avoid having ugly red veins creeping into your cornea permanently.


Secondly, never mix many pairs of lenses in a case. This was my mistake. Two months ago I suffered from conjunctivitis and also an allergy reaction due to poor care of my eyes. I mixed two lenses in a case because I have so many pairs and I was lazy to keep them separately and there were cross contamination that gave me a sty, conjunctivitis and also an allergy reaction to soft lenses. At one point, blood was oozing out from my tear duct! The doc told me I may have to give up on soft lenses, which sounded like the end of the world to me ( I am vain like that haha). The sty was annoying too because it left me with a bump (oil cyst) near my tear duct that took a month to go away. If it doesn't, it has to be surgically remove.

I was taking my eye for granted as I cincai cincai wash the lense and use expired lenses too. It was a costly mistake as I had to pay for RM600 in total for consulting an opthamologist. Learn from my mistakes, babes. Don't let your money go to waste (even if you can claim your medicals. Why go through all that suffering?).

Our eyes are the most tantalizing senses on our body. Being mute and deaf does not equal to being blind. Losing my sight will definitely take away my experience of life. I can't imagine not having my eyes. Plus, what other part of the body tells so much about a person? The eyes ARE the windows to the soul, cheesy I know, so let's practice good eye care from today onwards.

Anyway a friend was curious about my lense solution. Here I will share with you that I use AOsept

AOsept uses hydrogen peroxide (an antibacterial agent) that will sanitize your lenses. You'll get maximum comfort from it because it destroys all the bacteria and protein stuck on your lesnes. The metal at the bottom of the case will neutralize the hydrogen peroxide, turning it into water and oxygen. The bubbles formed will remove the proteins on lenses, which are the main cause of irritation and allergy. You have to wait 6 hours for the lense to neutralize. The price is around RM21.

If 6 hours is too long, there is Ever Clean which can get the job done in 2 hours (I am using this now). It uses a tablet that neutralizes the peroxide and the price is around RM30.

Oh, hydrogen peroxide can cause discoloration on colored lenses so please bear that in mind. Regardless, I still use it with my colored contacts and I can't really notice a big difference so I am sticking with this technology as it provides the BEST comfort to my eyes. If you have sensitive eyes, you can rinse the lense with Sensitive solution like Avizor's Unica on top of sanitizing with the hydrogen peroxide system (AoSept or EverClean)

I use this to rinse my lense before placing it onto my eyes.

If you feel lenses were uncomfortable after a week or so, chances are, you have protein build-up on your lenses. In this case, use a protein removal tablet to e soaked together with the lenses. I have to say I have never known eye comfort until I discover the peroxide solution (AoSept or EverClean). However, don't treat it like a normal solution as it will BURN your eyes if you did not neutralize it. I once dropped the solution in my eyes and it sent me screaming like no other. It feels like acid burn in my cornea and left me with red and dry eyes for 3 days. It got better after that so it was only temporary. Also, if you go to your friends' and wanted to rinse your lense, check the bottle first. If it has red ring on the top cap, it probably is peroxide-based which means don't rinse your lense with it. Only use the special case associated with it as it has the metal to neutralize the peroxide.


Okay, I sound like I work in the optical store now Haha. I feel strongly about eye care so I am writing this to share with you that taking off your lense tonight may save you from getting a conjuctivitis, sty, allergic reaction or even blindness. Love our eyes peeps. We only have a pair. Plus, pearly white eyes are healthy and beautiful.

Toodles,
Ferrarossa

I've been tagged in Writing on The Walls

Whoopsie! This tag is kind of fun because they say handwriting can reveal the personality of a person. I guess I enjoyed reading this tag done by my sister , Shazreeyana (<-Click!) who was tagged by Penny (<-Click!). 


I just grab a piece of paper and answer these simple questions:

1. What's your name/your blogger name?

2. What's your blog's name/URL?

3. Write "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

4. Favorite quote?

5. Your Favorite song?

6. Your favorite band/singers?

7. Anything else you want to say?

8. Tag three to five other people




SO ya, after 2 years of getting out from college, this is how my handwriting gets. It used to be neater back then now it's just kind of leaning in every direction Haha

Thanks for dropping by!

XOXO

On Glossy Paper: My Makeover in CSNB Magazine

Bonjour mademoiselles!

Gosh I've been contemplating about sharing this one as it's wayyyyyy overdue, but I still want to let you know that my kind friend, who is an editor for Cosmetic Surgery and Beauty Magazine (CNSB) has given me a chance to have a free makeover.

You know I've always had this weird list of "Things I want to do once in my lifetime" and being on magazine is one of them. I guess because when I am all old and saggy I can at least brag to my grandkids about my being on a magazine. Haha okay I am a loser.

Anyway in the makeover, I get to choose the "look" I wanted and I chose "Bohemian Chic". What I had in mind was these images:

You know, the sexy messy hair and earthy makeup colors just like Kate Moss and Mischa Barton .

I loved being princess-ed up by the staff but how I wish I had some braids on my hair to complete the look. Anyway thanks Ackie for hooking me up, it was so much fun!


Here's the cover of the Magazine in case you're wondering. Jojo Struys on the cover.

As you flip towards the end, you'll find my face

Anyway it was kind of funny because in the "before" picture they told me not smile. I guess I have to look like I need a makeover. Another thing is that during the "after" picture, they asked me to smile to the max. This is a rare and weird thing for me to do, to smile with all front teeth showing. Hmmm.

I didn't expect people to notice my magazine appearance, except for close friends and family, but recently a competitor salesperson (I work in sales by the way) came up to me and asked me "You were in the magazine, right?" and I was SO embarrassed. Anyway she told me some other competitors know as well and also some of my clients do too. *blush*

So that's it. That's my update for now. Hope you enjoy this one. XOXO

Ajiem's Makeover: Black Smokey Eyes and Nude Lips

My dear friend, Ajiem came over for lunch and we decided to play with makeup. She wanted a black sultry smokey eyes, just like Kim Kardashian (I recently made an FOTD inspired by this voluptuous beauty here). Time flies as we laughed and caught up, I can't believe we spent 2 hours just dolling up. Ajiem loved the outcome, especially the falsies effect that really plays up her eyes. We went with elegant rock chic look and I have to say, she looks gorgeous!

Before

After: Rock Chic with Smokey Eyes and Nude Lips

Checking herself out. Ajiem has sucha nice smile.

 <3 Ajiemuah!

Nadzrah's Wedding March 12, 2011

A good friend of mine, Nadzrah, announced that she wanted to tie the knot with her love. She is a friend since our preparation studies 5 years ago and in the States, we met once in LA and hit it off ever since. I can't be happier for her!

Anyway, one day she contacted me and say how worried she is about her makeup on her big day. You see, she rarely wears makeup so she would like super natural wedding makeup that doesn't look heavy. I am sooo happy that she chose me!

The challenge in this task is that Nadzrah has her nikah and reception within one hour of each other. I have to curl her hair and pin in up under her hijab during the nikah and have one hour for some touch up and hair-styling. All in all, it went really smoothly and she had a wonderfully dainty pink-purple-themed reception at a yellow mosque near her house in Petaling Jaya.

Here are some pictures:

 Before

Makeup for her Nikah

Anxiously waiting to be wedded

Dani and Nadzrah. Btw I absolutely love her dress! The french lace is exquisite and she has it especially designed by her cousin for the occasion.

For the reception, I did some touch ups, added some purple on her eyes and also loosen the curls. They lasted the whole day thanks to Bed Head Hairspray.

Picture with Flash in my car. 

I'm so delighted to be part of your wedding, Nutzy!

here are some of my favorite shots in her professional wedding album. By the way, I like this style of photos with warm colors. They look very antique and gives me the warm fuzzies.

Overall, I enjoyed myself at Nutzy's wedding. I wish her everlasting happiness :)))))

Recreating Pixiwoo's Aqua Doll Eyes For Spring Makeup

I've been meaning to recreate this doll look by Pixiwoo for a while now. I wanted to take advantage of my bangs and at the same time take some years off my face to look younger too. Haha.  Anyway, I often shy away from bright eyeshadow colors but I am so inspired by Pixiwoo as she makes this doll-look so tempting, I figured it must be worth a try. The above pictures are taken from the site http://pixiwoo.blogspot.com. I heart Sam and Nic so much and admire their knowledge in makeup. Me and my sister, Shazreeyana often dream about being the Pixiwoo sisters of Malaysia. Pinch us now!

Anyway, the tutorial used a lot of branded items like MAC, Chanel and Makeupforever so I just came up with this look with a mixture of inexpensive makeup items I have.

Products used:

Face: Mix of Stage Photo Pro Foundation in Take 1 and Take 8

Now I have to say that this foundation provides less coverage than most so it is great for the natural look or everyday use because it is not so rich in pigments.

Stage Concealer in Sand

Powder is MAC Studio Fix in NC25

Cheeks: Elianto Rosey Cheeks in Sweet Rose

and for cheekbones I used

Stage Eyeshadow Mono in Cupcake

Lips: Maybelline Watershine in Pink Fairy

Glossed with 

Liplicious in Watermelon Sorbet

Eyes:  Any bright Turqoise eyeshadow of your choice. Mine is from a palette I got from Sungai Wang.

Maybelline The Magnum Mascara ( Pixiwoo mentioned that this look needs a clumpy mascara so I decided this brand is a good one to give full coverage)

For the waterline, I used Stage Picture Perfect Pencil Camouflage in Tiramise

Brows: Stage Brow Defining Pencil in Sesame

Can you see the concealer at my waterline? It helps open up my eyes.

It is so simple actually. Base the face real well, eyeshadow, mascara, blush and lips - You're good to go!

I think the Mascara isn't clumpy enough despite putting 3 coats on. 

Picture with Flash for your reference

Hope you like this post. I'm gonna do a makeover on my housemate soon. Toodles.

Stage Haul and FOTD Coral Lipstick Look

Aloha mahalo! Today after work I went to Tropicana City Mall top check out a certain magazine but I was sidetracked into Stage, my favorite makeup store besides MAC and SaSa.

I was going crazy in there because they are having CLEARANCE SALE of all Lipsticks, Lipgloss, Lipliner, Brow Colors, Eye Kohls etc for RM 12 only! Also their other items are buy 1 get 1 free! This is lunatic because I never seen their prices drop that low. If you want good quality makeup that doesn't break the bank, I recommend that you visit your nearest outlet like ASAP :)

By the way, since I am starting a freelance Makeup Service (click HERE to find out more) with my sister, I need to diversify my color palette and I have hauled 14 items all together. I feel like it was worth every penny. To me, Stage is between MAC and drugstore brands. It has nice expensive-looking packaging that I adore and the pigments are definitely good quality. My favorite item is their primer, Opening Act (which is not in this haul. Always out of stock!)

Below are my loots of the day

Stage Photo Pro Foundation ( Take 1 (Light) and Take 8 (Dark))

Stage Picture Perfect Liquid Camouflage ( Pixie Fairy (Light) and Genie Temptress (Dark))<-- I was told that the light concealer can be used as highlight, too.

Stage Wondergloss Lipgloss ( Electra and Narcissus)

Stage Brow Defining Pencil (Cinnamon)

Stage Eyeshadow Mono (Cupcake)

Stage Lipliner (Nearly Naked and Pretty Peony)

Stage Picture Perfect Pencil Camouflage ( Tiramisu) <--to lighten dark brows and line lips too

Stage Wonderluxe Lipstick Matte ( Passion Punch, Candy Coy, Candid Coral)

Swatches from top to bottom:

1) Lipstick Candy Coy

2)Lipstick  Passion Punch

3) Lipstick Candid Coral (Love this one! They say Coral is the new Pink)

4) Lipgloss Narcissus

5) Lipgloss Electra 

Without further ado, I was so ready to try the items for the FOTD below:

For foundation, I used Stage Photo Pro Foundation and I have to say, the coverage isn't as thick as MAC Studio Fix so it is suitable for daily use. I find it to be lightly tinted and gives off a nice dewy effect after the makeup settles.

I used MAC StudioFix Powder and MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Dark for shading around my cheek and jawline. For Blush, I used Stage in Freesia and Snapdragon.

The Stage Eyeshadow in Cupcake was used on my inner corner of the eyes, browbone and also just slightly on the apple of the cheeks to create high cheekbones. I like that the pigments are fine enough and also will last long with the help of eyelid primer from Elf (Thanks kakak for the gift!)

For the eyelid, I used RedEarth eyeshadow in Winter Rose (My favorite currently) and on the crease is dark brown shadow. Lined the eyes with Maybelline Eyestudio Black Gel Eyeliner and Mascara was first coated with Maybelline Volum' Express for length and definition and Maybelline Magnum for Volume.

Finally, I lined my lips with Stage Lipliner in Pretty Peony and smothered Stage Lipstick in Candid Coral. To mute the tone just a little, I added Mac Lipgloss in Viva Glam V ( featured in my previous post, a nude gloss to have a warmer finish)

Overall, I think coral is a really nice color. I often see it featured in the red carpet these days, I especially love this one by Katy Perry:

Have you tried coral yet?? I hope you enjoyed this post :DD

New Makeup Bag and MAC Haul

Hello! I'm back after a long hiatus :D Work and social life has been keeping me occupied lately. Rest assured, I haven't forgotten this blog. Recently, my lovely sis bought a new makeup bag to store her endless stocks of beauty items and recommended that I own one too. This baby is from Magicboo, a beauty supply store for makeup artists and spa owners.

Me and my beloved sister went on a beauty hunt. It was so much fun, Atar.

Me and my sis are also freelancing to provide makeup services for gala dinners, engagement and weddings so we both bought MAC studio fix foundation in shade NC45 (darker) and NC20 (lighter) to create 3D effects and match diverse skintones. The third bottle is my color in NC25. 

My favorite item in this haul has to be MAC Mineralize SkinFinish Natural in Dark for shading purposes. It really creates contour on your face to emphasize the jawline and heighten cheekbones.

The next item is MAC Viva Glam V Lipgloss that the MAC staff said is the most in-demand gloss. It looks pretty with MAC Faux Lipstick.

Two free items that MAC gave were two pigments of pink and tan. I used it for cheek highlight and eyeshadow.

This is the makeup case that I bought. It can fill up to 70% of my makeup items and it has a lock too! 

All ready to go! I love my new makeup case. I think I am obsessed with it. I keep on opening and closing it for no reason, rearranging and adding things. I feel like a girl who just got her first Barbie. Weee~