Saturday, January 28, 2012

Benefit Skincare

Not too long ago I found that my friend has been using Benefit Potent Eye Cream. I have never tried the brand before, and I've been trying to find eye cream that really works for my dark circles under my eyes.
I went to Ulta, and I literally spent like 10-15 minutes just holding on to the eye cream, deciding whether I should buy it or not. It was kinda pricey, so I didn't want to spend for something that might not work.

On my way to the counter, I saw this trial kit from Benefit. I immediately thought it was a great idea to try out the entire skincare products with less to pay. 

From left to right:
Foamingly Clean Facial Wash
Moisture Prep Toning Lotion
Total Moisture Facial Cream
Triple Performing Facial Emulsion
Refined Finish Facial Polish
It's Potent! Eye Cream                             

The kit comes in with the six products. 
I've used the Total Moisture cream as part of my night skincare routine for a month now, and I really love the way it smoothes my skin without making it oily and greasy (I have normal to dry skin). I can't really say anything about the eyecream because I haven't been discipline using it every night. (I should, though). I've tried everything from the kit, and I love the cleanser because it's so rich and foamy. It gives you the clean feel, and you're going to want to wash your face more often! 

Can't say anything about the toner and.... because I haven't really used it. But, again, I love the face cream. And this is how much I love the product. 


                             

I bought the full size. It comes in a glass container, just like the trial kit does. Look how adorable the packaging is! 

What are your skincare products? What works best for your skin?

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Mascara 101

Do you know that a mascara that works great for your friend does not necessarily mean it will work the same way on you? If you do, then way to go! I didn't realize it until I've tried several different mascaras and watching people reviews on youtube.

I'd always thought that if someone has claimed one to be a bad mascara, then I wouldn't bother to take a second look at it. Mascara works differently for every person. As for me, I have a short, thin and wimpy lashes. Because they tend to face down all the time, I can't wear mascara with wet formula. The wet mascara will just weigh my lashes down. I need mascara that offers volume which usually contains building ingredients like polymer and wax. Those building ingredients will help hold my lashes longer and give them volume without weighing them down.
As for people with thick lashes, they're so lucky! Haha. They can wear wet mascara because the wet texture can help build their lashes high.

I haven't found a mascara that really wows me, but I have found a couple that works for my lashes. From the drugstore, I have Maybelline Great Lashes Lots of Lashes. The almost-heart-shaped brush help to coat each lash and the formula doesn't make my lashes wimpi-er.
From high end, I like Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara. You can check my review on the mascara here.

Let me guide you step by step on the two mascaras

My wimpy Eyelashes

I held on to the curler for 20 seconds and here's what I've got

Mascara: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes!




Look at the different between my right and left eyes. Look at the volume the mascara gives me!


Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash - Lots of Lashes
Compare to Tarte, the maybelline Great Lash mascara doesn't give me as much volume, but it holds pretty well.


Left: Maybelline Great Lash
Right: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes!


What is your best mascara so far? Leave a comment below to let me know so I can try it out. Thanks!
May you find the best mascara there is! 


Jibber Jabber:
  • I have been reading my Tax textbook for 5 days now 
  • I had Taiwanese food for dinner tonight
  • I went to a lollipop factory called Kendon Candies for my project
  • Subscribe for more beauty posts =)





Eyelash Curler 101

Hey everyone! Do you  know that eyelash curler plays a huge role in shaping your eyelashes and not all eyelash curlers are the same?



Left: e.l.f Essential Eyelash Curler
Right: Up&Up Eyelash Curler
I used to think that an eyelash curler is just an eyelash curler. Any one would do the same thing, curl my lashes. I remember my very first eyelash curler was this cheap unbranded one I got from an accessories store in Jakarta. Every single time I tried to curl my lashes, the curler hurt my eyelids! I had tried to be very careful putting my lashes in between the curling blades and  squeezing the handles slowly, but it always hurt my lids no matter what.

Then, several years later, I picked a curler from Target. It was from its up&up brand. Still, I never thought that a curler would be different from others, so I just picked up the cheapest one I could find since my old one had just lost its grip. I tried to love the Target curler. I really did, but it's just awful. My lashes have always been facing down, and with this curler, I don't even see any different. It didn't hurt my lids as much as my first one. I realized now that eyelash curlers are different (Duh!). You just have to find the right one, and it doesn't mean it has to be expensive.

I have finally found my favorite curler, it's the $1 e.l.f Mechanical eyelash curler. Yes, it's only $1. And no, the price doesn't do any justice to what the curler can do. It really curls my lashes just like my previous two should have done. I noticed the difference between the e.l.f and the up&up is that the up&up curler doesn't have the spring to keep the blades open making it not as bouncy/elastic as the one from e.l.f. Notice the picture where the e.l.f curler's 'mouth' are open without me squeezing the handles.

One trick to give more long-lasting curl to your lashes is by giving the curler a little heat using hair dryer. Be careful not to burn your lid. Make sure that the heat is moderate enough, so it won't hurt you when you use it. The heat is supposed to hold the curl longer, just like what you do with your hair and curling iron.



Thanks for reading! What's your favorite eyelash curler? Leave a comment below and let me know =)





Sunday, January 22, 2012

Ulta Haul + Makeup review/tips

Hey everyone! I hope you guys had a great weekend. I went to Ulta earlier today, and I'm excited to show you guys what I got. Most of all the products I got are based on @emilynoel83's recommendation. She's my favorite beauty guru, and boy am I glad I found her channel! For those of you who are not familiar with Emily, go check out her channel and you'll find amazing videos about makeups and beauty related stuff. Guaranteed! I've spent most of my spare time watching her videos, and I've learned so much from her.

So here are the stuff I got

Laura Geller balance-n-brighten Baked Color Correcting Foundation in Medium

 I had been aiming for this for quite some time because every time I went to Ulta, it was always out of stock. It's a basically a baked powder foundation, but it really does a great job in evening you skin tone.
If you can see in the picture, it has some sort of dome-like shape, and from the reviews I've seen it will last a really long time. I've tried this out, and I'm happy with how it makes my skin look.


 I've noticed this mascara has been very popular, so when Emily also claimed it to be her favorite I decided I have to try it out myself. (I really trust her reviews, and they haven't disappointed me so far =) )

My lashes tend to face down, and even though I've hed my eyelash curler for 20 seconds they're still going downward everytime I apply mascara. It still happens with this mascara, but what I like about this is that it doesn't dry too quickly allowing you to apply several coats to your lashes. And when it does dry out, your lashes are not stiff, and they're still flexible making them look more natural.

It claims to increase your lash volume by 424%. I don't know about the percentage, but it does give you a nice volume.


Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Free Love
We all know that Urban Decay's eyeshadows are good quality, and they are really pigmented. The texture are great, and you don't have to keep reapplying the shadow over and over again to get the color show up on your lid. It's really easy to apply and smoothes onto your skin. Free Love is shimmery peach color. You can dress it up or dress it down, depending on your mood.




I learned about highlighting your face from also Emily (I've told you she's taught me a lot!), and I want to pass this on to you guys who don't know about highlighting before.



 I'd always thought that matte look is the way to go for every occasion, but now that I've known better, giving a little glow to your face doesn't hurt at all! If you can tell from the picture, the product gives you shimmer but not glitter, which is perfect for day-to-day look. I put this just above my cheekbone area, my brow, down to my nose, my cupid's bow and just under your lips. Basically, you want to highlight those areas that you want to emphasize.  You want to highlight the triangle area






If you're looking for a long-lasting, black eyeliner, this is the one to go. It's easy to glide on, and you don't need to sharpen it. My only complaint about this liner is that is too creamy. The good thing is that it smoothes onto your skin resulting easy application. The bad thing is that you have to be careful not to twist the product out too much because it's so creamy it's easy to break if you put too much pressure when you apply the liner. Also, you can't twist the product back once you've twisted it out. So be very careful. I've learned the hard way when I first bought my first master drama liner, and I used up on the same day because I didn't know it wasn't retractable =(. Other than that, it's very long lasting, and it won't smudge when you accidentally rub your eyes or something.

I've been eyeing for this since I really need new brushes. My old ones are just horrible. The hair's falling out, and they're not smooth. I've always thought that every makeup brush is the same. They're just used to apply products to your face. I've never thought the quality really matters.

After experiencing how low quality brushes are really a pain. Mine are rough and the hair keeps falling out. So when I went to Ulta I finally bought this. I was going to buy powder brush also, but they were out of it so I ordered online.
This brush is soft, and the hair is intact. Plus, it's under $10 - what a great bargain for such a good quality brush!

Thanks for reading! Hopefully you find this post helpful and don't forget to click subscribe. Have a great day =)

Jibber Jabber:
  • It's Chinese New Year tomorrow! I miss spending this time of year at home. 
  • I'm tempted to wear sweatpants every day because it's warm and comfortable.
  • I can't nap anymore. I just can't fall asleep during the day.
  • Was up till 2 am last night to do a beauty look for you =P

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Castle Rock Hiking

I went hiking with my friends yesterday at Castle Rock State Park. It was fun. The track wasn't so bad. We hiked about 4 miles for 4 hours. It's a long time for such short distance. Haha. We were quite a large group, and we stopped often because we love taking silly pictures of ourselves in the woods =P
It was a good exercise and great company nevertheless! I'm thinking of having this as a weekly kinda thing. I like hiking, and I like it much better than running inside the gym. What do you guys think? What's your favorite sports? (to do, not to watch lol =P)




Love this stuff!!!
                                                 Thanks for reading. Have a great MLK day!



Jibber Jabber:
  • I love Bambu Dessert #1 and #10
  • I love the pandan jelly
  • I love the red tapioca
  • I love Bambu dessert!!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Sunkissed Glow


Hey everyone!

Hope you all have  a great week so far =) It's almost weekend, and I have  a day off on Monday. Yay! I'm so excited to go hiking this Saturday at Castle Rock. It's a California State Park, and it's about to be closed down in the middle of the year. So sad =( I've hiked there before, and it's a pity to have such a nice park closed down.

It's supposed to be winter, but the weather here in San Jose seems nothing like it! I see people wear shorts and flip flops everywhere. It does get colder at night, though. Here, people tend to say that they get pale in the winter. That's why they prefer Summer where they can get that sun-kissed glow on their skin. I was just trying a bunch of different things and ended up with this bronze look. Since I'm a makeup newbie, I've never heard about a bronzer before. It's supposed to give color to your pale face.

My skin is not fair nor tanned. I've never obsessed of having a lighter-colored skin or a tanner skin, but I do like playing with makeup and trying out different look. So, here what I have.

To get the sunkissed look, I use this bronzer from NYC called Sun 2 Sun. It has two shades. I usually use the lighter shade to bring color on my face, but for this particular look, I use the darker shade to give more umph =P  I use the bronzer as my contour also. I apply the darker one in the hollow of my cheeks and my temple and my jaw.





                          

Then, I use my favorite blush from Skin Food that I got from Jakarta. It's buildable, so you can apply it several times until you get the flush of color you like.

                          
                          

I'm a fan of giving highlight to my face now. You can see how giving your face a highlight can make a difference. Plus it looks good on the camera! I use this Wet 'N Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Powder. I typically don't like using this powder on daily basis because it has glitter in it that makes your face too shimmery if you just swirl your brush with product on your face. As a highlight I use the 2 shades on the left and apply them just above the apple of my cheeks in upward motion to my temple.

                          

And here's the before and after =)

                

                                       



Tips: I use a shimmery champagne eyeshadow stick on my lower lash line to make my eyes pop




Thanks for reading! Have a great day =)


Jibber Jabber:
  • So excited for the long weekend. Woohoo!
  • I'm about to get myself busy with job search
  • I'm planning to get straight As this quarter
  • Loving my new eyelash curler from e.l.f - review coming soon
  • My lipstick collection post got erased accidentally =(
  • What should I post next? Please leave a comment below and subscribe! =)

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Happy 2012!

Happy 2012!

2011 was such a great year for me, and I believe 2012 will be even greater. Having a positive mind-set is one of my somewhat new year's resolution. I know people keep making new resolutions without actually doing the old one, so I guess my ultimate new year's resolution this time would be to finish my old resolution? lol

Anyway, school is starting in less than a week. I'm still looking for a place to live. Looking for a right place to live is stressful. I can't imagine how it would be to look for a job. I don't even want to go there.
I think I'm literally stressed too much. I'm getting sick just from thinking so much stuff!
Watching and reading beauty related stuff still does make me feel better, so I hope I could make you guys feel better too with my posts.

Have a great year ahead of you. As Ellen says, "Be kind to one another!"

Thanks for reading.