Monday, August 26, 2013

Beauty Review: Jouer Matte Moisture Tint

Hi everyone! 
Monday is here again, and fortunately I got a good enough sleep despite of my camping trip. It was very short, yet so much fun! I had a short hike and enjoyed the outdoor. It was really refreshing to take a break from all the business between work and studying. 

I first heard about Jouer foundation from Ingrid (missglamorazzi). The packaging looks a lot like Laura Mercier silk creme foundation, which I truly like. The product isn't technically called a foundation, it's called a moisture tint. I didn't pay attention when I ordered it online. I ordered it from nordstrom and picked my shade also online. It was a bet, actually. I've never swatched it before, so I relied solely on the pictures. Nordstrom's free return shipping gave me the confidence to do this, although I wouldn't recommend you to do this ever so often. I just didn't have time to go to the mall, and I really wanted to try this out and see what the fuss was all about.

I tried it on Friday night, and I instantly fell in love!  When I realized it was a "moisture tint", I thought I wouldn't like it, but man was I wrong. I couldn't wait to share all about it with you guys, but I was so limited on time and didn't have a chance to do it. I specifically used this product so I can share pictures and rave about it!

Jouer Matte Moisture Tint - nude

Formulation
The consistency is very light. It's not as thick as foundations I typically use. I can barely feel I use anything on my face. It's so lightweight, and it feels more like a moisturizer. 

Application
It doesn't clump like thick foundation would typically do if you don't have dry patches. It glides smoothly and blends effortlessly.  It doesn't feel heavy at all.

Coverage
If you have major discoloration, you cannot rely on this alone. You'll still need a concealer to cover it up. I guess this product wasn't designed as full-coverage foundation. It acts more to even out your skin tone. I have a little bit of acne scaring on my left cheek as you can see in the picture. This disguises it a little bit, but doesn't cover it completely. 

Finish
Man oh man, this is the best part of the product. I honestly couldn't stop looking myself at the mirror. This claims to be a matte product, but I don't find it drying at all. It does have a matte finish, but it's more like a powdery/dove finish if you know what I mean. I don't feel the need to powder after applying this, but I still do it anyway just because. 




Product featured:

  • Jouer Matte Moisture tint - nude
  • Laura Geller it's a real deal! concealer - medium
  • NYX Stay Matte, not flat powder foudnation - warm beige
  • Rimmel matte brozer - sun light
  • NYX blush - pinched

I totally recommend this product for everyone, especially for those who are new to makeup. Don't get me wrong, it works wonder for me, but I can see this to be a good transitional product for newbies compared to directly go for a heavy coverage foundation. 

Have you tried this? What do you think?



Saturday, August 24, 2013

Estee Lauder Pure Color Eyeshadow Duo in Raisins vs Maybelline Expert Shadow Duo in Pink Suede

Hello lovelies! It's Saturday! Yay! 
I'm probably on my way to my annual camping trip as you're reading this. I am so excited to finally get to take a break and spend quality time with friends. 

If you remember from my previous posts, I was really intrigued by Estee Lauder Pure Color eyeshadow duo, especially in 'Raisins' ever since I saw Tanya Burr from pixi2woo and Zoe from zoella featured it on their videos. I just think the colors were gorgeous. I ended up buying Maybelline Expert Shadow duo (review here) that I thought was a dupe even though I've never swatched the Estee Lauder one before. I was assuming, and I assumed right.

I finally caved in and ordered the eyeshadow duo from Nordstrom. It just came yesterday, and I love how the packaging is really luxurious. Well, let's be honest. I love deals, but sometimes it feels nice to own something that's fancy. 
Estee Lauder eyeshadow duo in Raisins

So, to compare and contrast this with Maybelline Expert Shadow duo in pink suede. I wouldn't say that it's a spot on dupe, but it's really really close. I don't think you can tell the difference once you blend the color together on your lids. 



Estee Lauder Pure color is retail for $32 and Maybelline Expert shadow duo is retail for about $4. It's a huge price gap. So is it worth it to get the Estee Lauder one?


 Here are the swatches under two different lighting
left: estee lauder - maybelline
right: estee lauder - maybelline

I hope you can tell from the pictures that the shades are pretty close to each other. Estee Lauder's lighter shade has warmer and more golden undertone, whereas the Maybelline one is more on the cooler side of pink. As for the darker shades, I think they're both pretty similar, but Maybelline is a bit more brown.

As far as the formulation goes, Estee Lauder Pure Color wins this category. I barely tapped on the product, and I can get one full swatch. It's really amazing. It's easy to blend, and the pigmentation is just great. With the Maybelline one, it also has nice formula, but I needed to work just a tad harder to get a full swatch like in the picture. 

All in all, I love the Estee Lauder Pure Color shadow duo. I love how it's easy to apply and the colors are just amazing. But for this particular shade, if you don't want to spend a lot, go with Maybelline. It has great color pay-off  and formulation. $32 is a lot of money, and if I have something that's close enough like in this case, I'd go with the "close-enough product". 

Now I wonder if the other shades also mimic Estee Lauder's other shades? Hmmm...




Monday, August 19, 2013

Beauty Review: Milani Baked Blush

Hi peeps!

Continuing on the blush theme over here, Milani Baked blushes are amazing. The pigmentation is great, and they also stay on for a long time.  There are 9 shades to choose from, or to collect if you know what I mean. 
coralina - rose d'oro - dolce pink
I have three shades, and I love 'em all. All Milani baked blushes have shimmery finish. They have a hint of glitter that really look pretty on your cheeks. If you don't like shimmery blushes, but you want to try something not spot on glitter, these might be for you to try. I don't really go for shimmery blushes because I feel like they can make me look like a disco ball, especially during the day. But with right application, these blushes act as a highlight and accentuate your cheekbones. 

coralina - rose d'oro - dolce pink
Overall, these blushes are great. To avoid looking all glittery, I use duo-fibre brush from Sigma. Duo-fibre brush picks up less pigment compared to other brushes which makes the product goes on more naturally. 

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush

Yellow! 

Several weeks ago, Tarte was having a friends-and-family sale for 40% off all items. I took advantage of the sale and got me some blushes. I love me some tarte blushes, and I have heard great reviews about the amazonian clay brushes. I know it's quite old products, but they're still popular which can only mean one thing. They're really good. I bought one a while back at Ulta, it was a deluxe sample size product with the bronzer. I wasn't in love with the bronzer, but I really love the blush which was in the shade dollface.

I got two shades from the sale, buff and blushing bride. They were originally $25, and I got them for $18.40 each. Good bargain. I also decided to get a Sheer Passion cheek tint which was a discontinued product. I know I should've been skeptical about discontinued product, but I caved in because it was only $10 and I love Tarte products so far and I also read some good reviews about it. I also got a sample of brazilian tanner, which I might do a review on later. 

blushing bride
This shade is a shimmery plummy color which would look great on fall, but I can also get away with it pretty much all year long. I gotta be honest, the name kinda got me a little bit. I mean come on, blushing bride sounds really romantic and promising. I also watched Jen from frmheadtotoe did a bridal look tutorial using this blush and she looks really pretty.


buff
I don't really have a blush that's in this color family. I watched Tiffany from MakeupbyTiffanyD talked about it in her video. The blush looks tanned on the packaging, but when I swatched it, it appears more peachy and really flattering. I also learned a while back that Tarte was the makeup brand used of the Katniss Everdeen no-makeup look in The Hunger Games. In this video, a makeup artist uses this shade to achieve the look.

amused
Lately, I've been leaning towards cream/liquid-based products than powder. I just feel like warmer weather is not a good friend for powder. This cheek tint might look very pigmented, but once you blend it out, it had this sheer glow which I really like. The lasting power of this tint is pretty good too. 

Overall, I gotta say, Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush is definitely one of the best blush out there. They're pigmented, and they also have this ability to stay on your face and make you look more put together even after going through a whole day out in the sun. I've tested it out today where I spent all day in the park playing games with friends. I totally recommend this blush. Pretty shades, great formula, awesome lasting power!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

LOTD: Another Simple Natural and Grilled Cheese Sandwich

 Hello everyone! I hope y'all had a great weekend. I had a sleepover with my girlfriends, and it was a lot of fun. It's been a while since I had a girls' night. I sure hope I get to do it again anytime soon!
Do you remember the shower I mentioned about in my last post? Yep. It was amazing. I felt like I was under a waterfall. A-Muh-zing!

I also got a little bit sunburn on my chest. I played volleyball in the park on my friend's birthday picnic yesterday. I wasn't really a volleyball girl when I was in high school, but somehow it was really fun. With the cost of sore arms and red chest, but it was worth it.

Another simple look of mine. 
I want to use up products I have that's been stored away for quite a while. I have built up quite a lot of makeup collection, so sometimes it's tough to love all of my collection equally, if you know what I mean. New products are always a challenge for me. (Makeup lovers, you know what I'm talking about!)


I always prime my face with moisturizer and a sunscreen for my day makeup. Sometimes I also add another primer if I feel like my skin is dry and patchy. 

Products I used:
  • Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation - 4.5
  • Laura Geller Real Deal concealer - medium (under eye area)
  • MAC mineralized skin finish - medium+
  • Revlon photo ready bronzer
  • Benefit Hervana blush
  • TooFaced shadow insurance
  • Ulta baked eyeshadow - covet (lighter shade on inner corner)
  • L'Oreal infallible eyeshadow - amber rush (lid)
  • Tokidoki eyeshadow - choco (crease)
  • Kat Von D tattoo liner - trooper
  • Cover Girl Lash Blast volume mascara (no smudge, separates lashes)
  • Almay get up & grow mascara (volumizes and lengthens)
  • Revlon lip butter - wild watermelon (first picture)
I use two mascaras because I feel like the Cover Girl last blast volume does separate my lashes and gives them a nice length, but it doesn't build volume like my trusty Almay get up & grow mascara. I love this mascara. My friends thought I wore falsies when I use this, but it smudges a little bit throughout a day. That's why I prefer the last blast volume for a warmer day. It doesn't smudge at all on me. Not even a little bit. Well done Cover Girl!

I recently discovered Estee from essiebutton on youtube. I freakin' adore her! She is hilarious and I love watching her videos. In fact, I am watching her on playlist as we speak. She and her boyfriend successfully made me crave for a grilled cheese sandwich through their vlog, Grilled Cheese 101


I went to Target with the grilled cheese in my mind. I bought the fake plastic-y cheese, which according to them is the best cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich. I added salami and used whole wheat bread instead the kind of bread they used in the video. It was a pretty satisfying lunch for me. 

My boyfriend is coming home tomorrow. It's been fun to have girls' weekend and me-time, but it's time for us time. I miss him!!

Thank you for reading. 
I hope y'all have a great week ahead!

❤❤❤

Friday, August 09, 2013

Me-Time!

Happy Friday peeps. So far this week has been like a roller coaster ride. A dear friend of mine lost her dad with no warning whatsoever, and I am truly sad for her. The only thing I could do for her is just praying for her and her family. I can't imagine how it'd feel for me to lose a family member.

My boyfriend is on a "guys bonding" trip to Zion National Park in Utah. They'll go camping for one night to Narrows and enjoy the road trip from Thursday to Monday. I'm so jealous! But us girls, bu us I mean me and my girlfriends, are going to have a sleepover tonight at my friends' new apartment. They just installed this fabulous shower that I'm dying to try out! It's be loooonnngggg time since I last had a girls' night. I think it's important to just hang out with your girl friends and just chat about anything. I don't really have that a lot ever since I've moved to the states.

Yesterday, after my boyfriend went on his roadtrip, I went to the mall after work for some me-time. I went to some stores and tried on some outfits. Bare with me, they're not all flattering on me, but thought I'd share them anyway =)

Ann Taylor Crepe Full Skirt Dress $99.99 $60
 I saw this on Jean's  instagram, (extrapetite.com) and I fell in love with the flowing skirt. I like it even more when I tried it on. The price is reduced to $99.99 with additional 40% off

Ann Taylor Floral Embroidered Peplum Top $69.99 $41.99
 I love this peplum top. I find it's quite tricky to find a figure-flattering peplum for by body type, but when the peplum cuts lower on your torso and the material is not as tight, it's can look gorgeous. 

Ann Taylor Lace Inset Sheath Dress $99.99 $60
I thought this would be good for a professional setting. They didn't have my size, and this was just too long and loose for me. 

LOFT
 On to my favorite store. I came to return some stuff and planned to do an exchange, but nothing really worked on me. The sale section, which is the only section I truly care about (guilty as charged), didn't have any good finds that caught my eye.

Then there was Forever 21. I gotta admit, I don't really like going to the store. I like shopping on their online shop but not so much at their physical store. Everything is just scattered around, and the store always looks like a mess. But I went in there anyway just because.

Forever 21

Forever 21
 After all that, guess what? I didn't get anything. Haha. I wandered around the mall for 2 hours just do have some me-time. Then I went home, caught up with the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars and had dinner. I watch this show just for the sake of watching it. It doesn't thrill me anymore. All the lying game is just getting old for me. The story doesn't make any sense, and the characters are just plain not intriguing anymore. Am I the only one who's feeling like this?

Anyway, thanks for reading. Have a great weekend!






Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Beauty Review: Lush BIG Shampoo

I want to share a quick review with you. Last week I went to Lush just to get some good sniffin' here and there with my boyfriend. I've always wanted to try their products, but they're just so darn expensive! My boyfriend ended up purchasing a sea salt bath bar. It smells like the ocean. The color is really attractive, but when I tried it out, meh. I've never
liked body bar, and this just doesn't lather well at all. I'm kinda disappointed.

But I managed to get a sample of a sea salt shampoo called BIG. The texture is just like sea salt mixed with liquid, but when I read the description at the store, I really wanted to try it out. 

"Over half the base of Big shampoo is made with sea salt, giving massive volume to hair in need of a boost. Sea salt is also full of minerals and de-greases hair, removing dead skin cells and dirt without stripping natural oils for a fresh, squeaky clean feeling. "

I've used it twice, and I like it. I don't think this is the kind of product that you should use on daily basis. The seal salt feels like a scrub for your hair. It cleans and gets rid of the gunk of products on your hair. And if you're like me and you sing at the shower, you'll taste the sea salt running down to your mouth from the shower. Lol. Every time I use this, my hair feels fresh and "squeaky clean".

I dom't know if I'm gonna purchase the full size, but to be honest I have to be in a very happy mood to spend almost $30 for a shampoo. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. (Okay, honestly, I don't even know what that means). 

Happy Tuesday!

❤❤❤

Friday, August 02, 2013

Beauty Review: Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Skin Protectant

Happy Friday everyone! I am glad weekend is just peeking around the corner. The week is just gone by really fast, it's not even funny. I went to the DMV yesterday to renew my driver's license. People told me to go online or just do it by mail, but I really wanted to get a new picture. My current one was taken about 5 years ago, and it just wasn't pretty. Luckily, DMV is just less than a minute away from my home. So I just got a number and went home for about an hour and went back, so the wait wasn't that bad for me.

My lips have the tendency to dry for as long as I can remember. I have tried different kinds of lip balm, but the my lips seem to not be able to lock the moisture for a long time. When Tanya from pixi2woo raved about this product on her videos, I was intrigued. I checked on Amazon, and it was available on prime shipping, so I got my self one.

I've checked other reviews online before I bought it, and it is a best-seller. It's not specifically made for lips, it's more a general skin remedy for sun-burned skin, rough elbows, calluses and also chapped lips. It can also be used as brow gel and cuticle care. You can read more details here.

It's mentioned on the website that a makeup artist uses this cream as a gloss. I can see that, but I don't think I would do that. When I finally got my hands on this, I didn't know what to expect really. I thought the product would be like a white liquid gel, but it wasn't. The texture is rather wet and slippery, kinda like honey but not as sticky. And the scent, ugh. It's supposed to be "fragrance free", but let me just say, it's not the best scent in the world. I don't like it, but I can bare with it if the stuff works.

For me personally, it's not a bad product. It can work as a lip balm, but I don't find it long lasting at all. I've been using it at night before I go to bed, and the next morning my lips are just as dry as before I put it on. I haven't used it for other things, really. I just am disappointed with this purchase. It may work for all of those mentioned above, but I have other products to take care of those. While having a all-purpose product might seem efficient and handy, I prefer to have several  for different uses. I will continue to use this, but I don't see myself repurchasing this one anytime soon. Maybe when I find a way to use this..

Thursday, August 01, 2013

Beauty Review: Maybelline Expert Shadow Duo in Pink Suede

Hello everyone! Sorry for my lack of posting. I had my first CPA exam last Monday, and now I am studying for my second one. I've been eyeing an eyeshadow duo from Estee Lauder in "Raisins". I saw it demonstrated on youtube, but I can't remember whose video it was. Anyway, I like the pretty duo, it has this pink and burgundy. I just think it's a great alternative for the basic brown colors which I always tend to reach for. Long story short, when I see the price tag, $32 for a duo, I just couldn't justify myself, so I didn't go for it. 

 
I saw this Maybelline duo at Target, and I see the color combo kinda reminds me of the "Raisins", so I got that for about $4. I tend to overlook Maybelline products because they're not my favorite. If it weren't for the good reviews, or the color combo in this case, I wouldn't usually buy Maybelline products.

The formulation is pretty good. They're not powdery or anything, but nothing really spectacular. As for the lasting power, I did use a TooFaced primer when I tried this out, but throughout the day, the color didn't look as pretty as when I first applied it in the morning. They oxidize as the day goes by, which most beauty products do, but I notice with this shadow, they do a little bit more.

 All in all, I do like the color. I like that it's not powdery and it's quite easy to blend. If you're looking for an alternative from your everyday brown, this could be it. But, will I buy another shade from the line? Probably not. For $4, I still can get the same if not better quality shadows from Wet 'N Wild.

Thank you for reading!

♥♥♥

P.S.: I have totally been enjoying watching Tati from GlamLifeGuru on youtube. Go check her out! She's awesome!