Reviews + Swatches: NYX Lipglosses

Where did these come from?
I seriously need to stop with the lipglosses... but you know that's not gonna happen, don't you?

NYX produces some of the best valued products out there with quality that contends with pricier cosmetics. With a HUGE color selection, you'll be spoiled for choice and a lipgloss is as affordable as a McDonald's McValue Meal.

This post features the NYX Round Lipglosses and NYX Megashine Lipglosses
Read on for the reviews and swatches

One of their cheaper range of lipglosses, NYX Girls Round Lip Gloss comes in 36 shades with varying textures. I'm rather apprehensive about the sweet orange scent but it does fade within 10 minutes. These glosses are generally non-sticky and really smooth, although that also means that they don't last very long on the lips.

Available at NonPareilBoutique for USD$2 each

Peach: Peachy pink with sparse silver shimmer. Runny texture. My least favorite because I don't like runny lipglosses and I don't like pink

Apricot: Sheer shimmerless apricot. Glossy shine. May look bright on pale lips like mine, if not should be pretty

Cafe Latte: Nude coffee cream with fine dense shimmer. Thick and opaque. Great nude gloss

Whipped: Warm nude pink with light shimmer. Thick but less opaque. Easy-to-wear color

Real Nude: Cool shimmerless mauve. Thick and opaque. May make teeth look more yellow

With twice the price of the Round Lip Gloss, NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss has twice the quality too. The gooier texture (but not sticky!) makes these glosses resemble higher end ones and provide better lasting power. While some may be put off my the cough-syrup-like cherry scent, I prefer it over sweet orange. Having 61 shades is amazing, however, they make choosing a color a tad more difficult than pinning the tail on a donkey. I'll probably get Chestnut and Vanilla next.

Natural: Warm shimmerless mauve and THE PERFECT lipgloss that works like magic. Read more in-depth review of this color [here]

Smokey Look: Nude peach with light shimmer and a lot of shine. Great for pairing with more dramatic eyes. Love this color too

Available at NonPareilBoutique for USD$4 each

Malaysian residents: You can get these glosses via sprees by sgdrugstore


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Win a No Foundation Foundation by NV Perricone

Dr. NV Perricone was inspired to create the No Foundation Foundation when a celebrity make-up artist asked if there was a foundation that would allow skin's natural radiance to shine through.

It reduces the appearance of imperfections and correct skin undertones. It feels light and comfortable without ever looking cakey. It boosts skin moisture, provide antioxidant benefits while protecting against sun damage. It comes in one universal shade for all skin types so nobody's left out. It makes skin look like skin -- only better.

Here's your chance to win a full-sized bottle of Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation worth $50. This contest is opened to US Residents only -- sorry!

Here's what you have to do by December 12th, 2009:

1. Be a Skindeco.net subscriber/follower
2. Read and comply to the contest rules
3. Fill in your details into the Contest Machine
4. Tell me in the comment box, "Why do you want the No Foundation Foundation?"




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Update: House-sitting + Paintball + Pet Fair + New Stuff @ Watsons!

Here's a shocker; I do have other interests besides makeup! Ok, you can stop gasping now. Seriously, stop it...

This time of the term is the most hectic with mid-term tests and piled-up assignments. Sadly, it gets a lot more worse from here as due dates approach and ultimately, the finals. Funny part is, I'm still out and about on weekends instead of chaining myself to the study like I ought to be.

Read on!


The boy and I were asked to house-sit for a very close friend and with the house came 4 dogs, 4 cats, 7 sugar gliders, and bunch of rabbits, guinea pigs, koi fish and hermit crabs. O_O

All went well and nothing died so *phew!*

"The WCA (World Cup Asia) is like the PC Fair of paintball". Apparently men can be quite the shopper when it comes to shopping for "their" stuff. So, perhaps we shouldn't have to pity the men who have to wait for their women while they shop/grab/snatch.

There were some pretty sweet deals and the boy decided that I should have my own face mask (coming from a guy who complains about buying me makeup). My JT Spectra ProFlex Mask is customizable so I chose a turquoise goggle, olive mouthpiece, pink strap and I intend on changing the black earpieces to yellow :D I'm on a color-high. The pink strap, especially, was so 'me'. The topless chick and "Pussy Galore" on the side caused quite the giggle too.

Last Sunday I was at the Cutie Pet Fair in One U's park. Had a whirlwind of fun chasing after all the adorable doggies... My friend, Hun, was doing a talk on sugar gliders so I brought Lexi to mingle with some people. She was very well behaved, which surprised me :-/

Can you guess which dog's my favorite out of the lot? Which one's your favorite? As you can see, no shih tzus, silky terriers or toy poodles in the collage because I'm simply not a fan...

As a reward for reading all my ramblings, here's a bit of beauty-related news! So, it may be a little outdated but if you don't already know, Watsons now carries K-Palette products. You can read my review on their bestselling Real Lasting Eyeliner. The Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation is also on sale if you're thinking of buying it after reading my review. Now's a good time! And is that Majolica Majorca's Holiday 2009 Collection I see?

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Review: Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation

I first read good things about the Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in Kahani’s post back when the product wasn’t even in Malaysia. Despite the fact that I’ve been recommending this foundation to my friends when it finally came in, I never did get a tube for myself and up until now, I’m still not sure why.

Months passed and oddly enough, this foundation eventually did make its way to my stash when Grace included a tube for me in a swap package.

16-hour fade-proof fresh finish sounds good, doesn’t it? Read on for the review

"Freshly applied look for 16 hours. Flawless, semi-matte coverage. Rub proof, fade proof, smudge proof. MINERAL BOOST Breathable formula enriched with minerals, for a healthy, smooth complexion. Skin looks fresh, never dull and cakey. Lightweight, oil free texture. Comfortable all day long. " -- Rimmel London

The shade that I have is Natural Beige 400 which is about 2 shades darker than my skin tone. Heck, it’s the darkest shade that they have! Usually, I’m not put off by dark foundations because I figured that I could easily lighten the color with a fairer foundation. So, I did that and the formula claims went to opposite directions. My skin looked oily, felt heavy and the foundation barely stayed on.

To give the foundation a fair fight, I tried it again on its own and sure enough, it was way too dark, though not completely unnatural. Finally, I understood why this foundation was so well-loved. The lightweight medium coverage it gave was exquisite and for a moment there it felt like I was using a luxurious high-end foundation. I loved the soft glow and of course, the lasting power is indisputable. Some of the foundation did transfer onto my tissue when I was wiping off sweat from playing paintball but it didn’t look as if any foundation had disappeared from my face.

Natural Beige 400 is certainly too dark for me to pull off on a regular basis thus, it’s not my foundation of choice, which is quite a shame. I might get another tube in the right shade or a fair shade to mix. The hesitation is due to the fact that I have way too many foundation for my own good :p

The squeeze-tube packaging is nothing glamorous but I suppose it’s practical. My only gripe for this would be the limited shades.

Retails for RM35.90 at Watsons and selected Jusco. USD$7.99 at Walgreens. Rimmel products often go on sale. Comes in 5 shades for Malaysia and 6 shades for the US.


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Tips + Tutorial: Quickie Makeup in 8 Minutes

One of the most heard-of excuses that women give for not putting on makeup is lack of time; "No time lar..." or "I don't wanna sacrifice my sleeping time"

Seriously though, don't you wanna look at least presentable for the day ahead especially when you're gonna be meeting people? So it's a Monday but you don't have to show the world that you'd rather be under the blanket than anywhere else.

This video shows that you don't have to slave in front of the mirror to put on a full face makeup. All you need is 10 minutes, assuming that you have that much to spare.

Read on for more quickie makeup tips



Quickie Makeup Tips:

1. Use a foundation that gives good coverage and doesn't require setting powder eg. powder foundation, cream-to-powder foundation, stick foundation
2. Well-groomed eyebrows makes a world of difference to your face. If you have time for only one feature, go for the brows
3. Wear looks that you're familiar with aka fail-proof. When you're in a rush, it's not a good idea to try out looks/colors that you've never worn before
   
4. If you're comfortable with light one-wash colors, go for that. Personally, I'm used to eyeliner and smokey eyes so I find that darker eyeshadows work better for my eyes. A dark color (especially for cream eyeshadow) allows me to control the intensity and blend out edges without washing the color out
5. Eyeliners (gel and liquid) need time to dry and they can be time-consuming to apply. If you really must wear a liner, use a waterproof pencil liner
6. Prominent lashes open up the eyes and take away attention from plain eyeshadow. Use a mascara that you're most comfortable using. Avoid mascaras that take a long time to dry or has clumsy wands
7. Go for sheer cheek colors that can be layered on to avoid over-applying
8. There will be no room for errors so minimize them!
9. Relax... one product at a time. The more you rush, the more panicked you'll become and the more errors you'll make
10. If you have 2 more minutes to spare, take a picture of your quickie makeup and send it to me [skindeco.net@gmail.com]. I'd love to see it :) Submissions will be featured in a future post
    

Items Used:

Monistat Chafing Gel (primer)
RMK Powder Foundation EX in 103L
Shu Uemura Glow on Blush in P Orange 55
elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist
MAC Mineralize Duo Eyeshadow in Love Connection
Maybelline Turbo Boost Mascara
Daiso Auto Eyebrow Pencil
Clinique Full Potential Lips in Glamourfull




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Halloween 2009 Scare or Share Contest Winners!

I've finally made up my mind! The winners for Skin Deco's Halloween 2009 Scare or Share Contest are...

Category A

"The Wandering Soul of a Dying Person"
by Bachuchay

Category B

"Zombie Nurse"
by Waternymph

Congratulations! Winners, please e-mail me your mailing and contact detail within 48 hours so that I can send you your prize.

To those who didn't win, not to despair! There will be many more contests and giveaways for you to participate in the near future :)

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Halloween 2009 Scare or Share Contest Entries

It's been very difficult to pick a winner since I've received so many great entries for the Halloween 2009 Scare or Share Contest. My decision's still a tad wonky thus the results will only be announced tomorrow.

Meanwhile, why not pick your favorite from each category? Review the entries and take your pick for Category A and Category B.

Read on for the entires...

Note: If you do not see your entries in this post, I did not receive an entry email from you...

Category A: Halloween Tradition

Look #1: "Simple Vampire" by Traclyn
Look #2: "Cute Pirate Trying to Be Scary" by missmicchan
Look #3: "Lady Fang" by myrissa
Look #4: "Zombie Nurse" by Waternymph
Look #5: "Vampire" by Sherry
Look #6: "Witch" by Mia


Category B: Story Time

Story #1: The Mirror
by Karlenma

Mona has been a patient in a mental institution for several years now, ever since she was twelve years old. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Mona has had a strange fascination with mirrors ever since she lost her family in a fire. She can look at her reflection for hours at a time. When she was still a kid, she would play in front of the mirror and talk to her reflection. Sometimes, she'd disappear only to appear again after several hours. She'd just say she went with her family inside the mirror.

When she got older, during her "lucid" moments, Mona would tell stories of her life with her family inside the mirror. Her stories are typical and mundane, the descriptions so vivid the listener would want to believe her. One would think her family's still with her.

One day, Mona told the doctor that she'd be leaving that night to join her family. Naturally, no one believed her.

That night, Mona did disappear without a trace. Nobody knows how. But one patient claims she saw Mona enter the mirror. Until now, that patient tells stories about Mona's life, that she's happily living with her family.


Story #2: The Wandering Soul of a Dying Person
by Bachuchay

My story is mind-boggling and scary. It was 2006, I was at the bedside of my mom who was suffering from cancer that time. We knew she was dying because she was bedridden already and was too weak because of her long battle with cancer. It was only me and my mom in the room. With so many apparatus and needles connected to her body it would have been impossible for her to go out of the room. She couldn't even move.

One morning, it was around 3:00 a.m she was telling me “Dita is dead”. Dita, by the way, is our dog who is in the dog house in our front yard. I told her, ”No Ma, that’s impossible Dita is still alive" but she insisted that our dog was dead. I just ignored it because I was thinking maybe she’s hallucinating because of the tons of medicine given to her.

Around 6am, my brother went to my Mom’s room and saw me there then he whispered to me, “Sis, Dita is dead.. lying in the dog house”. At that moment I couldn't comprehend how my mom, who was at her bed, was able to see that our dog outside was dead.

That same day my Mom died and until now I cannot understand nor fully comprehend how it all happened.


Story #3: A Tuesday, the 13th Wedding
by Lara Garcia-Granero

In Spain, where I‘m from, seems that we are not too fond of Tuesdays: For starters, Friday, the 13th becomes Tuesday, the 13th in our folklore and we have a popular saying that goes “On a Tuesday, don’t get on board and don’t get married”.

Well, a young couple decided to go against conformity and got married on September, 13 2005. Tuesday, of course. Around midnight, they were in a car going back home after the ceremony when they had an accident. Story has it that they crashed and the hubcap of the car flew off, decapitating the bride. Her head or the body of the groom were never found. It’s been said that if you sit near the spot of the accident around midnight of a Tuesday, the 13th, you can see the headless bride appear. It’s not known whether she is looking for her head… or her lost love.


Story #4: Flying Oranges
by Ksusha Rehan

Once when I was still schooling, I was at home alone... and when it was dark and nobody was around.... suddenly I heard some noise of moving plates... then its became louder and louder...
I was shocked

and then light started blinking.... oranges in my house which was on the table start to fly for some seconds

.... sort of .. like somebody pass it to somebody .... weird.... it was really strange... and very scary...


Story #5: Slipper Mishap
by gingerbee

This story is about the friend of my brother. I don’t really know his name, but let’s just call him Marc. Anyway, this just happened recently, during Typhoon Ketsana, when Marc and his friend decided to walk on waist-deep flood to go somewhere. Unfortunately during the course of their little adventure, one of his slippers floated away. He was just about to run (or wade) after it, when a man told him not to bother because there’s a creek nearby and he might just fall into it. They heeded the man’s advice and went on their way.

Just a few minutes after the slipper mishap, they were surprised and sad to find a man’s body floating – apparently drowned by the flood. But upon closer inspection, they saw that it was the same man who warned Marc not to go after the slipper. They were stunned. Could he have died after warning them, or was it his ghost who just saved Marc's life?

Story #6: Who Turned Off the TV?
by Honeys

So, what would you do when the tv in ur hotel room turned off by itself (it's on standby), but you friend/partneris already asleep (and you know she/he won't wake up even if a plane crashes) when the tv's on and you just came out from the bathroom but you knew it wasn't because of the timer because both of you always slept while the tv's on and will turn it off before going to work. Happened to me twice while i was away on outstation from 20th Oct till 1st Nov 09. Heard from the hotel's staff that the hotel's haunted


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Look: Stage Burlesque Ball + Stage Holiday Sale

I wanted to save these pictures for the proper review of the Stage Burlesque Ball Holiday Collection but I simply couldn't wait to show you this look! Since I'm obsessed with smokey eyes, I hardly go for sweet and feminine so I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome of this look. Now that I'm done praising myself, it's your turn to leave a comment letting me know what you think (be gentle, pretty please!)

Read on to have a look at the palette I've used, full description of items used and a SALE announcement

To create this look, I've used the Stage Burlesque Ball 5-color Eyeshadow Palette in Scandal. 3rd color from the left (reminds me of a less frosty version of Stila's Kitten e/s) on the lid, 2nd color into the crease and lower lash line, 4th color as highlight and 5th color just under the brow.

Items Used:

Face:
Shu Uemura UV Under Base in 01
Revlon Age Defying Liquid Foundation in Golden Beige
Revlon Spa Concealer in Medium
Giorgio Armani Loose Powder

Cheeks:
RMK Blush in 02 Translucent Coral

Eyes:
elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
Stage Burlesque Ball Palette in Scandal
Stila Smudge Pot in Gray
Stage Drama Lash Mascara
Daiso Auto Eyebrow Pencil
GEO Lens in Ash Wing (Gray)

Lips:
Stage Wonderkiss Lipcreme in Coy

Stage is having a Holiday Sale from 21st November 2009 until 3rd January 2010 offering 15% storewide. Unfortunately, the discount is not applicable for the Burlesque Ball Collection. Nevertheless, still a good time to check out those neat palettes and lipcremes while you pick up the Wondergloss Lipgloss. You know you want to ;) Consider [this] an inspiration to shop


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Review: Urban Decay Get Baked Eyeshadow Palette

While I have the self-control to resist cute packagings, it’s a whole other story when it comes to gold and blue eyeshadows. If you want a pink eyeshadow, I’m not your girl but if it’s gold or blue that you need, you’ll have literally a dozen to choose from. So, when I was given the chance to get the Urban Decay Get Baked Palette at 5 dollars off, I jumped at it. I promise, the cute packaging was just a bonus to the drool-worthy colors. Adding more value to this palette was a deluxe sized Eyeshadow Primer Potion and a 24/7 Eye Pencil.

Ok, now I have more than a dozen gold and blue eyeshadows… I’m telling you, makeup is a very addictive hobby! Get out while you can – and I’ll gladly adopt your makeup.

Enough rambling! Read on for the review, swatches and all that jazz…

And that was all the glee I have for this post. Don’t you just hate it when a product puts a damper on your excitement 'cause it's not as great as you'd expected it to be? *sighs*

Look at those swatches. Stunning, aren't they?

Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Sin: This is the champagne shimmer version of the legendary original UDPP. It adds an extra sheen to eyeshadows while helping them to stay on longer. I like using this under matte eyeshadows to add some shimmer

24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Bourbon: Rich brown with some gold sparkle. A great quality eye pencil that applies smoothly and stays on for a good amount of time

Twice Baked: Dark brown with gold glitter. The most usable shade out of the bunch. The shimmers are less intense and the texture's more blendable since it's more powdery than the others. Unfortunately, since it's in a palette, it'll probably be forgotten

Half Baked: Tamer version of Baked. Makes my lids look really swollen. Frosty and not versatile for frequent usage

Flipside: Not quite electric teal with blue sheen. The shadow seems to be translucent so I don't fancy using this color for the lid. Pretty for the lower lashline, though

Baked: Rich, in-your-face, bronze. I feel it's more gold, actually. Uber frosty and not versatile for frequent usage

If you're wondering what the fuss is all about, it's the frost. Frost is bad for me. Shimmer's awesome but frost... it makes me look like Quasimodo. I may be Asian but my eyes don't even look that fleshy without makeup.

Look #1: Swollen eyes... I don't wanna talk about it

Look #2: Better but the Baked is so distracting! I'll keep it for my bolder looks

Oh well, at least the overall effect still turned out to be okay... Yes, I'm full of myself. I know by now that I won't be using much of that palette and it's safe to say that I won't be keen on buying any more Urban Decay eyeshadows... all so frosty! I might wanna give the Deluxe Eyeshadow a try though as the colors don't look frosty. I'm starting to lose interest in Urban Decay despite all the hype and creative packaging. The products are simply not agreeing with me! :( What else is there to try from Urban Decay? I want to love this brand so much for many many reasons but there's not one product that truly is spectacular (UDPP aside).

Conclusion: I love that I have this palette but I don't love it

This USD$53 valued palette retails for USD$28. Available from Urban Decay and Beauty.com.
Malaysian residents can get this product via sgdrgstore


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Review: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

It's a powder! It's a foundation! It's MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural! *phew* That was quite a mouthful. Didn't quite fit in the dramatic quote, did it? This product is not to be mistaken with the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish which are bronzers/blushers/highlights depending on the color. So their packaging and dome shape are practically identical as with all of MAC's baked cosmetics but the featured product for this post is a actually a powder-cum-foundation (Lol! Cum -- sorry).

Got it? Now, moving on to the review...

"A luxurious domed face powder with minerals, slowly baked to provide a dimensional yet natural-matte finish. Provides perfect low coverage. Use to set and fix foundation or as a touch-up throughout the day."

As mentioned in the introduction, the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural is a powder-cum-foundation (Lol, cum). You can either use it to set liquid foundation as you would with a loose powder or layer on for coverage. Quite a nifty product, this is.

When I was considering this product, I was looking for an alternative to my HG Giorgio Armani Loose Powder. You see, I'm quite picky when it comes to setting powder because some will tend to cake on my face ruining my foundation altogether. Several MakeupAlley reviews and You Tube videos later, I decided that the MSF Natural was for me.

The finely-milled mineralize powder is pressed into a dome shape that's quite fragile though it's cute. Using a kabuki brush, there wasn't much fall-out when the brush was swirled. A decent amount of the product is picked up and buffs into the skin very easily. With this powder, I don't worry about uneven application or over-applying. That's how well it blends! If you're into contouring with powder, a darker shade of this product would be ideal too.

To match my NC35 skin tone, I got the MSF Natural in Medium Plus which is a pretty good match. The color is neutral with no overpowering undertones thus giving a completely natural coloration. The color's so neutral that it made my slightly pinkish Revlon ColorStay Foundation (Golden Beige) match better to my skin tone.

Two things that concerned me about this powder based on the description was "matte finish" and "low coverage". From the before-after picture I'm sure you can tell that those worries are out of the window. The powder blotted off the excess shine without inhibiting skin's natural glow. When layered on, the coverage is sufficient enough to very naturally conceal minor imperfections and discolorations. I was rather impressed, to say the least.

This has got to be one of my favorite products from MAC and I'm certainly not bothered to hunt for another setting powder for a long time to come. At RM115/10g (I think!), the price may seem steep but since it gave me more bang for a buck, it's totally worth it. Although, mine came from the US so it was USD$25... even better value! :D Comes in 8 shades.




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Review + Color Talk: Not Bored of MAC Just Yet

I swear on my entire makeup collection; I'm not a MAC devotee. Just so happens that they make a lot of products that I really like... And some of my favorite products are their eye colors. The eyeshadows are sometimes questionable but the pigments are almost always gorgeous. Even ParisB, who is not a MAC fan, cannot resist.

This post will be a continuation of the video tutorial that I left y'all with last weekend so if you wanted to know what are all the products that I've used (and what I was eating), do continue reading. Also, I've done swatches of some MAC eye colors in my collection.

Read on...

Look #1: Cool Heat (lid), Bronzescape (crease)
Look #2: Heritage rouge (lid), Vintage Gold (crease), Dreammaker (highlight)
Look #3: Old Gold (lid), Glamour Check! (crease)
Look #4: Heritage Rouge (crease), Teal (lower lashline)

Dreammaker (Starflash) - LE: Sparse gold shimmer with hardly any pigmentation. I use this for blending sometimes but not so much as a highlight or on its own. I predict that I'll get bored of it soon enough
Glamour Check! (Starflash) - LE: I love this shimmery warm chocolate brown color. It's great as a lid or crease color and pairs well with any other color. Great blendable texture too. If it's ever repromoted again, get it!
Cool Heat (Frost) - LE: To be honest, I didn't intend on getting this color because I knew the texture was crappy but the moment I saw the gorgeous teal blue with golden shimmer, I grabbed it. The best way to apply this shadow is wet or you'll get very chunky chalky color

Now on to the good stuff! I've lost track of whether or not the colors are LE but pigment samples are not hard to find so even if the color is LE, you can still get a sample.

Vintage Gold: This dirty green with gold pearl is a nice color to have around. It's great for many sorts of looks and matches well with many colors.
Old Gold: One of those unique colors that are quite impossible to dupe. Sometimes it looks gold, sometimes green. Use a black base underneath and you'll see the green in this gold really popping out. I don't use this color much because it's quite vibrant (almost fluorescent) but it's really a must-have pigment simply because it's special
Teal: Excellent color which is why I'm very surprised that I haven't been using this color! I have a thing for teal eyeshadow and this one certainly doesn't disappoint. The texture is incredible too
Heritage Rouge: Yet another favorite, this low-shimmer burgandy shade is the kind of 'red' that won't make your lids look swollen
Bronzescape (Solar Bits): This one's not a pigment but it resembles a pigment. It's called Solar Bits and the shadows come in loose clusters. It's very creamy so I find the texture difficult to work with. I won't be bothered to get another Solar Bit. one's enough for collection sake

In case you didn't watch the tutorial, here it is again...



Items Used:

Eyes:
elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
Benefit Creaseless Eyeshadow in Strut
MAC Pigment in Heritage Rouge
MAC Pigment in Vintage Gold
I Nuovi Trucolor Eyeshadow in Arabian Black
MAC Eyeshadow in Dreammaker
MAC Pigment in Gold Dusk
MAC Fluidline in Black Track
I Nuovi Pencil Liner in Black
Maybelline Cat Eyes Mascara
Revlon Fantasy Lengths Lashes in Minx
Daiso Auto Eyebrow Pencil

Face:
Monistat Chafing Gel (base)
Revlon Age Defying Makeup in Golden Beige
Revlon Spa Concealer in Medium
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Medium Plus

Cheeks:
MAC Mineralize Blush in Superdupernatural
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in New Vegas

Lips:
OCC Lip Tar Custom Color (Uber + Melange + Hush)
NYX Megashine Lipgloss in Smokey

Food:
"Keropok Roda" -- Potato Wheel Crackers. It's a type of snack



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Reviews: Shu Uemura Red Juvenus

Then Little Red Riding Hood said, “But Grandma,
What a lovely great big furry coat you have on.”
“That’s wrong!” cried Wolf. “Have you forgot
To tell me what BIG TEETH I’ve got?
Ah well, no matter what you say,
I’m going to eat you anyway.”
The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
She whips a pistol from her knickers.
She aims it at the creature’s head
And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.
A few weeks later, in the word,
I can across Miss Riding Hood,
But what a change! No cloak of red,
No silly hood upon her head.
She said, “Hello, and do please note
My lovely furry wolfskin coat.”
-- extracted from Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf by Roald Dahl

Please read on for the review of Shu Uemura Red: Juvenus skin care range…

I apologize for the very random introduction. This post will be featuring Shu Uemura’s latest skin care range called Red: Juvenus that has replaced their Beta Glucan range. This range uses Phyto-Red Energy Complex, which comprises of three main red plant-based ingredients, to prevent signs of aging by boosting energy to correct fine lines and give immediate radiance to the skin.

The three key phyto (plant) ingredients are:

• Amalaki: stimulates production of red blood cells, enhances cellular regeneration, limits breakdown of collagen
• Pomegranate: inhibits free radicals (antioxidant), boosts collagen production
• Lycopene: antioxidant, delivers active ingredients
  

Three trial-sized products from the range were given to me for testing and after roughly a month of using this line, I'm still feeling rather undecided about this range. While the products felt comfortable on my skin, there wasn't any substantial improvements to my skin condition either. It's not to say that the products in this line aren't good but I wouldn't recommend this line if you have particular skin concerns to address. However, if you're simply looking for maintenance and the Red: Juvenus line is within your budget, perhaps you'd like to give these products a try. By the way, every product in this line smells really good.

Vitalizing Refining Lotion Enriched (RM135/150ml) is not your average toner. It replenishes moisture to the skin while exfoliating and refining its texture. The toner leaves a slightly sticky film on the skin so if you're not comfortable with that, you could opt for the more watery non-enriched version.

The only product in this line that actually made a difference to my skin was the Intense Vitalizing Concentrate (RM240/30ml), which I included to my night skin care regimen. Upon application, I could visibly tell that the texture of my skin has been refined. I loved how smooth and firm my skin felt too. Unfortunately, the concentrate didn't really sustain its benefits as soon as I've stopped using it.

I found the Vitalizing Retexturizing Emulsion (RM240/75ml) to be very average. It was certainly too light for night time use so I used it as my day moisturizer. It moisturizes and stops there. Perhaps I would be more satisfied with the cream moisturizer instead. After all, I totally loved the Phyto-Black Lift Renewing Firming Night Cream.

So...... I had a pretty tough time with this post! Words come easy when you're passionate about a product (be it love or hatred) but it's quite the contrary when you're writing about something that lacks "oomph". I guess the Red: Juvenus line simply isn't for me :(

Other products in this line includes Vitalizing Line-Reducing Eye Essence (RM160) and Vitalizing Retexturizing Cream (RM240).

The products featured in this post were provided by Shu Uemura Malaysia for review by Skindeco.Net


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Here's a Video Tutorial for the Weekend!

So, I had plans to update the blog with new posts but responsibilities and social life got in the way...

As usual, I'll be away for the weekend but I may pop in occasionally ie. if I happen to bring my laptop to somewhere with wifi.

While I'm gone, here's a video tutorial for ya. Full product listing and the intended post to accompany this video shall have to wait.

Who's going to watch 2012 this weekend? I'm going tonight! :D


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LAST CALL: Halloween 2009 Scare or Share Contest

If you haven't submitted your entry for this contest, there's still time. I've gotten a good amount of look submissions but only a few for the Story Time category. Come on, people! I'm still waiting to be scared outta my skin! Please go to the original contest post for details.

A reminder: Please make sure that you send in your entry email AND submit your entry comment on the contest post or I won't be able to qualify you.

Also, from the response of this contest (despite it being open to all), I gathered that the readers prefer random drawing contests rather than judged ones (like this one). So for the time being, no more judged contests.


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Review: Ink for Eyes by Urban Decay

Buying Urban Decay Cosmetics is like buying art. Their creative packaging designs, although not always the most practical *coughs* UDPP *coughs*, certainly grab attention and lemmings. My knees weakened when my love for cream/gel liners met Ink for Eyes by Urban Decay... How could I have resisted the beautifully detailed peacock print? After reading several good reviews for this cream liner, I caved and got one in Binge.

Read on for the review


Unlike the typical pot cream liner, the strip of "ink" accommodates half of the casing. The other half holds a dual-sided angled liner and smudger brush. Generally, cream liners aren't supposed to be exposed to the air too much in fear that the liner will dry up in the pot so having a very "open" strip of liner concerned me. Thus far, the liner hasn't been much drier than when I first got it so I suppose the formula is different than your typical cream liner. There's a full-sized mirror on the inside of the lid too.

The brush, while a good addition, did little for me. I had trouble lining with the thick and sparse angled liner brush, which made it difficult for precise lining. Since I don't smudge out my line, I don't have much use for the smudger either.

Being a cream/gel liner veteran, I thought I'd know what to expect from Ink for Eyes but I was in for a surprise. Unfortunately, not a good surprise :( You'd be very wrong if you had thought that you're gonna get a smooth solid line from this liner. The unusually dry texture of the cream felt like crayon and getting a solid line required tons of layering. It got pretty time-consuming and frusting to keep dipping into the ink strip over and over and over again. Only plus side is that you won't have to wait for the liner to dry before resuming to regular blinking.

Yeah-huh. It smudges. Unless you are absolutely positive that you're not gonna touch your eyes, the liner is gonna budge the moment you exert any sort of pressure on it. At this rate, I'd rather use Urban Decay's 24/7 Eye Pencil despite the fact that I almost never use eye pencils except to tightline or on waterlines.

Binge is a gorgeous midnight blue color with a slight hint of shimmer. Sadly, it isn't worth the trouble and unreliability. I should've expected the color to not be pigmented because Temptalia's swatches for Binge looked drier compared to Demolition (brown) and Zero (black) but I didn't want another black or brown gel liner. *sighs* I don't wanna trade this off either because I love the packaging so much. It's just a huge shame that the content is close to crap and it's not cheap!



Retails at USD$22 at Urbandecay.com and Sephora.com


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Beware of Fake Beauty Diary Masks!

Can you tell which one's the fake?

The highly popular Beauty Diary Masks from Taiwan have been raved about by girls everywhere. At about RM3 per piece from online sellers, they were affordable too. A close friend who used to bring in these masks from Taiwan told me that the cost price was around RM2.40 a piece. So, you can imagine my surprise when the boy's sisters came back from the night market and bought a box of 10 at RM20, meaning that the masks were sold below cost. How can that be? As it turns out, they had unknowingly bought imitations. By the way, the fake one smelled like berry too.

I've put both fake and genuine masks side by side to see if I could spot any distinct differences. This post reveals them...


The comparisons were made not only with the same Mixed Berry mask but also other flavors

Incomplete dot on key: This may not be a sure indication but the dot on the key should be at least more than half completed. Left is fake


Blurred and uneven seal: The fake mask is messily sealed compared to the genuine one. The seal imprint of the genuine one also looks clearer. Left is fake

Blurred and uneven seal: Similar to the front, the seal imprint on the back is also unclear

Raised expiry date figures: The fake mask doesn't have while the genuine one does. However, this doesn't apply to the Apple mask. From what I've read, the Apple mask doesn't have raised figures on the packet. Left is fake

Kink more than 1cm from top: The fake mask's kink was 1.5 from the top edge of the packet. I've compared all 12 genuine masks that I have in my possession and all of their kinks are situated at 1cm from the top edge. Middle is fake

All three are genuine and as you can see, all of them have kinks in the correct position, have raised figures and are all neatly sealed. The differences that I've observed are not sure fire ways to tell a fake mask from a genuine one. Imitation packaging can and will be further improved to look more genuine.

Unless you're buying the masks at a higher retail price from Guardian Pharmacy, it's quite difficult to to tell if you've bought a genuine mask or not until you have the fake one side-by-side. I'd highly discourage purchasing masks from night markets and unauthorized stalls. Purchasing online is still relatively safe as long as you're purchasing from reputable sellers such as beauty_zone33 of Lowyat.net. Basically if you're getting the masks at less than RM2.50 a piece, it's very likely that they're fake.

Please do not attempt to use fake masks. You don't know what's in them and you'll be at risk of serious skin problems and allergies.


Have you encountered any fake Beauty Diary Masks? Do share your experience!


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