Pampering Time: Clarins, The Face Shop, Clinique, Bliss

Hi guys!

Can you believe that it's Christmas again? I mean I feel that it is just like a blink of an eye and we almost reach the end of 2013!

It's the most wonderful time of the year... The day is filled with many events and gathering with family and friends, which will make our skin looks tired by the end of the day. Pampering our skin once in a while is important,  to make sure we can still look fresh despite our hectic schedule.

Once in a week, or once in two weeks, I will do my "skin pampering" time. I always love Clarins, it's my go-to skincare for 6 years. The routine start with Clarins Gentle Renewing Brightening Peel. It's a chemical exfoliates, it serves same function as physical exfoliates such as scrubs. But since my skin is very sensitive, I chose to use chemical exfoliates like this one as it is more gentle.

front

back

texture

As we can see from the picture, the texture is watery like, and have a very subtle fragrance which I like and suitable for any sensitive skin. I apply it on the cotton pad and gently dab all over my face except my eye contour area. I especially dab it on my nose as it has few blackheads. In my opinion, exfoliating your skin before putting mask on is very important because it just cleans your face.

 The Face Shop Avocado Sheet Mask

 



 

After that I use Avocado sheet mask from The Face Shop. I have tried many sheet masks from The Face Shop, and I think this Avocado mask is the best for sensitive skin. It doesn't cause me any breakouts, and it leave my skin glowing and fresh.

front

back

texture

 



Next after taking the mask off, I leave it for 5 minutes and rinse my face. I know some people will not rinse it off, but I personally prefer to rinse it off. I will then apply Clarins Intensive Brightening Serum. It has quite the same texture with Clarins Gentle Renewing Brightening Peel, but a little bit more dense. I like to use this serum because it leaves my skin supple. However the price is on the steeper side, so usually I will think twice before purchasing this serum.

Clinique Youth Surge Night

texture



After using the serum, I will apply my daily night cream, Clinique Youth Surge Night for dry combination skin. I used to have Clarins Night Cream from the brightening series as well, but I don't like it. It is the only one Clarins product that is not working for me. So I just try this Clinique night cream, but I am still searching for the better night cream that is suitable for my skin. If you guys have suggestion about night cream, just leave a reply in comment section about your favourite night cream! :) Clinique Youth Surge Night is a good night cream though. The texture is similar to common night cream which has rich and creamy texture.

front

 

back

texture

I don't forget about my eye area as well, I will apply tiny amount of Bliss Fabulous Every Day Eye Cream on my upper eye lid and my eye bag. I usually apply this eye cream in the night. I think this eye cream is good enough for me now, as I'm still on my 20s I feel I don't need a very much heavy eye cream. This eye cream is very lightweight and doesn't weight my eyes down which is a good thing, but still hydrate my eyes. And one more good thing is the price is not so expensive compare to other eye cream in the market, I got this for less than SGD 50 at Sephora (I forget the exact price).

Hope you guys have a jolly Christmas! Happy holidays everyone, and thanks for reading!

xoxo,
Ivana

Benefit They're Real Mascara Review

I got this mascara from Benefit Do The Bright Thing Makeup Kit which has been reviewed before. I was happy with my purchase of this makeup kit, but surprisingly, I'm not impressed by their mascara. This mascara has gotten so much hype among beauties junkie, but it just didn't work so well for me.

They're Real Mascara

the mascara wand and formula

The mascara that I got is actually the mini version of They're Real mascara. The normal size is much bigger than this. However I was quite relieved that I didn't purchase the bigger version as this product fails me :( I don't know if maybe the mini size version performance is less stellar than the bigger version, but I think I will just try another brand of mascara once I finish this one.

Left: bare lashes. Right: after apply one coat

It's actually quite impressive for lengthening, it can lengthens my lashes just after applying one coat. The problem is, they smudge after few hours of application. The smudge is not really bad that it makes me look like having Panda eyes, but still, I hate mascara that cause smudging. As far as I know, this is not a waterproof mascara, so maybe that what caused the smudging in the first place.

Overall I think some drugstore mascara is much better than They're Real mascara in terms of price and performance that they deliver.

Thanks for reading guys!

xoxo,
Ivana

theBalm Meet Matt(e) Eyeshadow Palette: Review, Swatches and LOTD

Hi hi!

It's quite rare nowadays to find a very good quality of all matte eye shadow palette. I was so glad when I found this palette at Sasa. It retails at SGD 45.

Let's take a look at Meet Matt(e) eye shadow palette!

the front cover

the back cover

 

Meet Matte eye shadows 



I think the name is so clever! Meet Matt, and there are 9 Matts on the palette plus a dual-ended brush. The packaging is a nice square-ish heavy duty cardboard and very travel friendly.

The swatches:

without flash

with flash

This all matte eye shadow palette from theBalm doesn't disappoint me. The shades are all smooth and buttery, which I like. The colour payoffs are great, what you see at the palette is what you get when you apply. However, there are 2 shades that are not so pigmented. They are Matt Smith and Matt Chung. I honestly don't have any idea how to work with these 2 shades as the colour doesn't really show off on my skin. I think probably people with darker skin tone will enjoy these 2 shades more than I do. I also don't quite like Matt Chung's texture, as it feels a bit too chalky for my liking. But beside all this, I love this palette!

Look of the Day:

Face & Lips
Givenchy Photo Perfexion Light Liquid Foundation
La Prairie Loose Powder
Benefit Dandelion Blush
Clarins Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm

Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Matt Batali (inner & outer lid)
Matt Gallagher & Matt Ramirez (eyebrow)
Kanebo Kate Super Sharp Eyeliner
Benefit They're Real Mascara

Hope you like this review. and thank you for reading!

xoxo,
Ivana

La Prairie Cellular Treatment Loose Powder Review

Hi Lovelies!

Today I am going to write review about a product that I love for a long time: La Prairie Cellular Treatment Loose Powder.

La Prairie Cellular Treatment Loose Powder

 

Finely-milled loose powder

La Prairie's loose powder is very finely milled, it has a very soft and silky texture. It's very easy to apply as well. I have been using this product for almost three years, and I don't even want to switch to another brand. That's how good it is. I have a normal skin, maybe tend to be more dry than oily in my opinion. But usually after applying my Clarins Whitening Moisture Day Emulsion and Clarins Sunblock, it does become quite oily. I always apply La Prairie's loose powder after it for daily use, and it does its job wonderfully, it gives the skin smooth and silky finish. It lasts about seven hours for me without a need to re-apply. I chose translucent 2 (darker) with the thought that may be Translucent 1 (lighter) colour will be too white for me. Even though I am extremely pleased with Translucent 2, I plan to buy the Translucent 1 as soon as I finish this tub because I notice I have reddish/cooler tone of skin which will be more suitable for fairer tone powder. And what I love is it comes with travel size version, it's very convenient for me to bring it wherever I go! :)

Full-size

Travel-size

 

Full-size and travel-size comparison

 

To conclude, even though it's a bit pricey, but for the quality and amount of powder you receive, it's totally worth it. The full-size lasts me about 1 and half year even though I use it everyday.

I hope this is helpful for you guys, thank you for reading :)

xoxo,
Ivana

Lush: Therapy, Rub Rub Rub and Snow Fairy Review

Hello guys!

Last week I bought some goodies from Lush. Actually it's my first time I've ever been to Lush. Whenever I passed by the shop, I never went in there. However last week I'm looking for new body wash for daily use. I was glad I went to Lush! I feel the products there are unique, they're quite different from other body care brand like The Body Shop for example, in term of packaging, scent, and how to use the product itself. I think the most famous product from Lush is their bath bombs. But since I always use shower not bathtub, I didn't buy any bath bomb.

Instead I bought three products: Therapy massage bar, Rub Rub Rub shower scrub, and Snow Fairy limited edition shower gel.

Three products I bought at Lush

First thing first, I bought Therapy because the salesperson said that this massage bar is good to prevent and reduce stretch mark, which is actually very good for a pregnant woman. Being pregnant myself, I feel that this product is just too good to pass by. In addition, it's made from Shea butter. I've always been a fan of any product that made of Shea butter :)

Therapy massage bar

Therapy massage bar produce oils when in contact with the skin, so it's kind of oily. Some people may not like oily product, but I personally like it. I feel that it's hydrating. The scent of Therapy is kind of citrus and milk chocolate mixed together, but it's not overpowering so I'm okay with it. The only minus point to me is that it's quite difficult to grab the massage bar once it produces oil since it become slippery.

Rub Rub Rub shower scrub

inside the tub

Rub Rub Rub is the second product that I bought. It's a catchy name for a product, and I'm glad to buy this shower scrub. It leaves a very smooth skin after I use it in the shower. And it smells very fresh! It also has Mimosa mixed with Orange Flower smell to it, which I like. And the colour--bright blue--just reminded me of the sea... so relaxing :)

Snow Fairy limited edition shower gel

Snow Fairy has caught my attention because of the colour. I rarely seen any shower gel that is Pink. And being Christmas limited edition has also made me curious to try it. On the bottle, it said it smells of candy floss and pear drops. However, in my opinion, it smells like bubble gum mixed with strawberry Fanta. Love it! And on the bottle it's written: "How to use: If you really don't know how, then we suggest you find someone you really like and invite them into the shower with you to demonstrate." Haha, it's kind of cheesy, but cute at the same time. I've never seen such a joke on other brand's products.

Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy the review!

xoxo,
Ivana

Benefit "Do The Bright Thing" Makeup Kit Review and Swatches

Oh, what a joy to start a beauty blog!

A little bit about myself before I start blogging. I live in Singapore, and I'm happily married with a wonderful husband. I'm now on my second trimester of pregnancy with my first kid.

Recently I got such an addiction with anything pretty and pampering like makeup and skincare. When I went to Sephora or Lush, I just feel so happy! I must admit that before I'm pregnant, I don't have an addiction for makeup and skincare like now.

So for this first post I'm going to do review and swatches for Benefit "Do The Bright Thing" Makeup Kit.

 simple and nice packaging!

As you can see, it comes in handy with a cute book-like packaging. I can see myself to bring this kit when I travel.

 

"Do The Bright Thing" makeup kit by Benefit

This makeup kit consist of 4 products and 1 applicator. It's a very good kit for a makeup beginner like me because it features a step by step tips and tricks of how to apply the product.

The first product is "that gal" brightening face primer. If you want your makeup to last longer, you should apply primer after your moisturizer & sunblock, and right before you apply your foundation. It helps to provide a smooth, even surface on which to apply make up.

"that gal" brightening face primer

 

This primer has a soft pink creamy texture, but I don't find it greasy at all. I have a very sensitive skin, which makes me hesitant to apply this product to my face at first, as I scared I will have breakouts after using it. But to my surprise, it doesn't cause me any breakouts at all. Moreover, it smells just like strawberry bubble gum! :)

Upper: High Beam highlighter

Lower: Dandelion blush

 



Second product is High Beam luminescent complexion enhancer. It serves as a highlighter on upper cheekbone, or anywhere else that you want it to have bright effect. The third product is Dandelion Blush. It's a pretty, and very natural soft peach colour when it applies on the skin. It comes with a small blush brush. I don't fancy about the brush, because the bristles are just kind of "rough" in my opinion. However, High Beam and Dandelion are my favourite in the kit, apply together just makes my cheek have a nice natural glow to it without appear like wearing any makeup at all.

The fourth product is Bad Gal waterproof eyeliner. I have tried to prove its waterproof-ness by trying to rub a small amount of water. It doesn't budge at all! The last product is They're Real mascara. I have such a hype from Benefit Fan that this mascara can makes their eyelashes longer. I haven't tried it yet, but I will make a separate review once I've used it :)

one swipe of Bad Gal liner

 

Overall I'm happy with this makeup kit. It's great for beginner, it's adorable, and not too pricey as well (compare to other single Benefit product!) It costs me SGD 50, and I think it's worth the price.

I hope this review has been helpful, and thanks for reading! :)

xoxo,
Ivana