Lipstick Week: L'Oreal Color Riche Intense Lipstick

High-end lipsticks are nice to have, but if you're on a budget there are also wonderful alternatives out there. You won't be getting the same fine texture, lasting power, and packaging of course but for the price you're still nabbing a pretty good deal. ;) Take for example the L'Oreal Color Riche Intense Lipstick (P625). This drugstore product can give those luxe tubes a run for their money!

It's weird that these lippies aren't receiving a lot of noise here - they're quite good! Pigmented, creamy, and beautifull packaged, these come in a variety of show-stopping colors. The texture is smooth and light on the lips. It doesn't feel waxy at all.

Worth mentioning is the fact that these lippies also have no scent or taste. They definitely don't feel drugstore!

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The armored finger

Hey folks! What's up? Sometimes I feel weird just talking about what I did, what I wore, and what I thought about all the time here. I know it's the nature of a blog, but I feel so self-absorbed I'm sick of myself. :P You have to help me out by talking about yourselves too, and suggesting topics I can work on! This blog isn't all about just me, you know, not anymore. It's a community of beauty enthusiasts and I always, always take your input into consideration. So let me know what you want to read about, okay?

Anyway I was scouring through my photo albums when I found a set of pics I took about two months ago. It's a Pinkbox ring that I absolutely adore! It reminds me of a film called the Curse of the Golden Flower, which I loved. I wrote a whole blog post about it and all. Haha. This ring makes me feel like a Chinese empress whenever I wear it (er, humor me).

I know you'll ask - is the ring uncomfortable?

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Lipstick Week: NARS Satin Lip Pencils

I've been in love with lipsticks since my first swipe at five years old. I love how they can brighten up my face in a matter of seconds, and how there's a shade for whatever look and mood I have for the day. Lipsticks are never boring. There are always new colors and formulas rolling out from the labs, and believe me, they are getting better and better each year!

So, I've been saving up my lipstick reviews since last month, when I decided to do a Lipstick Week. I thought to start with an amazing lip product called the NARS Satin Lip Pencil (P1,550). If you could look past the price tag (and the fact that they don't twist up), these are total must-haves!

 

I love them because they're pigmented - opaque in one layer - and feels very thin on the lips. When they dry up (in two hours) they don't feel like a waxy, crackly layer. Instead they feel more like a light, flexible blanket of the color! Not many lipsticks that I've tried have that dry-down texture. 

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Loaded up: Wild Peach Palette in Large

If you ask me, I would rather just blog all day. I have so many exciting new finds as well as some random musings to share, but today is tight! I need to direct the shoot for a new batch of drinks for Dakasi (one of my clients) today. You must try the drinks soon, they are delicious, promise! 

Anyways I don't have much time so I thought I'd do a show and tell for today. Recently, I managed to fill up my large Wild Peach Cosmetics Customizable Palette. I put in all the nice blushes and random eyeshadows I could bear to depot. It was difficult because many of these come in pretty packaging - however, if I don't put them in one place I'd forget I have them! It's such a waste otherwise.

Have a look! I have also linked the reviews I've done on these, in case you're interested. ;) 

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Liz Asks: What do you think of the Asian puffy eye or eye bag trend?

Hi folks! I read about the Asian eye bag trend last year and thought that it's just one of those passing fancies Koreans get themselves into. But apparently it's still going strong, even in Japan! Wait, what is it anyway? Here's an informative photo collage from Sasa:

Why anyone would want to give themselves eye bags on purpose might be baffling, but the explanation kinda makes sense. The older we get the more put together we look - obviously, we obsesses more about hiding our perceived flaws, and we have the means to fix them with cosmetics or surgery. Some mature women also experience "sunken" eyes due to the loss of collagen over time. That feature can make them look more aged and tired.

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K-Palette 1-Day Tattoo Real Lasting Eye Pencil

You've read the raves I'm sure. The K-Palette 1-Day Tatto Real Lasting Eye Pencil (P795) is the reformulated version of the old pencils and comes in Super Black and Deep Brown. These are heavily pigmented, creamy, and very easy to work with once you get the hang of the flat tip. They stay on the whole day - well, as long as you have primer or powder on top of your lids. If you don't, the eyeliner is golden for about 5-6 hours, which is a good amount of time anyway.

I find that this migrates to my upper lids and smudges on the outer corner of the eyes if I use it on bare skin for more than five hours. I wore this to a shoot where I was out for a solid twelve hours (7am to 7pm). By noon, the eyeliner was starting to smudge. By 3pm, I have two queer lines on my crease, as the pigment has transferred. Well, it was a pretty hectic and stressful day as I was the one directing the shoot. Most of my makeup has gone to the dogs come 3pm. 

I know I sound cranky, because by all intents and purposes the K-Palette pencil liners are awesome. It's just that, they pale in comparison to the liquid version.

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Etude House CC Cream in Glow

It was only a matter of time before Etude House, the Korean beauty juggernaut, came out with their very own CC cream. I find it to be a unique product because unlike the other CC creams I've tried, this is a white cream with tiny pigment spheres! It's sheer but gives this glow-from-within finish, as if there's a softly lit light bulb trained on my face. Can't think of a better way to describe it!

The Etude House CC Cream in Glow is off-putting at first because it starts out very, very white, like a kabuki mask. But as I rub it starts to slowly blend in to my natural skin color. There's still a bit of whiteness due to the SPF30, but it's not obvious unless you flash a bright light. I love the finish; it's subtle enough that it's difficult to capture on camera! There is shimmer in the formula although it's very fine.

Here's a quick run down!

What I love about the product

• Its main purpose is to correct and care. It corrects the dullness and uneveness of my skin, while moisturizing and protecting it from the sun at the same time.
• Gives a soft focus, glow-from-within finish (with a bit of vigorous blending). It also sort of counteracts the yellowness of my skin, and gives it a more neutral tone - if that makes sense.
• This CC cream is an excellent makeup base!

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A rant on silly quotes

I have this perma-rage face when I'm on Facebook, or on Twitter, sometimes. It's just that everyone loves posting these quotes that make me want to tear my hair out! Quotes about anything from religion, politics, love, friendship, to traveling, clothes, and shoes. Oh I love myself a good quote, but is it very hard for people to post ones that make sense? Enough with the one or two-liners that are purposefully vague or ridiculous hasty generalizations. Give me three paragraphs of solid life lessons, if that's what it takes!

(And can they please check the source too.)

I won't discuss religion or politics here because you won't like me very much if I told you what I thought, but I will talk about a recent fashion quote I saw on my timeline. It annoyed me rather badly; I took a few minutes to stew and even considered writing a chilly comment under the photo. But then, what's a blog for? :P

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Reader question: Should I get a peel or microdermabrasion?

Hey there Ms. Liz. I always see advertisements of Diamond Peel/ Chemical Peel, Microdermabrasion, etc. around the mall. I haven't tried any of those except for a basic facial that extracts comedones. I don't have pimples, just the occasional ones during my time of the month or if I forgot to wash my face. I just have bumps scattered on my forehead, visible pores around the nose area and a few bumps as well.

I'm only 20 and I'm scared those services might harm my facial skin and would turn out worse. So my question is when do we consider getting a diamond peel? Or is it required to get a diamond peel once in your life? Should I get one? - Nerys

Hey Nerys! I've tried quite a lot of facial treatments in my beauty blogging "career", and the truth is I have regretted most (not all) of them. Let me describe my skin condition back then: I had serious acne, from white heads to cystic ones, and they left very serious blemishes that would take months to fade away (still, luckily). I would get some sort of elaborate facial and my skin would look great for a few days, and then I would break out heavily for the next week or so. What a vicious cycle!

The worst thing that I think I did to my skin is the chemical peel (blue peel). The 7-day peeling process was traumatic, and on top of that I now have very fine wrinkles on my forehead due to the peel. I am 25, and I have wrinkles on my forehead. Wtf, right?

Physical and chemical peels work by scrubbing and burning the top layer of skin away to force a new, younger layer to emerge. Diamond peels involve a diamond-tipped, rotating drill that clears off the skin's top layer. Diamond peels are a form of microdermabrasion, which is basically a process that involves some sort of machine to scrub the skin. Chemical peels usually involve mild acid to burn the skin, and can thus penetrate deeper than physical peels.

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MAC Baking Beauties Collection

Sugar, spice, and everything nice would be the best words to describe MAC's latest collection: Baking Beauties! I like that it's not overly saccharine with the pink, cream, and mint; the dark lipstick and luscious new Paint Pot shades are an interesting contrast to what could've been a bland sweets-inspired collection. 

I managed to attend the launch of this collection in Glorietta two Sundays ago, so I have some pictures of the demo! (Don't worry, the rest of the branches only had BB last weekend). The makeup artist, Noel, did the Baking Beauties look on the model of the day. That would be dramatic chocolate eyes and a pale pink lip, same as the promo images.

Bare faced and ready to go

The Paint Pot in Eclair was applied all over the lid, almost up to the browbone.

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