Sephora Collection Midnight Wishes 16 eyeshadow palette 2018

How's your holiday shopping going? Mine has burst its limit with holiday sales and black friday sales. Its crazy! Offers are everywhere..only thing is that unfortunately, i have a limit. Haha. Boohoo

Seeing as i had a Sephora discount card of rm25 off on the Sephora collection i decided to place an order on this palette and the Sephora Glow foundation which i have not had much luck with the wear time of this. But any who, lets leave that for another blog post.

This palette is not a bad palette at all. It would be great for beginners and for those who want a simple no fuss not too pigmented palette for daily use. I for one am quite enjoying it. The shimmers are oh so pretty.  The matte are to my surprise pretty decent and have good color payoff. It may not swatch the best, but with brushesand fingers, the colors work well together and are easy to blend. 

The only draw back arr the three last colors which are patchy and dont have a ton of pigment. Other than that, i'm ok with this purchase. At Rm100 though, i wished that they cut this price down a notch. For those eyeing this palette,maybe get this during the sale if its still available.

Hourglass Unlocked Ambient Lighting Edit

Who here jumped with joy when Sephora Malaysia launched the new Hourglass Unlocked palette at an affordable pricetag of RM280? Me! I quickly sent the screenshot of this palette to my husband and to my utter surprise, he asked me if i wanted it and if i did, go ahead he would pay for it. My jaw dropped! Yippie! Thank you so much mr.Hubs.

Waited for a week for the order to arrive (psst i also bought the edit 4 palette too which i will review as well). Received it in a brand new Sephora box but to my shock, no bubblewrap! With my heart beating fast and furious, i looked out for any signs of dust(which usally means a broken palette) and thank goodness everything was in good condition. Thank you Sephora and Aramex. Hopefully they will bubblewrap the goods next time as they usually do in the past.

Opened the palette and ohh boy..its sooo pretty! Its my first ever Hourglass palette just so you know.

Let the pictures tell the story. I am in love. But i have to admit, the colors are a bit warm for me. Which the Edit 4 palette suits me better. I'm sure a lightbmedium, medium to tan skin would love this. The powders are super finely milled, gives the face an airbrushed effect and such a beautiful finish. Can't wait to see what they will come out with next year ❤ its currently sold out in Sephora Malaysia. But if i am not mistaken, i read someone comment that Sephora will be restocking this on the third week of November. 

Toodles!

3CE Eyeshadow Palette - Plot Twist

Been google-ing some top Korean brand eyeshadows of late. I came across Heimish dailism palettes that come in coral, brick and a few others. Laneige quads were the first Korean eyeshadows i bought. I have two and to tell you the truth, the quality of both are not the same. But i will save that for another post.

Today, i received my order for the 3CE eyeshadow palette. Yippie. Its a nine pan eyeshadow palette focusing mainly on warm browny tones with shimmer glittery amd matte finishes.

As you can see from the photos, the top right shade and the bottom left shade looks very different in the pan, but when swatched, they look very similar. Which i wish they weren't. Would have loved the top right shade to be true to the color i the pan. The mattes are very pigmented and buttery which i find very surprising for a Korean brand eyeshadow.

As for the bottom right shade, i find it somewhat like the ones in Too Faced palettes where its a matte but with glitter particles which don't really stick to the lids and therefore makes me wonder why even bother adding the glitter if it is just going to be swept away upon application?

This particular palette is priced at RM175 which is a bit up there when it comes to Korean brands. But its justified with the beautiful shimmer glittery shades as well as the pigmented buttery mattes. Would love to see what the palette "overtake" is like. That one seems to have more variety to the color combination. 

Overall i am pleased and this palette definitely needs more wear and play.  Would i purchase more korean brand makeup? Sure thing!

Chanel, Herbivore, Kate Somerville, Dr.Brandt and Nuxe Empties. Would I Repurchase? (PART 1)

Chanel, Herbivore, Kate Somerville, Dr.Brandt and Nuxe Empties. Would I Repurchase? (PART 1)

Ok here are quite a few items I have used up and have formed some what of a pretty good opinion on. Some of these products were bought by me within this year 2017 and some were bought before this year but only now has finished. (Mind my English.. its the wee hours and my brain is not functioning as well). I will give you some info or thoughts about these items individually and let you know if I would or would not repurchase them.

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The goods

Kate Sommerville RetAsphere 2-in-1 Retinol Night Cream

This 2-in-1 Retinol Night Cream is designed to gently infuse skin with pure retinol to help diminish the appearance of fine lines and even out texture and skin tone. The RetAsphere Smart Release Carrier System gently delivers pure retinol in a lipid shell that melts evenly into the epidermis -  where it is most effective - while seaweed extract, with bio-derived hyaluronic acid helps prevent over-drying by locking in hydration where and when the skin needs it.

What do i think about it? I LOVE IT! I am on to my second tube and I have a spare in my drawer..thats how much I love it. One pump of this stuff is enough for my entire face. Its a light yellow colored cream and I use it at nighttime after cleansing for 3-4 nights a week. I don't use this every night. What I have noticed after finishing up one whole tube which last me around 5 months or more is that it's not drying what so ever, my acne has gone down significantly, pores have reduced in size, less whiteheads, texture of my skin is smoother and firmer skin. But this could be in combination with my other skincare regime. But be warned, with any retinol products used, it is best to be used at night time only and always slather on SPF/suncreen during the day time. My skin has not reacted badly to this ever, and I am halfway done with my second bottle. Down side to this  product is that so far as I know, it can only be purchased through Sephora.com and in Sephora's physical store. You could buy from international websites but as i don't have a credit card, that is not an option. Another down side is that this stuff is pricey and the price just went up again! I originally bought this for RM387 ( around that price) and now it's RM405! I hope its not going up again. But as for now, this item is sold out. I would suggest getting this when Sephora has the 20% member sale. Hopefully they will restock by then.

VERDICT: REPURCHASE (DURING SEPHORA 20% SALE)

Dr.Brandt Xtend Your Youth Face Cream

This stuff is legit good! I bought this at 50% off on Kensapothecary online store and bought another for back ups. It has a gel-like cream texture and does not make me greasy or oily. It absorbs fast and leaves my face plump and moisturized. A few months back I got a scare. It was no longer available online and in-stores. I asked the sales assistant at Kens 1Utama, they said that they have no clue whether they are going to restock this item or its going to be discontinued. So i went on a hunt for the perfect daytime moisturizer. Luckily I stumbled upon this back in stores last Saturday and immediately bought one! It retails for RM239 for 50g and i mainly use it for daytime as it doesn't make my face oily. 

VERDICT: REPURCHASE

Dr.Brandt Laser FX Bright serum

Ok....just looking at this makes my eyes tear up. It's discontinued. *sobs loudly*. I bought this on Kensapothecary online store for buy one free one. I used up both with great results along side the vit dose Vit C serum. Why...oh why... Anywhooo.. I'm still hoping it will be restocked as I bought another of their serums with the same beneficial claims and it was no way near as good and twice the price. I hate it when this happens. Anyway, these were priced at RM200++ i can't remember exactly, but were worth every cent. It helped lightened my scars, better texture and brighter skin.

VERDICT: REPURCHASE ( I WISH)

CHANEL Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder.

Holygrail!!! This was my second tub and I am on to my third. It lasts pretty long and I love the puff it comes with (unlike Laura Mercier which I have to buy the puff separately..looking at you Laura...looking at youuu..).  and the puff actually fits inside the tub. This stuff is the only powder i find good for my oily combi skin and lasts a really long time on the skin. Its a huge tub. I have it in 20 clair. The only downside to this is that I originally bought my first tub at RM165, the it went up to RM175 and my latest tub is RM190. The price goes up every year and it kills me that i can't live without it. I have bought and tried out so many others but keep going back to this one. 

VERDICT: REPURCHASE EVEN IF THE PRICE KILLS ME

Herbivore Blue Tansy Resurfacing Clarity Mask

Yup yup.. resurfaces and clarifies. This is the first ever mask I fell in love with. I took a gamble at purchasing this solely based on reviews from Sephora USA website. And it did not disappoint. Acne went down so much and pores were clearer texture of the skin finer. Redness also went away. I bought another during the 20% members sale and i was up like a hawk that night just to catch the start of the sale and did not wait a second. snapped it up super fast and within a few minutes it was SOLD OUT! Breathed a sigh of relieve.... thank goodness I was fast enough. Haha. Lasts a pretty long time and i initially used it 3-4 times a week and went down to 1-2 times a week as i had a few other skincare items to go through. 

VERDICT: REPURCHASE (BEFORE THE CONTENTS FINISH)

Nuxe Reve De Miel Lip Balm

This balm was my first true lip balm love. I was struck with dry..parched chapped lips spell and during our trip to Paris, I googled the best items to purchase at a French Pharmacie..ohhhs and ahhhs. I just loved the pharmacies there. When ever I see the + sign, my heart skipped a beat. Made my way all alone to St. Germain where they say that it was one of the best pharmacies around. Bought this and it lasted me 2 years! I love this. I think that Sasa Malaysia carries this brand but I have yet to check on it. I have tried others but I really do need to repurchase this as nothing else comes close. It doesn't leave the lips feeling oily or sticky. It has a honey smell, hence the "miel" part which meals honey. It has a matte finish which is awesome and i slather this on generously at night and wake up to plump juicy lips in the morning.

VERDICT: REPURCHASE!

I guess you could say that these items are biased as all of them are on my repurchase list. But to be honest, I hardly finish the ones that I don't like. But I have another upcoming blog post on another big "empties". Stay tuned for that one. And another thing to note is that I hardly make a dent in my makeup items besides loose powder, so it's kinda hard to reach empty bottle/pan state. So what i'm planning to do is a blog post on "Project Hit Pan 2018" where i gather up skincare and makeup items that are already in my stash that need more lovin. Its such a waste to leave them unattended and purchase other things when I have so much in my collection already. Lets see the outcome of that post at the end of 2018 whether I like the items or should I just chuck them out.

Till next time toodledoos!

Current Favourite Foundation Routine.

So sorry for not updating this blog often enough. Its been a hectic few months and didn't have the time to play around with much makeup. Never the less, I'm back with a vengeance! Lets cut the chitty chatty short and get straight to the point. I have three favorite combinations to share.

These past few months, I've been reaching more and more for my trusty Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation SPF 25/PA++ paired with the Chanel Natural Finish Loose Powder. The foundation is in No.20 while the loose powder is in 20 Clair - Translucent 1. I find that these two work the best together and they last the whole day with minimal blotting and touch ups. My foundation still looks good by the end of the day. In humid hot sticky Malaysian weather, that says a lot. This foundation gives me light to medium coverage and makes my skin look amazing. Doesn't look cakey in anyway even though I'm the type who piles on the loose powder. You see, the foundation doesn't act like a traditional foundation. Rather, it acts more like a BB or CC cream. In fact, I like it better than Chanel's CC cream which i have it in both old and new versions.

Another combination that I'm drawn towards are my Guerlain Super Aqua BB cream in Light and the same Chanel Loose powder. This is especially for days that I'm not going out for long and just need minimal coverage to look decent and put together. What I like most about the GSABB is that it is 80% skincare benefits and 20 % makeup. I don't use a primer beforehand as i feel that it defeat the purpose of purchasing it for its skincare benefits. This BB cream does not last particularly long on my combination skin. What i do like about it is that it doesn't go all oily on me but fades out evenly at the end of the day without looking cakey and patchy. I do though have to set it with loose powder as my skin would look horrendously shiny. I love the color too as it it doesn't lean too yellow nor pink. Just right i guess.

The third latest combination favorite would be the Sephora Teint Infusion Ethereal Natural Finish Foundation in 20 Cream paired with NARS Loose powder in Eden. OMG! What can I say? This combination is heavenly! The texture of the foundation is super watery borderline oily feeling. But this really smooths out my skin, feel so light i forget I'm wearing foundation and it never gets cakey. BUT.... It has to be paired with the NARS loose powder to achieve the holy grail status. If I had paired it with the Chanel Loose Powder, it would not achieve the same effect. With the NARS loose powder, pores look minimized, my skin doesn't get oily as fast, evens out the skin tone, and adds some coverage. What can I say? I'm in LOVE!

There you go! Those are my current faves. They work the best for me. But as usual I'm always out and about trying new makeup stuff. In a few months or maybe even weeks, this may change up. so keep tuned. Lots of LOVE..Chepah.