... the silverlining that glistens far beyond ...

Review: IQQU Acne Serum 30ml/1.01 oz

2010-07-05T17:48:00.011+09:30

When I first recieved this in the mail, my first impression was "wow ... sleek packaging" which I guess reflects on the IQQU overall webpage design by Michelle Phan, also known as Ricebunny on youtube. The size of the product was pretty standard, your type tube with a pretty decent pump and a white cap which is really what you would expect for 30ml.

The product took a fair number of pumps for it to come out, but one pump is a decent amount for your entire face which I can see the product being on my shelf for quite some time. If I'm not wrong, IQQU has raised the prices for their products which is really a bummer because $24.99 is a fair amount of money for the amount they are giving you. I'd say shipping is pretty fair, considering it was only $6 to ship to Hong Kong.

The product comes out as a yellowish-orange gel like consistency and there is an obvious scent of tea tree oil when you put it on your face as it is one of the main ingredients of the product which helps to heal damanged skin. So, for those who don't like products with fragances, especially tea tree oil, this isn't a product for you although the scent goes away after a minute or two when applied to your skin. I don't mind tree tree oil scents so much myself, but the Body Shop ones are too much for me. The product sets into your skin pretty fast and it feels pretty soothing upson application.

If I was asked whether or not I'd repurchase this product, I'd say yes if it wasn't so pricey for 30ml ... other than that, it's a great product to have on your shelf!

Coming up ... IQQU Advanced Sunscreen SPF35 UVA/UVB :)

Australia-based MAC pigment samples?

2009-09-25T13:02:00.004+09:30

I was looking through my make-up stash the other night trying to organise everything (yes, again!) and couldn't help but notice how much make-up I have bought that I never really use. Even if it was used, it was only used once or twice.

So here's an idea.

We all know MAC pigment/glitter samples are available for purchase in a lot of websites but they are all based in the US. I'm thinking to sell pigment samples on my blogspot for those of you who reside in Australia just to save all of us a bit on shipping and handling. I might even throw in some paintpot samples!

This is just an idea for now.

If you're interested or would like to see some Australia-based MAC pigments to be purchased, leave a comment below.

:)

Cheaper alternative to Coastal Scents?

2009-09-16T18:41:00.004+09:30

We all know about the infamous Coastal Scents that sells 88 shimmer and matte eyeshadow palettes for ridiculously low prices ... but for some of us like myself who don't live in the States (I'm in Australia), shipping costs can be a handful as the total weight of the products you want from them pile up! There are occasions where shipping costs will be almost the same as the total cost of my products (ridiculous, right?) For that reason, I decided to stop buying palettes from Coastal Scents, except for their empty ones but Stars MakeUp Haven seem to have them for the same price but much cheaper shipping costs.

So here I was browsing on eBay for some random stuff in hope to get them for a cheaper price than normal retail prices in stores and I came across these beauties ... so obviously I had a huge haul from an eBay seller (Check her out!) to test out these products! Reviews on these are coming up ...
Look familiar, no? Familiar again, no? If not, seriously think again!

Okay, so this one may not look so familar but it is a 15 camoflage concealer palette with 11 skintone shades of concealer, 3 correcting colours and a shimmery silver highlight colour! If you are ever going to compare these with the Coastal Scents palette that only has 10 camoflage concealer colours for almost DOUBLE the price ... you got to be kidding me.

I'm in no way trying to turn anyone off buying from Coastal Scents but there are seriously better deals out there ... Coastal Scents only import their palettes from China and puts a logo on the palettes to claim them their own product, so why not buy directly from the supplier on eBay?

Coming Up ...

Review on eBay camoflage concealer palette vs. Napolean Perdis concealer/colour correcting colour wheel!

Stay tuned :)

Robert Wan - NACR Gentle Cleansing Water and Gentle Facial Mask

2009-09-11T14:08:00.007+09:30

Who is NACR?

"Pinctada Margaritifera – is a species of oyster that creates mother of pearl, which operates and presents great analogies with the skin tissues. The mother of pearl contains abundant organic and mineral components, and exceptional diversity of bioactive molecules. Directed by Dr. Evelyne Lopez, in close collaboration with the National Centre for Science Research (CNRS) and National Museum of Natural History in France, these molecules are patented under a cocktail formula named BIO-CRYSTAL and a remarkable cosmetic range Na©r.® is introduced.

Na©r.®stimulates dermis cells, and leads to epidermis regeneration, which acts effectively in the cutaneous protective tissues. It also acts on microcirculation and fibroblasts to promote skin dermal matrix activity. Its organic component stores a large quantity of molecules in facilitation of these activities:

Proteins: provides resistance and firmness to skin
Proteoglycanes: retains moisture and promotes hydration
Cytokines: agents that stimulate cellular coordination
Adhesion Proteins: restores cutaneous cohesion
Polysaccharides: purifies and nourishes"

I have been using NACR for a couple months now to test out what my sister was constantly raving about! I bought their products from sasa.com (Australia) as a package deal - Gentle Cleansing Water & Gentle Facial Mask.

The Gentle Cleansing Water claims to ...

"Cleanses, Tones, Soothes
As pure as the water in lagoons, Gentle Cleansing Water is the first essential 3-in-1 beauty care. As gentle as milk, it removes make-up from the face, eyes and lips. It takes off all types of make-up including the last trace of mascara and does not irritate the most sensitive eyes. With BIO-CRYSTAL (Nacre) elements, and Panthenol Vitamin B5, it tones and harmonizes the skin and gently refines the texture of the epidermis. Rosa Centifolia acts as antioxidant to combat free radicals. "

NACR Gentle Cleansing Water

Does it do the job?

Hell yeah! Not only does it remove make up such as the foundation that you leave out when using facial wipes or normal makeup removers, but it also remove the sebum that build up on your skin through out the day! The toner has a slight fragrance smell to it but it doesn't smell bad at all! The bottle has a pump for dispensing the product, and all you need is 2-3 pumps on your facial pads to cleanse your face. It's awesome! What's even better, SASA always have these special promotions for NACR. I bought an extra 2 bottles as back up! It's got to be good right?

The Gentle Facial Mask claims to ...

"Regenerates, Hydrates, Soothes
The Gentle Facial Mask has a fresh, foamy and melting texture. Its rich protein content reinforces the firming effect, while Cyclomethicone offers extraordinary healing effects for scars, and meanwhile soothes fatigued skin, smoothes out stress lines, and enhance skin suppleness. Vitamin E protects the skin from oxidization and enhances radiance by oxygenation of the skin."

NACR Gentle Facial Mask

Does it do the job?

I can't even begin to tell you how awesome this facial mask is! I tend to have dry skin after my showers because of the dry weather in Australia, especially during winter! This stuff moiturises my skin and leaves it baby soft! I can't think of anything bad to say about their masks and I have been thinking about getting a few more during their promotions!

I'd definitely give both products a 5/5! Let me know if you have tried any of their products, and what you think of them!

Disclaimer:
I am in no way helping the company to promote their products or have any affiliation with them. These are purely reviews I'm doing at my own will. All extracts taken from sasa.com!

You can get their products from SASA! Click HERE to check out their products!

Urban Decay Primer Potion vs. Cliche Cosmetics Eyeshadow Base

2009-09-10T19:56:00.007+09:30

So I was hearing all this rave about Cliche Cosmetic's eyeshadow base in Light on Youtube and I decided to order one (along with other things from their website) just to see what it was all about! It was $10 on the website excluding shipping so what did I have to lose?

Urban Decay Primer Potion ($17)
http://www.urbandecay.com/categories/EyeshadowPrimerPotion.cfm

Cliche Cosmetics Eyeshadow Base ($10)
http://www.clichecosmetics.com/product.aspx?ProductIDX=251

In order to make a fair test on these two products, I used Urban Decay Primer Potion on my left eye and Cliche Cosmetics on my right eye. I didn't aply both products at the same time, but did them seperately. Applying primer/base, eyeshadow ... then repeating the same thing on the other eye so the primer wouldn't dry out while I'm doing one eye. I did not retouch on the colours that I have lost from all the blending to give you a good idea of how much effort it takes for each product to blend.

The eyeshadows I used are from the new MAC Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection quad in Photorealism.

What was my conclusion?

Cliche Cosmetics Eyeshadow Base, hands down!

The eyeshadows were so much easier to blend after applying the base, compared to UDPP. UDPP doesn't allow you to move your eyeshadows around as much as Cliche Cosmetics does. You will still have time to blend out those horrible harsh lines with ease without losing too much colour on the way! Because you don't have to blend as much, Cliche Cosmetics base can keep your eyeshadow colours intact without having to touchup! It's awesome! What's even better, it is $7 cheaper than Urban Decay!

The only downfall is it only comes in 'Light'. I'm a NC30 for MAC and it is alright for me ... but if you have much darker skintone, it may appear too ashy.

WATCH THIS ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE!

Hope this helped out those of you who are debating between UDPP and Cliche!
Good Luck! :)

MAC Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection 2009

2009-09-07T15:59:00.000+09:30

Woo! So I finally got my hands on the new MAC Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection. Ironically 'MAC' stands for 'Makeup Art Cosmetics' so they are really coming up with a collection under their own name ... possibly to 'sell' their products. But seriously, MAC doesn't need to 'hard sell' their products! They're hauled all over the world. Just look at YouTube and you see soo many people raving over their pigmented eyeshadows and how great their pay-off is (well, most of their eyeshadows becaue undoubtly there are some pretty bad pay-off colours that they have released in the past).

I'm very impressed with this collection! There is just so much to choose from since it was collated with 3 artists. I did a mini haul on this collection (for now ...) because there are still some things that I'm thinking about buying! :)

I was so excited about getting my hands on them, I decided to quickly make a look using the products in the collection!

Products used (eyes only):

- Sublime Nature paint
- Cocomotion all over the lid

- Brash and Bold pigment (Bright magenta pink) on the outer half of the lid

- Push the Edge pigment (Matte dark purple) on the outer 'v'

- Off the Page eyeshadow to blend out the colours above Push the Edge

- Vanilla pigment as highlight

Latest MAC haul

2009-09-06T18:47:00.001+09:30

MAC Graphic Garden Collection 2009

MAC recently came out with their Graphic Garden Collection that included 2 eyeshadow palettes, 2 lipstick sets and 2 brush sets. It kind of reminds me of the Holiday collections that they come out with every year. These were originally exclusive to Nordstrome in the U.S. and I was shocked to see them released in Australia. The holograpic palette designs were neat and the colours were definitely different to the Holiday 2008 collection (which is a bonus)

Haven't had the time to play around with the colours but I am excited! I will definitely try doing a few looks with these when I am done with cramming two assignments that are due this week! School has been absolutely insane!!

So taking time aside from school work, I have been trying to rearrange my dresser/bookshelf. My makeup collection, especially MAC is growing like a kid hitting puberty. Weird anaology I know. ha! So here is what I came up with ... the purple/white drawer was the most recent purchase from the Reject Shop and I just mixed the colours around with my black/white drawer to make it look cooler. What do you think?

Ohh I'm excited about the new MAC Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection that's being released tomorrow in stores! They're already up on their website but I definitely have to go check out some of the colours before buying anything ... I already have a wishlist for what I want to get so fingers crossed I won't overspend! Any suggestions on what is good? The quads look tempting ... and definitely the pigments and technakohls ... oh dear!

Prologue

2009-09-06T18:32:00.000+09:30

In recent years, I have stopped blogging for various reasons. There came a point in life where blogging became an addiction and all I seemed to do after school was blog ... yet here I am surfing the internet and reading other makeup guru's blogspots through YouTube. It inspired me to restart my blogging routine - not so much about my daily life but the things that keep me interested and passionate about!

Here are some facts about me ...

I'm a double major student studying Architecture and Landscape Architecture in Australia.
I used to play the piano but stopped after my Grade 6 exam
I've moved out of home since the age of 18 ...
I love food, except for pineapples and corriander (is it considered a food?)
I love to shop and splurge money on things I probably won't use or need

I'm a typical girl who loves life, makeup and gossip ... what do you love?