Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer

I've read good reviews on the Maracuja Creaseless Concealer but I wasn't hoping much as my eyes just hate creamy concealers. These type of concealers causes my eyeliner to transfer from top lashes to my undereye area. Why, because the oil in it melts every bit of make-up. So when I wink, it transfers. I've always thought the eyeliners I use are no good. Later I realized concealer is the culprit. Since then, it's goodbye to Bobbi Brown corrector and concealer. I've been using liquid concealers like MUFE Lift and Lancome Effercernes for a while. Both are nice and doesn't cause my eyeliner to smear. However, the staying power is a little limited and I often find dark circles reappearing in the middle of the day. Then, comes my ever trusty Time Balm concealer. The coverage is great and doesn't melt my eyeliner! Best of all, it matches my skin tone perfectly. It's been indispensable since I bought it. I should do a separate review on Time Balm sometime soon.

Anyhow, that's just a brief history of my struggles with concealers. With my HG Time Balm on hand, I wasn't really too excited about the Maracuja Creaseless Concealer. I thought I would try it but not gonna expect anything amazing since it's creamy. Oh boy, I was wrong. This stuff is amazing! Despite the thick texture (imagine toothpaste), I find that it applies smoothly especially when using a finger to pat the product on the skin. It's very opaque so only little product is needed, therefore no cakey look. When applied, it has a slightly dewy finish which gives the eyes a bit of glow. No need for brightening concealers! Now, to the challenging part. Does it melt the eyeliner? Uh ah... not a single bit!!! Does it last and stay creaseless? That's a big YES!!! I have to say, it stays even longer than Time Balm on me. 12 hours after application, not a single sign of budging. And because of the Maracuja oil, my undereye area doesn't dry out like other concealers do after long hours of wear. I would say this is the best item in the kit!



I got the shade in Medium (after several attempts of changing shade back and forth) which is perfect for my NC25-30 skin tone. It's definitely got some pink to it so I wouldn't use too much to cover my freckles and spots. I still prefer Time Balm for other parts of the face. This stuff is slowing knocking Time Balm off the HG status :)

Summary
* Pros:
- smooth application
- dewy finish
- long lasting
- doesn't dry out the undereye area so fine lines are not accentuated
- comes with the Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous set which is really a steal
- very opaque so a tube should last a really long time
- does not melt eyeliners so my undereye area stays clean (yey!!!!)

* Cons:
- I personally prefer the shade to be slightly more yellow so I could layer more to cover my freckles.

Rating (1-5 hearts): ♥♥♥♥♥

Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous - Sneak Peak

I was suppose to receive my QVC package today as stated in the expected delivery date of my order. I'm glad the wait time was cut down a week shorter. As usual, excitement was killing me! :)

The products in this set are tucked neatly in Tarte's purple and gold makeup bag.  This bag is really very compact yet spacious.  I can see myself using this to store makeup and brushes when travelling.


Cute Tarte engraving on the zipper...


It's even smaller than an I-pad... (not that I own one hehe...)


Here's how the bag looks when opened. See the goodies? 11 products all in!








Here's a snapshot of the collection goodies...


I will review the products individually in future posts :) Stay tuned!

Panda Nails

Since I started my adventure with nail art, I can't seem to wear my nails with just plain polish. Hubby would always complain how I stay up late to just paint my nails.. LOL... something only girls can understand :)

Here's what I have on for this week which was inspired by a tutorial done by cutepolish on youtube.  My lil monkey said it's "koko panda" (that's how he says kung-fu panda LOL) haha...  I used Zoya's Dulcinea as base color. Now I understand why it was on clearance when I got it at Trade Secrets... the color is just meh... applies nicely though.  Panda design was done with Sally Hansen Extreme Nails in White On and Black Out.  Highly recommend this line for nail designs as they're so opaque!  And of course, I used my ever trusty ball point pen as dotting tool :)

If you notice, the panda faces on some nails are ... err... crooked.  It's hard to center the white dots on the black eyes.  And it's really difficult to make consistent designs on all ten fingernails! Anyhoo... just blabbing :)

That's it for now!

P.S.  I got my QVC package yesterday! Loving the Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous set! Stay tuned for a post on this baby :)

Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous

I officially admit I have zero will power when it comes to restricting myself from buying more makeup! Total fail! I saw the Muse's post on Tarte's Glow Your Way to Gorgeous set (QVC exclusive) and this baby is just yelling "take me home mama!".  I tried hard to resist, but the deal is just too good to pass!

The set is priced at $49.95 US and $5.95 US for shipping and handling within the States.  Shipping to Canada costs some $13+ bucks.  It includes:

• Makeup Bag
• Lights, Camera, Lahses! Clinically-Proven Natural Mascara (Retail: $19)
• Maracuja Creaseless Concealer (Retail Price: $24.50)
• Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in Peaceful (Retail Price: $25)
• EmphasEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow (Retail Price: $22)
• SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eyeliner (Retail: $25)
• LipSurgence Natural Lip Luster (Retail: $24)
• Blush Bamboo Brush (Retail Price: $27)
• Eyeshadow Bamboo Brush (Retail Price: $28)
• Sharpener
• FREE Deluxe Mineral Powder Bronzer in Park Ave Princess (Retail: $10)
• FREE Sample of Tarte’s Pure Maracuja Oil (7mL)

The concealer, blush, and cream shadows are the items I really wanted to get my hands on.  I chose the concealer in Medium for my NC-25 to NC-30 complexion. Base on the swatches online, Tarte's shades seem to run a bit lighter than other brands. Certainly hope I chose the right shade.

This set is under item number A218483 and A219234 for Auto Delivery at QVC.com.  According to the Muse, the free bronzer and Maracuja oil will be included in the first shipment of your set but not in future deliveries if you you go with the Auto Delivery option.  The price is good until July 2.  You can get the set to $60 USD afterwards.

Now, tell me if it sounds logical to fall into this trap? Would you have the will power to resist???

Rock & Republic Haul

If you follow the buzz going around the makeup blogs and youtube videos, Rock & Republic cosmetics should sound pretty familiar. I never knew about the brand, not even their apparel, until youtube reviews started popping up. Most reviews gave a big thumbs up mark on R&R makeup line so I was really tempted to try them out. Alas, the horrendous shipping fee killed my lemmings despite the discounts on Hautelook and R&R website.

I started checking their products again when Hautelook lowered their shipping fees. Horray! So last month, I finally did my first R&R haul through Hautelook. It took almost a month for my order to arrive.  Can you could imagine how the excitement was killing me?!?  Apparently they have to order the products from the supplier and have them ship out the order.  That's one thing everyone should be aware of when purchasing from Hautelook.  Given the valid reasons, I still hope they could cut down the amount of time it takes to process the shipping.

I got 4 eye shadows and 3 eye brushes.  They came in a small box and all the items were nicely packaged. Unfortunately, there was one casualty despite careful handling.  I reported this problem to Hautelook right away and they immediately refunded the cost for the broken item. Thumbs up Hautelook for such great customer service!

I have to agree with most reviews with the packaging. They are breathtaking!

These shadows are definitely worth the hype in my books. Texture is the winner here as they feel so fine and smooth.  When I run my fingers through the pan, it actually feels like touching baby powder.  They apply well on the lids and blending is easy-peasy.  I can get away with applying these babies without primer underneath and it takes around 6 hours for me to see some creasing.  With primer, no traces of creasing or color fading at all.  

Now on to the shades.  Alloy is a golden beige that's great for summer as a wash of color.  Sabotage, my fave and the casualty among the bunch, is a cool light brown that's definitely a versatile product for all seasons and skin tones.  Hangover is a nice army green shade that goes well with neutrals.  Revenge is a dark grayish purple which I've been liking these days.

The swatches.... As you can see, the shades I got all have a nice sheen without being too shimmery or metallic.

Now to the brushes. I saw very few reviews on these but decided to give them a try anyways.

The 204 definer/pencil brush is my favorite out of the bunch as it works well for the lash line and the outer v.  I haven't tried MAC 219, but this is definitely better than Sigma 219.

The 203 blending brush is very similar to Sigma or MAC 224 except that it's not as dense and the tip is more tapered. It's not as pointed as a Sigma or MAC 226, so I would say it's a hybrid.  I like this brush except that it bleeds like crazy. I've only washed it 2-3 times and I can see the color of the bristles are starting to fade.  This is the only brush that has problem with bleeding.

The 201 large shader brush is a big and flat brush that can be used to apply colors on the lid and brow bone.  I was hoping this would be similar to MAC or Sigma's large shader brush but apparently this is not as big.  It applies color sheerly on the lids and can be used to blend out colors as well.  I would say this brush is the product I liked the least in my order.  Although it's the bristles are not pokey, but they are not soft at all.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with the products I got from this haul.  I guess I won't be hauling more from R&R unless the famous blushes come back in stock again!

dotting away!

Since my first attempt at doing more than just one color nail polish, I've been so hooked into watching youtube tutorials on cutsie nail arts!  Well, everyone has to start with simple techniques so I decided to give dotting a try.

I never realized you could use almost anything around the house with a pointed tip as a dotting tool!  Search youtube for "DIY dotting tools" and you will be surprised with crazy ideas!  Anything from bobby pin, toothpick, ballpoint pen, needles, skewers - use your own imagination! :)

For this attempt, I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Petal Pusher as a sheer base.  The bottle definitely shows peach but on the nails, it looks more pink. After the base color is applied, I then dotted the flower pattern using Joe Fresh's nail polishes in Fig and Butter.  I used an old ballpoint pen that ran out of ink as a dotting tool so I can do the dots with more control.  To finish the design, I used Art Deco nail art lacquer in white to draw in the twigs. Uhm... it's not noticable in the photos but it's definitely there.  Everything is sealed using Seche Vite top coat *fave*. I'm so happy with the results!!!

Warning: photo spamming ahead... I just couldn't find the right angle to show all my finger nails in one shot! And I hate that my hands look so dry - like Sahara desert dry - in the photos... I wonder why....

It definitely takes practice to do even dots.  Painting and dotting using the left hand is another challenge I need to overcome... it's just so hard to maneuver! I only show photos of my left hand coz the flowers on the right hand are actually bigger... LOL

I thought the design looks very familiar.  Dug up photos from our pre-wedding pictorial and it's indeed similar to the nail art which I had professionally done at a salon. I can do nail art after all! :)

I saw a few nail art designs in youtube that I want to do next... can't wait!

Note: I don't have photos of the Joe Fresh polishes but do check out these blog posts for swatches - Fig & Butter.

Beauty Survey

Snagged this from Larie :)

MAKEUP:
blush or bronzer? - blush all the way...
lip gloss or lipstick?  - lipstick
eye liner or mascara? - eye liner (I can live without mascara but I just have to curl my lashes at the least)
foundation or concealer? - concealer (how do I live without you?)
Liquid Foundation or Powder? - liquid (I reach for compact powder more often due to daily rush but I definitely prefer the finish of liquid)
neutral or color eye shadow? - neutral (I like to add a pop of color to make the eye makeup a little more interesting)
pressed or loose eye shadows? - pressed (I can't deal with the mess of loose eye shadows)
brushes or sponges for foundation? - prefer using my fingers whenever I can... otherwise I will use foundation brush... for special occasions, I use MUFE's ellipse sponge.

NAILS:
OPI or China Glaze? - China Glaze (but I love OPI as well)
Long or Short? - short
Acrylic or Natural? - natural
Brights or Darks? - neutral and darks...

BODY:
perfume or body splash? - perfume
lotion or body butter? - lotion
Lush or other bath company? - haven't tried lush body products yet...

FASHION:
jeans or sweat pants? - jeans definitely...
long sleeve or short? - short
dresses or skirts? - I seldom wear skirts or dresses... but skirts are more comfortable I guess...
stripes or plaid? - stripes stripes stripes...
flip flops or sandals? - sandals
scarves or hats? - neither...
studs or dangly earrings? - both
necklaces or bracelets? - em... both!
heels or flats? - I love heels but I can only wear flats :(
cowboy boots or riding boots? - both!
jacket or hoodie? - both!
Forever 21 or H&M? - Forever 21
Abercombie or Hollister? - none (Aeropostale I like...)

HAIR:
curly or straight? - Curly!
bun or ponytail? - neither... I like my hair down...
bobby pins or barettes? - bobby pins...
hair spray or gel? - none...
long or short? - long... as long as I don't suffer from hair fall...
light or dark? - I like light hair...
side sweep bangs or full bangs? - side sweep
up or down? - Down...

RANDOM:
Rain or shine? - Shine!
Summer or winter? - Summer
Fall or spring? - Spring
Chocolate or vanilla? - Vanilla
East coast or west coast? - haven't been to the west yet...