Hi my dearies, I’m so looking forward to a quiet weekend at home before I fly off to New York. Lots of packing to do at BB Headquarters and prepping for my departure. Thank you so much for your thoughts on our most recent Beauty Debate. I always enjoy reading your opinions and floored that anyone would take the time to talk to me on a blog about these questions of mine!

Today, I bring you my favourites for February. I don’t always do these posts because I may not actually stick to any one product for more than a few days (except for skincare, but that’s a bit boring now). But, I found myself drawn to the same cosmetic products over and over last month so here’s my love list…

Front row from left to right:

Nanoce BB Skincare Pact SPF17 PA++ in Healthy Ocre is an absolute delight to use. I love how this pressed powder takes the unflattering shine from my face but yet “lets it breathe”, i.e. you can still see the skin peeking through, so it has a very natural, slightly dewy effect a couple of hours after application. It’s not a greasy mess at the end of the day though I do blot once or twice by the late afternoon or early evening but that’s normal for me for any loose or compact powder. And this shade suits my NC25 skintone like a glove. I think it’s even better than my much beloved Jill Stuart pressed powder which has a more powdery opaque finish.

And late in coming into my possession in February was the Maquillage Face Creator (3D) in 66 which is such a lovely light peachy shade. The highlight and contour shades are so soft and feminine as well that makes this a great everyday go-to blush palette. It’s not highly pigmented but I prefer it this way as I could work the colour in rather than pat my brush on the pan gingerly and hope for the best, e.g. Bobbi Brown and NARS. Don’t get me wrong, pigmented cosmetics are great, but for light makeup application, I think this is perfect.

Isn’t it gorgeous?

Back row from left to right:

I’m so finicky about perfumes that I surprised myself by wearing The Body Shop’s White Musk Libertine Eau De Toilette almost everyday. First off, I’m not a fan of TBS fragrances so this is even more unusual for me. Secondly, I always tire of perfumes even if I love them to death. I don’t tire of them like I don’t want to ever use them again, but I need to take short breaks like a couple of weeks, if I apply the same fragrance for, say a week. But the White Musk Libertine scent was so comforting, fresh and subtle, I could spritz it every single day. I had to stop myself from using it, in case I did get sick of it, but I’m still very much in love with it. Even more shockingly, it has notes of Turkish delight, baby orchid and Chantilly cream. I really dislike Turkish Delight, too! Goodness!

The next item I stubbornly stuck to was Badger’s After Sun Balm for my lips. It’s obviously not summer now but I liked the scent of this product the most among the few that are available in Japan. It is by far the most moisturizing balm I have ever tried — it’s no wonder because it is a powerhouse of olive oil, cocoa and shea butters, and several essential oils. It sits very well under lipsticks and it is not so rich that it would be hard for the lipstick to go on. In fact, I think it enhances whatever lipstick I’m using.

Lastly, the combo of MAC’s Lustre Hug Me lippie and Lancome’s coral Juicy Tube is a lovely soft nude lip look I’ve been sporting. I find it hard to wear nude lip colours but this is a dream team.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my February faves — what were yours?

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

This is my first-ever FOTD and my skin has cleared up quite a bit since my last breakout fiasco. I figured that it’s not that often I have okay-looking skin and I’ve “re-discovered” an old foundation that was unloved by me for the last year, so I thought, “Let’s do an FOTD!”

I bought Estee Lauder’s Double Wear Light Foundation Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10/PA++ (Intensity 2.0) in January as a “gentle” base during my horrible breakout phase last winter. I looked up Makeup Alley and found that those with acne-prone skin liked this particular foundie because it was light-weight, non-clogging, non-oily, and had decent coverage.

To be honest, I liked it at first and then I didn’t like it because it didn’t give me enough coverage and looked patchy on me. Furthermore, the brand Estee Lauder is not something I usually reach for as I prefer girlier brands, e.g. Jill Stuart and Paul & Joe, but I realized I’m actually smack in the demographic that Estee Lauder markets at – LOL!

But on hindsight, my skin really was a mess and I think I didn’t put enough of it on as I used to have a very light hand with liquid foundation. I just felt it didn’t give me that ultra-smooth complexion that some BB creams can (like the Nanoce one but it’s too rich for non-winter weather). And because it is very light-weight, I think it wasn’t moisturizing enough for the freezing temperatures in Feb and Mar in Tokyo. My skin was flaky at that point in time but I wouldn’t blame it on this foundation because I think I wasn’t moisturizing my skin enough and was using an arsenal of drying acne products.

BUT, in this warm-ish fall weather when it is over 20 degrees C in the day and 16-18 degrees C at night, somehow my skin has been LOVING this foundation. I do use it generously but it doesn’t cake. The only complaint I have is that it is a wee bit too light for me shade-wise but Intensity 3.0 is way too dark for me.

It gives a dewy look if you don’t powder your face after and it gives surprisingly good coverage to redness and freckles.

Other items used in this FOTD:
Lunasol Modeling Eyes 01 Beige Beige
Dollywink Eye Pencil in Brown
Lancome L’Extreme Mascara
Meow Cosmetics Brow Beater in Dark Brown to line brows
Esprique Precious Gradation Layer Cheek 01 Coral Red as blusher and face highlighter
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Medium Dark as bronzer
Revlon ColorStay Pressed Powder 104 Medium
Jurlique Love Lip Balm
Chanel Rouge Coco Cambon 31
Lancome Juicy Tubes mini (sparkly nude)

-

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.

Gosh, I really needed that holiday in Hokkaido. It didn’t seem that long ago that I was on an airplane but this one was true relaxation (compared to my whirlwind year-end trips that leave me exhausted). And I never get tired of looking at snow — coming from the tropics, snow means it’s romantic, quiet, and cosy.

I know my blog has featured lots of organization-type posts (here and here), so let’s do a simple haul post to rave and review what I’ve been using that I got from my Sydney-Singapore trip. I got a mix of old faves and new products.

Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf oozes sexy vanilla appeal. I especially love the dry down that reminds me of woolly sweaters and cupcakes.

(more…)