How to look good even when you had a bad night?
So you had a bad night. You wake up in the morning and see dark rings under your bleary eyes, and blotchy skin. What do you do?
Well, here’s where makeup can help you.
The key here is to keep things natural. From personal experience, I’ve found that on days when I wake up looking and feeling terrible, light natural makeup is best.
The key items you’ll need are:-
- Concealer
- Foundation
- Highlighter
- A light or nude colored eyeshadow
- Eyeliner
- Mascara
- Light peach or pink blush
And here’s how I put it all together.
There’s More! Continue reading →
Let’s find some Nars Orgasm Dupes!
I haven’t had official word of NARS coming to Malaysia yet, so we are still waiting. The most popular blush colour form NARS has to be Orgasm. It is truly a cult classic. Many people I know love it but I also know of many who don’t like it because they find it too shimmery or too pink.
NARS Orgasm is in fact a shimmery pink-peach shade. I say pink-peach because I think it applies on me looking more pink than peach. The peach tones are just enough to temper it so it doesn’t look too pink going on. The shade is rather medium-light so if you have fair-medium skin, I’d say it’ll show up. However, if you are tanned or have darker skintone, all you might get is shimmer. That said, I have never noticed Orgasm going on highly shimmery. For me, its just nice so I suppose its to do with your own level of comfort.
If you are on a budget or have no access to NARS Orgasm, which brand or blush colour is a NARS Orgasm dupe or lookalike? Here are a few I have compiled from my own collection.
Why use neutral eyeshadow?
I received an Isetan mailer recently which had pictures of the new Bobbi Brown Nude eye and lip palette (RM210). I also saw the palette in person last week and the shadows were 4 similar colored nude or neutral eyeshadows. It reminded me of a question I used to ask before - Why would anyone want to use neutral eyeshadow or eyeshadows that look nude? Isn’t the purpose of eyeshadow having colour on the eyes?
Clockwise from bottom left: Bourjois Brun Irrel, Bourjois Beige Rose, MAC Coco pigment, MAC Naked Pigment,
Shu Uemura ME Silver 945, Stila Kitten, Wheat, Oasis, Sun
I’ve since worked out the answer for myself. There are some days or some occasions when having other colours on your eyes won’t do. Examples are strict work places or serious events or even just when you want to be taken seriously like if you have to attend meetings or meet new customers or clients or business partners. If you are in a serious sort of job, having beautifully made up eyes with coloured eyeshadow just won’t do because people just don’t take you seriously otherwise (unfortunate but true). (Read more after the jump) There’s More! Continue reading →
Review: Makeup: Shu Uemura Glow On Blush
While looking back at my product reviews, I realised I had not reviewed what used to be one of my favourite blushes - the Shu Uemura Glow On blush.
Clockwise from left : M Pink 33E, M Amber 83, P Peach 40, P Purple OB5
My lighting is a little off in the picture above. The Amber and Peach shades look much peachier in real life than orange.
Texture wise Shu Uemura Glow Ons are awesome. They are very finely milled and go on very smoothly. There are 2 textures available - M - Matt and P - Pearl (shimmer). What is nice about Shu Uemura is that the shimmer isn’t over the top but is very subtle so you never end up looking like a disco-ball.
In terms of colour, Shu Uemura is par exellance. Color selection is wide and you can literally, find any colour to suit your skin tone. Colours range from red to pink, from orange to peach and every other colour in between. If you have trouble finding a blush colour to suit you, try Shu Uemura.
The colour pigment is also very good. Those with very fair skin have complained that pigment is so good that they have to use a very light hand with Shu Uemura Glow On blushes. I am fair as Asian skintones go, and I find that whilst color pigment is good, it isn’t as strong as say, Nars. So, I never have to fear over doing my blush when using Shu Uemura Glow Ons, as I do with Nars. The staying power is also very good with it lasting all day without fading.
I do have 2 gripes with the product though. One is the packaging. Shu Uemura uses these plastic clear cases that have a nice zen look to them, but fail miserably in terms of the blushes. Most of the clasps don’t work after a while so it ends up very loose. The blushes are made so they can be depotted or removed from the packaging easily (as with all Japanese makeup). There is a hole at the back by the label where you can poke a pin through to remove the pan and then place the pan in a palette. Shu Uemura does sell palettes for this purposes but they are expensive.
My second gripe is that the surface of the blush has a tendency to harden after a spell. I did not notice this initially when I was using it a lot, but after a spell of not using these blushes, I realised that the surface texture was different. A quick brush with an old toothbrush or a hard rub with some tissue paper solves the problem though.
My favourite blush of all I have is M Amber 83. It is a matt amber shade that sounds scary but isn’t. Its like Nars Amour - a very neutral shade that makes me look like I don’t have blush on, but just a nice healthy glow. Very pretty.
Shu Uemura blushes are definitely worth checking out. They used to retail for RM75 (US$23.51) but I’ve stopped going to the Shu Uemura counter now so I’m not sure of the current price. Perhaps a reader could update? 
Pros: Good colour selection, Pigmented, Long lasting
Cons: Packaging sucks, the surface of the blush hardens over time
Rating: 
