Archives for April 2015

Tip: If your foundation looks wrong, check your sunscreen!

April 17, 2015 Paris B 23 Comments

I had a strange experience recently, where for some reason, every foundation I put on my skin looked off. It so happened that I was trying out a new foundation, and I was quite ready to pan it. My makeup looked splotchy and wore off quickly through the day and although I have normal-dry skin, I was actually having to blot as the day wore on.

For someone who doesn’t own oil blotters, it was quite a mind-boggling experience.

But one morning, I picked up one of my favourite foundations that never fails me. And horrors, I noticed the same problem rearing its ugly head after a few hours! My first reaction was “Is something wrong with my skin?” and the second was “Stupid foundation, there must be something wrong with it!”

But after my initial outburst, a cooler head prevailed and I tried to figure out what was wrong. For the record, the 2 foundations in the picture above – Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide and Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation are 2 of my newer favourite foundations. I’ll be expanding my Top 8 foundation list soon to include a few more I’ve been using over the last 6 months 🙂

After careful thought, I hit on the problem. It wasn’t the fault of my foundation. The problem went deeper than that!

You don’t have to be mad or a hippie to try this Mad Hippie Vitamin A Serum – It works!

April 15, 2015 Paris B 25 Comments

Mad Hippie. Take one look at that name and tell me it doesn’t make you smile. Ok, I have to admit that I found myself trying their products because of the name. It was just so… cute LOL 😀

A while ago, I tried the Vitamin C serum from the brand, which seemed to be quite popular. Unfortunately, I wasn’t impressed with it, and I never got round to sharing my thoughts on it. I am thinking of trying it again though, because my on the spur purchase of the Mad Hippie Vitamin A Serum has impressed me!

Mad Hippie is a natural skincare brand from the USA and I picked it up online at iHerb, during one of my shopping jaunts. Some of you have asked, and I know some of you are wondering if I’m skewing more towards natural or organic skincare these days and the answer is that I’m not consciously doing so. I’ll elaborate further in a future blog post 🙂 But when I do come across a natural product that works well, I like having that option – not because it’s natural or organic, but because it works 🙂

Now, if you didn’t know, Vitamin A or retinoids are something you need in your anti-aging regimen if you’re serious about things. It is one of those things that are proven to actually work. So while I’m not saying that these new-fangled creams, serums and potions are mumbo jumbo, if you want something that actually works on lines and wrinkles and skin firmness, look for something that contains retinol or Vitamin A or its derivatives.

Tip: 3 work-friendly ways to wear blue eyeshadow to the office

April 13, 2015 Paris B 32 Comments

If you were to look up safe colours for eye makeup that you can wear to work or the office, blue doesn’t usually feature. The safest shades recommended would always be a neutral shade, or safe, light shades of colour. Naturally, this depends on the type of work you do and the office environment you are in.

Those of you in the creative line will naturally have more leeway in your makeup, while those who work in a conservative environment will likely have less scope for experimentation. This post is for those of you in the latter category, who might want to sneak in a bit of colour now and then.

Blue eyeshadow is hard to work with, and I find that this is more so on Asian skin because for the most part, blue is a very cool toned colour, while most Asian skintone are warm or have warmer tones. The coolness of blue does clash somewhat, which can make it look very stark on warm toned skin.

The trick therefore is to choose your shade of blue carefully. Navy blue is always fairly safe as it can be used like a black shadow. Pastel blues are tricky, as are bright light blues. For me at least. However, I often find myself drawn to bright, punchy blues, because they can actually look very nice, when used as an accent of colour on your lid.

While I could get away with pulling off an electric blue eye for work (I’m not overly fussy about makeup in the office, so long as everyone looks decent) it’s not a look people feel comfortable facing during a serious meeting, so I try to tone it down. When I broached the subject of blue eyeshadow on Instagram, I received a few suggestions on how to wear it. So, I took them on board, tweaked them a little to make them fairly office-friendly and here are my suggestions for 3 office-friendly ways to wear blue eyeshadow to work 🙂

Sometimes this blogging business makes me sick (A Rant)

April 11, 2015 Paris B 83 Comments

I haven’t embarked on a blogging rant for a while. The primary reason is because I’ve realised that the beauty blogging scene locally is markedly different from that I’ve seen in other countries. There is a lot of “me-ism” here as I call it, so I’ve decided to let sleeping dogs lie, let everyone do their thing and I’ll just do mine. I’m happier this way and I don’t get told off for preaching. Apparently, ethics rub people the wrong way.

Anyway, I remarked on Tine’s blog that I feel like I’m being treated by some people as a “loose cannon” because I refuse to be controlled and that makes me unpredictable. That’s how I like it, but it upsets people so contrary to what many people believe, I don’t work with many brands anymore. Most drop you like a hot potato on reading a less than favourable review about them and PR people come and go so relationships change over time. But you know what, it’s not about me today. I recently received an offer that incensed me so much, I just had to let loose about it.

This isn’t about beauty so you may leave now if it doesn’t interest you 🙂 But because I needed a picture, here’s a gratuitous photo of one of my recent purchases. It’s the Dior Eye Reviver eyeshadow palette and the My Lady Dior blush in 007 at the back. Both are available only at the sole Dior beauty boutique at Sunway Pyramid for a limited time, if you’re interested. (Disclaimer: This post is not about Dior but the items were too pretty not to show you 🙂 )

Archives for April 2015

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