Primer

The cult favourite Clarins Beauty Flash Balm is not a flash in the pan, it’s an excellent makeup primer!

June 27, 2016 Paris B 16 Comments

To everyone who asks for makeup primer recommendations, I always say “I’m sorry, I don’t use a primer” And then I realised quite recently while reorganizing my base drawers, that that’s not quite true.

I don’t use a primer… primer (you know, products called primers) but I do use other products that aren’t called primers, but also work as primers. Are we confused? Good.

I currently have 2 that I have belatedly realised work well as primers for me, but I wanted to show you this Clarins Beauty Flash Balm because I realised that this has been something I’ve used over the past 8 years at least, without ever mentioning it! How remiss I have been 😀

First of all, the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm isn’t a makeup product. This is actually filed under their skincare range, as a pick-me-up product for the skin. The product is supposed to rejuvenate tired, stressed skin by eliminating skin fatigue in a flash (hence the name) and boosting skin radiance, while tightening the skin. While all that is great in a skincare product, the unintended side effect is that is makes a pretty impressive foundation primer!

Nanoblur claims you’ll look up to 10 years younger: Let’s see how it fares!

September 17, 2014 Paris B 11 Comments

Alright, I’m conflicted. On the one hand, here is a product touting to make me look up to 10 years younger in 40 seconds and yet, my innate sense of of scepticism rears its ugly head with that raised eyebrow going “Really?!” I know, 10 years. That’s a heck lot of time to turn back (although personally, I’m not one for turning back time unless it’s to undo mistakes and boy, are there some I’d like to undo!)

The product is Nanoblur by Indeed Labs, the people who brought us Hydraluron. What this is, is a product that purports to be based on optics technology and it’s not sold as a makeup, so it’s NOT a primer. I know, then what is it?

Well, it’s a product that you apply on skin to correct the appearance of skin aging, lines, wrinkles, pores and it does this all within seconds. 40 seconds to be exact. Sounds like a primer? Yeah, I thought so too. I’ve held on to this for over 2 months now, trying to get my head around it, but I’m afraid to say, quite failing to see how it fits into my routine.

See! See! Bobbi Brown now has a CC Cream too!

May 7, 2014 Paris B 28 Comments

With CC Creams now being the norm, it ought to come as no surprise when the big brands start releasing their own versions of what is popularly termed “colour correcting” creams. To be honest, with some products, there is scant difference between a BB Cream and a CC Cream. Both are tinted, both are used all over and while brands try their utmost to tell us that they’re different, lets face it, they’re basically the same thing.

So when Bobbi Brown released their CC Cream, I raised a sceptical brow. I do like the Bobbi Brown BB Cream. It’s one of the better versions I’ve tried out there (I don’t use Korean brands, it’s a personal quirk because I dislike that grey cast that makes me a relation to a decaying zombie) But CC Cream?!

Well Bobbi Brown takes great pains to tell us that their CC Cream, which comes in 3 shades globally and 2 shades locally, is more of a colour correcting PRIMER than a face base. Now, that sort of honesty I can live with. There are 3 shades available – 01 Pale Nude (pink for fairer skintones) 02 Warm Nude (yellow for medium-darker skintones) and 03 Golden Nude (brown for dark skintones). In Malaysia, we only get Pale Nude and Warm Nude.

The thing is, to be perfectly honest, unless you already are compelled to use a makeup primer daily, I don’t quite see the point of this product. There, said it 😛 I have found a use for it, but I can’t say in all honesty that it’s a must have.

Rachel K CC Cream in Original and Neutral: Pioneering and leading the Wild West of CC Creams

August 14, 2013 Paris B 35 Comments

A couple of years back, I picked up rumblings of a CC Cream. This was way before the Chanel and Clinique CC Creams came into existence. I remember laughing about it. CC Creams! Haah! Well, CC Creams are now the new normal.

But the pioneer in the CC Cream department is the Rachel K CC Cream. I remember, because I laughed about them which was a little unfortunate because it is quite a good product, all said and done.

Rachel K is Rachel Kum, a former Miss Singapore Universe beauty queen, who went and created the next generation Blemish Balm or BB Cream, calling it the CC Cream. Little did she guess I suppose, that so many brands would follow suit over the years. I received these some time last year. I couldn’t quite get my head around them which explains why you’re only hearing about them now from me. I’ve finally “got it” as it were. Slow learner eh? 😛

The Rachel K CC Cream comes in 2 formulas – Original in a black tube which is tinted pink and suited to people with pink skintones and Neutral in the pink tube suited to people with a neutral to yellow base. I can wear both, which might surprise you since I’m always banging on about using a pink toned base, but I use them for different purposes.

What Rachel K says her CC Cream is, is a more refined and improved version of a BB Cream. Her CC Cream has 10 in 1 benefits claiming both cosmetic and skincare benefits while controlling oil and protecting skin with SPF35 PA++ The Original version has a pink tint while the Neutral version is more tinted to look more like a light foundation.

These have been available in Singapore and Malaysia for a while and now also, worldwide so I’m very sure many of you would have tried it, and I’m curious to know how you liked it or if you did 🙂 There is one niggling fly in the ointment for me, which I’ll tell you about below.