Review: Makeup: Clinique Colour Surge Buttershine lipstick

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Some time ago when the Clinique Buttershine lipsticks were first launched, I gave them a go at the Clinique counter. My first impression was a bad one, as my lips felt dry after applying this lipstick.

Now, I know this lipstick is more like a solid gloss. It is supposed to go on like butter and has a shine, hence the name. However, it felt dry to me and so I avoided this one for a long long time.

Then, a couple of weeks back, I stumbled on one for cheap, so I bought it on a whim to try. The colour is Berry Blush.

The case of this lipstick is very nice. Its a solid shiny metal with a bamboo design. Very appropriate for the coming Chinese New Year, I thought. The cover fits very well, so once its covered you can’t even tell which way is up! It just looks like a piece of solid metal bamboo which is really cool.

The texture of this lipstick is pretty much like gloss. It goes on smoothly and sheer and glossy. I found it melts a little if left in the heat for too long e.g. if you are travelling in a hot car. It maybe to do with the texture as my other lipsticks in the same bag did not melt as much.

There is no scent like all other Clinique products. This time, when I applied the lipstick, I did not feel any dryness. My lips felt moist, in fact, which is great!

The colour I got is Berry Blush. Its a nude berry shade which on my pigmented lips, hardly shows up. Its great for me because its my original lip colour, but better! My lips don’t look like I have thick lipstick on, and it looks natural, but shiny and smooth. The perfect my-lips-but-better look. If you like colour then this lipstick might not be for you because its very sheer. All it does is put a hint of colour on your lips. The darker or brighter shades may show up more but even then, its mostly sheer. Great for those days when you want some colour but don’t want to look too made up. And it lasts longer than a gloss too!

I don’t know how much this retails for, but I’d hazard a guess at about RM60 or so. Its available at all Clinique counters. I’m rather tempted to get more colours now!

Pros: Sheer, glossy, no scent, nice packaging

Cons: Sheer, melts easily

[rating:5/5]


Eye makeup: How To

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I’m no expert at doing eye makeup. When I started using eye makeup, it was all I could do to stop myself from looking like someone punched me in the eyes, because at that time, I had the strange notion that purple/plum eyeshadow was the way to go. Silly me! Now, I know I absolutely CANNOT wear purple/plum eyeshadow at all! It makes me look like I haven’t slept in 20 years, or like I got punched in the face.

So, I started experimenting and since I have fair asian colouring, I realised I look pretty good in green shades or pastel shades (sometimes). I’d just slap the colours on haphazardly but with enough experimentation, I have now slowly learnt to make sure that it actually emphasises my eyes instead of just screaming “LOOK! COLOUR!!” heh…

Here are 2 is one makeup tutorial off Youtube that I found quite useful for beginners or even if you just want to improve on your technique. Its done on an Asian model though, so it would be more helpful for Asian (Chinese) girls. Its also in Cantonese so those who understand Cantonese will have an advantage over the rest of us who don’t.

The eyes are the hardest part to do (for me) so, if you want to learn how to do eyes, just give these a watch and happy experimenting! (I think the video is visible now 🙂

 

Preservative free eye drops

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If you are an avid blogger, or spend a lot of time on the computer, you’d notice that your eyes sometimes feel tired and dry. Its the same feeling if you have had the lasik procedure done on your eyes. A usual side effect is that of dry eyes, which can plague you for a short while or sometimes for much longer.

Instinctively, you’ll reach for the eye drops, everytime your eyes start feeling dry and tired, to refresh your eyes. Well, having read a bit online, and having had to use eye drops since my Lasik procedure, its recommended that you use preservative free eye drops where you can.

The eye membrane is very thin with lots of little blood capillaries and anything that goes in is practically absorbed immediately into your bloodstream. So, using preservative free eye drops are the recommended way as they are single use vials. So, you open one, use it up during the day and then throw it away after 24 hours to prevent contamination. I’m told that keeping an open vial in the fridge will prolong the life a little, but still, bear in mind that since it has no preservatives, its best not to tempt fate too much.

Presevative free eye drops come in large-ish boxes with individual clear tubes that are sealed. This is opposed to the normal eye drops that come in a single bottle. You twist off the top of a vial as you want to use it, and some are recloseable to a degree. As I said, its not meant to last you more than 24 hours, so try to use it up throughout the day.

The downside of these types of eye drops is that its not as portable as normal bottles with screw caps. However, I haven’t had any trouble transporting these single use vials around, even after reclosing them as the caps can fit in tightly.

So, its worth checking out these eye drops. Lots of brands have them. Just look in any pharmacy under the eye-drops section and keep a look out for the words “Preservative Free” on the box or label. Its your eyes and you only have a pair so its worth keeping them healthy!

Review: Makeup: Scott Barnes Chic Palette powder blush

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Here’s the Scott Barnes powder blush Chic Palette in Posh.

I bought this online as Scott Barnes isn’t available in Malaysia at this time. Scott Barnes is makeup artist who got famous doing Jennifer Lopez and giving her her famous glow. He then developed a line of makeup and this Chic Palette is a blush palette.

I like blushes, no doubt about it. I have tons and I still keep wanting more. I got this Chic Palette in Posh which is a trio of what is supposed to be peachy pinks. To be honest, all I saw was pink. 3 different shades of pink in a long slim palette.

The 3 colours are supposed to be used for contouring (darkest shade), colour (medium shade) and highlighting (lightest shade). In the Posh palette, you get 3 shades of pink. The darkest shade looks scary bright fuschia pink in the pan but it goes on a very lovely sheer rosy pink. I love the look! The medium pink is lighter and goes on mostly just baby pink on me. The lightest shade on the other hand is purely a highlighting shade for me. It is just shimmer. You can even swipe your brush over all the colours to mix them up. Its so versatile and so pretty! I’m warm to neutral toned so I think this will suit warm toned girls better.

The pans are large. If you own Nars blushes, their size of 1 pan is quite equivalent to that of a Nars blush. They are housed in a pretty sturdy chic case but the cover doesn’t fasten either with a magnet or a clasp. It just closes so if you like to carry your makeup around, you might find it unwieldly. I don’t so its fine with me.

This blush palette retails for US$44 or you may be able to get it cheaper online at strawberrynet.com where I got mine.

Pros: Lovely colour, smooth texture, sheer

Cons: Case should stay shut

[rating:4/5]

 

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