Review: Makeup: L’oreal Star Secrets Color Appeal eyeshadow quad

Paris B 2 Comments

The L’oreal Color Appeal eyeshadow quad is a limited edition quad created for the L’oreal celebrity ambassadors. There are 5 quads available in 5 different shades, but I got the Lavender/Blue one which is promoted by Gong Li. These eyeshadow quads are Asia Exclusive I think which means they are only available in Asia. In the USA, the Star Secrets collection has a trio not a quad.

Pictures 247

The 4 shades in the quad are highly shimmery and 1 of them is almost metallic in texture and colour. They are:

White – shimmery white
Silver – metallic silver
Dark Blue – shimmery purple blue
Lavender – shimmery lilac/lavender

The texture is quite smooth and applies well. Be careful with the silver because its easy to overdo. The white and silver shades are more of accent shades whilst the lavender is meant to be the main shade.

However, I found that all the quads are lacking in a real dark shade for lining and accent purposes. Used by itself, I don’t think the dark blue in this quad is dark enough for lining or deepening the colour for contouring the eye or accenting the eye. So, I have to use it with a darker blue or black for contouring. If you have an eyeliner on hand then it might work too.

The quad comes with a dual-ended sponge tipped applicator which I did not use, and the whole thing is housed in a sturdy rectangular plastic case. It costs about RM36 per quad and is available while stocks last because its not meant to be part of the permanent collection. However I’ve seen a lot of it around still so maybe its not doing so well here?

Overall, I’d say this eyeshadow quad is a good deal for the quality. I had been watching it for a while without buying it because honestly, it isn’t all that special. The only reason I bought it was because I needed an eyeshadow at a pinch and this was the best available. So, if you don’t already have a ton of eyeshadows, then take a look at this collection. If you do, skip it, there’s nothing all that special.

Pros: Good quality, nice colours, convenient

Cons: Nothing very special

[rating:3.5/5]

Review: Makeup: L’oreal True Match liquid foundation

Paris B 12 Comments

loreal true match

I picked up the L’oreal True Match Foundation one day due to an emergency which left me without any makeup. I’d heard a lot about it and seen the advertisements and thought I’d give it a shot, because its a reasonably priced liquid foundation. I’m not very good with liquid foundation so I thought it would be a good time to experiment with a reasonably priced foundation.

L’oreal True Match foundation proclaims to have a colour to match every skintone and has an ingredient that helps it adjust to match your skin colour, so you always have the perfect foundation. They have also classified the shades so its easy to match it to your skin, provided you know what tone your skin is.

There are a few categories:

Neutral – neutral tones
Warm – yellow tones
Rose – pink tones

You pick category first then shade which correspond to the numbers. The higher the number, the darker it gets. I thought it was all just hoo-ha to be honest.

I have a neutral skintone (not warm not cool) so I picked up N1 – Nude Ivory because from my experience, I usually just head for the lightest foundation shade and work my way up. This time, I was spot on. N1 is a perfect match for my skintone. It literally melts into my skin and blends perfectly so you can’t even tell I have foundation on. Perfect!

The foundation comes in a glass bottle with a pump. The texture is quite thick and creamy, almost like that of a moisturiser. You just need a little dab on your forehead, nose, chin and cheeks to have perfect smooth coverage. If you prefer heavier coverage, then just apply a little more. But be careful not to overdo it.

I found that unlike my previous experience with liquid foundation, this one did not leave a thick cakey texture on my face. It was easy to keep it light and it did a good job of evening my skintone and doing some slight coverage of imperfections. Once set with some loose powder or silk powder it lasted the whole day for me plus my skin looked damned near flawless! Bear in mind that I live in a hot and humid climate but work in an air-conditioned environment so that might be the reason it stays on. But by the end of the day, I usually still look more or less the same as when I left the house in the morning with minimal fading. That’s pretty awesome in my book!

A bottle retails for RM59.90 if I recall and there are 10 shades for you to choose from. N1 (Nude Ivory) which I went for looks very pale in the bottle but works great for those who are fair to medium. I tried R1 (Rose Ivory) but it left a pinkish white cast on my skin. W1 (Warm Vanilla) left my skin looking yellow. I half-expected to have a reaction to it but to my surprise, I did not. No skin problems after prolonged use. L’oreal goes on sale often usually 10% but sometimes 15% so wait for the discounts to try it.

Pros: Cheap, good coverage, good match for skintone, pump bottle has less wastage

Cons: Nothing major

[rating:4.5/5]

Sunscreen: Sunsense update and L’oreal UV Perfect Review

Paris B 16 Comments

I am a strong believer in the use of sunscreen protection for face and body. For my face, I used to use L’oreal UV Perfect sunscreen with SPF50 protection.

I then switched over to Sunsense by QV, an Australian brand. I loved it because it felt nice on and had mattifying properties, so it made my skin look matt nearly the whole day long. I reviewed this sunscreen and gave it a glowing review. I thought it was perfect – good sunscreen, mattifying, great price.

UPDATE: After about 2 months using it, I found that I was having worse than normal breakouts on my face. I was breaking out in places I never used to break out before. Also, I found that my skin was very uneven as there appeared to be many clogged pores. Again, something I haven’t had for a long time.

I pondered the reasons for this and looked at all the skincare I’d been using. Slowly, I cut out each of them from my routine. Yet the problem persisted. In the end, on a whim and a hunch, I decided to cut out the Sunsense sunscreen and revert to my L’oreal UV Perfect.

In 2 weeks, my skin cleared up. Its no joke! I still don’t have perfect skin, but all the clogged pores are gone, and my skin is much smoother now. The culprit was the Sunsense sunscreen.

So, although it works amazingly for my friend who looks flawless and has no problems with it, I’m afraid it caused me problems and for that, I’d advise anyone wanting to try this to be careful as there is a potential problem of it clogging pores.

So now, I’m back to my L’oreal UV Perfect Sunscreen with SPF50. It comes in a slim 50ml tube which makes it very travel friendly. It has SPF50 and PA+++ which is a very high sunscreen rating and good for our tropical weather.

It contains Meroxyl which is a chemical sunblock that is patented by Loreal. It claims to block both UV-A and UV-B rays which cause aging. This sunscreen used to retail for about RM32.90 but I’ve noticed that the price seems to have dropped recently to under RM30. It often goes on sale for 10% or 15% less which is a good time to stock up on it.

The texture is a lotion and you don’t need very much to spread all over your face. It spreads easily and has a slight fragrance that isn’t very strong. I find that it does help protect my skin from the sun. When I use this and am out in the sun, my face doesn’t feel like its burning. That makes it a great sunblock.

However, I did find that throughout the day, it did make my face oilier. I used to use it under makeup and does cause my makeup to slip a bit which is a bit of a drawback.

I have been using this sunscreen for about 3 years now and didn’t experience any adverse reactions to this sunscreen including blocked pores or breakouts so I do highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good facial sunscreen that is a handy size. It comes in 3 types for now. Transparent, tinted and anti-dullness. I only use the transparent ones.

This particular item is now only available in Europe and Asia. Meroxyl isn’t approved by the USA FDA (Food and Drug Administration) so they can’t bring it into the USA. I’m not quite sure why.

Budget Tip: L’oreal owns Lancome and this sunscreen contains the same ingredient as Lancome’s UV Expert 50SPF sunscreen. The one by L’oreal costs a lot less though! So, its Goodbye Sunsense and Hello again, L’oreal UV Perfect!

Pros: Good sunscreen, slim packaging, did not cause blocked pores or breakouts on me

Cons: Skin gets oily, quite expensive for its size

L’oreal UV Perfect gets a [rating:4.5/5]
Sunsense gets a [rating:0/5]

Review: Makeup: L’oreal Touche Magique concealer pen

Paris B 12 Comments

Further Update: They brought it back in! It does look a little different now and applies a little differently too but it is still a very good budget illuminator/concealer pen. Here’s the re-review of the Touche Magique pen.

UPDATE: The L’oreal Touche Magique concealer pen is discontinued – BOO! But if you can still get it, this is my review after using it.

Touche Magique is a concealer pen by L’oreal made specially for concealing dark undereye circles. It has illuminating properties to brighten the under-eye area.

I test drove this after a night of drinks and not sleeping well. It gave me a smooth clear look, like as though I’d just woken up after 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep! Every girl should keep this gem in their makeup stash!!

There are only 2 shades available here – 03 and 04. If you are fair 03 will suit you fine. However, if you are very tanned/dark you might not be able to find a match in this line. I don’t know why but I can’t seem to find much stock at the L’oreal counters. Are they discontinuing this item? Or do they just not stock many of it?

The brush part can feel rather hard sometimes and if you aren’t careful it feels scratchy around your sensitive eye area. I usually clean the brush with some tissue paper after every use and I found that regular cleaning seems to make it feel softer.

Its rather expensive at RM39.90 each, but L’oreal goes on sale often here so wait till the discounts before you buy. Its worth every sen, trust me! I’ve tried a couple of concealers, but I still go back to this one.

[rating:5/5]