FOTD - bitten by the false lashes bug again!

Felt like posting a FOTD. I've been doing a smokey eye every day this last week and this morning I wanted to do more of a clean eye but bronzed overall look - inspired by Olivia Palermo from The City. I am totally much more of a Whitney fan, but Olivia P has been gaining momentum in the overall style stakes (going to buy next week's Grazia as she's featured in it!). As she has major false lashes (at least I think they are) I blew off the dust of my false lash collection (oh yes, I have one!) as I went through a phase of wearing falsies a while back. I'm too chicken to try Latisse or other chemical lash enhancers - I'm pretty sensitive about touching my eyes etc though I wear contacts!

Voila my collection:

Actually looking through it, I threw 4 pairs away as they'd seen better days! My fave lashes are the very natural Eyelure 010 which are the least dramatic but add volume, thickness and a full flutter to my lashes.

So I tried a new pair I bought in the US this year - Ardell 301 corner lashes. I love! Now, I'm not an expert on application - I take longer than I'd like - but these corner ones were a breeze! They also looked quite 'natural' in that they weren't so long that they looked fake in comparison to the rest of my inner lashes - if that makes sense. Ie. it was a gradual lengthening as you went along my lashline. I think anyway : D They also didn't feel like I had anything on - I tend to feel falsies sometimes throughout the day when wearing a full set. But these - I forgot about them until I went to the bathroom : D





My FOTD today:

Chantecaille Future Skin in Cream
Becca Duo Concealer in Tahini
MAC Bare Canvas paint
MAC Brule all over wash
Prescriptives 2009 Hols Warm palette Sage e/s in inner corner and browbone
Prestige Eyeliner in E12 Brown
MAC Dark Devotion e/s to set the liner above (from 2008 Xmas Warm hols colln)
Shu Uemura Brow gel in Forest Black
Maybelling Full & Soft mascara in black
A touch of Bobbi Brown gel e/l in Forest Shimmer on the 'join' of the falsies to my lashline
Bobbi Brown Natural Bronzer matte to contour and bronze face
Prescriptives 2009 Hols Warm palette Cheek Colour in Ginger (so pretty!)
Shiseido Maquillage lipstick in PK347

I love the Ardell 301. For sure. A quick websearch pulls up that they retail at £4.95 (excl postage) at www.johnandginger.co.uk. I haven't tried this online retailer before, so if you do - let me know how you find them!

In general, I find Eyelure makes very good full sets too which are currently on sale in Harrods as well if anyone is interested.

What are your fave falsies?

First Boxing Day Sale purchase workout - Prescriptives!

Hope you all had a lovely lovely day yesterday with family and friends. I don't celebrate Xmas but my mum was round and we tucked into a hearty Lamb stew she made, finished with mince pies and custard (courtsey of Sainsbury's and Bird's Eye) and watched 2 DVDs. 'Crossing Over' which was a good film about both sides of the immigration story in LA (Mum chose it cos Harrison Ford was in it) and 'The Young Victoria' (which I chose cos Emily Blunt is in it). Emily Blunt is just so gorgeous. The makeup was simple but her porcelain flawless skin was perfection -like cream! And her blue eyes (or contacts) just beamed out against her rosy cheeks. Gonna rent the next film with her in it called 'Sunshine Cleaning'. But I digress, back to the title of this post!

My mum and I braved for a short while the Boxing Day Sales in Oxford Street - which wasn't bad until about 12pm when EVERYONE came out! (We got there a bit earlier). I went to the Prescriptives counter in House of Fraser as an overseas pal (Meta you!) wanted a custom blend lipgloss and I also took the chance to get this little baby which I had my eye on a bit when it came out a few months ago - the Holiday Warm Collection Palette. From £40 RRP to £20 on sale.


I can't wait to use it - they are so me colours, and the blushes seem very me too.

I just wanted to let those of you know - who are in London or passing through - that the Px counter is 50% off as they close on the 31st Jan 2010. They're selling up all stock so the counter did look about half full of products.

Happy sales shopping!

A snippet - Chantecaille Future Skin Foundation

Hi everyone - this is just a quick blog post to share a pic of me wearing the Chantecaille Future Skin Foundation which I got recently for my bday.

I like the look - it's quite a flawless finish foundation which when I've been wearing it I have been thinking to myself 2 things:

1. I've got a bit of a Hollywood glow
2. Where are my pores?

It's early days yet but so far so good. Only con at the moment is its packaging is a screw top jar - so it feels a bit more messy and 'unhygenic' than a pump.

Here's a pic:


It's freezing - that's why I'm wearing the earmuffs (another bday prezzie and it's from Muji!

Hope you all manage to get everything you need to do before the hols! I know I will be wrapping up warm!

xx

A one word workout

I saw this post on 15 steps, a beauty blog and so wanted to join in on the fun. A Q&A session about describing yourself in one word - which I did for the most part ; D


Your hair: ponytail
Your mother: hardworking
Your father: old school
Favorite food: Thai
Dream last night: none
Favorite drink: tea
What room are you in: guest room/computer room
Hobby: makeup!
Fear: the unknown (which I am getting better at conquering!)
Where were you last night: playing netball finals!
Something that you aren't: vindictive
Muffins: ok
Wish list item: perpetual happiness
Where did you grow up: Hong Kong
What are you wearing: T-shirt, leggings & Chinese jacket
Your pets: none
Friends: loyal
Something you're not wearing: a hat
Favorite store: Selfridges
Favorite color: black
Last time you laughed: today
Your best friend: I've known since I was 8!
Best place you go to over and over: Hong Kong
Person who emails you regularly: my parents
Favourite place to eat: London!
Where's your cell phone: in my Chinese jacket pocket that I'm wearing

So - over to you! I tag everyone!

Have a great weekend all!
x

IMATS London anyone?

So since joining YT, I knew that IMATS held an annual show in London. There's one coming up on the 30 and 31 Jan 2010 and I'm considering going just as am curious. But the ticket price is a bit hefty - £33 for one day. Does this come with any freebies or special events for e.g.? The list of exhibitors interest me (Dermalogica, MAC, A-Design to name a few!) and would love to see Terry Barber from MAC.

I'm not a makeup professional of course but since starting this beauty blogger/YT phase of my life, I cannot help but want to go. Anyone else interested and will be passing through London at that time?

Have you been before, and what do you think of it? Would love to hear from you.

Linkie poos here:
http://www.imatsshow.com/london/london_index.php

The Shu Uemura workout session II - some more treats

Girls and boys - I feel a new brand obsession coming on.....

I have been loving the items that I bought from Shu last month, so much so that I've been waiting for their next discount event with bated breath. So after a drink at the pub with workmates tonight, I conveniently walked past the Covent Garden store on my way home via the tube. Lo and behold the event was on tonight so I excitedly stepped into the store.

One thing I have to say that I like about the Covent Garden Store, is the friendliness and approachability of the MUAs. Like last time, I felt like I could browse at leisure, with no hassle or pressure, as well as get some personal attention when I asked for it. Tonight was also a special night because they set up the place with playing cards (some game theme), with free champers and wine as well as snacks incl Ferrero Rocher (yay!), and a free prize draw. A bonus was that customers could choose one card from a pack of cards which offered a special discount on products ranging from 20%-50% off, depending on the card you selected. I chose one that gave me 25% off - not bad I say!

Prior to my last impromptu shopping stop at Shu last month, I only had one blush and one eyeshadow quad in my collection. I'd read varying degrees of reviews of their shadows (particularly before they were reformulated) and blushes - some good and some not so great. The one blush and e/s quad I have I've really liked and the fact they are still in my collection and still used is a testament to that.

So I decided to get 4 e/s of my favourite colours/shades - bronze and neutrals (3 metallics and one matte and which fit nicely in a Prescriptives palette I already have) and one blush.

Top L-R: ME 810 (rich brown reddish) bronze, ME 860 (copper bronze), P350 (gold khaki), M820 (matte grey taupe)
Bottom, in the LE Hikari Sables D'été e/s quad, clockwise from top right: ME Teak, IR Shell, P Sand, P Pebbles


Then swatched on the back of my hand
Top row L-R: ME 810, ME 860, P350, M820
Bottom row from the quad L-R: ME teak, P Sand


Also I am loving atm bright blush which stems from my purchase of M Orange 55 during my last visit. It just gives such a lift to your makeup look, if your eyes and lips are muted especially. I'm liking it. I am of course being careful not to overdo it - to avoid the china doll look. So here's the blush - P Red 14 which is a bright pink with a lovely subtle sheen:


Like last time, I had fun. And that is the kind of experience that makes you want to return - which some brands could really learn from (#ahem MAC#). Of course, the quality of the products and how much you like them are the determining factor so I'm going to road test the e/s and blush for a bit before reviewing them. I'm interested to see how they compare to my other favourite e/s - and MAC of course as I think the colours are dupable. From the word go, the Shu e/s give a lovely metallic finish and are smoother to the touch than MAC.

For those of you in the vicinity of the Covent Garden store in London - the event finishes tomorrow with a 20% discount on all products. If you do go, let me know how you get on and how you found the customer service.

Also, do share your experiences of Shu products!