Long overdue: Secret Santa Gift Swap!
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
I meant to write this post earlier but due unforeseen circumstances i.e my amazing family surprising me with a farewell party/bbq over the weekend, I probably won’t have been lucid enough to write a few sentences, let alone a full length blog post lol; we were unanimously high on an extremely potent mix of charred chicken wings, spicy marinated calamari and bottled milk tea. All of us slept at 4am that night/morning (!!) so I was really in no shape to blog.
Last Christmas I took part in a Secret Santa gift exchange organized by the sexy Pam! Mel and I were partnered up (in secret of course) so we had no idea we were each other’s Secret Santa! We only had a few days to shop for each other before mailing it to ensure the package arrived before Christmas! Mel didn’t have enough time to shop for me so she sent me another package after Christmas and I just received it this week so that explains why this entry has been waaay overdue lol!
Here’s what she sent me in the first package: masks from The Face Shop, something hot from MAC, samples from Laura Mercier etc, NYX Lipstick in B52 and Hello Kitty pocky & candy!!
She got me the MAC Prep and Prime Face Protect SPF 50!! This primer allows a smoother application of make-up by filling in your pores, fine lines and has spf in it too which is brilliant! I’ll do a review once I start using this baby.
I was SO excited to see the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars in the second package she sent! I have heard about how great and how pigmented they are but never got the chance to try them until now. Mel sent me three lip tars in all the colors I wanted omg, thank you so much! The color you see here is the lip tar in Grandma. HAHAHA it looks and sounds like a really safe, foolproof shade but just a dot on your lips is enough for a full blown coral lip k, don’t underestimate your dear old gramps!
Pageant is an almost porn star pink, it’s actually very similar to my YSL Pink Fetish lipstick but with a touch more fuschia in it.
And the shade I’m really really excited about: Indashio. This is not your momma’s lipstick…unless she has a thing for fierce poppin’ coral-reds. I can’t wait to try this one out! It’s time to stop doing the sickly pale lip and bust out that red lipstick!
Mel sent me two other NYX lipsticks: Aphrodite (a frosty lilac shade) and Perfect (a brownish-nude). I am happy to announce that I have enough lipsticks at my disposal to run my own dysfunctional bridal make-up company, can’t say I’m complaining ;D
SWATCHESSSSS YESSSS REJOICE FOR I BRING U MIGHTY SWATCHES. Left to Right: OCC Lip Tar in Indashio (look at how it gleams in the light omg), NYX lipstick in Aphrodite, NYX lipstick in Perfect.
I stupidly forgot to swatch the first NYX lipstick in B52 Mel sent me so that will go in another post I guess :/ I didn’t swatch the rest of the OCC lip tars because my hands got really sticky trying to swatch Indashio because I, too, forgot the universal rule of “Less is More.” Anyway, unlike Indashio, the swatches of the Pageant and Grandma are widely available on the internetz, like on Temptalia for instance!
MORE KRYOLAN STUFF! I’m so lucky omg. Kryolan Aqua Pearlshades in Anthracite and Gold. They’re cream color eyeshadows and they are made of awesome.
Top: Anthracite, Bottom: Gold. I think Anthracite is nothing short of spectacular *_* I have searched far and beyond the realm of the living for a nice smokey foolproof gray and have found nothing I was willing spend my money on but all is good now since I’ve got Anthracite yay! I can forsee Gold being used often as a highlight in the inner corner of my eyes whoo hoo!
Thank you so much Mel! I hope you’re loving the package I sent you as much as I’m loving yours <333
Sorry about my brief absence everyone! This is my last week at work so everything’s just been extremely hectic for me which is why I am WAY behind on everyone’s entries but I do promise I’ll try to do all my commenting by tomorrow. It sucks having full internet access at work but no time to do anything else except work -_- It’s just frustrating! It’s going to end soon anyway and then I can focus on blogging full-time woot!
Tags: beauty: KRYOLAN, beauty: OOC, beauty: yves saint laurent, NYX cosmetics, swap
SMOKE OUT
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
I was out meeting a couple of friends til late yesterday and I know I’ve not posted up an FOTD in the longest time so what better time to try a lil somethin’-somethin’ to welcome the new year? I set out to do the almost-impossible: I was going to do a look centred on that one eyeshadow I could never work with no matter how hard I tried.
I think everyone has at least one eyeshadow color in their collection that’s been neglected, left alone at the back to make room for all the HG stuff. It’s true what they say: Although it looks pretty in the pan… that doesn’t mean it’ll look pretty on you.
My victimized eyeshadow of the day? MAC’s lustre eyeshadow in Idol Eyes. This is a blue-toned pale lilac made stunning with some silver shimmer. I think this is one of MAC’s most unique colors and it’s gorgeous…just not on my eyes lol. Idol Eyes would look seemingly ethereal on a person with cool-toned skin but unfortunately for me, my skintone leans toward that of a banana so on me, Idol Eyes is like a hot mess of purple 70’s disco glitter only Cher would approve.
Enter my secret torture weapon to beat the heck out of Idol Eyes into submission:
My KRYOLAN Aquacolor face paint aka the best black eyeshadow base on this planet. I’ve been wanting to get MAC’s paintpot in Blackground for a long time but was always put off by the price and the fact that I probably won’t use it as often as I should. Ben Nye’s Lumiere and the KRYOLAN Aquacolor paints were next on my black cream base wishlist but that’s not available here so I was practically jumping with excitement when I discovered there was KRYOLAN cosmetics store just down the road from my hotel in Melbourne.
Professional and theatrical make-up heaven *_* My Aquacolor paint is one solid chunk of water-activated black pigment so all you need is a wet synthetic brush, swipe the brush on the paint a couple of times and you have a rich, dark and entirely matte black base for your eyeshadow. It’s cheap at $14, doesn’t crease and would probably last me forever.
From L to R: KRYOLAN Aquacolor paint in Black, Idol Eyes with Aquacolor paint as a base, Idol Eyes with no base. See how Idol Eyes turns from a wimpy shimmery lavender thing into this sexy deep icy blue-grey when it’s applied over the Aquacolor paint? Now THAT I can work with lol.
So I did a cool-toned smokey eye look with it and if you noticed, I purposely didn’t blend out the edges because I wanted to wing it out for a cat’s eye effect without having to use an eyeliner like I normally would - I like taking risks 8D If you don’t have fun and experiment with make-up, why bother right?
Face:
MAC Studio Fix foundation in NC25
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach
Cheeks:
La Femme Glow on Rouge in Nectar Peach
Eyes:
KRYOLAN Aquacolor in Black as a base
MAC eyeshadow in Idol Eyes
MAC eyeshadow in Flashtrack
MAC eyeshadow in Shroom as highlight
MUFE Aqua Eyes in 22L in the inner corners
Clinique Creamshaper in Egyptian as my eyeliner
MAC Browset in Girl Boy
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander NEO
Lips:
MAC lipstick in Mellow Mood
Anyway, ZOMG IT’S THE NEW YEAR! It’s so unreal how time passes by lightning fast! I think each year of our lives are like having a series of multiple blind dates, packaged mysteriously and labeled with a number.
2009 for me was a hot stud who was a comfort to have around…shit I barely got to know the guy and now I’m being forced to chuck him out of the door to make way for Mr 2010? What if 2010 turns out to be a douchebag whose sole purpose is to make my life miserable? That’s when you kick him where it hurts most (*koff*) and show him who’s boss, honey. Life can get very uncontrollable sometimes but remember to have faith in yourself and you’ll be fine!
Oh and before I forget, congratulations to Catherine on the launch of her new domain: Strawberry Mochi! The site is looking good, hun! Can’t wait to read your upcoming entries ;D
Good luck with...