Laneige Air Light Finishing Compact

 My MAC Studio Fix was running out (not even sure they have that range!) and I thought I'd try something new. Got this off Gmarket since I really liked their foundation, I thought this would be good too. 

I did quite a bit of research to check out their other compacts, and felt this would offer sufficient coverage on days I may not want to wear bb cream.

What is it: A pressed powder that supposedly brightens and gives your skin a transparent quality.  Contains air light minerals.

 Bought it in Natural Beige No. 2. 

It comes in a square shaped compact with a little plastic separator for the puff, which I thought was kind of awkward, but alright, since it keeps the puff clean. 

Coverage- Very light. When applied on top of my bb cream, it creates a very poreless, matte finish, which is nice. I haven't tried it on my bare face yet though. I think the puff does nothing to help a smooth application though... may be better to use your own slightly more porous sponge.

Color- My MAC color is usually NC30, and this has a pinkier tone which gives skin a slightly brighter look. It does work a little better than MAC's which is more yellow-based. I feel it looks better when used under the eyes too to set concealer. 

So would I buy it again after it's done? I'm not sure yet. I think I may need something that provides a little more coverage. It really is as the name states, a finishing powder. However the good thing is that it didn't break out my sensitive, combination skin, which is a huge plus. 

I bought this online here for SGD37.90, but I'm sure it costs more from the department shops.

L'Oreal Infallible 024 & 002 Review

 I got these two shades from the L'Oreal Infallible range. I got 024 Bronze Goddess last year, and 002 Hourglass Beige just last month. 

 Very pigmented and you can layer the color with an eyeshadow brush for more depth, or blend it out for a light wash of colour. I usually just use my fingers to blend it out, but if I want more color, I pack it on (also with finger :)

I use Hourglass Beige for everyday, for just a bit of color and sparkle. The great thing about these shadows is they last the entire day through the hot day and sweating, and don't crease!

There's a little cover that says Keep Me inside to keep the eyeshadow moist(?), in any case, I'll just keep it in. It helps to pack the eyeshadow together too, if not it might get a little crumbly.

Texture- silky, very easy to blend out, and smooth. Very pigmented and great for smoky eyes (dark colors) or everyday. 

Retails for SGD14.90 but sometimes Guardian or Watson's has sales and I got my Hourglass Beige for $11.90. Love it! And if I find another color I really like, I will get more.

Updated with ingredients list: Vichy NormaDerm Active Anti- Imperfection Concentrate Review

 I bought this two or three months ago to try as I was getting a breakout and one blog reviewer who tried it gave it a very good review! The fact that it worked for her and that her skin type was like mine (oily T zone but with dry parts, and small breakouts) gave me some confidence to try it out.

I'd been using Oxy5 for awhile but the thing I hated about it was how drying it was. It would dry out the skin around the pimple and leave a slight scar. This one, however, does not dry out the skin AT ALL!

 The back of the tube. Not much info on the packaging. But it does contain 4% salicylic acid which works at killing those zits, and contains some good mineral water from France. Haha...

The packaging actually claimed to reduce the size of the pimple in 8 hours and make it completely disappear in 24hrs. It wasn't true for me at all, but I kept at it and after 1 week, my skin improved considerably. I've been continuing with it, and with good skin care, proper removal of makeup etc (not including hormonal periods every month), this pimple cream really works.

Updated:  For pimples that aren't huge but just slightly inflammed, this pimple cream does bring down the redness very quickly, for me, and they go away in about a day.

It has a slight greenish tinge but when applied, is colorless. I don't use it only on big spots but just spread it out over the area with pimples. A little does go a long way. It dries matte and is non-sticky too, which I love. Am definitely going to buy more when it runs out... which is soon! I use it twice a day, and it doesn't dry my face out.

Retails for SGD 29 at pharmacies, I got mine at Watsons. If the salesgirl is at the booth when you go, ask for samples of whatever you'd like to try from their brand, they're quite happy to let you try. :)

Updated:  Last weekend 03/11/12, I went to two Watsons at different shopping malls and could not find it!! I panicked for a bit, but thankfully they're still available in abundance at KK Hospital (got a box there), and my cousin spotted them at the Watsons at the new wing of Plaza Singapura. I hope they never discontinue this!

More info here.

Skin79 Super+ Hot Pink Beblesh Balm Review

 I've tried a few bb cream samples in the past few years, but this one is my absolute favourite! So much that I just bought this jumbo 40g bottle. 

How it started was my sister was already using it and had gotten a sample at Cozycot upon a purchase, so she passed it to me. 

 The back of the bottle with the authenticity sticker.

It supposedly is meant to whiten, smooth out and prevent wrinkles, and protect the skin with SPF 25. 

 There is only one shade, which surprisingly works for my skin tone considering when it's pumped out, it's this darkish beige colour. Kinda scary but when blended out.... 

 See the area to the left of that blob of bb cream? Don't see it? That's why I love it! Cos it blends so well that you can't even see it! 

What I love about it is its texture... it's smooth and gel- like almost, and when blended, doesn't feel heavy on the skin. And as it claims, it gives skin a healthier look, with more even skin tone.

 The back of the box with information and ingredients in English. Very helpful.

Coverage- Pretty good! Light to Medium, natural coverage. If you need more coverage, just put on another thin layer. It covers scars lightly, but for more coverage, a concealer on top of it would be helpful. Not cakey or oily. Easy to blend.

Texture- Light, gel- like cream. Not heavy at all, with a very faint pleasant scent. 

Color- Pumps out ashy beige but blends out and oxidizes to match my fair, yellow-toned skin  tone perfectly. My sister is a slightly pinkier skin tone and she uses this too and it matches well. I'm guessing it might suit very fair to fair skin tones. I'm not too sure. 

How it wears- I usually wear this out over my sunblock and walk quite a bit in the sun to and fro from home with my work, so I do dab my sweat off quite a bit and the bb cream comes off. But coverage is still pretty decent though it does fade a bit. (but this is when I do sweat heaps and go out for more than 6 hours). By the end of the day, there is still lots of bb cream to clean off :P 

Verdict- love it! I think it actually does improve and whiten skin as it claims to... 

Retails in SG between 25-35 depending on where you buy it from (Cozycot at Orchard Central and Watsons) but I got it from Gmarket from this Korean seller for about SGD 18 after shipping! (And it's authentic)

For more info, check out this webpage here.

Holika Holika Jewel Light Waterproof Eyeliner and Laneige Creamy Crystal Eyeliner Review

 Recently got the Holika Holika eyeliner off Gmarket for a mere $5.90 before shipping... and had to test it out. I had already tried the Laneige eyeliner in the past, but decided to review them together. 

The Laneige one is in N03 Navy Blue, and the Holika one is 05 Brown Amber. 

 The navy blue isn't extremely pigmented, but a lighter blue shade, I guess? You can see that the Holika brown is really quite solid though. This is a swatch of the colors just drawn. 

 I smudged them right away, and surprisingly, the Laneige one didn't budge! But the Holika one did. 

Here's a closeup of the very subtle sparkle bits in the eyeliners. Personally I like a little bit of shine because flat color tends to look a little old on the face. Not too much, so these were just nice. 

After this, I tried to take them off with water and some soap. With some rubbing, the Laneige one, though it claims to be waterproof, came off rather easily. The Holika one though pretty much stayed in place! It did come off a little, but it definitely needed waterproof eye makeup remover to be taken off. 

Lesson learnt- Let the Holika eyeliner dry up for a few minutes. 

Later that day, I used the Holika eyeliner. It was super easy to draw, it glided on very easily. I smudged it just a tiny bit (don't like harsh lines) and it stayed on for a good 6 hours, of which I did a lot of walking under the hot sun and sweated quite a lot. 

Verdict- for $5.90, the Holika Holika eyeliners are a steal! I would probably not buy the Laneige ones again though. Though it has staying power, I really didn't like that it wasn't pigmented enough. It is very easy to use though, and draws on very smoothly. 

Laneige eyeliner bought for about $18 from Korea, Holika Holika for $5.90 from here.

Chanel Correcteur Perfection Long- Lasting Concealer Review

 Early October, I was in desperate need of a good concealer. I have tried soooo many, but one or the other just didn't cut it. Either that, or it gives me oil bumps. So far, so good with this Chanel one, I've been using it for about 3 weeks now. 

I headed to the Chanel counter at Isetan Scotts, and had the kind sales assistant help me out. She picked out this shade. There are only two, and no. 20 is slightly darker. 

 Which was kinda weird, cos both my sisters use no. 20. Oh well. She tried it out, and the Chanel makeup mirror allows you to see how the concealer works under a number of different lighting like natural white light, candle light... don't remember what else. Since no. 10 worked for me, I got it. 

A swatch of it. Oops, didn't get a photo of it blended out, or how it covers my dark circles, but trust me, it's very easy to blend out and covers dark circles pretty well. You may need something more opaque for blemishes though, but I use it around my nose and mouth area.

What I like about it: It doesn't settle into the fine lines under the eyes. After blending it out, all I need to do is lightly pat some powder over it and it's done! (It's a different story with the eye crease though, but a little powder helps.) Also, all I need for my under-eyes and the area around my nose and mouth, as well as about 4 scars is maybe two swipes of the brush applicator.

Will try to get a photo of how well it covers my panda eyes and update again. 

Coverage- Medium. 

Texture- Slightly gel- like and very light on the skin. Not watery. Very easy to blend out as well, just use your 4th finger to lightly pat it in.

Color- Looks beige, but matches my fair skin (Asian, with slight yellow undertones)

How it wears- Very well! It lasts almost a whole day, even once when I cried (another story), it took some off, but generally stayed pretty well. Love that it doesn't crease and feels light on the skin. Has a faint scent that's quite pleasant. Definitely does not break me out. Yay!

Retails for SGD44.

Laneige Water Supreme Foundation Review

Today I'll be reviewing the Laneige Water Supreme Foundation in Natural Beige. 

I got my cousin to buy it for me when she headed to Korea middle of this year. Before that, I'd never tried a single thing from Laneige. We went to Raffles City the weekend before she flew off to take a look at what color I should get. She said that it would be about 30% cheaper there, I needed a foundation, so why not? :) I decided on this one.

I absolutely loved its gel like texture, faint but pleasant scent and natural coverage. (swatched it on my jawline)

 The back, Korean words. All Korean words on the box and insert in the box too. 

 Swatched it. Oops, sorry about that leftover black eyeliner at the bottom... 

Blended out! Can't even tell where it is! 

I tried it finally when I had to do my makeup for a wedding, and I LOVE this foundation. I have sensitive skin and it doesn't break me out.

Coverage- Medium, depending on how much you layer. Best part is even when you layer it, it doesn't get cakey, nor looks heavy.

Texture- Gel- like and not heavy at all on the skin

Color- Matches my fair, slightly yellow-based, cool skintone (I am a MAC NC30)

How it wears- Like a dream! Doesn't clog pores, makes skin look better than it is. Doesn't settle into lines either. And it lasted a whole 8 hours. Serious. Ok, with a little wear, but this is Singapore, it's humid. Add a little powder on top and it looks even better. 

I think it retails for SGD55, my cousin got it for me for SGD38!