♣ Mini March Haul & Ai's FOTD: Day 8 (Lipstick-A-Day)

Sephora visit and I picked up some stuff at PharmaPlus (there was a sale). Of course like always I buy more than I should...
Here it is.

Marcelle: 

L: Lace Duo Face Powder in Mademoiselle ($15)

R: Lace Eyeshadow Trio in Fancy Pink ($12)

Swatches:

IMO: 

Ok. I admit I am a fan of cute packaging. I have a tendency to lose to cute packaging; 10 out of 10 times. That should have explained why I made these purchases. The Lace Duo Face Powder includes a blush (top) and a bronzer (bottom). See the packaging!!! So so cute!!! Useless product; the cute lace graphics automatically disappear when you put your brush to it, so that just about ended the product for me. lol. The blush is a strange iridescent pink, where it is ultra hot pink on an angle, but a pale pink at frontal view... I think this is because of the bright pink frost in the blush, regardless not my preference as of now. The bronzer is "meh" ok, but it could have more pigmentation. On to the eyeshadow, Lace Eyeshadow Tri in Fancy Pink. Again the cute graphics disappear when you use it, but the colour are usable, still lacking pigmentation imo. You could tell from the swatches that there are not enough pigmentation in this product. Too costly for a product that is below my standard.

Sephora:

Harmony Trio Bronzer ($16)

Swatches:

IMO: 

Strangely enough I never wear or own any bronzer. First bronzer purchase ever. This could replace both of the Marcelle products above. When used together it is a peachy gold colour that could be used as bronzer or even pass as a blush. When used separately, it becomes 3 eye shadows. Great pigmentation, application is smooth and silky. Overall <3. 

Sally Hansen:

Hard As Nails in Stony Creme ($2)

IMO: 

I have never bought nail polish for $2 before... It could come off as a little granny-ish, but I love the colour. Looks like a brownish purple to me, a bit of vintage feel. In the pictures I applied basecoat, 2 coats of Stony Creme, and topcoat. No chips so far; thats amazing for me because I am reckless with my hands and nails.

FOTD (my face):

(wearing GEO Honey Wing)

Eyes: 

- shimmer gold/champagne colour all over upper lid

- apply 1/3 of punch colour in bronze from outer corner; here I used the middle colour of the Sephora Harmony Trio bronzer

- eye line 2/3 of upper lash line from the outer corner

- dust white pearl shadow to bottom inner corner

Face: 

I used the Sephora Harmony Trio bronzer as a blush. 

Lips:

New obsession or interest of nude lipstick led me to purchase Sephora Maniac lipstick in Paris. The colour is very nude, if I did not apply any makeup I would look sickly. Coverage is mediocre, not as moisturizing as Rimmel Renew but its staying power is quite good. It makes you feel like you are wearing lipstick though, I personally like that feeling. 

Hair talk: Sorry readers... my bangs are growing out and the length is a little strange so my hair is up all the time, which is sad. Looking on the brighter side: I can wear nice earrings.

Hope you liked it~ Have fun <3

♣ Ai's Daily Skin Care

Now that the layout is finalized~ I shall follow in Mei's foot steps and share my basic skin routine.

I am a hardcore believer of skincare and I feel skincare should be emphasized incomparison to makeup. Just like Shu Uemura said "beauty starts with skincare."

Both Mei and I have sensitive skin, and we both are reactive to many products out in the market... Of course, some products Mei is reactive to I can use perfectly fine, and vise versa. Everyone have different skin but I hope our trial and error can help others find their holy grail products.

Okie. Me, Ai have intolerant skin, which is at times annoying to deal with considering my skin tone is very pale, therefore scarring is painfully visible. I have combination skin: oily in t-zone and normal cheeks. My pores clog easily and my cheeks are the most sensitive. My breakouts are mainly induced by reaction to products, and they are on my chin and sides of my face.

From left to right; according to my routine.

Nivea: Visage Eye Make-up Remover

A "cream" eye make-up remover and this removes all traces of my eye make-up (i wear a lot of mascara.) Do not follow the instructions given on the bottle - it's jibberish. If you actually follow the instructions you are going to get this cream everywhere and pull out your own lashes at the same time. I would advice to use a quarter size amount of the product, swirl and rub the cream around your eye area until you look like a panda (because the cream will turn black from removing all your eye make-up), then just rinse off. This remover will minimize the amount of eyelashes you pull off while trying to remove your eye make-up since you are not tugging and pulling with a cotton pad :) Oh~ not to mention is it super cheap, I bought this for about $7 on sale at shoppers.

Bioderma: Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution

Introduced by Mei, when my skin goes crazy and not at its best condition, I always return to this make-up remover. I wear sunscreen daily so I need a seperate make-up remover for my face. The best micelle solution in the market with a reasonable price. Avene works fine but more expensive and smaller amount of product, La Roche does not work but cheaper. IMO this is gold (but it does have a bitter taste... if you ever end up licking your lip after using the solution, which I am sure most people would not do... unless you are me).

Marcelle: Gentle Foaming Wash

I tend to lean towards face wash that is extremely gentle. This foaming wash basically just removes the left over traces of product and make-up from my face. I forgot to mention anything that touches my facial skin must be hypo-allergic and non-comedogenic, if it is perfume-free, even better. When there are too much perfume or chemicals in the product my skin will sting... not pretty. Non-comedogenic, because my pores clogs easily and no one wants clogged pore in general. Back to the foaming wash. This is super gentle, it will not strip your skin of its natural oils and it keeps the ph blanace of your skin. After you wash it off your skin will feel super smooth~ One of my top 10.

Avene: Thermal Water

Mei and I are royal believers of Avene thermal water, and Mei is the one who introduced this product to me. I have been using this for 3 years now and currently I am using this as toner. If my skin is reacting, I reach for this but the"water" is not exactly cheap...

La Roche-Posay: Toleriane Fluid

One of my recent purchase for my winter skin care routine. I use to favour a thicker cream to combat the winter wind and dryness, but now I divided the job into two because I realized a hydrating serum plus lotion will do the same as a cream and less likely to feel oily. I apply the fluid to my face after the thermal water to lock in moisture and the hydrating properties are excellent. The consistency is runny so your skin will absorb it easily.

Marcelle: Essentials Protection+ SPF15

My day lotion, which I apply after the toleriane fluid - double moisture :D This lotion is oil-free and hypo-free-non (hypo-allergic, perfume free, non-comedogenic). Marcelle makes many great products for sensitive skin, and the consistency is liquidy and light. In the summer this lotion is probably moisturizing enough to be used alone. So far my this favourite lotion aside from Avene, but this is more affordable. I hate getting tanned so SPF15 is great, especially since I apply this to my neck also.

April: Eye Bright Sparkling Gel

Some cheap eye gel I bought in Shanghai since my DHC Bright Eye ran out. This product line is actually made by the dermatologist association in Shanghai and is geared towards sensitive skin. Apparently not gentle enough because I could not use any of their skin care... Just a basic eye gel, and it does what it is suppose to (depuffs and moisturizes). I use eye gel on my lids and eye cream for under eye.

Marcelle: Essentials 1st Winkles Eye Cream

The consistency of the cream is light and is absorbed quickly. No complaints, and a no-frill product. Starting to develop lines under my eyes so I must find a better eye cream - like Mei =_=;;;; I like this eye cream though, it does not disturb application of concealer or eye makeup.

phew~ that was long... next post will be on special skin care.