October Favorites

October has been a month of trial. I've been trying loads of new products, mainly skincare. My skin has gone from horrendous to okay by using some of the new products. I'm still trying a lot of them out, so I won't feature my skincare collection until I'm sure.




There is one product though, that I want to feature. It's a repurchase, and it just might be a staple item for me. It is the ISOI Blemish Care Serum from their Bulgarian rose line. By now, if you are an avid reader of mine that is, you'll know that I truly appreciate Bulgarian rose. They do wonders for the skin. I have an immediate respect for products that use this rose because I know how good it is.

The ISOI Blemish Care Serum has helped my skin stay supple and hydrated while treating the blemishes and scars I have. It feels so lightweight, almost as if it doesn't do anything. But without it, my skin becomes coarse and it produces so much more oil. I just love this stuff!

I've also been loving two primers together. Days when I really need my makeup to stay and last, and also on those days where my skin is producing way too much oil (ew but true), I combine the Hourglass mineral veil with the Mario Badescu Special Healing Powder. I lay one on top of the other, in any order. Sometimes I do the powder first, sometimes I do the liquid primer first. Either way, it helps my makeup last! Read about the MB powder here.

Another face product I've really come to enjoy is the Hera UV Mist Cushion in the shade no.23. I asked my mom to pick this up for me while she was in South Korea. I know you can get it here in the US, but I thought it might be cheaper. I've been using this along with the Innisfree one and I'm still undecided as to which one is better. Right now, I'm going to go with the Hera one. I can't pinpoint why, but I do love the glow it gives my face-- and just the look that I am awake, ready, and fresh while not making my face look like I have "makeup" on. It really gives a natural coverage and natural glow! I'll talk more about these cushion foundations, but it something I recommend you look into! They are amazing :) Read my Korean-beauty haul post here.

Something I've been wearing on my cheeks to add to the glow and freshness is the Nars Stick in "Riviera". It's perfect for that winter flush. It helps the makeup again, look "natural". Unlike a powder, this cream stick blends so nicely on the face and it lasts really long! I love the natural shimmer it gives, and the shade is so a pretty flush! You can use these sticks for cheeks, lips, and eyes. All around, a total must-have!

A product meant for the cheeks but what I use on my eyes is the Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer. This is honestly a beauty blogger induced item. I remember when I first saw Tanya Burr wear this in one of her videos. She always makes everything look perfect, doesn't she? But recently, she used this one her eyes to get that grundgy look without having to get a separate eyeshadow. It looks amazing. So I gave it a try, and I absolutely love it. For a natural look, I'll keep the shade just on my lids. If I want that full-on grundge, I'll apply some of the color on the bottom of lids. It smokes out the eye. Add mascara and you're ready to go!

An eyeliner I'll always repurchase is the Jouer liquid eyeliner. I've tried tons, but this one is the best. Do I recommend it for everyone? No not really because it might be hard to work with. But for some reason, I love the way it looks on my eyes. I can't even pinpoint what's so special about it! Yet, I keep looking in the mirror and loving how my eyeliner looks. That means something, right?

Another Jouer product is their lipgloss in the shade "wind". Beautiful, beautiful nude shade to lay on top of a nude lipstick. No stickiness. Hydrating. Beautiful shade. Read my Jouer Haul post here.

Another lip product is a Korean brand from "It's Skin" called "Babyface". Their lipsticks (and cheek products) are really cool. Cool as in, a consistency I can't quite describe. They bounce and seem like jelly?! They must have used some gel formula because they seem really bouncy. I love their lipstick in the shade no.5 because though it looks like a hot pink, it gives off a pretty pink on the lips. It is super moisturizing, and again, it makes your lips look like gel. I'm really bad at describing this, aren't I? Point is, it's cool! (and pretty).

Phew, finally. NAILS. This super sophisticated perfect Fall red... is from Essie. Shade name is: Fishnet stockings. I'm sure you've all heard of it. It looks like a lady's shade to me! A really sophisticated red shade.

2 comments baby face, bourjois, bulgarian rose, essie, favorites, hera, hourglass, isoi, jouer, korean, korean beauty, mario badescu, Nars, nude, october, red

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COLORS OF MAKEUP #1⎪FUCHSIA & PLUM Lips

I'm going to start a series of posts that kind of bundle up a few of my makeup products into similar color categories. Of course, there are those midi-colors that are hard to put into one definite category, so if you think they overlap a bit, I hope you'll understand!

Today's post is going to be on one of my favorite lipstick colors. Fuchsia+Plum. So, let's begin with a definition of what the color of fuchsia is: a vivid purplish-red color like that of the sepals of a typical fuchsia flower. (Google)

Here are my top picks! Run your mouse over each product to see the individual in-depth review.

• Tom Ford Violet Fatale
• MAC Rebel
• NARS Funny Face
• Bobbi Brown Cosmic Raspberry
• Clinique Chubby Stick Pudgy Peony (further down)

I don't actually think I have an official review of the NARS Funny Face, but in swatches you will see that it is quite similar to the Bobbi Brown Cosmic Raspberry! What attracted me most to the NARS lipstick was that even in the tube, you can detect this really vivid blue undertone, which makes it look more purpley than the Bobbi Brown. Take a look at the pictures down below. You may not see it so much in the swatches, but in the actual picture of the lipstick, you can see the hues I am talking about!

And of course, here are the Swatches:

And after all that, I remembered that I had my Clinique Chubby Stick in Pudgy Peony that I also really love!

Please be advised that under different light, these colors can look sometimes darker, redder, purpley, and even pinker. I tried to reflect the different hues it gives off, but because the color fuchsia itself is a mixture of purples and reds, you can imagine how complexly it can develop!

Which is your favorite? I'd love to know! x

2 comments cherry, clinique, color series, colors of makeup, fuchsia, lipsticks, MAC, Nars, plum, purple, red, tom ford

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Cosmic Raspberry by Bobbi Brown

After this post, you'll immediately see a post regarding FUCHSIA colored lipsticks. I'm going to be starting a whole blogpost series of COLOR-matching makeup products. Some of the colors I'll be talking about are: oranges/corals, reds, pinks, and fuchsia/plum. The first one up will be the fuchsia/plum category.



One in particular that I want to talk about is, as the heading tells all, is the newest to my fuchsia/plum collection. It is the Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color in "Cosmic Raspberry". I was on a hunt for this lipstick ever since I saw a certain actress wear it. She looked so darn good in this lip color, and so I began to search for what the exact lipstick she was wearing. Ends up, I wasn't the only one on the hunt to find her shade. With a few google clicks here and there, I found out that it was this very shade.

I can't say too much about this lipstick as in terms of its quality, NOT because it isn't good but because like so many high-end luxury lipsticks, they kind of blend into that one similar category of being all really highly pigmented, long-lasting, and hydrating. Like most of my top luxe lipsticks, the pigmentation is superb. It isn't as creamy as my YSL lipstick where a bunch of products comes with a single glide. It gives a good amount of control with how much product transfers onto the lips. In terms of hydration, it is great as well but I'd say not as moisturizing as my Shu Uemura or Burberry lip mists. It isn't of any one extreme, but I bought this for the color so it has just the perfect medium, you know?

Here is me loving it very much indeed!

First off, I love fuchsia. On the lips, I like them even better. Before I bought this shade, I thought it would be more purple than it actually was. It came out to be a bit of purple, fuchsia, and cherry red. It's pretty confusing. Under some light, it gives off that purple that I was really looking for. But in other lights, it looks more cherry than purple. Either way, I absolutely love the color, although to achieve the color that I saw on the actress, it would require perhaps a purple lipgloss on top?

Credits to my sister for modeling this lipstick :)

I have to be honest though. While in Sephora I checked lipsticks that had similar if not exact shades as this and found quite a few. There is definitely one in Laura Mercier that I thought was exactly the same shade. I found two similar ones from YSL and lastly, NARS "Funny Face" is also quite similar. If you are curious to see the comparison to other fuchsia/plum/cherry shades of lipsticks, check out the next blogpost where I show you a few swatches!

2 comments bobbi brown, cherry, fuchsia, lipsticks, michael kors, raspberry, red

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Liquid Lipsticks: Hourglass & Giorgio Armani

I recently purchased the Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick on a whim. It wasn't much planned, but when I read about it on a few beauty blogs and swatched it at the Sephora Hourglass counter, I thought, hey this must be good. 

Because I already have the Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in the shade 504, which is a vibrant bright red, I thought I'd go for something a bit more wearable than that. I opted for Hourglass shade in "Muse". It seemed a softer yet still vibrant coral-red. The darker skin toned you are, this shade will probably pop out more. On me, it looks very bright and more red than a soft coral. 

After using it for a few days and discovering so many pros about it, I thought I'd do a little comparison between the Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro and the Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick. In some essence, they are of the same concept. They are more lipsticks than lip glosses that come in gloss-like packaging. They are both intensely pigmented and super creamy on the lips. The glide on like whip cream and give this subtle ground between matte and natural-gloss. They don't make your lips powdery matte, but then again, it doesn't bring out some false gloss to the lips either. They give that wonderful middle ground.

Both are super long-lasting. As long as you aren't eating and drinking with this on, they can probably last up to 10 hours. By that time, it might even tint your lips in that shade. I find however, that the Giorgio Armani lip maestro tints the lips more than the Hourglass Opaque Rouge.

Both also have similar applications. The wand has a little felt tip that makes applying easier. In terms of packaging, I must say that the Giorgio Armani lip maestro looks quite the luxury, but even with the small tube packaging, the Hourglass Opaque Rouge carries chic with it too! Being that there is much more in the Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro, it costs for more... price of $32. The Hourglass Opaque Rouge costs $28.

The more important difference I found between the two was that I found the Hourglass Opaque Rouge much less drying on the lips. The Giorgio Armani lip maestro can get quite drying. I often find that I have put Elizabeth Arden 8hr Cream on, before or after the lipstick application. However, the Hourglass Opaque Rouge doesn't dry out the lips even after you've smacked and puckered up your lips several times. I can't say that they are anything as hydrating as say the Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited or the Burberry Lip Mists but then again, they are of different formulation!

1 comment burberry, catbird, catbirdnyc, elizabeth arden, giorgio armani, hourglass, lip maestro, lipsticks, liquid lipstick, opaque rouge, red, rouge, shu uemura

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NOTD ButterLondon-Snog

Every girl needs some kind of red in their nail polish collection. I had only one- Illmasqua's Alarm. I loved the color until the color changed into this more orange color than anything else. So, I relied on Butter London to find me that perfect shade of red. I for one, do not like deep red color because it can make my hands look old! So, I opted for Butter London's "Snog", which is a raspberry red! So young, fresh, and pretty... yet still the classic "RED". Let the pictures say it all :)

ALSO featuring a few of my CatbirdNYC rings that I so love :)

Leave a Comment butter, butter london, catbird, catbirdnyc, illmasqua, NOTD, raspberry, red, snog

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KORRES Lip Butter in Wild Rose

The great thing about having two sisters, both older, is that you can often cruise into their rooms and take a good look at their topshelves and makeup collections. Then, when they aren't looking, you can kind of steal it and use it. If they notice, oh well you'll return it to them. If not, it's kind of yours to keep forever! And sometimes, they even abandon some of their beauty products by letting it just sit in my room! Then, I'd casually snatch these bits and pieces up and try them. If I like them, in my pocket they go! If not, then I place it nicely back onto their topshelf :)

Okay, so getting past the story of sounding like a selfish sister, in all honesty having girls in the house means getting to try that much more products! The one I recently found in my sister's room was this Korres lip butter. She just left it on her desk, and it well, seemed "abandoned". So, I snatched it and tried it. She had this Wild Rose shade as well as this pink nudey shade. I opened the pink nude first and I thought... yucky. 

The reason being was because it was this really pastey thick looking nude shade. I didn't like the smell of it and when I did poke my finger into it, it just didn't seem that nice. Then, I smeared it on my lips and thought... no. 

But, this shade in Wild Rose was quite the contrary. Now of course, the consistency is the same. I saw my sister use this time to time and each time I thought, nah. But as you know, there's quite a hype around this item. I applied some on my lips and I liked the way it went on my lips. I found it really hydrating and just easy to bring out a nice rosy lip shade without looking overdone or underdone.

I honestly don't like lip "pots", especially ones with color. Most of my lip products are all sticks or tubes. The whole poking into a mess of color doesn't seem pleasing. This product is quite gel-like in that when you do poke it and give it a swirl, it feels like jelly and is a bit bouncy! It doesn't seem like the usual lip tints that we know of (or rather, what I know of!). 

However, besides the stain I get on my ring finger after applying it, I have enjoyed using this product for a week now. I haven't gravitated towards any other product. It's just so easy to use, carry around, and bring some life back to your face. Because it is in fact quite hydrating, you don't have to worry about getting streaky or chapped lips after application!

So in summary (since that was quite rambly!):
PROS:

• Lovely shade. Your lips but better kind of red :)
• Easy application
• Hydrating
• It's a tint kind so you have this pretty decent lasting color on your lips!
• Smells neutrally floral, and nothing too empowering.

CONS:

• This is totally subjective but I just don't like poking my fingers into a color pot for lips! It leaves a stain on my finger and I hate having to wipe the excess product on the back of my hand to take it off. 
• Don't like the other shades, especially the nude one!

Leave a Comment korres, lip balm, lip butter, lip tint, red, rose

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You're a Rebel, Aren't You?

Don't ever go Christmas shopping to an indoor mall few days before Christmas. No, unless you want to wait 20 minutes before parking and walk within a few inches from the person next to you before you finally reach a store. Doesn't end there. Waiting on line can be a long cue of maybe 10 minutes plus.  And, there's no guarantee the store will have what you're looking for. If you're going for some "best-selling" product, just know it might be sold out.

So, yes. This is the story of my Christmas shopping today... three/two days before Christmas! Wow was it hectic! But, I went and picked up a very few items that fortunately weren't sold out. Of them was this crazy vampy lipstick from MAC... REBEL!

I couldn't brave the dark lip trend during the fall. It was out and about and girls everywhere were walking around with those vampy lips. But, what's the need for vampy lips in school? (I'm a student) So, due to the lack of occasion, I missed the chance. Until today, that is. I went to MAC and saw this crazy color. At first, I was scared to put it right on so I dapped a bit on my lips.

It brought this really really pretty stain. It's hard to describe. It was more red than I thought it would be, but a dark deep kind of red. The more you build, the more you can see the actual color of the stick in the tube. Heck, if you were to wear this full-on, you'd look like those 80s rebels... those sexy girls with dark lips and crazy smokey eyes! It's such a gorgeous yet wild color. What I love though is that you can wear it both as a tint and full-on. It brings a different effect with the amount you put on.

Also, it wears differently for each skin tone and of course with the kind of makeup you have on. I am in love, and it's only been a day. Perhaps I can brave a picture of myself wearing this shade on my Twitter (want to follow? /etherealellie). I love it. What makes me happier was that I thought I'd look terrible in vampy lips, let alone this color. But unlike what I thought, this color actually worked on me! I have to say, there are some dark lips that make you look absolutely dreadful and dead. But this, it's dark and vampy yet somehow it gives enough impact and color that you look more alive, young, and "ready".

It's a satin finish so it's not completely matte, but neither is it a pearl or something too shiny. It's just a natural amount of shine and matte.

With flash

This plum-yet-red-yet-plum yet red shade is such a statement. I'm proud to add this rebel into my lipstick collection! Am I a proper rebel now? :)

Without flash

Leave a Comment fall trend, MAC, mac lipsticks, plum, rebel, red, red lips, winter

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Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro!

Coming your way is another high-end super luxurious lip product by Giorgio Armani, a brand I don't have the great fortune of getting to use a lot! It is their all-new lip maestro that has been around and about on a lot of beauty blogs. It's a lipstick in liquid form, put into a lip gloss tube, applied like a lip gloss and worn with a wear of a tint! It definitely looks like lipstick with a bit of gloss (but nothing too shiny) and it is long-lasting, leaving a bit of tint of lips even after it wears off.

I bought the shade 504. I bought it online because Giorgio Armani was having a 20% sale and I couldn't waste time! :) I referred to a lot of blogs and their swatches to get a feel for what the shades might be like. I ended up with this shade that I didn't know would be this super bright, but it's a cherry red. 

The color is super bright but also super pretty. I don't think winter means you can't be wearing some really beautiful red shades on your lips :) The texture is unbelievably creamy and it just glides on. I mean. GLIDES. Also, my lips aren't the prettiest of all shapes and I refuse to spend time using a lip liner to work with my lip shape. However, this is super pigmented and easy to apply that I can play around the edges and create a prettier lip! 

The packaging is without a doubt, perfect. It's a heavier weight and it has their beautiful mark. I have allowed this a place on my topshelf where only the best of the best gets a seat! 

Leave a Comment cherry red, giorgio armani, lip maestro, lipstick, red

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NOTD: Illamasqua "Alarm" Nail Polish

I received this Illamasqua nail polish in the August Glossybox. I had never used an Illamasqua nail polish before, but I have to say, I am more than impressed! I love it!   Especially this crazy fiery red. I have to say that I am nowhere near the kind of person that loves to wear colors this crazy red. Red seems hard to swallow compared to other colors, I'm not quite sure why. Well, I think one of the reasons why is because red can either go from classy to cheap in the slightest tonal change.

That being said, I don't know what it is about this color, but I love it so much! The color is just so crazy beautiful. I actually have this one my toes as well. It doesn't chip as much as Dior's nail polishes, but doesn't last as long as Butter nails. It's somewhere in between. One coat is enough but two can make it better. Color is true to the bottle as you can get. The texture of it, beautiful.

Now, what's the difference between the two pictures?
Absolutely nothing :) Just loving all the red, that's all!

Leave a Comment august glossybox, Glossybox, glossybox usa, illamasqua, illmasqua nail polish, nail polishes, nails, NOTD, red

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If Snow White Wore Lipsticks! RED LIPS

If Snow White wore lipsticks, she'd probably go for these shades of red. Red lipsticks are classic. It's hard to wear when you're young but as you grow older, you'll find this inner "Sasha" (so Beyonce would call it) or fierceness awakening you to Red Lips craving. According to the look you're going for, you can look any of sexy, lovely, innocent, bold, fierce, and chic! Although I can't rock a pure red lips like some girls can, I try to wear red as much as my visual allows it.

I looked through my lip collection and gathered the Rouge ones, whether they be lip gloss, lip stains, lipsticks, or lip treatments. I've got a mixture of them all!

The newest members are the YSL glossy stain and the Perfékt lip treatment gel. The tricky thing about color is that they seem somewhat similar yet vastly different in subtle way. Yes, I'm aware I used a bunch of paradoxes there but that's what colors are like and also what makes you want to find just the right shade.

They all have different shades of red as well as different content and pigmentation. 1) Guerlain lipstick 2) Perfékt lip treatment 3) Nars lip gloss 4) YSL lip stain. The thickest content is #2. It's a lip treatment gel that hydrates and nourishes the lip while giving it a full on color. You can wear it just as a tint and dap on a bit, or wear it full on. It, to me, is the reddest of the red-- a near "Russian Red" color from MAC. Considering it's a lip treatment/balm it stays on like a stain and has high pigmentation. Also, because it is a lip treatment, it does smell like a pharmaceutical treatment smell (?). The sheer one seem to be #1, the Guerlain Rouge. It's not as pigmented but you definitely get the red going. It's also a rather light red with a tint of coral pink. However, you wouldn't say this was all too sheer since you do get a good color wear from it. The Nars lip gloss in "Mexican Rose" seems to suit me best. The color is surprisingly pink, though on the lips it comes out a red that I thought was almost identical to the YSL glossy stain #10. I started to swatch the two and found them vastly different and ending up swatching all the reds I had! The YSL glossy stain is seriously a stain and lasts forever. It's not the most nourishing and you might need a lip balm (mainly for those who have overly dry lips). But I was looking for a deep vintage red, and this seemed to be the darker of the two three red shades they had from the glossy stain line. This also smells really nice!

Above I have listed the products and shade each one are. I personally love the content of Perfékt, the color of Nars, and the wear of YSL. Guerlain is a classic lipstick that I don't find myself reaching for all too often. It smells amazing though! Perhaps in the winter or fall, I might look for it more. Overall, when swatching, I love how different these reds are!

If Snow White did wear red lipstick, which one do you think would have suited her best? xx

Leave a Comment disney, disney princesses, guerlain, guerlain lipsticks, lips, Nars, nars lip gloss, perfekt, red, red lips, red lipsticks, snow white, YSL, YSL glossy stain

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