[Review] Sleek Blush On in Rose Gold: Who Needs NARS Orgasm Anyway?

Hola, hello!

I am back. Yes, successfully back to write another post since I have been absent for...2 months???!! Don't ask me what kind of blogger I am, but my activities were just unbearably super tight. I mean super tight that I couldn't even breath and relax.

I visited three cities in Japan in October for holiday with my hubby and little daughter, sold my apartment and managed to buy an indent house. I left my job and moving to another project which, thankfully, still under the same roof. However, the new project is an ongoing project so I had to catch everything up very soon and within the first month I had to go somewhere for business trip. Time flies and so here is December.

Before moving forward, I'll post some of our pictures during autumn in Japan :)

Eikando Shrine, Kyoto

Universal Studio Japan, Osaka

Shibuya Square, Tokyo

Ah, forget it. I have been officially back into reality X)

Okay, so the first item came up in my mind after a long break is my current favorite blush on from Sleek Cosmetics.

You might have heard a lot about Sleek Cosmetics since it is famous for the iDivine eye shadow palette. They have been well known as the gorgeous, good UK brand with reasonable price and decent quality. The eye palette itself, I have none. Not because I didn't like them, but I have been searching and waiting for its Arabian Night Collection to be re-launched. Or maybe they are not going to make this as permanent range, too bad :(

Courtesy of http://lipdrama.blogspot.com/2014/07/sleek-makeups-arabian-nights-i-divine.html

I mean, look at this palette. How could I not love the jewel-toned, bold and beautiful palette like this?

Okay, back to topic. I bought the Sleek Blush On in Rose Gold back in late October, as I had been using The Balm Cindy Lou Manizer as my daily blush+highlighter. But somehow I feel like I didn't need to use highlighter everyday (although Cindy Lou is very versatile and doesn't have those chunky glitters not even gritty sparkles. At that time I needed to be a little bit rational since I have spent a lot in Japan, and I have been wanting to try NARS Orgasm because I am now liking the barely-seen-blush style on my face. After did some research, I saw that this Sleek blush is totally the same with Orgasm. Wanna see?

NARS Orgasm - Courtesy of beautylish.com

Sleek Blush On - Rose Gold

What's good?

:: The color! It's peachy pink that looks pinkier than NARS Orgasm on the pan. Yes, it's a bit pinkier but only a slight little. That wouldn't make any difference on your cheek.
:: The golden sheen is very, very nice! It's like putting the blush and highlighter at the same time, saving a lot of your time, everywhere.
:: Packaging is as SLEEK as its name. It won't consume space in my daily make up kit.
:: It has a quite large mirror in it. Even though the packaging is small, but the size of the mirror is as big as the blush.
:: Price. I really think that nobody would need to buy NARS Orgasm if they could have the same thing at 1/4 price.

What's missing?

* Though I know it is the consequence of having a sleek packaging, I still wish that it comes with brush :D
* Staying power is...not that long. It stays for 6-8 hours on me. But I think NARS would do the same on my face (based on my previous experience with NARS Angelika). My face is way too oily. The only blush that stays until 12 hours is only Lover by Illamasqua :)

See the golden sheen? I am no longer using my messy highlighter for daily.

Well, I am totally happy with this item and I think I will stick to this until I hit the pan in the next couple of months. Usually I am not easy to be pleased by blushers, but if I love one blush, I would finish it to the last swipe.

See you on my next post!

Etude House Rosy Tint Lips #7 Tea Rose: Pretty but Sticky

I guess I am now in my active phase for blogging.

Three posts within a week. Even this week is yet to finish. So, I probably will post some more. Just be prepared :D

This time, a lipstick. Well, not exactly a lipstick though, some say it's more like a lipstain. They claim this range as liquid creamy lipstain that dries in matte velvet finish. This is my first Korean product that listed in my lipstick stash. 

At first I was very attracted with the packaging and color selections. So cute, feel like in the middle of the blooming roses somewhere outhere. But our parents always said not to judge the book by its cover.

I chose the shade #7 Tea Rose, simply because I am a fan of nude lipstick. Tea Rose is the most neutral shade of all. It has a slight peachy brown undertone and looks wearable on any occasion.

So, even though shade #8 After blossom is the most favorite, I insisted to buy Tea rose instead. See the swatches picture above, don't you think Tea rose is pweety? Alright, let's start my review:

PACKAGING 4.0/5.0

Beautiful. Even the box looks stunningly elegant. I love the combination of white and pink flowers. However, the tube is quite hard to press so it needs effort to squeeze the product out from tube. It also has weakness on the sponge tip, if you are considering for hygiene, it definitely will turn you off.

The oh-so-pretty box...

...and overall packaging.

SHADE 3.5/5.0

The shade is a little disappointment. It washed me out! At first I was confused on how this lovely peachy color could wash me out. I am even regularly applying Make Up Forever Rouge Artist #1 Mat Flesh which is super pale, but it doesn't wash me out at all.

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #1 Mat Flesh

CONSISTENCY 3.0/5.0

Gosh, I was expecting more for this creamy lipstain, but I ended up thinking that the consistency is way too creamy to blend out. I even felt it more on sticky side. Meh.

Swatch

Didn't you see that even the swatch looks uneven on the back of my hand? It's worse on lips, and it accentuates the dry patches.

FINISH 2.5/5.0

Nevertheless, besides the uneven consistency and the color that successfully washed me out, this lipstain also dries out my lips, right after application. I know, I probably need to apply lip balm underneath or scrub my lip first to make it smoother, but that's not what you supposed to do before applying a matte finish lipstick/lipstain because it wouldn't give you the real matte effect. So, I would say NO to this. I only used it 1x, I even could not sell this as preloved because the sponge tip applicator is not hygienic at all. After all, I think this product would just sit on my make up case forever. ~xoxo~

I am sorry Etude, you failed me this time :(

IBB Make Up Challenge February 2014: Summer Fairytale

Hello fabulous ladies,

Apologize for my absence in about a month, I am blaming the heavy workload at office -- okay, make sure my boss can't read this :-). I have been extremely tired lately, as I jumped to one of IBB member's post about this. Yes, now you believe that I have been disappeared for THAT long because I just noticed the IBB MUC for February a couple of days ago. Four days before February's gone.

 
At first sight, I can tell that I LOVE the poster!

Yes, I've been a true big fan of Disney Princess thingy (well, who doesn't?). My first western song that I could clearly spell and remember when I was 7 was A Whole New World of Aladdin. I was also witnessing how nasty Ariel in The Little Mermaid, how lovely Belle in Beauty and the Beast and how strong is the Pocahontas. I also watched the Disney Classic collection; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, you name it. Seeing this poster, it reminds me of the picture in The Little Mermaid comic's cover, with slight difference because it was underwater :)

Now, back to the theme of this month's MUC. Okay, first of all, this is my first time joining in MUC, I am not that confident because what I've seen from other bloggers so far, they created the extravagant look which I couldn't do. My make up look will still be natural; beigey, nude, or rosy. So, this time, instead of comparing myself with one of the Disney's princesses, I pick the example of human, real human, with rosy fairy look (see above). Let's see what I can do for this challenge.

Etude House Cotton Fit BB

As one of the requirement for the late post of MUC, I should include one of Etude House's products. This time I am using BB Cream Precious Mineral Cotton Fit in W24 Honey Beige.

It is the sister of Etude BB Precious Mineral Bright Fit which is so popular. Though this one is designed for oily skin, but for the coverage and longevity, I can say that Bright Fit is a bit better than Cotton Fit. But yes, for oil control, this one is the winner.




So, here's the rose fairy created.

I began with the eyes. I am using one of the palettes from Sephora Pret A Porter Palette, that was released in Summer 2012. I bought it in Sephora Pavilion KL for about MYR 150 (IDR 450,000). Quite cheap considering that I got 6 palettes, each consists of 4 eyeshadows, 2 lipglosses and 1 blush on. The palette that I use here is the pink one (picture shown below is not mine. I almost finish the two colors in the middle :p

See the review here

By using the subtle gold on lid, magenta on lid, taupe on the outer corner, and silvery white as highlighter

VOILA!

These are what I look like. I didn't do anything with my hair, just pull half of it to the back. Surprisingly, the wave that I got from digital perm in NOVEMBER last year is still there. Even better because it isn't as curly as in the beginning. Happy!

So here are the list of stuff that I use:

• Benefit POREfessional primer
• Etude House Precious Mineral Cotton Fit BB Cream in W24 Honey Beige
• MAC Select Sheer Powder NC30 (both BB cream and powder applied with Coastal Scent Bionic Flat Top Brush --> try this, it's cheap and almost similar to Sigma F80!)
• NARS Blush in Angelika
• Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes Mascara in Very Black
• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• TheBalm Mary Lou-manizer as highlighter
• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Rose Velvet 
• Sorry forgot to attach in the picture -- Revlon Colorstay Gel Liner in Charcoal

Add caption

Just wish me luck!
See you :*

Should you interested to join, please go to this.

It'll be closing soon at March 6, so post your look NOW! ~xoxo~

Year End Wish: Shu Uemura Lip and Cheek Tint in Heroine Rose

"What makes a woman looks beautiful? 

 A clear luminous skin from within, and the red lips that shades 

 like a rose."

Please note that the above quote is just created by myself, not Marylin Monroe :D But I am quite serious when saying it. As a woman in late 20s, I fully aware that having a luminous skin is something too good to be true, especially to know that I have an acne-prone and oily-combination skin at the same time that always makes my face looks dull and uneven if I am not wearing any make up. And note that I was born with medium skin. Not fair. It's a total medium that even if I am using whitening products, I would look more weird because of color inconsistency between face and body. Thus, let's jump into the alternative; a lips that shades like a rose. This clearly looks more feasible for me :)

My addiction to make up has been established from long time ago, but it just keeps growing wild until now. At the moment, as a huge fan of matte lipstick, I am still looking for the best lipstick that stay all day on lips without fading. I just reviewed MUFE Aqua Rouge series and in that review, I mentioned that I am planning to buy MUFE Aqua Rouge in Pink #15 or Raspberry #10. Unfortunately, the USD rate hikes these months until it reaches IDR 12,000. Scary, huh? Buying some expensive stuff equal committing suicide.Better not, better wait until hopefully, everything back to normal (though I am not sure it will until the presidential election's done next year).

Okay. So I randomly saw a review on While You On Earth about the Shu Uemura's Takashi Murakami Princess Collection. some weeks ago, WOW! I am so impressed with the lip and cheek tint because it looks like a PERFECT rosy pink for me. For your information, I am a big fan of neutral/brown lipstick and feel so confident wearing those colors. I tried to find a good pink lipstick, but until now, none of them could replace my neutral lipstick at heart. They're either too bright and contrast to my skin, or even sometimes too ashy.

When I finished reading the review, I smiled. There's a chance, never been a better chance, to get it for FREE. I was rushing to open this giveaway contest and couldn't wait to participate very soon!

I knew Shu Uemura since long time ago, probably when I was around 11-12 years old, they opened their store in Indonesia. I saw that the color selections are very light and unique, from the lightest blue eyeshadow to the yellow lipstick. At that time I said; what? As a high end brand, I didn't manage to look for it. But as I grew up, I knew that this Japanese brand has a specific customers and has an amazing quality in their products, not only cosmetics but also its skin care. Well, you really got what you pay.

This Shu Uemura's Takashi Murakami Princess Collection has a beautiful artsy packaging which blew my mind. My curiosity continues and I keep on searching for other review. 

 

Heroine Rose is one of the 5 shades available. There are Dream Pink, Fuchsia Fun-tasy, Princess Coral, Magical Red and Heroine Rose, which I found that the most suitable color for my skin is the latest one. 

Courtesy of http://womenlovebeauty.com

Shu Uemura claims that it provides benefit such as:

• Hybrid Pigments - advanced technology to bring brightness and fidelity of color to the lips.
• Dual Shimmer Complex - multiple pearls and shimmers help achieve various shine effects.
• Aqua Soft Pump - leaves lips hydrated and comfortable.

Some reviews said that, although it has a texture like lip gloss, but it's more like a lip cream, it stains all day with matte finish. Another plus for me, since i have been longing to find a perfect matte lipstick that could leave a beautiful stain until the day ends.

With IDR 325,000 as price tag, I will definitely think twice to buy this with my own cost. Simply because the most expensive lipstick I've ever purchased is the Make Up Forever Aqua Rouge but it was still under IDR 300,000 (and I just bought a new one two weeks ago). It just doesn't make any sense if I have to buy another high end lipstick at the moment :( Oh, how I want this so BAD!

PS. I got this new year's eve party invitation from a friend and that would be SO PERFECT if this lip and cheek tint could be mine. Its long lasting stain would complement my make up all through the night.^.~ xoxo

Carnellin, please do make my wish come true ;)

Revlon Nail Enamel in Really Rosy

Hello!

As a make up addict, I think it’s a bit odd to start my review with a nail polish. Correction: a cheap ordinary nail polish. I must say I agree that this one is cheap, but don’t worry, I think Revlon is enough proving that its nail enamel collections are not as ordinary as people could imagine.

Yesterday I was looking for a brighter nail polish to be worn this month. I searched into several online shops and, as usual, couldn’t take my eyes off from OPI Holland Collection. I love one of its colour; Gouda Gouda Two Shoes, which is terracotta with subtle (very subtle) gold shimmer. Due to I had to pay my Air Asia tickets for next year trip with my husband and daughter, well, I think I don’t have much money left in my pocket afterwards. I was wondering, why don’t I look for some cheap alternatives? I came to Revlon counter and this color had my love at the first sight.

Revlon Nail Enamel #110 Really Rosy

I brought this home after paid IDR 37,000 and felt inguilty because I didn’t have to spend around IDR 120,000 for OPI. I tried it right away and fell in love. Really Rosy is a real beautiful color, a dusky medium rose pink color that doesn’t look too bright in my NC37 skin. Just perfect pink. The texture is runny but opaque, no shimmer but glossy enough to easy showing off your nails to everyone.

With two or three coats, the color can lead to soft fuchsia, but I am satisfed with just one coat so that you can get the ‘rosy’ hint.

My rate is 3.5/5.0

 The downside that this nail enamel will probably not last long, because Revlon also has its Colorstay range for the nail collection. But, while I aware that OPI colors are irreplaceable, I think buying this shade with almost 1/4 price of OPI is definitely worth it. ~xoxo~

Opaque with one swipe

Suits to light and medium-tan skin