Review: Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance Lipstick in Playful

Tarte Glamazon High Performance Lipstick in Playful. I... absolutely LOVE this lipstick.

I had a feeling that I might fall in love with this the moment I swatched it in Sephora - the formulation and pigmentation felt and looked beautiful.

First off, the packaging! I actually had no idea that the packaging of the lipstick was going to be so great. I had swatched the lipstick, grabbed it off the shelf, bought it and then flew back to Wellington without having a chance to take it out of its box to have a look. So I was really excited when I saw the beautiful packaging.

Tarte Glamazon High Performance Lipstick in Playful

The tube is made of a light bamboo material and I love how the pattern on the tube corresponds with the colour of the lipstick. The tube is longer than an average lipstick (like MAC) but that doesn't bother me.

Tarte Glamazon in Playful - cute bamboo packaging!

The formulation of this lipstick is absolutely wonderful. It glides onto my lips without pulling; it is a dream to apply and the pigmentation is fantastic. You really can get away with one coat of this.

I got it in Playful and it is described as a purple-rose colour. It has no scent which I like and it is really creamy and hydrating.

Swatch of Tarte Glamazon High Performance Lipstick in Playful

The lipstick claims it lasts 12 hours which I don't find true for me. It stayed well through the night when I went out for someone's birthday drinks but I was only drinking out of a straw. A lot of it comes off if you're eating and wiping your mouth with a napkin.

Maybe it does last that long if you don't touch it for 12 hours which is virtually impossible because we all need to eat and drink!

I debated against putting pictures up of the lipstick actually on me because who really wants to see my lips up close? But I know when I do research for my products, I always like to see swatches so I can make an informed decision so here are the pictures below:

Bare lips - no lipstick

Lips with Tarte Glamazon in Playful

The lipstick is a little pricey at US 26, but I think it is absolutely worth it.

My only regret now is that I didn't get it in more colours and since Tarte does not ship internationally and is generally not found outside of Sephora (who also does not ship internationally), I will have to savour this one lipstick that I got. Hopefully they will keep this formulation around for a while so I can nab some more in the future!

Have you tried the Tarte Glamazon lipsticks? Which colours are your favourite?

<3

Yve

Beauty Haul: Sasa and Sephora!

I bought a bunch of beauty stuff from Sasa in Hong Kong and Sephora in Maui! I think I went a little crazy seeing how much cheaper cosmetics were over there!

I won't go into depth on any of them because I'm planning to review some of them as I start trying them out! :) But if there is any of them that you're dying to get a review of first, let me know!

Koji Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner in Black - I have used this before and I love it! It has a super thin tip which makes it easy to slowly build up the thickness of your eyeliner. It does take a steady hand though!

Koji Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner

Fairydrops Mascara - I've also used this before and it's the best mascara that I have used so far. It holds my curls and has never smudged on me!

Fairydrops Mascara

Little Witch Mote Mascara - a bit of an impulse buy. I've never heard of this brand but the sticker plastered on it tells me that it has won three number 1 awards (Japanese and Chinese has words that cross-over into both languages and that's how I got that information - but what kind of awards did it win? I have no idea. They could have just placed 3 medals there on the sticker for emphasis and I'm fooled to think it's a multiple-award winning product!)

Little Witch Mote Mascara

Shiseido Majolica Majorca Lipgloss in PK 338 - it's small, cute and a beautiful shimmery shade of coral pink - can't wait to use it!

Shiseido Majolica Majorca Lipgloss in PK338

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisteriser - I've been wanting to get my hands on this ever since I had it tested on me at a counter.

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisteriser

Anastasia Brow Wiz - I totally flipped when I saw this in Sephora. I've heard great things about this and there is absolutely no access to this brand on this side of the world so I snapped it up immediately!

Anastasia Brow Wiz

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil - I've heard that these are fantastic so I had to give them a go. I got it in Lucky and Eldorado.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil

Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance Lipstick in Playful - this swatched beautifully across the back of my hand! It was so smooth and the pigmentation was so great that I had to get it.

Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance Lipstick in Playful

Trend toes Real Lacquer Strips in Cherries - I don't know what is wrong with me. All I focused on when I saw these nail polish strips were the patterns. It wasn't till I got home and examined it when I realised the brand name was "trend toes" - I bought it thinking it was for my fingers. But I'm sure I could still use them for my fingers, hopefully the sizes would work.

I really had to hold back from buying even more from Sephora. I came across a lot of things that I wanted to try out but I would have run up quite a bill so I had to stop myself from grabbing more off the shelves!
I also wanted more things from Sasa in Hong Kong too but I literally ran out of time - oh well, next time!!

I can't wait to try out some of these items! Have you used any of them?

<3
Yve

September Favourites 2012

Alright, this post is about a half month late and I have no excuse but laziness!

I traveled for half of September, to Hong Kong and Hawaii. It was a fantastic trip and I enjoyed all of it :) It did involve being in a lot of hot and humid weather and I had not been in this type of climate for a long time since Wellington is usually cloudy, and a tad cold.

So I tried to keep my makeup on the lighter side so it wouldn't melt all over my face during the day (you need your makeup to last ALL day in Hong Kong, the city is so happening that you never get back to your hotel room till about midnight!)

I absolutely love my NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. Now, I use this on a daily basis normally anyway because of my oily eyelids (eyeshadows crease on me within an hour or two without it) but I really got to take it out on the road and put it to the test in September. It worked beautifully, holding my eye makeup in place for the entire day. It's almost finished though so I'll either have to get a new one or perhaps give the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion a try (I have a little tester) and see how it stacks up!

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

I had to stop using my favourite foundation for a while as it clung to my dry skin patches while in Wellington but I got to break out my NARS Sheer Glow Foundation while on holiday and I was so happy to use it again! It gives me a medium coverage, while feeling light on my skin and I love the glow of the finish it gives me.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Santa Fe

I didn't bring many eyeshadows with me to try to cut down luggage weight so I just brought my Urban Decay Naked Palette. The two colours that I used the most was Half Baked and Smog. I love these two colours together.  

Half baked is a beautiful shimmery gold that brings a lot of light to the eyelids and Smog compliments it well to give a little bit of depth to the eye.

Urban Decay Naked Palette: Half Baked and Smog

My favourite blush of the month was definitely Benefit's Sugarbomb. For one, it smells so great! It always brings a smile to my face when I get a whiff of its scent when I put the blush on.

I just love the coral peach colour you get when you swirl all the 4 colours together and I think it's perfect for summer days.

Benefit Sugarbomb

My last favourite was this mask I got from Sasa (a large cosmetic store in Hong Kong that houses a lot of Japanese brands). It's from a brand called My Beauty Diary and they have a range of masks for different purposes. I got the Aloe Vera one because I really needed to put moisture back into my skin. The long haul flights I had to take from New Zealand to Hong Kong and then from Hong Kong to Hawaii definitely sucked out a lot of moisture out of my skin and staying in an air-conditioned hotel room every night did not help matters either. I needed my skin to be well prepped for the makeup artist who did my makeup for my Hong Kong wedding banquet and of course my wedding day in Hawaii and this mask completely rejuvenated my skin in preparation for my big day(s).

My Beauty Diary - Aloe Mask

My September was absolutely wonderful. I got to marry my best friend and spend a wonderful day celebrating with all our close friends. I hope your September was great too!

<3
Yve

Dots and Heart Manicure!

I felt like doing some fun with my nails today and I've never done nail art before so I thought I'd give it a go!

I don't have any nail dotting tools so I just used the end of a bobby pin and made a very simple design so I couldn't mess it up too much :)

Hearts aren't that easy to do! I'm going to need a lot of practice!

Grey colour: Essie Chinchilly; Pink: OPI Mod About You

I really like it! It's really cute and now I want to invest in some nail art tools to make more cute designs! Uh oh - this could mean spending more money because I've had my eye on nail art stamping sets ^.^

What do you think? Do you have any nail art stamping sets to recommend?

<3
Yve

Review: Philosophy Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser

I used to be a good girl and cleansed, toned and moisterised religiously. However when I'm in a hurry, I always want to skip the toning because I don't seem to see the benefits of it instantly like I do with the other two steps.

And I have to admit that I naughtily stopped toning for a while when I ran out of it and while I sometimes felt guilty, my laziness runs deep.

So when I came across the Philosophy Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser which claims to cleanse, tone and melt away makeup in one step, all the while hydrating the skin - I knew I had to try it.

I've used a lot of it already when I took this picture! Sorry - but at least you know I really do use it!

I absolutely am in love with this product. I use it on its own in the morning and with my Clarisonic Mia (read my review of the Clarisonic here!) at night in the shower. I feel that it takes off my makeup really well (I use a separate eye makeup remover beforehand though) and my face always feels refreshed and clean after I use it.

I tend to have sensitive skin and I also wear contacts and it never has once irritated my skin or my eyes.

And of course the best thing is that I no longer have to feel guilty for being lazy - with the toning step included, I can walk away knowing that I have broken no cardinal skincare rules.

I'm keen to try some of the other Philosophy products, especially when all their product names are so cute like "Eye Hope" and "Full of Promise" - yes I'm a sucker for marketing. I guess I'm a prime target for them!

I bought my Philosophy Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser at Strawberry.net. It comes in a 5 sizes, ranging from 90mL to 946.4mL

Have you tried this cleanser or any of the other Philosophy products? Do you have anything to recommend me?

My new favourite highlighter! Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme in Iced Gold Review

Phew - the title was a bit of a mouthful!

Sorry I've been absent for over 2 weeks. I flew to Hong Kong for my wedding banquet and then onto Maui to get married! There really wasn't much time to blog :) Hope you'll forgive me! Onto the review...

I have to admit, I'm a bit lazy when it comes to highlighters. Sometimes I forget to do it, sometimes I just plain can't be bothered. So I probably don't need a new one. That's not going to stop me though!

After watching numerous videos from Tanya Burr (pixi2woo) and always being in awe whenever she decides to use the Jemma Kidd All Over Radiance Creme in Iced Gold, I knew I had to have it.

First, I love the packaging. It reminds me of the rubbery texture that NARS packaging has. It makes it feel like a very luxurious item.

The highlighter in the pan looked so beautiful that I didn't want to touch it. (Does anyone have the same problem of never wanting to touch their new makeup products when they are new because you don't want to ruin the look of it?)

The texture is beautifully creamy. To compare this to my NARS Albatross highlighter, I have to say that I love the Jemma Kidd one much, much more.  Don't get me wrong, NARS Albatross is beautiful too and I use it brighten the inner corner of my eyes but the gold shimmer in it can make it look a bit too obvious when you put it on the top of your cheekbones.

The Jemma Kidd Iced Gold just gives you a beautiful dewy glow that catches the light and makes you look completely natural and vibrant without shouting "Hey! I've got highlighter on today!"
It has great lasting power and I didn't have any trouble with it staying on my face. It is winter here though so maybe I'll have to edit this post later when I try it out in summertime.

This isn't much of a swatch! It basically just comes across as a subtle glow - but you can imagine how natural this would look on your face!

This highlighter makes me want to put in the effort to use it even when I'm feeling uber lazy - and I know that's a winner when that happens!

Jemma Kidd is a bit harder to come by. As far as I know you can't get it in Wellington, New Zealand.

In Australia, they have a select few products of the Jemma Kidd range under the Kit Cosmetics make-up stands in participating Myer stores. I've visited a couple of the Kit Cosmetics stands including Chatswood and Sydney city and neither have anything that I really wanted to try.

The best bet is to buy it online. Beautybay.com sells it for US $25.30 and offer free worldwide delivery.

What's your favourite highlighter?

Monday Questionaire: 10 September 2012

It's a bright, beautiful day and it suits my mood because today we're off to Hong Kong! I'm crossing my fingers and toes that it will be a smooth flight and I have no issues taking my wedding gown on the plane (I've made prior arrangements but it's a hugeeeeee garment bag and I hope they don't spring any last minute surprises on me!)

It will be a long haul flight with a stopover in Auckland on the way so I've charged up my Kindle (any book recommendations?) and my iPhone, hoping it will keep me occupied enough that the time just melts away!

Do you remember how excited you were to get on a plane when you were little? I used to count the number of sleeps left till I got on one, and also soothed myself on the way home from vacation that it was not "over" yet because I still had the plane ride home.

Oh how times have changed, now seeing a 11 hour flight on my itinerary makes me think of aching legs and sore necks!

Onwards to the questionaire though before I ramble on too much!

1. Mood: I think I answered this already!

2. Do you shower in the morning or at night before bed?
At night before bed. I can't understand showering in the morning, I like to feel clean after a day of being outside and running around before I go to sleep!

3. Which movies would you *never* want to see remade?
PLEASE don't remake The Sound of Music or Grease, it would just ruin the classics for me.

4. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an astronaut and go up into space. My favourite image used to be the one of the Eagle Nebula. Little did I know that I would suck in Physics :(

5. What’s the best thing that happened to you yesterday?
I was hanging out with my friends and their little boy Jordan who is about 1 year and 8 months old. And I was singing Do-Re-Mi with him, he's learnt to chime in at the beginning of each line - simply adorable!

6. Let’s order a pizza! Where should we go, and what topping should we get?
I don't order pizza often but if it's from a chain like Dominos or Pizza Hut, I like the ham and pineapple. But if it's from an Italian restaurant, I always go with Margherita - yum!

7. Have you prepared at all for the holidays?
Christmas holidays? Not at all! It's still a bit early, no? But we will be going back to Sydney to spend time with the family.

8. What’s one of someone else’s habits that you wish you could change?
Punctuality. I'm suck a stickler for it that I always end up being anywhere early whereas everyone else is usually late. I end up standing/sitting alone for ages looking like a moron that has been stood up.

9. What sound reminds you of your childhood?
I don't think I have any sounds that remind me of childhood in particular...smells have a bigger trigger for me.

10. Weekly goals:
Try not to get sick!! I've been fighting feeling ill the past few days and I need to keep it up because my wedding banquet in Hong Kong will be this coming Saturday! I need to look my best!

Hope your Monday is well! I will try to blog anything interesting that I come across in Hong Kong, if you have suggestions for food or shopping, let me know!

Eagle Nebula

 

 

 

 Do the questionaire if you would like!! The questions are below :)

Yve
<3

1. Mood:
2. Do you shower in the morning or at night before bed?
3. Which movies would you *never* want to see remade?
4. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
5. What’s the best thing that happened to you yesterday?
6. Let’s order a pizza! Where should we go, and what topping should we get?
7. Have you prepared at all for the holidays?
8. What’s one of someone else’s habits that you wish you could change?
9. What sound reminds you of your childhood?
10. Weekly goals: