February Favourites

FEBRUARY FAVOURITES

Molton Brown Vitalising Vitamin AB+C 

Bath & Shower

Purchased from David Jones $39 AUD

The scent of this is very similar to their very famous Naran Ji hand wash and lotion (used in many 5-star hotels and restaurants). Just like the Naran ji, the smell is very citrus based and infused with the sweet smell of orange oil and grapefruit-seed extract - a very uplifting and luxurious aroma. This body wash is rich in vitamins A, B, and C so it strengthens, softens and re-energises the skin, mind and body. It's such a gentle cleanser and a little bit goes a long way as it foams up very easily. After cleansing with this, you'll find that the smell is very subtle but will last for hours. No wonder it got voted 2009 Allure Best of Beauty Awards and runner-up in the Australian 2012 Beauty Awards!

Molton Brown Ultrasmooth Coco de Mer 

Bath & Shower 

Purchased from David Jones $39 AUD

Molton Brown Ultrasmooth Coco de Mer 

Body Lotion

Purchased from David Jones $39 AUD

I absolutely love the smell of the Coco de Mer - It has a light and refreshing scent of coconut fruit extract, honey and vanilla like scent. Just like all Molton brown shower gels and lotions, a little bit goes a long way. You'll find that the smallest amount will leave your skin feeling moisturised, soft and supple without that heavy feeling of having a thick lotion/gel on you. The smell is also very subtle but will last for hours. 

Kate Goldish Eyes 

Ebay.com $17.45 AUD

I'm a big fan of Kate eyeshadow palettes. I find them all very suitable for asian eyes as it has the ability to enhance asian eyes/deeply contour them by using a blend of different textured eyeshadows together (e.g. light/neutral colours, warm toned colours, deep monotone colours, soft sheen/shimmer colours). All Kate eyeshadow palettes contain colours that compliment each other very well which can be used for a subtle day look or heavier night time look. I particular love this gold palette as I find these colours can suit almost anyone.

Giorgio Armani High Precision Retouch

Purchased from David Jones $54 AUD

This is such a light weight concealer/brightener that provides very decent coverage and adds radiance to the skin. Although it doesn't give the heaviest coverage you can build it up without it settling into fine lines and looking cakey. I only use this for under the eyes or any dark areas I would want to brighten such as the sides of my nose/lips as it contains light reflecting pearls which diffuse light for radiant skin (so don't use this for pimples as it will draw light and attention to those areas). It did cover my dark circles and because of it's moisturising formula, it glides on smoothly without creasing throughout the day (just make sure you have a good base/eye cream underneath). The best thing about this is that the tiniest amount will go a long way. Ive been using the famous YSL touché éclat for years already and honestly, I think Giorgio Armani High Precision Retouch beats it as it doesn't just brighten but it gives coverage too.   

Sigma Dry'n Shape

Purchased from Sigma.com $31 AUD

This is a great product for drying your brushes! One of the reasons I hate washing my brushes (apart from being lazy) is that when I wash them, they usually don't dry until 2 days time so I'm pretty much brushless for the next day or so which sucks because sometimes I need to use them to get ready for work, school or etc. So when I first bought this Sigma Dry n Shape, I was quite skeptical with whether it would dry my brushes within 4-6 hours (as they claimed it would). To my surprise, not only did it dry my brushes completely but it shaped my brushes perfectly back to their original shape. I only wish Sigma would come out with a dry n shape for the smaller sized eyeshadow brushes.

January Favourites

January Favourites

Molton Brown - Naran Ji liquid hand wash 

$39 AUD purchased from David Jones

A gentle pH balanced soapless cleanser that disinfects (contains natural bactericides) whilst protects the hands from dryness and irritation at the same time. The first time I tried this at work, I was in love with the smell! Later on I was told that the Molton Brown Naran Ji range is very well known in the hospitality industry around the world and is particularly favoured by celebrity chefs, chef hat restaurants, and many five-star hotels and spas. No wonder it smelt so luxurious! The scent is citrus based and infused with the sweet smell of orange oil and grapefruit-seed extract. Not only does this hand wash smell divine, but it also gets rid of any stubborn stains and cooking/eating smells on your hand. It's also very conditioning.

Molton Brown - Naran Ji hand lotion

 $39 AUD purchased from David Jones

Apart from the pleasant luxurious scent, I love how the hand lotion is non-greasy and has a light-weight formula that is easily absorbed and very hydrating at the same time. When absorbed, it leaves your hands feeling velvety soft and expictbly smooth. Although this hand lotion is a bit pricey, I find that a little bit goes a long way - all you really need is one small pump for each use and it's enough for both of your hands.  

Annick Goutal - Petite Cherie Eau de Parfum Spray 

100ml - $250 AUD purchased from David Jones

Love the unique packaging and scent. To describe the scent - beautiful, lightly floral, peachy, pear, fresh, clean, soapy aroma, subtle sweetness, feminine, refreshing, sophisticated, girly, innocent. Perfect for day time wear. 

Sigma Synthetic Precision Kit - 5 Brushes 

$65 AUD purchased from sigma.com

I was really impressed with all these brushes.

All of these brushes are:

- super handy (they all have really good use/very multifunctional)

- good quality (no shedding of brush hairs and maintains good shape)

- dense (making it easy to control and allowing precise application)

- saves product (doesn't absorb so much of your product)

- works especially well for concealing

According to Sigma, these brushes were developed to mimic your fingertips when applying on makeup on the most sensitive and precise areas of your face. They're also made up of special fibres that are designed to apply powder, cream, and liquid products without absorption into the bristles. 

P82 - Precision Round

This round brush is meant to replicate your fingertips so it works wonderfully when applying eye primer or concealing the more rounded areas of your face such as your brow bone, under eye area, or sides of your nose. 

P88- Precision Flat Angled

The flat angle allows precise application for the harder to reach areas on the face such as the eyes or nose areas. I always use this brush for concealing under my eye area. Works perfectly!

P80 - Precision Flat

This one has to be one of my favourites. It is such a good brush for stippling concealer on the any area, especially on stubborn acne marks or dark spots. I find it extremely effective for covering pimples. It makes such a big difference in terms of covering pimples compared to using your fingers or any other brushes/sponges. 

P84 - Precision Angled

This brush works great for concealing underneath the eyes, hollows of the cheek, and sides of the nose. However I use this brush mainly for contouring, especially when applying contour colour on the sides of my nose. 

P86 - Precision Tapered

Perfect shape for applying concealer around the mouth to create more defined lips. Also really good for applying concealer under the eyes (right underneath the lash line) or on the bottom/sides of the nose. 

Kate Eyebrow Pencil BR-4

($6.25 AUD sasa.com)

This superfine 1.5mm eyebrow pencil is not too soft/pigmented in colour (but rather hard) which allows precise application and less room for mistakes. You can create softer more natural looking brows by using light-medium pressure or more defined and darker looking eyebrows by applying a little bit more pressure. It is really so easy to control!

Kate Eyeshadow Palette - Real Create Eyes BR-1

($19.70 AUD ebay.com.au)

For those of you that haven't heard of Kate, Kate is a very well known budget cosmetic brand in Japan available in Japanese drugstores. Kate eyeshadow palettes are well known for their ability to enhance asian eyes and deeply contour them by using a blend of different textured eyeshadows (e.g. light/neutral colours, warm toned colours, deep monotone colours, soft sheen/shimmer colours) together.  

The palette I got is a 5-shade eyeshadow palette and when used correctly, will subtlely make the eyes pop/give more definition (the concept: using the different textures together will create deeper/more contoured eyes). 

These colours compliment each other very well and are quite pigmented but I would still say you have to use an eye primer underneath. You can use it for a subtle every day look or you can build it up for a night time more glamourised look. Overall, I'm very happy with this eyeshadow palette and currently using it every day for work. 

Swatches of Kate eyeshadow palette

left: natural lighting 

right: with flash

Below is a everyday look tutorial using this palette

Quick Everyday Eyes Tutorial using the Kate Eyeshadow Palette:

1) Using a small angular brush, apply the white gel shadow on the top and bottom inner corner of the eye (and rub in with fingers).

2) Using a small fluffy brush, apply the light brown colour from the middle to the outer corner of the eyelid. 

3) Using a small tapered brush, apply the darker brown (very well pigmented dark brown colour) on the very outer corner of the eye, creating a side ways 'V' shape. Apply to bottom of eyes too. 

4) Using the same small fluffy eyeshadow brush before, apply the champagne brown all over the middle of the eyelid.

5) Using the same small angled brush before, apply the light beige colour on the inner corners of the eye (top and bottom). 

6) Using a medium sized fluffy brush, blend the eyeshadows to your liking (sweeping back and forth). 

7) Apply gel liner to the top and bottom of eyes. 

8) Curl your lashes and apply mascara. Finished!

Basic Hygiene: Cleaning Makeup Brushes and Makeup Cases

Makeup tools are easy to get dirty from the constant transference of makeup to our fingertips/brushes, fingertips to our face, and then back on to our makeup products again with our greasy foundation covered fingertips. This accumulation of cosmetic dirt is almost unavoidable and without cleaning our tools, not only does our makeup products look unappealing but more importantly bacteria can be transferred to our skin which can potentially cause break outs. 

This is why it is important to clean our makeup tools (especially brushes) from time to time. Here I’ll be demonstrating some of the basic cleaning procedures I do to prevent these bacterial transferences and to maintain a hygienic and clean bathroom. 

Before I start doing any of my make up, I always use an antibacterial wipe or hand sanitizer such as Dettol. This will ensure that I have clean hands to start off with. 

1) Cleaning Makeup Cases:

Without cleaning your make up cases, your make up products could look like this (fingerprint and foundation marks everywhere) 

Before cleaned

After cleaned

You can clean your make up by using Isocol. Here I have transferred some of my Isocol into a spray bottle I bought from Daiso. All you have to do is spray some of the Isocol on to some tissue and start cleaning your products with it. 

2) Preventing Makeup Cases from Getting Dirty:

If you want to prevent your makeup cases from getting dirty easily, you can use Antibacterial wipes (bought from Big W). If you use Antibacterial wipes in between every application of makeup, it will help keep your hands clean and prevent them from transferring make up onto your products. 

You can also use these antibacterial wipes for cleaning those stubborn mascara/eyeliner stains off your eyelash curler.

3) Cleaning Makeup Brushes:

For a quick clean, I use Isocol or Antibacterial wipes. These products are really handy to use on your brushes every day as it is quick and simple but will still help sterilize the brushes and prevent bacteria from transferring on to your face in between each use.  

For a deep clean, I use Johnson's baby conditioning shampoo as it is quite gentle on the brushes. To help maintain softness to the brush, I use a hair conditioner. Here I am using Herbal Essences long term hair conditioner (any hair conditioner will do). I try to do the following deep cleaning procedure once a week.

Tools you'll need when cleaning your brushes: Shampoo, Conditioner, Mug, Soap bar holder, and Towel.

Wet brushes with water.

 

Squeeze out excess water.

Brushes should be damp.

Squeeze a small amount of shampoo into the cup (enough for all your brushes).

Dip brush into the shampoo.

Brush should be slightly dipped in shampoo (not soaked in it).

Using a soap bar holder, gently start rubbing the brush against it (the reason I use a soap bar holder is because the ridges help clean the brushes more thouroughly but be careful not to press in the brushes too hard). 

The shampoo should start to foam up.

Once you think the brush is clean enough, start to rinse the shampoo out with water.

When rinsing, rub against your palm for an extra clean and to ensure all the shampoo comes out.

Once there is no soapy residue left..

..squeeze out the excess water.

Once all brushes have been shampooed, you can start to condition them.

Squeeze sufficient amount of conditioner for the all your brushes on to your palm.

Slightly dip your brush into the conditioner.

Rub in the conditioner with your fingers.

Leave the conditioned brushes to rest for 15 minutes. This will allow the conditioner to soak in even more.

Rinse out the conditioner.

Dry the damp brushes with a towel.

Shape your brushes to it's original shape.

Repeat this procedure with the rest of your brushes.

and finally leave the brushes on a towel to dry (usually takes a day or two for the brushes to fully dry).