Singapore beauty haul 2015 part 2: The luxury edition

This haul post is hopelessly late as I took these pictures weeks ago!

  I've been busy as usual, but "better late than never" I figure so here are the products I bought at the more spendy end of the Singaporean beauty market - mostly from Sephora.  Yes, Sephora is finally coming to Melbourne very soon but I'm not planning to visit until the hysteria settles so it will probably be next year before I walk through those doors.  Until then I'm well and truly satiated by this beauty loot...

Sephora

• Urban Decay Ten 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set - I've long been a fan of Urban Decay's 24/7 liners thanks to my husband gifting me a set a few years ago.  The only thing that stops me from buying more of these is the price of the individual pencils so another set was the answer. The full sized ultra-black Perversion is the only repeat for me (mine dried up and died a little while ago so this is the backup!) and the other colours are all new additions to my little collection.  Standout shades influencing my decision were Voodoo because it's purple (my favourite coloured liner shade!) and the variously taupey and brown shades like Faint and Mugshot. I don't wear these on the waterline so they perform more than well enough on my upper or lower lash lines for a bit of definition.

• Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipstick (Temper) - The matte revolution lippies were a brand spanking new release in Sephora so I was keen to try at least one.  I always love a good matte lip and Temper is the kind of bright matte shade I like to wear best.

• Tarte Energy Noir Palette - I'm drawn to eye and cheek palettes, I didn't own anything from Tarte prior to this trip and the colours are neutrals, plums and smokeys which were all speaking to me...need I justify this purchase more? Oh, okay the eye shadows swatched smoothly too! The dusty blush shade looks somewhat similar to Exposed (see below) but this particular shade is Unearthed.

• Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush (Exposed) - I went to two Sephora stores to find this blush so this purchase was a case of mission accomplished! Yes...I know I'm the last person on the planet - or so it feels - to own this particularly well known blush.  It makes a nice change from the usual peaches or corals I gravitate to anyway.

• Too Faced Love Palette - So I tossed up between this and the Semi-Sweet palette and in the end I was convinced this was a better buy and a change from my typical choices.  There's definitely a bit of colour and shimmer in there but it's still wearable enough for me to get away with during the daylight hours.  I also liked the 'three palettes in one' layout for some initial inspiration, and I basically overlooked the inclusion of the waterproof eyeliner! Do I like the heart design? Not really but I can forgive that for the contents.

• Laneige BB Cushion SPF50+ PA+++ (#13 True Beige) - My wonderful friends Sophia and Mabel introduced me to this product as they are both fans. During our joint shopping/dinner evening we were discussing the pros and cons of certain base products and this was the number one recommendation to try.  The girls also helped choose the perfect shade for me too and now I've been officially introduced to the wonders of the BB cushion!  I wouldn't have believed it but now that I've tried it I can say this stuff does feel comfortably cooling on the skin and it's so easy to apply with the enclosed puff sponge. 

• The Original Beautyblender -  There's not much more to say than I finally caved and threw one of these into my shopping basket on the way to the cashier.

• Sephora Lip Liner To Go (08 Classic Pink) - Another Mabel and Sophia recommendation! The ladies told me - and the swatches proved - these lip liners are creamy enough to wear on their own.

VDL

I did have another mineral shadow duo from the VDL boutique that unfortunately got smashed just before I took this picture *sob*.  I'm still hoping to salvage it with some rubbing alcohol...

• Festival Shadow (202 Cork) - I really just wanted to sample some of the eye shadows from this Korean brand so I went with a safe everyday shade that won't get forgotten in the back of the drawer.  As a matter of fact I'm going to be wearing it tomorrow!

• Tint Bar Triple Shot (502 Triple Burgundy) - The gradient or ombre lipstick or balm was a new discovery to me when I arrived in Singapore so I was really intrigued and had to have one! The burgundy layer might look awfully scary in the tube but it looks really soft on the lips and the fade out creates the optical illusion of fuller lips. After wearing this for the first time I'm ever so slightly regretting not buying more.

• Expert Color Lip Cube (502 Rosewood) - Another case of me just wanting to sample from a brand I can't get my hands on at home.  These lipsticks are apparently very long wearing so I have to find out for myself.

Laneige

I bought these Laneige products from the Tangs department store in Vivocity...

• Water Sleeping Mask - I'm talking about this first but this was the afterthought and the result of the SA doing a good job on the upsell! I've never used an overnight mask before and the stuff felt soooo good rubbed into the back of my hand.  Whatever.  I like a good pamper so I don't regret it!

• Two Tone Lip Bar (No. 3 Pink Salmon and No. 5 Daring Darling) - So...like I said earlier I was intrigued by the ombre lip trend and these orange-pink and red-pink combinations looked absolutely wild! So wild that I've not worn them yet but I plan to get playing soon!

Duty free part 1

Leaving Australia...

• Jurlique Purely Age-Defying Skin Care Program - Kits are always the best way to sample a new or different skin care range so I decided to pamper myself with this - still prohibitively expensive - anti-aging range.

• Prada Candy Trio - The only way to get a discount on Prada is DF so that, and my ongoing love affair with Prada fragrances, explains that purchase. 

Duty free part 2

Leaving Singapore...

• Cle De Peau Luminizing Face Enhancer (14 Delicate Pink) - Yes, even buying this DF in Changi Airport was an extravagance but I've wanted this for such a long time and it's just FREAKING GORGEOUS!!! Buyer's remorse? Not this time!

So there you have part 2! Part 3 will be devoted to one brand that I got quite carried away with, so stay tuned...it will happen I promise...

Until next time!

Sephora: Summer In Bangkok

Now for something I dug out from the depths of my collection...

Summer In Bangkok is from Sephora's old nail polish line and this bottle was actually gifted to me by a travelling friend a few years ago.  I won't bore you with application because this is discontinued but will tell you the obvious:  It's a gloriously summery aquatic shade of shimmery turquoise and was a bit of fun to wear as a winter option.  As you can see below I chose a gloriously sunny winter's day to wear it too!

Full sun

Shade

Until next time!

Hawaii Beauty Buys: The Luxury Edit

 

I've been very sporadic in my posting lately (if you follow on Twitter then you might know there have been some family health dramas taking up my time and energy) so this is another better late than never post from me.  I'm finally in the mood to get back on with the lighter, more fun side of my life and what better way for a beauty blogger to get happy than photographing lots of new makeup courtesy of a big overseas makeup haul!

I think I left the best of the vacation shopping posts until this last instalment - the best value for money perhaps? I don't know about that because I wasn't comparing the $$ but I do know I had a lot of fun buying all of these products which for the most part are not yet readily available in Australia - until Sephora opens it's doors in Sydney next month anyway! I actually did most of my beauty shopping in Sephora - Yeah baby!!! -  so let's start there! Now why on earth am I channelling Austin Powers?!?...

Sephora

• Urban Decay Naked2 Basics - I know the original Urban Decay Naked Basics palette was a bit of a love it or leave it item depending on how colour obsessed you are (I guess?), but being a bit of a neutral girl in my everyday life, I was in the love it category.  The cooler toned option of 2 was on my radar from the moment it was released so I bought this as a 'must have' item for my little UD collection. 
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - I've used up a couple of sample sized tubes and found it did the job well enough so I basically threw this into my basket!

 

 

• NARS Audacious Lipstick (Grace) - Just look at that black minimalist packaging and of  course the now almost mandatory embossed bullet. After seeing all the buzz on Instagram a NARS Audacious lipstick was also on my wishlist to try because I'm all about high pigment lipstick.  I confess I don't own a NARS blush but now I do own a NARS lipstick! I chose Grace as it's a bright pink coral and very promising as a perfect shade for summer statement lips.

 

• Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick Duos (Vivid Violet/Palomino & Neutral Lychee/Musk) -  I've been a fan of the moisturising Luminous Lip Crème formula since buying my first (and only until now) Bite Beauty lipstick last year and these lip duos are a cutely portable, more affordable way of trying other shades from the range. I love how Sephora have all those irresistible little items lined up along the way to the counter for the last minute impulse buys - It's the beauty equivalent of the candy stand at the supermarket checkout!

 

 

• Give Me More Lip - Sephora Favorites - Oh my, I walked around and around this one because the idea of getting 17 new lip products in one hit felt pretty extravagant after all my discipline earlier this year.  Ah well, it's 17 sample sizes and a heap of them are products I'd not tried before but seen raves about (Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear lipstick, Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick are just two worth mentioning) so why not?  It's becoming pretty clear my beauty obsession is leaning a LOT more heavily towards lip colours these days, hmm?

 

• Stila Pretty Pick-Me-Ups lip & cheek set - Another on the way to the counter grab!  This little set contains two mini versions of popular Stila products that I didn't have:  the much obsessed about Peony Convertible Color Dual Lip & Cheek Cream and Guava Lip Glaze.  It's taken me a long time to 'get' cream cheek products but now that I do I'm in love with the healthy, youthful glow they give to my middle aged old cheeks and I can't get enough of them!

 

• Sephora Outrageous Prisma Chrome mono eye shadow pots - I found these two shades (Outrageous Metallic Grey and Outrageous Metallic Lilac) in the discount bin for $5 each and, being typically indecisive, bought them both! Since getting back from my trip I've read raves about these wet/dry metallic eye shadows so can't understand why they've been discontinued unless it's only these shades? 

 

And the samples...

After all that shopping I qualified for Sephora Beauty Insider signup so I received my free samples, mini Bare Minerals 5 in 1 cream eye shadow as a points perk and MUFE birthday gift on the spot. Not having regular access to Sephora made this a bit of a big deal for me so it makes me excited for when Sephora expands in Australia and...finally comes to Melbourne.  Hurry up, will you?

 

Neiman Marcus

 

 

I really should say this was the "Tom Ford beauty counter at Neiman Marcus" because that's what I zeroed in on and where I had an impromptu makeover while the SA wooed me with the above products - and the rest, hah! If there was one additional thing I should have bought at the time but didn't was the TF Eye Primer Duo. We decided to go for a hike up to Diamond Head Lookout later in the afternoon and while the rest of my face melted off in the sweaty heat my eye shadow was FLAWLESS! If only I'd had time to get back to that counter.  You know how it is, wise after the fact *sigh*.

So I ended adding these products to my Tom 'freaking' Ford collection:

• Tom Ford Lip Color (31 Twist of Fate) - This coral lipstick is from TF's Fall 2014 collection and given that we don't get many of the LE releases in Australia I didn't hesitate after trying it on at the counter. It's more subtle than TF's True Coral and looks equally put together yet in a low-key way.
• Tom Ford Ultra Shine Lip Gloss (07 Peach Absolut) - The SA used this as a complimentary topper for the lippy and...I don't have any TF glosses in my collection...and this looked perfect...so...yes.
• Tom Ford Concealing Pen (02 Light Medium) - Being the concealer addict I am I was all up for trying this newish release and it was on my luxe beauty wishlist so I can now check that one off! 

 

Macy's

Yes I found this at Macy's! The Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette has been around for some time and I'm a latecomer to exploring the brand per se so...I had that first sniff of the cocoa powder shadows, had a little swatch - these are velvety as opposed to buttery and well pigmented - and was convinced I had to buy me a palette!

After my first use I'm already impressed because the shades build and blend well, and with all of those complimentary colours I was able to create my own look very easily without too much deliberation.  There are three eye makeup looks included in the Chocolate Bar pamphlet but just looking at the palette I can see a multitude of looks in the making.  Lots of playing to be done with the Chocolate Bar and I can understand the raves it gets.

Well that's enough shopping for now perhaps?

If you'd like any more detailed reviews or swatches please let me know in the comments!



Sephora: Hippie Hippie Shake

Our Melbourne summer has been all over the place since it started but all the same I decided to embrace the summer vibe with a retro summer shade of polish.

 

Sephora's Hippie Hippie Shake is quite retro in my book as it's a shimmery hot pink-coral - something of a throwback to the 1960's maybe as its name suggests???  Well I took the leap and I think this polish is perfect for summer. So perfect in fact I decided it was the thing for my first official summer pedicure too.  It's a joyously fun colour which really reminds me of icy watermelon granita.  Summery indeed...

Shade

 

 

Sun

 

 

What are your colour picks for summer?

 

 

Sephora: It's Time To Rock!

I've suddenly found myself with a backlog of NOTD's to post so while I've got the time here's one for you right now!!!

 

It's Time To Rock! is from Sephora's Sparkling Nail Polish line and is one helluva a sparkly one alright, without crossing over to outright glitter.  The overall effect is slate grey foil which on closer inspection is wonderfully complex with blue, silver and pink sparkle.  This polish reminds me quite a bit of OPI's On Her Majesty's Secret Service but it lacks the added element of gold sparkle found in the OPI polish.  Application was a cinch with the wide, flattened brush and two coats were almost more than enough.  Pretty edgy I think!

 

Shade

 

 

 

 

 

Sun

 

 

What do you think of this almost dupe?

 

 

 



Sephora: Full Moon Party

I'm posting a polish from my recent Sephora expedition and considering this shade has probably been around for a while I'm surprised by how few decent swatches are out there!

Full Moon Party is one complex little purple polish, livened up by pink and blue micro-glitter so it appears multidimensional in the light.  It's not in your face but it has interest.  Application was a breeze with the wide, curved edge brush and the polish was almost a one-coater.  I won't say any more. I will let the pictures hopefully do justice to this little gem for purple polish lovers out there...

Indoors

 

 

 

Shade

 

Sun

 

 

 Thanks for looking!

 



The great Singapore vacation haul!

Spare time has been particularly scarce lately which explains why it's taken so long to get this post up.  Here I am apologising again *gulp*.

 

This picture post is another example of my tendency to shop til I drop when I'm overseas - and I didn't waste any opportunities in Singapore! As I said in my Hong Kong post, if I'd known better I probably would have bought some of these products over there rather than Singapore, particularly luxe brands such as Tom Ford and Chanel, but overall I think I fared pretty well  - helped along by the Great Singapore Sale bargains! As always you'll notice I bought a lot of nail polish so that's the logical place to start...

OPI

Left to Right:

A Butterfly Moment

A Definite Moust-Have
DS Magic
Tiffany Case

Three out of four bottles were bought on sale from the OPI Centre in Forum Shopping Mall and Tiffany Case was bought from a big Sasa sale occupying half the ground floor space of Plaza Singapura. Dare I say I might have my doubts about my Sasa buy because the labelling on the bottle base is missing the usual barcode and batch numbers.  We shall see...



 

China Glaze

Left to Right:

Fancy Pants

Glitter Goblin

Tree Hugger

 

These were all bought at the same big Sasa sale for 9.90SGD each.  I don't know if they're fake - I sincerely hope not!  I've worn Tree Hugger so far and while the formula was on the thick side it wore just as well as other China Glaze polishes I've tried.

 

Fuso

Left to Right (no names, just numbers):

75, 94, 56

 

Yes - from the same sale! Fuso polishes are super affordable at 3.30SGD and pretty good quality so these are like the Asian equivalent of Australian bargain brands like Ulta3.



Victoria's Secret

I've never tried anything from the VS fragrance and beauty range so I took advantage of the Great Singapore Sale bargains.  I got the makeup kit heavily reduced at around 22SGD.  Not bad for a blush, eye shadow duo, lip gloss, mascara and nail colour! In retrospect I should have taken more advantage and bought more products from the Amber Romance range as the store was running a 3 for 40SGD offer *sigh* - luggage space was a consideration.

 

Chanel

Left to Right:

Rouge Coco Shine - 467 Pygmalion

Nail Colour - 583 Taboo

Nail Colour - 667 Bel-Argus

 

The Chanel purchases were purely about me utterly spoiling myself! All choices were from the LE collections.  Initially I thought I'd already missed out on the highly sought out Taboo but was lucky enough to find it in stock at the ION Orchard Chanel boutique where I met up with Sophia, the Makeup Blogette.

 



Now for some bottle close ups because it makes me happy...

Tom Ford Lip Colors

Left to Right:

Spanish Pink
Forbidden Pink

I have such an obsession with Mr Ford's lipsticks!  I bought these two in the luxurious Tangs Beauty Hall before we flew to Hong Kong, not realising I'd find Tom Ford selling just that little bit cheaper over there. Oh well - I was happy to later find out Forbidden Pink is an Asian exclusive.  I now have a balanced little TF lipstick collection I think comprising bright fiery reds and softer pinks and corals. Knowing me I'm sure there'll be an occasion to treat myself again *winks*.

 

Sephora & Urban Decay

Clockwise from left:

UD - Naked Basics palette

UD - Naked Palette

Sephora - It's Time To Rock!

Sephora - Full Moon Party

Sephora - City Fog

 

 Feeling like one of the few in the beauty universe who doesn't own a Naked palette, the Urban Decay Naked (or preferably Naked 2) and Naked Basics palettes were always on my wish list.  I badly wanted to score Naked 2 but it was sold out EVERYWHERE(!) so the original Naked was my 'consolation' purchase. Seriously, I'm not complaining though!

The two Sephora brand polishes and mono eye shadow were the impulse buys I guess, after poring over all the shelves, and endless rows of stuff! I seem to be moving into a grey phase with eye shadow so City Fog seemed like a good choice for a matte grey to play with.


Penhaligon's

Sophia introduced me to the scented pleasures of Penhaligon's London boutique in ION Orchard during our brief but productive shopping session. Elizabethan Rose EDT was 50% off, and even though it's a rose scent at its core it doesn't surprise me at all to find the base notes include amber - the fragrance note I'm unconsciously, inevitably drawn to. On top of the discount I also received a sample vial of Peoneve EDP to be tempted by.

 

Drugstore buys (Watsons, Guardian & more Sasa)

Clockwise from top left:

ELF blush - Twinkle Pink

Silkygirl - Magic BB Cream (01 Natural)

Silkygirl - Magic BB Powder Foundation (01 Ivory)

Revlon - Lip Butter (027 Juicy Papaya)

Revlon - Lip Butter (063 Wild Watermelon)

Revlon - Super Lustrous Lipstick (415 Pink In The Afternoon)

Canmake - Cream Cheek (05)

NYX - Cream Blush (05 Glow)



These bits and pieces were accumulated throughout the 10 days we were in Singapore.  The Magic BB powder was actually a backup and I bought the BB cream to try as a cool weather alternative - I'm going to have to set up a supply network for these little drugstore stars!  I went a bit berserk with blush purchases but...they're only drugstore right? Besides I can only buy Canmake, NYX and ELF online in Melbourne (as far as I know).  I do love Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick and was forever searching for the Audrey Hepburn-pink shade Pink In The Afternoon so I pounced on that one - the Lip Butters were shades I'd long been tantalised by on US blogs but wasn't available in Australia. There! I think these are all accounted for!

 

 

Last minute duty free buys...

Left to Right:

Trio Dior Addict Gloss - Princess, Angelique, Diablotine

Chanel - Glossimer (149 Nakkar)

Chanel - Coco Noir EDP

Victoria's Secret - Secret Charm EDT

Victoria's Secret - Secret Charm Hand and Body Cream

 

A 50-50 split of planned and impulse buys on the way out of Singapore! The glosses were all impulse (Gah! I'm such a sucker for pretty...) but I'd always planned on buying a bottle of Coco Noir. I couldn't find any VS Amber Romance products in the store as I'd planned to make up the set so Secret Charm was my next best VS choice. 

 The glosses Left to Right:

Dior - 553 Princess

Dior - 223 Angelique

Dior - 643 Diablotine

Chanel - 149 Nakkar

 

That's enough for now!