Travel essentials - light makeup edition

This is the second part of my "travel essentials" post - all about the makeup that I bring with me when I'm traveling. 

However, because of my fussiness about makeup looks, this post will only be for the products that I bring along with me for trips that require no heavy or fancy makeup looks! For those looks, I tend to bring a much bigger makeup bag filled with a lot more products haha. 

I have a lot of makeup bags, but I prefer to use a clear one during traveling just so that I can save seconds when looking for the products. It's not a lot of time, but the seconds add up! 

My current go-to traveling makeup bag is this Banila Co. one which Eve got for me from S. Korea. It's not so huge but it can contain a lot of products! Also, it's clear and it's bright orange. I'm sold. 

• Sunscreen - I always use sunscreen before my actual foundation routine. I'm paranoid of getting old and the sunlight is no longer my friend at this age!
• Concealer - MUST HAVE. Without a concealer, I think I will just stay indoors all day. 
• Two-way foundation - I always use the ZA two-way foundation. I have used more expensive powders and I still think the ZA one is the best. I will use the sponge for under-eye area, then use the everyday minerals brush for all the other parts. This way, my face will not look cakey! 

• Tinted moisturiser - I completely forgot to include this on the above photo! I will use my tinted moisturiser before concealer! I'm running out of my Laura Mercier one and I'm sad. :( 
• Blush + Bronzer - I have too many blushes and too many bronzers, but when I'm traveling, I will always bring my elf Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder because the packaging is not bulky and I get two products in one. I always apply them with my trusted elf blush brush!

I tend to bring more eye products. haha.

• Eyeshadow base - it's my habit to use an eyeshadow base because it makes whatever eyeshadow I apply last longer and smudge-proof. 
• A good neutral eyeshadow - the one that I like is Elianto's brown eyeshadow! Enough shimmer for everyday wear! 
• A good highlight eyeshadow - I MUST blend my eyeshadow to make it look more natural, so I will always bring a skin-shade eyeshadow. 
• Trusted pencil eyeliner - Urban Decay's 24/7 in Perversion (LOVE!) 
• Trusted felt-tip eyeliner - for the winged eyeliner look that I love so so so so very much. 

I don't really bring mascaras because I will be out and about, and hence I don't want my mascara to smear, melt or just create a mess lah.

The above products are must-brings for me, no matter where I go. In my makeup bag, these products will always be present. I will only add other things and never take the above products out. If I'm going to school or just going out in Singapore, I will normally just bring out my two-way foundation out.

Should I do another post on heavy makeup edition? I'm on the fence because I will be featuring many similar items and the post will be a bit boring then. :S Do tell me if you guys want to read a post on that though!

Have a good weekend and hope the two posts have been useful for your traveling plans! :)

Everyday Make-up Routine + Jazzing it up a lil!

I have been asked quite a lot on the everyday makeup products that I use. So here's a post to answer all the queries that I have on that topic! 

I used to buy makeup products just for the sake of buying, but nowadays I keep repurchasing things that I like, and I hesitate a little more when it comes to experimenting with new brands. The reason is simple - I don't want to risk my skin from breaking out. As I get older, my skin gets more and more sensitive to the chemicals used in such products and so usually I take the easy way out and just stick with the products that I know will work fine on my skin. 

The first section is just for face alone. Not everything is used on my face at one go; I rotate between products or just simply apply what I feel like applying. 

ZA Two-way Foundation - has been a favourite of mine since secondary school days. I strayed in the past, but always come back to this powder because it's fantastic! 

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Foundation - Not kidding about the "Stay Matte" claim. This liquid foundation also has no SPF in it, so it's good for days when you know there's a lot of flash photography involved. 

Maybelline Pure Eraser Mineral Liquid Foundation - My current favourite liquid foundation. Amazing product! 

Heroine Beauty Perfect Sunscreen - My default primer. Makes my skin so smooth and high SPF content too! 

L.A. Girl Pro.conceal - I used to hate this product but ever since my skin became the shipwreck that it was, I realised this was the only concealer that covers well but will not break me out. So I have officially jumped ship.

MISSHA Under Eye Brightener - I only use this for my dark under-eye areas. Works like magic.

everydayminerals blush in Viki's Radiant Creation - I use this blush when I feel like I need a more orange or coral cheek look. The fine sparkles are pretty too!

M.A.C Beauty Powder in Pretty Baby - On days in which I like pink cheeks, I will turn to this beauty powder. Extremely buildable and the colour is not too ra-ra!

elf Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in SunKissed - I always turn to this product whenever I need to look more alive. I don't use this for contouring though because it's quite sparkly. Usually what I do is I apply after my blush to make my cheeks more radiant!

Go-to eye products! I always use them!

NYX Eyeshadow Base - This product deserves more love from the beauty community. I tried both the UD Primer and the Too Faced Primer. This one works as brilliantly. So why pay more? :)

Clinique Colour Surge Eyeshadow Trio in 12 Lotus Flower - I mainly use this for the nude colour. I will apply it all over my eyelid area and that will be all my eyeshadow work.

I like to layer my mascaras so here are my current two favourites - Tony Moly Cats Wink Mascara and M.A.C Zoom Fast Black Lash.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion - The blackest of black eyeliner with an amazing amazing AMAZING formula and staying power. I'm just sad I'm using it so much. I need to get a new one soon!

Heroine Make Liquid Felt-tip Eyeliner - I always use this to do my cat-eye or winged eyeliner. Of course years of practice help when in comes to the perfect winged eyeliner but this is a good product to start with!

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Midnight Cowboy - I like to apply this on my inner undereye area because it creates the illusion of larger and more awake eyes!

When I see the need to jazz it up a little, or when I have a little bit more time, I turn to these products the most! More time equals to more products and more colours!

• Urban Decay Naked Palette
• Sleek Pout Polish in Electro Peach
• Too Faced bronzer
• Fresh lipbalm 
• elf Blush in Candid Coral

Yay! Hope this answers the queries! Have a good week ahead! :) I'm going to Bangkok in another 12 hours' time! Shopping galore!!! :D

Review: Heroine Make Volume & Curl Mascara

I am always on the lookout for great Japanese mascaras, and the Heroine Make Volume & Curl Mascara has been on my list for a long time. I didn't buy it sooner because the pricetag simply didn't register in my head. I couldn't bring myself to pay more than 20 bucks for a drugstore mascara. 

I finally found it in Sasa during my Hong Kong trip, and it was sold together with a Kiss Me Heroine Beauty Perfect Water Sunscreen for HKD75! That bundle cost less than S$14! Amazing deal, hence I had to get it! 

Packaging: a beautiful purplish pink tube with 6g of product. I know the photo below doesn't show its true packaging colour, but it really is a beautiful wand! Kudos to Japanese brands for making their products so pretty and princess-y. It catches your attention, it registers in your brain, and then suddenly you are transported into a scenario whereby you are already paying for the product. Crazy spooky I tell you.

Claims:

• Long-lasting
• Waterproof
• Contains fibres to lengthen your lashes
• Contains curly polymer to hold your curl!

Brush design: It's an odd one. It shaped like an elongated hourglass. This design works because during application, tiny eyelashes at the inner corner of the eyes can be reached easily. A typical mascara with the straight brush will concentrate the product in the middle of the eyelashes, creating unsightly clumps. Ew max. This skinny-waist design helps to balance out the amount of product applied on all the eyelashes, not just the middle! Also, the curved design really does help with curling your lashes.

HOWEVER, I will not advise anyone to use this on their lower lashes. It's a horrendous mess, and it's precisely because of the brush design. Lower lashes are shorter and finer in general, and so they need a mascara brush that's straight and tiny. Definitely not this one. I had a hard time applying this mascara on my lower lashes and I will NEVER do something so foolish every again.

CAN YOU SEE THOSE MIRACULOUS TINY FIBRES? :D

Lengthening: Those fibres work their asses off! It's crazy lengthening. To be honest, I have long eyelashes to begin with, so I didn't have high hopes for this product, but oohlala~ it does a bloody good job in lengthening the lashes. Bravo fibres!!

Volumising: The volumising factor is rather blah in my opinion. However, I was quite impressed at how this mascara does not clump my lashes at all! I applied three coats and they were still separated and pretty! Usually, two coats will be more than enough and another will be a nightmare full of clumping horror. But, this didn't clump at all. So yay to that!

Curling: I'm highly unconvinced. It's either my lashes are too straight and stubborn or this mascara does nothing in terms of curling. It doesn't make sense though because the brush design should help in curling! My take on this is that the formulation of this product is too runny. If it's a tad thicker, it will be a curling masterpiece!

Longevity: Amazeballs. Japanese mascaras never fail to impress me in terms of longevity. Even under this scorching Singapore sun!

Removal: To sum it up, removal was something that I prefer not to do. Japanese mascaras are a bitch when it comes to removal. They just are so heavy-duty that they wanna cling on to your lashes like crazy! To prevent frustration and lash-pulling during removal, I suggest using a good Japanese oil-based make up remover for products like these. And don't use a cotton pad and wipe sideways, that doesn't help at all. You have to wipe downwards; when you start to see fibres coming off, that's when you know your mascara is removed!

Will I buy it again? As much as I want too, I think I will try other Japanese brands. I'm not saying that this is a bad product. It's actually quite a great product, but you know the relationship between mascaras and me is like one-night-stands - I just need a new one every single time! HEHEHE :D