Current favourite foundation (Holy grail!!): Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

I'm quite dumb. I loved this liquid foundation so much, I kept using it daily and now the glass bottle is really dirty and I only have around 30% of the liquid foundation left - so I cannot bear to take photographs and post them on my blog. Yikes. The photos provided by Bourjois itself shall suffice then (sorry guys!!).

The Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation has reached "holy grail" status in my books. I have been using it every single day since I bought it and I'm running out!! The worrisome side of me keeps wanting to order 5 more as backups, JUST IN CASE. What if they discontinue this glass bottle of enchanting liquid? CHOI TOUCH WOOD.

I purchased mine from ASOS.com (link) for less than S$15 because there was a 30% off cosmetic products some time back. Even without the discount, it's less than S$20. If you go to Watsons, BHG or other local stores that stock Bourjois, this will definitely cost you more than S$30 (I think it's S$34.90 or some ridiculously exorbitant price-tag). If you want to try this foundation out, I will suggest you order from ASOS.com - free worldwide shipping + will cost you half the Singapore retail price (DAYLIGHT ROBBERY).

Time to zoom in to the reasons why I love this foundation so much.

1. Oily-skin compatible - this foundation is great for those with oily skin. I have severely oily skin, especially around the nose and forehead. When I have the Healthy Mix Foundation applied, my skin still gets oily but not as much as before. Usually, I will need to blot at 11am (I usually apply at 8am), then another time at 3pm. With this foundation, I only blot once at 4-5pm, and touch up with some loose powder and I'm good to go! 
2. Acne prone-skin compatible - Sadly, my acne prone skin is still giving me a headache. I'm scared to try new face products because I'm scared of the potential breakouts that I may get. This liquid foundation didn't break me out AT ALL. Very very good!! 
3. Medium coverage - The Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation is not a full-coverage foundation. It has a medium coverage and it will not be able to cover huge pimples. However, I personally prefer this medium coverage because I don't want to feel cakey all over my face. Some liquid foundations have a coverage so strong and thick that you feel like you're wearing a mask. This one feels lightweight and breathable. You can just cover your blemishes with a good concealer, no biggie!
4. Blendability - This is one of the main reasons why I love this liquid foundation so much. It's SOOOO blendable! If you use a foundation brush, it's blendable. If you use your fingers, it's blendable. So easy to work with! No unglam patches and uneven pigmentation. It's also a breeze to build up the layers. 
5. Long-lasting - No joke. It lasted for more than 12 hours. My face needed blotting at the end of 12 hours but I still looked okay without a touch-up. 
6. "Younger-looking skin" - I don't know how factual this is, but quite nice to know that the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation will give you a younger-looking skin look. HAHA. 

ARGH, I NEED TO BUY MORE!!! I think I will run out in another 2 weeks' time. Complete disaster. 

Hope you enjoyed this quick review (with a lack of photos, sorry!). Have a great day!! 

Review: CANMAKE Day & Night Lip Serum (Holy Grail)

Lipsticks and lip glosses are never my thing simply because I have super dry lips! The first application would look amazing, but after a couple of hours, the application would look like a terrible mess. I don't know how else I can rectify this problem of mine other than constantly looking for the best lip balm!

I think I may have found the best lip balm for my annoyingly dry lips! It's the CANMAKE Day & Night Lip Serum! It retails for 380yen (before tax) or around S$5, and it is available in Singapore. The problem is this costs a hefty S$15.90. 

DAYLIGHT ROBBERY LAH! 

But whatever, luckily I got it in Japan for one-third the price. =___= If you have friends going over to Japan, or if you are in Japan now, I suggest you get some of this because it is AMAZING for those with dry lips! 

The CANMAKE Day & Night Lip Serum is not only a lip balm, it's a gloss and a serum as well! 

Since everything is in Japanese, I visited the CANMAKE website (http://www.canmake.com/en/elip/item_lip020.html) and according to the page, the CANMAKE Day & Night Lip Serum:

• is silicon-free
• is packed with plant and food derived agents
• is free from synthetic colourings
• has a non-sticky texture
• can result in plump, pillowy lips (WOWOWOW)
• can be used as a lip mask after you're done removing your makeup at night (can also be worn to sleep! AW YEAH! Now I understand why they used a photo of a sleeping baby haha)

Packaging: A delicately-coloured packaging! I really like the pale pink shade which has a beautiful gold sheen when it catches the light! The CANMAKE Day & Night Lip Serum comes in a squeeze-tube packaging and personally I'm not a fan. If you directly apply the lip serum on your lips from the tube, there's a high chance you're going to apply too much. I normally squeeze a little bit of the product on my middle finger and then use my finger to apply the lip serum on my lip. Much easier to gauge the amount that you are going to use!

Colour: The lip serum looks really orange when squeezed out of the tube. However, when you apply it on your lips, the colour fades away, leaving you with natural-looking and healthy lips!

Texture: I was quite apprehensive when I first squeezed some CANMAKE Day & Night Lip Serum on my hand. It looked really really sticky and glistening. To be quite honest, the lip serum is quite sticky when you apply it. However, after ten minutes or so, the product will get absorbed by your lips and the stickiness will get more bearable. The impressive thing is when I walked out of the house, my hair didn't stick to my lips despite the crazy wind! AWESOME.

Swatch taken with camera flash

Swatch taken with camera flash

Application: I cannot deny that this lip serum will take some getting used to, especially the sensation that you get after your first application. I don't understand how the chemicals work, but your lips will feel this strange tingly sensation. So, don't apply too much at first!! I'm not sure why my lips felt this sensation because my lips definitely did not look plumper or fuller after a few days of usage (some plumping lip products do give your lips that weird tingling sensation!). After the first application, I didn't feel it anymore and all's well! No allergic reactions or anything (I feared for this!).

Does it work? Holy cow YES. The first time I used it was in the day, so I didn't really see huge difference; maybe my lips didn't crack as much, but that was it. Then, I realised I could use it at night as a sleeping lip mask! So I tried and OHMYGOSH when I woke up the next morning, my lips didn't feel sticky but my lips were SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SMOOTH!! CANMAKE is not joking with the claim "pillowy lips" because my lips definitely felt pillowy after that mask session!

I thought it was going to be a temporary thing, but no, my lips felt awesome THE ENTIRE DAY. Simply amazing.

Will I buy it again? HECK YEAH. I'm gonna recommend this to everyone I know because it simply is an amazing product that delivers whatever it promises. I hope someone I know goes to Japan soon because I need to stock up on this amazing CANMAKE Day & Night Lip Serum! CANMAKE Singapore, why you give this product such a crazy pricetag (relative to Japan's pricing)? :(

(Holy Grail Product) Review: Maybelline Pure Eraser Mineral Healthy Eraser Foundation

Ever since the beginning of the year, I needed a new liquid foundation. However, I hesitated when new ones were introduced to the market because I didn't want to spend my money on something that would probably break me out. So I relied on my Missha BB Cream and waited for the right one to be launched. 

The thing about BB Creams is that they are great, but not so great for unfortunate users with blemishes and acne-prone skin because the coverage is not that fantastic. Hence, I was piling up the concealer whenever I used BB Creams, which of course made my blemishes even more prominent. 

Then this magical foundation from Maybelline was launched. I watched the advertisement on TV and I was immediately sold. The Maybelline Pure Eraser Mineral Healthy Eraser Foundation is not a cheap foundation, especially for a drugstore one. It retails at S$27.90 at Watsons nationwide (or anywhere with a Maybelline counter). I do admit it's a hefty price tag for a Maybelline product. 

Any Malaysian/Indonesian readers here who knows if this foundation can be found in Malaysia/Indonesia? If yes, I'll definitely purchase my back-ups there! 

The number one feature that caught my attention was the packaging and the applicator. The Maybelline Pure Eraser Mineral Healthy Eraser Foundation is no ordinary foundation! It's a tube of product with a sponge-tip applicator at the top. Extremely innovative. You may wonder if it's hygienic to use a sponge-tip applicator for a liquid foundation. Luckily, Maybelline attached a non-bacterial sponge for this foundation. So yay, users can use this with less worry! 

The foundation promises:

• buildable coverage (thin layers of product can be layered according to one's own fancy without masking the face!)
• velvety finish (not matte, so it's not so harsh and you don't look obviously made up)
• refreshing & light (nobody likes the cakey feeling, eh?)
• moisturizing feel 

Ingredients list

I don't know what's up with this usage of white text. I can't even get it to appear on photos! =_=

So here are the instructions:

1. For first time usage, turn the top for 10-20 times to dispense the foundation out. 
2. Apply the foundation directly onto your cheeks, forehead, nose and chin using the sponge applicator.
3. For subsequent usage, turn the top 1-2 times to dispense product. 

TIP:

To wash the sponge, gently pull the sponge tip out and wash under running water. When completely dry, put the sponge back. 

It comes with an additional sponge applicator too, so yay! 

Packaging: I love, love, LOVE the sponge applicator. This gives CONTROL a whole new definition. With usual foundations, you tend to pump out too much, and then you find yourselves in a dilemma of whether you want to use up all the foundation that you have pumped out, or waste it. Most of the time, I will choose the former, and I will end up looking like a walking theatrical mess. With this innovative applicator, I really can control the amount that I want to use on my face, and it's never too much! You dab the sponge on your face, you blend the foundation out, if you need more, you dab some more! You'll never ever ever use too much foundation with this product! AMAZING. 

Every time you turn the top, only a little bit of the product will be dispensed and it will be dispersed over the sponge. I really am digging this foundation, and I have been using it everyday and loving it every single day. 

3 dabs on the back of my hand. 

Foundation blended out

Coverage: This is a medium-heavy coverage foundation, perhaps verging on the heavy side. It's definitely more heavy-duty than your BB creams and I need much less concealer for my blemishes! 

Moisturizing: It's not greasy moisturizing, but just the correct amount of moisturizing. Especially good for oily skin actually because it gives you your needed amount of hydration without making you look like you just deep fried yourself a few hours later. 

Longevity: I used this foundation for a day out in Sentosa and then a Halloween night at Universal Studios Singapore. A total of 12 hours, and the foundation didn't budge, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?1 GREAT FOUNDATION! 

I didn't really take close-up photos of the foundation on my skin (sorry!), but here are some photos that perhaps will show you how amazing the Maybelline Pure Eraser Mineral Healthy Eraser Foundation is. :) 

This one's after about 10 hours. Still looking good! :)

Will I buy it again? I'm going to treat this foundation like an item that I will need during a war. STOCKING UP TIME. 

It's really a great liquid foundation for users with acne-prone skin and blemishes, go get them ALL (but leave some for me please).

Good job, Maybelline!

[HG Product] Review: Tony Moly Berry Berry Magic Lip Tint

I'm not a fan of lip products because of how troublesome they are. You apply, you eat/drink, you re-apply - it's a cycle that I really hate to administer. Thankfully, my natural lip colour is quite pinkish red to begin with, so I can make do with lipsticks. However, they get really dry sometimes and so I love looking out for lip balms or lip tints! 

I recently purchased this Tony Moly Berry Berry Magic Lip Tint off Qoo10 out of curiosity and also just simply because the price was too hard to beat - S$5.50 including shipping from Korea! 

Here's the link in case you're interested in purchasing too: http://list.qoo10.sg/gmkt.inc/Goods/Goods.aspx?goodscode=405158871

This lip tint has officially achieved Holy Grail status in my beauty book. 

• Extremely reasonable price-tag
• Highly moisturising
• Pigmented without being too in-your-face
• Smells like heaven (I bought the grape flavoured one!! I WANNA EAT MY LIPS SERIOUSLY)
• Not sticky - I hate it when I go out with pretty lips, and then the wind blows and I have hair stuck to my lips. UNGLAM. 
• Cute and compact packaging

NO QUALMS WHATSOEVER. This product is freaking amazing!! 

Currently, the seller has the lip tint in 3 flavours: strawberry, green apple and grape. Grape is too good and now I'm tempted to get the other 2. Just like Pokemon, gotta catch'em all!!! 

Packaging: Compact and quite easy to put inside any make-up bag. I like how Tony Moly's products are designed to look professional. Makes you feel like you are getting more than you should be. Haha.

Texture: This lip tint has a gel texture that I quite adore. Some lip balms are so horribly sticky that I used them not on my lips, but on my blistered feet (YAY TIP OF THE DAY! That's right! You can use your lip balm on any blistered areas, works like magic!!). This, however, is not incredibly sticky. It moisturises without being greasy.

Colour: The product itself has a purple tint. However, according to the website, all three flavours will come out as the same pinkish colour after application. I actually love how subtle this lip tint is. It does give colour to dead lips but you don't look like you need major attention on your lips. You just look healthy and cheery!

Here's how the colour looks like on a piece of cotton cloth! It looks damn pink, but trust me, it's realy subtle on your lips!

Longevity: Of course you can't expect this to last more than 5 hours right? It's a lip tint, not a lip lacquer. I think this lasts a maximum of 2 hours on your lips, maybe more if you are not drinking at all. I don't find it troublesome to reapply though because of how nice smelling the lip tint is!!

Will I buy it again? DEFINITELY. I hope the seller keeps restocking this product. I need it for every single day of my life!!