Quick Review: tarte Smooth Operator™ Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder

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It's another quick review and this time it's for the tarte Smooth Operator™ Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder. This has been my go-to finishing powder for the past couple of months and it's definitely one of the more promising finishing powders for those with very oily skin.

tarte has an entire collection of products with Amazonian Clay in them and I used to be a terrible Debbie Downer whenever a friend/acquaintance talked about it. I always asked them if they were not scared of putting clay on their skin for so long and risked clogging their pores. Of course, I was incredibly uneducated in this territory but I didn't want to appear so (lol this ego really must throw out the window). Now....I'm a complete convert.

The tarte Smooth Operator™ Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder does everything a finishing powder should do and more. It's a great closure to your daily makeup routine because you know your foundation would not budge for a long time. I have excessively (and frustratingly) oily skin and this finishing powder helped to prolong the longevity of my foundation. Usually, I give my foundation 2-3 hours before it starts to budge and move around. I don't blame the foundation because my skin's oiliness factor is way beyond the average line. With this finishing powder, my makeup looks fresh for a good 6-7 hours. It's really amazing. The foundation stays matte longer and I don't need to blot as much.

Also, the tarte Smooth Operator™ Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder makes my skin look extra smooth and clear. It's an almost-perfect fit for those with minor acne scarring. Whenever I brush this powder on my face, it really feels like (super cliche to say this) silk. Cannot stop touching my cheeks one! But yes must stop, later more pimples!!

I absolutely recommend this finishing powder to those with oily skin. It keeps your skin looking fresh longer, it keeps your foundation matte longer and it makes your skin feel like silk. Winning formula!

Now I'm rather looking forward to trying out the other complexion products from the tarte Amazonian Clay range, especially the Amazonian clay 12-hour full coverage foundation SPF 15 and the Amazonian clay full coverage airbrush foundation.

BLOGMAS Day 4: Review - NYX Matte Lipstick in MLS 10 Perfect Red

Funny how a few months back I'm adamant about not wearing lipstick, and now....I'm all about matte lipsticks. NYX is incredibly reliable (not to mention extremely affordable) when it comes to matte lipsticks. I have tried both the soft matte lip creams and the matte lipsticks, and I love them both! I'll highly recommend both products to those who love matte lipsticks - more so if you are a fan of bright/dark coloured matte lipsticks. All of the NYX brighter/darker colours that I have tried have not disappointed me. 

This post will be dedicated to my favourite red lipstick - the NYX Matte Lipstick in MLS 10 Perfect Red. Different stores (online or physical) sell this at different prices but most of the stores will not sell the NYX Matte Lipsticks for more than S$15. If I remember correctly, I got mine for less than S$10!. 

However, please be wary when shopping for NYX matte lip products online. Due to the huge following of the soft matte lip creams and the matte lipsticks, there are some nefarious people who sell fake NYX lip products for the same price. I found a brilliant article on facebook on how to differentiate the real and fake soft matte lip creams and do take a look! I have yet to find one for the matte lipsticks but I'll definitely update this page if I find a reliable article. 

Proceeding with the review...let's go!

Packaging: Truly brilliant packaging - chic matte black texture for a matte lipstick (very appropriate and also damn smooth) with a clever addition of the transparent panel in the middle. No need to open the cap and search for the shade that you want to wear because you get to see the actual product shade from the packaging. Genius!

Colour and pigmentation: MLS 10 Perfect Red is a true red colour with quite a lot of blue undertones. Blue-based reds are great for those with cool toned skin! If you're looking for a true red with lots of orange undertones, then MLS 08 Pure Red is good for you!.

When I had Perfect Red on my lips, my teeth looked whiter than they actually were. Major love please!

Pigmentation-wise, oh my NYX Matte Lipsticks are beyond amazing. The swatch below was done with a single swipe. SINGLE! But of course, incredible pigmentation can lead to some application trouble, especially for beginners, hence I will suggest that you use a lip brush to apply this, or to apply any bright-coloured lipsticks.

Swatch under natural lighting

Swatch taken with camera flash

Application: The NYX Matte Lipstick in MLS 10 Perfect Red glides oh-so-smoothly on the lips. Even when using a lip brush, it's not that hard to get product on the brush. It will not apply matte - after application, it will take a good 10-15 seconds to mattify, or even more depending on the temperature/humidity level.

Longevity: The NYX Matte Lipstick in MLS 10 Perfect Red is not as transfer-proof as the soft matte lip creams. This will definitely transfer to any mugs/straws when you drink. However, very strangely, even after transferring to mugs and after two meals, I still had bright red lips. Yes, it did fade a little bit and it wasn't as bright as initial application, but the fading was minimal! Lasted me a good 12 hours with NO touch-ups. Two thumbs up!

Will I buy it again? More colours for me please! I'm loving Tea Rose and Angel. Maybe I'm going o get more soon! :D

Quick Review: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in SMLC17 Ibiza

Words alone are not enough to describe my obsession with the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. I need to do hip shakes, arm flails and many fist pumps. The want is urgent - I want ALL colours. 

Before SMLC17 Ibiza, I only owned one NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream - SMLC01 Amsterdam. After months and months of looking at swatches on Instagram, I decided to stop thinking too much and just GET IBIZA. The NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream is not very expensive; it's actually really affordable at S$10.50 at Shopping-Disctrict.net. The reason why I hesitated getting this so much is because this colour seemed rather similar to the one that I owned. "Seemed" is the key word here because once it arrived, I realised my worries were unfounded. 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in SMLC17 Ibiza is a beautiful deep rose pink that sets to an impressively long-lasting matte finish. On the other hand, SMLC01 Amsterdam is more like a true red. 

Why do I love it so much to the point where I can put this on an altar and pray to it?

• Applies smoothly and easily with no lumps or streaks. 
• Dries to a pleasant matte finish where your lips still look full and not dry.
• Surprisingly moisturising - doesn't cause fine lines on the lips, unlike many other matte lip products.
• Extremely long-lasting - it will survive a full 9-6 day with no touch-ups effortlessly.
• Super durable - no matter how many sips of coffee (or any other drinks) I took and how much food I ate, the colour is still on my lips. It didn't look like I had food/drink at all!
• Pigmentation is to die for. Seriously at S$10.50, this is the bomb man. 

I don't think I can find any legit cons. Ok, maybe removing it takes a little bit more time and effort, but aiyah laziness will make you ugly, so just take that extra time and effort lah!

Photos, photos!

Next on the list - SMLC20 Copenhagen. I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT THIS, but it's sold out on Shopping-District.net. I've already registered my email in the notification list, so once this is restocked, I'm checking out!!!!! Major excited woots!!!!

Gorgeous photo from x

Have a great Sunday guys! :)