[Reupload] Make Up Bases

The weather's been quite warm recently until this week where it has been slightly colder but whilst it was warm I have been meaning to invest in a base for ages but never got round to it. It is important to use as it can have sunscreen in it to protect your face from the sun and it also makes you look less porous (sp?) and have a much smoother finish on your face.

So I checked around and I saw that the MAC Face Protect Protection Visage had many good reviews and it also has an SPF of 50 which attracted me to it the most since I am Chinese and would rather be lighter than darker!



It is 30ml, I bought it for £19.50 so not too bad but it is MAC so expect it to be a little expensive. The actual base is white in colour and a little bit thick, not runny at all, kinda like how thick foundations can be. On first impressions of using it...Personally, I don't like it very much. Before I was using it like you would a normal base... Rub onto a clean moisturized face and then add foundation/tinted moisturizer, quite normal, makes sense but doing this did not give me a good result or at least not what I was expecting to happen, it was not smooth and my skin didn't look like it had a slight flawless finish. I know some people may disagree with this because it works for them but it didn't seem to want to work with my skin. I however, came up with a different way to put it on, I mixed it with my tinted moisturizer an then rubbed it in either with my hands or my foundation brush either way is fine and it seemed to work better it even lightened up the colour of my tinted moisturizer which was good since mines a little dark anyway (there's only 3 colours to choose from and light was too light for me and medium's a little dark but better than using the light.). I can't say that I'm too fond of the smell either it smells kinda funny...

I don't know if you've noticed but one of my favourite brands is Shiseido Maquillage. When I went to Hong Kong earlier in the year I bought over $1000HKD worth of stuff so they gave me lots of free samples, I actually got a little small packet sample of the base that they currently have in their collection, the Maquillage Styling Keep Base UV. Upon trying it I loved it! It smells very pleasant, I can't think of anything that it smells similar to unfortunately but it is a nice smell, it is also a lovely light pink-ish colour. It is extremely runny, if you squeezed one pump onto you hand and held your hand vertical, it would drip off, that's how runny it is but I like that because it feels more light weight after you rub it in rather than feeling like you have a layer of something like a barrier all over your face like how the MAC felt when I first put it on.do use this everyday now and the MAC is put aside for now... I use this like you would a normal base so no mixing with this one. Also, I only use tinted moisturizer so I'm not using a foundation with these, I don't like using a foundation on daily basis since its too heavy for me. Here's what it looks like...



It is also 30ml and I bought this off Adam Beauty for $35USD so a little more expensive than the MAC but have to add that Adam (the owner of the site) is very good at communicating and it was super fast delivery! I was expecting it to take over a week as it was being shipped from Hong Kong but it got to me sooner than expected. Out of the MAC and this one, I must say I prefer this one alot more. It gives me a good flawless finish, I have a few marks on my face and its not completely covered up but it is a lot less noticeable with this base whereas the MAC did not do this for me as well. It has less SPF, it only has 24 but living in England, this is sort of enough for me since it is mostly cold than hot!

I thought I might as well take a comparison picture whilst I was taking a picture of these...



As you can see, it looks like the same size and it makes sense since they are both 30ml. The MAC is an upside down squeezy tube whilst the Maquillage is a pump. I think I will definitely purchase the Maquillage again as for the MAC, I will use it up after I am finished with the Maquillage but I don't think its on my buy again list as it doesn't seem to work in harmony with my skin very well...

[Reupload] Quick Laneige Review

I will be soon doing a new review on the current laneige products that I still use now. It still plays a big part in my everyday routine and there has been so much more that has been added/products changed!

As requested by Stolen_waters from Soompi, a mini review of the Laneige products that I use.

I currently use on a daily basis, Sensitive Mild Emulsion and the Sensitive Mild Cleansing Foam and the Eye Designer Cream. I also occasionally use theStrawberry Yogurt Pack that comes in a tub. I did used to use the lip treatment they sell, it also worked wonders on my lips since I constantly have dry, chapped lips but with the constant use, I used it up within 2 weeks and it sells at $150HKD so constant use wasn't going to cut it as its quite expensive. I now use Kiehl's #1 Lip Balm and it seems to be doing a good job.

Just a background to my skin conditions, my skin is very sensitive due to ezcema, its not oily or anything, its usually just dry.
 
Sensitive Mild Cleansing Foam - I use this day and night, you do not need to use alot, about pea size is enough, it comes in a 120ml tube, even though it can come to be expensive, as said, you don't need to use alot so it will last a while, I've been using mine since the end of March and I'm no where near half way through yet. It does not remove make up that well so I would suggest removing your make up with a wipe or something first. The stuff itself inside the tube is just like any other cream and looks quite pearly, when using apply to a wet face and it will foam up and you rinse it off after. Gently pat dry with a towel and it should after a while leave you with clear soft skin. There's not much of a distinctive smell to it but if you try to smell it then its quite a pleasant smell,it hasnt stinged me or anything even with the dry parts of my skin so overall I say its a good cleanser.

Sensitive Mild Emulsion - The whole senstive mild range from Laneige consists of 4 products... I only use 2 of them. I'm working on getting the toner though for occasional use to tone as well as moisturise. This comes in a 100ml glass bottle that has a pump at the top, the Emulsion is my one and only moisturiser, it is quite runny, I find that it absorbs easily, I like the fact that its runny though as it is easy to apply everywhere however it's not so runny to the extent that it will drip right off your hands if you hold them vertically. This I have used quite alot of and in need of a new one now, I used to use about 1 pump and half, now I use 3/4 of a pump and it seems to work nicely, just the same. It feels quite watery when applied as well but with dry skin, if it feels watery, imo, its very nice. What I find is if you are feeling very hot and bothered because of irritated skin like from heat rash, you can put it in the fridge and then use it and it also feels very nice cool on your face like splashing water on your face because its runny.

Eye Designer Cream - I don't necessarily use this on a daily basis, I do use it every I'd say about 2-3 days at night. This is part of the basic care range so anyone can use it really. It comes in 30ml little tub with a screw top, I got taught to use this by the sales woman by gently patting onto my eye and leave it for a while and then wipe it off, but I found that a waste so I use a cotton bud to dab it on and just leave it to absorb, again, if hot you can put it in the fridge. There is a very distinct smell to this one, its a nice one too, smells of blueberries and the cream itself is a lovely blue colour too. The consistancy is similiar to all other eye creams so not too thick, not too thin, it also claims to help with dark circles but it hasn't really worked for me in that way and I am one of those people with constant dark circles under my eyes so I wouldn't pick this as my first choice for a cream that is designed for dark circles, however, it does moisturise well, my eyes were flaky dry before and now they are much better and look like how eyes should look!

Strawberry Yogurt Pack - This I got for free because I had bought alot of stuff when I went to Laneige otherwise I don't think I would have bought it. This one comes in a 80ml tub, simliar to the Eye Designer Cream but bigger. The first thing you notice when you open the tub is the smell and the look of it. The consistancy is exactly like how yogurt is, its pink with little red beads in it and also smells alot like strawberry flavoured foods, it made my little sister want to eat it! This is an exfoliant so you don't use it that often, I use mine once every week or so, sometimes once a fortnight, depending on whether I feel like my face needs a good scrub or not. When used, the little red beads burst so when you rub it on, you'll notice that the red beads are gone, it doesn't foam up or anything, it doesn't leave anything visible so you can see where you've applied it but just apply liberally and leave for little bit, rinse off and pat dry with a towel and it leaves me feeling fresh faced again but do be careful around the eye area, avoiding your eyes is best really.

I also have a few free samples from buying so much that time, I can't do too much of a review on these as I don't use them properly but the Water Bank Essence - I can't say I like too much because it feels very sticky even after application. Hydra Solution Essence - This one is actually quite fun for those who can use this, when rubbing into your skin it will create droplets of water so it goes from cream to water droplets which is quite amusing but I can't tell you much about this since I only got a small sample of it.

[Reupload] Shiseido Maquillage Haul

Maquillage Automatic Eyeliner - This eyeliner has a very thick brush to it, it is quite a heavy pen and I would definitely describe this to be like a Chinese calligraphy pen. The eyeliner doesn't glide on as smoothly as ones that I have used in the past but it does stay on all day and doesn't flake. 

Maquillage Design Remake Powder Not Opened Yet - but looked at the powder inside and tried a little bit of it, the loose powder inside is very shiny and glittery indeed, but when used on the skin it leaves a matte effect with a slight glittery look but not too bad. 

Maquillage Dramatical Gel Liner - Comes with a nice soft brush, black but slightly grey-ish and glittery, waterproof with easy application but some practice needed. 

Maquillage Cheek Brush - Firm but soft brush, handle kind of small but holdable.

Maquillage Design Cheek Color - 4 different shades, can be used alone or mixed together. Also comes with a small brush and a mirror on the inside of the case in a seperate bit of the case. when used it is quite a matte colour considering the blusher itself looks very glittery and shiny. A natural blush colour when used gently.

Maquillage Lip Essence EX - A lip base, has a slight pinkish colour to it but depending on your natural lip colour but it doesn't show up on me. It is meant to be used as a base for lipsticks to act like a conditioning barrier between your lips and the lipstick/gloss. Some people have complained about the smell that it has, the lip essence has no smell so its the natural ingredients used that have left a fragrance. I personally don't smell it when it is on my lips so it is not a strong vile smell so it shouldn't annoy people. Overall, just using it as a conditioner for my lips on myself, it is nice and leaves it very soft for a good few hours unless it gets wiped away, eg. when eating. 

Maquillage Eyelash Curler - Excellent, no need to hold it there for long and it will curl lashes. Compared to one of the most favored eyelash curlers, the Shu Uemura eyelash curler, the opening for the eyelashes to go through is much wider and taller so it is much easier for all eyes of different shapes and sizes to go through but if you have small eyes like mine then it becomes easy to clip your eyelid with it so be careful. A good tip is to heat the eyelash curler with a hair dryer, make sure that its not too hot when you put it onto your eyes as you can easily burn yourself, the skin around the eyes is much thinner but doing this will result in your eyelashes being curlier for longer. 

Maquillage Full Vision Mascara - I have used this for a while now, I do not have the base that pairs up with this but alone, it helps lengthen my lashes to a certain extent. Can clump if not careful, a good mascara to use but the best that I have used is the Shiseido InteGrate Volume and Curl Mascara EX, it seperates my lashes well and doesn't clump and also lengthens and volumizes my lashes a lot more than the Full Vision Mascara. 

Maquillage Loose Powder This loose powder comes in a lovely case with a lovey soft pink puff. However, it only comes in one colour, its quite a translucent colour but if your not looking for a light colour then this is not for you. The powder itself is very fine and does not leave you looking cakey after and blends in well into the skin leaving a matte finish, wish I could say this lasts all day but unfortunately it does not but does a good job whilst its there and it does stay for a good few hours depending on the weather. 

New Beginnings

So back in 2009 I started a blog which dedicated my spare time into reviewing cosmetics just to add another  opinion to the internet. I very much enjoyed doing it but from 2011 I stopped devoting my time to it and it became an after thought along with my life. Many times did I want to start again but I had a mental block as to how to do everything again and just felt like I couldn't do it. 

Today is a new day. I am starting again. I hope you can join me in my journey. I will be re-posting the reviews of the products that I have already done so that you don't have to go back to the chaos of my xanga blog!

Please feel free to leave me a comment or email me or tweet me and I will be happy to answer any questions that you may have. 

Kary x