Monday, 16 September 2013

FALLING FOR FALL: Fall Trends of brilliant 2013: Fashion

Hello jubblies and lovelies! [Don't ask me why, I just suddenly thought of the word 'jubblies'] Hope everyone is having a great start to your week! So so so, is it me or did the year just pass us by so quickly that it is now ALREADY MID-SEPTEMBER??!! *gasp* Fast and Furious seems apt here and now rolls in my personal all-time favorite season: FALL/ AUTUMN *cheers* Fall is such a beautiful season. Sure, every season has its own beauty and wonders [and sometimes their 'wraths'; think sticky, sweaty, frostbite, blue fingers lol], but for me, it's all about falling for Fall. As per the title of this post, this shall be the start of my fall posts series: Falling For Fall [FFF].

Fall, like I said, is my favorite season. Autumn leaves, warm pumpkin spice, and fuzzy sweaters while waiting for the winter cold to sweep Fall off its feet and into the another new season. Ironically [and Sadly], I don't enjoy the embrace of Fall where I live. *tear* lol but hey, all year round Summer-lovin' Singapore isn't all that bad either lol. ;) When I think Fall, I think of three simple words: Elegance, Style, Chic. And also tons of other words that come along with those that just make me all tingly inside. [think leather, boots, jackets, scarves, vampy makeup, burgundy, jewel tones and many many more *woohoo*] So to kick-off some FFF series fun, let's hit the fashion realms first. I'm gonna be talking about some Fall fashion trends of 2013 that would spice up your wardrobe and bring out the inner Fashionista in you. What better way to ease into the series than with things you have to wear as you walk out the door everyday? ;)

1) It's time to put on your [thinking] cap.
Hats are getting their fair share of attention this Fall and are appearing on the runways, with the likes of Kate Spade and Chanel. These trendy gems not only keep your head and ears warm and snug, but also gets the attention that you want. From the classic cozy beanies to the sleek and stylish Fedoras, the choices are far and wide should you wish to sport this trending fashion accessory to spruce up any Fall look.

http://www.glamour.com/

http://www.fashiongonerogue.com/
2) Print Me Chic
Don't be afraid to rock some prints this Fall. Classic prints such as Houndstooth and Checks never go out of style for Fall. And who ever said that you can't embrace your animalistic side for Fall as well? Any one can stop traffic while adorning some fun animal prints during Fall  and still be fit for the season. Be bold and stylish in Leopard, Zebra, Giraffe prints while maintaining some balance with darker backgrounds on your clothing and accessories. Not only for a girls' night out or a casual weekend date, these prints can be easily incorporated into your office wear without coming off as though are ready to party and go wild by the water cooler. Think along the routes of neutrals [be it background, or as a whole canvas with a small pop of print in your array of accessories of shoes, bags, watches etc].

jadorefashionlove.blogspot.com

www.stylebakery.com

www.fabsugar.com
3) Make the world jealous and Green with Envy

Emerald. Ethereal, Elegant and Ever-enchanting. Dubbed as colour of the year by Pantone for 2013, emerald-coloured fashion is here to stay. Be it your clothes, jewelry or bags, emerald is definitely a nice pop of stylish colour that you can add to your look. On the sidenote, if green isn't exactly your cup of tea, try other jewel tones such as amethyst and ruby [ooh lala]. They might just be right up your alley.

kimkardashian.celebuzz.com

www.polyvore.com
www.itdaydreamer.com.br

4) It's all about the layers
Fall is such a fun time to layer your pieces without having the possibility of being seen as overdone. However, the theme of the layering is important. Avoid piling on too many colours and patterns that would make you look like you are still stuck in the times of Spring and Summer. Keep it simple with a tiny pop of colour if you need it and patterns [as mentioned earlier, classics like Houndtooth and Checks or animal prints, even dark florals] should be also kept to a minmal. As for texture, keep it as streamlined and non-bulky as possible. Rule of thumb for this one here: thin and thin, sheer and sheer, thin and thick but never thick and thick.

www.platinumblondelife.com
5) Leather is STILL the new black. 
Oh yea. Leather. On of my favourite textures and it never goes out off style. Leather doesn't mecessarily mean only jackets. Try incorporating it into your look with a cute pair of leather leggings or a bad-ass leather peplum. This beautiful material is just enough to add that edge, sexiness and danger to any outfit this fall. Not only should you take leather to new forms in clothing and accessories, colour is another aspect that you should not neglect. Classic black and brown leather can never be wrong but coloured leather such as burgundy, emerald and the all so sexy red might just be the thing you need to take your fall wardrobe to a whole new level.
  


http://www.thebargainhunterextraordinaire.blogspot.com/
When it comes to fashion, never be afraid to your way. These Fall 2013 trends would definitely bring some [pumpkin] spice to your wardrobe. Even if you are somewhere with the Big Four Seasons, nothing [well ok maybe the heat or sth] should stop your from rockin' your look, your way. I am defnitely going to be embracing some of these trends in my looks and hope that you do too! Fashion is all about beauty, passion and expression. So be yourself and have fun with these trends! What are some of your favourite fashion trends for the brilliant Fall of 2013? ;)

Stay beautiful, happy and confident! <3 br="">

 

Saturday, 7 September 2013

REVIEW: Essence Vintage District Collection

Hey Lovelies! Hope you guys are doing oh so well and feeling great! Today I'm gonna be talking about the Essence Vintage District Collection. *Cheers* Essence has always been one of my favourite drugstore brands as it delivers quality and sass without me having to necesssarily break the bank. This collection definitely caught my eye as anything with the word VINTAGE, oh, I'm there baby.



 LOOK. JUST LOOK. Oh my goodness! Just the colour scheme and cute vintage fonts have enough to get me in a happy dance [don't you just love happy dances?] I got almost everything in the collection except the nail effects kits and the top coats [seeing as how I like more straight-up one colour manicures and a butt load worth of top coats already]. Might I say, I am impressed. Now, seeing as how extensive this collection is, moving on!

From L to R: I'm So Retro, Shopping @ Portobello Road, Get Arty

Clockwise: I'm So Retro, Shopping @ Portobello Road, Get Arty


From L to R [Natural Daylight]: Shopping @ Portobello Road, I'm So Retro, Get Arty

From L to R [Natural Daylight]: Shopping @ Portobello Road, I'm So Retro, Get Arty
 First off, the eyeshadows, how cute can they get?! The little 'paint splotches' are just so cute, adding to the whole artist feel. They are overspray so of course my heart ached so much when I had to swatch them but all for in the name of love [of reviews and beauty blogging]!! The shadows are nice, smooth and pigmented. I was surprised at what the teal shade became after swirling the shades together as it looks like a bright-medium teal in the pan but swatch up to more of a muted metallic grey teal on my hand. Seems to be a semi-matte [due to the shimmery silver overspray that gives it a more shimmery sheen]. The peach-orange is my favourite, so nice for a light pop of colour on the lids or in the crease. Looks to be of a matte finish. As for Get Arty, it proves to be a more silvery grey and does have a nice shimmer to it without being full-on metallic. Overall, the eyeshadows, with their cute packaging and names, are nice pieces to the collection.




From L to R [Natural Daylight]: Shopping @ Portobello Road., Get Arty

From L to R [Natural Daylight]: Shopping @ Portobello Road., Get Arty

From L to R [Natural Daylight]: Shopping @ Portobello Road., Get Arty

Ooh la la. Gel eyeliners. Essence is pretty notorious for having amazing gel eyeliners so how would these two additions fare? Firstly, the packaging is lovely, matching the overall theme. What's more, they come in a set with brushes. For the price, you honestly cannot beat that. Shopping @ Portbello Road is such a nice teal eyeliner that goes on so smoothly and doesn't smudge on me. Great pigmentation and a great matte finish. AMAZING. As for Get Arty, it is a cement grey colour with a matte finish and like its teal counterpart, it's smooth, pigmented and lovely. The brushes are pretty nice for the price but nothing out of the extraordinary. Overall, these gel eyeliners are not short of impressive. Great for a pop of colour without busting out the eyeshadows and an more toned down alternative to a straight-up black [the grey, that is].





OMG. Say what?!
Pretty gold overspray [not to worry for those who are worried about the strong sheen that the gold might give!]

From L to R [Natural Daylight]: Gold Overspray, Blush with no overpsray, Blush with overspray

From L to R [Natural Daylight]: Gold Overspray, Blush with no overpsray, Blush with overspray

So far so good, what shall come next? How about some colour for the face? THE BLUSH. OMG. HEART STOPPING BEAUTY. Such beautiful embossing for such a great price? Shut up and take my money already!! Any blush collector collecting them for their embossing has got to get this! The brilliant floral embossing just adds such class to this blush. Also the gold overspray on it makes it even more to die for. This blush has nice pigmentation especially with the overspray. Something like an in-between of a cream-soda orange and a peach. With the overspray gone, it has a matte finish. Also, the smoothness of the blush is just one-up.

Still going strong lovelies? Let's keep going! Phew! Alright, let's talk lipstick. Essence is really going all out with this one, with two lipstick and lipgloss duos. The shades are so nice. Adding a pop of colour without having to go on the 'BIG BOLD BHAM' route. Perfect for days that you need to look polished but still want a little colour. The lipsticks are nice and come in two shades. Vintage Peach [a peach-orange with a slight gold sheen] and Antique Pink [a warm watermelon pink rose shade]. Smooth and pigmented without skipping or patchiness. The lipsticks have a nice sheen to them without being overly glossy looking. As for the lip glosses, they are really nicely pigmented and can easily be worn alone without having to pull out the lipsticks. They are not overly sticky and both also seem to have a very very slight micro-glitter gold sheen. Like other Essence lipsticks and glosses, they seem to have a slight candy scent to them. Overall, very worth the price for their quality and colour.

From L to R : Antique Pink, Vintage Peach




From L to R [Natural Daylight] Vintage Peach Lipstick, Lip Gloss


From L to R [Natural Daylight] Antique Pink Lipstick, Lip Gloss

Alright last stretch! Let's go! Finally, what's a makeup collection without nails? The nail polishes from this collection are AMAZING. Get Arty [a concrete grey with multi-coloured sheen], Shopping @ Portobello Road [cream muted medium teal], Antique Pink [Dusky cream watermelon pink rose] and Vintage peach [Cream peach orange]. These are great to add to any nail polish lover's collection. Creamy, smooth, and opaque on two coats. Right up my alley. These are such nice colours and really served to complete this fabulous collection. They don't cause bubbling and I hadn't had any trouble with earlier than expected chipping. Overall, one of the stand out products of this collection.


From L to R [Natural Daylight]: Get Arty, Shopping @ Portobello Road, Antique Pink, Vintage Peach

From L to R [Natural Daylight] [TWO coats]: Vintage Peach, Antique Pink, Shopping @ Portobello Road, Get Arty 

Overall, this collection is mind blowing. Such amazing quality for drugstore prices. Essence really never fails to impress. I am definitely a bona-fide Essence fan and just cannot wait for upcoming collections. Great Job Essence! [For lovelies in Singapore, Essence can be found at selected Watsons outlets]. I highly recommend you lovelies to check out this beautiful collection!! Anyone else also loving this collection? <3 p="">

Stay happy and healthy!





Friday, 6 September 2013

Im BACK!! REVIEW: Rimmel APOCALIPS Lip Lacquer

Hello my lovelies!!!!! I''m finally back!! Sorry for the hiatus but school work has been absolutely INSANE. Definitely miss my beauty heaven and am so excited to be blogging again! So, so, so lets kick start this with a review of one of my HG lippies. I'm lipstick obsessed, open and proud of it. My love for lipsticks, especially those bright and bold babies, is almost criminal. Lustful Reds, Vivacious Pinks and Sun-challenging oranges, I'm so there. Of course, I love me some subtle ones for more gentle looks but bold is still my love. Lipsticks to me are the easiest way to look clean and polished, or even add a quick pop of colour on your face. Despite loving these babies, the one thing I'm a taadddd teeny lazy to do is constantly having to touch up my lipstick every two or three hours [sometimes considering drinks and food in the mix]. These babies I'm reviewing today have definitely gotten me in a happy dance as they are just about the perfect way for me to avoid my little pet peeve of retouching.




The Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers. WOW. Never thought that I would enjoy these so much! Naturally I got excited when I saw them when I was interning overseas and seeing as how Rimmel was hardly in my own country, I had to grab at least SOME. Naturally, I went for the bolder colours but I did get one that was more of a MLBB shade. I snagged up Big Bang, Apocaliptic, Stellar and Nova.

First, shade breakdown:

  • Big Bang: GORGEOUS classic Pin-up Red. MY FAVOURITE #enoughsaid 
  • Apocaliptic: Delicious Intense Fuchsia Rose.
  • Stellar:  This one is a little toughie to describe. One of the more unique shades of the bunch. A bold warm coral-leaning pink. Such a pretty shade.
  • Nova: Warm Dusky Rose with a slight mauve lean. 
Before going into the product itself, the name? Lol awesome word play on the word apocalypse. Great Job Rimmel! The word play is almost enough to make people stop when walking through the makeup aisle and go oh? Packaging is really nice too with the gem-cut top and the simple lip-gloss packaging configuration. The wand for this product is really interesting. It looks like a typical doe foot applicator but right in the centre [as I have circled in the picture], there is a well there, so as to pick up more product at one go and avoid having to constantly re-dip your wand for more product. Pretty nifty imo but I can see this bothering some people of potentially having too much product. Nothing overly bothersome though, as you can easily scrape excess product at the sides of the tube.


Natural Daylight from L to R: Stellar, Apocaliptic, Big Bang,  Nova

With Camera Flash from L to R: Stellar, Apocaliptic, Big Bang,  Nova
As you can see from the swatches, the colours are really pigmented. Talk about lovely payoff. Now, bear in mind that I can only speak for the cream colours as I did not try any of the glittery shades [I prefer cream finishes on my lips in general], They swatch and apply to the lips beautifully without any skipping or patchiness on my lips. Lovely. Also, they can be opaque in one coat [depending on how much product you have on your wand at the point that you apply]. They initially have a glossy texture when applied that is nice and not overbearing. Just adds a nice sheen to your lips. However, as time goes by, these babies dry off to a more matte finish. AND BOY DO THEY STAY ON. I'm a massive caffeine guzzler so throughout the day, it's rare to see me with a cup of Joe or tea in my hands. With that, comes constant sipping and drinking. However, these babies have risen up to the challenge. They barely budge on me. Even after eating or drinking, they remain almost intact on my lips. Any lip product that does this for me is definitely going up on the HG pedestal. Now, as per any long lasting lipstick, these can get a little drying on the lips after prolonged wear but nothing out of the extraordinary [mild drying effect I should even say]. Other than that, I LOVE THESE. [aka where have you been all my life???]

So, I definitely recommend you give these a whirl when you are looking in the market for long wearing lippies like me. Rimmel definitely did an amazing job with these! Anyone of you lippie lovers like me enjoying it or have something to share? I would love to hear it!

Stay happy, healthy and lippie-equipped!



Tuesday, 6 August 2013

REVIEW: Essence UV Colour Correcting Base

Alright!! Here's to another review! YAY! Today's beauty item under the spotlight is the Essence Colour Correcting UV Make-Up Base!! When I saw this and the UV Moisturising  Make-Up base in my local drugstore, I knew I had to grab them and do a review! First of all, I love Essence. Great quality beauty products that come with reasonable price tags that still allow you to enjoy your beauty guilty pleasures without having to breaking the bank. So far, Essence has never failed to disappoint and with this product, Essence sure didn't once again!!




Now what does this base from Essence promise?:
1) SPF 30/ PA+++
2) Formulated for Asian skin
3) Contains skin tone correcting pigments to balance yellow skin tone
4) delivers moisture and creates a smooth surface for long-lasting makeup with its lightweight formula
5) Does not clog pores
6) Oil-free
7) Fragrance-free

The fact that this base comes in nice lavender packaging is a mini cute plus point. The squeeze tube-type packaging add plus points to the hygiene and convenience factor which I definitely enjoy. The product itself is a little bit on the runny side and comes out purple [so as to counteract the 'yellow' in one's skin]. As for smell, it has no particular over powering scent but does have a typical 'lotion' type scent.

without flash

with flash


Upon rubbing the product into my skin the purple obviously 'disappears' into the skin, whilst gradually correcting any discolouration on my skin [not that I have major issues on this anyway]. I noticed that my face seemed a little brighter and more luminous for some reason after rubbing this base into my skin! That left me pleasantly surprised to be honest! However this product does stay a teensy bit tacky for awhile after you rub it into your skin. After which, you can just proceed with the rest of your makeup of course.

after rubbing the base into the skin [with flash]

after rubbing the base into the skin [without flash]


Now for the wear-time on this. This stuff wore pretty well on me, leaving my skin feeling really nice and fresh for at least six hours under my powder foundation. This product does not seem to break me out and definitely did not clog my pores which I am sooooo happy about [I have relatively sensitive skin that clogs easy]. Not only does this base work nicely on my skin, the price point makes it all that much more worth it! [SGD 7.80  at local Watsons I believe]. Any negative points? Not that I can think of. Oh, however, this base may cause potential white-cast in photos due to it's SPF of 30. So do take note of this should you know that you'll be taking photos on that day. Overall, Essence has once again delivered and still leaves me excited to try more of their future products!

Verdict: Do I like it? : Yes
Would I repurchase?: Yes actually, for the price point and the product quality
Grade: A-

Any thoughts on this lil gem from Essence? What are some of your favourite make-up bases? ;)
Stay happy and healthy guys!