Hello again!

I started off this LOTD with a mind to pull together something Dior-ish but after ransacking my stash, I gave up on that theme due to my lack of Dior in other departments such as eyeliner, loose powder etc.

Instead, I would just call this yet another simple ole neutral. Simple but with a bit of a twist.

Some of the products that I wish to give mention to in this LOTD would be Dior's 5 Couleur palette in Frost Bloom and also Mirenesse's Inside Out 27H Eye Kohl in Atum. Both of which I had given mention to fairly recently.

While the look appears to be the usual neutral, well, who am I kidding it is a neutral regardless! Though let me break it down for you a little and hopefully give the look more 'insight'.

p.s. that 'line' on my nose is a strand of hair, not some weird contouring going on.

The Eye Look –

I first applied MAC's Groundwork paintpot all over the lids and just over the crease (resulting in that warm brown over the crease), followed by Dior's 5 Couleur Palette in Frost Bloom over the inner corner.

Following that, I applied MAC's Henna eyeshadow (limited edition) over the centre and a blend of Stila In the Garden's Moss and Juniper for definition on the outer-corner.

To add just a bit more sparkle to compliment the gold bits in MAC's Henna, I lined my upper lids with Mirenesse's Atum – the beautiful black liner strewn with gold pearls incase you forgot.

The golden pearly glint from Mirenesse's Atum spices up the look in a subtle way. It isn't overly noticeable but can be seen when it catches the light. It's quite lovely!

I know, enough of my eye already but I am uploading this last one because you can actually spy a little of that pearly green-blue tones from the light Dior shade.

On the rest of the face, I kept it warm and coral-y with MAC's Warmth of Coral on the cheeks and Shy Girl (also from MAC) lipstick on the lips.

Products Used:

BROWS / FACE
K Palette Brow Liquid in 01
Maquillage Brow Wax in 77
Biore UV Aquarich Watery Essence SPF 50 PA+++ (silver tube)
Diorskin Nude Liquid Foundation
NARS Light Reflecting Loose Powder
MAC Bronzer

EYES
NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base
MAC Groundwork Paintpot
Dior 5 Couleur in Frost Bloom 334 (top right shade)
MAC Eyeshadow in Henna
Stila In The Garden palette (Moss and Juniper)
Mirenesse Eye Kohl in Atum
MAC Powerpoint Pencil in Engraved
Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Feline (Waterproof)

CHEEKS
MAC Mineralzed Blush in Warmth of Coral

LIPS
MAC Lipstick in Shy Girl

Highlighted products were provided by companies/distributors,
I was not obliged to use/feature them in LOTDs.

And here's another quick LOTD update from me!

While I think the whole ombre hair trend is a little over done, I am actually quite grateful for it because with that around I can pass off my horribly outgrown-and-in-need-of-expert-hands hair as some form of an ombre. ha!

That isn't just my opinion and I have actually gotten some questions from friends regarding that, if I had DIY-ed it or had it done at a salon. Heh.

Though truth is truth, it is overgrown and I will have to do something about it soon. I am making up my mind about whether I should chop it off and try going short (my definition of short is not pixie) or just layer and keep the precious length.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks for reading!

Hello all, hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

A simple and honestly not very fanciful LOTD but I thought I would snap some pics from this makeup get-up I did for a casual dinner out on Saturday.

Initially I wanted to keep with the close-to-nothing-on look and kept my eyeshadow minimal but along the way I decided to reach for a pop of color on the lips, work on a flush on the cheeks and well.. this was what I ended up with!

Products Used:

BROWS / FACE
K-Palette Liquid Brow Liner in 01
Maquillage Brow Wax in 77
Biore Aqua UV Aqua Rich SPF 50PA++
Maybelline BB Stick Foundation
LUV Carat Long Last Face Powder in Natural Beige (to set)

EYES
Cezanne Eye Controller
Stila In The Garden Palette (Breeze, Honey, Nectar, Chinois)
CLIO Professional Liquid Liner in Black
MAC Powerpoint Liner in Engraved
Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Feline Black Waterproof

CHEEKS
MAC Mineralized Finish in Smooth Merge

LIPS
Guerlain Shine Automatique in 262 Extrait de Rose (sample tube)

Highlighted products were provided by companies/distributors,
I was not obliged to use/feature them in LOTDs.

For the lips, I decided to be adventurous and reach for this sample tube of Guerlain's Shine Automatique in Extrait de Rose (which I received as a gift with purchase with this haul).

Fuschia or colors that lean towards the pink spectrum is typically not my comfort zone but I was curious about how sparkly this looked and the formula sounds wonderful so... I gave it a shot.

Turns out it isn't as hot a fuschia pink as it appears (thankfully for me) and the formula feels wonderfully luscious on. It has a translucence to it along with a sparkly shine and with decent pigmentation, for this finish.

Here's a closeup shot I accidentally took. You know, when you forget to zoom out and think you're taking a full face shot but you're not?

I'm really liking the formula of the Shine Automatique and feel tempted to check out the other shades available. While I like this, I would totally fancy a red-toned one.

Thanks for reading!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Just when you thought I was done with my mention about Stila, well nope, I'm back!

This is Look #2 that I had done using the In The Garden palette though comparing to the first one, it does seem fairly similar. That is without a doubt as the colors used are the same except this time, this eye (shadow) look was done solely using the Garden palette, without intrusions of other items. The placement of the shades do differ a little as well.

The look still carries a mossy tinge as I couldn't resist and reached for the beautiful Juniper, which I used on the outer corner. I really should reach for the blue and pink within this palette more so they aren't all lonely and untouched.

While the look is generally smokey, I aimed to find a way to keep it 'light' so it works as a day look and transcends to a light night look as well.

This look is also extremely easy and quick to do. Once you've settled blending Bark and Juniper into each other, everything else is a breeze!

A bit of a complicated diagram but here's how I placed the colors for this look!

(click to enlarge)

Starfish (Smudge stick) - applied near the the lashline and smudged out

Bark - applied on 2/3s of the lid, starting from the inner side
Juniper - applied on the outer half of the lid
Breeze - dabbed lightly over indicated portion (over Bark)
Nectar - to blend out the edges
Chinois - highlight on the browbone

Products Used:

BROW / FACE
SANA New Born Lasting W Brow in LB3
Elizabeth Arden Good Morning Serum
Biotherm White D-tox BB Cream
Lancôme Maqui Miracle Compact (Crystal)

EYES
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Stila Smudgestick in Starfish
Stila In the Garden Palette (listed above)
CLIO Pen Liner in Black
MAC Powerpoint Liner in Engraved
Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes Mascara

CHEEKS
Sleek Powder Blush in Rosegold

LIPS
Victoria Secret Perfect Lipstick in Heartbeat

Highlighted products were provided by companies/distributors,
I was not obliged to use/feature them in LOTDs.

As Stila shadows are quite easy to blend out, I personally like dabbing that hint of color (Breeze) with my fingers so it provides a more concentrated brightened effect. Else it would be blended out into Bark if I were to use a brush.

I wore this look when this happened....

More about my new hair soon!

How is everyone's weekend? I've been doing a lot of slacking and a lot of sleeping. Not very productive... heh.

Thanks for reading!

Pulled a disappearing act for awhile there, but I'm back. Typically I find it hard to squeeze blogging time over the weekends because sooo many things are happening but I have loads to share and I'm trying to get them up as quick as I can manage.

Rambling aside, I figured I would keep with the flow and post up some Stila goodies I had received before diverting the topic to other things I want to talk about.

The 'star' of this entry is of course the Stila In The Garden palette, so I will give more focus to that first and briefly run through everything else after.

This botanical-inspired palette carries a lovely mix of shades suited for "every skintone", as mentioned by Stila. All of Stila's eyeshadows are formulated such that they can be used both wet and dry for your desired effect.

The palette comes in the form of a sturdy cardboard case that holds together with magnets. I'm not sure if it's just my palette but I found the magnetic pull to be rather weak as compared to other magnetic 'clasped' palettes I have.

Mine seems to push apart quite easily with a light nudge, making it worrisome to toss into a makeup bag or haul along when traveling. Nonetheless it should be safe to carry around if slotted in a safe compartment or would do no harm seated at a makeup counter.

The palette comes with a look book for those in need of a little inspiration.

In The Garden palette comes with 10 eyeshadows varying from neutral highlight tones to brighter accents, though a mossy green vibe dominates the palette. It also comes with a Smudge Stick in the shade Starfish, exclusive to this palette only.

There are no mirrors here which isn't a big deal to me because I hardly use the mirrors encased with palettes anyway.

(click to enlarge to see corresponding names!)

I love the selection and mix of colors in this palette, though honestly I am very easily satisfied. Anything with a good mix of neutrals along with several unique and pretty accent tones wins my heart.

In this case, Rosette and Freesia are beautiful shades. Even the deeper forest-green tone Juniper is lovely as well. Did I already mention, Juniper is probably my favorite shade of the lot, it seems to remind me of A-England's Saint George with it's deep emerald beauty.

Here they are swatch dry, with no primer. I should have done a wet swatch too. Perhaps in another post, another time!

When swatched dry, the shadows are still pigmented but carry a softer tone as opposed to when it's used wet.

Starfish, the smudge stick included is an olive brown with gold sparkles. When seen straight on, it's a definite brown yet it appears to hint at olive in person (or is it just me?).

If you are new to Stila Smudge sticks, these apply very creamy and can be smudged out before they set. Upon setting, they stay on and not budge like your typical eyeliner making it good to use either as a base or a liner!

Flashback to the previous LOTD I had done with the In The Garden palette. I used 3 colors of the lot in a fairly typical fashion, typical in my LOTDs that is.

This was the look:

I had Breeze in the inner corner, Sage in the center and Juniper on the outer corner. I did get some help from Wet N Wild to darken the outer-v and some Jewel Eyeshadow was dabbed in the centre of the lids.

Stila's eyeshadows do blend well and effortlessly into each other, making a very smooth transition. If you want something more distinct, you can use the shadows wet for more 'oomph'.

❧

So that was it for In The Garden palette. I do see myself using it for awhile and will share some assorted looks from this palette!

In the meanwhile, here's a brief rundown of the other Stila goodies we got in the bag, complete with swatches.

Smudge Crayon in Dazzle.

The smudge crayons are fatter than the smudge sticks and function similar to that of MAC's Greasepaint sticks. You can use it as a cream shadow base or eyeliner, though I think a shadow base is the popular usage. I find that it swatches creamier than the smudge stick.

Dazzle is a lovely brown-black shade with gold sparkles.

The next item is a simple ole liquid liner. I have an unspoken love for liquid pen liners and I think they are one of the best things I have introduced to my makeup routine about (maybe?) a year ago. I still love pencil liners but the ease and quick glide of liquid pen liners on the upper lids is the reason why I love these so much.

I shall give this Stila one a shot and see what I think of it.

The tip of the Stila Waterproof Liquid Liner is extremely fine, a lot finer than what I was expecting (though I don't know what I was expecting...). The darkness of it is similar to CLIO's Brush liner - dark enough but not pitch black like CLIO's Pen Liners.

The next product is their One Step Corrector, a very fascinating and adorable product.

This corrector contains a whirl of peach, green and purple to right redness, brighten the skin and eliminate any sallow-ness on the skin. The products swirl around the bottle and is dispensed through a pump.

The colors though separate in the bottle get mixed up together when dispensed but you can still see them 'individually'.

Of course they wouldn't appear as purple, peach or green streaks across your face. When blended, they mix up to form this light beige-y tone. I've not tried it on my face to witness how the correctors do their job but I'll share about that when I do!

On the left is a rough look of the blob smeared out but on the right is the tone it takes on once blended. I believe the dollop I have on earlier is more than enough for 2 applications.

And with this I commence my Stila goodies post and in good time too! Currently Chantana is holding a giveaway for the One Step Corrector and Liquid Liner (in black). Hop on over to her post to enter!

Thanks for reading and I shall disappear away again for the weekends. This entry was actually drafted up over the course of 2 days when it would normally take me one sitting on a weekday to complete. Does anyone else find it harder to do any e-activities on the weekends? Either ways, hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend!

It feels like a Sunday but it's only Saturday! *throws confetti*

Disclosure:
Products were provided to me for review consideration.
I am not affiliated to them and all opinions expressed are my own.

I'll attempt to keep this brief as I'm battling a headache from most likely napping too much. Boo. Who knew too much of a good thing would be a bad thing.

Regardless, this is my first actual Stila haul and I kept myself quite tame because I have hauled a fair bit this month and will share about those soon. It's like the haul-monster in me has been surpressed for a good while and is all of a sudden unleashed. Only not so dramatic...

My humble venture into Stila would be these two items!

In my earlier Stila entry (about the makeover at Sephora), I mentioned how we were captivated by the beauty of the Jewel Eyeshadows so of course I came home with one.

The quest was really about choosing one, just one, shade that I really wanted. I was hung up on the bronze-y shade initially (Citrine) but was detered to a lighter tone - Rose Quartz.

The product appears to be a mauvey rose-pink in the pan but depending on your usage, you can dab it on lightly for a subtle highlight (like I did in this LOTD) or pile it on for full color intensity.

I will post a swatch at the end but first, the next item! This is a finger pointing purchase and I 'blame' Mag for it. Though I mean blame in the most affectionate manner :)

I didn't have these Lip & Cheek Stains in my radar till Mag swatched the Pomegranate shade and I was quite swayed with it. Chantana also had it on (from the makeover) and even after wiping her lips, the pink tint of Yumberry was still apparent.

To date I don't think I own any proper lip staining product, not a long-wear one but a staining one, so now's a good time to pick it up!

The Crush stains (shortened name) come with a brush applicator and you click to dispense the product, much like their Lipglazes.

I think I clicked about a hundred times before I saw some product seeping up the bristles.

I picked Acai Crush, probably the reddest of the lot, because I was drawn to how intense and vivid the color was. I did veer towards the nude-ish beige shade as well (Mango Crush I think?) but wasn't exceptionally drawn to how it swatched.

It looks like a delicious blood red but when swatched (on my skin) it stains a pinkish tone. I'm assuming it could lean more red on the lips, due to the pigmentation we have there but I haven't tried it out to see.

Here's a swatch of everything, the Crush stain and Jewel Eyeshadow!

The Jewel Eyeshadow in Rose Quartz is such a lovely dispersion of glitter with a dusty rose base! I think this and Opal are good ones to look into for neutral fanatics. Blue Sapphire is another lovely silver-blue shade I can't seem to get out of my mind.

After snapping the swatches, I tried wiping them off and of course, the stain refused to budge.

(ignore that random liner)

I actually swatched all these before the Hen Night and I scrubbed with all my might but had to attend the Hen Night with 2 pink blotches (partially muted by then, thankfully) on the back of my hand...

I will give the Crush stain a go and report on how staining it actually is, and of course share lip swatches!

For long time users of Stila, what's your favorite item(s)? Or maybe it's best I not know...

p.s. I think the email notification thing for Onsugar is still glitching and is peeving me, somewhat. Regardless, I hope it gets fixed soon but regardless, you can also follow me on bloglovin, if you don't have an onsugar. Or google reader too, though that doesn't show the full entry, pictures and all.

Thanks for reading!

I'm certain that news of Stila being back in Singapore and available to us again has spread through our beauty community like wildfire. After all, it's the iconic Stilagirl, who doesn't love her?

I'll admit I don't have much history with Stila during the time it was around but my makeup chums (appalled that I don't own Stila, and I mean this is a positive way) had gifted me with a couple of items which I do love.

Though back to this, Stila is back and currently a resident in Sephora with a well stocked shelf!

Mag, Chantana and I were down on a Friday evening and the shelves (Stila and another new arrival Laura Mercier - yay!) were bustling with people. Whats more these shelves were facing each other. Can you imagine the congestion in that particular aisle?

Guess we have a good handful of makeup fanatics on our little island!

There are enough posts announcing the warm arrival of these brands on our island so while I had chimed in with it as well, that's not entirely the purpose of this post.

❧

Stila Cosmetics had arranged for a Makeup demonstration, part of promoting their new Spring 2012 makeup palette - In the Garden.

Long-time Stila Makeup Artist Dominick Briguglio (his twitter) was invited down all the way from USA to show us 2 looks that can be using this palette (and a mix of other products).

The first model for the night was none other than Chantana!

Sorry, not very flattering shot of Dominic but Chantana is cute here!

The first look was a more color focussed one, making use of the mossy-greens available in the palette.

Dominic started off by prepping the skin with some color-correcting primer, liquid foundation and concealer.

I didn't take down a mental note of the entire procedure, colors used though I do have a rough idea. Maybe I can try replicating it from the little fragments I am able to recall.

Though here are more pictures of the makeover process.

The overall look is a mossy-green with an added accent of pinkish-purple on the inner lids - using rosette (only purple in the palette).

Finishing the eyelook with liner and mascara, Dominic added some color to the lips and cheeks.

Cheek: Lillium Convertible Cheek and Lip Color

According to Mag's informative run-down, the cheek item used was Stila's Custom Color blush in Coral (oops, how did I get Lillium?)
Lips: Yumberry Crush Lip and Cheek Stain with Lipglaze in Grapefruit over.

After Chantana's makeover, Dominic demonstrated Look #2 on a different model. Look #2 was suppose to be a smokey yet midly natural.

We stuck around for a bit before adjourning to the Stila shelf to avoid the demo-watching crowd. We were particularly drawn towards the Stila Jewel Eyeshadow which was used in Look #2 because they look so shimmery and lovely!

However the Stila shelf was already bustling with people hunting down products used in Look #1. After some joustling, we got to swatch the Jewel Eyeshadow shades and they were all lovely! Decisions, decisions....

Of course I only swatched the ones I was attracted to but there are loads of lovely shades. Kas recently picked up Amethyst, one of the darker tones, and did a look with it here!

We enabled each other, swatched a couple of products and ooh-aahed at everything. It was a fun time makeup shopping with pals and in the process of enabling, our combined (keyword: combined) shopping basket looked a little something like this.

Will post up my haul very soon! Time has been tight (again) these days but I will stick around as best as I can *shakes a determind fist*

Have you checked out Stila? Picked up anything since their return?

Thanks for reading!

This weekend flew by like a blur (as always) and so many significant things have occurred, one of them being me attending my very first Hens' Night! Or Bachelorette party as some may call it.

Before I talk about the night, I thought I would briefly share some pictures of the look I had on.

If you remember my woe on twitter and seen me around events in my frames, thankfully my contacts were ready just the day before so I didn't have to wear glasses to a Hens Night! It probably wouldn't matter but I wanted to go all out with lashes and the works, which I realize I haven't done in forever!

I had amassed a couple of Stila stuff, some received and some purchased, last week and will feature them shortly but I just couldn't wait to try them out.

In this look I used shades from Stila's In The Garden Palette, their spring 2012 offering. I wanted to mix up something fun and colorful but in the end, I went for a safe smokey moss-green look. I figured I didn't have the time to experiment and given my lack of color-use lately, it could be bad.

The highlight (literally) of this look would actually be the Stila Jewel Eyeshadow in Rose Quartz that I had dabbed, very moderately, in the centre of my lids for some added bling. Though sadly, since everything is shimmery in camera flash, the effect isn't as obvious in these pictures.

Perhaps next time! But it was beautifully (and subtlely) bling in person!

Will go into details about In The Garden's shades soon but for those familiar to it, it's

• Breeze in the inner corner
• Sage in the middle
• Juniper on the outer corner. Love love love Juniper!

Products Used:

BROW / FACE
SANA New Born Lasting W Brow in LB3
Elizabeth Arden Good Morning Serum
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation
Lancôme Teint Miracle Compact Powder (to set)

EYES
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Benefit Skinny Jeans Creaseless Cream Shadow
Stila In the Garden Palette (Breeze / Sage / Juniper)
Wet N Wild Palette in Comfort Zone
Stila Jewel Eyeshadow in Rose Quartz (lightly dabbed in the centre of lids)
28 Color Palette (crease blending & highlight)
Majolica Majorca Neo Automatic Liner
MAC Powerpoint Liner in Engraved
Canmake Lashes in 01 / Dolly Wink Eyelash Glue

CHEEKS
MAC Mineralized Blush in Happy Together
NARS Nico powder blush (as highlighter)
I Nuovi powder blush in Dolly (light dab on the apples)

LIPS
Make Up Store lipstick in Bare

Highlighted products were provided by companies/distributors,
I was not obliged to use/feature them in LOTDs.

I was in so much of a rush that I didn't put my lipstick on till I was on the way to the Hens Night, thus the bare lips in the above. Though I'm just listing the lipstick I had used, just cause!

I didn't have any proper outfit shots but over the course of the night there were some shots taken (by others) somewhat showing it. So here it is!

Taken from Nadia

With part of the gang, waiting for the rest and bride-to-be to arrive before heading in.

And a polaroid with the gorgeous bride-to-be, Clara, later in the night

Outfit:
I had on a slouchy grey tee-shirt (from Bangkok) paired with these black high-waisted Topshop shorts, along with these New Look wedges.

From the front it looks like a comfy attire but thanks to Smith's not very surreptitious shot (yes I knew you took a photo, I saw the flash!), here's the back.. which is also the reason I bought this otherwise normal looking top.

But enough about me, here's more of the bride-to-be on a night I hope she remembers for a good long time to come!

Board reads: I'm Single (for tonight)

Design done by me, caption provided by Smith and unknowingly modelled by Clara. Snagged a shot off her blogshop advertorials, muaha!

Here's the board by the end of the night, filled with polaroids taken from her missions and with us!

Picture from Jacelyn

All in all it was a night of crazy fun for us and I hope for the bride too, amidst her demanding missions. Now I know what to expect if I were to hold a hens night in future. I think I may have to rethink people I want to invite.... ha!

Thanks for reading, hope the weekend went great for you!

Hello all,

Pardon my lack of updates, if it helps I'm only left with 4 episodes of City Hunter! Heh. I guess it really is dangerous for me to start on dramas, because it's just so hard to not click on the next episode, even at 4AM...

Anyways, here's a quick LOTD featuring a few makeup items I have received as presents for my 21st.

I had a slight eyeliner imprint on my lids (damn blinking before liner dried) but I noticed and took care of it after I took the shots.

The above shots were pre-lip stuff and I realize I tend to take pictures before I use lip products and then remember about them after. It seems half the time I leave the house without anything but lip balm, realize when I'm out and use whats in my makeup pouch.

But here's the final look

Products Used

FACE/BROW
KPalette Liquid Brow Liner in 01
Maquillage Brow Wax in 77
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation
Lumiere Invisi-veil loose powder (to set)

EYES
Urban Decay Primer Potion
MAC Big Bounce Shadow in Reward Yourself
MAC Emanuel Ungaro eyeshadow in Mineral
Stila Kitten Eyeshadow
K Palette liquid liner in black
MAC Powerpoint liner in Engraved
Canmake lashes in No. 01

CHEEKS
Makeup Store blush in M05

LIPS
Estee Lauder Bois De Rose

Highlighted products were provided by companies/distributors,
I was not obliged to use/feature them in LOTDs.

And would you believe I've never tried the super famous and classic Stila Kitten eyeshadow... till now! So thank you Kas (cocomotion) for introducing this lovely color to me. I'm sure Kitten will be receiving a lot of love from me. And Mag (makeupstash) too, for the other two items, I love how easy the Big Bounce Eyeshadows are to work with.

Though I've recently posted about my new HG nude lipstick, it seems I'm also gravitating towards more natural reddish shades. It somehow goes quite well with my new bangs... I think?

I haven't managed to play with the rest of the gifts much just yet but I will post LOTDs when I do.

Thanks for reading!