Motives Double Take Lipstick Duo in Royally Red

I read a quote 'Give a woman the right lipstick and she can conquer the world' somewhere before and I always thought how corny it sounds. I would never think I can conquer the world with right lipstick because I always want to improve the look of my monolid eyes more than anything else.

However, duo-toned lipsticks have been gaining popularity especially in the korean cosmetic scenes and I personally feel it stems from the ombre lips creation. It's a good price to pay especially when you pay a price for 1 lipstick but you get 2 - 3 shades of lipstick, depending on how you apply and mix them. Today, I would like to introduce my new favourite duo lipstick from Motives Cosmetics Double Take Lipstick Duo in Royally Red.

Cased in signature Motives Cosmetics shiny dark navy case, this lipstick duo just look totally sleek and beautiful.

Here we have a deep brownish red shade on 1 side of the bullet and a metallic gold shade on the other. Formulated with sunflower seed oil, the lipstick duo feels smooth and comfortable on my lips and after wearing it for a full day, my lips did not dry up and chapped too.

As you can see from the swatch below (which is only 1 swatch per shade), the shades are pigmented and smooth and upon layering (first shade on the right), this lipstick gives a different dimension altogether.

The shades in Royally Red are versatile for daily work (especially when you are in need for a perk me up look, FYI that's me most of the time, haha) and for that special occasion (perhaps upcoming V day) where you need to look sharp and vibrant. Retailing at $34.75 only (with $0.65 cashback), Motives Double Take Lipstick Duo in Royally Red is exclusively available over here. There is an exclusive 10% discount for my readers so do PM me for the discount code over at this site.

Have you tried any lipstick duos and have any favourite? Do share with me too.

Motives Pressed Blush in Dreamsicle

Further to the review of Motives Mineral Blush in Empress previously, today I will be reviewing another blush from Motives. It is none other than Motives Pressed Blush in Dreamsicle.

Motives Pressed Blush in Dreamsicle is a warm toned peach blush that comes with a satin finish. I personally like orange and peach tone blush because my cheeks get flushed very easily so I always find pink toned blush just makes my cheeks look redder.

The pigmentation of the blush is impressive as I just need a gentle tap of my brush on the product and I can already see pigments being pick up on the brush. So I suggest for you ladies who are keen to try this product to go easy on the application and build up the pigmentation to your desired state.

So, as usual, I like to compare swatches of this new product to my existing stash and also take a look at how different the swatch of Dreamsicle looks like as compared to other products. I managed to dig out other blushes that I think look close enough to be compared and they are:-

1) Dior My Lady 007
2) THREE 24 Into The Ather
3) Benefit Sugarbomb
4) MAC Springsheen
5) Motives Dreamsicle

From the swatches above, you can tell how the blushes look different when swatched. During swatching, I found THREE to be the blush that is most difficult to pick up the pigment and this is no surprise considering Japanese cosmetics tend to lean on the 'natural and almost non existent shade'. Benefit and MAC has the same satin finish as Motives Dreamsicle but the pigment look lighter. Dior, on the other hand is a matte finish blush but would look closer in terms of the colour.

Retailing at $29 for 4g of product, you will get a blush that is paraben, fragrance and oil free. It's currently retailing at www.allyourfamilyneeds.sg (residing in Singapore), or www.allyourfamilyneeds.com (any countries other than Singapore).

Motives Collagen Core Lipstick in Motivated

What do you do if you often has chapped lips that makes you afraid to put on lipstick because your lips just kept flaking? I have this problem and will always need to apply lip balm before putting on my lipstick. If you ladies have this same problem as me, you need to look at the lipstick that I am sharing with you now. It's Motives Collagen Core Lipstick in Motivated.

The main benefit of Motives Collagen Core Lipstick is that it doubles up as a lip treatment in addition to being a lipstick. With hydrolysed collagen in the collagen core, it works with elastin in the skin to diminish fine lines and wrinkles. It also aids in the binding and retaining of water, which helps to moisturised and plump the lips. With Motives Collagen Core Lipstick, my lips feel comfortable even though I did not apply my usual lip balm before application. I also do not experience any flaking on my lips during the day.

Motivated is a mauve plum shade which I love very much. Do not be afraid to look goth after applying this shade because I can assure you that it doesn't. It gives my lips a tinge of plum pinkish tone that helps to brighten up my look.

Looking through my stash of lipsticks, here I am trying to find comparisons of swatches against Motives Collagen Core Lipstick in Motivated. The closest swatch looks to be Burberry Lip Mist in OxBlood with more brown tone in it.

Motives Collagen Core Lipstick is retailing for SGD39 at www.allyourfamilyneeds.sg and I hope this posting has been helpful to you. :)

Motives Mineral Pressed Blush in Empress

What make up items do you ladies not live without? For me, it would be base (primer, foundation), blush and lipstick. The reason is because I usually do not have the time to do much eye make up when I rush out for work so I just want very basic products to even out the uneven skin tone on my face and then brighten it up so that I do not look tired or 'dead'. Blushes and lipsticks are especially easier to pick up because they are usually affordable and small. We can always come up with 100001 excuses why we need that extra blush or lipstick. Today, I would like to share my new blush love. It's none other than Motives Mineral Pressed Blush in Empress.

The packaging is basic and no frill. Housed in a plastic round case with clear plastic cover, the packaging is as simple as it can be. (Sorry for the sorry state of the blush but you can see how much I have been using it just by looking at the picture).

Motives Mineral Pressed Blush in Empress is a nice warm pink shade with gold shimmers. I totally love it. A little goes a long way as this blush is pretty pigmented and the pigments get picked up very easily by the brush.

I know warm pink shades are usually my go-to blush shade so I decide to compare it against my long time favourite, MAC blush in Springsheen. So glad to see that the colours are no where close. Springsheen is more peachy than pink and the gold tone in Springsheen is also stronger than Empress.

From left to right: Motives Mineral Blush Empress, MAC Blush Springsheen

From left to right: Motives Mineral Blush Empress, MAC Blush Springsheen

At only S$28 for 4gram of product, I say Motives Mineral Pressed Blush in Empress is a good buy, not only in terms of price but also quality. For ladies concerned with ingredients in the products that they are using, you will be glad to know this blush is paraben and talc free.

In case you wonder where and how you can purchase Motives products, you can purchase Motives products at www.allyourfamilyneeds.sg (residing in Singapore) or www.allyourfamilyneeds.com (any countries other than Singapore).