Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow

The 2 Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo has been creating a lot of hype on the beauty blogsphere and I was really looking forward to getting them for myself. I actually had my eyes on Coral Glow but it was unfortunately not available in Singapore thus I decided to go ahead and purchase Pink Glow at $90 from DFS Scotts last Friday when I met up with Elaine for a dinner date.

Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo is a bronzer-blush duo which gives us the versatility to use it as a bronzer or blush. I personally like to mix up all the shades and apply it as a blush to achieve that bronzed, glowy look. More close up pics of this beauty.....

For ladies who dislike shimmers in your bronzer so that it can be using for contouring, you will be glad to know that the 2 bronzer shades in the pan are matte. The pink peachy shades do not contain shimmers but it was not exactly matte with a satin finish which is perfect as a blush. Here are the swatches:-

Left to right: Top row bronzer, top row blush, bottom row bronzer, bottom row blush, mixed

The texture is smooth and and soft and the pigmentation is amazing. The colours show up well with just 1 swatch.

A few friends have been asking me how does it compare to Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Nude so here is the tissue swatch for you, hope it is clear enough.

Top row: Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Nude

Bottom row: Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow

I would say Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow is warmer and more pigmented than Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Nude. Dior also wins hands down in terms of texture as Guerlain is just not as smooth and buttery as Dior. If you can only get 1 between the 2, go for Dior!

Here is the FOTD with Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow. I really like the natural glowy effect of this bronzer duo!

Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo is currently available at DFS Scotts only and I'm not sure when it will be launched over the counters. But if you really would like to own this beauty now, suggest for you to quickly pop by DFS Scotts. :)

Guerlain Shine Automatique in 761 Flirt

Lately I am on a roll on purchasing lipsticks and it is starting to worry me because I take FOREVER to finish a lipstick which means there will NEVER be a chance that my lipstick stash will be under control. Nonetheless, I doubt I am going to stop my lipsticks hauling! Lol

Today I am sharing with you Guerlain Shine Automatique in 761 Flirt (part of 2013 Spring Collection).

Flirt is a gorgeous deep fuchsia berry with shimmers. Honestly, I do not see how this shade is connected to Spring but well, it's gorgeous nonetheless! I tried to capture the shimmers on my camera but unfortunately, the picture below is the best as the camera can goes.

The texture is smooth and for a lipstick that claims to have shine, the pigmentation is impressive. The colour comes out bold and pigmented. I actually got a bit scare off by the strong colour that I bloated off some of it from my lips to achieve a stained look for work.

Here is the FOTD with Guerlain Shine Automatique in Flirt. I'm wearing US pressed version of Chanel Blush in Malice in this pic as well and will be posting a review soon:)

Many friends have been asking what are the makeup items I hauled from the certain Tokyo trip and here it is (excluding miscellaneous items from drugstore). Do stay tuned for the reviews. :)

Back from Tokyo

Sorry for the week long silence as I have been away. This time, I am off to Tokyo for holiday and it was a super good break! Had fun exploring the city, shopped a lot (lol!!), unwind and relax quite a fair bit too. Appreciate if you will be patient with me while I sort out the pictures and blogging posts. In the meantime, I will leave you with my favourite pic of the sakuras I took in Tokyo :)

Guerlain Rose Aux Joues in Peach Boy

Here is another product that was part of 'Project Swap' with Jacq and it's Guerlain Rose Aux Joues in Peach Boy.

Peach Boy consist of a matte orangey coral shade and a shimmery coral shade. The matte shade can be used on its own or layered with the shimmery coral shade which acts like a highlighter.

From left to right: matte orangey coral, shimmery coral, mixed

I personally like mixing the 2 shades together for that shimmery effect. Don't ask me why but I have not fully appreciate matte blushes. Don't worry about looking like a disco ball because the shimmers are very subtle and glowy after blending.

Similar to my review of Guerlain Blush G Sakura, the texture of Peach Boy is dry as well. The saving grace is it's pigmentation so go easy with the brush and blend blend blend to get the effect you desired.

I have not tried other shades from Guerlain Rose Aux Joues but BC commented that I look very vibrant after using this blush so I say this blush is a winner. :)

Laura Mercier Cavier Stick in Amethyst

Ladies who always in a rush in the morning, stay alert here, haha. Laura Mercier Cavier Stick could just be your saviour for that super fast and lasting eyemakeup that you need in a jiffy!

Laura Mercier Cavier Stick is essentially a cream eye shadow in stick form. Given that it is in a stick form, it makes application extremely fast, simple and also precise. My first Laura Mercier cavier stick is in Amethyst.

The cream shadow is in a retractable stick that come up and down with a twist of the tube.

Amethyst is a beautiful taupe shade (did I mention taupe is my favourite colour??). I couldn't resist not getting this shade even though I have other taupe colours at home.

It is easy to apply on the eyeshadow as the texture is fairly smooth. After application, do not take too long to blend as once it sets, it will not be blendable. I noticed if I blend within seconds with my finger, it's still workable. So my tactic in applying the cavier stick is to apply abit, blend. Apply somemore, blend again. This way, I allow myself to build to the colour intensity that I want and still get to blend them properly.

I compared Laura Mercier Cavier Stick in Amethyst with Sephora Jumbo Liner in Taupe to see any differences in colour and texture. From the look of it, Amethyst (right) already look darker than Taupe (left).

Here's the swatches. Amethyst (left), indeed look darker than Taupe (right). Taupe also look more silverish whereas Amethyst look warmer.

During application, Sephora Jumbo Liner feels creamier and smoother but Laura Mercier is more budge-proof and long-lasting (Sephora Jumbo Liner actually last pretty well as you can read from my post here).

Here is my FOTD with Laura Mercier Cavier Stick in Amethyst. It was a very simple eye make up with Amethyst on the crease, slowly blended up and eyeliner. Super fuss- free and quick. (please pardon the lousy eyeliner application, was really in a hurry, haha)

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Adored

Due to my face's natural oil field, blushes tend not to last very well on me, especially when I prefer powder blush then cream ones. When Tarte Amazonian clay blush claim to be long-lasting, I had to give it a try.

Tarte is not available over the counters in Singapore but there are lots of online sites that sells them. I got Tarte blush in Adored over under-twenty20 site for $42.

Adored is a cool candy pink shade with silver glitters are are visible in the pan.

Initially I had reservations on whether the glitters will be too much for me but sorry, I got to get the candy pink blush, I think I can live with the glitters, haha.

The swatch came out true to the pan and the glitters is visible but not over the top. I think the glitters could be finer, but I am fine with it. The texture is soft and smooth but definitely not comparable to high end products from Burberry or D&G.

The pigmentation is pretty strong and the lasting power is longer than my usual blushes at around 6 hours or so, but definitely not 12 hours as it claims.

Would I get another Tarte blush? I'm not sure especially with the never ending new blushes in the market but I definitely do not hate it. Do share with me on your views on Tarte blushes and the shades you would recommend. :)

Another week has passed again!

Hope you guys had a wonderful weekend, I am now super looking forward to my next weekend because I will be in Tokyo starting from next Saturday for a week's trip. Can't wait!!

I previously tried a sample of Lancome Genefique but had adverse reaction because my face turn red immediately after application. After a year or so, I tried it again and coupled with Visionaire, man...... the effect is wonderful. BC and myself noticed that my skin looks much smoother the next morning! So I went ahead and get more samples to try before committing to a full sized bottle.

For the longest time, one of the rooms at home has been more like store room for me as I have boxes and boxes of stuffs which were left in there for years and I did not have the energy to decorate the room and unpack these stuffs. I finally decided to get a new book shelf and clear off all the unwanted stuffs at home. My Precious Moments figurine finally see some light and I got a small Ikea sofa, side table and rug to make the room more cozy (still WIP).

My sister tried to bake Devil's Cupcake for the first time. Look yummy.

Finally, here is Astro in his ah pek mode again!!

Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in 500 Turandot

Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Turandot is 1 of the palette which I wanted to have but unfortunately for me, by the time I took to procrastinate and consider, it is unavailable when I finally decided to get it. Thanks to Jacq (once again!), I was able to play with it and fell in love with this palette all over again.

Turandot is a warm palette consisting of a shimmery gold shade, satiny brownish-pink, satiny plum and shimmery brown. What I like about this palette is versatility of the shades. For a simple neutral look, all you need is brownish pink with shimmery brown / plum. For the extra oomph, add in the shimmery gold shade and your eyes get the extra tinkle and lift.

For ladies who tend to avoid red / pink toned eyeshadows in fear of having the puffy eyes look, Turandot is a palette to consider. The red / pink toned is not strong enough to bring out the puffiness at all and is a nice change from neutral shades. The pigmentation of this palette is impressive and pretty lasting on my oily lids. Texture is soft and buttery and application and blending is such a breeze.

In my FOTD below, I have used the brownish pink shade on my lids and shimmery brown on the outer crease. Gold shade is used on my inner corner and brow bone and plum shade was used was a liner.

Here are the gears I used for the FOTD I created above. :)

Tom Ford Lip Colour in Casablanca

Another product that was purchased over Saks with D&G Luminous Cheek Colour Rosebud is Tom Ford Lip Colour in Casablanca.

This is my second lipstick from Tom Ford, following True Coral, so I chose a lighter and more neutral-lookin shade this time round.

The interesting thing about Casablanca is that the shade looks way lighter on the stick than swatched. One look and it looks like a brownish pink shade. But it looks more like darker when swatch and was much closer to being brownish red. On my lips, it looks darker than my natural lip colour (considering I have pretty dark lips).

Although I was slightly disappointed with the shade, I can actually live with it. However, comparing against the texture of True Coral that I had, Casablanca feels thicker and slightly drier. I am not sure why there is a difference considering they are the same range.

What are your thoughts after having trying Tom Ford lipsticks? Would know to hear your thoughts. :)

Dolce & Gabbana Luminous Cheek Colour in Rosebud

I have been wanting to try Dolce & Gabbana's beauty products for a while but unfortunately they are unavailable in Singapore. Fortunately / unfortunately (for my bank account), we can purchase them online from Saks Fifth Avenue and ship over for a cost, so I managed to get Dolce & Gabbana Luminous Cheek Colour in Rosebud to share with you here :)

Almost all of Dolce & Gabbana products are housed in shiny gold cases which scream 'CLASS'. The only peeve is it being a finger print magnet but can be easily removed with a wipe of cloth or tissue paper. Luminous Cheek Colour comes with a velvet pouch and the case has a mirror and small soft brush for touching up on the go.

Rosebud is a matte warm pinkish coral shade which look very feminine in the pan.

It is not difficult to swatch Rosebud with the smooth texture but it's more challenging to capture it on my camera as the shade is pretty natural and glowy without the intensity.

It shows up as a subtle natural glow on my NC30 skin and colour intensity can be build up. I believe Rosebud shade to be dupeable but the texture is just different and feels smoother.

Dolce & Gabbana Luminous Cheek Colour is currently retailing at USD45.00 on Saks.