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 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).

Burberry Light Glow Blush in Blossom

It has been a while since I last reviewed a product and today’s review is not one of those in a new collection that is screaming ‘COLLECT ME’. It happen to be a blush that I have been thinking for a while but never got down to purchasing it. It is none other than Burberry Light Glow Blush in Blossom.

I’m sure many beauty fanatics out there are very familiar with the buttery smooth texture of Burberry Beauty blushes and Blossom is no exception. Do you know that if you were to purchase Blossom blush now, it actually look more pinkish than the original one? Yes, this is true…….. The SA was telling me that the original Blossom blush looks more orangey while the new batch of Blossom look more pinkish. By looking at the tester Blossom blush at the counter vs the new Blossom blush, it certainly is the case. It would be nice if I am able to do the swatch compare side by side.

Looking at the swatch of Blossom blush, it is a beautiful coral pink shade which is quite pigmented. A gentle tap of my MAC 129 brush on the pan and I already manage to pick up a fair bit of product. I didn’t even have to re-apply the blush on my cheeks to make it stand out stronger!

For reference, I have included the swatches of my other Burberry Light Glow blushes in the swatch below. Missing in action is Earthly, which for some reason I forgot to include it in, haha. Blossom certainly looks like a lighter version of Coral Pink, in my opinion.

At $61 per pan, Burberry Beauty blush are worthy investment in my opinion, both in terms of texture and quality/ Most beauty fanatics I know have at least a few of them. You can never stop at 1!

Surratt Beauty.... just gorgeous

Thanks to online shopping again, I managed to score some items from Surratt Beauty from Barneys New York. You might be wondering what is this brand, and who is the founder so I googled it and found an interesting link on the founder, Troy Surratt.

Similar to brands like Addiction, Bobbi Brown, Inglot, Surratt Beauty allows you to create your own palette with the concept of mix and match. For those who are not willing to spend for the extra casing to house your eyeshadows and blushes, don't worry. The individual eyeshadow or blush comes with a plastic sliding cover which is pretty sturdy.

This is how my case looks like with 4 eyeshadow pans and 1 blush, perfect for travelling! One thing to note is that you have to stick double sided tape at the bottom of each pan so that it sticks to the case, as the pans are not magnets.

So what did I got for myself? I got blush in Ponceau and eyeshadows in Dore Rose, Ombre, Tyrian and Patine.

Ponceau (blush): Matte coral orangey
Dore Rose (eyeshadow): My favourite! Shimmery champagne gold
Ombre (eyeshaodow): Matte brownish taupe
Tyrian (eyeshadow): Satin finish in plum purple
Patine (eyeshadow): Shimmery dark taupe

I have to say the texture of Surratt blush and eyeshadow is very very GOOD. The blush is smooth and pigmented and I have been using Hakuhodo Yachiyo brush with it. Application of the eyeshadows is also a breeze because it is so easy to pick up the colour from the pan. It is almost as buttery as Burberry Beauty, Shu Uemura or SUQQU.

Price at USD 32 for a blush and  USD20 for an eyeshadow, the killer comes due to the extra shipping cost that has to be incurred to ship to Singapore. My suggestion is to pick this up if you happen to go to the States or if you have a few friends whom you can collate and share on the shipping cost.

NARS Blush in Desire

Another NARS product which I picked up together with the Tropical Princess eyeshadow palette is none other than the blush in Desire. For the longest time,my heart always go to coral blush (and it's still so true now) but this shade is really stirring up my desire for it.

Honestly, Desire is one scary looking blush in the pan. The bright cool intense pink shade really looks so strong!!

Desire is a matte shade so for ladies who hate shimmers in their blush, you will be glad to know this. Considering the pigmentation of this blush, I have been using Hakuhodo Yachiyo brush to apply instead of my usual MAC Blush Brush.

Given the humid weather lately, Desire lasted at least 6 hours on my combination skin, which I think is pretty impressive. For a NC30 complexion, it shows it nice and pink without looking dramatic. For ladies who are fairer, just remember to go very light handed at the beginning.

Diorskin Nude Shimmer Illuminating Powder in Rose

How has everyone’s weekend been? Mine was relaxing enough but truly not long enough!! Why is weekend only 2 days and not more? Haha. I am already looking forward to the coming weekend because it’s movie date night with hubby and X-men!!! Before that, let’s get distracted with Diorskin Nude Shimmer Illuminating Powder in Rose (001).

Diorskin Nude Shimmer Illuminating Powder comes in 2 shade: Rose (001) and Amber (002) and is supposedly to replace Diamond Skin Shimmer which I know is a favourite highlighter among many. I have not tried Diamond Skin Shimmer so I will not be making any comparison against it.

Similar to the Diorskin Nude Tan Paradise Duo launched last summer, the palette comes in the same silver packaging with 2 shades in opposing quadrant. The 2 shades look light pink and coppery-pink. To me, the distinction of shades in the pan works more like a design without any functional use as I do not think I would use just 1 shade (unless I am using an eyeshadow brush) and would more likely swirl my brush across the whole pan to pick up the pigments for application.

Below are the swatches of the light pink, coppery pink and mixed shade of Diorskin Nude Shimmer Illuminating Powder in Rose. Even though the shades does not stand out as strong as a normal blush, I love how subtle the shades are to give that kissable cheeks look. The texture of Diorskin Nude Shimmer Illuminating Powder is smooth and not dry at all and I do not experience difficulties in using my MAC brush to pick up the powders.

From left to right: Light pink, coppery pink, mixed

Diorskin Nude Shimmer Illuminating Powder come in a velvet pouch and a small kabuki brush (which I did not use). Despite the cute factor of the kabuki brush, I prefer my MAC or Hakuhodo brush for application.

Happy Monday people! Hang in there, the weekend is near, lol!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat and Mood Exposure

Hourglass is a brand that I never really has a chance to explore. We can sure order from overseas website but shipping can be pretty expensive. When Meryl quickly told us that Net-a-porter is having free shipping, I immediately jumped on the wagon and got the highly raved blushes from Hourglass. So here I ended up with Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat and Mood Exposure.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush is housed in a simple shiny gunmetal plastic case which is totally fuss-free. It does not come with a brush but it does have a mirror in it. You may think what is your hype about these blushes anyways..... It's a fuse of blush with their very successful range of highlighter powder (Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder) so it is supposed to give the pigment of a blush with highlighter function.

Diffused Heat is a bright coral shade which screams scary if not for Diffused Light Ambient Lighting Powder in it.

Mood Exposure, on the other hand looks plum in the pan and when swatched looks pinkish plum.

Mood Exposure, Diffused Heat

Mood exposure, Diffused Heat

These Ambient Lighting Blush are quite pigmented so you just need a light swirl of the brush in the pan to avoid looking like a clown. The texture is sooooo smooth....... You will love it. :)

Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic in Love Glow

Further to the review of Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette in Golden Goddess, today I will be sharing Charlottle Tilbury Cheek to Chic in Love Glow, which I purchased subsequently by riding on one of my pal's order.

Similar to their eyeshadow palette which helps you to identify the purpose of each shade, this is no difference in their Cheek to Chic blusher. The outer shade is termed as 'swish' and is recommended to use this shade on the cheekbones to add structure. The centre shade is termed as 'pop' and is recommended to use on the apples of the cheek to get the glow. Honestly, I find it hard to use my blush brush to just isolate picking up the outer shade or centre shade so I end up sweeping my brush across the WHOLE pan, hahaha. Works just fine for me. :)

In the pan, Love Glow looks almost like a coral pink to me but when swatched, it definitely look more like a pink. Although it has shimmers in the blush, I do not feel the finish is too frosty or shimmery.

The texture of Love Glow is smooth and I do not have any issues picking up the pigments on any normal blush brush. Although it does look slightly lighter than what I would expect on my NC30 skin, I like how Love Glow literally gives me that 'glow', which is the effect I love.

Clinique Cheek Pop in Plum Pop and Ginger Pop

Long long time ago while I was still young, broke and experimenting with makeup, Clinique is always my go to brand because I was battling my acne skin with their skincare products. But years went by, other brands came up with better products and somehow Clinique lost that edge. But recently, Clinique has definitely made a comeback with the cheek pops that there are LOTS of raves about it on the blogsphere!

There are 2 shades available in Clinique Cheek Pop and I had to control myself not to get all 4. Being very rational, I decided to go for only Plum Pop and Ginger Pop.

Not sure if you recall Clinique's not so pretty green plastic case that they always use to house blush and powders? Thank goodness that case was not used to house these beauties and instead a sturdy thick clear plastic case was used. I still remember one of my friends use to tell me she doesn't use Clinique because their casings are ugly.

Check out the print! Isn't it gorgeous?

Left to right: Plum Pop, Ginger Pop

Let's take a look at the swatches below. Plum Pop is a nice cool pink which honestly does not look plum at all. Ginger Pop is a warm brownish orange shade which is perfect to get that healthy sun-kissed look!

I have to shout this out loud, I LOVE THESE CHEEK POPS!!! The texture is soft and buttery (comparable to Burberry blushes!) and it last very well on my combination skin around 6 hours. The colour intensity can be build up from soft to intense which is great. Price wise?? Retailing at S$39 over the counters and US$21 over Nordstrom or Saks, I say this is a pretty good deal!

Chanel Spring 2014 Collection: Cream Blush in Intonation and Glossimer in Sonate

Another Spring Collection that I can't miss is definitely Chanel. In fact, me and Jacq has been eyeing this collection for a while and during our Jo Malone date, both our pockets are burnt by Chanel too! Lol. I have picked up cream blush in Intonation, lip glossimer in Sonate, eyeshadow quad in Quadrille and Illusion D' Ombre in Diapason.

I will leave the posting on the eye products in another post after playing more with them so let's talk about Intonation and Sonate this round!

Intonation is a limited edition shade from the cream blush collection and honestly the strong coral shade in the pan does scare me off abit. But after swatching over the counter, I was drawn to the coral shade. After blending, it certainly does not look as scary as I thought.

From left to right: Heavily swatched, blended

Initially I did think that Intonation is very close to Revelation which I already own so I made a comparison swatch below.

From left to right: Revelation, Intonation

You can see from the swatch above that Revelation is lighter with more brown tone. One thing which I thought is worth mentioning is that I did notice that my Revelation does look drier than Intonation. I do suspect it is due to usage and exposure to air? Not sure if anyone of you has the same experience as me, I would love to hear about it.

Next up on this post is lip glossimer in Sonate. Like I mention before, I am more of a lipstick gal BUT Sonate is soooo gorgeous that I have to have it!!

When applied to the lips, it made my lips look glossy and  very very slight redder (I have concluded it is almost impossible to let ANY gloss stand out on my pigmented lips, ha!). Good thing about Chanel glossimer, it doesn't feels sticky like MAC lipglass, which is great.

I will look into posting on the eye products that were purchased as well so do stay patient with me. In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts about the Chanel Spring Collection!

Dolce & Gabbana Luminous Cheek Colour in Rose

How is everyone's 2014 so far? Mine has been utterly crazy at work since 2 Jan and I'm somewhat sick just thinking about it. Thank goodness there are fun (and enablers) friends around that divert my attention to beautiful and happy things.

This post is yet another blush post because for some reason I'm on a blush high. Here I have Dolce & Gabbana Luminous Cheek Colour in Rose which had to be purchase online from Saks.com. for USD45.

Rose is a earthly pink shade which in my personal opinion might not work very well for ladies with fair complexion. I thought it will look abit muddy, but of course there is no right or wrong in makeup, what matters most is you liking it. :)

The texture of Dolce & Gabbana Luminous Cheek Colour is fine and smooth and it's not difficult to pick up the pigment with my MAC or Hakuhodo brushes. The only peeve for us would be that it's not available over our counters.

Dior Blush 756 Rose Chérie

Today I'll be raving about the new love of mine, Dior Blush in 756 Rose Chérie. I never thought that I will be attracted to Dior blushes, but this new range of blushes has really pretty colours. You will be spoiled for choices and I decided to go with a 'safe' colour, Rose Chérie.

Can you see how gorgeous Rose Chérie looks in the pan?? Pink with that subtle gold shimmers to give that gold sheen, it's just a beauty.

When swatched, it takes quite a while to build up the colour intensity but it also means you are in control on how strong you want the colour to stand out. A gentle sweep with my MAC brush gives that glow on the face and a few more sweeps and the colour becomes stronger. The gold shimmers do not look obvious on my face and definitely does not accentuate my pores or make me look like disco ball. Love it!!

The first thought that came to my mind when I saw Rose Chérie is to compare against my favourite MAC blush in Springsheen, which is a coral pink blush with gold shimmers. As you can see from the pans, Springsheen is darker than Rose Chérie.

From the swatch below, Rose Chérie leans more towards pink whereas Springsheen is more coral.

Have you tried any blushes from the new Dior Blush range? Would love to hear your recommendations.

2013 has finally come to an end and 2014 is just a blink away. I hope I have not bored you with my blog so far and would like to wish all readers out there a Happy New Year!

Lancome 'Warm' Holiday Beauty Collection - swatches

Happy Boxing Day! How have you spent your Christmas and are you still unboxing and tearing open your Christmas gifts? I had a simple and cozy dinner with a good friend at my place with simple dinner made by yours truly and I am glad the food turns out decent. Nothing beats having good company over a nice meal and we can just yank and yank non stop.

Today I would like to share a Lancome holiday set which was purchased over Nordstrom. I believe I bought it over a month ago and honestly I cannot remember the details (probably a purchase with purchase) except that this big box of beauty cost USD59.50. Let's unveil this set!

Lancome has 2 holiday beauty collection on sale over Nordstrom and they are differentiated by 'warm' and 'cool' colour tone. I opt for the warm set considering my warm colour tone. The items comes in a huge 2 tier make up pouch which is great for storing stuffs. So what do we have in this set:-

1) Blush in Sheer Amourose

2) 3 eyeshadows in Kitten Heel, Madison Avenue and Latte

3) 'Bi-Facil' Double Action Eye Makeup Remover

4) Advanced Genefique

5) Lipsticks in Pink to The Club and Sugared Maple

6) Juicy Tube

7) Mascara

8) Pencil eyeliner

9) 'La Base' Pro Perfecting Makeup Primer

10) All Over eyeshadow brush

11) Eyeliner brush

It is a pretty well valued set considering the stuffs that comes with in it.

Swatches from left to right: Pink to The Club (lipstick), Sugared Maple (lipstick), Juicy tube, Kitten Heel (eyeshadow), Madison Avenue (eyeshadow), Latte (eyeshadow), Sheer Amourose (blush)

After trying out the items, there are a few touch and go for me. 

Love:-

1) Blush in Sheer Amourose

2) Eyeshadow in Kitten Heel (felt smoother than Madison Avenue & Latte)

3) Lipstick in Sugared Maple

4) Juicy Tube

5) Advanced Genefique (have been using it so this is great for travelling)

6) 'Bi-Facil' Double Action Eye Makeup Remover

7) Mascara

Meh:-

1) Lipstick in Pink to The Club (too frosty for my liking)

2) Eyeshadows in Madison Avenue and Latte (texture abit dry)

3) Pencil eyeliner (smudges on me)

4) All Over eyeshadow brush (I am too spoilt by good brushes from MAC and Hakuhodo)

5) Eyeliner brush (tip too big for an eyueliner, I felt)

Although I did not fall in love with all the products in this beauty set, USD 59.50 is definitely a good value set especially when you are purchasing stuffs and this set becomes an 'along the way' purchase. Otherwise, do take note of the shipping cost. :)

Chanel Joues Contraste in Accent

Once again, sorry for the silence. I have finally step into my new role with a new company and am both excited and scared at the same time. But I told myself, I will survive!!! Stay positive, ganbatte!!! Lol. On a happy note, my motivation to play with more makeup in the morning is back and I hope I am able to give more prompt and better reviews on this blog. Thank you for being so patient with me. :)

Enough of the rumbling and let's get down to business, haha. Today I will be sharing Chanel Joues Contraste in Accent, which is part of 2013 Holiday Collection. Although this collection is already out in Singapore, I was determined to purchase the US formula. Thus with my partners in crime, Jacq and Meryl, we ordered our products from Nordstrom.

Accent is a beautiful mauve pink tone with slight shimmers. A total beauty when I look at the pan. :)

Based on the swatch below, you can see that Accent has beige brown tone as well which I absolutely love, as I prefer blushes that are not too bright. Do not be alarm if you feel the colour is too dark as it look very subtle when you apply and blend it out.

The texture of US formula Joues Contraste is amazingly smooth. I have no issues picking up the pigment by lighting tapping my MAC Blush brush into the pan. Note that this is not the case for the baked version of Joues Contraste.

I would say Accent blush is definitely a winner in this Holiday collection and if possible, go for the US formula, you won't regret! :) Do check out Meryl's thoughts on Accent blush as well, she has done some comparison with other blushes if you are looking for dupes.