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. :)

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!!

Misses for March: Lancôme Teint Miracle liquid foundation & Revlon lipbutter

We all love good purchases that made us feel that we made the right decision and spending the money. The cruel truth however is that no matter how much we research on a particular product, there are just some products that might not suit us or we end up not liking them.

Today I would like to share my misses for March: Lancôme Teint Miracle liquid foundation and Revlon lip butter.

Lancôme Teint Miracle liquid foundation

I have done many researches online before deciding to give this foundation a try but unfortunately, it still doesn't work for me. My preference in foundation is one with medium coverage. Even though I have combination skin, I do not need one with oil control and I find acceptable to have shine even within 4 hours. But somehow, this liquid foundation just doesn't sit well on me. I have read on many beauty blogs that it provides light coverage but it didn't cross my mind that I would dislike the light coverage since the acne scars and redness on my face are still visible. Having the lazy streak in me, concealer is never an option for me, lol.

Earlier on, I mentioned that this foundation does not sit well on me and believe me when I say I tried different combination possible and I still dislike this. The combinations I tried so far:-
1) P&J Moisturising Primer + Teint Miracle + P&J Pressed powder = Shine appearing as fast as within 3 hours (disaster!!)
2) RMK Creamy makeup base + Teint Miracle + P&J Pressed Powder = Oil control is better but my skin feels tight and uncomfortable
3) Clarins UV Plus HP Day Screen + Teint Miracle + P&J Pressed Powder = It looks perfect for the 1st 2 hours and subsequently turning to an oil field once again :(
4) Dior Snow UV Shield BB Cream + Teint Miracle + P&J Pressed Powder = looks full coverage for my liking. Foundation stayed on the best with this combination but I just find it too drama to have full coverage
5) Teint Miracle + Chanel Mat Lumiere Extreme = cakey cakey, hiaz.

This liquid foundation is a miss for me not because it is a lousy product but I have certain requirement of a liquid foundation that I look out for which it is not able to meet, primarily in terms of coverage and oil control. For ladies with complexion not requiring much concealing and having normal skin, I believe Lancôme Teint Miracle liquid foundation will be able to recreate the natural light of perfect skin for you that you love.

Revlon Colour Burst lip butter

When Revlon lip butters were finally launched in Singapore, I remember I RUSHED to Watson's like a crazy woman, dying to try out the texture and snagging at least one for my own use. I happily bought Peach Parfait and Sugar Plum and tried it 1 week later. Despite the website indicating that the lip butters contain hydrating mango, shea and coconut butter formula that boosts lip moisture, my lips tell me otherwise. At the end of the day after applying the lip butter, my lips crack fairly badly. Maybe it's my lips drier than normal but at least for me, this certainly doesn't live up to my expectations.

Not sure if there are any misses for you but I would love to hear you sharing them. :)

Completed: Lancome Hydra Zen Neocalm Fluid Cream

I have completed another skincare product, yeah! And this time round, I finally completed Lancome Hydra Zen Neocalm Fluid Cream after almost 1 year (oppsss, damn long right? Haha).

Credit: Lancome

Extracted from Lancome website:-

This ultra-light fluid cream gently soothes and moisturises the skin, leaving it soft, smooth and radiant.

HYDRA ZEN NEUROCALM™ features a unique technology to provide intense, immediate and continuous moisturisation and soothe sensitive skin. 

What attracted me to consider trying this product previously was it claims to be able to moisturise and sooth sensitive skin. I have combination skin which is sensitive at times and there was a period of time whereby my skin is sensitive (with red patches) and the skin surface always feel tight and uncomfortable.

As you can see from the picture above, Lancome Hydra Zen Neocalm Fluid Cream is almost like a cream form but it is actually a very light and milky lotion, thus making it suitable for combination skin. After gently massaging into the skin, it seems to leave a light sheen on the surface but give it about 10 seconds, it will be fully absorbed into the skin. In addition, it has a light, relaxing fragrance that makes one feel relaxed after applying this.

It did not really help in soothing my sensitive skin but after applying it daily twice a day for about 2 weeks, my skin does not feel as dry as before. However, after the problem of my dry and tight surface is solved, I noticed that it is not as suitable for me to apply it during daytime whereby the weather in Singapore is hot and humid, I felt that my skin is over-moisturised and started to get oily. Thus, I only use it during night time when we need more moisture (explaining why I took 1 year to finish it, lol).

In my honest opinion, I think it will make a good night moisturiser for combination skin that is prone to oiliness and given Singapore's weather, it will make a better day moisturiser for one with normal skin than combination skin. Would I buy it again? I don't think so (in the short term) as there are other moisturisers in the market that can provide sufficient moisturiser to combination skin like what Lancome Hydra Zen Neocalm Fluid Cream claim to do. In fact, I would prefer the texture of Clinique Moisture Surge Extra over this, since it is lighter and more refreshing. :)

Completed stuffs!!!

What did I say about me being a good girl? See what I have completed over these 2 months!!

From left to right: Paul & Joe Refreshing Skin Toner, Clinique Moisture Surge, Lancome Miracle EDP, Clarins Whitening Pure Aqua Lotion, Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser

I bought Paul & Joe Refreshing Skin Toner during one of the sale at Takashimaya some time back because my toner then (which I cannot remember) is running low and the cheapo streak in me thought it would be good to get it since it was on sale anyway.

I am not someone particular about toner because I was using it as it was part of the 3-step process that I had been following in my skincare regime. Essentially as long as I do not feel discomfort on my skin after wiping the toner over my face and not cause breakouts, it's a decent toner. Paul & Joe refreshing skin toner was light and as mentioned 'refreshing' and has a light citrusy fragrance. I'm not sure if I will purchase it again but based on the factors that I felt fresh after application and causes no breakouts, it is worth considering.

Clinique's Moisture Surge is no stranger in this blog and you can refer to this post for my review of it.

Lancome Miracle EDP is a popular fragrance among many ladies and I had always been re purchasing it after all these years. This fragrance is an absolute love of mine.

Another toner which I completed is a sample size of Clarins Whitening Pure Aqua Lotion. The only peeve I had was the fragrance. For someone who likes fragrance in skincare, this is abit too strong for me. Other than that, it would definitely be a toner I would repurchase.

Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser is my love. I have raved about this baby in this post and I have no doubt about repurchasing this again. (In fact, I already did in the recent Metro sale).

So have you completed any stuffs lately??