Spring 2011: Guerlain Haul

Hello lovelies! Apologies for the lack of posts last week, I was out and about running business errands almost everyday...but now I'm back with some eye candy to perk up your Monday! 

Hauled a bit from the Guerlain counter (@Rustan's) last week, I got the Rouge G (lipstick) in 71 Rose Desir and an Ombre Éclat I Couleur (eyeshadow) in 186 L'instant D'une Ondée. The blush G was a gift from Lurvey's mom. *luckygalme*

Now I am happy to report that I am done with the Spring collections as I already have my coveted Guerlain cosmetics!

Blusher and lipstick (both in black packaging) are limited edition products.

here they are in all their gorgeousness. Fun and vibrant yet still sophisticated shades suitable to wear altogether. Individual reviews and swatches are coming soon. :)

♡,

G

Spring 2011: Lunasol Ocean Scene Eyes in 01 Warm Ocean, 05 Colorful Ocean

If you have been reading my blog a long time, you will know that Lunasol is my favorite label for eyeshadow palettes. The quality is superb and the color combinations always work together beautifully. This Spring, they focused on the sparkle and nuance of the ocean scene, hence the name of the collection.

There are 5 palettes available and they are all so gorgeous and tempting but I chose the colorful palettes because spring and summer are most the appropriate seasons to play up with fun and vibrant shades. I purchased 01 Warm Ocean and 05 Colorful Ocean on adambeauty.com which has the best price for asian cosmetics, shipping is very cheap too. I got my order in a week. (please note that I'm not affiliated with this store, just a regular customer) ^_~

Description from Lunasol: The scene of a boundless ocean will be released once the palette is opened. This is a four-color eye shadow set that captures the various aspects of the ocean.

Adopts Soft Powder Formula, which delivers a moist, smooth texture, and recreates the ocean’s wateriness and clarity with Ocean Nuance Color. Makes the eyes look so beautiful and creates highly translucent and wet-looking eyes.


01 Warm Ocean

soft pink, light blue, pearly white and deep plum shades

swatch:

<- no primer / with primer (UDPP) ->

02 Colorful Ocean

pearly pink, sky blue, canary yellow, hazelnut brown

swatch:

<- no primer / with primer (UDPP) ->

Pretty colors right? Don't be afraid of the colors that you see as these apply quite sheer on the lids, making them very wearable. The shadows are very fine milled and super soft to the touch. I've only tried 05 as of writing this post and I have to tell you that hazelnut brown shade in the palette is LOVE.

If you are a fan of Lunasol, you don't want to miss this collection, get an eyeshadow palette. Any palette! You will know what I mean when you touch the heavenly smoothness of the shadows.

Are you lovelies ready for spring time? :)
♡,
G

Happy Hearts Day NOTD

Hello lovelies! Its Monday again... and its Valentine's day! I hope everyone feels the love today, with or without a date. The important thing is that we are all blessed with a heart who can feel this warm and fuzzy feeling called LOVE.

OK before I get all mushy-gooey on you here's my NOTD for the occasion:

left hand

right hand (sorry its a bit blurry! ->shaky left hand :P)

HEARTS galore! Products used: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat, OPI Strawberry Margarita (2 coats), Essie Shop Till I Drop (1 coat), assorted heart nail stickers and Seche Vite fast dry top coat. The heart nail decals were given to me by sweet Eki. Thanks love! :)

Have fun celebrating Valentine's Day! 

Mahal ko kayo*,

G

*i love you all

Matching Lips & Nails? Esprique Precious BE280 + Heart-y NOTD

I was browsing my iPhoto and came across some pics I was supposed to blog about but never got around to posting. So today I'm sharing swatches of my Beauty de Kose, ESPRIQUE PRECIOUS Dress On Glossy Rouge in BE 280, a lip gloss I purchased a long time ago, and my (unintended) matching NOTD! haha! thought it was too cute not to share. 

got this from gooddealer.com for USD 25.83 + S&H

the flat paddle applicator has 2 sides: a fuzzy and a flat side

the fuzzy side is convenient to use and being flat makes it easier to apply color on the lips, I think the flat side is meant for thinner application of the gloss. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

swatch:

The consistency and color reminds me of Canmake Nudy Glow lip gloss. Its a moderately pigmented gloss in a soft beige-coral-pink shade with very fine shimmers, neutral enough when worn to pair with a lot of colors like green, blue, brown, peach, beige... It feels a bit sticky, but that can always be fixed with blotting. :) I also find this gloss moisturizing, which is great! I'm going to wear this a lot this S/S season, paired with some Lunasol palettes I got recently.

NOTD:

Essie Shop till I drop, 2 coats + Arezia (Sasa brand) heart glitter polish ~which reminds me of Nicole by OPI x Justin Bieber Step 2 The Beat Of My Heart. (please note that this photo was taken last year.)

products used:

Essie Shop Till I Drop, Arezia heart glitter polish

close up of the heart glitters

Its quite challenging taking those glitter hearts out of the bottle I tell you.

But its worth it. :)

Thanks for dropping by and an early happy Valentine's greeting to all of you!

♡,

G

Love Pack from Kat! :)

Just in time for Valentine's... Look what I got in the mail yesterday! From Hawaii, with love. Lots of it. :)

I literally gasped in excitement when I saw the Urban Decay Primer Potions, Kat aka galpalhi of Maikatoshaberi.blogspot.com knew I wanted to try those for so long. She also gifted me with a Dior eyeshadow single in a truly gorgeous shade and a couple of Philosophy lip glosses which smell amazing! The Body Shop's Shea body butter is very rich, im gonna use it to moisturize my rough spots (elbows, knees, heels) since the summer season is here and it will be too much for an all-over body moisturizer. The Quik Wipes are quite handy, just wet with water and the tablets become hand towels! I can't wait to show it as magic to my niece and kid cousin! :P

and... 

As if that love pack wasn't enough, Kat told me (yesterday) that I won her Charlotte Russe Cashmere Sweater giveaway! Oh the luck I have been bestowed with! :)

I can never be thankful enough to have been blessed with wonderful, sweet and thoughtful friends here on Blogger. ♥

Mahalo Kat!

♡,

G

DollyWink and Heroine Make Liquid Eyeliners Comparative Review

Hello lovelies! Today I'm going to review and compare two Japanese drugstore eyeliners, DollyWink Deep Black and Heroine Make Kiss Me Black liquid eyeliners.

in their original packaging, both are available at Sasa.com, prices online are a bit higher than   the Sasa outlets in Hong Kong, but still very reasonable as these are drugstore brands.

same tube size, obviously, I like the DollyWink packaging much better because it's cuter (hello, there's a bow!) and easier to spot in my stash than the Heroine Make's dark tube.

both have very thin tips, but the difference will be seen on the swatch, as seen on the photo below:

top left and right: Dollywink

bottom left and right: Heroine Make Kiss Me

As you can see, DollyWink gives a thinner line while the Heroine Make can give a thicker, bolder line. If its good or bad, will depend on your personal preference. They both have dark pigmentation and both liquid liners dry very fast, and when they do, they won't smudge and budge throughout the day as they're both waterproof but can be easily removed with plain soap as I did with the swatches. When it comes application, I find the DollyWink to be easier to use since the tip is a bit softer than the Heroine Make.

SUMMARY:

PACKAGING: DollyWink > Heroine Make Kiss Me

PRICE: DollyWink USD12.50 > Heroine Make Kiss Me USD11.40

PIGMENTATION: DollyWink = Heroine Make Kiss Me

EASE OF USE: DollyWink > Heroine Make Kiss Me

STAYING POWER: DollyWink = Heroine Make Kiss Me

I hope this helps those who are trying to decide which one to get! Honestly, they're almost the same, but the one I will repurchase is DollyWink even if its a couple of dollars pricier. You just can't beat ease of use especially if you're a liquid liner noob like me. :P

Thank you for reading!

♡,

G

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! :)

I already ate lots of lots of sweet and sticky Nian Gao aka Tikoy so all of you will stick with me al-throughout the year! ^_~

Bowie says Kung Hei Fat Choi! ^_^

On a random note, I saw these festive rabbit mugs at Starbucks a while back...

They're super heavy especially when filled with beverage, but so so cute! got a couple for me & Lurvey, who took the photos in this post, hence the watermark. :)

Wishing you all good health, happiness, love and prosperity in the year of the rabbit!

♡,

G

ps. Im bringing back the word verification step in my comments, I have tried dealing with spam but its driving me mad now. Spam is super annoying. I hope you guys understand! :P

Jill Stuart Nail Lacquer N 42 Coral Drop + 44 Sweet Venus (NOTW)

After that horrifying allergic reaction to Jill Stuart's Pure Lasting Makeup Base... I just want to let you know that I still love the brand (though I will be staying away from their primers. Ha!). I purchased 2 nail lacquers along with my Secret Tease Collection courtesy of sweet Jennifer, the CP princess of Hong Kong. ;)

The jewel detail on top of the cap adds sparkle to the bottle's packaging. Hands down, these are the prettiest bottles of nail polish I have ever seen in my beauty blogger life. Looking at those scalloped edged bottles is a treat in itself, it instantly makes me feel luxury and beauty.

Please feel free to ooohh and ahhh over the gorgeous bottles. Take your time. :P

Jill Stuart Nail Lacquer N 44 Sweet Venus and 42 Coral Drop 

This is how 44 Sweet Venus looks like on my nails:

Its very sheer, it took me 3 thin coats to get this color. 

It was very easy to apply, it wasn't streaky and the brush quality is great.

it shows luminous colors which change depending on the lighting and how the light hits your nails. Its quite mesmerizing. :) I took my photos under direct sunlight and it looked more pink/purple than greenish (which appears in darker light conditions).

Have you tried Jill Stuart Nail lacquers? Let me know if there are other MUST HAVE shades! ;)

♡,

G