Looking Naturally Pretty with Rimmel: Review & Swatches

I recently tested out three Rimmel London products. Read on for review, swatches and a how-to on achieving a "naturally pretty" look!

Rimmel London 9-in1 BB Cream SPF 25
Claims: It primes skin, moisturises, minimises the appearance of pores, helps protect against environmental damage, conceals, covers, smoothes, mattifies and brightens.
RRP: AUD$12.95
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Review: I truly am impressed with this BB cream. At first, I thought its claims of being able to 9 things was just a marketing gimmick but I quickly discovered that I was wrong. Its texture is very much similar to most primers and it has a matte finish. Most BB creams are light coverage. This one can be built to medium. I find its coverage so good that I don't apply any foundation or concealer over it.

This product makes my face look flawless. The only thing that doesn't completely work for me is that it's pink-based. I need a yellow-based version. Other than that, I'm very happy with this BB cream. It has simplified my makeup application process by a lot. It's the epitome of a multitasking product!

I know it doesn't appear very pink in this photo but when I apply it onto my face, the contrast is quite stark. I think this is a really good shade for many Caucasian women.

Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder
Claims: Goes on smooth to even out skintone. Offers a natural, matte finish.
RRP: AUD$12.95
Packaging: 4.5 out of 5
Review: Tanya Burr raves about this powder a lot. I've noticed that this is also a favourite amongst other Youtubers. I was really keen to test out this product and I'm happy to report that it is worth the hype. Well, first off, it's really affordable for a "hyped product". Secondly, it does what it says! My skin does not look like it has been powdered with this product. It helps keep foundation/BB cream on, making them last longer. My housemate tested this product out as well. She has oilier skin than I do. She also used a foundation that's poor at keeping oils at bay to test this product out. She was very impressed. This powder was able to keep oils from surfacing and made her foundation last longer.

I really like using this powder with the BB cream (above) because it is more yellow-toned, matching it to the rest of my body. The only reason I gave the packaging a 4.5 is the screw plastic cap. When I am in the hurry in the morning and my hands are covered in BB cream residue. It's a bit difficult to grab hold of the cap and unscrew. It would have been nice if they made it a flip top. But I think if they did, the price would have been compromised.

I hope you can see the swatch!

Rimmel London Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner
Claims: Glides on easily and precisely for a flawless, defined line. Its soft and creamy formula also boasts rich pigments to make sure that colour is sleek and stays put.
RRP: AUD$9.95
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Review: In my opinion, this is the most luxe-looking "drugstore" eyeliner that I've ever come across so far. It's creamy and glides on smoothly as promised. It's not soft to the point where it breaks apart upon applying pressure. The Nude shade is the perfect waterline colour. I've tried white and pale pink eyeliners and they look fake on my waterline. This eyeliner subtly opens up my eyes but makes a huge difference to my entire appearance.

The one thing that it has not managed to achieve was to stay put on my waterline for more than an hour or two. It's okay though. It's understandable. Eyeliners fade very fast on my waterline. The only thing that has remotely stayed was a waterproof gel liner. I think I am so happy with the colour that it has compensated for the fact that it has poor lasting power on my waterline. I can't wait to get my hands on other colours and it try them on my lids.

Now, on to the mini tutorial! This is for those who are time poor in the morning.

1. Apply the BB cream all over your face and some down your neck with your hands.
2. Using a brush, apply the Stay Matte Powder onto your T-zone and pat some onto your cheeks last so that the powder is least concentrated there.
3. Curl your lashes.
4. Apply mascara if you have the time (I tend to be slow with this step).
5. Draw the Kohl Kajal Eyeliner in Nude onto your waterline.
6. Apply some lip balm.

Done! You're out the door within 5 minutes looking naturally pretty!

Have you used any of these products? What do you think of it/them?

Makeup Mistake for Photography

I recently attended a ball and I was really excited, particularly about the process of putting on makeup. I even had a couple of practice runs a week or so before the event, trying out different makeup looks and making sure there's no foundation flashback showing up on my camera.

When I left my house for the event I was quite happy with the makeup that I had applied. Little did I know, a mini disaster was waiting to unfold. I went through the night taking and posing for photos with my friends. When I got home, I decided to go through the photos properly. That's when I spotted the white strips under my eyes.

I kicked myself for not checking the first photo at the start of the night. I could have gone to the bathroom and corrected this makeup mistake! I had packed on a lot of my Smashbox translucent powder under my eyes to make sure my eyeliner smudge into that area. And worse still, I did that with my finger. Luckily, this only showed up in the photos where the camera flash was used. I still have a couple of photos without that makeup mistake showing up.

I know it's really strange. Isn't that Smashbox powder meant to be for flash photography? I think in small amounts it is but when you concentrate it in one area, it somehow flashes back. I believe a similar problem has been found with Make Up For Ever HD powder. See Wayne Goss' demonstration in the video below.



So ladies, please be careful with your HD or photo finish powders!

Have you ever made any makeup mistakes for photography? Please share!

Triple S: Dramatic Navy Eye Makeup Tutorial

If you've read my post on Beauty on Pinterest, you'd remember how much I love this photo. So much so that it has inspired me to come up with a navy eye makeup look!

Pinterest.com

So here is the look I came up with! I would like to call this Pinspiration Look #1. (P.S. #2 is on its way.)

If you would like to see how I achieved it, just keep reading...

Step 1.  Cut out a strip of magic tape and tape it onto the edge of your eyes at an angle (pointing towards the end of your eyebrows). This will give your eye makeup a nice clean edge. Proceed to filling in your brows if you need to. My brows are horrendously thick and natural-looking, so I didn't fill them in. If I did, it would look horrible.

Step 2. Colour in your lids with a navy eye pencil, stopping just beneath your crease. Make sure you go right up to the edge of the tape. Here I've used my Bobbi Brown's Long Wear Eye Pencil in Black Navy. It is perfect for this look because it's very pigmented and long wearing. It has a slightly creamy consistency so it goes on smoothly. It's a lot easier and faster than slowly packing on lots of powder eyeshadow.

Step 3. Pick up some Naked eyeshadow from the Naked Palette with a fluffy blending brush and blend this into your crease. This will also blend out the top edge of the navy eye pencil to soften up the look.

Step 4. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo for this step. What I did was remove the tape, and using my Bobbi Brown navy eye pencil again, I lined the outer half of my lower lash line with it. I also drew the colour up to join with the top. 

Step 5. With a small flat brush, pat some glittery light sliver eyeshadow onto the centre of your lids. Don't bring it too far up; we don't want any on the crease. The silver glitter will help make the navy colour pop. I used Bobbi Brown's Rockstar Metallic Eyeshadow.

Step 6. Using a black pencil eyeliner, line your top lash line and your top and bottom waterline. It does not have to be perfect, you can just smudge it on with short strokes. Don't make the line on your top lash line too thick. We want the main feature to be the navy colour.

Step 7. Line the (remaining) inner half of your lower lash line with some dark glittery silver eyeshadow. I used Bobbi Brown's Gunmental Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow.

Step 8. Place some of the glittery light sliver eyeshadow onto the inner corners of your eyes to brighten the area. You can also use Virgin from the Naked Palette. I highlighted my brow arch with Virgin as well.

Step 9. Curl your eyelashes. I used my relatively new Shiseido eyelash curler.

Step 10. Load up your lashes with your favourite mascara. I used Rimmel's Scandaleyes mascara in Extreme Black.

Step 11. This step is optional. I put on a set of MAC #32 false eyelashes to make my lashes look as full as possible. They look wonky now because I did not know how to take care of them.

Step 12. Now for the face, put on your favourite foundation/tinted moisturiser. I used my Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser.

Step 13. Conceal any blemishes. As you can see, I have tons! My skin is not in its best shape at the moment.

Step 14. Powder your face, especially your T-zone which can get quite oily. I used my Smashbox Translucent Powder.

Step 15. Apply blush to your cheeks lightly. We do not want it to compete with the eye makeup. Choose a more natural browny pink colour. I used my Bobbi Brown Blush in Tawny. First I sculpted my cheeks with it, then I applied some to the apples of my cheeks.

Step 16. Line and fill in your lips with a nude lipliner. You may slick on a matching nude lipstick on top if you like.

Step 17. Apply some pink lipgloss to bring some colour back into your lips, to avoid looking like a corpse!

And there you have it! The completed look.

I also put my hair up into a top bun and wore some silver and navy earrings (to look more like the lady in the picture). I took a lot of photos for this look because I really loved it! It looks really nice in real life. Too bad I don't have a great camera to show its true beauty! But feel free to go through the photo gallery that I've compiled.



What do you think of this look? Love it or hate it?

Triple S: Smashbox Photo Set Finishing Powder Review

This finishing powder by Smashbox is a translucent one. I've read a number of reviews online and most people are happy with it. There were an odd few who said that it can give a white cast to their face and ruin their makeup. I was tentative about buying this product but the lady at Mecca Maxima assured me by saying that if I'm not happy with it, I can return it within 14 days. I happily paid $40 for it.

Just like most loose powder products, this one isn't very portable. A lot of powder comes out through the sift when I carry it around in my bag. So I'll just have to set my makeup at home. The packaging is decent, nothing fancy or expensive. I've used it a few times now and it did not give me a white cast, like the MM lady promised. What really impresses me is that it gives my face a smooth satin finish. It lasts few hours and you don't need a lot of product. In fact, the best way to avoid any form of white cast is to use a very minimal amount.

It blends in so smoothly that it's not detectable to the naked eye. I can only feel its presence when I touch my face and get a satin feel. It's does not feel heavy or cloggy as well. I would probably term it "lightweight".

So overall, I am happy with my purchase.

Summary

• Decent packaging.
• Not portable. 
• Amazing satin finish; "lightweight". 
• Lasts a few hours and don't need a lot of product.
• Not cheap but not expensive either.

What setting powder do you love and use?

Wicked Wednesday: May Haul

Okay, I think I've overdone it this time. I can't believe how much I've spent in May! In April, I had told myself I'd cut down on spending. I want to bring my bank figure up by a lot. The shiny plastic card in my purse seems to keep finding it's way into machines, draining my account!

At the start of May, I bought myself a translucent setting powder. At first I was tossing up between a Laura Mercier one and a Smashbox one. But since Smashbox is a tad bit cheaper and the lady at Mecca Maxima said that I could return it within two weeks if I didn't like it, I thought I could not go wrong with it. I've been using it for a month now and am happy with it. It is the Smashbox Photo Set Finishing Powder. Review to come! So that was $40 spent.

I was watch a lot of Youtube. One of the Youtube beauty gurus that I subscribe to is pixi2woo. Tanya Burr was wearing a beautiful pink polish that I've been searching for for a very long time. I tried asking her what nail polish brand and name it is on Youtube, Facebook and Twitter for a few weeks. No reply. Finally, just when I have given up, on her next video she put it in her description box. Essie Fiji. I immediately jumped on eBay and bought one for $9. This is only because the stockists where I live lack variety and I could not be bothered going store to, asking for it.

Source: polishmehappy.blogspot.com

Then, came one of those gloomy Saturdays when my fingers itch to buy something online but I was trying my best to not. I bought myself some brush guards (I'm pretty sure there aren't any stores locally that stock them) online. It was pretty cheap: $14. But that's still money of course. It all adds up, right? In between, I was buying a lot of junk food at uni and believe me, uni food is expensive.

The end of May approached I was so busy that I had to do my Bobbi Brown makeup lesson a couple of days before the win-$500-worth-of-products competition ended. I booked for a Secret to Perfect Skin Lesson. The MUA was so nice that she ended up doing a full lesson for me for free! I was so tempted to buy a product from her because she was so nice. I told my boyfriend about it later that day and he went "so why didn't you?". The next day, I went back and bought a creamy concealer from her.

I was surprised when she took a fresh new stock from the drawer. It was tiny! Just as well Myer had a 10% off sale on cosmetics that day so I had to pay $41. Is it worth it? I'll let you know in a months time. My boyfriend's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw it. He couldn't stop commenting on how tiny it is. It is Bobbi Brown though. You get what you pay for with her products and I plan on making this product last for as long as possible. 

You're probably thinking. No, you haven't spent that much, girlie. Well, the next expenditure will probably shock a lot of my fellow Asian friends. I went to Oscar Oscar and got a $71 haircut. I have never spent so much on a haircut alone in my life. Never ever. I don't plan on doing it ever again. To be fair, the senior stylist was very professional and nice. Plus I joined their VIP mailing list and got a free $30 Aveda treatment. I also had a 25% student discount. I can't imagine how much I would have had to fork out if not for those savings. Then again, it was the savings that lured me in there. If not for them, I would never have set foot in Oscar Oscar. I tried to get my moneys worth by asking the stylist to cut off more hair. I ended up getting more than what I bargained for. Now my hair is barely past my shoulders. I'll just have to regrow it and go back to $25 haircuts. It's just me.

So that was a lot of money spent in May. I don't plan on buying anything at all this month (June). Let's see if I can live up to the challenge.

Summary

• I spent too much money this month!!! 

Have you ever spent a lot of money on a product/service and regretted it? Do share!