FOTD: Polluted Rainbow

But still very colorful! The rainbow has been slightly smoked to make it more wearable. One of the perks of working at MUFE; I'm not restricted from any outrageous makeup looks! I was totally stoked that I could finally wear a rainbow look out loud and proud.
Colors courtesy of the 88-color palette.

Colors make me feel young so I had to strike the kiddo pose :p

Read on for description of items used and a not-so-childish picture. Up-close shots too.


Items Used:

Majolica Majorca Skin Lingerie
RMK Liquid Foundation #104
e.l.f. Tone Correcting Concealer
Giorgio Armani Loose Powder
e.l.f. Healthy Glow Powder in Luminance
Everyday Minerals Blush in Snuggle
L'Oreal De Crease
88-Color Eyeshadow Palette (A lot of colors la. Lazy to list :p)
Origins Eyeshadow in Glistening Granite (da smoke)
MAC Eyeshadow in Ricepaper (highlight)
Coastalscents Gel Liner in Indigo Blue
Bloop Eyeliner Pencil in Black
Rimmel Glam' Eyes Mascara
Prescriptives Eyebrow Powder
NYX Round Lipstick in Pumpkin Pie
Origins Once Upon a Shine Lip Gloss in Sheer Ruby



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Review: Stiletto Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner by Benefit

First matter of business:

BIG BIG HUG AND WET SLOPPY KISSES for dear Plue!

Missing the Benefit Friends and Family sale totally bummed me out big time (even more so for the 2nd time! Aiyoh... Why so outdated, Connie?), but I was truly blessed when Plue offered me one of her Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liners in Stiletto.

So pretty, ain't she? She's not superficial either! She's a beauty with substance and just the thing that I need (Fine, "want").

You know you can't resist her either so read on for the review and swatch. Great things ahead!


"Benefit's creaseless cream eyeshadow/liners are guaranteed to make you gorgeous as they line, shade and contour your eyes. Blendable, beautiful...this do-it-all shadow lines, shades, and contours your eyes with a lovely crease-proof, smudge-proof formula. Mix & match...layer on for the desired depth...go as sheer or as dramatic as you like with buildable color. You'll love the glass jar...remember to close it tight to keep your cream shadow creamy & dreamy!"

First thing you'll need to know is that I use cream eyeshadows as a colored base for my powder eyeshadows so that the colors would stand out more and also stay put longer on the lids. I almost never use cream eyeshadows as a one-wash color just because I think that it'd look sloppy. But that's just me.

Stiletto (such a cute name!) is a rich medium plum shade with light silvery shimmers. On the website, they described the color as "Aubergine". This is such a perfect fall shade and FINALLY I found that cranberry shade that I've been looking for. And trust me, I've been looking! I paired it up with my NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Eyeshadow in Penny (which I got in hopes of having a cranberry-colored shadow but it didn't turn out that way) and voila! Color perfection. This shade is also dark enough to be used as a cream eyeliner for a soft day look.

The cream is indeed very creamy and easy to apply. It's also a breeze to blend so if you do use it alone, it won't look too plastered. Eyeshadow holds on very well to the cream shadow, making them as vibrant as they can be. The staying power is very impressive! This marvel-in-a-jar truly holds up to its name. No creasing even after 10 hours! My eyeshadow may have faded a little but the Creaseless Shadow/Liner didn't.

Content wise, it's between a MAC Paint Pot and a MAC Fluidline.

I'm eyeing Skinny Jeans and Strut. Yowzers!

Retails at RM85 at Benefit Counters in Malaysia or USD19 at BenefitCosmetics.Com

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Day One At Make Up For Ever

I feel like a more serious makeup artist now although I'm not :D

Today was my first day working part time at Make Up For Ever. Finally, a more serious makeup brand! I had fun exploring all the different products there and already have a few favorites!
What I was quite disappointed with though is that I couldn't find a match for any of the foundations there. The texture of the renown HD Foundation is so beautiful as I've expected it to be but the shades were all too pink! The back of my hand looked like Miss Piggy's. It's not MUFE's fault though. They do have a wide selection of colors but in Malaysia, they are very limited. Only FOUR shades for the HD. They don't have any samples at the moment so I can't personally test it out on my face. Which means, no reviews for MUFE products for the time being.

I do have swatches for you though! So do enjoy the swatches for the Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil. They're amazing! Truly smudge, budge and water proof. I'll try getting more swatches of other products tomorrow :) I love the eyeshadows and Star Powder.


Read on for description of items used for my smokey gold look and the swatches for the MUFE Aqua Eyes. I'm heading to bed! Good night!

#01L - Star Black
#02L - Pearly Brown
#03L - Irridescent Navy Blue
#04L - Shimmering Plum
#05L - Bronze Green
#06L - Black with Purple Highlights
#07L - Turquoise
#12L - Blue with Green Highlights
#14L - White
#16L - Green
#19L - Light Brown

Items Used for Smokey Gold Look:

Majolica Majorca Skin Lingerie
RMK Liquid Foundation in #104
e.l.f. Tone Correcting Concealer
Chacott Loose Powder
e.l.f. Healthy Glow Powder in Luminance
Everyday Minerals Blush in Opening Day
MAC Paint in Stilife
MAC Fluidline in Uppity (as base)
Sweetscents Mineral Pigments in Flat Gold (lid), Hazelnut (crease), Sable Shimmer (outer crease), Midnight (outer V)
MAC Eyeshadow in Ricepaper (highlight)
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
Bloop Eyeliner Pencil
Rimmel Glam Eyes Mascara
Prescriptives Eyebrow Powder
NYX Round Lipstick in Circe (not shown in pic)
MAC Lipglass in Florabundance (not shown in pic)

sorry I couldn't get more pictures of the look. I was running late for work!


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Another Addiction: NYX Round Lipstick Review and Swatches

You know how some people are either a "Lipstick person" or a "Lipgloss person"? And then there are young girls who think that lipsticks are for "matured" ladies and on the other hand, grown women would detest "those sticky lipglosses" claiming that they're "too old" for lipglosses...

So, I've always been a Lipgloss Person and I practically have no lipstick collections. And then it finally started with NYX Round Lipstick in Circe. Man, did I fall hard! One lipstick grew to three and I've just placed an order for another two. And the fact that they're only 2 Dollars (USD) make them truly collectable :D And I regret so much that I didn't stock up back when they were only 99 cents! I was young, naive and stupid back then *sighs*

Are you a Lipstick Person or a Lipgloss Person?

Read on to find out why these lipsticks are so addictive and of course, to view the swatches.

Why are NYX Round Lipsticks so great compared to other lipsticks? Firstly, they are super creamy and feels like lip balm. I hate how some lipsticks are so dry and they chap my already-dried-lips even more but these lipsticks definitely don't do that! Although the lipsticks are scented, they don't smell bad unlike some lipsticks that have the typical plasticine-like lipstick smell *ugh!*. The staying power is quite applaudable although they're not like "Kiss-proof, waterproof, toranado-proof". Basically, I don't have to touch up unless I've eaten or something. The selection of colors is HUGE! And I mean HUGE! One hundred and forty two shades. 142! Okay, I'm done being over-excited. I always have a hard time choosing the colors because I never know which one to get.

Packaging wise, I think it looks really nice. Not as boring as the traditional type of lipstick tube but not too modern like those super slim tubes either. The black tube looks presentable and not messy. I like that they have a little transparent cap at the bottom which contains actual lipstick so that's they actual color of the lipstick. I haven't figured out how to pry open the bottom cap yet.

Let's talk about the shades that I currently have, shall we?

Circe: If you're looking for a nude lipstick. This is it. It's the kind of nude cream color that doesn't make you look washed out. The color is flat with no shimmers or any satin finishes in it.
I love this shade the most out of the three. This is a great shade to go with dark or smokey eyes.

Pumpkin: Looks like carrot juice with milk and a hint of reddish pink satin sheen. This coral shade made me look horrendous. I'm truly not suited for orangey lip colors. BUT I found a way to make the color more wearable for me :D I topped it off with a sheer ruby lip gloss that looks too red on my lips. So, I found a purpose for both products!
This would go great with blue eye makeup or even natural looks. And it should look better on fairer complexions.

Cream: A reddish brown with a silver satin sheen. This shade should never be worn if you have no eye makeup on. Regardless of whether you're fair or tanned. The silver sheen makes the lips look sickly and completely dulls down the entire face. Thankfully, this shade is able to reveal its gorgeousness when it's chapperoned by a strong eye makeup. This shade would go well with deeper neutral looks. Or even green.


Available at Cherryculture.com and Nonpareilboutique.com


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Swatches: Everyday Minerals Blush

I started off with Waffle Cone and then I just kept wanting more and more and more. Lord help me, mineral blushers are addictive!

I picked up 3 more roomates for my Waffle Cone: Opening Day, Snuggle and Walkee Talkee. Gotta love the names!

What's next? Corner Office, New Car Smell, Girl's Day or perhaps All Smiles? Or all of em? Yes, I have a problem.

Click here to read the blush review including EDM foundation review.

Read on for the swatches and color descriptions with Connie's thoughts!


Opening Day:
"Dreamy pink color and tangerine undertones add sheer coverage to all complexions"

Although it looks like the darkest color in the swatch, when applied, the plum-ish shade is rather sheer. The shimmer is less visible compared to the other three shades but it's still a "Sheen" blush. This would go well with green eye makeup.

Walkee Talkee:
"Berry pink shade with a kiss of peach. It twinkles softly with fine flecks of silver, imparting a rosy sheen to light up your complexion. Compliments all colours of skin"

Out of the three new shades I've gotten, I love this one the most. It is quite pigmented so one should be light-handed with this blush. Very very little is needed for both cheeks. The color is just very warm and goes nicely with my skin tone. A great blush to pair with natural eye makeup looks.

Snuggle:
"Radiant pink with a flattering peach undertone. It applies sheerly but can be layered on to give a cozy, luminescent glow that's great on any skin tone"

Don't you just love the name? So cozy! This is a very pretty color but I find that it would look better on someone with fairer complexion because the blush is rather pale. It doesn't look too natural on my skin tone but it should go well with blue looks.

Waffle Cone:
"A sweet treat for your cheeks, Waffle Cone has a sugary sparkle that warms your face with a soft brown sheen and mauve undertones"

Anyone who's getting an EDM blush must definitely have this in their collection. You can wear it alone for that movie star glow with a hint of rosiness or you can even apply it over a more pigmented blush for extra glimmer.

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Tutorial: Rihanna at the 2008 AMAs

Rihanna often has very memorable makeup looks -- in a good way! She always looks polished and yet she dares to take a little risk with her makeup unlike the boring old-skool smokey eyes that you'd usually see on the red carpet.
I fell totally head-over-heals for her Red Carpet look at the 2008 American Music Awards. This should explain why:

And of course, I attempted to recreate the look. Please keep in mind that I am not Rihanna and I look nothing like her and my eyes aren't perfectly almond-shaped like hers so this is just and inspired look. Of course, I do hope that this would give you an idea on how to get a similar look to this. We cool? Enjoy then!


Read on for the tutorial or if you just wanna know the items I've used.


Items Used (I'll post up the swatches later):



Face
Majolica Majorca Skin Lingerie
RMK Creamy Foundation #103
Revlon Skinlights in Peach Light
e.l.f. Tone Correcting Concealer
Chacott Loose Powder
e.l.f. Healthy Glow Powder in Luminance
Everyday Minerals Blush in Walkee Talkee (I should've used a more orangey blush)
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in Light Flush (on the apples)

Eyes
L'Oreal De Crease
Indelible Cream Eyeshadow in Nude Frost
Sweetscents Mineral Pigment in Pearl and Gold Silver & Diamonds
Manly Eyeshadow Palette: 1-I3 (medium rose brown)
MAC Eyeshadow in Concrete (such a b!tch to blend!)
MAC Eyeshadow in Ricepaper (highlight)
Bloop Eyeliner Pencil in Black
in2it Long Wearing Eyeliner in Black
L.A. Colors Liquid Eyeliner in Black
Flamingo Mascara
Prescriptives Eyebrow Powder

Lips
Markwins Lip Gloss Rouge in Pink
KATE Lip Gloss in PK-2

Prep the lid with L'Oreal De Crease. Using a flat synthetic brush, apply Nude Frost cream eyeshadow up to the crease, concentrating more on the inner lid. With an eyeshadow brush, sweep on Pearl pigment over the Nude Frost base.

Next, get a soft round crease brush to apply the Rose Brown eyeshadow into the crease. Bring down the shadow to the outer corner of the lid and shape the shadow into a wing. Blend the edges and the separation lines well.

Intensify the crease by applying Concrete into the crease, starting from the outer corner of the eye. Use a firmer round crease brush and follow the shape of the Rose Brown shadow placed earlier. Using a small eyeshadow brush, sweep Gold Silver & Diamonds pigment over the Pearl pigment for a white gold sparkle. Apply Ricepaper as highlight right under the brow bone.

With the eyeshadow done, the last thing you'd wanna do is mess it up with the liner! So, to be on the safe side, line eyes to your desired shape with an eyeliner pencil. Darken the line with a liquid eyeliner pen. If you're daring enough, darken it even more with a liquid liner. For the lower lash line, pencil liner will do. Finish off with mascara.

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Biore UV Daily Care Gel SPF 25 PA++

A super lightweight sun screen is very important to me when I'm wearing makeup because the last thing I need is to feel all the gunk on my face before I can even start with my foundation! I don't really "believe" in moisturizers with "built-in" sun protectors either. I would sometimes (fine, most of the time) avoid putting sun screen when I plan on wearing foundation so that my skin doesn't get oily too quickly as well. Bad move -- I know! That was until I found the perfect sunscreen for the job: RMK Face Protector N SPF31. But it HAD to be a 100 bucks for a measly tube. Sheesh!

So, you could guess my excitement when I tested out Biore UV Daily Care Gel SPF 25 PA++ and felt, well, nothing! That's the whole point! I got quite excited that I've finally found such a lightweight sunscreen and for a quarter of RMK's price.

Read on to find out what I think about this sunscreen!

Let's see what the package says, shall we?

Biore UV Daily Care Gel SPF 25 PA++ (for face and body), effectively protects your skin from harmful UVA and UVB sunlight with this fresh gel that eliminates dull skin, wrinkles and dark spots, leaving a light and non-sticky feeling.

Fast Drying Gel: Fresh translucent gel is light and spreads easily on skin. Dries quickly and does not leave and uncomfortable feeling.

Feels Smooth & Refreshing: Formulated with a moisturizing agent of Aloe Vera extract to keep skin feeling moisturized and protected from dryness caused by sunshine or air-conditioning.

This sun screen is definitely true to its description. Once the white gel is spread on the skin, it becomes transparent very quickly and practically feels like nothing at all except for a gentle cooling sensation. The sunscreen left no stickly feeling or even white casts that many sun screens usually would. This is definitely an ideal sunscreen for makeup wearers or peeps with really oily skin or just very afraid of oiliness and stickiness.

See? Can't see? Exactly! No shine, no white casts, no oiliness, no stickiness, nothing!

Seems too perfect? Well, it's not. My impulsive buying habit made me neglect checking the ingredients. When I got home, I finally did and guess what? The sunscreen is ALCOHOL-based. The first ingredient on the list is ALCOHOL. Water comes in second. No wonder my skin burns slightly and my eyes feel stingy when I use the sunscreen.... The alcohol scent has been becoming more and more unbearable with each usage. They just HAD to ruin such a neat product by putting in so much alcohol.

I love how light the sun screen is but is it worth the agony? I'd hate to put it to waste :( Now I apply only where I need it the most ie. nose and cheeks. Basically, I'm back to avoiding putting on sun screen.

The bottle isn't the most handly one around probably because I prefer slimmer tubed sun screen. It has a content of 140ml.

Available at major supermarkets and health care stores for RM29.90 or cheaper if there are discounts.

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Fall Tutorial: Last Leaf

The end of autumn is here with all those Winter Holiday collections popping up everywhere! I've never been much of a make-up trend follower but I did enjoy the fall looks very much which is weird since the colors were pretty neutral.

What I loved most from fall are the mahogany brown and reddish plum shades. Something about those colors give me the warm fuzzies. I didn't quite jump into the dark-plum-lips bandwagon though. Here's one last fall tutorial for you and if you've missed out on the previous fall looks, click click: Buttered Plum, Candied Apples, Cult of Cherry: Tempting, Golden Cranberry

So, what's in for the Holidays?

Hmm... I don't see much of a consistency going on there. But I'm totally feeling the glittery golds, glowy skin and taupe smokey eyes!

Read on for the tutorial. It's a pretty simple one.

Items Used:

Face
Garnier UV Protect (Purple)
RMK Creamy Foundation #103 + Moisturizer
Chacott Loose Powder
Everyday Minerals Blush in Walkee Talkee

Eyes
L'Oreal De Crease
Benefit Creaseless Eyeshadow in Stiletto (Thanks, Plue!)
NYX Ultra Pearl Mania in Penny
Sweetscents Pigments in Perfection and Blackstar Green
MAC Pigment in Provence
Indelible Gel Eyeliner in Endangered
Bloop Eyeliner Pencil in Black
Rimmel Glam' Eyes Mascara
Prescriptives Eyebrow Powder

Lips
NYX Round Lipstick in Cream

After prepping the lids with L'Oreal De Crease, apply Stiletto up to the crease with a small flat synthetic brush aka lip brush. With an eyeshadow brush, Pat on Penny over the Stiletto base.

Blend the harsh lines with the same eyeshadow brush. Apply Perfection into the crease with a fluffy crease brush. Apply highlight and blend well.

Line the upper lash line with Endangered. Smudge the remaining liner on the brush on 3/4 of the lower lash liner. Using a small brush, smudge Blackstar Green over the Endangered liner on the lower lash line and bring the green into the inner lash line. Finish off with mascara and fill in the brows.

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Do Glasses Make Me Look Smarter?

Yep! I wear glasses! I'm not bat-blind or anything. I just have a mediocre case of myopia (near-sightedness) and astigmatism which requires me to wear glasses if I wanna look at words. One should never allow me to drive in an unknown area at night without my glasses because I won't be able to make out the road signs which will result in me driving in circles for hours.
"But you wear contacts." -- Yes, I do. However, due to toric lenses being so expensive and astigmatism is a bigger issue for me, my contacts are powerless. They're just for cosmetic purposes.

I was sent a really peculiar-looking pair of glasses to review called Pinhole glasses. Pinhole glasses have specifically formed holes on the lenses that allows only direct and coherent light to pass through into the eye. Bottom line, the glasses help to correct the problem caused by vision impairments. The effect is immediate and the product claims that with long term usage, vision can also be improved.

I was rather skeptical about such claims at first but after experiencing these glasses for myself, I was quite surprised!

Read on to learn more

Let me first educate you on what my vision impairments are. Info taken from Pinhole-Glasses.Com because I wouldn't know what it does to my vision. I only know that I can't see well.
Myopia (Near-sightedness): a refractive eye disorder that affects our eyes' long distance vision. People with myopia have no difficulty focusing their eyes on close-up objects, but have varying degrees of difficulty focusing on more distant objects. It often first appears during childhood and gradually worsens with age - this is known as myopic creep. Pinhole glasses offer instant relief as the 'stopped down' aperture produces a greater focal range. Combined with the 'narrower than normal' beam of light entering the eye, pinhole glasses reduce the the blur circle on the retina, so enabling the eyes to see more clearly.

Astigmatism: a refractive eye disorder caused by a misshapen cornea at the front of the eye. The resultant image processed by the brain is blurred, the degree of blur determined by the distance between the two points on the retina. The closer the points are the less blurred the image appears. Pinhole glasses reduce the blur of astigmatism by limiting the distance between the two points of light on the retina, thus helping sufferers to see more clearly.

These glasses also help hyperopia (long-sightedness), presbyopia, computer vision syndrome and cataracts.

Click here for more info on how the glasses work

My first impression on these are that the design was looking a little, shall we say, retro? Not the most stylish glasses around but they fit well and don't hurt my head nor do they cause any nausea (you know how you get that with some glasses and sunnies?).

I actually CAN see better with these glasses on, can you believe it? I did some tests, multiple times and I could actually read words that are small and far away that I couldn't see without my glasses on. We can now put a check on the instant-relief claim!

The glasses still need some getting used to because looking through the holes can be somewhat irritating at times especially while watching TV but for reading and walking around it's okay. These glasses cannot be used for driving and other motion tasks because the glasses restrict peripheral vision. They can't be used as sunnies either although they look very much so like sunnies.

According to my eye test results, there has been no decrease in the power. No increase either so that's a good thing! I still don't have "perfect" vision yet because I'm lazy to wear glasses but I find that I can focus on words better than before. Imagine my amazement when I could actually take notes in class without my glasses!

With time and diligence, I do believe that these pinhole glasses will work. The price isn't too bad either at USD14.99 (10 bucks each if you buy 3 pairs!). Cheaper than prescription glasses anyway so they're definitely worth the try.


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Monday is Aspirin Mask Day!

I have a new beauty ritual now. Every Monday night I will do an Aspirin mask. Familiar? For those who've never heard of Aspirin masks, it is a facial mask (and scrub!) well, made out of good old Aspirin! Aspirin aka Acetylsalicylic acid is a type of Beta Hydroxy acid. As if it really matters what those scientific names are, here's the real deal about what salicylic acid does for the skin:

"Salicylic acid is a great exfoliant especially for people with acne-prone skin. Its has the ability to penetrate the pore. It can therefore exfoliate within the pore as well as the surface of the skin. This reduces blackheads, blemishes and whiteheads. Salicylic acid also has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which is another reason why it is good at treating breakouts.
Salicylic acid breaks down keratin, a protein that forms part of the skin structure. This causes shedding of skin cells, removing warts, calluses, verrucas and improving cell turnover.
It also reduces oiliness, skin discoloration and appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It improves collagen production, skin thickness and barrier functions.
When used in combination with other treatments, it allows their ingredients to penetrate the skin more easily and effectively." -- Beautifulwithbrains.Wordpress.Com

That's good news for the skin, no? At only 40 cents per usage, it's a dream come true.

Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to make this mask. It's dead simple! Promise! If you've tried this mask before, do share your experience.

What You'll Need...

2 tablets of uncoated Aspirin, water, cleansing gel

1. Place the tablets in a dry palm
2. Drip a few drops of water on the tablets and watch it fizz
3. Add in a little squirt of cleansing gel which helps the aspirin adhere
   
4. Mix everything together and make more fizz

5. Apply a thin layer of the mixture on dry skin. Avoid eye and lip area
6. Leave the mask on for around 10 minutes
7. Wet your palms and gently scrub for a minute or two
8. Rinse off and follow with moisturizer

Can you see the difference? Well, not so much but if you squint hard enough you should see that the pores look smaller, the texture of the skin is finer and more luminous.

Despite its greatness, it has a downside. The salicylic acid may irritate the skin and cause an allergic reaction to some people. This is a very harsh and drying mask so be sure to use the tablets sparingly. I've heard of some recipes that consists of 5-7 tablets and I personally think that's too much! 2 is already quite strong for me. Also, do the mask not more than once a week. Excessive exfoliation can severely damage the skin, causing hypersensitivity.

This is gotta be THE BEST budget beauty home recipe. The brand of uncoated aspirin that can be easily found is Dispirin and it goes for RM1.60 for 12 tablets at Guardian Pharmacy.

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I'm Still Here

Ello peeps! HALF of my readers went missing since I haven't updated over the weekend. Come back! I'm getting back in action!

So, let me bore you with what I've been up to.

Thursday: Went shopping with Plue and Carmen and I bought loads of "essentials" and raided some cosmetic counters. Wahahahaha. I received my online purchases packages as well. I'll have a separate post for that eventful day.

Friday: I was working at the health fair in PWTC for a Natural/Organic skin care line

Saturday: I bought some stuff from the Natural/Organic skin care line

Sunday: I was working at RMK.

So you see, I do have a life besides beauty blogging although my life has everything to do with beauty blogging. Let's see what products will soon be reviewed (if they're worth reviewing, that is):

Thursday: Biore UV gel, Simple Hydrating Light Moisturizer, Rimmel Lipstick, BabyBlue Lipstick (RM5 and worth the risk!), Benefit Cream Shadow/Liner in Stiletto (Thanks, Pluey!!), Chacott Loose Powder (Thanks X 2 Pluey!!)

Friday: Eczema. I've been wanting to do this forever and didn't cuz I couldn't find suitable info but I finally did!

Er... and loads more stuff to come. I gotta go. The cafe's closing. So, don't abandon me! Because I never did abandon you.
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Great Things Happen When I'm Bored

I spent the past few hours watching YouTube videos when I'm supposed to be starting on a report that I have to hand in tomorrow 8:30 in the morning. *yikes!*

The itch to play with makeup has been annoying the hell outta me for quite some time now. Finally, here are two looks that I came up with tonight! All colors from the Manly 80-Color Palette just because I'm lazy to search for the other shadows.

No specific references for the looks or inspirations. Safe to say, these are original Connie's creations. Makes me sound like some big shot artist -- I-say-man.... (It's a Malaysian thing)

Read on to find out more about the creation process, colors used and more pictures.



The first look was totally impromptu. I started with the orange and then just gradually linked one color to another. We'll just call this Tie-Dyed, kay? I had loads of blending fun with the Coastalscents Sable Blending Brush and for the first time, I tried using gel eyeliner with an artist liner brush. Works! So, for anyone who is looking for a gel eyeliner brush, you can actually try the artist liner brush. Loads of sizes for you to choose from as well and CHEAP!

Colors used for this look were (Click for labels): 2-F4, 2-G2, 2-H3, 2-B4, 2-E3, 1-D2, 2-D1, 2-A2, 1-I1
Other Items: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack, Bloop Eyeliner Pencil in Black, Clinique Lash Power Mascara

After that was done, I couldn't resist doing up the other eye as well. I wanted to work with black and yellow but as I got started on the yellow... this happened. I kept having "Bumblebee" in my mind but the end result was more "Egyptian Queen". What do you think? Which name suits it more?

Colors used for this look were (Click for labels): 1-E3, 1-E2, 2-J3, 1-J2, 1-J3
Other Items: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack, Bloop Eyeliner Pencil in Black, Rimmel Glam Eyes Mascara, Eyebrow Pencil (Black)

Good Night!
I need to go remove my makeup now

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How-To: Take Better Makeup Pictures

In order to show off my makeup clearly, I have pictures of myself plastered all over this blog. And that's also an excuse for me to camwhore. I've had a hard time trying to work my camera but I finally figured out a way to get makeup to look its best and not washed out in pictures. I'll also be suggesting some tips on how to "model" your makeup to get a good shot of it. Unfortunately, the camera setting tips that I'll be sharing are mainly for flash photography as I am yet to find the best settings for pictures without flash.

Hope you'll find this useful!

Read on for the mini guide on how to take better makeup pictures.

Meet My Camera -- Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 (8.1 Megapixels)

[Photo credit: www.infoborder.com, www.letsgodigital.org]

I would not actually recommend this camera for taking makeup pictures though. This is a pretty decent camera for its price (Got mine for RM550 including 2GB SD card) but I personally feel that Canon Powershot cameras take much better makeup pictures. They're settings are more flexible as well. But since I already have this, I'll have to live with it.

Setting Your Camera -- Daylight Flash Photography

1. Your camera should be in Normal mode or Manual mode
2. In daylight, adjust your Exposure to the lowest possible. Increase Exposure as you go into a dimmer light. Over-exposure will make your makeup look washed-out
3. More light will be absorbed from the camera to your image if the ISO is too high, also causing washed-out pictures. The flash will provide you with more than enough light. Therefore, the ISO should be set to the lowest possible
   
4. Auto White Balance is the most practical to have it adapt to the type of lighting you're in. However, you may play around with it to see what works best for you
5. Select Forced Flash preferably with Red Eye Reduction
6. Since makeup pictures are usually close-up, select Macro mode for clearer pictures
7. I usually use 3MP or 5MP. You don't need to use 8 or 10 Megapixels unless you wanna make a bunting of yourself

Setting Your Camera -- Dim Light Flash Photography

Quite similar to daylight flash photography but...

1. Increase the exposure by one or two points
2. Yep, that's all

Setting Your Camera -- Daylight Non-Flash Photography

I have no clue. The best setting seems to be the Food settings in the Scene mode. But do play around with the exposure depending on how bright of a light you're in.

"Modelling" Tips

1. LOOK DOWN as opposed to squeezing your eye shut when you're trying to show your eye make-up. This prevent those forced wrinkles on the inner corner of the eye that looks ugly.
2. When taking open-eyed close-ups, try lifting you eyebrows so that you can get a better view of the colors on your lid
3. Taking a full-face shot at an angle instead of a passport-photo-front-pose will bring emphasis to the cheek color, eyes and also lips. Plus my face looks slimmer :D
4. Try not to purse your lips in pictures unless you don't intend on showing your lippy color
5. Have a mirror in front of you when you take pictures to see which angle or pose looks best
6. And practice! Loads!

Sometime soon I'll show you how I edit my photos
For a more comprehensive guide by a true makeup photography expert click [here]

Happy Taking Pretty Pictures!

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