Lipstick Sundays : Life On The A List

Before I start off my usual Lipstick Sundays post, I just want to say that... Benefit Cosmetics is having a sale at the moment, and if you key in SNEAKPEEK during the checkout, you only need USD$90 to qualify for free international shipping instead of the usual $125 limit. =) I didn't really have much intentions to splurge... initially. But nowadays I feel so un-motivated to online shop for clothes (cos out of shape), so I usually end up browsing the beauty selections. I finally got my "lust list" Thrrrob blusher during the sale, and when I was browsing around, I found that they also have "last chance" offers for sets that they won't produce anymore. One thing that I noticed about most of their make-up sets is that the lipgloss that they bung in is "Life On The A List".

A LOT of people rave about this ultra shine from Benefit, saying that it's such a perfect color, such a go-to shade, etc etc etc. In the end, I didn't want to spring for a full-size ultra shine, so I was glad that a set that I picked out in the last chance page had a mini sample of it. Score! Or so I thought... til I checked my Ticket to Glossytown set and I already have it. Doh!

I really should keep a better inventory of my stuff. I never really noticed it before because I had automatically classified it as an "unwearable" shade because it's really more towards a nude lippie than a "bubblegum pink" (that's what Benefit calls it!). I really dislike nude lippies because I feel like it makes me look so pale, it can't hide my chapped lips well (er... cos it's so see-thru, lol) and it just doesn't suit my skin color.

So here is how it looks like :

It looks like such a sweet, pink color, doesn't it? But super, super light. I think it would look nice on Caucasian ladies. But since I'm more olive-beige than white, I really think it makes me look like I'm on a sick bed. It completely washes out my entire face and makesme look sooooo.... un-made up. Sorry for the depressed looking faces, I guess I wasn't in the mood after putting it on, hahaha.

Some might even think that I have no lippie on... I assure you that the condition of my lips are terrible, so I'm thankful for that bit of glossiness and moisturising effect. No complaints on the brush (a silky, brush -fibrous- tip) and it goes on smoothly, like my other ultra shines. Only the shade! And I can't believe another one is coming my way. Thank goodness I really didn't spring for the full-size. Probably going to give away the new one!

For previous Ultra Shine reviews, check out:
So Frisk Me
Kiss You

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Lipstick Sundays : L'oreal Glam Shine 6 Hours in Strawberry Mix

First off --- Happy Mother's Day!!

Bought this new lipgloss when I was in Singapore last year because I thought that there was a buy-one-free-one deal. Which turned out to be ... not quite right. I've used Glam Shine from L'oreal before, in fact it was the first lipgloss I ever managed to finish. I chose the "Strawberry Mix" shade this time because it was one of the darker reds available, but in fact, it's not super red anyway. I'm looking for a really good, brilliant, red lipgloss, so if you have a good suggestion, do tell me!

The formula has not changed much from the previous Glam Shine that I've used - it's still REALLY sticky and very glossy and shiny on the lips. The only difference that I can tell is that the Strawberry Mix shade comes scented with a sweet, fruity smell. It's pretty strong and synthetic, but I'm ok with it so I don't mind it too much. If you hate scents of any kind, do take a sniff test first before you commit!

 

As before, the applicator is like a doe-foot applicator, but slightly more heart-shaped and ... er... furry. It's not excellent for precision, but it really does help transfer a LOT of the gloss onto my lips. As you can see from the above picture, the gloss is filled with lots of glittery / shimmery bits, so this really helps give the brilliance and shine to your lips. Great for me and my dry lips --- it makes my lips look so plumped up instead! 

And with the stickiness in the lipgloss... yeah, I think it would really last 6 hours! Not that I have actual proof, cos usually halfway through I'd have eaten lunch and subsequently, my lipgloss. =) Some people actually reviewed this lipgloss as NON sticky. Are you kidding me? This is one of THE stickiest lipglosses I've ever come across. Maybe there are worse ones on the market and I've been incredibly lucky?? Anyway, my hair is always in a ponytail nowadays, so the chances of having flyaway hair stuck to my lips are low.

In conclusion, love the shine, the JUICINESS, but wish the color was more pigmented. To me, it looks way more "red" in the tube, but when it's applied to me, it just looks like a darker pink. Brilliance and shine is a must though, and again, this is becoming one of my go-to lipglosses for sheer wearability. 

Me without any lipstick on. You can see that my lips are dry, pale and erm... raw.

 

Picture with lipgloss on... very shiny right? And definitely brings more color to my face. Look so un-made up in the first picture.

 

Another picture with Strawberry Mix on on a different day. Same amount of shine and brilliance, but with a lighter touch, so it doesn't look so red. 

 

Close-up.

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Lipstick Sundays : Benefit Lip Shine in Kiss You

This is my second episode in the Benefit Lip Shine series, based on the "Ticket to Glossytown" boxset that my sis-in-law gave to me. Decided to try a different shade for a change (I'm still in love with the "So Frisk Me" shade that I reviewed previously), and one that I always thought was a bit unwearable. It's a rich purple shade called "Kiss You".

This is how the "Kiss You" shade looks like. Looks a bit scary right? Honestly, I've never tried a purple lipgloss / lipstick before. I always thought that it's more suitable for people with darker skintones. However, it looks very natural if you apply just a single coat. If you really want something that reflects the shade in the bottle, you really have to pile on the lipgloss. I've mentioned before that this lipgloss is not the really sticky type, but if you pile it on, it's definitely going to get gooey.

I didn't post a picture of the applicator last time, so here it is! By the way, the lipgloss smells really sweet. It's not really my thing, but I guess it's better than the chemical-ly smell that some others have. At least Benefit went the extra mile, hehe. The brush is really soft and silky, and since it's a gloss, don't have to worry about it not really being 100% accurate in "coloring in the lines". :P

The above picture is how it looks like with just one swipe. Very natural right, although more towards a darker shade than a pink-tone lipgloss would be. I can actually live with just this much (no wonder my lipglosses last forever). It as a great amount of shine, and there's a healthy color to the lips. Lips also feel moisturised and protected with the lipgloss on. But since I want to show how dark the color can get, I added on an extra coat...

And this picture above is how it looks like with TWO coats. Ok, maybe you think that there's not much difference, and it's still a pretty far cry from the color in the bottle.  Two coats really last a long time (without any touch-up required), I think my lipgloss only disappeared when I had lunch.

Here's a close-up of my lips... love the shine and glitter! You can definitely see a more purplish tone here, but don't worry, not going to be as scary as what it looks like in the bottle. Definitely very wearable, though I think it's more suitable for night-time. I actually wore this to church today, hehe. :P

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Lipstick Sundays : L'Oreal Glamshine Gloss Brilliance in Golden Sunset

This is quite possibly, the only lipgloss in the history of lipglosses I've ever owned... that I manage to finish. :D The only reason why I still have it in my make-up drawer is because I wanted to keep it til I've done it justice by writing a "Lipstick Sundays" post about it and because ... lipglosses don't really finish do they? There's always SOME tiny amount still stuck to the tube that you think you can still squeeze out. For me, I've used it to the max, and I should really throw it away. It's given more mileage than I thought possible, considering I didn't really want to buy it, and after buying it... I hated it to the max at first!

I only bought the L'oreal Glamshine Gloss Brilliance because they were having a contest. A slogan-writing contest which is pretty extinct nowadays. Could win diamonds leh, who don't want. Anyway, I just grabbed a tube (didn't even test out all the colors available because I just needed to buy SOMETHING as proof of purchase), and somehow got this "safe" color called "Golden Sunset". It is a peachy shade (which at that time, I only owned pink / red glosses, so it was unique) with LOTS of shine! They definitely did not lie about that! By the way, I think I bought this so long ago that they don't even sell it anymore... and it is quite pricey for a lipgloss! About RM28.90 if I remember correctly (lol, so accurate some more with the .90 added behind).

 

The lip gloss comes in a very interesting, angular tube as you can see above. It has a doefoot applicator and it is VERY VERY VERY sticky! I suppose it has to be since it has a "guarantee" of lasting for at least 6 hours! I think this is one of the reasons I hated it (at first) because it is TOO sticky. Well, I guess they had to make it so to ensure it lasts so long. So you can imagine lah... everytime the wind blows, I will be pulling hairs off my lips. However, as time went by, I started to appreciate it more because I really can't be bothered to keep reapplying lip gloss, so the longer it lasts... the better. That, and maybe because I started to tie my hair up into ponytails, so need not worry about the wind anymore. *cackles* 

 

I am also really happy with the color! As mentioned, at the time of purchase, I was not really a peach type of girl. I'm more into pinks and reds... but I find that a peachy-pink tone is really more suitable for my skintone, and also more suitable for work. Also, as you can see from the pictures above, it really does give off a brilliant shine. It's not TOO shiney and overwhelming for work, so it's all good. By the way, don't be tricked from the picture that there's a full tube of gloss left. It's all the STICKINESS still stuck to the tube. I have no way of scraping it all off unless I break the tube! I really don't suggest you do that... 

You might be wondering, why would I write a review about something you cannot purchase anymore? Hehehe... I don't know either. Maybe just to share my happiness over finishing a product? And to share that trends fade so fast that something that was all the rage a few years back is totally off the market now? :P By the way, I didn't win the diamonds from L'oreal either! *hmph!*

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Lipstick Sundays : Victoria's Secrets Supermodel Glosses in Yearning (Selita)

Who wouldn't want a supermodel pout, especially a Victoria's Secret Supermodel pout, like say.. Selita Ebanks? Well, Victoria's Secret says that you can --- with their very own set of lip glosses! I bought this way back when I was in the States, and I am still loving it very much. It actually comes in a set of 4, like this :

Yes, this limited edition pack of 4 lipglosses is teeeeeny, weighing 0.09 oz each, but they can last forever cos you really only need a little bit to keep you going. It's very long lasting and STICKY, so your lips gets full moisturised coverage. My only complaint is that out of the 4 colors in this little cute package, only Selita (Yearning) is very wearable. Izabel (Make Out) is super bright, Alessandra (Bling) is too party like and I never found an occassion to wear it to, and Karolina (Password) is actually super light and sickly sweet. It just doens't go with my skintone. The brownish lipgloss called "Yearning" represented by Selita is the best! It is understated, but with lots of shine, so it's suitable for work. A very general, go-to lipgloss. Call me unadventurous, but I like something I can use all the time instead of a wild color that I would use only once a month!

The soft brush is not very precise when applying on gloss, but I generally just smear in on and go out of the house. The color is pretty nude, so I don't think people would know if I color outside the lines wtf *lazy beauty blogger*.

Here's a picture of me under natural light. Have my make-up on, but no lipgloss. Still look like there's not enough color on my face right? And yes, my lips are in pretty bad condition.. dry lips!

To the rescue ---- lip gloss! Yay! 

And is it just me or does it just look much much better? What a difference lipgloss can make!!

As you can see, the color of the lip gloss looks very natural, but with a bit of sparkle and gloss in it to really give out this great shine. It does look very kissable, but lipgloss is too sticky to be kissable, hahaha. How ironic! =)

Meanwhile, in case you're wondering how Selita looks like, she's one foxy lady. Perhaps you could channel your inner Selita while wearing "Yearning".

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Lipstick Sundays : Clarins Gloss Appeal [02]

Won this lipgloss some time ago, along with some other nice Clarins goodies. I've been using it on and off as my go-to office lipgloss. I like how natural the pink color is, in fact, I find that it really matches my own natural lip color.

 

I got it really long ago, so you can see how the stenciling on the packaging is wearing off! To be honest, I'm not even sure if you can still buy it, haha! The packaging looks very simple and classy, with the heavy silvery cap and simple see-through tube. I always regarded this as a very "serious" lip gloss, considering the brandname, the packaging and how it didn't give the shade a fancy name, but just called it "02". A bit boring, really.

It has a simple doe-foot applicator, and the only bad thing about this gloss is probably the fact that it smells a bit funny. A bit too chemical-ly, like medicine! But other than that, the natural shine, the natural color.. it makes it really suitable for work. This 5.5ml tube of lipgloss is really lasting me a long time... very happy with it. :) Am pleasantly surprised with Clarins as I never really thought it was a make-up brand, more for skincare! :)

Me just before I was going for work! See how natural and glossy the lips look? And the color on the lips are a match to what is in the bottle. Good representation. ;P

The top lip is without gloss, only the bottom lip is glossed-up. See how closely the colors matched? 

Close-up in case you don't believe. You can see how much gloss and shine the gloss gives? :)

Hahaha, just some regular camwhoring. :) I love how my Olympus camera makes me look!

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Lipstick Sundays : Benefit Lip Shine in So Frisk Me

Cheating a little to include lip glosses, lip balms and such on Lipstick Sundays. You don't mind, do you. :p *blows an air kiss* Today, I'm dyinggggg to introduce to you my new go-to gloss. I frequently mention that I prefer wearing glosses to work because I like the shine, plus they are longer lasting. I also like glosses for special occassions like huge family dinners and such because of the same reason. So my new fave lip gloss of the moment is from the Benefit "Ticket to Glossytown" set that my sister-in-law (omg!) got for me last Christmas, and the shade is called "So Frisk Me".

The "So Frisk Me" shade is a dark purpley-red color in the bottle, but comes out a pleasant light plum shade. Perhaps I am not that good at piling on the layers of gloss to give it that true purple shine, but I'm happy with the results. It's good enough for work & for church. ;)

 

The lipshine / lipgloss is applied with a silky brush tip that glides on for smooth application. Although I prefer doefoot applicators, I really can't complain with the brush. It feels so soft against my lips!

Although glosses are always sticky, I felt that this one was not overtly so, and after a while, I didn't even remember that I was wearing gloss! I'm so glad it is not one of those super gooey types that make you feel uncomfortable all day long. And from the pictures, you can see that it gives on quite a brilliant shine, aye?

Since this was gifted, I don't know how much it costs. Each of the lipshines in the boxset is only 3ml, but the fullsize  lipshines are 5ml and they cost USD$18. But I betcha that they will last you a longggg time. I've been using these glosses off and on and they seem to still be full to the brim. I'm starting to think that I'll never ever finish a lipgloss. -__-"

Would I repurchase it? If I don't have any lipglosses - sure, why not? But the problem is that I have a STOCKPILE of lipglosses, so by the time I finish all of them, I might have discovered some new "must have" product by then!

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Balmbini Face Palette

This is one of my favorite purchases during my Singapore hauls last year! The Balmbini Face Palette. I've been using it since last year, and have not been fair to it as I've kept putting off doing a review because I'm quite lazy to snap pictures. *ashamed* *fail beauty blogger* However, I've been packing it for so many on-the-go moments that every other face picture that I have would be one with the products from my Balmbini face palette. I have more than enough pictures required now. :P

As mentioned, this face palette is pretty comprehensive - it has eyeshadows, lipstick & lipgloss, blushers and all in a compact set that makes it travel-handy. It also has a mirror inside, which is SUPER useful, considering that I don't pack one. *ashamed* *failed female* Since I don't wear foundation, this is pretty much all I need to make myself up. Oh, and my eyeliner of course. ;)

The packaging is SO cute, isn't it? To be honest, I've heard of The Balm a long, long time ago, but I've never bought anything from them because :
a. not sure if it's *really* that good
b. it's freaking expensive!

However, I like this Face Palette because I can try out most of their star products --- and all for RM80+. Yes, that's how much this face palette costs, and I feel it's pretty worth it. Considering that my Too Faced Eye Shadow Palette already costs RM130. The quality of The Balm products are good - long-lasting and vibrant colors.

The back of the cover shows exactly what is in the box, as well as a suggestion on how you can use ALL the products in one look. Lol! I find using everything at once a bit too much for myself (too lazy to shade my cheeks and I won't bother with gloss on top of something that already feels like gloss!) , but even when you do put everything on at once , it looks quite glam - nothing too over-the-top and ridiculous.

Inside the Balmbini Face Palette, you get :
Down Boy Blusher - a bright pink, fun and flirty shade. Gives you a healthy glow, very youthful and playful.
Hot Mama Blusher - a shimmery orange for that sun-kissed look. Also can be used for shading.

Mary-Lou Manizer - pale golden, shimmery, luminiser for the eyes. To highlight your eyes, brighten them up and add a bit of sparkle! ;)

Shady Lady Eye Shadow - there's two shades in here : Insane Jane and Jealous Jordana. Insane Jane is some coppery-greenish shade (sorry, I can't really describe colors, but you can see from the pic above!) and Jealous Jordana looks like a really "jungley" shade of dark green that I wouldn't normally purchase. However, it does look good on the eyes when mixed with Insane Jane!

Read My Lips Lipstick - a dark red shade called "Wanted". It smells like cherries and is a bit sticky, so I thought it was gloss too!

Special Edition Tinted Gloss - looks orange-y, but comes on clear. Smells orange-y.

Some pictures of myself with "my face on". :P

See? Not too shabby right? The gloss + lipstick gives an insane amount of shine. I also find the shade quite nice. Though the color descriptions I gave for Insane Jane & Jealous Jordana sounds bad, it looks office-appropriate with a light touch. If I'm more heavy-handed, I could get a mean smokey eye look. :) You can also see how bright & vibrant the Down Boy blusher is! I quite like it! If you are into kawaii looks, this would be right up your alley.

And this is me with less stuff on - no Hot Mama shading and no gloss, just lippy.


Anyway, I'm super satisfied with this purchase. I reckon that wherever I go, I'll be packing this with me. So convenient!! I wonder if The Balm has any other face palettes?

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