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Showing posts with label Looks of the Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Looks of the Day. Show all posts

Monday, July 20, 2015

Cle de Peau Quad 302 - Review & Swatches


You know when good friends bring you something like this all the way from Asia, that said friends really get you (at least in terms of my makeup interests...). cle de peau is one of those luxe brands that I've not gone near myself for fear I'd love it and my wallet would in turn hate it.


This quad is actually almost a year old now, but it's taken me this long to review because I have only been using it on special occasions. 


As with any other luxe brands, it comes with a soft velvety pouch to protect the compact. 


The compact itself is simple and minimalistic, with the tiny logo in the corner (I like this kind of style, no need for a big loud logo for me). 


The cover is raised and looks like a big jewel (in an elegant way, not at all gawdy).



cle de peau sells the actual eyeshadow apart from the compact. To save money, you could just buy the shadow and use it out of the plastic packaging (oh but that would defeat the purpose of such a product as this...and of all these photos of the compact I just showed you!). The compact also comes with the standard sponge-tip and mini-brush applicators. I typically use my own brushes so can't comment on how useful these are (I imagine I might use them if I took this palette travelling, as I hate to travel with full size brushes).


Ok now onto the actual shadows...


They pop easily into the compact, and also pop out easily enough if you want to change up the palette or if you run out and want to replace (has anyone actually used up a whole eye shadow palette? I've never...)

with bounced flash
 Here are the shadows swatched in the same order as the palette. These shades are of sheer-moderate pigmentation (it took a few swipes to build up to this intensity in the swatches). They're of satin-shimmery nature, and how shimmery they look depend on the lighting. The shimmer is very fine though and there is nearly zero-fallout.

in sunlight
These blend like a dream on the eyes, with simple brush strokes they nearly blend themselves. Oh and there is no creasing without a primer! My lids aren't as oily as they used to be though so this may not be the case for you. Below is a look I used on one occasion:


I'm liking things more sheer and subtle these days, so I went from light to 
dark starting from my inner corner and blended everything out.Although these shadows can build up, I prefer them sheer.


Combo-ed with a pair of half-falsies and thin eyeliner, it came out to a very natural and brightening eye-look. 


 This is by far now my favorite eyeshadow palette now for a natural look that isn't flat and really helps to make my eyes pop without a huge pop of color. 

If you prefer very pigmented shadows though, you may not like this as the amount of building up needed may annoy you, but if you like sheer washes of color that blend like a dream, with a luxe package to boot, you should give this a try! Just be aware this isn't wallet friendly...

What do you think of cle de peau? Any other products from them I should try? (other than their infamous concealer...)


Wednesday, June 24, 2015

On Mixing Lippies - Bite + Stila


I'm not usually one to mix lippies...maybe it's because it's an "extra step", or simply because I'm not very adventurous. The most I'd ever done previously was to put on clear or very light pink lip gloss on top of lipstick.  Recently, something got into me to layer this shimmery-apricot-y shade from Stila ("Starfruit") over the Bite VIB Rouge lipstick, and it was instant love!

Bite lipstick on the left, Stila lip glaze in Starfruit on the right, and layered in the middle.

sunlight with bounded flash

This combo tones down the red just enough that I feel comfortable wearing it daily (I usually feel self-conscious wearing very bold red lipsticks).


What lippie combo are you loving recently?


Thursday, January 15, 2015

A first crack at the ombre lip...


I believe Korea first started the ombre lip trend (but please correct me if this is wrong). I'm sooooo slow on the pickup for anything trendy, so finally thought I'd give it a try.  I used a pinky-mauve lippie all over, then added a traditional red on the inner parts of the lip and blended both together.

Natural lips with clear lip balm

I actually really liked the look, now I get why it got trendy! I felt like it gave me an interesting look, kind of cute and doll-like?  Unfortunately my hubby really didn't like it, said it looked "unnatural". Sigh...men...they don't get us :)




Do you do the ombre lip? I think I will do it more often if I have time, as it does take double as long as I have to pat on another color and blend it.



Saturday, September 6, 2014

EOTD: Tom Ford Quad - Cognac Sable

Cognac Sable isn't known as one of Tom Ford's more "natural" palettes as it's more shimmery and particularly has one very glittery copper shade that is difficult to use day to day. However, it is possible to put together a very natural look using all 4 shades if the copper is tapped onto the middle of the lid only, giving a surprisingly sheer but noticeable glimmer when blinking. 
 
See my original review of this quad here.

I thought I'd also show how well Tom Ford's eyeshadow holds up, as the eye photos are taken 8 hours after initial application, with no primer underneath (and I also have oily lids).



The numbers correspond to where the shadows go
1 - inner corner highlight
2 - pat on the center of lid as the last step
3 - crease color
4 - liner (can smoke out if desired)


Finish the look with brown eyeliner and black mascara, and off we go...

artificial lighting with no flash

bounced flash


from further back...

The overall look is classy and fairly natural looking, with the noticeable copper glitter when blinking. Depending on how much makeup you wear day to day, this could be worn to work if you skip the copper, or add the copper for a dinner out.






Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Natural Workday EOTD

Most work days I like a "barely-there" kinda look and skip eyeshadow, however today I wanted to add a teensy bit...and this is what I ended up with! I found it didn't really look like makeup but made my eyes look more awake and was super easy/fast to do.

 Eyeliner: Lancome eyeshadow "Visionary" mixed with  Face Atelier Transforming Gel (allows me to make a much thinner and more precise line than using the shadow dry)
Tightline: MUFE Aqua Black
Mascara: Maybelline Big Eyes (excess product dabbed off entire wand to get thinner and more defined application)


I'm liking this technique to use more interesting colors as eyeliner (the FA transforming gel is great for this as it can turn any eyeshadow into a gel liner consistency).

What do you usually wear to work makeup-wise?