a hoarder's blog

MAC Tres Cheek is a collection of six powder blushers and the one I bought is called Modern Mandarin (described as a red-orange with a satin finish). It has good pigmentation as compared to some of the others I swatched which didn't show up too well on my skin. I

These days I don't go crazy over blushes as I used to, which is a good thing really.

Some blushes in the same colour family that I found in my stash!

(click for bigger swatch pic)

Two flake polish beauties from Cult Nails.

Seduction is from the latest Divas and Dramas collection which is still being sold over at cultnails.com

Clairvoyant is from the Super Powers collection. It is a re-release of the original Unicorn Puke. It is sold out at the moment.

My pictures do not do justice to the colours. I just couldn't capture the different colours of the flakes as they change in the light. So sadly they might all look the same in my pics. I applied both over a black base, but I think they would look good over a blue or purple base as well. Both flake polishes are sheer jelly top coats. Seduction is more red-purple while Clairvoyant is blue-purple. I only applied one coat of each over black. The flakes are really densely packed and distribute quite well over the nails.

Seduction

A mix of orange-red, blue-purple flakes that change to green-gold at certain angles

Head to this link to see really nice swatch pics of Seduction!

Clairvoyant

A mix of orange, green, blue-purple flakes

Seduction matte

Clairvoyant matte

(Pardon the tipwear and ugly cuticles!)

In partnership with WWF's 2012 "I Will If You Will" campaign, from now til 22nd April (Earth Day), The Body Shop is offering a free shower gel (60ml, choice of Cocoa Butter or Love Etc. only) in exchange for every 3 empty and clean recyclable PET 1 bottles you bring to its stores (you will see the number 1 inside the chasing arrows symbol at the bottom of your container).

I lugged 15 empties yesterday to my nearest TBS store and got back 5 travel-sized shower gels in Love Etc. (This particular store only had Love Etc)

Today, I went to another store and chose Cocoa Butter.

For more details on this recycling program, click below.

I think this is a good initiative to encourage recycling in general. It makes you more conscious about separating your plastic from your paper and metal and your general waste. I already have a habit of recycling. I put recyclable things in a bag at home and when it's full, I walk all the way to the recycle bin at the other end of my neighbourhood to dump it. I have even written to the company that puts the recycle bin around the blocks to have one more, seeing that the current one always overflows. They got back to me to say that they are monitoring the situation and that they would add one more by the end of the week. Well, that was more than a month ago and still nothing. Oh well. Anyway, I have always brought my TBS empties back to the store for recycling and this time round, there's a little bonus for doing so, and that's great!

Modern Pewter: dirty olive gold

Sweet Heat: bright peach champagne

Havana: dirty copper brown

These were so creamy to the touch that I thought that they were cream eyeshadows. This is "a new liquid-powder hybrid formula with prismatic reflections that instantly sculpts, highlights and models the face to the desired effect – extra dimension."

All the colours swatched beautifully. I was thinking of not getting anything, but you can see what I came home with in the end.

I did not get any of the Extra Dimension MSFs. They swatched really shimmery and pigmented, very pretty, but I thought that I wouldn't have much use for them.

I just realized that I have these from my HK trip in January.

Gold Carbon: Metallic Taupe

Palladium: Metallic Ash

The BA taught me to layer the two shades together to create another shade.

I think that these cream eyeshadows didn't get good reviews because they crease easily and don't last long. They are pretty nonetheless.

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have already seen these pictures. I like to post my NOTDs there these days. It's just faster and more convenient for me.

Sometimes when I'm lazy to change to a totally new mani, I like to recycle the one I currently have on. Wear it plain one day, and add something to it for the next day. Here are a few of them.

OPI Mermaid's Tears

Added heart and dots nail art with OPI Sparrow Me The Drama (this was my Valentine's Day mani). Someone commented it reminded her of Dolly Wink.

China Glaze Blue Iguana (really gorgeous blue, but it stained pretty bad and left me with smurf fingers)

topped with China Glaze Liquid Crystal for bling nails (even more difficult to remove with glitter on!)

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark suede for a quick morning mani because it dries in no time

with Barry M silver foil polish to create a half-moon mani for the evening because the suede polish has already chipped at the tips. It's not done perfectly cos it was also a rushed job.

Ciate Sharp Tailoring

topped with various China Glaze Metallic Crackle Glaze for skittle nails.

Butter London Knackered (gorgeous gorgeous duochrome)

and V-tips done with A-England Camelot

Color Club Wild At Heart

added stripes with Eyeko Tea Rose and Color Club Fashion Addict

Clarins presents White Plus HP Whitening Powder Foundation, a compact foundation created for Asian women. Its new generation texture enriched with sea lily, the innovative plant extract in the White Plus HP range, illuminates the complexion with a new radiance and helps the skin effectively fight the appearance of dark spots.

It delivers double benefits: an unrivalled whitening action and an even, brighter complexion.

Double Whitening Performance

The "Pure Lightening" mineral complex

On application, the pigments in the formula selected for their brightening and unifying actions illuminate the complexion with a totally transparent look. Skin texture is perfectly even and dark spots and pores are visibly minimized.

The Advanced "Lock-Around System®" plant complex

White Plus HP Whitening Powder Foundation benefits from the same technology used in the White Plus HP range. In its formula, the combination of sea lily, alchemilla and raspberry controls melamin production and slows the appearance of dark spots. The skin naturally becomes brighter and dark spots are reduced.

Triple Protection

UVA / UVB protection

SPF30/PA+++ mineral sun protection shields the skin from UVA and UVB rays

Pollution and antioxidant protection

Clarins' exclusive complex composed of white tea extract rich in flavonoids and succory dock-cress extract, reinforce the skin care action while neutralizing free radicals.

Long-hold texture

The micronized powders in the formula give the texture an incredibly fine quality and mattifying effect.  Pigments coated in amino acids absorb excess sebum while preserving the radiance and stability of the colour.

Total comfort

Clarins exclusive Plant micropatch found in the formula limits water evaporation and preserves the skin's moisture, keeping it supple. Aloe extract hydrates and softens the skin all day long.

The sleek, luminous design of its pearly white and silver case evokes the flawlessness of the complexion. Its pure, very feminine style follows the graphic codes of the White Plus HP range.

Case (and accompanying velvet pouch) retails for S$18.

Refill (comes with a sponge) retails for S$52

Shades available:

The swatches below are 02 petal, 03 natural and 04 almond.

I eventually chose 03 natural and 04 almond. They didn't look that much different when I swatched them and looked closest to what my shade would be.

I have started using 04 almond. It does a good job at evening out my skintone and it blends really well with my skin giving it an overall matte finish. However, it didn't wow me as much as the Hydra Luminous Flawless Powder Foundation when I used it the first time. The texture, although very fine, does not feel as velvety smooth as the latter. The coverage is average, nothing too heavy duty, giving me a very natural look, which is not a bad thing. The powder also doesn't make my skin look dry. It can also be used wet, something which I have yet to try.

Click here to discover more about the White Plus HP range.

DISCLAIMER: All products in this entry were given to me by Clarins for consideration. I wasn't paid to do this and I'm not affiliated to Clarins in any way. Opinions expressed here are my own.

Frivolous fun using this Lancome app on Facebook to create my avatar. Last minute entry for Kas' giveaway here.

This will be the last swatch post of the Revlon Lip Butters that I have. These were bought from a Drugstore.com spree, except for Peach Parfait which was bought locally.