Chanel Indulgence

Another mini haul from one makeup obsessed junkie. Picked these up a couple weeks ago when I meet up with a friend for some girl QT and dinner. It just so happened to be the release date of the Chanel Le Jour, La Nuit et Le Weekend at Holts. The counters were busy, but one lady did decide to talk to me and help me out. Although I didn't pick up any of the new release, she gave me some samples to try out. Here's my first Chanel haul~

Purchase: Vitalumiére Aqua foundation in 20 Beige and Rouge Coco Shine in 54 Boy. Freebies: two sample sets of Le Jour, La Nuit and Le Weekend, as well as a deluxe sample of Le Weekend. I haven't tried out the samples yet, but I will once I'm done the samples I'm currently trying out (Guerlain for those who are curious.)

A little info I learned about the new release: I was told by the CSR that Le Jour and La Nuit are suppose to be additional steps to your skincare regime, used after toner and before moisturizer. Le Weekend on the other hand, as its name implies, is suppose to be used during the weekend as both day and night replacement of your serum and moisturizer. CSR said, for best results, you should use it on the day you wear minimal makeup and for better results, use it two consecutive days.

Vitalumière caught out of its box! :) This foundation applies nicely and easily with the best make up tools ever, your fingers! After application it feels like I have nothing on and yet my skin is evened out. Redness is significantly reduced, but blemishes are still obvious. 

Lipstick stalked by its box ;)

The lipstick just glides on so smoothly, I see myself finishing this and repurchasing. The colour is definitely a MLBB~! I am totally in love with the formula of this lipstick, I don't care for the hint of sweet floral fragrance for the lipstick.

Overall, I am quite happy with my purchase as well as my experience with Chanel, I am most likely going to check out more products and make a few purchases in the future. My wallet is scared... hehe...

I need a better picture of it, but here I am sporting 54 Boy on my lips.

My foundation shades

When I read other people's blog, or watch them on Youtube, I always wonder if the exact shade they are using will match me, so in case anyone is interested, here are my foundations and my shades~ :)

Bourjois 10hr Sleep Effect foundation in 73 Beige clair
Chanel Vitalumière Aqua in 20 Beige
Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup in Intensity 2.0 light to medium creamy beige
Guerlain Lingerie de Peau in 02 Beige Clair
MAC Studio Fix Fluid SFP15 in NW20
TheBalm Balm Shelter Tinted Moisturizer in Light

Would you like swatches?

SDM Haul: 80,000 points redemption

I broke my no-buy pledge this month because of the awesome point redemption promo at Shoppers Drug Mart this weekend... for 40,000 points you can redeem up to $90 worth of stuff or, the next tier which is 80,000 points for $200... I had been saving my points for this so I had to go redeem them! And this was what I came home with (along with a few samples I got from Sephora...) Moose and I had a makeover, and we basically bought every product Davis (the Bourjois MUA) put on us... He was amazing :) Here's the haul for a little over $29 CAD ^_^

SDM rep also gave us a few samples, which was super sweet of her!

I picked up two Bourjois Color Boost Glossy Finish Lipstick in 04 Peach on the Beach and 03 Orange Punch. 4 colours were launched but I only saw 3 of them at SDM.

Davis applied this on my face and I was in love~~ Previously, I've tried the Bourjois Healthy Mix serum gel foundation and disliked how it looked on my skin, so imagine my surprise when this looked so awesome on me this time around. The Bourjois 10hr Sleep Effect foundation is a light /liquidy foundation that provides a medium coverage that is buildable. It looked and felt so lovely and light. I was shocked. I knew that I have been sleep deprived last week so the beautiful result made me have to own it, instantly.

This was applied on my crease and looked quite lovely, but as my husband pointed out, I looked like I was done up... perhaps a tad too much? It's not usually something I'd do, so I'm not sure if I will be keeping this. I also have way too many brown glittery eyeshadows...

This Bourjois Duochrome eye pencil in 59 violet rose added a lovely accent when applied just above my black eyeliner...

I can't justify why I had purchased both of these mascaras... I was curious... I loved the effect the Volumizer mascara had on Moose... The Volume Clubbing mascara is suppose to be sweat proof, so... yeah... that's why they were in my checkout bag... *shifty eyes* Let's test these babies out!!

The last product that I purchased, was one that I've lusted over for a while now... It is the Guerlain Météorites compact in 03 Teinte Doré. I'm still unsure about the shade that I got, but I have wanted to get this product for a long while now and finally I got my hands on them! buhahahha!! It blended easily and it took out some shine that my foundation did not. 

A bunch of freebies we got that day

After spending almost 3 hours at SDM, we decided to check out Sephora as well and that's when we spotted this Sephora CSR with flawless skin... We asked her what her secret to beautiful skin was and she pointed us to AmorePacific... We have never heard of this Korean brand before and was quite intrigued by their products. She was so kind and made us some samples to try out... Pricey brand though, will have to see if I love the results enough to buy it! Have any of you heard about this brand? Is it worth the hefty price tag?! Please let me know! :)

Guerlain foundation

Guerlain's Lingerie De Peau Invisible Skin Fusion Foundation SPF 20 in 02 Beige Clair

Foundation ON

This silky smooth foundation applies on like a dream... After applying on a thin layer of product, my face is pretty much evened out, however some blemishes are still visible. 


Guerlain's LDP gives an effortless air-brushed look that is long lasting, not cakey, and does not emphasize my pores. This product feels and looks very much like my skin but better. I prefer thin layer and light coverage, but it is definitely build-able. 


Since I have combination skin with an oily T, I love the fact that this is a one step face product, as I do not need extra face primer or setting powder. After about 4 hours only one sheet of blotting paper will suffice to remove excess oil from my T zone.


This is the most expensive foundation I've purchased, but after trying it out twice I knew I couldn't go back to my regular BB creams or foundations. It looked good in person or in photographs and is so light weight that I forget I have a foundation on. I think I have found my HG foundation :)


Overall Rating ***** / 5 (1 = worst 5 = best)  
Price *****/5 (1 = soooo cheap! 5 = pricey!) $64 is VERY expensive... but it's all worth it :)
Packaging Quality ****/5 (1 = worst 5 = best) it's very classy, kinda mature look, but I guess I'm not a little girl anymore.
Scent? it's so lovely, light floral, I think it's violet :)
Would you buy this product again? Despite the steep price, I will still get it. 
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Updated on 18/04/12

So I was on the SASA website and I found out that they are currently  selling this foundation for only $48.50. http://web1.sasa.com/SasaWeb/eng/product/viewProductDetail.jspa?itemno=105540304007

I would soooo get a second one as back up... but I know the bottle I have now will last me a long time... Just passing on the savings...

Smashbox Haul + FOTD

The past Sunday we made it to Lisa's Cosmetic 2011 Christmas Warehouse Sale at around 2pm. The first surprise was the long lineup~ Second was the fact that all these women tried to bring their kids and crying babies inside the warehouse even though the flyer states that "No strollers or children under 12" were allowed... anyways, here's some pictures~ Enjoy!

the 1.5 hour lineup at Lisa's Cosmetic Warehouse sale

The haul: I got a few hair products by Schwarzkopf (all hair masks + hair gum), a brush (2.99), and a hair conditioner by Joico ($7.99). The rest are makeup from Smashbox and a blush by Canadian brand Marcelle :)

Foundation

Review: Shiseido - Sun Protection Stick Foundation

In preparation for the summer I needed to get a foundation that has SPF, is not sticky and portable (ie not make a mess in my purse.) One of the foundations that I decided to try is the Shiseido Sun Protection Stick Foundation in 'Beige'. I really like this particular foundation for its quick and easy application as well as a 36 SPF. Also, this foundation does not break me out and does not feel greasy.

On me (and several other peeps) it looks very natural. I'm surprised by this because when a foundation fits me it would most likely be too light on my friend and my mom who have darker skin tone than me. I guess this shade is universal for most Oriental skin tone. It does not leave a 'ghastly' effect, instead it seems to enhance your natural colour, while concealing minor imperfections. It has buildable light to medium coverage, but a thin layer of this product achieves the look for me (except for when I'm breaking out badly.) It is also water-proof, however I haven't tested that out just yet so I can't comment on it.

I did find one drawback about this foundation, after about 2-3 hours of application my T-zone gets oily and I'd need to blot... but this seems to be the case for most of my foundations even after I set it in with powder so the problem might be my skin type.

Overall Rating *** / 5 (1 = worst 5 = best)  
Price *****/5 (1 = soooo cheap! 5 = pricey!) too expensive! You can get this at Sasa for $38 CAD for one stick... or $26.50USD online at the Sephora website available only to beauty peeps in the States.. such awesome pricing is not available to Canadians... *sigh*
Packaging Quality ****/5 (1 = worst 5 = best) cute packaging, but looks like a mini deodorant!
Scent? It smells like sunscreen
Would you buy this product again? Only if it is more affordable here...

Haul: Shiseido + Nars 2011

Here's some pictures of the stuff I got this past weekend.

Here's a mini haul from Sasa. I purchased the 'Shiseido Sun Protection Stick Foundation in Beige' at regular price because I did not find it at the warehouse sale. Or if it was there it was soldout before we got there =( However, on a brighter note, Shiseido had a gift with purchase and I got this travel size 'White Lucent' set for free. :)

Got these at Sasa in Market Village

Now, onto the haul from the Shiseido warehouse sale :)

Makeup expiration dates

I got curious about makeup expiration dates after getting a few styes on the same eye for the past few months...

Here are my results after I did some intense (15 minutes) research online:

Brushes: must be washed weekly with a mild detergent

Concealer: 12 to 18 months

Cream & gel cleansers: 1 year

Eyeshadow: up to 3 years

Foundation: a water-based foundation will last up to 12 months, oil-based will last up to 12 to 18 months, cream or compact foundation up to 18 months

Fragrance: 2 to 5 years

Lip gloss: 18 to 24 months

Lip liner: Up to 3 years

Lipstick: Some experts say 1 to 2 years, others say up to 4 years or until it smells bad... 

Liquid eye liner: 3 to 6 months

Mascara: 3 to 4 months

Nail Polish: up to 12 months

Pencil eye liner: up to 3 years

Powder: 2 years

Sponges: washed weekly and discard monthly

I guess this is the general guideline I'd be keeping in mind on when products need to be tossed out...

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Update: I found this informative site that can help calculate the date your products was manufactured and therefore find out when your products are due to expire... Check it out :) http://checkcosmetic.net/

07.12.11