All under one roof

Hello ladies!

I have not been able to catch up on the reviews of the products I've been trying out! I'm probably going to relook the length of reviews so I can get the views out to share with you!

Here's the lowdown of some of the products I've used over the last couple of months, in no order of preference:

Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair Cream: Will not repurchase

too rich for me, caused milia seeds. 

Burberry eye-shadows : will add more to collection if $$ permits
great pigmentation, love it but its costly.

Diorshow Iconic Extreme Mascara: Yes! but its often out of stock!
Love this baby. It gives a distinct yet not too dolly/dramatic look! Love how the lashes separates and lengthens with the brush!

Elizabeth Arden Prevage Hydrating Fluid: will not repurchase
Too rich for my skin type and too expensive as well!

Shu Uemura Tsuya Skin: on the fence
I have a love-hate relationship with this product. I'm questioning the underlying reason for its brightening effect and if might be due to the shimmery pearly pink extracts they have added to the serum.

Laneige Water Sleeping Pack Ex: my new HG!
Love how this gel like product keeps my skin supple and soft the next month despite sleeping in an extremely dry environment. My must-have product!

Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder: repurchased once but...
Very fine and lightweight powder, does not cause end of day cracks in the make-up as much as Bobbi's brown loose powder (old version)

Laura Mercier Oil-Free Primer: No way I'm buying again
I don't like this at all, no intention to repurchase. In fact I barely touched the tube.

Loreal Impact Collagene Curl-Fixing Volume Mascara: Not really my type of mascara

ok for the price, slightly clumpy after 2 straight week of use. 

Moogoo Oil Cleansing Method (Combi Skin): Don't waste ur time on this product
Oh this is horrible, the oil is so thick that it clogs my pore. I've suffered tremendous breakouts, likely accrued to this product!

Talika Gentle eye cleanser: Will not repurchase
Not friendly for my eyes, has caused irritation thrice throughout entire use

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And for the next couple of weeks/months... I'll first be trying out Ettusais Skin Extra Version Up, Aqua Shooter and Acne Nighttime Defense Powder!

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new products which my mom kindly gave me from VMV Hypoallergenics where I spotted a new store in Ion Orchard, Singapore. Its apparently an American brand.

Thanks babe for stopping by, I hope the low-down helped! Do email me at dollypalettes[at]gmail[dot]com if you would like me to cover any one of the above in detail before I get to it! (Yes, I know I'm slow!)

psst: have you supported the breast cancer initiative? Its National Breast Cancer Awareness Month every October (:

xoxo

Talika Lipocils New Mascara

New products to try from Talika!

• The Eyelash conditioning cream (the small box) - RRP Singapore - S$53
• Duo Mascara - one side for natural eyelash growth and the other a black mascara! - RRP (Singapore) - S$69
• Gentle Eye Cleanser for Hypersensitive Eyes - RRP (Singapore S$52)

I believe that the duo mascara is their new item. They recommend applying Lipocils then the Black mascara above it. Its meant to be water-resistant which should work fine in hot and humid countries unless you are going diving or swimming with mascara!
However, it might be awhile before i get started on this mascara as I just bought the DiorShow mascara not too long back and its still unopened!! Please be patient as I try out these products! 

Hauls from Changi Airport!

Hello folks! I'm back from my trip, along the way I also picked up some beauty products from Singapore's Changi Airport Duty Free by Nuance Watsons! They carry a huge range from perfume, skincare to make-up & nail polishes! I like to pick up some products on my way out of the country as its tax-free! However, don't expect good advise from the CSAs as they are mainly generalists or newbies. So its good to make sure you know what you want or if you have an acute sense of being able to tell from self-testing. 

Here are my hauls from this trip: 

1. Bobbi brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner set - I bought this as my sepia ink liner is running out and there's a free ultra fine travel brush together with the black liner. A pretty good deal - S$58.50

2. Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer (Natural shade)- to stock up on what I'm currency using - S$33.10

3. Lancome Subtil Rose Blush - I saw it the last time round I was going out of the country and though it looked pretty, randomly chose the #30 shade after some testing on my arms. Love the mix of shimmer come peach/pink undertones! A pretty full color match! - S$48.00

4. Dior Show Iconic Extreme Black - heard pretty good reviews about this so I decided to buy one to try. - S$43.60 (Still, I'm loving my Lancome Hypnose Waterproof (Noir) very very much! - retails at Changi airport for S$35.60).

Mt Sapola Sweet Dreams Sugar Scrub -
Untouched so the essential oils are floating on top!

I also bought the Mt Sapola Lavendar scrub and room mist at Bangkok's airport. Will review them in the future after some use. Hearts the soothing effect from the Lavender room spray!

Anna Sui Super Black Volume Up Mascara

In my search for a water-resistant, non-smudge mascara, I came across a very compelling review of this Anna Sui mascara which a blog reviewer said she swore by for the last 2 years. The review stated that the effect was so spectacular that the curled lashes would hold up for the day and your lashes became dolly and pronounced. Well, I must say the review did state the effects accurately. What it did not state was the hassle of using this mascara - make sure you read point 5!

1) Packaging - ♥♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Lets start from the aesthetics. The mascara packaging is typical of Anna Sui, with the top of the mascara featuring the rose emblem which one associates with the brand. I must say the packaging is awesome and the curves of the mascara makes it easy to hold the brush when applying.

The pretty packaging!

2) Smell - ♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
One wouldn't normally associate smell and mascara together. Afterall I've never really put my nose to smell any mascara! This mascara has a distinct rose fragrance every time you take out the applicator. I attribute that to one of the ingredients - "fragrance (parfum)". While this may be pleasant to some, I believe it does not bode well with people allergic to such products, especially near their eyes! So while I'm not allergic, I am slightly uncomfortable to get perfume so near my eyes! The smell does get to me sometimes too...

3) Smudge-proof/water-proof - ♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
I've not tested this underwater as I typically do not wear make-up when I go swimming or go under the water. However I've got really teary and watery eyes and I require very strong smudge-proof mascara. At this point, I've to emphasize that this mascara has no disclaimer of either smudge or water-proof capabilities! Without the claimants declared, I do think this mascara has got rather good water/smudge proof abilities! I don't really end my days looking like a panda as compared to using some other brands!

4) Holding up the lash curls -  ♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Yes don't we all sigh when we curl our lashes and only to fit them flat and lifeless after 1 hour? We often question if our curlers are at fault or was it the mascara? I believe that most of the time, its the mascara. This mascara works wonders for holding up curls, well in a very pronounced style in fact! I do have curled lashes, which are emphasized in bold black by this mascara, even after work! (that's more than 12 hours already!) This is amazing. However I'm not a fan of drama make-up. I prefer subtle make-up and natural looking stuff. Hence, I wouldn't normally go for this mascara unless I'm attending a dressy function. However if you use fake lashes, this might go on well with them!

5) Applicator/ Application/ Mascara formula -  ♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Ah... yes this is my most hated part of this mascara. Personally, I feel that it overwrites all of the above goodness. The applicator is horrible. The brush bristles are not only extremely short but they are also quite dense. This does not work for a mascara formula which is thick and sticky! An absolute no-no. My formula clumps up all the time, causing my brush to be fully covered with the formula and what do I get? Clumped lashes!! Initially I wondered if it was a one-off problem i.e. only my mascara, but having complained to one of my girlies who also bought this mascara, her's the same too! This is the most disappointing bit of this mascara. Since I didn't want to dump the whole mascara away, I would clean the bristles with wet wipes before each eye application to remove the excessive formula which was stuck to the bristles. Yes, imagine the wastage! It was the only way to use this mascara to get the effects I wanted - the curled long and dolly like lashes. This is a horrible applicator which doesn't match the formula at all.

After some cleaning, the short bristles is revealed!

The uncleaned applicator clumped with the formula. Look at the tip,  of the applicator onwards, a lump of formula is stuck there, as usual. 

I should also mention here that it takes a good 5-10mins before the mascara is fully dried and so never look down even after application. You'll have pretty lash marks on your undereye area... I am quite impatient and this doesn't bode well with me either.

My Summarized Review:
So here you have it. I'm not recommending this product unless you have the patience to clean bristles before each eye's application each time you're using. Even if you do have the patience, I wouldn't recommend this terrible applicator unless you have got other applicators which you like and can stick them into this formula. There are plenty of other mascaras out there, don't torture yourself with this one. By far, this is the worst mascara I've ever tried.

I give this 1 out of 5 smooches due to the terrible applicator and formula mismatch
Score: ♥/♥♥♥♥♥

Burberry Beauty School

Sorry for the 2 week break ladies! Work was insane! That explains the need for really good and effective skincare! Quoting the words of my burberry beauty instructor - Celestine - "if you don't see your skin care working for you, its not doing its job. Time to change!"

Yup I'm here today to talk about my 2 hours make-up course with Burberry beauty! I must say that it was an insightful, hands-on and awesome 2 hours!

We went through the whole process of applying a beautiful face makeup including choosing the right foundation and eye colors!

Right foundation: try it on from your cheekbone downwards, closer to your neck line. The correct foundation shade is one where you feel most comfortable and should blend into your neck color.

Then again, no such beauty school is without some marketing, where I was properly introduced to burberry makeup for the first time! Their key emphasis was creating a flawless face with sheer makeup. Sheer in their sense means light-weighted yet sufficient coverage. Sheer would also allow you to touch up easily and also put on a couple of layers without worrying that its going to look too cakey!

Anyway back to some tips that I picked up during the class
♥ prime your face and eye area before putting on make-up
♥ concealer can be used to highlight nose bridge/ T-zone

Burberry Fresh Glow

♥ when using brush to pick up powder, do not use the tip, use one side to pick up powder and the other side to blend in circular motion
♥ can mix 2 or more color blush to pick up more color depth
♥ emphasize eyes by defining crease


And I'm so impressed by 2 of their items, i'm highly recommending them:
1) Burberry Fresh Glow - a luminous primer base for your face/eye lips - a good perk-me-up! There's also wild rose extract in it which is generally good for scars and the skin! It provides your face a dewy light shimmer finish to ensure you glow for the day!

The awesome mascara!

2) Burberry Mascara - wow they lengthened my eyelashes and kept them full! a super wow! They also don't smudge and clump even though it wasn't outrightly stated that this is a smudge-proof nor waterproof mascara; just a simple weather-proof mascara. The brush is also jagged between long-short which gives the lashes a good brush, love this loads! Comes in 4 colors!

They also introduced their spring/summer collection.. the additions are...

Eye color: pale barley is the newest eye color. It wasn't particularly suited for light skined Asian skin but if you'd like a brownish shimmer color, then do check it out! I personally find tea rose and pale rose more suited for me! Still, its a personal preference!

Burberry Pale Barley (No 22) EyeShadow

4 new lip colors: Tulip pink (no 2), devon sunset (no 28), golden peach (no 29) and primrose hill pink (no 30)



primrose hill pink is an awesome statement color! But if you're bias towards nude and pale tones, try tulip pink layered with the nude rose lip gloss (no 14).

Tulip Pink (No 2)

2 new lip gloss colors: hibicus (bo 13) and nude rose (no 14). I personally like nude rose (yes boring plain jane I know) along side their older colors such as Blush (no 04).

Awesome Awesome colors! Pls refer to the beauty lookbook for swatches!

Primrose Hill Pink (No 30)

Currently, there's only 1 burberry counter in Singapore since August 2011 at Tangs Orchard. However, it has been around since 2010. A pretty new brand but good quality products I must say!