Shop My Stash 11 March 2016

Heeeyyyhoo.. I'm back with the Second ShopMyStash.. My First ShopMyStash was on late January (read here) and I haven't change items since then. The progress is very good on some items, but some others not showing good progress, even few things were untouched. Therefore this time I reduce the number of items from 25 to 20. Two items from previous stash has been finished (Dior Nude Air and Chanel Beaute des Cils), 16 items are kept for current stash and 4 new items being added to the list.

16 items from previous stash are kept because I want to finish most of them as soon as possible. They are either old stuff or my least favorite. Here they are:

1. Make Up Forever Aqua Cream #16. I almost never touched it last month, but since my Naked showing some pan already, maybe I should start working on it again.

2. ABH Dipbrow Pomade Ebony. A little goes a long way. But I'm sure we can see a bit progress here. Just a bit!

3. Bobbi Brown Gel Liner Denim Ink. It was hitting pan on Feb 27th.

4. Benefit Dandelion Mini. It is quite nice on my cheek so I'm enjoying it.

5. Coty Airspun Powder. I'm using it as setting powder. It is good for baking technique too.

6. The Balm Mary Lou Manizer. I tried to repress it yesterday, It's so annoying because the powder is going everywhere. I haven't used it again because I'm reviewing Gerard Cosmetics Star Powders today.

7. Clinique Fresh Bloom. It cracked last week so I couldn't bring it to travel.

8. Guerlain Kiss Kiss Rouge Kiss Mini. 

9. Tom Ford Twist of Fate. A LOT of progress here. It is now gone much further than the embossing.

10. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil. The dent is a bit deeper than last time.

11. Urban Decay Naked Palette. Three pans in two weeks! Half Baked on March 1st, Smog on March 3rd, and Sidecar on March 10th. Half Baked and Smog are getting bigger, but Sidecar still difficult to be captured in photo. 

12. Clinique Duo Like Mink. I don't know.. Lol

13. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. I think it is going near the end, maybe just another month.

14. Burberry Fresh Glow in Nude Radiance. Instant Glow is a must! Maybe less than 20% left.

15. Dior It Lash Blue.

16. YSL Touche Eclat Pen.

4 new items, all lippies!

17. Sleek Matte Me Birthday Suit

18. Too Faced Melted Ruby

19. Maybelline Baby Lips Cherry Kiss (reviewed here)

20. Givenchy Le Rouge Rose Dressing 

Hope to show you some progress next time. Thank you for reading! 

Beauty Picks : Mom's Birthday Dinner

March 2nd is my Mom's Birthday.. She didn't want any party, but how could we, the children, not even come, kiss and wish her personally? Then, we decided to throw a humble dinner for her.

I choose make up I want to wear since early morning because I need to prepare few things for the dinner. I didn't want to be late because of the beauty picks matter. 

If you are my follower, you would know that I'm doing Shop My Stash and did post about this on the end of January. (Want to know more? Read it here). I haven't changed any item since that day. I still feel comfortable using each of them and enjoy the progress I made. So basically that Shop My Stash #1 is still running.

But for this special dinner, I escape completely from Shop My Stash.. I mean that I wear the completely different make up items. My criteria of dinner's make up : foolproof, longlasting, favorite, and looks elegant. In simple words, they are among the best of my collection and all of them are very recommended..

Here they are:

Face : 

- Diorskin Star Foundation no 22. It is good enough without primer, medium coverage, and longlasting. This is one of my favorite foundation of lifetime.

- Gucci Luxe Finishing Powder (reviewed here). Good oil control and good enough for setting, eventhough they say it is a finishing powder.

- Guerlain Meteorites Rainbow (reviewed here). For that extra glow, Guerlain is the bomb!

Eye: 

- Chantecaille 15 years Anniversary Palette (reviewed here). To balance the bold Gucci Sunset.

- Gucci Duo Sunset (reviewed here). One of my favorite texture, color, quality ever.

- Marc Jacobs Gel Liner in Blacquer. Not in a mood for liquid eyeliner, so here's the best option. It is soft and longlasting.

Cheek : 

- Hourglass Diffused Heat. (review here). Pretty and longlasting. No more saying.

- Tomford Moodlight (reviewed here). Natural glow and just because it is Tom Ford.. Lol..

Lips : 

- Cle De Peau Extra Rich Lipstick 311. (reviewed here). My most favorite lipstick formula.

- Dior Brillant 999 (reviewed here). Nice combo with CDP 311 and perfect for touch up. 

Fragrance :

Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom

Do you like my picks? Most of them are already reviewed and the rest will be up soon. I will update the link once I finish them all. Hope this help if you want to buy any of items above if they are still being sold. Thank you for reading and have a nice day.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Diffused Heat

Hourglass Ambient Blush is quite well known in the beauty world. Of course I don't want to be left behind. I have to own at least one of them and I have bought this long time ago but not showing some love until this few last months. 

The packaging is compact and travel friendly. Only it is difficult to look dirt-free and catches fingerprints easily because it is a reflective case kind of type. See reflection of my fingers and handpalm there? The design is simple with only a 'Hourglass' printed a bit aside of the lid, the typical Hourglass packaging. 

It contains of 4.2grams of blush powder. I thought it is a 6grams or whatsoever, it looks bigger than it should be.

What the biggest factor that makes me spend money on this one? Of course the beautiful marble pattern. Each shade has different kind of pattern and I love this Diffused Heat pattern the most. In a second I was contemplating because it reminds me to baked-blush, I was kind of afraid it would have the same result (because I'm not into baked products). In the end, my curiousity won.

The color turn up to be a beautiful pink blush and slightly peach when it is blended well. I thought it was more coral when I ordered, that's why I didn't give much love due that dissapointment. But until recently I use it again and I start to enjoy it.

A fluffy brush and light hand are needed when picking up the products because it is so pigmented. It is a bit powdery when picked up so I need to be more gentle to it. While it is powdery on pan, there is no fall out at application and blends quickly and beautifully to skin. It is also buildable to a level you desire.

The shimmer is well balanced and it's not like a baked blush at all.. It is way softer than that. The best thing is the lasting power. I didn't give much attention before because of that not-coral-but-pink point. But when I did a proper review last month, I found that it last for 8 hours! (I never wear longer than that). 

Even when I was sweating so much yesterday at my mom's birthday dinner and repeatedly wipe the sweat over and over, it last more than 6 hours. I applied at 3pm and reached home at 9pm and it still there, I mean still in very good condition before I erased my make up. How good is that..

Overall, I'm so impressed. I really like this blush and think I should share with you.. I plan to buy some more after I get rid off (read: finish) some least favorite blushers..

Thank you for reading..

Cle De Peau Extra Rich Lipstick 311

Finally after almost half a year, I have a gut to swatch this lipstick.. If you ask me what lipstick is number 1 in my favorite list, the answer is Cle De Peau Extra Rich Lipstick (till today). I'm falling in love at the first swatch in counter last October. I was going to buy more than one, but I was on budget that time so I ended up with shade number 311.

If you are a Japanese make up fans, you will not confuse when case and refill sold separately. From eyeshadow to lipstick, this is so normal. I have ever read a comment in online shopping website that made smile. Someone bought a blusher but not reading carefully that case is not included and complained about that. She wrote why the description is not clear and she is so dissapointed to receive a 'half product'. In fact, the description is actually so clear. From here I just know that few people are not familiar with this kind of packaging. Some Cle de Peau products' case and refill are also sold separately, so please read carefully when you are going to purchase online. 

When you look at my collection, you will know that packaging and embossing are my weakness. Sadly the CDP case is so expensive that I choose to buy only the refill. The lipstick refill packaging is only a simple tube with white hard plastic as a lid. A basic refill packaging and nothing special about it. But it is sturdy enough to protect the product, so I'm happy about it. At least without case, it is cheaper than Tom Ford so I could afford it. Lol..

The product itself is in the shape of diamond and veryyyyy pretty and looks so elegant. The Cle de Peau logo is embossed in the front side of the lipstick.

The shade no 311 is one of their bestseller and before the BA told me that, I already reach the tester and swatch in the back of my hand. I swatch few more colors and admire them but the winner is still 311.

In the picture above, the two left swatch on my hand are Extra Rich Lipstick. The left one is 311. Two on the right are Lip Luminizer. Sorry I only remember 311 and forget about the other shades number.

The texture is so smooth and velvety and it glides easily on my lips. It is not too matte and not glossy, but somewhere between satiny and velvety finish. When I applied on my lips, it feels comfortable and rich. It is also one of the most opaque and pigmented lipstick I've ever tried. It hides my lips imperfection and creates the gorgeous finish that made me 'wow' as soon as I applied it. This last for 6 hours before fading and not drying at all..

I redo the swatch this morning since the lighting on the first swatch is not nice and does not reflect the true color. This kind of red (with a hint of orange) make my face brighter and teeth whiter.. Lol..

The lip swatch was taken at the counter. Do you notice that I wear different shades on my top and bottom lips. The top is 311 and the bottom is 310. I didn't bought 310, but it is definitely my second option and I WILL bring it home next time, 310 is more orange than 311. I topped both of them with Lip Gloss Glow 01 and it looks glossier, sparkler and fuller.

I really really really love love love this 311. Sorry if you think I'm too much. But really, this is my number one on my favorite lipstick list. Do you have any Cle De Peau product? What do you think?

Thank you for reading.. 

Some Sigma Brushes for Face

"You will never get a good make up without good brushes."

What do you think of the statement above? I totally agree.. There are so many options out there. For a non make up junkie maybe think that any brand will do. I was like that too. Why spending so much on brushes?? The money could buy another lipstick instead! I found myself so wrong.

I'm not gonna say cheap brush will always deliver bad result. Sometimes cheap brush could be so surprising. But, I found that I spent too much time and effort on reaching the desired result, not like with my more expensive brushes. The lifespan is also shorter even with the same treatment and the hair is also less softer.

After experiencing that such, I decided to limit myself on "Sigma or better" choice. Means that Sigma is now become my standard in choosing brushes, not by price but by quality. And Sigma also take the biggest part of my brush collection (I don't have too much brushes anyway).

I want to share some of my Sigma Face Brushes and how I use them. Each brush always meant for something, like for face powder, contouring, blush, etc.. It is written in the handle. I look at that designation in a glance but I often ignore and go my own way, so sometimes how I'm using my brush is different from the suggestion. It happens a lot on eyeshadow brushes. But for face brushes, my application mostly matched the description.

And here they are:

1. F80 - Flat Kabuki

This is a multifunction brush. It can be used for both powder and liquids. The result is smooth and nice blended for most of my liquid and powder base. It is perfect when you expect good coverage from your products and also good for building up. I'm currently loving to mix Burberry Fresh Glow and Vitalumiere Aqua in the back of my hand (sanitize first!), spread on my face and blend using this kabuki. 

2. F40 - Large Angled Contour 

I do contour and bronzer with other type of brush. I use this F40 for applying my blusher, especially when I need a natural result. The brush is quite soft so when you like a popping color on your cheek, just build or use a harder brush.

3. F35 - Tapered Highlighter

I don't have fan brush, so this is my only option to apply my highlighter, but I have no complaint. I'm loving it!

4-5. F30 - Large Powder and F20 - Large Powder

Both of them are large powder brush. The shape is identical, only the size is different. F20 is larger than F30. I usually use F20 for loose powder and it delivers fast application but maybe do not reach some area easily. For F30, I like using it with my compacts since F20 is too big for them. I often bring F30 inside my pouch too (I don't like sponge, therefore I need to bring brush to touch up). 

Well, that's how I use those five Sigma Face Brushes.. Personally I think that they are worth the price. Hope you like them like I do.. Thank you for reading. See you next time.

YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat Compact

Looking for a powder foundation? Ever considering YSL? Some people only read the latest products review.. The one they called the newest edition, the current launched, the season series etc, that are so collectible so you don't want to miss. But how if we look at the permanent items, the classic piece, that made people repurchasing all over again because of the quality. Now here is one of those.

Few months ago I finished my Chanel Universelle Compacte that I really love (I even already bought back up). From that point I never open new compact and focus on my Clinique Superbalanced, Coty Aispun and Chanel Vitalumiere Loose. Then last month I sold my Coty Airspun (only keep about 35% for baking undereye) and early January I finished my Clinique, I am now happily looking out from my untouched stash and try this YSL Touche Eclat Powder Foundation. Yep like you could guess easily, I bought this like a year ago or so. It was on sale!!! Hahaha... 

The packaging is in gold, like we expect from YSL. There is place to put sponge beside the powder, and it has holes in the bottom so your sponge could breath. It is refillable, so when you finish just buy the refill.

I am actually not a compact foundation fans since most of them getting cakey and patchy on me. I prefer liquid foundation over powder one. And I usually set and finish with light powder for natural finish.

From the picture above, we could see that this powder is like instant brightening agent. B20 is in my comfort range. I always go for 20-30. I wear it directly on my skin without any primer or foundation and the result quite nice.

The texture is so soft and it blends well to my skin and not cakey at all as long as I apply with brush. It has light to medium coverage with a satin finish. It doesn't cover my blemish and my darkspots completely but I don't mind. If you want to get more coverage, just put some liquid foundation or concealer before. It last for 4 hours without foundation and around 6 hours with foundation and does not clog pores.

For application, I like to apply my powder, including compact powder, with brush. Again, for the sake of natural finish. So I could not comment on how the sponge perform, since I never like them.

On the last picture below, I wear Dior Nude Air Serum before apply this powder to increase the coverage. Not completely cover my imperfection since you know that Dior Nude Air is also very light.

You know that I'm all about that glow. So I need to combine with few glowing products to create dewy finish. Lets say, Guerlain Meteorites Compact for finishing. Well, overall I like this powder's performance. It is good enough to repurchase.

Thank you for reading..

My Confession of Makeupholic (Part 1: Lippieholic)

Well, I was sick and quite busy for past few weeks and didn't have time to take pictures or write in blog. But I feel better now, thanks God, I manage to write some discussion (read: confession) here.

Errr, actually writing about this topic is quite hard and embarassing. I was afraid that people will easily judge or they think that this is kind of show off.. Please guys, if you are one of them, just leave this page and don't continue. Positive vibes only.

I wrote in my 2016 Resolution and Empties post (here) that I'm not ready to tell you any number of my make up inventory. I thought that 'maybe someday' when I start to enjoy the process I will confess, sooner or later. I finally changed my mind.

As a makeupholic, it is difficult to pass even a month without buying anything. By saying "Anything", it is not include the thing that has a quick turnover. I definitely buy facial wash, cottonpad, shower gel, in regular basis and I write the note about that, but I don't count it as hoarding as long as the number is still make sense. If I only have a maximum of three items in any category, I don't count it as hoarding too.

From early of the year until today, my only rebellious action is Make Up For Ever 15 Artist Shadow Palette that I've been wanting since October 2015. Please bear with it.. Lol..

From buying countless items per month, I survive almost 2 months with only one purchase.. (Do I need to reward myself?? #excuse #excuse #excuse hahahaha). That's a lot of sacrifice and a lot of heartpain. So far I successfully skip entire spring collection from any brands available locally and internationally. Only makeupaddict will understand how hard it is to scroll through IG and knowing that everyone posting about an item you want and you are fasting.. Lol.. Special mention to my friends who support me through these days.

On my sleepless night, I tried to search motivation from other people doing project pan, pan that palette, project use it up, or anything similar to keep my mind under control. Then, I decided to write this post. Let me be selfish this time, because this post is more about me and maybe not giving any information or benefit to you guys. It is to motivate me to keep on track, to give spirit to continue my no-buy and shopmystash action. I understand if you say that I'm talking about nothing here.

I will reveal my make up collection and this time is only about my lipstick collection. I hope when I post the list, I will not dare to buy anything new anymore because I must be embarashed if my reader and friends know that I am not a strong person, that I don't keep my promise not to buy again.

Well, no more saying, here's the number.. #thesoundsofdrum #parampampampam..

I currently have in total 167 lippies consist of 31 liquid lipstick, 105 conventional lipstick, 28 lipstick pan in a palette, only 3 lipbalm, and no lipliner. From that number, 99 are UNTOUCHED, 41 are more than 95%, 16 are more than 90%, only 11 are less than 90%.

I know some people that have much more than this number and no problem arise. Again please don't judge. Everybody have their own standard, and this number is more than enough for me, because I don't work in beauty industry, I'm not a celebrity, I'm just a normal person living with too much make up to use on and I clearly don't use them well. I need to use them before they gone bad or my money are not well spent.

Impossible to finish them all, but I will do my best to touch the untouched, to bring down the % and maybe finish a few (?).. That's a promise.. Lol..

What do you think? Want to join me?

I will post about other collection as soon as I can.  Thank you for reading