Review: essence of | BEAUTY Deluxe Duo Set

I saw these brushes in makeup videos by Michelle Phan and DulceCandy87 and thought to my self, those would be great to use as travel brushes.

These essence of BEAUTY brushes are available from CVS (similar to Guardian or Watsons) but for us in Malaysia, we can get these either via eBay or spree-ers.  I'll be doing sprees soon so do let me know what kind of products (clothes & cosmetics/beauty products) from the US would you be interested in.

elf Studio Haul and Review

There are generally mixed opinions when it comes to elf products.  Especially due to their insanely low and affordable price tags, it is assumed that the products aren't as good as higher end brands (or at least more expensive brands).  But I've noticed that some YouTube makeup gurus have no qualms about using elf products.

Latest from elf is their Studio line.  I personally didn't find the regular elf products attractive and the brushes on their website didn't look enticing enough to make me want to get them.  Their falsies however I might consider getting.  They're only USD1 each!

Zombie Makeup for Halloween

Yes.  I know this post is a bit late.  But here I just wanted to share with everyone the simple zombie makeup I did on my lil brother.  We were out at 1B mall that day and dropped by the MAC counter there.  He got stitches drawn on his cheek (just a tiny length).  He loved the crazy makeup the MUAs at the store had and asked me to help him with it.

His skintone is darker than mine, so I used my own powder and it was perfect (although it wouldn't hurt to make him a bit lighter for this look).  Next I started with the eyes.  Didn't put on primer since it was only gonna be on for no longer than half an hour.  Started with a deep red/rust colour on the lids, crease, and blended it into the brow bone (and under the eye and lower lash line) then added a layer of black eyeshadow on top concentrating on the lids and lined the lower lash line with it.

For the lips I used Maybelline's WaterShine in Hazelnut Sauce to match the shade of his face so it looked more pale.  For the stitches, first I used a black pencil eyeliner to draw the lines.  Then layered on a bit of pink, plum and dark purple for a bruised look.

He loved it and I had fun playing with my 120 eyeshadow palette as well.

Review: IQQU Advance Sunscreen SPF35 UVA/UVB

We all know that getting sufficient amounts of Vitamin D from natural sources like the sun is equally important as eating healthy and exercising. However, we all know how essential it is to protect it from the sun's harmful UV rays as well, right?

Maybe for some of you out there who are like me, it's pretty hard to find a sun protector for the face that gives you the right amount of protection but doesn't smell like regular sunscreen (and doesn't feel icky throughout the day).  Of course it must be skin friendly as well.

Of recent months, I've become an avid YouTube makeup vid fan in particular of Michelle Phan and DulceCandy87. For the purpose of this review, let's focus on Michelle. She creates beautiful easy to follow and practical makeup. She gives great tips and tricks as well as product reviews and DIY beauty. She is also one of Seventeen magazine's 10 Beauty Smarties and has her own line of skincare products, IQQU Beauty.

IQQU is currently only available online although she is thinking of expanding the brand to be sold at physical stores in the near future. But for the moment, no worries because IQQU ships internationally! The brand currently offers 5 products and another 2 more on the way. She's also working on day and night eyeshadow quads to add to the mix.

One of IQQU's best selling product is their Advance Sunscreen SPF35.

Lip Samples to Lip Pots

You know those cute little lipstick samples that comes in magazines?

Well, since I used to hoard magazines on a monthly basis the past few years, I'd already collected a few of this cuties but have never had a chance to use them.  For one thing, the little things were pretty fragile in my opinion in the first place.  A huge part of the product is exposed while only a tiny fraction is held by the bottom holder. There was absolutely no way you could use it the same way you would a regular full size lipstick.  Any extra pressure exerted on the creamy tip would result in it breaking off! I was not much of a lip brush person (unless for gloss maybe) and thus the task of testing out these cute freebies tends to be cumbersome.