Giorgio Armani – Bubbly Michelle

Current favourites

July 27, 2014July 27, 2014by Bubbly Michelle8 Comments

Hi Hi!

Todays post is all about products i’ve been enjoying lately. Random lifestyle and travel necessities kinda mix with a few beauty essentials thrown in as well.

I usually save posts like this for Instagram, but this time around I wanted to add some quick reviews too, so what better place to do a detailed post than right here, my outlet, my blog!!!

Let’s start out with the edit.

First up, some things I use when I travel.

My Benefit eye mask- A little treat from my visit to the San Francisco Benefit store on Fillmore street. I love how soft and silky this feels and is my inflight essential. I need this to get some shut eye while I patiently (Or impatiently rather) wait till we land.

Sleep sniff box- It’s a soothing mix of essential oils (Lavender, Cammomile & Neroli) that calms the mind and gets you into a nice relaxed state. I love to keep this in my carry on so I can take a whiff of this and go right to sleep.

Next, some mode essentials

Lace slippers – This is by far my most loved pair of shoes right now. Since i’m a jeans and tee kinda gal, they are super easy to mix and match and I always love how it shows off my pedicure too! It’s a very budget friendly find from Bershka and I really can’t get enough. Plus, they are virtually weightless! I can walk miles in them… Glad I packed these for my holiday.

Red Valentino bag – Just big enough to hold my phone, mirror, lipstick and maybe a perfume. But is oh so light and I love how the bright red instantly lifts any outfit. Plus these shoulder bags are always great when going sightseeing cos you can be ‘hands free’ to have your camera ready while making memories! I am glad I am finally putting this to good use, it’s been neglected for far too long.

Some beauty!

Clarins samples – Always a favourite for when I travel. There are quite a few that I use on a daily basis so I am glad I have them in a convenient travel size as well. The products I enjoy the most are their Defining eye lift serum, Hydra Quench moisture mask, Hydra Quench cream gel and the Instant eye makeup remover.

So a quick review on these.

Defining eye lift –

I am someone who wakes up with majorly puffy eye lids. Although they slowly ‘depuff’ by the time I get around to doing my makeup. I still like to use this to tighten my eye area. It’s a serum that can be applied before your regular eye cream and just a tiny amount will do. I apply it on my eye lid and smooth it out towards the brow in a patting motion so that it stimulates circulation and drains any water retention that causes the puffiness. If you are looking to add one more step to your eye routine, this could be a worthy contender!

Hydra Quench cream mask –

This is a Clarins product that I LOVE. It’s not expensive and works just as effectively as some of the more pricier moisture masks i’ve tried. I also love the nice fresh scent of this particular line by Clarins. I use the gel moisturiser of this same line for morning hydration and have talked about it before.

Instant eye makeup remover –

Just a good speedy eye makeup remover with no irritation. I love how this dissolves mascara without having to ‘rub’ too much. And I am glad I have this in a travel size. Clarins really are soo generous with samples. Kinda addicting in a way..

Back to the post,

Hand creams – I’ve been loving two actually. I use the thicker, more nourishing La Mer one as a night time treatment and this Diptyque Eau Rose as a day time hand cream since it’s smaller and I find is very easy to take around in my bag. Personally I wish La Mer would do a more travel friendly size of their hand cream. Have you seen how heavy the cap is??? It’s insane. I feel like I need a separate bag to carry this in!

Now onto some makeup bag essentials..

Hakuhodo retractable brush – Fits perfectly in my little makeup bag and great to use with any powder I might be carrying. I love how it is encased in this holder so the bristles don’t mingle with the other contents of my bag. So hygienic.

VDL Blotting powder – I love this stuff. I remember how I tried this the very first day at the counter and all dewiness, GONE right in front of my eyes. It’s lightweight and doesn’t leave a white cast cos it’s translucent, so even if you have darker skin, this works perfect for you too.

Diptyque Do Son – This is my favourite Diptyque perfume. It’s a heady scent of Tuberose, something feminine and floral but is still a bit creamy and smooth. I’ve had this for over a year now and I still can’t stop using it. I like to keep a sample in my bag so I don’t have to carry my bottle around when I travel. Works out perfectly for me. But I think I may need to restock my samples next time I visit a Diptyque store..

O.P.I Avoplex cuticle oil to go – Something I can’t live without! You really REALLY need to try this. It’s a little tube with a brush tip applicator which instantly hydrates dry cuticles. Normally for me hand creams alone aren’t enough, and I always rely on this baby to keep my hands looking well groomed and hydrated.

Sensai Lip treatment sample – So I have never owned this in a full size and it is my second sample pot (I got three!). But I am completely in love with this conveniently packaged coin size pot of lip treatment. It’s my nightly lip balm and I also keep it in my makeup bag to use as and when needed. The texture of this is not waxy or oily like normal lip balms, but a lightweight formula that feels like a light moisturiser. It keeps my lips in good condition, so I like to have this around.

Armani Flash Lacquer 520 – This is my go-to lipgloss these days. It’s a medium pink with a slight warm tone. Perfect to mimic youthful healthy lips. I also love that this can be layered over lipstick to make them more pinky and flushed. I believe it’s a fail safe colour for most skin tones.

concluding with some lifestyle products…

Penhaligons Endymion candle – Where do I even begin…. It’s an addictive creamy scent with a very sexy warm profile. I keep this in my living area and light it whenever I need to feel pampered and relaxed. I love love love this!

Breath luxury phone portable charger by M.Craftsman – Can’t count how many times this has been my saviour when my phone died. This portable charger can store up to 2.5 times your iPhone battery and is great for when you are on vacay so you can charge on the go if you are out all day. I actually have two. And how sleek is the packaging with the leather and suede mix? VERY!!!

Last but not least –

Some Fashion/Art in the form of Manolo drawings. Who doesn’t like shoes? And I think Manolo makes some of the most creative and exotic ones. I love to brows through this little book and dream of all the gorgeous shoes that I would just love to try on some day. These are more like works of art. Truly admire Mr Manolo.

So there you have it, a ramble about my current loves. Hope I didn’t bore you too much 🙂

In any case I plan to do more lifestyle type posts like this in future to break up the monotony of just beauty and skincare reviews.

Wishing you a great weekend!

Michelle.

Makeup, Skincare

February Favourites

March 2, 2014by Bubbly Michelle8 Comments

So first week of February I packed my bags and headed to California taking with me, all my skincare essentials and makeup. I knew the weather wasn’t going to be hot and humid like Singapore. It was Winter over there, dry and slightly chilly; so obviously my current skincare and makeup routine needed to be tweaked to accommodate these changes. This post is all about the products that stood out this month helping me cope with all these changes…

…..my favourites for February.

La Mer hand cream – The most hydrating hand cream I’ve ever used. This was the first purchase I made the second I got to SF. My hands were dry and felt so parched after that long flight and I needed an SOS solution to take care of them and this was it. What I love the most is, even though it’s a thick cream, once you spread it on and massage it into you hands, it doesn’t feel horribly greasy, which is a good thing. It protects your hands from loosing moisture and keeps them feeling comfortable and supple; I carried this in my handbag everyday. In case you were wondering if there was any added SPF, no. This is just purely for hydrating purposes.

Tom Fords Spring 2014 lipsticks – If I had to pick one thing from all the Spring releases. This would be it. I adore the white packaging. Although I initially felt the need to rebel and whine that I prefer the mahogany casing, the white was a refreshing change for Spring 🙂 And I am happy I managed to snag a few of them before they go out of stock. To me, the colours that stood out the most were Summer Fling and Firecracker. I used Summer Fling almost everyday in Feb, and still not tired of it!

Giorgio Armani Flash Lacquer in 107 – This was my favourite gloss to layer over my TF Summer Fling lipstick. I love how light and moist it is without being sticky. Such a great colour for a polished look.

Lancôme Absolue foundation – There was a reason I packed this for my trip; back in Jan, I tried Absolue out and although I loved the texture and feel of this, I found it could get a little too dewy. So I thought since it’s deeply hydrating and has added skincare in it, why not test it out in dryer weather. It turned out to be the perfect companion! I shudder at the thought of how my skin would feel with Chanels Perfection Lumiere on. >.<

The Body Shop Shimmer cubes – These are the cutest things ever! Although they are meant for the eyes, there’s nothing stopping me from using these pretty much on any part of my face. You see, when I was packing, I deliberately didn’t pack a daytime highlighter since I was planning on getting the Armani Belladonna that was due to be released soon. So in the mean time, I was highlighterless! It was chaos basically, since highlighters are a must have for me. So I compromised, used the lightest shade in this quad as a highlighter one day and it was love at first swipe. I also love that it’s not gonna burn a hole in your wallet!

Clé de Peau concealer stick – This is by far the best concealer that I have ever come across. It’s the perfect balance between pigmentation and creaminess. I love how smooth this is without being overly emollient, and covered everything so effortlessly using just a teeny tiny amount of product. Of course it’s not a steal at $70! But given how little you need to use of this product, it would last you at least two years 🙂 Definitely a good investment.

Éclat de Corail blush by Lancôme – This along with another 3 Blush Subtil colours were packed in my pouch ready for review, and from the lot, this was my favourite. It was a very wearable, simple everyday shade which pretty much compliments any outfit or makeup look I wear. A warm peachy coral shade with a subtle gold shimmer to it. I just loved it so much!

Chanel Joues Contraste in the colour Rose Petale – Another one of my vacay purchases and I got to use it a lot throughout the month. Rose Petale is the perfect muted rose shade and I love the US formula of these blushes and was happy to pick it up. If you are used to the baked version, let me tell you the pressed one is very very different. I personally love how soft and pigmented this version is, and no longer will I ever buy another baked Chanel blush again!

Diptyque Rosa Mundi – I was just sooo excited to visit the SF Diptyque boutique just to get my hands on this, so I splurged and came home with the entire range, the Rosa Mundi Candle, Eau Rose body lotion and hand cream. The body lotion is my favourite so far. And I used it everyday. Since the Eau Rose perfume isn’t that long lasting, layering it with this helps with keeping the scent going for longer:-) Although the hand cream and the body lotion are permanent releases (thank god!) the candle isn’t. So if you want to get your hands on this, act fast!

That concludes my list of favourites for the past month, hope you enjoyed reading. What have been your favourites for February? I’d love to know!

Wishing you a fabulous March!

Michelle.

Makeup

Luminessence CC Cream by Giorgio Armani Beauty

February 14, 2014by Bubbly Michelle21 Comments

Armani recently added a new product to its portfolio, Luminessence CC cream. A lightweight, ‘colour control, bright moisturizer’.

In my opinion, Armani excels in base products. Almost every one that has been released so far has made its way to one or the other ‘best of beauty’ lists of magazines, so I am excited to review this for you!

First things first, this product comes in 7 shades and was designed to give you a ‘rested’ glow, ‘It features a triple technology on skincare for its energizing and antioxidant complex, color for its pinky “rose glow” pigments and light for its liquid mirror technology.’

Here are the swatches of the entire shade range.

My perfect match was in between 4 and 5 (5 was a touch dark on me), and I happen to be a NC 35. So that should give you a rough idea how the numbers run.

Upon first swatch, I loved how creamy and moisturizing this felt, it spreads evenly and very smooth and most of all feather light! (Foundation phoebes would love this!)

My choice of application method would be fingers and working it into your skin after you moisturize. It glides on easily and doesn’t accentuate flakey areas much as it’s very moisturizing.

Coverage

Though I initially felt this was light to medium coverage, I was wrong! Once applied on my face (before, I just swatched this on the back of my hand at the counter… lesson learned) it definitely looked more on the sheerer side. So if you have a tanned forehead and lighter cheeks and you count on foundation to even it out, then you might want to skip this (or use it as a sunscreen following with a base), as it doesn’t really correct and even out skin tone to that extent. The best this would do is hide redness, which is common for many around the cheeks and nose.

While I tested out coverage, I also checked if this was buildable. Although I achieved a higher coverage by patting on more product on to my skin, the fact that this CC cream never really ‘sets’, leaves me fearing that the extra coverage would eventually wipe off as the day progresses (I wore this without setting it with powder and a fair amount kept transferring onto my phone every time I answered a call). Therefore I would suggest lightly setting this with powder, specially if you have combination skin. But worn alone you’d be able to appreciate the products full potential as a brightener, although I know this is next to impossible in warmer, humid climates.

The best selling point which needs to be highlighted is that this CC cream has a high SPF (35). Usually it’s recommended that you use at least an SPF 30 on your face for sufficient sun protection and this would definitely do the job well.

As I conclude this post, i’d like to rate this product an 8.5.

It’s a great product for those who don’t like to use foundation, but need that something extra than just plain old sunscreen. I also love the dewy, luminous finish it gives, and most of all, helps you look rested! Mine lasted around 3 hours (without setting with powder) before I had to blot my t-zone. But apart from that, this lasts pretty much all day without starting to look ‘worn’.

I also tested it on the next day with setting powder, although it wasn’t as luminous, it did stay looking fresh much longer! So that’s a plus, and definitely a good way to go if you have combination skin like I do.

Product info

This retails at $50 in the U.S.

I got my sample at Neiman Marcus In Union Square, San Francisco. And currently, the stock is not in yet, but the testers are. So if you are keen on trying them, you can reach the Armani counter at 415-362-3900 Ext 2142 and ask lovely Fernando help you with your purchase.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead!

Michelle.