review – Bubbly Michelle

Guerlain Météorites 02 Clair (Comparison post between original and reformulated version)

March 24, 2014March 24, 2014by Bubbly Michelle6 Comments

Here’s another post that I’ve had several requests for, my thoughts on the reformulated Guerlain Météorites.

If you’ve been following my Instagram you’d know that it’s one of my favourite products in my everyday makeup arsenal. I adore it with all my heart. Trust me when I say, this product does ‘Photoshop’ your face. I have actually sat in front of a mirror facing a window and compared the sides of my face with and without Météorites. It’s like a vanishing act at a magic show. Pores are less visible, wrinkles somewhat blurry and face looks so smooth, like silk; and most importantly that unmistakable ‘Guerlain Glow’.

So you might start to wonder why in the world did they change the formula, why fix it if it ain’t broke? Well that’s the question I’d like the answer to as well!

Anyways, here’s my two cents on this whole thing. Just facts for you to digest.

Before we proceed any further here’s a quick look at the new ‘stardust’ technology that goes into the reformulated Guerlain Météorites and how it works (taken from the official press release).

Guerlain, skilfully creates a glow and highlights lovely skin, capturing the “gleam of stardust” for the first time. Each Météorites pearl contains a spherical pigment at its heart. On contact with light, it diffracts it in a new direction, converting light rays that are invisible to the naked eye into visible, correcting light.

As always let’s begin with the packaging. Keeping with tradition, the packaging of Guerlain products always looks luxurious and oh so covetable.

The new formula comes in a newly designed tin, shiny and beautiful, with a gorgeous fish scale imprint all around it and the lid adorned with a beautiful rosette in shades of pink. Also worth a mention is, instead of the usual sponge that sits on top of the Météorites pearls, we have this pretty little powder puff. I am not sure why this change took place, but can’t help but wonder if they intended it to be used for application..

Upon revealing the contents, there is one distinctive difference. The quantity of pearls in the tin is noticeably less (5g less to be precise). Now, to be quite honest I have had my Météorites for the last 2 years, using it pretty much everyday; and I haven’t really noticed the quantity of product drop, except for some of the pearls that have shrunken from use. I mean, if you bought one of these, my guess is you’d use it for a good 5 years. So the reduction in quantity is not a deal breaker to me. But I know some of you really do feel differently about it.

(L-R, 02 Clair, Teint Rose)

So as for as the product goes, I noticed that the new one is powdery, softer and the pearls more fragile, and if you look at the comparison of the amount of product that the brush picks up with two swirls, it’s a lot compared to the old version. Now this is where the ‘less product’ issue comes to play!

(top to bottom- Clair swirl, Teint Rose swirl)

Stemming from the softness of the pearls, I feel that once the product is applied, it is now more visible on the skin. For the first time in my life, I can actually see Météorites on my face. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. So for those of you who love brightening your face with white powders, you will love this new version (specially 01 Blanc de Perle or 02 Clair)! However my recommendation is to go with a shade that suits your skin tone if you truly want this to be undetectable (before you could pretty much get away with any shade of Meteorites as they all just melt into your complexion, although Teint Rose was my favourite as it had the most brightening effect, sans the white cast).

All in all, I still love Météorites, though I am quite partial to the older formula and mighty glad I have a backup.

I’d suggest you get a shade that sits as close as possible to your own skin colour and the results would be almost the same, except the extra powderiness.

Other info

There are 4 shades in this new and permanent collection of Météorites, from the ‘Blossom collection’

01 Blanc de Perle (Asia Exclusive)

02 Clair- PURE LIGHT FOR FAIR SKIN: within the legendary harmony, green pearls form a halo for skin prone to redness, white pearls reflect the light to make the complexion glow and champagne pearls become one with the skin tone to gently illuminate it.

03 Medium -TONE-ON-TONE LIGHT FOR MEDIUM SKIN: the most nude harmony, in which beige pearls act as complexion-perfecting agents, champagne pearls naturally reflect the light and peach pearls give a satin sheen and a unique glow to the skin.

04 Doré – WARM LIGHT FOR GOLDEN SKIN: the most smouldering harmony highlights beige pearls that even out the complexion, chocolate pearls with satin shimmers and vivifying fushia pearls that revive radiance for de- liciously beautiful skin.

Météorites Perles retail at all Guerlain counters in Singapore for $81

Mine was a sample sent for review by the lovely folk at LuxAsia 🙂

Makeup

NARS Kauai eyeshadow duo

March 12, 2014March 12, 2014by Bubbly Michelle8 Comments

So it seems I have been posting quite a bit of NARS lately.. but you know what? There’s more!!!

Behold the magnificent NARS Kauai Duo. A metallic antique gold and a medium shimmery purple.

From the two quads that released this Spring, this one was my top pick, as I can honestly say I have no eyeshadows in my collection which can be considered as exact dupes. Although China Seas is beautiful in it’s own right, I never see myself reaching for a blue of that tone for everyday makeup. However, since purple is my favourite for accenting my deep brown eyes, getting this was a no brainer.

So pigmentation wise both shades pack some serious colour, and the gold more so. It’s pigmented to the point where it felt like cream! And never before have I ever encountered such an amazing texture, not even the Hourglass eyeshadow duos (which I would describe as silky rather than creamy when compared to this) 🙂

While photographing the swatches I only had to do one firm pass to get this to show up in full opacity, but for courtesy’s sake I decided to do two.

On to the purple… This too was highly pigmented and I find that it’s a great liner shade if you don’t see yourself using the duo for a complete eye look on a day to day basis. Personally i’d get more use out of them as singles, the gold for a nice wash of colour for a night out and the purple as an accent colour to jazz up a neutral beige eye look for the day time.

So without wasting more time here are the swatches…. please note that these were taken in natural light.

If you asked me, is it worth rushing out and buying? I’d say yes, only if you see yourself using these type of shades. But as far as quality goes, this one can’t be beat and is a must have if you are a makeup lover like myself 🙂

Other info-

These eyeshadows lasted well over 8 hours on me with no creasing and I found them very blendable and easy to work with.

Available at Sephora (U.S) which is where I purchased mine.

Priced at $34 for 0.14 oz of product.

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.

Makeup

The NARSissist eyeshadow palette (LE) review, photos and swatches.

January 25, 2014January 26, 2014by Bubbly Michelle10 Comments

And here it is! The limited edition NARSissist eyeshadow palette. 15 gorgeous eyeshadows housed in one palette.

Pictured below is a guide to all the swatches and reviews, named for your convenience 😉

L & R (Left and Right) are colours that appear in existing duo eyeshadows. The others are all existing singles except Bad Behaviour which was an LE.

Narsissist eyeshadow palette row 2 swatches — ( All about Eve(L), Madrague (R), Fez, Bali, Coconut grove)

*P.S- Click on the images to view full size 🙂

Row 1

All about Eve (L) – A shimmery warm beige with a slight pink tinge. This had medium colour pay off, and went on somewhat sheer.

Madrague (R) – A light brown with a slightly warm undertone, this matched my medium skin and disappears once blended in. I feel on fairer skin tones this would show up very well.

Fez – A high shimmer coppery bronze. This had excellent colour payoff. The best performer in this palette!

Bali – A neutral dark brown. Although this was not dry to the touch and was finely milled, it applied quite patchy with less than impressive pigmentation. This was the dud in the palette, which was a shame as it would have been a great colour for crease work in a neutral matte eye look.

Coconut grove – A deep, dark, warm matte brown. It was finely milled and pigmented, and the colour pay off was average, although I should note it was a bit disappointing compared to the Coconut grove single eyeshadow, which had incredible colour payoff and is one of my all time favourite NARS colours.

Row 2

Madrague (L) – A matte cream shade with a light yellow undertone. This was very soft to the touch and finely milled. The colour pay off was very good and would make a lovely highlighter for the brow bone or a good base shade.

Nepal – A warm shimmery rose. This had good colour payoff, soft and blendable. One of my favourites!

Ashes to ashes – A neutral taupe shade with a shimmer finish. This went on a bit sheer due to its harder, firm texture, but I found that the colour was easily buildable.

Brousse (R) – A deep dusty aubergine shade which was gorgeous. I did find some difficulty picking up the colour as it was a dryer, stiffer texture. Although, this too was buildable to full opacity.

Mekong – A deep dark matte brown with bronze shimmer. This was well pigmented with very good colour payoff but was slightly on the dryer side. A gorgeous shade nonetheless.

Row 3

Bellisima (L) – A shimmery yellow ivory shade with gold flecks. I found this a little powdery and applied sheer.

Lhasa – A dusty shimmery lavender shade. One of my favourites in this palette as I owned nothing like it! This too was on the harder side, and went on sheer but was easily buildable to medium opacity. And looked gorgeous once applied!

Bad Behaviour – A LE colour released with the Guy Bourdin collection. This is a warm pewter shade. The colour payoff was good. And was pretty much opaque once applied.

Dogon (R) – A deep Navy with very fine shimmers, although upon application it looked almost matte. This felt soft to the touch but the colour payoff was not too great.

Pandora (R) – A deep matte black. This had decent colour payoff, although blends into a very sheer shade which required a lot of building to get full coverage.

Final thoughts

I found the colours in this palette very workable, I personally see myself reaching for this regularly if not every day.

All but three had good and buildable coverage, namely Bali, Dogon and Pandora.

And my favourites were Fez, Nepal, Lhasa, Bad behavior and Mekong.

Overall around 9 out of the 15 were very good shades (blending easily and buildable to a higher opacity with no powderiness). It’s value for money, considering In Singapore a duo retails somewhere around $45 I believe.

For those who prefer very highly pigmented eye shadow with intense colour pay off, this palette might be a bit disappointing. However for a majority of makeup users this would make a perfect travel companion or a great addition to your everyday makeup bag as it’s a nice compact size housing a total of 15 eye shadows!

Also if you are already a collector of NARS eyeshadows and own quite a number of these shades, obviously there’s no point in purchase since none of the colours are new. However if they are your favourites, this would be a great way to own the same colours (for travel purposes) as a portable version at a very economical price.

In conclusion, I see this palette selling out fast, as all NARS palettes. So if you are interested, act fast 🙂

Pre order link for Singapore – http://bit.ly/narsissist

Palette info-

Retail price SGD115

Net wt. 0.03 oz. 1g (x15)

Launch date for Singapore- 3^rd Feb.

Special thanks to Julyen at the NARS counter at Tangs for providing me with valuable info while putting together this post for you and also a thank you to NARS for generously sending me a palette for review.

P.S- To see this palette in action, drop by my IG page, there’s a dramatic eye look that I post yesterday after my NARS makeover 🙂

Skincare

REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal mask

December 13, 2013February 14, 2014by Bubbly Michelle2 Comments

Today I will be reviewing a mask by REN, a much talked about skincare company that ‘uses only 100% plant and mineral derived actives and is free from skin-unfriendly synthetic ingredients *’ which means, No Parabens, Sulfates, Mineral oil, Silicones, artificial fragrances etc… And as a plus, this company does NOT test on animals which is something I love to see on product packaging!

I picked up this mask maybe about two months ago, and the fact that it was always out of stock at my local retailer was something that got me even more excited to try it! It’s like those magical words ‘Limited Edition’ is to makeup! Ha ha! So in the mean time while I waited for new stock to arrive I tried a sample of this as well as the F10 Smooth and Renew Peel mask (intended for sensitive skin).

Between the two, the Smooth and Renew mask left me so underwhelmed that I banished all thoughts of purchasing it, where as the Glycolactic Radiance Renewal mask was everything a mask should ideally be… deliver SPEEDY RESULTS!

I love the no nonsense packaging of REN products, and the pump bottle is perfect as it is the most hygienic for this type of product. It also comes with a tiny little cap for the nozzle that keeps the mask fresh too. So yes, packaging gets a 10/10 from me.

The product is somewhat of a thick jelly like texture that looks like fruit puree with the most amazing nectarine orangey smell! I die! And remember? no artificial fragrances! Isn’t that just awesome! Then as I glanced through the ingredients list I came across Lactic acid, Papaya extract and various other fruit extracts (which explains the smell!).. all of which are known to help peel off the dead skin cells to reveal fresh youthful skin.

Onto instructions for use and findings-

Upon application the mask leaves a slight tingling sensation, though not to the point where it is uncomfortable, after I left the mask on for 10 minutes I washed it off using the soft muslin cloth that came with the product, and noticed how radiant, glowy and soft my skin felt, it was actually one of those moments when you hear the heavens sing! Mind blown!

The mask did leave a few tiny red blotches around my nose and cheeks which is expected since I do have sensitive skin, and this mask is NOT recommended for sensitive skin btw! But I sprayed a bit of Avene thermal spring water on my face and it helped curb the redness. To me the overall result was well worth that short period of discomfort of blotchiness and I also noticed that with use, my skin didn’t react as much as the first time I used the product. So to sum it up, best try a sample before purchase if you have very sensitive skin.

….and the answer to the million dollar question, would I repurchase? – A hundred times yes! This product works, and I would love to use it everyday and the only thing stopping me is that it’s only recommended to be used once a week.

Other info-

Contains 50ml/1.7fl.oz product per bottle and is available in the US at Sephora for US$ 55 and online via Strawberrynet.com for US$ 58

I purchased mine at Escentials Singapore at the Tangs beauty boutique, and is also available at Escentials at Paragon.

Thank you for reading, and please don’t hesitate to contact me if there are any questions about this product that you may want answered, as I am always happy to help! 🙂 Catch me on Instagram as well for updates on all things makeup and beauty related. Username ‘bubblymichelle’

xx, Michelle.