Spring 2014 – Bubbly Michelle

Mika for Shu Eye shadow spiral duo 02- Orange Pink mix

April 19, 2014April 19, 2014by Bubbly Michelle5 Comments

Mika for Shu launches this May, so I figured i’ll share my thoughts on these with ample time for you to make up your lists and be prepared 😉

As you probably already know, a while back I attended a fun event put together by the lovely girls at the Shu Uemura Singapore office. It was a carnival themed candy infested ordeal.. and boy did we have fun! Possibly the best event I have attended in quite some time. And of course I was sent home with a giant goodie bag filled with Mika goods to review and share with you! Thank you Shu Uemura! 😀

So this collection consists of these candy inspired spiral eye shadows, base products (Dual fit powders & UV under bases), exotic lashes, nail stickers, Tint in Gelato (already in store and reviewed here) and the iconic cleansing oils, all adorned with the mystical and colourful graphics created by Mika Ninagawa renowned photographer and film director.

So today let’s start with a closer look at the Spiral eyeshadow duo.

In the left pan you get a swirl of bright medium orange, bright sparkly yellow and frosty white; and in the right, a swirl of muted almost magenta pink and light pearly pink. I love that there are so many colour options making it good value for money!

The packaging on the other hand was a bit of a let down as it’s plastic, and feels very flimsy when handled. As much as I love the cute Mika graphics, my expectations are always high when it comes to packaging and clearly in this case, it was not met.

But I am happy to report the product itself was an A+.

I got impressive payoff with these. I particularly loved how the orange shade applied. It had the right amount of shimmer and was noticeably better pigmented than the pink. The yellow shade was also as pigmented but had more of a sparkly finish and both combined together was just beautiful. The pink and the light pink gave medium colour payoff as it felt a little bit harder. But without too much effort I got good opacity with layering, as these are buildable to true-to-pan intensity.

I also used a smaller brush and picked up some of the colours individually to use as accents for inner eye highlighting and lining and they all come together well, to create a complete, balanced eye look.

Here’s what I created using this palette.

Personally I prefer it worn very soft and lightly blended for a flattering day look. No liner.

And here’s one with more lid action 😉

I also took another option with very thin liner.

Final thoughts

These eyeshadows wore very well and are quite crease proof. I managed to wear this look yesterday for around 10 whole hours (used over a primer) and only saw minimal fading.

Bottom line, if you enjoy sugary shades, this palette is definitely worth a look.

Other info

The Spiral duo palettes come in two versions- Orange and pink as seen here, as well as a white and brown version for those who prefer to take the ‘safe’ colour route (which excludes me of course!).

You get 3g 0.1 oz for SG$ 55 and will be sold at all Shu Uemura counters island wide.

Launch date – 1st May.

Makeup

Sisley Phyto-Lip Twists

March 12, 2014March 22, 2014by Bubbly Michelle10 Comments

Welcome to the world of sheer, juicy lipsticks.

Although I am one of ‘those people’ who prefer a lipstick with maximum coverage, there are yet occasions where a sheer lip tint is the way to go. One of them being, a super hot and humid day where you really can’t be bothered doing your makeup and just want to leave home with mascara and maybe, just maybe a tinted moisturiser (exactly like what Singapore feels like right now!!!!). So here I am sharing with you those yummy colours that made it into my makeup bag, non fussy lip balms/tints and sheer lipsticks.

For edit purposes I chose a few of my favourite Spring colours in corals and pinks!

1. Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist in #3 Peach

2. Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist in #4 Pinky

3. Tom Ford – Sweet Spot

4. Tom Ford – Incorrigible

5. Bite Beauty – Lychee

6. Bite Beauty – Watermelon

7. Bite Beauty – Orchard

These are all on rotation and I can’t seem to get through my days without them!

So onto the main purpose of this post….

Those yummy Sisley Phyto-Lip tints that just launched this Spring. Can I just say, what a perfect collection of colours! Of course I took the predictable route and came home with Pink and Coral! But this range really does carry something suited for everyones tastes, from nudes to berry tones to reds!

When I visited my local counter I realised that they only carried 5 of the 6 shades that were released (Cherry being the shade that’s missing), total shame though cos if you follow me on Instagram you’d already know that I NEVER pass up on a good red 😀

Here’s a little peek at what’s available for purchase at the Metro Paragon Sisley counter!

Let’s start off with the packaging, these lip twists come in sturdy black packaging detailed with a zebra print barrel. The cap sits firmly when closed and doesn’t feel like it would open by itself. The very practical ‘twist’ reveals more product without the need for sharpening! and in return no wastage of product! Overall I love the fresh approach Sisley Paris took, stepping away from the brands classic sombre packaging and giving it a updated, fun look. It certainly does appeal to the younger market this time!

Product formula

According to the companies product description,

‘Sisley-Paris Phyto-Lip Twist is a tinted balm, colored like a lipstick and shiny like a gloss. It is applied with a single “twist” and leaves the lips supple, moisturized, visibly smoothed and plumped thanks to its cocktail of original plant-based active ingredients’.

When I first applied these, I noticed that they went on smooth & sheer and as I built up the colour with more passes, the colour intensified, looking more like lipstick. They didn’t feel sticky or gooey on the lips and when I looked in the mirror I found that my slightly dry lips looked instantly moist and plump. There is definitely a visible difference in how your lips look. Mine were without a doubt fuller.

I tested these for wear one entire day and I started off with shade #3 which was a coral shade with shimmer (this is a shade that would look amazing on warm or olive skin tones and screams Summer!).

Through my lunch and coffee this managed to stay put. The colour seemed to cling on to the lips, only loosing it’s glossiness when confronted with stir fried noodles. Around the 5th hour, it had obviously faded a bit, and the sparkles more visible since the colour had died down, and I really loved that it faded evenly, leaving a mild stain on the lips not an unsightly ring of colour around the edges of the lips like some other lipsticks… shudder >.<

Shade #4 was a little different, this had no shimmer, just a glossy veil of pink. I love how this instantly brightened up my face, and is a shade I recommend to everyone! This too felt very moist on the lips and kept it looking and feeling supple.

Below are the lip swatches of these two,

First up, Peach #3

Pinky #4

In comparison to the Bite Beauty Lush lip tints, these wore much much longer, and packed more colour. In comparison to Tom Ford Spring lipsticks, these were certainly more hydrating and lasted way longer as well.

Overall I’d say these are worth investing in if you have the budget for it, I see it becoming a ‘live in’ member of my makeup bag, perfect for the months to come 🙂

Other info –

Each lip pencil comes with 0.08 0z 2.5g of product and costs a hefty SGD 58.

Available at Metro Paragon

Also available online through Neiman Marcus, priced at USD 50.

* Also worth noting this is a product that contains botanical extracts, if you are sensitive to them, then stay clear.

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

Save the Bees Palette by Chantecaille

March 1, 2014March 8, 2015by Bubbly Michelle6 Comments

From all the Spring palette releases, there was one that stood out to me, that’s the Chantecaille Save the Bees palette. After my friend Lydia mentioned this new release, my curiosity grew and when I happened to see the Chantecaille palette in person at Neiman Marcus, my heart skipped a beat. There it was in all it’s glory, the definition of Spring itself!

So my palette adventures didn’t just end there, I actually had the pleasure of meeting the person who co designed it 😀 Fernando Cadavid, the global makeup artist of Chantecaille. He along with Olivia Chantecaille come up with the seasons most sort after colour mixes in the form of palettes, lipsticks and cheek products. Now doesn’t that sound like one amazing job?!!!

Even with all his success Mr. Cadavid is such a charming person, and I am glad I got to spend some time with him learning more about Chantecaille. He even matched me to Future skin foundation which he highly recommended I try! Truly a memorable experience..

Below is a little collage of the Neiman marcus Spring makeup trend event I attended.

Moving on to the good stuff, what you have been waiting for 😉 this is what the palette looks like when unboxed.

They say god is in the details and this palette surely is heavenly! The mirrored honeycomb pattern with the beautiful bee icon on it is something that makes this palette feel very special. And I love that this palette shuts closed very firmly, no chance of it randomly opening up and getting scratched by the contents of your handbag/makeup bag in case you happen to be taking this with you for touch ups.

So inside…

As you can see, the palette comes with four different colours. Two of which are meant as eyeshadows, one highlighter and the last as a blush shade. All of them have a little golden bee sitting on top of it. This is an overspray and comes off once you use it.

I sneakily did all the swatching and makeup look by using just the sides so I don’t mess up my pretty bees!

*Note that all the colours in this palette are Limited Edition.

Honey – A shimmering warm gold shade, it had exceptional pigmentation. I used it not only as a highlight but also as a wash of colour for the entire lid. It looks amazing, and best of all, zero fallout while application!

Beehive – This is a medium grey brown shade with shimmer, also with good pigmentation. Silky to the touch and works as a great crease colour for adding depth to your eye makeup look. Again no fallout.

Sky – A sheer, light blue iridescent shade. My favourite from this whole palette! Absolutely stunning. It’s ability to open up the eyes and make them look bright and awake was phenomenal. When I swatched all these colours they felt soo fine and lightweight with no powderiness. I just love the quality!

Nectar – A warm coral pink. I loved this more than I expected. Coming from someone who hoards coral blushes, I found that I didn’t really have an exact dupe for this in my stash. This too had good pigmentation with no powderiness.

Overall I love the quality of all 4 shades. They are very well pigmented and and found no creasing while I wore them. They show up vividly and last all day long without fading.

Product details-

This palette contains 12g .42 oz of product, retails for $83

It is a Limited Edition release for Spring 2014 and I purchased mine at Neiman Marcus. It’s also available at Barneys as well as Space NK online.

I also want to mention that 5% of the proceeds from this palette are donated to The Xerces Society to help protect bees and our environment. Beauty for a cause 🙂

Thank you for stopping by, and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Makeup

Lancôme Blush Subtil – Spring 2014

February 20, 2014by Bubbly Michelle3 Comments

Spring is my favourite season makeup wise. All the vibrant pinks and peaches come out to play while the deep reds and burgundy shades hibernate. This year, one of the launches I anticipated the most was the latest Lancôme Blush Subtil colours which released in Singapore early February.

Here’s a look at what’s on offer.

There were 6 Blush Subtils in total (though I am only reviewing 4) formulated with new translucid technology, Translupearl™. Which essentially is, instead of the regular talc particles that goes into making blush, this new technology uses a combination of coated talc and transparent fillers which result in long wearing and intense colours without the ‘ashy’ undertone.

here are some (heavy) swatches I photographed under natural lighting conditions

Éclat de Corail being my favourite, I used it almost everyday, either alone or blended with another colour using this as a highlight. Just adds a tinge of warmth and shimmer for a very fresh and feminine result and I was most satisfied with how long it lasted although it was one of the lighter shades.

Rouge in Love was my go to ‘after dark makeup’ shade; a vibrant warm red with shimmer. I love how pigmented it was and would easily be visible even in the most dimly lit restaurant. For application though I’d suggest using a very light hand and building up the colour slowly, as it’s very easy to go overboard with this shade.

Rose Paradis is a fun, bright pink shade for lazy days. Just a bit of mascara and lip gloss paired with this, instantly brightens up any look and keeps you looking polished. This blush was almost matte with just the tiniest bit of satin finish to it (although when applied, the mild shimmer is not noticeable at all).

Figue Espiégle is a great everyday shade, which would especially be flattering on light to medium complexions. Although it’s not as bright and vibrant as the others this could easily be built up to a stronger look. In fact, all of these blushes are buildable and could be worn by even those with the deepest complexions 😀

Wear wise, these lasted very well. My makeup is usually applied around 10, after which I go through a heavy day of shopping, sightseeing, lunches and coffees. However with all that, these still last around 6 hours without any touch ups.

I also loved how it melds seamlessly onto the base with minimum blending, leaving no harsh brushstrokes. Just a flush of colour that looked airbrushed. I noticed no powderiness or dryness, they were very soft to the touch.

Blush Subtil blushes are available at all Lancôme counters in Singapore for SGD 60.

(Mine were samples provided by the lovely folk at Lancôme for review)

Makeup

Benefit, The POREfessional : Agent Zero Shine |review, photos and swatches

January 18, 2014by Bubbly Michelle12 Comments

Hello there! Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far 🙂

Today’s post is about a new product that Benefit cosmetics is set to release in Singapore this February. (The U.S as always has it in stores already, POUT) Luckily I was given a sample to test it out way back in November and I had plenty of time to use it and make notes so I can share a nice fat review with you 😉

What it promises to achieve-

Take out shine without a trace!

The POREfessional: agent zero shine is your undercover shine fighter! Our NEW invisible shine-control powder instantly minimizes shine and helps smooth the look of pores. It joins the POREfesshional pore minimizer in your top secret mission for smoother-than-smooth skin. Pores and shine don’t stand a chance!

The first thing that crossed my mind when I saw this was how incredibly travel friendly it is! I packed this for my trip to India (I mean where better to try a mattifying product right?) and I can honestly say it saved space, was spill proof and was great for mid day touch ups.

It also makes packing a brush in your makeup bag redundant, as this comes with a built in brush cleverly hidden at the bottom of the container. Hygienic and compact. I’d say the brush is pretty soft, not scratchy and good quality for something that comes free with a powder.

Here’s a look at the opening, which shuts close when you twist the top. No Spilling!

Anyways now onto the important stuff!

Agent Zero shine is available in just one shade. Though it looked a little too light when I dusted some on the back of my hand, it pretty much disappears once you blend it out, it works somewhat like a translucent powder would in that sense.

I believe it should be ok for light to medium skin tones but I am not sure how this would look on the ladies with deep complexions.

As Benefit promises it does keep shine at bay. I tested this out with my usual foundation Lancome’s Teint Visionnaire and dusted the Agent Zero Shine on the right side of my face and my regular powder on the left side. The powder pretty much disappeared onto the skin and didn’t leave a powdery finish, just a fresh and matte look.

It stayed a good 3 hours completely shine free. And towards the 4th my t-zone started getting slightly oily, but my cheeks were still in the slick free zone which I am very thankful for! The powder itself is pretty finely milled and I managed to re-apply it around the 5th hour without blotting my face, and it didn’t cake up my makeup or disturb it as a compact powder would. My face was right back at the fresh matte look I started out with.

*I see this very useful for career women who want to take their makeup from day to night without having to reapply foundation and start from scratch.

Other observations were-

Excellent for travel, as I myself hate lugging a giant jar of loose powder when I pack for vacations.

Mess free application. All you have to do is dust a bit into the cap or the palm of your hand and dip the powder brush in.. the lockable jar top is perfect to keep it from spilling while you do all this. Although I wouldn’t advise you using this while at a red light driving to work!

Pricing-

This is said to retail at around the same price as the Porefessional, that’s around SGD 49 and comes with 7.0g Net wt 0.24 oz of product

You can purchase yours at Tangs or at any Sephora in Singapore around the first week of February when it’s said to release.

Makeup

YSL Rose Scabiosa La Laque Couture nail lacquer review, photos and swatches

January 16, 2014January 16, 2014by Bubbly Michelle13 Comments

One thing YSL beauty does well is nail lacquer.

I have never come across any YSL polish that ever performed poorly to be honest. Yeah, some of the lighter shades can be a bit on the sheerer side, but a couple of coats always give a nice even finish.

YSL Rose Scabiosa #48 (LE) is no exception to that. I LOVE this cool toned, medium pink. I have nothing similar in my stash and was very excited to pick this up as soon as I returned home from my Christmas vacay.

I achieved full opacity in two coats (applied over the usual Chanel base coat). Later on I did go over it with a top coat which brought out more of a glossy finish. But this photo was taken before the top coat to give you an idea how it looks worn all by itself.

The Guerlain top coat I use extends the wear of these polishes, and also helps with keeping nail breakage to a minimum.

Application wise this was a dream to paint on. The consistency not too runny or too thick, and the signature broad tapered brush allows you to cover a wider surface of the nail and gives better control of application.

Perfect for those who enjoy DIY manicures! You really have to try hard to fail at applying this polish streak free 😉

* The drop of polish is a true representation of the actual polish colour.

Onto more product info.

These give me the best wear time, a solid week without major chipping, definitely wear longer than Chanel or Dior (Chanel being the poorest… visible tip wear within 3 days).

YSL lacquer come in 10ml / 0.34 fl.oz bottles, retail at SGD 37.

I purchased mine at the Ion Orchard counter, Singapore.

In the US they are available at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks.

Thank you for stopping by, wishing all of you a wonderful week ahead!

Makeup

My picks for Dior Spring 2014, plus reviews and swatches.

January 8, 2014January 10, 2014by Bubbly Michelle23 Comments

Hello!

As promised, much awaited swatches and a little eye candy to get you through this boooring post 😉

Starting off with a little overview of what Dior had on offer this Spring.

As you may have already seen (unless you were living under a rock the last month or so, or have been on a social media ban) Dior Spring 2014 was all about creating very fresh wide eyed girlie looks with soft pastels and a random burst of bright pinks.

Although I know pastels for Spring isn’t really the most novel idea to come around, I just want to state that Dior did it oh so well! From the pretty pastel blues, to the lilacs to the baby pinks, I could truly find nothing to complain or whine about, except for the fact that almost all the eye quints and palettes were geared towards the fairest of the fair.

However here are my picks from this collection, ideal for medium skin tones AND you fair ladies out there!

* Lipstick in this pic appeared brighter and more deeper in hue than it truly is, the others are true to colour though 🙂

My pick from the palettes was 002 Coquette.

Dior Coquette Trianon spring 2014 palette — Dior 002 Coquette palette

After swatching all the other palettes that were released with this collection, I found that Favourite and Coquette to be the best pigmentation wise and could be built up to true to pan swatches.

As all Dior or other high end eye palettes, this too came in a velvet sleeve and the palette was pretty heavy and felt lovely to hold (unlike light plasticy packaging most drugstore makeup is housed in).

The palette also included a large mirror, two small eyeshadow applicators as well as a cute little bow handled brush that’s meant for applying the blush (although I highly doubt it would ever get used as it’s pretty scratchy). Bottom line, the packaging was exquisite… True Dior style!

Onto the important info 😉

002 Coquette- 10.8g Net.wt 0.38 oz

consisted of-

A soft buttery yellow – This had a high shimmer finish and almost ivory white once applied; a great highlighting shade. The texture was silky smooth and blends very easily.

An iridescent lilac – Had good colour pay off and is buildable to a true to pan shade. I experienced zero fall out, and after hours n hours of wear, no creasing! Something I have consistently noticed with most Dior eyeshadows.

A light baby pink – Another incredibly light shade with a satin finish. I used this as a transition colour to blend out the lilac and make it look more diffused by softening the edges. *Must note that this was of a slightly more powdery texture and a fair amount of powder got kicked up while I was applying it on the lid. Although when I smoothed it and blended it, the satin finish comes out further giving it a beautiful sheen.

A sooty matte black – Perfect to use as a soft liner with this purple eye look. Sadly the pigmentation was poor and applied patchy due to it’s dryer texture. The worst performer in this palette.

The Blush, a warm bright corally pink, perfectly compliments the eyeshadows, and although it looked intense in the pan, it blends out quite sheer without any powderyness. The final result was a very natural looking healthy, rosy flush.

*This was of a matte finish

Blush swatches, heavy and sheered out.

From the selection of Rouge Dior lipsticks on offer, I picked up 761 Courtisane ( 3.5g Net.wt 0.12 oz.)

Courtisane is a cool toned pink, and looks slightly coral in the tube. But once applied it looks pretty much pink. You only need about two passes to achieve full opacity and the lipstick wears well and keeps lips moisturized. I tested out Courtisane topped with Minauderie and it wore around three hours and through a meal of Ramen after which it faded evenly and I was left with a pretty pink stain.

P.S- If you haven’t tried the newly reformulated lipsticks, you don’t know what you are missing! GO.SWATCH.NOW! 😉

Lastly the two glosses I picked up were #382 Minauderie a cool lilac shade and #442 Petillante, a warm light peachy pink, both sheer, but what stood out was the incredible multidimensional shimmer.. it was so fine, and sparkled like diamonds! These topped over cream lipsticks or satin lipsticks, instantly plump up the lips and give the illusion of a fuller luscious pout!

* as seen in swatches Minauderie contained lilac and pink shimmer and Petillante contained pink and soft gold shimmer

Left to right, Rouge Dior 761 Courtisane, Dior Addict gloss 382 Minauderie, Dior addict gloss 442 Petillante

P.S- Dior lippies and glosses don’t have any detectable scent. The SA informed me that they are usually unscented, which is something I love! Personally I hate heavily scented lippies.. specially the YSL ones have an incredibly strong fragrance to them.

In conclusion I felt the collection was a winner, from the gorgeous polishes to the lipsticks, very well worth your hard earned money. And let’s hope to see another fab collection by Dior this Summer!

* for nail lacquer swatches and review, please refer my previous post!

Wishing you a great week ahead,

Michelle.

Makeup

Dior Spring 2014 – Nail polish swatches, Porcelaine and Bouquet

January 3, 2014January 5, 2014by Bubbly Michelle13 Comments

Anyone else out there that thinks Spring collections hit the counters ridiculously early this year? Like seriously!??? I bet next year they’d try sneaking it up on us well before NYE, mark my words!

That being said, I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t excited to spot the Dior Spring collection out last morning.. had my fill of pastels for the day 😛

Anyway, the purpose of this post was to get the swatches out for my picks from the Dior Spring 2014 polishes. There were 4 released in Singapore. (Apparently the US carries two colours that didn’t arrive at our shores, Pampille 192 and Blossom 132)

The local (Singapore) releases were-

Bloom 777- A deep fuchsia pink

Bouquet 457- A corally peach sorbet shade

Porcelaine 204- Pastel powder blue

Perlé 187– A topcoat with lilac shimmers, or so it seemed. (testers weren’t out at the time)

I returned home with Porcelaine and Bouquet

Like all Dior’s regular polishes, this came with the signature wide applicator brush which is great for quick and easy application.

Consistency was not too runny or too thick, it was just right 🙂 ; and Porcelain applied smooth with a little streaking on the first coat (something I have come to expect with lighter cream finish colours as these) and by the second coat it looked opaque with all streaking corrected.

*Pics were taken with just two coats and a top coat

Bouquet applied pretty much the same as Porcelain, opaque in two coats with no streakiness, and this one was a warmer shade, so I see myself using this during Summer as well!

Something worth noting is that this applied much more brighter on the nails than seen in the bottle.

My favourite was Porcelaine, and like last years Nymphea 307 I expect this to sell out just as fast. Call your nearest Dior counter and reserve it now!

Product info-

Dior polishes contain 10ml – 0.33 fl.oz

I purchased mine for SGD 38 at the Tangs beauty boutique