But that is not enough. The stubborn strands will keep sneaking out from every corner! That's when the
Kerastese' Oleo Relax serum comes in handy, and I believe many of my female friends and readers will nod their heads too. And the scent, oh so sexy-nya!
The rest of the products are to assist heavy hairdos when I have to thong-curl or bun up my hair.
Yes gentleman, it ain't cheap being a woman. You might come in defense, but 'we have our cars to accessorize, lady!' Yes yes, but and this day and age, you are not the only ones driving mean big wheels and spend big bucks on engine oils and sound system, okkayy..
Moooving on, the in-the bathroom face products.
I have been a loyal fan and user of
The Body Shop's Tea Tree Oil range for years. I love the clean scent and after-feeling, the packaging and their against-animal-testing policy. It's my thing, let me be.
But I am not big on moisturizers since my facial skin gets oily like, after 5 minutes of washing, I kid you not. I know, I know, beauty magazines keep saying that if you don't moisturize, you skin will get even oilier. Tried, tested and failed. Moisturizer doesn't work it for me but toner does wonders.
Now ready for my neverending (you have been warned) post-basuh-muka rituals?
Since I moved out from my parents' to stay on my own (in June last year),
I have actually bought this many products from M.A.C from the boxes I didn't throw.
Like, OMG banyak giler kan?
It's almost obscene, I know!
Muka tak lawa-lawa jugak.
I am not blessed with problem-free skin and natural facial beauty so I need this many products to actually look like how I'd like to look, everyday. Not like how I look when I wake up every morning or before I go to be bed every night for that matter, haa haaaa, which is off-limit to my housemates and special friends and guests :P who have the priviliege to sleep over.
For foundation, powder, concealer and blusher, I have been using
these. For years, I swore by
M.A.C's Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 (and it's finishing duo
Blot Powder / Loose) and
Studio Fix powder color
NC40 until late last year when I discovered their
Mineralizer range which makes my make-up looks more natural and dewy. Since then, I have been alternating those with
Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 and complete the touch with
Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in
Medium Dark.
Although (of course there's a catch), the coverage isn't as generous and they don't stay as long as the Studio Fix range. So I use the Mineralize range for daily use and the Studio Fix for events and photography shootings. And if I may add, I also have Studio Fix in
NC45 for cheekbone highlighting and shading. I suggest, get two shades darker but use it s p a r i n g l y .
For the hint of glow at the apple of the cheeks, I use
M.A.C blusher in
Melba Matte, but I gotta tell you, since it's coral based, it only suits tanned skin like mine, and Halle Berry, and Rihanna, and our likes. Ha haa..
And you have to invest in good brushes for the finish powder and blusher to have evenly-covered-but-not-too-much finish. If
M.A.C's brushes are are bit too ridiculously priced,
The Body Shop ones are OK too only that I always go and settle for M.A.Cs since their packagings are simple, black and tasteful. Body Shop punya kaler hijau. That explains why I am never and will ever be a fan of
Benefit /
Stila /
Paul & Joe products. Too many colours / too girly names / too bersepah and tak kemas in my eyes. Not to mention that Benefit products that I have tried, just don't do the magic for my face.
For eye make-up (which I spend 80% of my make-up time doing), I still go for M.A.C mostly. Their eye shadow colours are rich, funky and most importantly, glide and stay on my (non-existent double eye)lids! I highly recommend the
M.A.C Pigment in
Black if you have the hand and talent for smoky eyes. But be sure to have a standby foundation sponge under your lower eyelash before you start anything before that Pigment thing looks amazing on your eyes, but a mess on your pipi tau! And another important eye make-up priceless tips I learnt from the numbers of make-up artists I've worked with for magazine / photography / TV shoots is: AGAIN, invest in good brushes! The small hidup segan, mati tak mahu applicators that come free with pharmacy brands DO NOT WORK. Or at least for me, they don't work as good as the good ones!
Untuk cik bulu mata, before I glide the
Loud Lash, a coat of
Prep+Prime is a must. I am quite thankful for the girls in my family are blessed with curled lashes so painstaking curling has never been a chore for me. But I must tell you, I think
Maybelline's Unstoppable mascaras are amazing as well. Not only they are a fraction of M.A.C's price, they lengthen your, or at least mine, like no tomorrow! They are also smear-proof but still easy to wash-off because of their micro-fiber technology. But when time is not my friend, a quick stick-on falsies hardly disappoints.
For the eyeliners, I am waiting for the
The Body Shop's Eye Definer Shade: Black to finish off before I switch it to M.A.C's magical eyeliner. But when I wear my glasses, I usually opt for liquid eyeliner since it's staying power is more ummmph. My lovely
Julie gave me this
Anna Sui liquid eyeliner as a gift at first but I fell in love with it because of it's easy application and sweet smelling liqiud that I ended up buying it when Julie's one finished. Highly recommended as well!
Contrary to what most of you think, I am not a fan of lipstick / lipgloss / lipliner and even the new
Lipstick Jungle for that matter (erkkk, macam takde kaitan langsung). Reason being, they make my lips chapped (no matter what holy grail lipstick / balm I use) and if it's not too TMI, it makes me unkissable, heh heh.. But of course, to complete a heavy make-up do, kena lah dab a little lipstick supaya tidak nampak macam pemalas sangat, ha haa.. NO OFFENSE but, I personally believe that girls / perempuan yang tidak make-up adalah
1) tidak tahu pakai mekap or,
2) pemalas.
Like Helena Rubinstein said (that I quote from Neil Strauss' The Game),
"There are no ugly women. Only lazy ones."
I also personally believe those born with natural beauty kurang cantik bila dimekap penuh, contoh terbaik adalah ANTM Cycle 8's Heather. Either that, or I'm simply jealous.
If I have to put some colours on my lips, I also go as nude and natural as possible, of course exception goes to crazy nights I decide to go screaming red.
My current lipcolour at the moment is
M.A.C's Amplified in
Blankety and shine it with
M.A.C's PlushGlass in
Pretty Plush. I used to use
M.A.C's Matte in
Cherish and clear coloured
LipGlass for topcoat but the combo made my lips pecah-pecah by the sixth hour of wearing them, any attempt of trying to retocuh it will only make it look, euurghh. Plus, PlushGlass shimmers, smells yummy and has cooling effect. To prove my love-hate relationship with lipsticks, I didn't even buy that Amplified lipstick, I got them off trading 6 empty M.A.C packaging anything. So I'm guessing, when I have enough 6 empty powder and mascara cases, I'll try a different colour, just cause. And it's free lipstick anyway.
Anyways, for those who have been asking,
I did that my own make-up for that
Tongue In Chic launch, thank you :)
This is what one does when it's fasting month and when she's out of jobs.This tag if not the way I answer this is endless, isn't it?
Done with the temporary make-up (come to think of it, all the hours and money spent for make-up adlah tidak berkekalan dan perlu dibasuh sebelum tidur, membazirnya!), moving on to body lotions. Oh, I can never get enough of body lotions. I am no longer a big fan of
Palmer's Cocoa Butter (tapi Chi mesti jealous sebab I got the pump one :D) because it's scent often overpowers my perfume, it gets greasy during my yoga class although I still use it sparingly especially after I get my legs shaved or waxed.
High on comnsumption for the past year has been
Vaseline's Aloe Vera. It is cooling, provides just enough moist (for the legs and arms, oink! Don't get creative, there's always
KY for everything else) and the scent is pleasant. Another recent discovery is,
BIO OIL in capital letters because it works exactly how it ad says!
The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter and
Puree Body Lotion both in
Satsuma (I love everything orange smelling) are for the times I use
Satsuma Shower Gel and
The Body Shop's Shimmer Body Lotion in
Cranberry plus
Fragrance Scintillante Et Sensuelle in
White Musk are for night parties or if I want to look as if I have healthy glow in pictures. Although, I always end up looking sweaty if not 'melekit' in pictures if I dab too much of those.
Now the final part.
Like how a perfect perfume is the final touch of your polished look,
I hope this story of my perfume(s) will be the last part of this entry.
I think it's my longest post ever! And I don't get paid for writing this!
(Hint hint: I have been paid quite a lot for posting nothings in my blog lately :D)
Presenting..
The every-size-possible of
Sarah Jessica Parker's
Lovely EDP. I know I smell
Lovely, nuff said :)
And these are bottles of scents that I still splash every now and then, some of them were birthday / Valentine's / anniversary gifts and a few others were impulse purchases. Heh.. I splash
Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea to my yoga classes, although it's EDP but it's scent is subtle just like the taste of green tea.
Thank you for your time reading and feel free to tag yourself if you haven't answered this.
For any
M.A.C,
The Body Shop and
Kerastese rep reading this,
I thank your endorsement contract and kindness in advance :D
