My Favourite Things

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! Christmas was a bit of a snoozefest for me this year. There are still a few weeks to go before the spring collections hit the counters in Singapore and the winter collections seem to have been on the counters forever. There are sales everywhere but I hate shopping among massive crowds so I usually end up not buying much during sales.

I thought of doing a round-up of the makeup products that I got great mileage out of this year. These are the products that I found myself reaching for over and over again.

Eyeshadows
1. Jill Stuart Seductive Eyes #3 Twinkle Venus
2. Jill Stuart Illuminance Eyes #4 Aqua Crystal
3. Lunasol Sheer Contrast Eyes #2 Lavender Coral
4. Lunasol Geminate Eyes #4 Sapphire
5. Lavshuca Summer Gradually Compact #1 Shiny Sand Beach
6. Lavshuca Summer Gradually Compact #2 Windy Aqua Beach
7. Lavshuca Grade Color Select PU1
8. Lavshuca Eye Color Select PU2
9. Lavshuca Eye Color Select PU2
10. Awake Moon Illusion Eyes X1 Forest Shadows
11. Awake Star Illusion Eyes X3 Rosa Nova
12. Majolica Majorca Majolook (Trick On) GR741
13. Canmake Color Stripe Palette #2
14. Canmake Color Stripe Palette #3
15. Aube Impression Eyes #52 Green
16. Ipsa Optimum Balance Eye Palette VIII4



As you can see, there is a preponderance of purple-themed palettes among my favourites! I find purple to be the most flattering shade on my MAC NC20 skin. Brown/beige are just too boring for me while blues and greens seem to get harder and harder to pull off the older I get! Not that it stops me from wearing blues and greens at least 50% of the time ;-p I also have a soft spot for smokey intense grey/blacks.



This Ipsa palette, which I picked up for cheap at the Luxasia warehouse sale a few months ago, has been my favourite palette of late. I like layering it over Jill Stuart Jelly Eye Color #18 Amethyst Mauve as the base.


Blushes
1. Jill Stuart Compact Mix Blush Illuminance #101 Platinum Illuminance
2. Canmake Loose Cheek #6 Mauve Pink
3. Canmake Loose Cheek #8 Peach Squash
4. Love Clover Pon Pon Cheek N #5124
5. Kiss Pure Bloom Cheek #1
6. Pop Rose Belle
7. Excel Gradation Cheek G2
8. Sana Cheek Color Benisakura
9. MAC Mineralize Blush Gentle
10. MAC Mineralize Blush Love Thing
11. NARS Blush Mounia
12. NARS Blush Deep Throat
13. NARS Blush Outlaw
14. Pout Rouge Berry Bage
15. Pout Rouge Apricot Totty



Comparison of Canmake Loose Cheek #6 (left) versus #8 (right). #6 is more of a blue-based baby pink with silver sparkles while #8 is a more peachy pink with less obvious shimmer.




Other favourites:

1. Loose Powder: Kiss Mat Chiffon Powder

2. Powder Foundation: Lancome Maquicake UV Infinite

3. Mascara: Anna Sui Super Mascara DX Long Lash 001

4. Lipstick: Paul & Joe Lipstick C #201 Amuse Bouche

5. Lipgloss: Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips

6. Eyeliner: Maquillage Dramatical Gel Eyeliner GY831

My makeup stash is so overwhelmingly massive that it's very difficult to pick favourites, so I just picked the ones that I kept reaching for this year. But if I had to pick one product to recommend to everyone, it would be the Maquillage Dramatical Gel Eyeliner GY831. I was never a big fan of using eyeliner before I stumbled onto this little gem. Liquid eyeliners tend to give an uneven line while pencil liners were usually tough on the delicate eye area and prone to smudging and fading. The wonderful thing about gel eyeliners is that they combine extreme ease of application with long-lasting power in gorgeous complex metallic shades. The Maquillage version is expensive at S$45/2625yen but it's worth every penny as one pot can probably last a year with daily application. GY831 is also a limited "seasonal" shade, so do get it before it's gone!