2011 Loves and Thoughts

To end off the year, I thought I'd do a quick round up of ten beauty products that I loved in 2011.

Although Lunasol's perennial bestseller in Japan is their Skin Modelling Eyes #1 Beige Beige, it has always looked too bland to me. However, this year, their Ocean Scene Eyes EX01 Shelly Ocean from their summer 2011 collection turned out to be my most frequently used palette. This is quite unusual for me as I'm usually more drawn to teals and purples, but Shelly Ocean has become my fail-safe palette for every day wear. The complex dirty bronze shade always works like a dream for adding definition to the eyes or creating subtle smoky eyes.

For base makeup, my current three staples are Lunasol Under Eyes Base 01 Natural Beige, RMK Smoothing Polished Base and Maquillage Essence Rich White Liquid UV in OC00. The Lunasol Under Eyes Base covers up my dark circles very well, although like every other concealer I've tried, it does settle slightly into the fine lines after some time. The RMK base provides good oil control and coverage of pores.

Nothing perks up one's complexion faster than a slick of lipgloss. For that, I rely on Anna Sui Lip Gloss C #306 and Addiction Azalea Lipgloss.


Paul & Joe's lipsticks have always been a staple in my makeup pouch, thanks to their comfortable non-drying texture and flattering shades. This year, I loved Lipstick C #74 Lower East Side from the Manhattan collection. For staving off chapped lips, I've been using Crabtree & Evelyn Pomegranate & Grapeseed Lip Butter which has a lovely sweet pomegranate scent and no discernible taste.

Guerlain Meteorites in Perles de Nuit makes the skin look more polished with a slight glow. On days when I don't feel like wearing makeup, I just apply moisturiser or sunscreen and finish off with a light dusting of Perles de Nuit.

Dolly Wink Volume Mascara builds volume and length well and holds the curl of my lashes through the day. It does start to clump slightly when layered a few times, but this is usually easily rectified. The limited edition set with the eyeliner in the purple and green packaging is still available on Adambeauty.com.

2011 was a year that I'll always cherish for the many wonderful memories and experiences. Looking back, I think I spent more than four months of the year living out of suitcases as I got to travel to Kerala, Maldives, the UK, plus an extended sojourn in the south of France.

I spent a month in the charming seaside town of Villefranche (situated between Nice and Monaco on the Cote D'Azur) taking French lessons at this great school with stunning views of the bay.



The glorious view of the sunrise from my tiny studio apartment - moments like these were pure bliss.

To everyone who stops by Rouge Deluxe regularly, my heartfelt thanks for taking the time to do so. As my buddy Mag says, writing a blog can sometimes feel like one is just talking to oneself, but every once in awhile, a thoughtful comment by a reader makes us smile, and makes it worth the effort. Having done this for close to five years now, there have been several moments of wondering whether to continue. Some of my favorite blogs are now gone or inactive, like Jojoba's My Makeup Reviews, which is dearly missed. I figure I'll just keep writing as long as I enjoy doing so.

I'll leave you with my favorite song for 2011: Kelly Clarkson's Stronger. Whatever challenges 2012 may bring, stand a little taller and be stronger. Wishing you lots of love, laughter and happiness in the new year!

artistic FOTD for New Year's Eve.

 

today i tried a more artistic makeup look, inspired by two of my favourite Rae's - Rae Chen from the Notice: a beauty blog (for the eye make up) and australian makeup artist Rae Morris (for the lips).
i wanted to do both elements from this FOTD since forever and a day, a liner-look and a glitter/duo-toned lip and i think it's wearable enough for an extravagant party. i think this makeup is at the same time edgy and puristic.


for the face:

foundation: i used Burberry Sheer Foundation in Trench No.4 (1), applied with the BeautyBlender (A) - this is not really a "brush-foundation"

contour: NARS Multiple Bronzer in Cap Vert (2) applied with MAC 109 brush (B)

blush: Guerlain Météorites Perles d'Or (3) from last year's holiday collection, applied with RMK Cheek Brush (D)

highlighter: Chanel Ombres Tissées in Beiges (4) applied with Hakuhodo G5537BkSL (C) onto the top of the cheekbones, the bridge of the nose, cupid's bow and everywhere you feel like


for the eyes:

brows: MAC Copperplate Eyeshadow (1) applied with Louise Young Brow Brush LY30 (A)

eye makeup: choose the design you like! it's really hard though, to get an even result on both eyes -.-

• i applied MAC Shroom Eyeshadow (2) all over the lid and the brow bone area with Tom Ford Eyeshadow Brush (B) to get an even canvas.
• for the liner, choose one that's really really smudgeproof on you! this is essential if you want to go out with this eye makeup. i started out with the K-Palette 1-Day-Tattoo Real Lasting Eyeliner (3) which is both extremely longlasting and extremely precise and easy to handle, but after i was done with one eye, the liner was used up so i had to finish the other side with a gel liner - i chose Catrice Gel Liner in Black Jack with Jack Black (4) and applied it with Hakuhodo K007 Eyeliner Brush (C). you could use a very pale, matte grey eyeshadow to trace a shape before you go in with deep, wuite unforgiving black liner, but i did it free-handed.
• then i applied Lancôme's Hypnôse Doll Eyes Mascara (5) and false eyelashes (6), this time the conventional way for a intended fake and OTT look.
• to play up the contrast between bare skin and stark liner even more, i drew a pale beige liner (7) onto the lower inner rim to brighten it - no mascara on the lower lashes, please!

for the lips:

• i used a longlasting lip colour in a dusty magenta shade (Manhattan Lips2Last 47R (1) as a base, applied it with Essence Eyeliner Brush (A)
• to deepen and brighten the colour i went over it with Chanel Rouge Allure Velvets (2) in L'Exuberante (a bright magenta) onto the heart of the lip and La Fascinante (a blood red) on the outer parts, also with the Essence Brush.
• then i dabbed a mix of MAC Naval Blue Pigment (3) and an intense pink pigment by Basic (4) onto the center of the upper lip.
• i dabbed some of Bare Minerals True Gold Eyeshadow (5) onto the center of the lower lip.
• finished with clear gloss by Bobbi Brown.

would you go out with a look like this ;) ?

i wish all of you a good start in the new year!

Post-Christmas Haul: Elie Saab, Issey Miyake, Lancome, Nars, Philosophy

Indulged in a bit of shopping during the post-Christmas sales.

Elie Saab Le Parfum is a sweet floral fragrance composed of orange blossom, jasmine, patchouli, rose and cedarwood notes. This has been garnering positive reviews online, so when I spied the coffret going for 30% off at my local department store in Switzerland, I snapped it up. I like that it is not too heady or generic.

A Scent by Issey Miyake Neroli Sunshine has fresh crisp opening notes like the original but a spicier, more complex heart of neroli, jasmine and hyacinth that settles very nicely on my skin. I snagged this for 50% off the highly inflated original retail price of CHF99.90.

For my mother, I picked up this Lancome L'Absolue set of four mini lipsticks (1.6g each, versus the regular size of 4g) which was going at half the original price of CHF49.90. This set retails in the UK and France for only about CHF30 and CHF33 respectively, which gives you an idea of how inflated makeup prices are in Switzerland!


It contains two L'Absolue Rouge BX lipsticks in #06 Rose Nu and #132 Caprice, and two L'Absolue Nu lipsticks in #302 Voile de Rose and #201 Beige de Soie.

At a pharmacy in France, I picked up this Biotherm duo set of Lait Corporel, for 40€, down from the original price of 63€. The unique soft citrus scent is still one of my favourite scents ever.

The year-end holidays aren't quite complete without some delightful treats from Philosophy, so I was happy to find the Tinsel Town 3-in-1 shower gel and Holly Berry Bubbly bubble bath at a Sephora across the border in France. These were just 9.90€ for 480ml each.

Tinsel Town looks shimmery in the bottle but it does not leave any shimmer on the skin. It's a yummy berry scent with a fresh peppermint note.


From NARS, I got the Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base and G-Spot Multiple from the holiday collection. The prices in euros are significantly marked up compared to the US (e.g. US$39 for the Multiple versus 40.50€ in France), but probably still cheaper than Switzerland.

At a outlet mall, I found these boots by Geox, which has become my favourite brand for shoes. Not only are the boots comfortable, the soles have sufficient thickness and grip, perfect for the rainy and snowy weather over here.

Hope you're enjoying the holiday season too!

Soap & Glory Cheekmate

Being a fan of Soap & Glory's bodycare line, I was elated when they launched a full makeup range earlier this year. It did not make its way to Sephora Singapore this year so I had my husband pick up a few items from Boots in London. Cheekmate, a cherry red cheek and lip stain, was top of my shopping list.

Like their bodycare line, Soap & Glory's makeup line is very affordably priced with fun concepts and great product design with their trademark sense of humor. Cheekmate retails officially at just £8, but my husband actually paid less as Boots had a "3 for the price for 2" offer on S&G, as they frequently seem to do.

Enriched with Vitamin C, kiwi and raspberry extracts, Cheekmate is a lightweight gel stain that melds effortlessly into the skin for a healthy rosy color. It comes in a convenient travel-friendly squeeze tube that makes it easy to control the amount of product dispensed. The tube looks tiny with only 11ml of product, but the gel stain is well-pigmented so one only needs a very tiny amount for each application. Even with daily use, one tube is likely to last at least 4 months.

Aside from its non-greasy feel, I was also impressed by its lasting power on my skin. It wore very well over more than 8 hours without any fading, much better than most powder blushes that I've tried. The gel texture is also easier to apply without any streaks than Benefit's Benetint. I don't use it on my lips as I prefer lipglosses or lipsticks.


Here are some comparison swatches with the other cheek stains in my collection. The pic below shows (from left to right): Cheekmate, Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon, Essence Bloody Mary Blush Gel and Armani Blushing Fabric #1. Both Cheekmate and the Essence Blush Gel have a clear gel texture whereas the Becca and Armani blushes have more of a cream texture that sheers out to a translucent finish.

Compared to Cheekmate, Becca Watermelon Beach Tint has a more orange undertone while the Essence Blush Gel is more raspberry and Armani Blushing Fabric #1 is more candy pink. Only the Armani blush has the faintest hint of gold shimmer. Cheekmate is the most well-pigmented of the lot. All four can be layered easily for a more intense finish but Cheekmate takes the least amount of product to achieve an intense swatch of color.

When applying Cheekmate, I apply it much more lightly, like the swatch on the extreme left of the photo below. If you have access to Soap & Glory's makeup line, Cheekmate is definitely well worth checking out. I hope Soap & Glory releases more shades in the future.

Ingredients list.

striking FOTD for New Year's Eve.

 

today i played around with my make up a bit and came up with a striking makeup that would be perfect for a New Year's Eve party. quite bold, but still very wearable and not too flashy/spacy. i don't know yet if this will be the final version since i never really plan a makeup look, but it's a nice attempt!

for the face:

foundation: for a party in this special night, i think a longlasting foundation would be great. i used a mix of Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation in #02 Beige Clair (1) and Rouge Bunny Rouge Milk Aquarelle Foundation in Almond Milk Parfait (2) and applied with Le Métier de Beauté Blush Brush(A)

concealer: Giorgio Armani Master Corrector in #2 (3) and Giorgio Armani High Precision Retouch Concealer in #3 (4), both dabbed in with the fingers.

powder: of course i still wanted a glowy complexion, so i used the Guerlain Méteorites Perles de Nuit (5) from this year's holiday collection applied with A'Squirrel Pure Squirrel Powder Brush (B)

contour: i used NARS Multiple Bronzer in Cap Vert (6) and applied with MAC 109 (C) brush, apply a bit more intense and also contour the nose since this night most probably flash photographs will be taken.

blush: with a bold eye makeup and lips, i wanted a warm and subtle look on the cheeks and chose NARS Madly (7) as a base colour and dabbed only a tiny bit of NARS Desire (8) onto the apples of the cheeks. i used the RMK Cheek Brush (D)

highlight: a bit of MAC Beauty Powder in Too Chic (9) applied with Hakuhodo G5537BkSL (E)


for the eyes:

brows: again, i went a bit darker than normal since brows tend to wash out immensely in flash photography. i applied MAC Copperplate Eyeshadow (1) with Louise Young Brow Brush LY30 (3) as a base shape and used the K-Palette 1-Day-Tattoo Liquid Brow Pen (2) to draw in fine lines for more structure. 

eye makeup: quite dramatic, quite sparkly!

• i applied MAC Vex Eyeshadow (4) to the inner corners with a Sigma SS252 (7) brush.
• then, with a MAC 242 (8), apply a intense oval shape of MAC Deep Truth Eyeshadow (5) onto the center of the lids and trace it on the outer 2/3 of the lower lashline.
• again with MAC 242 brush, apply Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in #85 Myrifique (6) onto the outer V, elongate to a cat eye wing on the outside. trace a bit on the most outer corner along the lower lashline and also along the upper lashline, starting in the center.
• blend the outer edges slightly, i used Sigma SS217 brush (9).
• then i dabbed a tiny amount of Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy (10) onto my inner corners and pressed on some holographic glitter (11) using a flat shader brush (MakeUpShow Medium Shader H06 (12)
• curl lashes, apply mascara (i used Shiseido The Perfect Mascara (14).
• line the upper waterline with P2 Perfect Look! Kajal in 010 Black (13). 
• apply false lashes (15) underneath your natural lashes, use THIS METHOD.

 here you can see the glitter on the inner corners better, but in real it's much more sparkly

lips: i tried two different lip versions, you could probably see them as day/night-versions. which lip do you like better?

 with Dior Rouge Dior in #298 Beige Indécise, a nude

or

 

a very dramatic combo with a longlasting lipcolor in hot red - Manhattan 44Q plus a shimmery red lipgloss - Rouge Bunny Rouge Gleaming Temptations Lipgloss in #46 Come Here, Sweetie

i have to say i much prefer the red-lip-version since it screams "party",  the red really revives my complexion.