Makeup mania

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

It's been almost two months since my previous confession.

Since my Maybelline Clear Smooth pressed powder began to run out, I've been running around looking for a replacement powder. Reading online reviews, some of them conflicting with others, led me to buying many different products in order to quench my curiosity and decide for myself what works and what doesn't.

First I bought Boots Natural Collection loose powder because it was on sale for 69 baht. With it, I bought the pressed powder foundation as well as a lovely pink lip gloss called Berry Sorbet (smells like ice cream). The pressed powder didn't offer enough coverage for me but it did absorb a lot of oil, which I love, but unfortunately the colour is either too dark for me or it gets that way after a while. So I'm gonna hand this over to Mum when she gets here. Besides, Boots powders don't have refills! What a waste.

The Berry Sorbet gloss is lovely. It's a wonderful sweet pink. The product is not sticky, in fact it's quite liquid and seems to get absorbed just a little bit. It seems to moisturise my lips too, which is a plus because my lips have been flaking for a while even after applying my staple Body Shop cranberry lip balm. The Berry Sorbet gloss is not ultra-shiny, but I don't need the ultra shine anyway because my lips are quite full already.

As for the loose powder ... it's my first experience with loose powder and I'm glad it was only 69 baht because I don't think I'll be buying more of this. I chose the green powder because green makeup bases apparently hide redness in your skin. When I actually tried the product, I found that it has a bit of glitter in it, which I couldn't tell from looking at the packaging. Applied alone, it offers no coverage at all. Haven't tried it with anything else yet because ... well, there's more on the way.

After reading rave reviews of Mistine BB Wonder Cream and seeing it and the BB loose powder at Watson's, I gave in to temptation and bought the set. And the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker lip gloss which I've been eyeing for ages just because of its naughty name and its delicious chocolate smell.

I've been using the BB cream to cover up my redness, acne scars and large pores ever since I got it, but once it's finished, I don't think I'll get more. I think my Maybelline Clear Smooth gel foundation provides much better coverage and feels wonderfully light. But the BB cream is only 15ml so it shouldn't last long. Yay :p

The BB loose powder has a strong, I call it 'morbid' flowery fragrance. It reminds me of mum's or my grandmother's old-lady cosmetics. I think the product is a bit more finely milled than the Natural Collection powder. The puff is lovely, full and soft, and it's actually practical, compared to the Natural Collection puff which is cute and fluffy-looking but I don't feel it works so well. I think I prefer the Mistine BB loose powder. There's more of it too, like 15 grams or something, so I won't be able to get rid of it in such a hurry. I think I'll keep both loose powders for when I do my makeup at home as I don't want them to spill in my bag when I'm out. Oh, and the packaging of the Mistine BB loose powder is a bit ... well, cheap. The plastic seems to be quite thin. And the lid is very thin and shallow so it's not as good for putting the powder in as the Natural Collection loose powder lid is -- that one's lid is a bit curved so it's like a nice little bowl to put the powder in before applying it with the puff.

The Sexy Mother Pucker lip gloss is supposed to make thin lips look fat, but I don't know how much it affects me cos my lips are quite full already. Like I said, I just liked the name and the smell. There are two kinds of SMP lip gloss -- clear and nude. I bought the nude one because I don't have any nude lip colour and I wanted to give it a try. Like the Natural Collection gloss, I think SMP moisturises my lips because I don't experience any chapping compared to the Body Shop cranberry lip balm (which never used to make me flake before!). The shine that SMP provides is unbelievable. My lips stay sticky and shiny all day. Oh, and this lip gloss makes your lips tingle a bit when you apply it, but that doesn't last more than about half an hour. So I don't know if it makes my lips look bigger, but it's very high shine and as a bonus, it keeps my lips moisturised.

So overall I think I'm gonna give up on the loose powders. I'll find a way to use up or give away the ones I bought and I won't buy any more. I only got them because I thought maybe loose powders are better at absorbing oil than pressed powders. Who knows, they may, but I can't deal with the unease of use when compared with pressed powders.

And that brings me to my big splurge -- my first Etude compact powder. I got the number 2 Dream On pact because I thought the number 1 would be too fair for my skin. I got it from the Siam Square Etude House where they give you a 5% discount for an individual purchase and 15% if you buy more than one item. (I only got the one thing because that's expensive enough.)

The packaging is gorgeous. That's the main reason why I got it -*- The powder is just pressed powder, not powder foundation. It smells really sweet -- not 'morbid' like the Mistine, but enchantingly sweet. Some people might be allergic to perfume though, but I'm not. I think I chose the right colour for my skin. I think it's an almost exact match. But it does not control oil like it claims to at all. I won't be getting it again. I might get the shine-free refill that I saw in the Siam Center store. If not, I might get a Mistine Platinum refill -- because I've heard great reviews about that, as well as from my mum. (Again, some reviews contradict others. I'll never know what works for me if I never try.)

I couldn't stop there. I finally got the absolutely fabulous Majolica Majorca case -- which I don't regret at all, it's just too gorgeous not to have! And I got a Fasio powder foundation refill to put in it. The Fasio is not a perfect fit but I can live with it till it runs out. And then I might try the Majolica Majorca 24H Pressed Fantasia -- their pressed powder -- because that at least would fit perfectly. Apparently that one might be a little too white and it's not a great oil control product but at least I know it's good for the skin as it can be worn while you sleep too. Or I might get a ZA powder foundation refill as I've heard it's good for oil control.

Anyway, to talk about the Fasio. It claims to cover up pores and some people say it's good for oil control but there aren't as many people talking about it online as some other brands. I think I see why. I only bought it in the first place because it was the cheapest powder foundation refill I could find in the Watson's at Central World where I got the MM case. (I also bought Fasio's Pure Blush in Baby Blossom -- a light pink. I did want to buy MM's blush because of the gorgeous case but I couldn't handle paying 300+ baht just for blush.) Anyway, the Fasio powder foundation has a very make-up-y smell -- reminds me of my mum's foundations. I can live with that. It feels very thick on my face. I feel like my pores can't breathe. (I wear it on top of the Mistine BB Wonder Cream -- that might be part of the reason. And most times I don't moisturise before putting it on.) And I think it also looks very thick. Or maybe I apply too much. But I feel it makes me look older! If I re-do it, I feel like all my pores are more prominent! Plus it looks crusty halfway through the day -- probably due to sebum absorption. I admit it controls oil better than the Etude Dream On, but the crustiness just won't do!

As for the Fasio blush, I'd say it's satisfactory. I don't have a big problem with blush not staying on. I picked the lightest colour -- Fasio has only three blush colours, which is a shame -- and I need to brush it on twice with my big blush brush to make it noticeable. The puny brush that came with the blush is useless, as most brushes of this type are. The blush itself is fine. It looks like a healthy glow. I do find that later in the day, it seems to be darker, but that might be because of the powder.

So I think I'll give foundation powders a miss from now on. I only started buying foundation powders because normal pressed powders don't have refills. Hopefully ZA doesn't get crusty or look and feel really thick like Fasio, which, by the way, is even worse when applied with a wet sponge. (Or maybe I'm not doing it right -*-) If ZA and Mistine Platinum are good, great! If Pressed Fantasia is better, then even better! :D

That's all I've bought. But I still want more.

Before all these adventures in the realm of powder makeup, I bought my first expensive (for me) mascara -- the Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Neo. This is their line of lash volume-enhancing mascara. My lashes are ... quite abundant and their length is fine, they just need a bit of curl and volume. At first I wanted to get their latest Lash Gorgeous Wing mascara, which has a brush type applicator instead of MM's signature comb type and has short and long fibres. But my boss during my internship tried it once and gave it to my supervisor instead because it offers no thickness despite its claims. And I've read bad and mediocre reviews of it online. So I gave it a miss and chose the volumising one instead. And I'm pretty happy with it. People always comment on my lashes whenever I wear it. The comb applicator is wonderful. It separates individual lashes and eliminates clumps, giving my lashes a fan-like look.

But I still wanna try the Lash Gorgeous Wing! MM have just come out with a little winter collection, including a golden-brown version of the Lash Gorgeous Wing ... which I won't be getting as I need black mascara. Still, the allure of the promise of feathery-full lashes is strong! I know it doesn't actually thicken your lashes, but I've got the Lash Enamel Glamour Neo for that. I just wonder if I could put Lash Gorgeous Wing on top of that to give my lashes that feathery look.

I went to Platinum Fashion Mall yesterday because I heard they sell MM mascaras there for around 400 baht -- 90 baht less than what I got mine for at Watson's. I saw the Lash Enamel Glamour Neo, the Lash Expander Neo and the Lash Bone -- but no Lash Gorgeous Wing T^T (I also saw the Kiss Chiffon Matte makeup base that's supposed to be really good for oil control... Maybe next time...) There were also other MM products like the Rouge Majex lip gloss and their Honey Lip Pump as well. And the pretty golden case. I didn't ask for the price because I don't want to regret buying mine at Watson's for 300 baht.

So maybe when I have more money I'll buy the Kiss makeup base and the Lash Gorgeous Wing (in black, of course). There's also the infamously hard-to-wash-off Fasio mascara which costs about half the price of MM ... but some reviews say it clumps and makes your lashes look like cockroach legs. Eew. I'm also thinking of buying L'Oreal's De-Maq Expert makeup cleanser because my Ziit Milk makeup cleanser is running out fast as I use loads of it to wash off my MM mascara -*- De-Maq is like twice the price of Ziit Milk though, and I've been using Ziit Wash and Ziit Milk for so long because of their all-encompassing ingredients (Ziit Milk even has olive oil in it!).

Oh yeah -- I'm also interested in the MM Lash Bone mascara base. Some people say it doesn't do anything, but it does have lash-lengthening fibres in it, and it's supposed to condition and thicken your lashes. Hmm. Lash Bone or Lash Gorgeous Wing? Or both? The Lash Bone at Platinum and the Lash Gorgeous Wing at Watson's? Or maybe later they'll have the Lash Gorgeous Wing at Platinum too?

So yeah, all this makeup buying and coveting has resulted in a serious loss of cash.

Sigh.

P.S. None of the powder/foundation powder products have irritated my skin. No break-outs, not even with Fasio's suffocating foundation powder!